Vivillon is an amazing tech and support Pokemon that is sure to get more usage in VGC and Double battles in Pokemon Champions. The ability to disrupt the opponent with moves like Sleep Powder and Rage Powder makes Vivillon a great pick in the current meta. The Bug/Flying Pokemon looks harmless, but it can quickly win battles if used correctly.
This guide goes over the best stats, abilities, moves, items, and strategies for Vivillon in doubles battles in Pokemon Champions. Before getting into that, it is important to know Vivillon’s role in doubles and the types of teams that best fit it.
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Vivillon, the Scale Pokemon
Vivillon is a Bug/Flying-type Pokemon first introduced in Gen 6 as the final evolution of Scatterbug. It is visually unique because Vivillon has several different pattern variants originally based on the user’s geographic location. If you recruit Vivillon in Pokemon Champions, it is always the High Plains Pattern, but you can transfer other patterns from other Pokemon games.
Vivillon’s Role in Doubles
Vivillon acts as support, speed control, and disrupter in Double battles. It is best used as a lead to set up speed control with Tailwind, or disrupt the opponent with Sleep Powder or Rage Powder. Pairing this Pokemon with a Fake Out user, or another strong offensive Pokemon, can help Vivillon land its important moves at the start of the match.
Vivillon’s Stats
Its base stats are:
- HP: 80
- Attack: 52
- Defense: 50
- Special Attack: 90
- Special Defense: 50
- Speed: 89
These are not great stats, but Vivillon’s strength comes from its movepool and abilities. It proves that just because a Pokemon may not look great based on its stats, there is much more to consider when choosing a Pokemon for competitive VGC battles.
Vivillon’s Abilities
Vivillon has three abilities to choose from:
- Shield Dust: This Pokemon is immune to additional effects from attacks.
- Compound Eyes: Boosts the accuracy of the Pokémon’s moves by 30%.
- Friend Guard: Reduces the damage allies take by 25%.
All three of these abilities have uses, but Compound Eyes is the standout. Normally, Sleep Powder has a 75% accuracy, but Compound Eyes increases it to over 100%. This means that in nearly every situation, Sleep Powder will work. Vivillon isn’t the fastest Pokemon, but there are ways around that, such as items or support from partner Pokémon.
Best Vivillon Build for Doubles in Pokemon Champions
EV Spread and Nature
- 2 Defense
- 32 Special Attack
- 32 Speed
Vivillon wants to move as fast as possible to increase the chance of using Sleep Powder before the opponent can act. The max Special Attack helps it hit much harder when it does attack. Overall, its defensive stacks are seriously lackluster, so a couple of points in Defense help against its quadruple weakness to Rock-type attacks.
Timid Nature is best since it increases the Speed even more at the expense of lower Attack. Since Vivillon will only use Special Attacks, there is no downside.
Moveset
- Sleep Powder
- Tailwind
- Hurricane
- Protect
Sleep Powder is by far the best. This is the main reason to use Vivillon. Putting opponents to sleep is huge, since they can no longer use any moves until they wake up.
Sleep Powder will not work on Grass-type Pokémon, Pokémon with Sleep protection abilities like Insomnia or Vital Spirit, and those who use moves like Protect or Substitute.
Tailwind doubles the speed of all Pokemon on your side for 4 turns. This is another great move because speed control is essential for winning double battles.
Hurricane is a Flying-type Special Attack with 110 base power and 70% accuracy. Normally, Pokemon only run this on rain teams because it turns to 100% accuracy in the rain. Since Vivillon has the Compound Eyes ability, it can always safely hit with Hurricane. This gives it access to a hard-hitting move with no downside.
Protect is a staple on most Pokemon and helps Vivillon survive because of its low defenses. It is especially good at stopping Fake Out or Taunt on turn 1.
Held Items
There are actually two items that can work for Vivillon: Focus Sash and Choice Scarf.
Focus Stash is the overall best choice. It allows Vivillon to survive being knocked out from a single move as long as it is at full HP. This is great for ensuring it can get a Sleep Powder or Tailwind off in turn 1. It might also allow for an extra move or more after turn 1, depending on how the opponent reacts.
It will not protect against multi-hit moves, and is especially susceptible to Fake Out.
Choice Scarf is another good option when all you want to do is use Sleep Powder. This increases the wearer’s speed by 50% but locks them into their first move until they switch out of battle. There are multiple threats that are faster than even a max Speed and Speed Nature Vivillon, so the extra speed can help it go first.
Best Vivillon Strategies for Doubles in Pokemon Champions
Vivillon is best used at the start of battle to control speed. Whether you use Sleep Powder or Tailwind, it gives you the advantage of attacking your opponents before they can attack you. Protect is also sometimes an acceptable turn 1 option. Which one you use depends on the situation.
If the opponent has a Fake Out or Taunt, it might be a good idea to Protect on turn 1. This stops Fake Out until they switch out and come back in. It also gives time to deal with the Taunt user.
If neither of your Pokemon are at risk of being knocked out on turn 1, and you have a good attacker next to you, Tailwind can be a good option on turn 1. This can be followed up with Sleep Powder on the next turn.
If there is one big threat on the opponent’s side, Sleep Powder is usually your best bet on turn 1. Just make sure it can affect the opponent.
Best Partners for Vivillon
There are many Pokemon that can work, so these are just a few great ones.
Mega Lopunny is great because it is a strong Pokemon, and gets Fake Out. This allows it to potentially shut down one Pokemon, while Vivillon puts the other to sleep. Then Mega Lopunny can immediately attack on the next turn. Mega Lopunny also has the Scrappy ability, which will allow it to hit Ghost-type Pokemon that are normally immune to Fake Out.
Kingambit is a big threat that is usually a good turn 1 option to deter Intimidate users. It also has priority Sucker Punch to deal with pesky Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon on turn 1.
Sneasler is another top meta pick that pairs well with Vivillon on turn 1. Sneasler has access to Fake Out and is a hard-hitter. It can sometimes completely take out one Pokemon, leaving the other at the mercy of Vivillon’s Sleep Powder.
Just be careful when using Dire Claw on Sneasler since it has a chance to apply a Status Effect, which messes up the Sleep Powder strategy.
Overall, Vivillon is a great Pokemon to use for Doubles and VGC. This Vivillon build guide will help you quickly climb the Ranked Double Battles ladder in Pokemon Champions!