Strategy Doubles OU vs VGC

[Scattered mind]

VGC is the official format of competitive Pokemon battles by Nintendo.
In general, the battles are double battles and each player brings 6 Pokemon in level 50 but only picks 4 of them in the team preview. There is a list of Pokemon banned from playing which includes almost every legendary Pokemon.

Doubles OU is the unofficial double format created by a fan site (which you probably know about) and can be played in casual battles with friends or in an online simulator.
It is designed to be like VGC with some changes:
1) 6 vs 6 instead of 4 vs 4
2) Pokemon default level 100 instead of level 50
3) You can use the same item on more than 1 Pokemon)
4) OHKO Clause (you cannot use moves like Sheer Cold)
5) Evasion Clause
6) Soul Dew Clause
7) Moody Clause
8) The move Dark Void is banned from play
9) The following Pokemon are banned from play

• Mewtwo
• Lugia
• Ho-oh
• Kyogre
• Groudon
• Rayquaza
• Dialga
• Palkia
• Giratina, Giratina-O
• Arceus
• Reshiram
• Zekrom
• Kyurem-White
• Xerneas
• Yveltal

10) Salamencite is banned from play

What do you think about Double OU comparing to VGC? Have you ever tried to play it?
Share your thoughts :]

 

[One Approved]

I've only played a little bit of VGC and I've only spectated doubles OU but my natural inclination would be to believe that Doubles OU would be a much more balanced format. While I can't say I "disagree" persay with Nintendo's banlist, I definitely like the doubles OU one more. Nintendo's makes sense for a handheld format because event pokemon like Celebi or Mew that happened ages and ages ago can be extremely hard for newer players to get their hands on. It would be discouraging. For a simulator though, this obviously isn't an issue. You can put in any pokemon from any period of time and not have to worry about EVs/IVs/whatever, so pokemon like Celebi that really aren't even remotely close to being overpowered have no reason to be banned. In addition, Doubles OU isn't afraid to ban non-legendary pokemon like Mega Salamence in order to keep the format healthy. I highly doubt we would see anything like that from Nintendo any time soon, despite Mega Kangaskhan's stupidly good performance at worlds.

Also, something that's overlooked quite a bit is what the difference between Lv. 50 vs Lv. 100 actually does - it makes the format more hyper aggressive. At level 50, pokemon actually have higher damage outputs than they do at lv. 100. It's not a lot, but it can actually make a pretty big difference. For example, Choice Band Terrakion has nearly a 70% chance to 2hko a defensive Slowbro after Stealth Rock at Lv. 50, but that is drastically reduced to below a 40% chance when at lv. 100. This isn't really the best example as Stealth Rock isn't really prominent in doubles, but you get the idea. The damage output is very slightly raised across the board, which favors a much more aggressive metagame.