Double battles in Cobblemon let two Pokemon fight side by side on each team. If you have played VGC or Battle Tower doubles in the main games, the format will feel familiar. The targeting system, spread moves, and team building all change compared to singles, and that makes doubles its own game within the game.
How to Start a Double Battle in Cobblemon
Double Battles, Triple Battles and Multi Battles are part of base Cobblemon since version 1.6.0 (December 2024), so you do not need an addon or a command for them:
- Player challenge: Look at another player and press your send out key (R by default) to open the interaction menu, then pick Battle. The Battle Request screen lets you choose Single, Double or Triple Battle before you send the challenge.
- Multi battles: Open the same Battle Request screen on a friend and pick Team up to pair with them. Once you are a team, challenge another team of two to a Multi Battle, where each player controls one Pokemon on the field.
- Wild encounters: Wild battles in base Cobblemon are always singles. Pressing R at a wild Pokemon starts a single battle.
- Trainer NPCs: Servers running NPC trainer datapacks can set specific trainers to use a doubles format. The trainer's team file defines how many Pokemon are sent out at once.
Any server on Cobblemon 1.6.0 or newer has these formats. Older versions only have singles.
Double Battle Mechanics
Doubles play by different rules than singles. Knowing these differences is what separates a good doubles player from someone who just picks four strong Pokemon and hopes for the best.
Targeting
Each move targets a specific slot. Single target moves let you pick which opposing Pokemon to hit. This matters because you can focus fire on a threat, or spread your attacks to weaken both sides.
- Single target moves (Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Close Combat) hit one opponent of your choice.
- Spread moves (Earthquake, Surf, Heat Wave, Rock Slide) hit both opponents and deal 75% of their normal damage to each target.
- Ally targeting moves (Helping Hand, Heal Pulse) affect your own partner.
- Self targeting moves (Protect, Swords Dance, Calm Mind) only affect the user.
Spread moves hitting at reduced power is a big deal. Earthquake does less to each target than it would in singles, so raw power calcs look different in doubles.
Speed and Turn Order
All four Pokemon on the field act in speed order each turn, fastest first. Speed control is even more important in doubles than singles because moving first with both your Pokemon means you get two attacks before the opponent acts.
Priority moves like Fake Out, Protect, and Extreme Speed still go before normal moves. Fake Out is especially strong in doubles because it flinches one target for free on the switch in turn, giving your partner a safe setup opportunity.
Fainting and Replacement
When a Pokemon faints, it gets replaced at the end of the turn (or immediately, depending on the server's battle engine version). In VGC you bring six Pokemon and only four go to battle. Cobblemon has no team preview and uses your party as it is, so your leads matter a lot.
Best Team Compositions for Doubles
Doubles rewards synergy between partners more than individual power. Here are the proven team archetypes.
Protect and Positioning
Protect is the single most important move in doubles. It blocks all damage for one turn, letting your partner act freely. Good Protect usage lets you:
- Scout the opponent's targeting
- Stall out Trick Room or weather turns
- Keep a Pokemon alive while your partner gets a KO
Almost every Pokemon on your doubles team should carry Protect (or Detect). The exceptions are Pokemon with Fake Out, since Fake Out only works turn one and the slot is better used.
Weather Teams
Weather teams revolve around setting rain, sun, sand, or hail and then abusing the speed or power boosts that come with it.
| Weather | Setter Examples | Abuser Examples | Key Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain | Pelipper, Politoed | Barraskewda, Kingdra | Water Spout, Hurricane |
| Sun | Torkoal, Ninetales | Venusaur, Charizard | Solar Beam, Growth |
| Sand | Tyranitar, Hippowdon | Excadrill, Garchomp | Rock Slide, Earthquake |
| Hail/Snow | Abomasnow, Ninetales-A | Arctozolt, Beartic | Blizzard, Aurora Veil |
Weather setters with the Drizzle, Drought, Sand Stream, or Snow Warning ability set weather automatically on switch in. Pair them with Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, Sand Rush, or Slush Rush Pokemon to double your speed in the right weather.
Torkoal plus Venusaur is a classic sun duo. Torkoal sets sun with Drought, Venusaur gets double speed from Chlorophyll, and both hit hard with boosted Fire and Grass moves. Venusaur can also put opponents to sleep with Sleep Powder.
Trick Room Teams
Trick Room reverses speed order for five turns, making the slowest Pokemon move first. This flips the entire meta on its head.
Good Trick Room setters include Hatterene, Dusclops, and Porygon2. Pair them with slow, powerful attackers like Torkoal, Rhyperior, Marowak, and Snorlax.
The gameplan: lead your Trick Room setter with Fake Out support, set Trick Room safely, then sweep with your slow heavy hitters while the opponent's fast Pokemon become liabilities.
Intimidate and Offensive Cores
Intimidate lowers the Attack of both opponents on switch in. Pokemon like Incineroar, Landorus, and Arcanine are doubles staples because of this. Pair an Intimidate user with a special attacker who does not care about the opponent's lowered Attack, and you have a solid defensive and offensive core.
Strong Partner Combinations
Great doubles teams are built around pairs that cover each other's weaknesses:
- Incineroar + Tapu Fini: Incineroar provides Fake Out and Intimidate. Tapu Fini resists Water and Ground moves that threaten Incineroar.
- Tyranitar + Excadrill: Sand Stream activates Sand Rush on Excadrill, making it one of the fastest Pokemon on the field. Excadrill also threatens the Steel and Fairy types that give Tyranitar trouble.
- Torkoal + Venusaur: The classic sun core. Torkoal sets sun, Venusaur outspeeds the field with Chlorophyll and threatens Sleep Powder.
- Dusclops + Rhyperior: Dusclops sets Trick Room safely with its massive bulk, then Rhyperior sweeps under reversed speed. Rhyperior also tanks hits with Solid Rock.
- Whimsicott + a strong attacker: Whimsicott uses priority Tailwind to double your team's speed for four turns, or priority Helping Hand to boost your partner's next attack by 50%.
The common thread: one Pokemon enables, the other executes.
Server Configuration for Double Battles
Server owners who want to offer doubles can tweak several things:
- Battle formats: There is no toggle to switch on. Double, Triple and Multi Battles are built in, and the challenger picks the format in the Battle Request screen. Keep the server on Cobblemon 1.6.0 or newer.
- Level rules: The Battle Request screen can set every Pokemon to level 5, 50 or 100 for the battle. Cobblemon has no team preview or "bring 6, pick 4" setting, so for a VGC style game ask players to carry four Pokemon in their party.
- Turn timers: Cobblemon 1.8.4 has no turn timer setting in its config. If your league wants a time limit per turn, make it a house rule.
- Banned moves/abilities: Some servers ban specific moves in doubles (like Dark Void, which puts both opponents to sleep). The base config has no ban list, so enforce bans as a league rule or through a competitive addon.
- Performance: Double battles require tracking four active Pokemon, their abilities, weather, terrain, and all interactions per turn. This is more CPU intensive than singles. If your server runs many concurrent double battles, monitor your TPS and allocate enough RAM to keep things smooth. 8GB minimum for a server that regularly hosts doubles.
For a friend group that battles a lot, plain Cobblemon on 8GB (MC Diamond, €7.20 a month) covers up to 10 players. Sidemods such as trainer packs or Mega Showdown push that to 12GB (MC Special 1, €10.80), which is also the size our Cobblemon server hosting page suggests for 10 to 25 players.
FAQ
Does Cobblemon support double battles? Yes. Since version 1.6.0, base Cobblemon has Double, Triple and Multi Battles. Challenge a player through the interaction menu (R while looking at them) and pick the format in the Battle Request screen.
What is the best lead for doubles? Fake Out users like Incineroar or Rillaboom are popular leads because they give your partner a free turn to set up. Weather setters paired with their speed abusers are also strong leads.
Is Protect really that important? Yes. Protect in doubles is not a stall move. It is a positioning tool that lets you control the flow of every turn. Skip it and you lose a lot of flexibility.
Can I play doubles on any Cobblemon server? Any server on Cobblemon 1.6.0 or newer has doubles built in, so you only need another player to challenge. Ask the owner whether the server adds its own PvP rules or arenas.
Sources
All opened on 4 November 2026:
- Cobblemon 1.6.0 changelog (Double, Triple and Multi Battles, flat level battles)
- Cobblemon 1.8.4 config source (battle settings)
- Cobblemon 1.8.4 Battle Request screen source
Related: Cobblemon battle mechanics, Cobblemon best teams, Cobblemon IV/EV guide, Cobblemon server optimization