These updated rules will be applied from 1 January 2018
- Saturday, December 9, 2017
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This article brought to you by Bulbanews, your community Pokémon newspaper.
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The official Play! Pokémon rules and formats for the 2017-2018 season of Video Game Championships (VGC) tournaments have been updated for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon by the official site and this update will be applied from 1 January 2018. The updates to the VGC 2018 rules are as follows:
- The standard battle format style will be Double Battles using Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
- Pokémon can now hold a Mega Stone or Soul Dew as well as any other item that have been officially released via Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon however every Pokémon must hold a different item.
- A player’s team cannot contain two Pokémon with the same National Pokédex number and any Pokémon in the National Pokédex can be used except Mythical Pokémon, Special Legendary Pokémon and Ash-Greninja provided they are caught or hatched in the game or received at an official event in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon.
- If Pokémon have a Regional variant, either form may be used.
- Players may be penalised or disqualified due to not updating their system or Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon game to the latest update.
- Battles will be conducted using 5 minutes of "Your Time" instead of 10 minutes. This is a time limit that is only deducted while each player is making a decision on a Pokémon move or switching Pokémon. In order to maintain an enjoyable tournament environment this time limit might changed later in the season based on feedback from VGC tournament organisers.
- Pokémon that are below and above Level 50 will be auto-leveled up and down to 50 for the duration of battle.
- Before entering official Play! Pokémon tournaments each player's Team lists should be completed using the language to which that player's game is set.
- Manual Hack Check considerations have been updated for the 2018 format and a player can be penalised or disqualified if that player is using any of the following Pokémon shown below:
- Any Pokémon that lists “From: Nursery Helpers” on its Summary screen and that is contained in a Master Ball or a Cherish Ball.
- Any of these Pokémon that has the following in-game level:
- Any Pokémon with a move, Ability, Nature or other attribute that cannot be obtained through normal gameplay or official event.
- Any of the following Pokémon that has Hidden Power as a Fighting type move:
- Type: Null or Silvally
- Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu and Tapu Fini
- Nihilego, Buzzwole, Pheromosa, Xurkitree, Celesteela, Kartana and Guzzlord
- Poipole, Naganadel, Stakataka, and Blacephalon.
The Pokémon Video Game Championships logo
