So you want to play VGC, newcomers start here!

Welcome new players!

My name is Travis, I've been playing Competitive Pokemon since 2008 and started playing VGC in around 2010. I heard you're interested in playing competitive Pokemon, and want to play in the official format but don't know how to get started, so I decided to make this guide for you.

What is VGC?

VGC stands for the Video Game Championships, it is the format The Pokemon Company International (TPCI) uses to host their battles and ultimately see who is the very best, like no one ever was. The format is always played as double battles, meaning both players use two Pokemon at one time and instead of using 6 Pokemon the trainer brings 6 Pokemon but uses 4 to battle. However, not all Pokemon can participate in VGC. However, since the rules change every year, some Pokemon may be restricted from play one year but be allowed to be used the next year. 2014 to 2015 is a perfect example, in 2014 the Pokemon that were allowed could only be caught in the Kalos Dex and had to have a Blue Pentagon to be legal for play. However, in VGC 2015 all Pokemon minus Cover Art Legend Pokemon and Mythical Pokemon (Mew) were banned. There can be a huge difference from one Season to the next.

Now that we have that out of the way lets talk about some useful tools in VGC

Useful tools

Pokemon.com From here, you can set up your Trainer ID, Register yourself to the Trainer Club, find events near, check how many Champion Points you have, you and a variety of other things that are beneficial to your VGC endeavors. The site can be hard to navigate at first but once you get the hang of it, it will be very helpful to you as a player.
Pokemon Global Link The Global Link is great, you can register your game here and it is linked to your Trainer Club account, here you can sign up for online competitions, spend Pokemiles, check your rating for Online Rated Battles, and play minigames that can get items for your game.
Event Locator Here is a quick link to the Event Locator, plug in your information and it will find events near you.
Showdown! Pokemon Showdown! is a great way to practice with Pokemon you haven't bred yet or a good way to test something and be involved with a great community. If you want to take a break from VGC they have many other formats you can dabble in, as well as a great community that can help you test teams, host tournaments, ladder and just have fun. This site will be crucial when SuMo comes out because they will have all the base stats for the new Pokemon once all the data is mined. Then we can see which Pokemon are really going to be good this year.
Nugget Bridge Damage Calculator The Damage Calculator is a great way to see if your Pokemon can survive hits or deal enough damage to be useful to your team. it auto levels your Pokemon to level 50 since your Pokemon will be level 50 when playing the VGC. Nugget Bridge Chances are if you're using Reddit Nugget Bridge might not be for you. I personally don't like the site, but it is a very useful tool, they have a breeding section where people breed Pokemon and then trade them for stuff they need, they have Rate My Team (RMT) forums, and the only reason I go there, Team Reports, do you whant ot know why Se Jun Park used Pachirisu, or what did very well at an event? Most of the top players that use Nugget Bridge will write a report outlining their team, the good the bad and sometimes the ugly.
Team Magma Teambuilder This is the teambuilder I use to make my teams, it tells you what moves you are weak to, what you hit for Super Effective, STAB and Non STAB hits.

If there are any other sites you guys think I missed let me know and I will add them to the list.

Some People to check out

These people I am about to list are people who will help you grow as a player, they provide so much help to the community and promote growth.

13Yoshi37 Markus is a German? (Citation needed) he is a top player and was 3rd in 2017 losing to Wolfe, had he been on the other side of the bracket I would think he would have been in the finals VS Wolfe. He is really good friends with Wolfe and does a lot of collaborations with with Wolfe. He dosn't have much VGC content right now as the new season will be getting started in a few weeks from now but he will post great videos like what is viable, what he thinks will be good, as well as a road to ranked type of series.

CybertronProductions Aaron "Cybertron" Zheng is probably the best source for VGC information and a great learning tool for newer players. He talks through his moves, why he is using the move he chose, he has team breakdowns, a What is Viable series, as well as other great content. Right now he hasn't been making as much content as in the past but that is because not much is happening in terms of VGC right now so wait for SuMo to come out and he will be back in action.

James Baek James is a younger player, I think this will be his second year in the Master's division, but don't let that fool you, he is a top tier player and makes quality content geared towards laddering and helping you improve as a player as well.

Ray Rizzo Dream Balls aside, Ray is in my opinion the best player to ever play the game. he threepeted worlds from 2010-2013. Since then he really hasn't played much but he has said recently that he will be back in 2017 so his channel is one to keep an eye on as the season starts up.

WolfeyVGC is Aaron Zheng too serious for you? Do you want to watch the goofball that is our 2016 World Champion play test not very great Pokemon as well as try to ladder with it? Well then Wolfe Glick is your guy, our current World Champ is a multi Regional champ, Nationals to[ cutter, as well as multiple World's top cuts. Wolfe is the real deal when it comes to Poekmon. He was considered the best player to never have won the World Championship until this year! Expect him to come out in VGC17 with some Dank Memes and Great Teams.

If there are any other questions or concerns about VGC let me know in the comments, I will gladly add suggestions, as well as edit my post to be more clear. If there is anything you are uncertain of, our great community will gladly help, that is what we are here for.

As SuMo come out I will be posting more regularly to this sub, what Pokemon I think will be good, Teams that cut at regionals as well as other great information you may have missed. I look forward to battling against some of you in Ft. Wayne, Collinsville and Madison!

Smell ya later,
-Travis