Sun/Moon Doubles OverUsed Metagame Primer

• Composition
• Play Restrictions
  • Pokémon Restrictions
  • Move Restrictions
  • Item Restrictions
  • Ability Restrictions
• The Doubles Forum
  • Learn
  • Participate
  • Resources

Composition

Doubles OU is a format in which both players have two Pokémon on the field at the same time. All Pokémon except those on the banlist (found below) can be used in Doubles OU regardless of the Pokémon's tier in singles play. Unlike in VGC, all Pokémon default to level 100 instead of level 50.

A list of the Pokémon with DOU analyses for the SM era are found on the dex page.

Play Restrictions

• Endless Battle Clause: Players cannot use any moveset on any Pokémon capable of intentionally causing an endless battle. Thus:
• A Pokémon may not carry Recycle and hold a Leppa Berry in conjunction with Heal Pulse and Milk Drink, Moonlight, Morning Sun, Recover, Roost, Slack Off, Soft-Boiled, or Wish.
• A Pokémon may not hold a Leppa Berry while carrying Recycle and Pain Split.
• A Pokémon may not hold a Leppa Berry while carrying Recycle and Fling.
• Evasion Clause: Players cannot use the moves Double Team or Minimize.
• Moody Clause: Players cannot use a Pokémon with the Moody ability.
• OHKO Clause: Players cannot use the moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, or Sheer Cold.
• Species Clause: Players cannot have two Pokémon with the same Pokédex number on the same team.
• Gravity Sleep Clause: Sleep moves with below one hundred percent accuracy may not be used in conjunction with Gravity.

Pokémon Restrictions

Players cannot use the following Pokémon:

• Snorlax
• Mewtwo
• Lugia
• Ho-oh
• Kyogre
• Groudon
• Rayquaza
• Jirachi
• Dialga
• Palkia
• Giratina
• Giratina-Origin
• Arceus
• Reshiram
• Zekrom
• Kyurem-White
• Xerneas
• Yveltal
• Solgaleo
• Lunala
• Magearna
• Marshadow
• Necrozma-Dusk Mane
• Necrozma-Dawn Wings

Move Restrictions

Players cannot use the following moves:

• Dark Void
• Swagger

Item Restrictions

Players cannot use the following items:

• Eevium Z
• Gengarite
• Kangaskhanite

Ability Restrictions

Players cannot use the following abilities:

• Power Construct

The Doubles Forum

Learn

The Overview, Rules, and Q&A thread is a great place to learn about the tier and ask any simple questions you might have relating to the Doubles OU metagame. Do not make new threads for questions that could be answered here.

The SM Doubles OU Analyses forum is where members can create official Smogon Dex analyses for the Doubles metagame. You may reserve an analysis of your own in the Reservations Thread or comment on analyses that are in progress.

Participate

The SM Doubles OU Viability Rankings sorts Pokémon that are effective in Doubles OU by how well they fare against the rest of the metagame.

The Now Playing thread allows players to discuss current suspects, as well as any metagame trends including newly released Pokémon, newly successful sets or ideas, and potentially broken threats.

The SM Doubles OU Teambuilding Competition provides a set or Pokémon as a starting point for a team and opens up submissions for users to show their finished products, then opens up voting for the community to show appreciation for their favorite build that round.

The Doubles Circuit Thread details the many official tournaments that are run each year, with information about each tournament, instructions on how to participate, and an outline on how they are incorporated into the overall circuit.

Resources

The SM Doubles OU Team Bazaar thread holds sample teams to help players get started in Doubles OU, as well as a place to drop teams that you want to showcase or that could benefit from input without the formality of an RMT.

The SM Doubles OU Teambuilding Frameworks thread discusses the trends between similar builds and the best ways to make prominent Pokémon effective in the current metagame.

The SM DOU Roles Compendium thread displays common niches that need to be filled on any given team and Pokémon that are effective at fulfilling such niches.