Pokemusings, week 17
Altering your team for Doubles Battles
Our next technique centers on the Water Absorb ability. There are a lot of great Pokemon that have this ability, including Lapras, Mantine, and Vaporeon. Water Absorb restores a Pokemon's health when it's hit by a water attack. This makes Surf an ideal "partner" move.
Similar to Discharge, Surf damages the other three Pokemon in a 2v2 battle. It's a strong move that tons of Pokemon can learn. Surf will let you deal damage to your two foes and restore health to your partner with Water Absorb.
For this technique, we have a huge soft spot in our hearts for Vaporeon. It's one of the best doubles partners in the game. With its Water Absorb ability and the move Helping Hand, it complements its Surf-wielding partner nicely. For 2v2 battles, we like to round out Vaporeon's moves with Substitute, Baton Pass, and Brine. Its huge amount of hit points makes for a sturdy substitute and Baton Pass can give that substitute to a Pokemon on your bench, while Brine compensates for its slow speed by upping the damage to Pokemon that are already hit.
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