Best Double Teams in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: The Indigo Disk

Battles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk are all in doubles format, warranting specialized teams. This guide will go over the best doubles teams you can make in Scarlet and Violet for The Indigo Disk.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Sun Doubles Team

By the time you make it to Blueberry Academy in the Indigo Disk, Scarlet players will have access to Koraidon. With its unique Ability, it can easily form the foundation of effective doubles teams focusing on the sunny weather condition. 

Sample Sun Team

The following is a sample sun team that is incredibly strong while also being relatively easy to obtain.

For a more detailed look at how sun teams work, and how to craft your own, check out the sections below. 

Sun Setter Pokemon

A sun-centered doubles team will focus on Pokemon that thrive in the harsh sunlight. You’ll want a Pokemon that can activate harsh sunlight with an Ability rather than through the move Sunny Day so you can get all the sun’s benefits immediately without using up a turn. Thankfully, there are a few options at your disposal, including Koraidon if you’re playing Scarlet. 

Koraidon’s exclusive Ability is Orichalcum Pulse, which makes the weather sunny for five turns (eight if Koraidon is holding the Heat Rock item) or until another Pokemon changes the weather. It also boosts Koraidon’s Attack stat, similar to how other Past Paradox Pokemon get a stat boost while in the sun.

If you don’t have Koraidon but want to try your hand at a sun team, you have other options through the Ability Drought. Drought activates sunny weather just like Orichalcum Pulse, but there’s no extra stat boost. That doesn’t make these Pokemon any less useful in a sun team, however. The following Pokemon are available in Scarlet and Violet and can have Drought as their Ability:

• Vulpix and Ninetales: Drought is their Hidden Ability. Use an Ability Patch on Vupix or Ninetales to get Drought.
• Torkoal: Drought is one of its regular Abilities. Use an Ability Capsule on Tortola if it has White Smoke to get Drought instead.
• Groudon: Its only possible Ability is Drought.

Sun Team Attackers

Once you’ve decided on the Pokemon that will set up the sun for your team, you’ll want to choose some Pokemon to dish out the damage. The following Pokemon make for great sun team strikers:

Chlorophyll Pokemon

Pokemon with the Chlorophyll Ability will have their Speed stat doubled when the weather is sunny. This gives them a massive edge in battle, and if you’re EV training your team, you may not even need to max out their Speed to get to the stat you want, giving you the freedom to beef up other stats, too.

Some of the most notable Pokemon with Chlorophyll include:

• Venusaur (Hidden Ability)
• Exeggutor (regular Ability)
• Leafeon (Hidden Ability)
• Lilligant (regular Ability)
• Sawsbuck (Hidden Ability)

Other Offensive Pokemon for a Sun Team

A Pokemon doesn’t need to have a sun-specific Ability to do well in a sun team, although it doesn’t hurt. The following list gives some options for especially strong offensive Pokemon in a sun team whether they have a sun-based Ability or not:

• Charizard (with the Hidden Ability Solar Power)
• Flutter Mane
• Walking Wake
• Arcanine (with the regular Ability Intimidate)
• Generally strong Fire-type Pokemon (such as Volcarona, Heatran, etc.)
• Non-Water-type Pokemon with Intimidate (such as Landorus Therian Forme, Salamence, etc.)

Sun Team Supports

The beauty of double battles is that supportive Pokemon have more utility than in singles. The following Pokemon are especially helpful as supports in a sun doubles team:

• Clefairy (with the Hidden Ability Friend Guard)
• Meganium (with the Hidden Ability Leaf Guard)
• Lilligant (with the Hidden Ability Leaf Guard)
• Whimsicott (with the regular Ability Prankster)
• Trevenant (with the Hidden Ability Harvest)
• Incineroar (with the Hidden Ability Intimidate)
• Maushold (with the regular Ability Friend Guard)

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Electric Terrain Doubles Team

Pokemon Violet players will have Miraidon with them before starting The Indigo Disk. This provides a great opportunity to build an Electric Terrain doubles team centering around Miraidon’s unique Ability.

Sample Electric Terrain Doubles Team

The following is a sample Electric Terrain team that is incredibly strong while also being relatively easy to obtain.

For a more detailed look at how Electric Terrain teams work, and how to craft your own, check out the sections below. 

Electric Terrain Setter Pokemon

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to effectively setting Electric Terrain. Tapu Koko cannot be transferred to or obtained in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, meaning the only two possible Pokemon that can set Electric Terrain with an Ability in The Indigo Disk are Miraidon… and Pincurchin. Nothing against Pincurchin (you can definitely run one in your Indigo Disk doubles team if you want to), but it’s hardly as effective as Tapu Koko and Miraidon. 

On the bright side, Miraidon’s Ability Hadron Engine gives Miraidon’s Special Attack stat a boost in addition to laying down Electric Terrain. You may be limited in the Pokemon you can use to set up Electric Terrain in The Indigo Disk, but Miraidon is hardly a bad choice to be limited to.

Electric Terrain Combos

Although Miraidon is currently the only consistently viable Pokemon that can set up Electric Terrain in The Indigo Disk, Terrain itself has the option of running alongside weather. If you so choose, you can combine Electric Terrain with a weather—generally rain—to increase your team’s options. If you choose to run Electric Terrain with rain, you can opt for moves such as Thunder and Hurricane, which will both have 100% accuracy while it’s raining. Thunder will also have its power boosted by 30% because of Electric Terrain.

Electric Terrain Attackers

In addition to strong Electric-type Pokemon, the following Pokemon make for strong offensive forces on Electric Terrain doubles teams:

• Iron Bundle
• Iron Hands
• Iron Jugulis
• Iron Moth
• Iron Valiant
• Iron Leaves
• Hawlucha (with the regular Ability Unburden, holding an Electric Seed item)
• Sneasler (with the regular Ability Unburden, holding an Electric Seed item)

Electric Terrain Supports

The following Pokemon make for effective support in an Electric Terrain doubles team:

• Clefairy (with the Hidden Ability Friend Guard)
• Incineroar (with the Hidden Ability Intimidate)
• Maushold (with the regular Ability Friend Guard)
• Landorus (Therian Forme)
• Glimmora (with the regular Ability Toxic Debris)

Misc. Doubles Teams in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

The following sample doubles teams can be used as-is or as a starting point to tweak to your preferences.

Sample Sandstorm Doubles Team

The following is a sample sandstorm doubles team. It may contain Pokemon that aren’t commonly available.

Sample Rain Doubles Team

The following is a sample rain doubles team. It may contain Pokemon that aren’t commonly available.

Sample Trick Room Doubles Team

The following is a sample Trick Room doubles team. It may contain Pokemon that aren’t commonly available.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Doubles Team General Combos and Strategies

Earthquake + Flying-type/Levitate/Protect

Earthquake is one of the strongest Pokemon moves, and it only gets scarier in double battles. Earthquake hits all Pokemon except the user in doubles, which can spell disaster not only for your opponent but for your own Pokemon as well. To combat this, you can use one of the most classic double battle strategies: send out the Pokemon that will use Earthquake alongside a Pokemon that is immune through their Flying typing or Levitate Ability. If they don’t have Ground-type immunity, have the Pokemon use Protect to negate all damage from its ally’s Earthquake and from any opponents who manage to survive.

Protect

Protect is a great move in double battles not only to negate friendly fire but to potentially disrupt the opponent’s turn. If you’re against a Pokemon that will no doubt target you with a Super Effective move, bust out a Protect to essentially waste the opponent’s turn. All the while, your other Pokemon can set up or strike freely. Like any “risk versus reward” move, this can backfire if the opponent doesn’t target the Pokemon using Protect, but it’s all part of the mind games that come with the double battles format.

Fake Out

Like Protect, Fake Out is generally stronger in doubles than in singles because it allows you to disrupt the opponent while also enacting your own strategies with your other Pokemon. Hit an opponent you think will be a threat that turn (and that you predict won’t use Protect) to stop them from moving, and to free up your other Pokemon to set up or attack the now-open opponent.

Intimidate

Intimidate, which drops the opposing Pokemon’s Attack stat by one stage, is an already strong Ability in single battles. It’s even stronger in double battles, since it drops the Attack of both opponents at once. A Pokémon—or even two—with Intimidate is always worth working into a doubles team, either as an offensive Pokemon like Arcanine on a sun team, or as a supportive Pokemon like Incineroar on any team.

Pivot Moves (U-turn, Volt Switch, Flip Turn, Parting Shot, Shed Tail, and Baton Pass)

Moves that allow you to swap out a Pokemon in addition to another effect, generally referred to as “pivot moves,” are great in double battles for the synergy they can provide with other moves and Abilities. The offensive pivot moves—U-turn, Volt Switch, and Flip Turn—are generally the best ones because they can be used in any situation, but support Pokemon like Incineroar can make great use of Parting Shot, too. Use these pivot moves to send a Pokemon with Fake Out or Intimidate (or both) back into your reserves to send them out later and reuse their effects. This can also be used to return a weather or Terrain setter back to your party to reactivate the weather or Terrain later once it’s worn off.

Follow Me/Rage Powder

The moves Follow Me and Rage Powder are powerful redirection moves. Have your bulky Pokemon use Follow Me or Rage Powder to keep your frailer, offensive Pokemon safe from harm while they set up or strike the enemy.

Helping Hand

Supportive Pokemon in double battles can use Helping Hand to boost their ally’s move’s power by 50% that turn. Use Helping Hand to ensure the KO on certain opponents, or just when your attacking Pokemon could use a handy boost.

Encore and Taunt

Encore and Taunt are already very disruptive in singles. In doubles, an effectively timed Encore or Taunt can leave the opponent wide open for attack from your other Pokemon. If the opponent manages to survive, they may be forced to switch out, making Encore and Taunt worth implementing in your support Pokemon’s movesets.