VGC The "2018 Pokémon VGC Rules, Format, and Penalty Guidelines" document is now available

[Pokemon Trainer]

The 2018 Video Game Championship rules have been announced on the official Pokémon wesbite.
Players will be competing using Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. All live tournaments will transition to these new rules on January 1, 2018.
The entire 2018 Pokémon VGC rules document will be available on the rules and resources page in December.

Here's a brief summary of the new regulations:

• All battles will be Double Battles played in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon
• All Pokémon in the National Pokédex are allowed, with the following restrictions:
  • Pokémon must have the Alola symbol showing they were caught in the Alola region
  • Mythical Pokémon, some Legendary Pokémon, and Ash-Greninja are not allowed
• Duplicate Pokémon are not allowed
• All items are allowed, but duplicate items are not allowed
• All Pokémon are set to Lv. 50, including Pokémon below Lv. 50
• Player time is 5 minutes

A New Video Game Championships Format for 2018
Get a first look at the new Pokémon Video Game Championship Series format going into effect next year.
The Play! Pokémon program has announced early details on the upcoming Pokémon Video Game Championships format. The updated format will give players a chance to come up with exciting new strategies. Players will be able to try out these new rules in online battles as soon as Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon launch on November 17, 2017. All live tournaments will transition to these new rules on January 1, 2018.

Here's a brief summary of the new regulations:

• All battles will be Double Battles played in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon
• All Pokémon in the National Pokédex are allowed, with the following restrictions:
  • Pokémon must have the Alola symbol showing they were caught in the Alola region
  • Mythical Pokémon, some Legendary Pokémon, and Ash-Greninja are not allowed
• Duplicate Pokémon are not allowed
• All items are allowed, but duplicate items are not allowed
• All Pokémon are set to Lv. 50, including Pokémon below Lv. 50
• Player time is 5 minutes

The entire 2018 Pokémon VGC rules document will be available on the rules and resources page in December. Players are expected to understand the rules when participating in a competition, so take a look at them before your next event.

Once again, players will be able to download rule sets to practice with the 2018 VGC rules via the Pokémon Global Link. Visit the Festival Plaza in your Pokémon Ultra Sun or Pokémon Ultra Moon game to download the rules and start battling and training with your friends.

Look forward to many exciting battles in 2018 under the new Pokémon VGC format starting later this year.

 

[Pokemon Trainer]

Date of last revision: November 2, 2017
Official: https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/...g-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-en.pdf
Changes to the rules: https://www.diffchecker.com/11H9SPTa

Revisions made for latest publication (November 2, 2017)
• In the case of a discrepancy between the content of the English language version of this document and the that of any other version of this document, the English language version shall take priority.
• Section 1.4: Pokémon may only use moves that have been learned through normal gameplay or from an official Pokémon event or promotion obtainable through a copy of Pokémon Sun or Pokémon Moon. Players may not use moves that are exclusively obtained through use of a copy of Pokémon Ultra Sun or Pokémon Ultra Moon.
• Section 2.2: Players should ensure that game systems with which they enter Play! Pokémon tournaments are unmodified. Players found to be using modified systems may be subject to disqualification and subsequent disciplinary action.
• Added ‘Section 2.7 – Team Lists’.
• Section 3.4.1: If performing the referenced tiebreaker calculation manually, the Professor performing the calculation should round the resulting figure to 3 decimal places.
• Appendix A, section 1: #284 not permitted when contained in a Beast Ball.

 

[Pokemon Trainer]

Date of last revision: December 6, 2017
Official: https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/...g-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-en.pdf
Changes to the rules: https://www.diffchecker.com/cdgP984m

NOTE: In the case of a discrepancy between the content of the English-language version of this document and that of any other version of this document, the English-language version shall take priority.
NOTE: The changes introduced in this document will apply to the VGC Standard format from 1 January 2018.

• A player’s team cannot contain two Pokémon with the same National Pokédex number.
• Pokémon may only use moves that have been learned through normal gameplay or from an official Pokémon event or promotion.

• Players may use Pokémon with the following National Pokédex numbers, provided they are caught or hatched in the game, or received at an official event or distribution.
o #001 - #149
o #152 - #248
o #252 - #381
o #387 - #482
o #485 - #486
o #488
o #495 - #642
o #645
o #650 - #715
o #722 - #788
o #793 - #799
o #803 - #806
▪ Ash-Greninja is prohibited from use.
• Where Pokémon have a regional variant, either form may be used.

o Only legitimate versions of Pokémon Ultra Sun or Pokémon Ultra Moon can be used in Play! Pokémon tournaments. This includes Game Cards and downloadable versions of Pokémon Ultra Sun or Pokémon Ultra Moon.

 

[Pokemon Trainer]

The Pokémon Video Game Rules, Formats, and Penalty Guidelines document has been updated to prohibit Curse, String Shot, Forest's Curse, and Power Trick until version 1.2 of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is released
Official: https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/...g-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-en.pdf
Changes to the rules: https://www.diffchecker.com/JYfpi9hX

 

[Pokemon Trainer]

The Pokémon Video Game Rules, Formats, and Penalty Guidelines document has been updated. Fixes oversights for wild Dragonite, Volcarona & Bisharp, Hidden Power Fighting on Legendaries and more.
Official: https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/...g-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-en.pdf