12 Most Common Strategies In Competitive Pokemon

The Pokemon series is absolutely brimming with countless unique Pokemon that players can use in their teams. With hundreds of available Pokemon that each has a wide array of moves they are capable of learning, the potential for creative team building is quite endless.

However, when it comes to competitive battling, there are some strategies that are much more popular than others. These strategies are often quite synergistic and make up many of the most consistent team setups in all of Pokemon. So today, we’re going to examine the various strategies that are used in competitive Pokemon and see which are the most prevalent!

Updated December 5, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Competitive Pokemon battling is constantly in flux thanks to the fact that Nintendo and GameFreak keep on adding more and more Pokemon to the mix by introducing new generations every couple of years. Every time a new generation comes in, the competitive scene sees a major shift, with Pokemon being shuffled around in tiers and new strategies coming to light. Over the years, however, a set pattern has emerged and some competitive strategies in Pokemon, ones that work time and time again, have become a part of the battling culture as understood realities players should always account for, lest they be taken by surprise.

12 Perish Trap

Sing the Song of Doom

Perish Trap is a team that gets its name from the potent move, Perish Song. Perish Song is a move that causes a countdown on an opponent’s Pokemon, causing it to be KO’d in three turns regardless of its HP. While this KO can be avoided by simply switching out one’s Pokemon, as the name suggests, Perish Trap teams trap an opposing Pokemon and prevent a switch. This is most commonly done with abilities such as Shadow Tag, which prevents a Pokemon from switching. If a foe is unprepared, Perish Trap teams can take out even the most potent of Pokemon with ease.

11 Hazard Stack

Chipping Away to Triumph

One of the mainstays of competitive Pokemon battling are entry Hazard moves; moves that damage the opposing Pokemon upon switching in for a decent chunk of their health. It is an extremely annoying problem to deal with and becomes basically impossible to handle if there are no countermeasures in place before the battle starts. Hazard stacking goes one step further and instead of relying on just a single entry Hazard as a way to annoy enemies, it stacks multiple Hazard moves on the battlefield to chip the other team to death.

The main moves of a Hazard Stack team are Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes. One or two team members take up the role of dedicated hazard setters, like Ting-Lu, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn while the rest of the team is split into defensive stallers like Toxapex and Clodsire with a revenge killer or sweeper mixed in to keep things balanced. Hazard Stacks come in two main flavors, those that actively try to use their Hazards as damage sources like Roar and Whirlwind, and those that use Hazard stacking in conjunction with Stalling strategies.

10 Sun Teams

Solar-Powered Offense

Sun teams are among the many popular team archetypes that aim to gain an advantage by utilizing a weather condition. In the case of Sun-based weather teams, players often use Pokemon with the Dought ability that automatically causes harsh sunlight without requiring the use of Sunny Day. In addition to boosting the power of fire-type attacks, this sun can boost the usefulness of Pokemon with abilities impacted by the sun such as Chlorophyll.

This harsh sunlight even allows players to reliably use Pokemon with water weaknesses as the power of water-type attacks is halved, and it even allows for the move Solar Beam to be used instantaneously.

9 Rain Teams

Swift Sweeps and Thunderstrikes

Similar to Sun Teams, Rain Teams make great use of the Rain Weather Effect. Most notably, many of these teams are able to make great use of potent Pokemon with the Swift Swim ability, allowing them to quickly sweep an opponent’s defenses.

While this rain also causes Thunder to always hit, providing it with additional offensive utility, it also provides a defensive benefit. Due to the fact that rain halves the damage caused by fire-type attacks, these teams can use powerful Pokemon with glaring fire weaknesses such as the ever-terrifying Ferrothorn without any fear.

8 Sandstorm Teams

A One-Sided Dust-Up

The last weather-based strategy on this list, as the name would suggest, Sandstorm Teams aim to make use of sandstorms. One of the most tried and true methods of starting a sandstorm in Pokemon is by simply using a Tyranitar, as its Sandstream ability will cause one automatically. As Tyranitar is already a phenomenal Pokemon in its own right, this is hardly a price to pay. Unlike other weather effects we’ve mentioned, sandstorms cause damage to each active Pokemon.

However, that damage is prevented if a given Pokemon is a rock, ground, or steel type, letting one build their team around this effect, making the weather’s damage one-sided.

7 Hail Teams

Blizzard Always Lands in the Snow

Hail and Sandstorm are two sides of the same coin, and one of the most common strategies in competitive Pokemon battling is to utilize one of these two moves and build a team around it. When used, Hail creates a weather effect that pelts both sides of the field with damaging icy hail at the end of each turn, damaging Pokemon who are not immune to the weather effect for chip damage that can easily stack up. To be specific, each turn of Hail does exactly 1/16 HP in damage to both Pokemon.

The most straightforward way to cast Hail is, of course, by using the Pokemon move called Hail, but it’s not the best way to do so. All Hail teams are built around Pokemon with the ability Snow Warning, an ability that automatically summons the icy weather effect when the Pokemon switches in. The most notable examples of this are Abomasnow and Alolan Ninetales.

Only Ice-type Pokemon are immune to the effects of Hail but that doesn’t mean a Hail team should entirely consist of Ice-type Pokemon. In fact, the opposite should be the case. Pokemon in a party should always have different typings so that they are not completely countered by a single strategy. A key ability that makes Hail teams a threat is inside the Hail weather effect, the move Blizzard gains a 100% accuracy rate, making it the team’s hardest-hitting offensive move in most scenarios.

6 Hyper Offense

All-Out Aggression

For players who want to put the pedal to the metal and focus entirely on offense, a Hyper Offense team may be what you’re looking for. Hyper offense teams only tend to care about the attack stats and speed of their Pokemon, hoping to KO an opponent’s Pokemon before they have the chance to respond.

Pokemon on these types of teams will often tote move-lists made up entirely of offensive moves of four different types, allowing them to be prepared for as many types of threats as possible. The weakness of these teams is that they often lack a defensive backbone and can struggle to deal with more defensive teams.

5 Bulky Offense

Outlast and Overwhelm

Less focused on speed than Hyper Offense teams, Bulky Offense teams tend to sacrifice speed for a more stable approach. These teams are made up of Pokemon that can both take hits and dish them out.

Not committing to complete aggression like a Hyper Offense team, these teams often tote much more flexibility and utility, allowing them to adapt to a variety of situations.

4 Trick Room

Slow and Steady Now Strikes First

As the name would suggest, Trick Room teams are designed around getting as much value from the move Trick Room as possible. Trick Room is a distinct move that reverses the turn order, causing the slowest Pokemon to move first and the quickest to move last. These teams often make stellar use of incredible yet slow Pokemon that would otherwise be held back by their poor Speed stat. This strategy can throw a wrench in many teams’ plans, and it can be quite difficult for high-speed teams to maneuver around.

Many players will often even seek out Pokemon with natures that hinder their already slow speed stat, ensuring that their Pokemon will have priority once the Trick Room is active.

3 Tailwind

Turbocharged Offense with a Gust of Power

While Trick Room teams aim to turn the tides of defenses, Tailwind teams revolve around the excellent namesake move, Tailwind. When used, Tailwind doubles the speed of its user’s team!

Not only does this allow already quick Pokemon to reliably maintain their priority of consistently acting first, but it can allow threatening Pokemon with a normally middling speed stat to attack before an opponent can respond!

2 Stall

Attrition Warfare

Stall teams are the polar opposite of Hyper Offense teams. Made up of the bulkiest and most defensive Pokemon around, these teams seek to win via attrition rather than a more direct offense. In addition to bolstering their already high defenses, stall teams are often known to inflict a myriad of detrimental status effects upon their foes.

When paired with self-healing moves such as Wish, Moonlight, and Roost, the longer a game against a Stall team goes on, the less likely one is going to come out on top.

1 Balance

The Swiss Army Knife

Without a doubt, Balance teams are the most flexible teams that a player can use in Pokemon. Rather than committing to either incredible defense or offense, these teams contain a select assortment of Pokemon that each has a distinct role in the team.

A Balance team may utilize a defensive wall, an offensive wall-breaker one may expect from a Hyper Offense Team, a hazard setter, and sometimes even a healer. These teams are capable of functioning like a swiss army knife and can often employ elements found in various other teams on this list.