Dive into the exhilarating world of Godly Gift, a unique Pokémon battle format where strategic team building and divine power collide. In this format, one chosen Pokémon, your ‘godly gift’, bestows incredible stat boosts upon its teammates, dramatically altering the landscape of competitive battles. Prepare for a metagame where clever positioning and god selection are paramount to victory.
The Divine Premise of Godly Gift
Imagine a battlefield blessed by the gods, where a single Pokémon can amplify the strength of its allies. This is the core concept of Godly Gift. By strategically placing a designated ‘god’ Pokémon within your team, you can distribute its base stats to the rest of your team, creating powerful synergies and unexpected strengths.
Restrictions and Divine Decrees
To ensure a balanced and engaging battle environment, Godly Gift comes with specific restrictions and bans. Understanding these decrees is crucial for constructing a legal and competitive team.
The Pantheon: Eligible God Pokémon
You must choose one Pokémon from the following list to be your team’s ‘god’. This Pokémon will be the source of stat gifts for your team.
- Alomomola
- Annihilape
- Arceus (All Formes)
- Baxcalibur
- Calyrex-Ice
- Chi-Yu
- Chien-Pao
- Crawdaunt
- Deoxys
- Deoxys-Speed
- Dialga
- Dialga-Origin
- Dragapult
- Espathra
- Eternatus
- Flutter Mane
- Gholdengo
- Gouging-Fire
- Giratina
- Giratina-Origin
- Gliscor
- Groudon
- Hawlucha
- Ho-Oh
- Iron Bundle
- Kingambit
- Kyogre
- Kyurem
- Kyurem-White
- Lugia
- Lunala
- Magearna
- Mewtwo
- Necrozma-Dawn-Wings
- Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
- Ogerpon-Hearthflame
- Palafin
- Palkia
- Palkia-Origin
- Raging-Bolt
- Rayquaza
- Regieleki
- Reshiram
- Serperior
- Shaymin-Sky
- Smeargle
- Spectrier
- Solgaleo
- Terapagos
- Toxapex
- Ursaluna
- Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
- Volcarona
- Zacian
- Zacian-Crowned
- Zamazenta-Crowned
- Zekrom
Forbidden Powers: Bans and Clauses
Certain elements are deemed too powerful or disruptive for the format and are thus banned or restricted by clauses:
Clauses:
- Species Clause: You cannot have two Pokémon with the same National Pokédex number on your team.
- OHKO Clause: Moves that can knock out a Pokémon in one hit are banned.
- Sleep Moves Clause: Limits the use of moves that induce sleep.
- Evasion Moves Clause: Moves that sharply raise evasion are banned.
- Endless Battle Clause: Prevents battles from going on indefinitely through specific move combinations.
Pokémon:
- Blissey
- Calyrex-Shadow
- Chansey
- Deoxys-Attack
- Koraidon
- Kyurem-Black
- Miraidon
Abilities:
- Arena Trap
- Gale Wings
- Moody
- Shadow Tag
- Swift Swim
- Pure Power
- Huge Power
Items:
- Bright Powder
- Focus Band
- King’s Rock
- Quick Claw
Moves:
- Baton Pass
- Last Respects
- Shed Tail
How Godly Gifts are Bestowed
The magic of Godly Gift lies in how your chosen ‘god’ Pokémon empowers its team. The base stats of your ‘god’ are distributed to your other team members based on their position in your team lineup, visible during team preview.
Stat Distribution Breakdown:
- Slot 1 Pokémon: Receives the ‘god’ Pokémon’s base HP stat.
- Slot 2 Pokémon (God Pokémon): Does not receive any stat gifts. Its stats remain unchanged.
- Slot 3 Pokémon: Receives the ‘god’ Pokémon’s base Defense stat.
- Slot 4 Pokémon: Receives the ‘god’ Pokémon’s base Special Attack stat.
- Slot 5 Pokémon: Receives the ‘god’ Pokémon’s base Special Defense stat.
- Slot 6 Pokémon: Receives the ‘god’ Pokémon’s base Speed stat.
- Attack Stat: Notably, the Attack stat of the ‘god’ Pokémon is not distributed to any teammate.
Team Preview Strategy:
During team preview, you can deduce your opponent’s ‘god’ and stat distribution strategy by observing the position of their restricted Pokémon (if they have one).
In the example above, Kyogre, positioned in slot 2, is the ‘god’. Ferrothorn (slot 1) receives Kyogre’s HP, Clefable (slot 3) gets Kyogre’s Defense, Tapu Koko (slot 4) benefits from Kyogre’s Special Attack, Landorus-T (slot 5) gains Kyogre’s Special Defense, and Urshifu-R (slot 6) inherits Kyogre’s Speed.
Strategic placement of your ‘god’ and teammates is crucial. Carefully consider which stats you want to amplify on specific Pokémon to create a powerful and synergistic team.
Frequently Asked Questions about Godly Gift
Q: What happens when the God has a form change?
A: The stats gifted are always based on the ‘god’ Pokémon’s base form stats, prior to any form change. For example, Zacian-Crowned will gift the stats of its base Zacian forme.
Q: Do the ‘god’ Pokémon themselves receive any stat boosts?
A: No, the ‘god’ Pokémon does not receive any stat gifts. They are the source of power, not the recipient.
Q: What if a teammate has a form change during battle?
A: Stat boosts are applied permanently at the start of the battle and remain constant, regardless of any form changes during the battle. For example, if Aegislash receives a Defense boost, it will have that boosted Defense in both Shield and Blade Forme.
Q: What if I don’t include a listed ‘god’ Pokémon on my team?
A: If you don’t use a Pokémon from the ‘god’ list, the Pokémon in your first team slot (HP slot) will automatically be designated as the ‘god’ Pokémon. While potentially less optimized, this can still be a viable strategy, especially with Pokémon possessing naturally high base stats.
Q: Where can I play the Godly Gift format?
A: Godly Gift is readily playable on the main Pokémon Showdown server, allowing you to test your team and strategies against other players.
Q: How do Zacian-Crowned and Zamazenta-Crowned work as Gods?
A: Similar to Zygarde-Complete, Zacian-Crowned and Zamazenta-Crowned are battle-only formes. They distribute the base stats of their out-of-battle, base formes (Zacian and Zamazenta respectively).
Resources to Ascend in Godly Gift
Explore these resources to deepen your understanding and strategy in the Godly Gift format:
- Resources hub
- Viability Rankings
- Speed Tiers
- Role Compendium
Godly Council
The Godly Gift format is guided by a council of experienced players:
- Kris (Leader)
- Fraise
- Les2BG (Co-Leader)
- TTTech
- SammyCe123
Change Log: Divine Updates
The format is continuously evolving. Stay updated with the latest changes:
- Nov 24, 2022: Booster Energy, Cyclizar, and Iron Hands banned.
- Dec 9, 2022: Chi-Yu, Espathra, Great Tusk, and Iron Valiant banned.
- Jan 29, 2023: Swift Swim banned.
- Mar 18, 2023: Walking Wake banned.
- Apr 2, 2023: Kingambit and Orthworm banned.
- Apr 18, 2023: Shed Tail banned. Cyclizar and Orthworm unbanned.
- May 21, 2023: Toxapex and Volcarona banned.
- May 29, 2023: Post-HOME initial banlist changes.
- June 9, 2023: Dragapult and Zamazenta banned.
- June 25, 2023: Miraidon, Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, and Quick Claw banned.
- Aug 11, 2023: Terastallization unbanned.
- Sep 14, 2023: Dragapult, Hoopa-Unbound, Iron Hands, Kingambit, Miraidon, Toxapex, Ursaluna, Zamazenta and Booster Energy unbanned
- Sep 24, 2023: Ursaluna restricted.
- Sep 30, 2023: Ursaluna-Bloodmoon restricted.
- Oct 8, 2023: Kingambit restricted.
- Oct 14, 2023: Miraidon banned
- Oct 22, 2023 : Baxcalibur, Chi-Yu, Chien-Pao, Darkrai, Espathra, Flutter Mane, Landorus, Spectrier, Urshifu-S, Urshifu-R, and Volcarona become receivers, Blissey, Chansey, Kingambit, and Ursaluna become gods, Calyrex-S unbanned.
- Oct 22, 2023 : Calyrex-S, Blissey, Chansey banned and Toxapex become a god
- Nov 8, 2023 : Chi-Yu restricted and Koraidon suspect
- Nov 25, 2023: Koraidon banned.
- Dec 10, 2023: Gliscor and Crawdaunt restricted.
- Dec 18, 2023: DLC 2 initial banlist changes.
- Jan 7, 2024: Deoxys-Attack banned.
- Feb 2, 2024: Deoxys-Speed and Kyurem restricted.
- Feb 11, 2024: Huge Power and Pure Power unbanned, Medicham and Azumarill restricted.
- Mar 2, 2024: Espathra, Flutter Mane and Hawlucha restricted.
- Apr 1, 2024: Huge Power and Pure Power banned, Medicham and Azumarill unrestricted, Dragapult restricted.
- May 6, 2024: Volcarona restricted.
- June 21, 2024 : Chien-Pao and Baxcalibur restricted. Zacian-Crowned banned.
- June 30, 2024 : Chien-Pao and Baxcalibur restricted.
- August 12, 2024 : Tera stays legal.
- August 25, 2024 : Serperior, Spectrier and Gholdengo restricted.
- November 13, 2024 : Gouging-Fire, Raging-Bolt and Alomomola restricted.
Future of the Format
None yet
Ogerpon-Wellspring
Embrace the Godly Gift format and explore a new dimension of Pokémon battling, where divine power and strategic brilliance pave the path to victory.
