As part of my journey to learn more about the VGC metagame I had wondered about how different movesets are from 6v6 format. Especially the support moves. OU has moves like Stealth Rock Defog, Heal bell and Whirlwind. What are the top support moves every player should consider to add to his/her team ? Thanks in advance
MASSIVE WALL OF TEXT ALERT!
Well, It's much easier to start with the moves you DON'T want to use in VGC format.
With there only being 4 Pokes per team with two active at a time
Stealth Rock loses much of it's power. While switching still happens frequently enough, doubling attacks into one slot is an effective (albeit risky) tactic, it's generally more effective to just go for attacks. Some Pokes such as Mega Kangaskhan can also score easy OHKO's onto targets, making it a waste to set up hazards when simply attacking can be more effective. In the same vein,
Toxic is rather weak due to games usually being over within less than 10 turns.
With hazards unseen,
Defog sees no play.
Heal Bell is playable but the Pokemon who learn it, such as Clefable are better off using that moveslot for other moves.
Phazing is very rarely used as the bulky Pokemon who would use those tactics in Singles are rather easy to wear down in VGC or defeated by common threats such as Thundurus.
On to the useful stuff.
Follow Me. Rage Powder. These moves allow your win condition Pokes to gain them, by redirecting single-target attacks into the redirector. Although multi-target moves will slip by unhindered, those very moves also take a 25% damage nerf when hitting more than one target. There are a few viable Follow Me users, ranging from Eviolite Clefairy, it's evolved form Clefable, then Togekiss and Lucario. Even Pachirisu can perform well as a redirector given a proper spread is used.
As for Rage Powder, the move is generally only seen on Amoonguss. Speaking of that shroom, it also has
Spore which is highly valued for it's 100% accurate sleep, as well as it's Regenerator ability. The others who can use it decently are Eviolite Regenerator Tangela as well as Volcarona, though neither bring high pressure as Amoonguss can. Rage Powder does have its disadvantages, with Grass-types and Pokemon carrying Safety Goggles being immune to it as well as other powder moves, such as the afforementioned Spore.
Tailwind is superb, giving doubled Speed to all of the user's Pokemon. With the four turns it lasts it can sometimes be enough to cripple your opponent severly or defeat them outright. Mid Speed Pokes such as Bisharp and Sylveon appreciate the boost greatly as much as the awkward base 100's like Mega Kangaskhan do. It also lets you get past mirror matchups favorably by giving you the speed advantage. Pokemon who use Tailwind well include Talonflame, Suicune, Zapdos and Togekiss.
Trick Room is a bit of a wild card, although it's always been that way. Reversing the move order of all Pokemon on the field, making slower Pokes go first can be debilitating. With Taunters galore, it can be risky to set it up but the reward can be tremendous. Thankfully, with Mental Herb granting a one-time immunity to Taunt, it isn't always impossible to set up. Cresselia is best known for the move although others such as Cofagrigus with it's handy Ghost-typing blocking Fake Outs from Pokemon without the Scrappy Ability is excellent, as well as Aromatisse, whose Aroma Veil Ability acts as a permanent Mental Herb, blocking all attempted Taunts and allowing Trick Room to go off (barring Fake Out).
Helping Hand is another very interesting move. Bumping up the move power of it's ally by 50%, it can allow for attacks that would be short of a knockout to pick up key OHKOs. Clefable is often seen using the move, while Sylveon, Cresselia and Whimsicott can also do well with it.
The final thing that I can think of for now would be
Encore. While it can see play in Singles to force a switch, locking an opponent into a move brings a new threat in VGC. With Mega Gengar being legal for play, a notorious tactic combining a double Protect on the first turn to scout out moves, followed by a Prankster Encore on the next turn to lock in a foe to that move, Disable to prevent it (forcing the victim to Struggle) and Shadow Tag blocking their escape is a well known cheese. Whimsicott is generally the only Pokemon seen with Encore with its Prankster Ability working in perfect synergy with the very fast Mega Gengar, in a non-cheese team a few choose to use Raichu for it's Lightning Rod Ability.
This is only the little bit of information I could think of.... Hopefully it's enough for players to get an idea.
