Hey nerds! Chris here with another Pokémon article. If you read my article on my thoughts on the upcoming Let's Go games, you might remember me touching on the Video Game Championships (VGC) format. This time around, I'll be diving a bit deeper. What would VGC look like if the new Let's Go games were used? But first, let me give you a quick rundown on how VGC works in general.

WHAT IS THE VGC FORMAT?

In VGC, Trainers bring 6 Pokémon and compete in doubles battles (2-on-2). These Pokémon cannot be from a previous generation. For example, Pokémon in the current VGC season must be caught/bred in the Alola region (Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon), and all your Pokémon from any game prior to those games cannot be used. Prior to the battle, you get to see what Pokémon your opponent has in their team of 6--although you don't see items, moves, stats, etc. Each Trainer picks 4 of their 6 Pokémon for battle. A winner is determined when a Trainer's last Pokémon faints. Each Trainer also has a timer that goes down as you select your Pokémon's moves. If the timer hits 0, you'll lose, even if you're ahead in that battle. Each round in VGC is a best-of-3 format, so it's no sweat if you lose your first battle. The best teams have a variety of different strategies to employ and are also capable of handling various threats that exist in the metagame. And the metagame changes often over the course of the year. Trainers need to keep up with the rise and fall of developing threats in order to either add them to their team or figure out how to counter them. Trainers compete throughout the season to earn Championship Points (CP). With enough CP, you get an invite to Day One of the Pokémon World Championships. And with even more CP, you'll get an invite to Day Two--meaning you'll be even closer to winning the whole event. If you're into strategy, quick-thinking, and teambuilding, VGC is a really fun format.

Whenever new mainline Pokémon games releases, the VGC format adopt those games for their season. But there hasn't been an official announcement as to whether or not the Let's Go games will even be used at all. Many VGC players think that the 2018-2019 VGC season will be similar to the 2015-2016 season. Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire released in 2014, but Sun and Moon didn't come out until 2016,. Since there weren't new games to use in VGC in 2015, the format remained in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire but allowed the use of up to 2 legendary Pokémon that were banned the previous year (Pokémon like Mewtwo, Groudon, and Xerneas). But while this entire article could be proved for naught in the coming months, Pokémon officials neither confirmed nor denied the Let's Go games being used for the upcoming season.

So what could change if only the original Kanto Pokémon (plus Alolan forms) can be used?

MEGA EVOLUTIONS

Mega Pokémon aren't always allowed every season, but when they are, your Mega tends to be the dominant force on your team that you build your whole team around. With only the original Kanto Pokémon being native to the Let's Go games, here are the obtainable Mega Pokémon:

Mega Venusaur Mega Charizard Y Mega Charizard X Mega Blastoise Mega Beedrill Mega Pinsir Mega Gyarados Mega Kangaskhan Mega Aerodactyl Mega Pidgeot Mega Alakazam Mega Gengar

Out of these Mega Pokémon, only Kangaskhan, Charizard Y, and Gengar are seen regularly at VGC tournaments. Popular Megas like Metagross, Manectric, Salamence, Tyranitar, and Gardevoire can't be found in Kanto. With these powerhouses gone, maybe very rarely seen Megas like Pidgeot and Alakazam can finally get the spotlight. Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Charizard Y will definitely remain big threats for reasons I'll dig into more below.



Next we'll dig into particular moves that are seen often in past VGC seasons. All the Pokémon I've listed either learn said move from either TM or level up--no egg moves are part of this list since it's been confirmed that breeding is not in the Let's Go games. Bear in mind that since both Pikachu and Eevee were shown to learn Double Kick (which they have never been able to learn in prior games) in the E3 demo, it's possible that other Pokémon can have new moves added to their movepools. Again, nothing is confirmed on this point.