★ VGC 2025 Regulation I Metagame Discussion

[Princess Autumn]

Approved by Sapphire, edited from the Reg G OP by Choruto

Welcome to the VGC 2025 Metagame Discussion thread for Regulation I! This metagame is currently playable on PS! but will not be the official ruleset until 1st May through to 31st August. The ruleset of Regulation I legalizes all non-mythical Pokémon and is a dual restricted format. This thread is primarily for the discussion of Regulation I, discussion about other regulations should go in their appropriate threads.

The following Pokémon are illegal

Banned Pokémon

Mew
Deoxys
Deoxys-Attack
Deoxys-Defense
Deoxys-Defense
Jirachi
Phione
Manaphy
Darkrai
Shaymin
Shaymin-Sky
Arceus
Keldeo
Meloetta
Greninja (Battle Bond)
Diancie
Hoopa
Hoopa-Unbound
Volcanion
Magearna
Zarude
Pecharunt

Players are limited to a maximum of two of the following restricted Pokémon on their teams

Restricted Legendaries

Mewtwo
Lugia
Ho-Oh
Kyogre
Groudon
Rayquaza
Dialga
Dialga-Origin
Palkia
Palkia-Origin
Giratina
Giratina-Origin
Reshiram
Zekrom
Kyurem
Kyurem-White
Kyurem-Black
Cosmog
Cosmoem
Solgaleo
Lunala
Necrozma
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
Necrozma-Dawn-Wings
Zacian
Zacian-Crowned
Zamazenta
Zamazenta-Crowned
Eternatus
Calyrex
Calyrex-Ice
Calyrex-Shadow
Miraidon
Koraidon
Terapagos

If you're new to VGC, be sure to check out the other posts in the forum and to join our Discord! You might also want to look into resources like VGCPastes, VGC Guide, VGC damage calculator to help you get started

 

[gephicka]

taking first post to talk about how mid SwordFish is and why Kyogre in general is extremely underwhelming in Reg I.

Kyogre has a lot of the same issues it did in one restricted (notably its weakness to common threats such as Raging Bolt, Rillaboom, Amoonguss, and the Ogerpon formes), however there are a few key changes that make it a lot worse in my eyes:

The Zamazenta Issue​

I would have to say the single biggest issue for Kyogre in Reg I has to be Zamazenta-C, with Wide Guard able to block its primary STABs and a resistence to Ice Beam, Zamazenta is basically able to stonewall Kyogre and prevent a lot of its major offensive output in addition to being able to threaten significant damage with +1 Body Press. (Lunala also causes a fair amount of issues for Kyogre, however it's less able to threaten Kyogre than Zamazenta is which is a big part of the reason why Zamazenta is such a problem). Kyogre's lack of consistent single target water attacks mean that it's extremely weak to Wide Guard or is forced to run suboptimal moves like Hydro Pump or Tera Blast Water.

More anti-weather​

The addition of an additional restricted slot also means that there will be an increase in usage for Kyogre's nemesis Groudon and Koraidon, meaning that the rain-boosted attacks Kyogre would like to spam are heavily nerfed

Calm Mind​

Another big issue with Kyogre is that its best set from Reg G, Calm Mind, is significantly harder to pull off in double restricted due to the increased pace and power of the format. While this issue affects Terapagos a lot more than it does Kyogre, an indirect nerf to its best set is not doing it any favors. Having multiple restricteds on every team means that CM Ogre has to hold up to an even higher caliber of attacks more consistently than it did back in Reg G, and with a fairly middling restricted matchup spread, the Kyogre player will be working uphill more often than not.

Speed & Water Spout​

Base 90 is simply too slow for an offensive threat like Kyogre. Offensive Kyogre wants to spam Water Spout as much as possible, but because it's so slow, it's way harder to keep Kyogre at full health in order to not have to rely on the inaccurate Origin Pulse. The expansion of spread moves in the format means that you're significantly more likely to have to take on spread attacks from oftentimes faster threats, meaning you are unable to actually stay at full health and utilize Kyogre's strengths most efficiently. Additionally, into opposing tailwind teams Kyogre is essentially useless because of how much it relies on Tailwind as its primary form of speed control and because the restricteds that tailwind is usually paired with oftentimes have a positive matchup into Kyogre.

I think Kyogre all to often is either outbulked, outdamaged, or both by other special attacking and spread move using restricteds, and is definitely overrated by a lot of people.

(wrote this on an all-nighter so it’s not as well-defined as it could be feel free to ask for clarification)

 

[Pengu]

I will also write about something hating on something or whatever you wanna call it.

+
This combo was expected to be the best or around the best restricted combination in the early stages of GS cup. It's pretty basic, Miraidon nukes things and Calyrex nukes Grass- and Ground-types for Miraidon. Seems really strong and was... when we were asking for matches in the VGC PS! Room. But what do these teams look like? Why aren't they doing amazing as they were positioned to do?

click for paste

click for paste

These are mostly what these teams look like. Quite literally just Miraidon+Calyrex-I with slower regular Miraidon partners. Some partners not shown here that can work include Ditto, Urshifu-S, or even things like iron valiant if you really wanna make it work.

So what's so off about these teams? Often times they just don't work tbh. Although Miraidon helps out a lot because it turns off things like Spore in TR, it often only appears in the early game and either gets KO'd late game or KO'd early game. This team also just loses to Lunala -_-

Ok ok, you don't just lose to Lunala. Tera Water/Stellar Surging Strikes or just Wicked Blow does a lot of good damage to it. But with the abundance of Lunala this format with allies that can beat out Urshifu like Miraidon or Zamazenta, it becomes a lot harder to succeed with.

Don't get me wrong, CalyI and Miraidon still make a strong duo, just overhyped and doesn't do great in practice. It looks nice on paper and in my builder tho

 

[Pearl]

ice rider miraidon will be /fine/ once vgc players master the art of putting fighting resists on their teams in the zama csr format

jokes (?) aside, i think there are a bunch of problems that add up in a way that invalidates teams that are just an attempt at expanding upon reg G team concepts that worked for miraidon/ice rider, which means that an optimized build featuring those 2 will look different enough from arubega/tang/[insert other popular miraidon or ice rider reg g builds here] that people aren't finding significant success by taking those and replacing [mon] with their 2nd restricted

other problems include:
- miraidon not fitting amoonguss, which is a big blow for TR modes featuring CIR
- zacian taking a fat dump on both guys in the 1v1
- fighting resists, like actually
- lots of teambuilding attempts not only having glaring weaknesses but also tempo issues (i think exploring other sets like av on one of your guys or even LO miraidon so you aren't bound to farig are potential fixes). like specs miraidon and standard tr cir don't adhere to eachothers playstyle that well in practice
- difficulty fitting opposing miraidon counterplay when terrain changing and ice spinner are negative synergy with your own guy, thus making the mirror and other miraidon pairings super volatile to navigate (what i think this means is that grimmsnarl or even klefki/sableye will be common alongside these 2 guys)

note: this isn't a cir/miraidon bad post (even though that could be the case as well it's still too early to tell), just a "people's approach to building is tanking the duo's results" ramble

also, volcarona/sinistcha as redirection might be cool here, just putting that out there

 

[JacobMR]

It's gonna be everywhere.

It is the ideal "support" restricted. Now that you can have two legends, you can have an offensive restricted like Miraidon or Calyrex and supplement it with the Trick Room setting (or DENYING), Wide Guard spamming, Meteor Beam KO machine that is Lunala.

 

[Sugarbear]

Yay, been so hyped for this format for months and now it's finally here. Some stuff I wanna talk about...

Potential Cores

+

This was one of the most hyped cores so far, and while it is a strong one I don't think it's as OP as we originally thought. The user 2 posts above this summarized why, I don't really have anything else to add, and it's still a strong core but not as broken as we first thought.

+

This one I feel lives up to the hype more, as you get a lot of Speed, bulk and power, they cover each other's weaknesses beautifully and there aren't many Pokemon that reliably check them both. ShadowRex in and of itself is in a worse place this meta though, since Wide Guard is much easier to fit on your team. But if there's anything ghost horse has taught us, it's that even if you're well prepared for it on paper, it can still destroy you easily.

+

A more offensive, aggressive version of the above core. Gives you the option of playing Sun.

+

A more balanced take on the above core, I've personally laddered with this and I can vouch for its effectiveness. With Koraidon bringing the Speed and power and Lunala on support. Agree with the above poster, Lunala loves double restricted as its jack-of-all-trades style really fits in well here.

+

Hot take, this core is better than Icerex+Miraidon. Groudon's typing lets Miraidon run Tera Electric Discharge for devastating spread damage, and Rillaboom doesn't want to switch in and risk eating a 120 BP super effective sun boosted Heat Crash. Groudon also loves being paired with Miraidon's usual entourage: Whimsicott gives it Tailwind, Light Screen and resets Sun, Ogerpon-H hits like an absolute truck in the sun, Groudon can also abuse Farigaraf's Trick Room (it can even set Gravity to fix Precipice Blade's accuracy and let it hit airborne targets). Swords Dance Groudon also likes Iron Hands's Fake Out (don't run Bulk Up Groudon, it sucks).

+

The Swordfish core might be slightly neutered going into SV, but it's not to be underestimated. Personally I think you're better off going for Hydro Pump over Origin Pulse due to the popularity of Wide Guard Zamazenta, but the two cover each other's checks really well - Zacian destroys non Tera Koraidon, Raging Bolt, Rillaboom and Ogerpon-W, while Kyogre destroys the Fire types it hates. I think Bulky CM Kyogre isn't very good now, and Scarf has fallen off this gen (although it wasn't great last gen either tbf), but 3 attacks and Assault Vest are still strong.

+

I don't like this core at all. I don't think Terapagos is very good in this meta (I loved using it back in reg G) because to get the best from it you have to dedicate your tera slot and remove all weather and terrains. So you have to pair it with stuff that doesn't need weather, terrain or tera, and nearly all other restricted Pokemon like to have at least 2 of those. Wide Guard also stops both of them using their best moves. Bulky CM Pagos is much worse in this format with the faster pacing.

Some cool niche mons

While it has worse stats than Grimmsnarl, Tornadus and Whimsicott, Sableye makes up for this by being naturally immune to Fake Out, letting you run Covert Cloak elsewhere, and having moves those 3 wish they had, like Gravity, Will-o-Wisp and Quash. Groudon and Kyogre both love having the goblin around, since not only can it set Gravity to remedy the accuracy of their STABs, it can also stop Wide Guards with Taunt, reset their weathers, and provide Speed control.

Another Prankster support mon, Thundurus excels in debuffing. Prankster Thunder Wave is always nice, while it has Taunt to stop support and Eerie Impulse to weaken special attackers. Pairs nicely with Koraidon, since it can reset sun, check Water types, and provide Speed control

It is a flea market Zamazenta, but if you have both your restricted slots already filled it's a solid choice. Bastiodon gives you a Wide Guard user, an Icerex check (and by that I mean it stops it spamming Glacial Lance which is frankly half the battle), and with Iron Defense it can even be a nice lategame wincon in its own right.

Araquanid has a serious who's who of Pokemon it checks. Koraidon, Icerex, Zamazenta, ShadowRex, Terapagos, Rapid Strike Urshifu...and despite that low Attack stat, Water Bubble still lets it hit hard with its Water STABs.

Now, let's say you want a bulky redirector, but Amoonguss just doesn't fit on your team because you're also running Miraidon. Well, while it can't put stuff to sleep like that irritating mushroom (and again you're running Miraidon), Sinistcha can set Trick Room, heal its teammates with both its ability and Life Dew, and even set up Trick Room.

 

[LanternComicnerd]

Let me give my 2 cents.

I think currently, the format is very fun, if a little high powered. This is probably an early reg thing, but I saw multiple tinkatons really recently, which is fire.

Now for restricted pairings. I personally think the best restricted pairings are

Miraidon + Calyrex Ice

Bolt beam go brrrrr. But in all honesty, the choice specs set can let you play gymnastics with certain teams. If you run Farigiraf and miraidon up fromt, you can click volt switch, switch into calyrex ice, and use farigiraf to set trick room.

Calyrex Shadow + Zamazenta.

I think we always expected these two to be an annoying pairing. Wide guard is a strong tool for helping csr, and of course, we all know how good ghost + fighting stab is.

Miraidon + Kyogre

Okay, so this isn’t exactly the biggest surprise. I think the fish is actually really strong in the current format. And pairing it with miraidon is really scary offensively, and id argue they mesh easier than with the horse.

Lunala + Koraidon

This one is my personal favorite combo. Koraidon is a very legitimate threat this format, and has some really fun calc’s. And lunala is an excellent support through the matchups that koraidon can often struggle with, such as trick room. Plus, like i said, ghost + fighting stab is really strong.

 

[iPetBigfoot]

I am here to defend Calyrex-I Miraidon comps. I was a super hater before the format was official (partially because I couldn't make it work) but I think the main "issue" with it is the challenge in the teambuilder. Calyrex-I and Miraidon want a lot of different mons at first glance, Calyrex-I teams tend to run Rillaboom and/or Amoonguss, both of which work quite poorly with Miraidon. However, I think the real strength of the pairing comes when you look at how well Miraidon's Reg G partners work with Calyrex-I. Iron Hands and Farigiraf are both solid Calyrex-I partners already, although they may be a bit niche, but they also pair well with Miraidon. I am not sure what else you would add, Grimmsnarl is an idea I've had since both mons like having even more bulk but I think that there are a lot of potential ways to go and that makes me excited for how top players will be able to build around it. Overall I'm really excited for this format and I'd love to hear what other people think.

 

[Sugarbear]

My personal rankings of the resteicted Pokemon. Terapagos is in B rank (no picture). Will edit with reasons later.

S Rank

Ice Calyrex has phenominal Super effectvie coverage between Glacial Lance and High Horsepower/Close Combat, which combined with its incredible bulk and massive Attack stat makes it very difficult to stop it claiming a KO and snowballing.
Miraidon - fast, hits like a truck, has great offensive typing and enables a bunch of its teammates too
Zamazenta is the best support resticted, but it can also pose a strong threat too. Good speed, great bulk and amazing typing make it easy to use, easy to fit and consistent.

A Rank

Shadowrex - if there were ever a Pokemon that embodied the phrase "give an inch they take a mile", it would be Shadow Calyrex.
Koraidon has some of the strongest single target damage in the format. It's one of the few physical Attackers that can OHKO non-Tera'd Zamazenta
Lunala is another brilliant support restricted, it's very bulky but still hits hard, it provides great utility in Wide Guard, Trick Room and Tailwind.

B Rank

While Groudon is slower and weaker than Koraidon, it makes up for it by having a much better STAB spread move and being bulkier.
If Kyogre had a more reliable Water STAB, I would put it in A. Pairs great with Icerex and the Steel restricteds
Zacian might not have as much power as Koraidon in Sun, but it makes up for that by being faster and less tera reliant.
Calm Mind Terapagos is much worse due to the faster pace of this format, but Specs can still put in work. Just make sure you pack something to get around Wide Guard users

 

[gephicka]

hey hey y'all! kinda wanted to get a discussion going over restricted pairings bc i know for myself i've been feeling pretty miffed about what to use. I think a lot of the more "balanced" teams/restricted archtypes have been in a really weird spot since Reg I kicked off and I feel like there are a few reasons why + why I'm feeling really awkward about teambuilding this Reg personally. This is partially my thoughts over the current metagame and some of my frustrations with Reg I so far overall.

1. a lot of restricted pairings are just not conducive to balance
for example, Koraidon and Miraidon are not mons that really fit well on balance teams: they prefer to go fast and overwhelm the opponent offensively rather than play a slow, pivot based game (Miraidon compositions can somewhat do this although I would by no means consider this traditonal balance, it's more akin to a BO IMO)
2. The more balance-oriented restricted pairings are either not fun for me or have significant drawbacks
I do not enjoy playing CSR. I think its drawbacks (ESPECIALLY the mirror) are really significant and make it extremely difficult and strenuous to pilot, and with the addition of Zamazenta-C to CSR comps the issue is compounded significantly. Now you have to worry about two completely different yet extremely essential speed ties for a restricted already notorious for its awful mirror matchup and you have to play around Wide Guard and Tera 50/50s. CSR Zama balance feels way less consistent than you'd actually want it to because of that and it definitely takes away from my enjoyment of it and my overall desire to play it a lot. CSR Pagos has less of these issues but it also means that you have to actually use CM Terapagos which i'll leave to masochists like iPetBigfoot (ur my goat but that shit is so lame bro...)
3. CIR structures are dead
The biggest issue for me, as someone who picked up Calyrex-Ice post worlds and spammed it to pretty decent success for the majority of G part 2 is that Calyrex-Ice structures basically just do not exist in the same way that they did back in Regulation G. I think the biggest reason for this is of course that Calyrex just does not have that many good restricted pairings. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but to me the metagame is just so hostile to CIR that it's really hard to get away with using it. The fact that its best restricted partner by far is Miraidon is also a huge issue for it. it means that Calyrex-Ice can't actually run one of its best partners: Amoonguss. Amoonguss is an essential balance mainstay, but it's unviable on any sort of Miraidon structure because of how passive electric terrain makes Amoonguss. Rather than outputting immense pressure with spore like it would against normal teams, Miraidon structures turn Amoonguss into a passive support piece easily taken advantage of by fast offensive threats. Miraidon being CIR's best partner also means that CIR balance can't really be ran in the same way, and the downright clunky interactions between Miraidon and CIR's speed tiers make it extremely difficult to position in- and out- of Trick Room. It's much easier to slot Calyrex-Ice onto a Miraidon structure than it is the other way around, and I feel like Calyrex-Ice's viability as a whole is significantly lower than it was in Reg G.
4. Zacian Kyogre is extremely flawed
I have already posted here about why I don't like swordfish despite it using two restricteds I'm really comfortable with and it being able to function as a balance composition, but I wanted to elaborate further. Swordfish is extremely weak into opposing Tailwind teams, especially when paired with fast restricted such as Koraidon and Calyrex-S. Tailwind mirrors place a lot of pressure on Tailwind setters, taxing your Tornadus even further— a mon which literally holds some of your matchups together with scotch tape because of how important prankster taunt/tailwind/rain dance are to swordfish comps. You have to ensure that Tornadus is staying alive for as much of the game as possible, something that is made a lot more difficult because of how absolutely dependent Kyogre is on its support options. Without taunt you have no way of getting around Zamazenta/Lunala's Wide Guard without having to use the awful Hydro Pump, without Tailwind you get outsped and chipped out of doing significant damage with water spout, and without rain dance you flail into Koraidon/Groudon teams if you ever get out of position in the weather war. Swordfish is almost overreliant on the Tornadus, yet due to its drawbacks doesn't even allow you to fit protect on Torn for increased longevity. I think I'll probably end up playing swordfish, however I can't deny that there are significant drawbacks that come with it that are huge hangups in the builder & make if way harder to build consistent teams with.

I'm having a hard time finding a place in this format tbh, nothing has really stuck out to me as particularly fun or interesting to use. Let me know what y'all think!

 

[Sugarbear]

hey hey y'all! kinda wanted to get a discussion going over restricted pairings bc i know for myself i've been feeling pretty miffed about what to use. I think a lot of the more "balanced" teams/restricted archtypes have been in a really weird spot since Reg I kicked off and I feel like there are a few reasons why + why I'm feeling really awkward about teambuilding this Reg personally. This is partially my thoughts over the current metagame and some of my frustrations with Reg I so far overall.

1. a lot of restricted pairings are just not conducive to balance
for example, Koraidon and Miraidon are not mons that really fit well on balance teams: they prefer to go fast and overwhelm the opponent offensively rather than play a slow, pivot based game (Miraidon compositions can somewhat do this although I would by no means consider this traditonal balance, it's more akin to a BO IMO)
2. The more balance-oriented restricted pairings are either not fun for me or have significant drawbacks
I do not enjoy playing CSR. I think its drawbacks (ESPECIALLY the mirror) are really significant and make it extremely difficult and strenuous to pilot, and with the addition of Zamazenta-C to CSR comps the issue is compounded significantly. Now you have to worry about two completely different yet extremely essential speed ties for a restricted already notorious for its awful mirror matchup and you have to play around Wide Guard and Tera 50/50s. CSR Zama balance feels way less consistent than you'd actually want it to because of that and it definitely takes away from my enjoyment of it and my overall desire to play it a lot. CSR Pagos has less of these issues but it also means that you have to actually use CM Terapagos which i'll leave to masochists like iPetBigfoot (ur my goat but that shit is so lame bro...)
3. CIR structures are dead
The biggest issue for me, as someone who picked up Calyrex-Ice post worlds and spammed it to pretty decent success for the majority of G part 2 is that Calyrex-Ice structures basically just do not exist in the same way that they did back in Regulation G. I think the biggest reason for this is of course that Calyrex just does not have that many good restricted pairings. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but to me the metagame is just so hostile to CIR that it's really hard to get away with using it. The fact that its best restricted partner by far is Miraidon is also a huge issue for it. it means that Calyrex-Ice can't actually run one of its best partners: Amoonguss. Amoonguss is an essential balance mainstay, but it's unviable on any sort of Miraidon structure because of how passive electric terrain makes Amoonguss. Rather than outputting immense pressure with spore like it would against normal teams, Miraidon structures turn Amoonguss into a passive support piece easily taken advantage of by fast offensive threats. Miraidon being CIR's best partner also means that CIR balance can't really be ran in the same way, and the downright clunky interactions between Miraidon and CIR's speed tiers make it extremely difficult to position in- and out- of Trick Room. It's much easier to slot Calyrex-Ice onto a Miraidon structure than it is the other way around, and I feel like Calyrex-Ice's viability as a whole is significantly lower than it was in Reg G.
4. Zacian Kyogre is extremely flawed
I have already posted here about why I don't like swordfish despite it using two restricteds I'm really comfortable with and it being able to function as a balance composition, but I wanted to elaborate further. Swordfish is extremely weak into opposing Tailwind teams, especially when paired with fast restricted such as Koraidon and Calyrex-S. Tailwind mirrors place a lot of pressure on Tailwind setters, taxing your Tornadus even further— a mon which literally holds some of your matchups together with scotch tape because of how important prankster taunt/tailwind/rain dance are to swordfish comps. You have to ensure that Tornadus is staying alive for as much of the game as possible, something that is made a lot more difficult because of how absolutely dependent Kyogre is on its support options. Without taunt you have no way of getting around Zamazenta/Lunala's Wide Guard without having to use the awful Hydro Pump, without Tailwind you get outsped and chipped out of doing significant damage with water spout, and without rain dance you flail into Koraidon/Groudon teams if you ever get out of position in the weather war. Swordfish is almost overreliant on the Tornadus, yet due to its drawbacks doesn't even allow you to fit protect on Torn for increased longevity. I think I'll probably end up playing swordfish, however I can't deny that there are significant drawbacks that come with it that are huge hangups in the builder & make if way harder to build consistent teams with.

I'm having a hard time finding a place in this format tbh, nothing has really stuck out to me as particularly fun or interesting to use. Let me know what y'all think!

Not sure if this is any help to you, but yesterday I entered a cart tournament on Limitless VGC (I’m Foghorn). Here are the top 16 teams:

https://play.limitlesstcg.com/tournament/67f96f11b8cdc8c08c20a062/standings?phase=2

Zamazenta and Lunala are common second restricted mons owing to their support nature. I was expecting to run into a lot of Miraidons and Zamazentas so I bought Groudon (the only one who did).

 

[Local Dog]

been laddering a bit with this team: https://pokepast.es/38145cd0feb35259

Got to 1400s with it

I think Tailwind Ursaluna does pretty well and Kyogre is still a goat. Valiant does well against the bike lizards in tailwind. Tsareena is such a good tool against Rillaboom. I usually just start with Miraidon and Tornadus, Volt Switch on Turn 1 into Kyogre. 4th spot is flexible depending on the team I go against. Valiant against dual lizards or Caly-S, Ursaluna against Luna and Zama, Tsareena against Rillaboom

What do you think about it?

 

[Kookaburra Kong]

I will also write about something hating on something or whatever you wanna call it.

+
This combo was expected to be the best or around the best restricted combination in the early stages of GS cup. It's pretty basic, Miraidon nukes things and Calyrex nukes Grass- and Ground-types for Miraidon. Seems really strong and was... when we were asking for matches in the VGC PS! Room. But what do these teams look like? Why aren't they doing amazing as they were positioned to do?

click for paste

click for paste

These are mostly what these teams look like. Quite literally just Miraidon+Calyrex-I with slower regular Miraidon partners. Some partners not shown here that can work include Ditto, Urshifu-S, or even things like iron valiant if you really wanna make it work.

So what's so off about these teams? Often times they just don't work tbh. Although Miraidon helps out a lot because it turns off things like Spore in TR, it often only appears in the early game and either gets KO'd late game or KO'd early game. This team also just loses to Lunala -_-

Ok ok, you don't just lose to Lunala. Tera Water/Stellar Surging Strikes or just Wicked Blow does a lot of good damage to it. But with the abundance of Lunala this format with allies that can beat out Urshifu like Miraidon or Zamazenta, it becomes a lot harder to succeed with.

Don't get me wrong, CalyI and Miraidon still make a strong duo, just overhyped and doesn't do great in practice. It looks nice on paper and in my builder tho

I've fallen in love with Ice Rider Miraidon, and I've been struggling to find out, even turning to Reddit for help in teambuilding.

 

[Jesuuuus]

even turning to Reddit for help in teambuilding.

you poor soul

 

[Ducktile]

I think cir is gonna be really present and good, once the teamcomps for it are figured out. I think its a solid a-/b+ rn, because it needs structure that doesnt really exist rn. Arubega+cir isnt that great but im sure cir+mirai teams are gonna be just as dominant as people expected at some point down the line.

I'm really interested to see how milwaukee treats zama+csr teams. Obviously they're the core to watch and i suspect theres gonna be a crap ton of couterplay to them. Even so, i think they're gonna be at least 2 of the top 8 teams. i expect to be wrong on either side of my estimate tho lol

my own hot take is that even tho korai is definitely better than it was in reg g, its still kinda underwhelming. It feels like a decent pick, but it just doesn't seem to have as much of a presence as it needs to be a dominant force. It'll make sun teams good for sure but its gonna struggle hardcore against torn and kyogre stuff.
That's my dumb uneducated 2 cents at least. Could be entirely wrong, but thats how i'm feeling pre-cart start.

 

[iPetBigfoot]

Good morning people, I'd like to talk about my favorite core rn: + I've been running Wisp Calyrex with just a standard Calm Mind Terapagos and it feels really good. Calyrex-Ice and Miraidon mu feels nice, Zama and Calyrex-S should be favored if they don't have tailwind and most Zacian comps don't like double Wisp+Intimidate.

https://pokepast.es/95904867f0e3a041 Here is the paste if anyone wants to try it, got it directly from VR. Cornerstone doesn't feel like the best last mon but idk what would be better.

 

[Sugarbear]

Do you think a Kyogre + Icerex core could be viable? On paper it’s quite solid, since Kyogre destroys the Fire types and takes away its weakness in rain, while Icerex takes care of mons like Rillaboom and Raging Bolt. Kyogre can abuse Tailwind and Trick Room.

Just a thought

 

[ppyyy]

VGC 2025 Regulation-I First Impressions: Ho-Oh

Background Information:

- Regulation-I has not officially started. It is due to officially commence in May 1st.
- There are very few Regulation-G tournaments, all of which will end soon.
- Regulation-I is playable on the Nintendo Switch Cart.
- Pokemon Showdown has released a Bo3 OTS and Bo1 CTS for Regulation-I.
- Community-Run Tournaments such as the Victory Road tournaments are occuring.

General Status Quo:

- + are the strongest Restricted Duo so far.
- + has had a strong performance so far.
- + has had high expectations but underperformed so far.

While Ho-Oh didn't shine so bright in Regulation-G, I believe this time around in Regulation-I the majestic bird can spread its wings and fly. I would classify Ho-Oh as a supportive legendary pokemon. It has massive bulk, with 106 hp, 90 defense, and 154 special defense. It is able to resist Body Press from Zamazenta-Crowned, as well as taking Astral Barrage and Psychic from Calyrex-Shadow fairly decently.

Ho-Oh utilizes the moves Sacred Fire, Tailwind to halve the damage of non-fire type physical attackers and speed control. Furthermore, its ability Regenerator provides 33% recovery for Ho-Oh everytime it switches out. As a supportive pokemon, I believe Protect is nearly mandatory on Ho-Oh to increase its defensive capabilties. The last move to use on Ho-OH is up for debate, as Ho-Oh has supportive moves such as Life Dew, Recover. I prefer Brave Bird, as even though Ho-Oh is a support pokemon, a 120 bp Stab Flying Type from an attack stat of 130 is extremely powerful.

Ho-Oh's favorite tera type is Grass. This gives it a resistance to Surging Strikes from while providing a resistance to Electric type moves such as Electro Drift and Volt Switch from or Wild Charge from

Ho-Oh's favorite item to run is Clear Amulet. This prevents Intimidate and Parting Shot from , preserving Ho-Oh's non-neligible damage output.

Ho-Oh can show its full potential in bulky offense team, as there its supportive and offensive capabilities can shine brightest.

https://pokepast.es/060b275f2536cf1d

Overall Statement: Overall Ho-Oh is a pokemon that I believe is here to stay in the Regulation-I format. While it's not a restricted pokemon that fits into almost any team, it can really show off its strengths when used properly. (This is my first blog of sorts, any feedback would great!)

 

[iPetBigfoot]

Do you think a Kyogre + Icerex core could be viable? On paper it’s quite solid, since Kyogre destroys the Fire types and takes away its weakness in rain, while Icerex takes care of mons like Rillaboom and Raging Bolt. Kyogre can abuse Tailwind and Trick Room.

Just a thought

I think it could work but its not my favorite because both of the restricteds are pretty slow so you could end up quite reliant down on trick room. Tailwind is a decent shout but Calyrex-I needs a LOT of speed in order to use Tailwind so you either have a Calyrex that either lacks one of damage or bulk or can't be used well. On the bright side there is some overlap of common partners with stuff like Farigiraf, Rillaboom, and Lando-I that could be nice to build with.

 

[Pengu]

my own hot take is that even tho korai is definitely better than it was in reg g, its still kinda underwhelming. It feels like a decent pick, but it just doesn't seem to have as much of a presence as it needs to be a dominant force. It'll make sun teams good for sure but its gonna struggle hardcore against torn and kyogre stuff.

Koraidon will most likely see one of the biggest booms in usage going into Regulation I. It doesn't hard core struggle into Kyogre or Tornauds, since pivoting is always an option and you have restricted Pokemon of your own like Lunala or Calyrex-S to pressure both, especially Lunala with Wide Guard. It also places pressure on lots of things, varying between movesets. Of course you have the obvious such as Zama and Miraidon, but other options like Scale Shot threaten Sash Urshifu, Breaking Swipe scares off opposing Koraidon, Flame Charge is an issue for CSR, and so on and so forth.

Do you think a Kyogre + Icerex core could be viable? On paper it’s quite solid, since Kyogre destroys the Fire types and takes away its weakness in rain, while Icerex takes care of mons like Rillaboom and Raging Bolt. Kyogre can abuse Tailwind and Trick Room.

Just a thought

Kyogre + CIR will probably be one of the better Kyogre combinations tbh. Really strong in Trick Room when paired with supports like Incineroar, Amoonguss, and Scarf Coaching Urshifu-R. I do beg the question; how would you round out the team? Assuming you've used the core. But yes, it works well.

 

[gephicka]

Koraidon will most likely see one of the biggest booms

so koraidon gets… five big booms???

 

[flutterfan]

so koraidon gets… five big booms???

CLEAR AMULET KORAIDON GETS FIVE BIG BOOMS

BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM

But real talk, Life Orb is probably the better set in Reg I.

 

[Ducktile]

Do you think a Kyogre + Icerex core could be viable? On paper it’s quite solid, since Kyogre destroys the Fire types and takes away its weakness in rain, while Icerex takes care of mons like Rillaboom and Raging Bolt. Kyogre can abuse Tailwind and Trick Room.

Just a thought

i think it def could be good but it would probably struggle outside of tr. maybe with smth like torn and lando as some other helpers it could have a tw mode but im also kind of a tailroom hater. Seems interesting but also not like all that solid of a core-lotta things to struggle against

 

[Kookaburra Kong]

you poor soul

Is that a bad thing?

 

[RauVGC]

Reading through this thread, I am surprised at the lack of Weezing mentions.

I personally have been climbing ladder with good success using a core of Calyrex-S, Koraidon, Galarian Weezing and the usual Dozogiri partners found on the popular Calyrex-S Galarian Weezing team from Regulation G. Weezing feels very strong right now disabling abilities like Shadow Shield and Hadron Engine allowing Choice Specs Calyrex-S to almost always double OHKO the majority of restricted pairings when they are lead or live attacks it normally wouldn't. In the case of Zamazenta-C threatening Wide Guard, Koraidon easily wins against it while Calyrex-S in the back can clean up late game.

I can see Weezing not living up to this hype I am giving it credit for if there is a rise in usage of Zacian-C and AV Groudon, however in this current metagame state Weezing definitely feels like a strong contender, especially when a lot of restricteds really don't want to give up their item slot for an ability shield.