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
There are a few ways to get into a double battle depending on your server setup:
- Player challenge: Use the
/battlechallengecommand or the battle menu to challenge another player. If your server or addon supports it, you can specify the format as doubles. Some servers use/battle doubles [player]through custom plugins. - Multi battles: Two players can team up against two other players, each controlling one Pokemon at a time. This requires server support through addons or datapacks.
- Wild encounters: Base Cobblemon does not spawn wild double battles by default. Servers can configure horde encounters or double wild battles through addons like Cobblemon Challenges or custom datapacks.
- 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.
Check what your server supports. Not every Cobblemon server has doubles enabled, and the commands may vary depending on plugins.
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 a best of one doubles match you bring six Pokemon but only four go to battle, so team preview and 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 format settings: Check your Cobblemon config or battle addon for a doubles format toggle. Some servers enable this through Cobblemon's built in battle types, others need a plugin.
- Team size rules: Set the team preview size to 6 and the battle size to 4 for a standard VGC style format (bring 6, pick 4).
- Turn timers: Doubles turns take longer to decide because there are more options. Consider increasing the turn timer to 60 seconds or more.
- Banned moves/abilities: Some servers ban specific moves in doubles (like Dark Void, which puts both opponents to sleep). Set your ban list through the battle config or a competitive plugin.
- 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.
FAQ
Does Cobblemon support double battles? Cobblemon has a battle engine that supports multi Pokemon formats. Full doubles support depends on your Cobblemon version and server plugins. Check your server's documentation.
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? Not all servers enable doubles. Ask the server owner or check the server's feature list.
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Related: Cobblemon battle mechanics, Cobblemon best teams, Cobblemon IV/EV guide, Cobblemon server optimization