2026 Grand Challenge IV

Event	2026 Grand Challenge IV
Location	Online
Date	9–11 January 2026
Attendance	Unlimited
Videogame	Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet
Season	2026 Season – VGC Regulation Set F
Format	In-game ladder competition
Organizer	The Pokémon Company International (TPCi)

Sign-up instructions

Sign-ups for the event are done through your own Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game, only available if the Online Competition settings are configured to any TPCi region (that is, any region excluding Asia-Pacific).

To register, enter the Poké Portal → Battle Stadium → Online competitions → Search for a competition (in the Official Competitions column).

You will need to register and lock a team at the time of registration.

Sign-ups are open from 1 January at 00:00 UTC until 8 January at 23:59 UTC, when the tournament starts.

Platform and schedule

The tournament is held online, in your Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game, at the Online competitions section of the Poké Portal’s Battle Stadium.

The tournament starts on 9 January at 00:00 UTC. You will be able to play up to 15 battles on 9 January, up to 30 battles by 10 January and up to 45 battles by 11 January. You will be able to enter any battle until 11 January at 23:59 UTC.

Prizes

This event is an official Online Competition, and is part of the 2026 official circuit in all regions governed by TPCi, that is: North America, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, and Middle East & Africa.

As a participation prize, any player that finishes at least three battles will receive 100,000 League Points, a Gold Bottle Cap and an Ability Patch.

Players are warned that only one user can participate per Nintendo account, even if they are playing both Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet in the same account. Playing with both versions of the game may result in penalties.

Championship Points are awarded separately for each region, so there are different standings for North America, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, and Middle East & South Africa.

Placement	Championship Points	Kicker (for each rating zone)
1st	75 CP	0
2nd	65 CP	8
3rd and 4th	54 CP	17
5th to 8th	52 CP	33
9th to 16th	25 CP	48
17th to 32nd	13 CP	65
33rd to 64th	11 CP	128
65th to 128th	7 CP	257
129th to 256th	5 CP	513
257th to 512th	4 CP	1025
513th to 1024th	3 CP	2049

Overview

The 2026 Grand Challenge IV is an official Online Competition featuring double battles, and is region-locked. It is the 18th VGC-relevant Online Competition in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games for players in the TPCi regions, the 8th Grand Challenge in these games, and the 4th in the 2026 season.

It is played with VGC Regulation Set F. This returning ruleset was last used in a Global Challenge in March 2024!

A little bit of history

Online Competitions are usually a part of the casual gameplay, but they have been featured in the official circuit for some years now. They are one of the few tournaments in which all world regions play together, and it generally grants National invites in TPC regions and Championship Points in TPCi regions.

The most recent Online Competition for players in the TPCi regions was the 2026 Grand Challenge III, played with VGC Regulation Set H in November 2025. First place was achieved by 2016 World Champion Wolfe Glick, who used this team to earn a rating of 1810 and 75 CP to win his second Grand/Global Challenge. Wolfe beat 2022 EUIC Champion Eric Rios, who earned a rating of 1798 and 75 CP.

This is a returning ruleset! The last Regulation Set F online competition was the 2024 Global Challenge III, played in March 2024. First place was achieved by 2022 World Champion Eduardo Cunha, who used this team to earn a rating of 1818 and 160 CP to win his first Global Challenge. Eduardo beat 2-time International finalist Davide Cognetta, who earned a rating of 1817 and 130 CP.