Since January 2020, the Pokémon Video Game Championships have featured battles of unprecedented scale and excitement in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield on Nintendo Switch. The Galar region has brought some sizable new options for competitors to consider, including the Dynamax phenomenon and tons of newly discovered Pokémon to train. To coincide with Trainers’ adventures on the Isle of Armor, the roster of permitted Pokémon will be expanding to include Pokémon that recently became more readily available in Galar.
The following Pokémon will now be permitted in events using the official Video Game Championships format:
Pokémon in the Isle of Armor Pokédex, including Kubfu and Urshifu, are now permitted.
Venusaur, Blastoise, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, and Urshifu with the Gigantamax Factor are permitted.
Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion are permitted.
Pokémon with the battle-ready symbol that would otherwise be eligible for competition are permitted.
For a summary of all 2020 Video Game Championships tournament rules, see below. Check out the Play! Pokémon Rules & Resources page to see the complete Play! Pokémon VG Rules and Formats document. Recent rules changes are noted in bold there.
All battles are Double Battles played in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
Each player needs their own Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite and a physical or digital version of Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield to compete.
Pokémon need to have either the Galar symbol, showing that they were caught, received, or hatched in the Galar region, or the battle-ready symbol, showing that they were transferred from another game and adapted to battles in the Galar region.
All Pokémon from the Galar Regional Pokédex and the Isle of Armor Pokédex are permitted except for Mythical Pokémon and certain Legendary Pokémon.
Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion are also permitted.
Pokémon with the Gigantamax Factor are permitted.
All Pokémon are set to Lv. 50, including Pokémon below Lv. 50.
Duplicate Pokémon are not allowed.
Duplicate held items are not allowed.
Each battle begins with a 90-second Team Preview phase.
In each battle, players have 7 minutes of Your Time, 45 seconds of Move Time, and 15 minutes of Game Time.
