Pokémon Champions — Regulations

On this page you can find all info on the official rules & regulations that apply at the VGC events of the Pokémon Champions era, starting on the 2026 season. Normally, these apply to all events, regardless of the entity hosting them (TPCi, TPC, PKI, etc.), and also apply to community-run grassroots events, like the ones from Victory Road.

Note the following distinction:

Battle rules: general set of rules that apply to all battles. These are what define “VGC”, such as all matches being Double Battles played with a game time of 20 minutes (TBC).
Team rules: general set of rules that apply to all teams. These provide the base framework to what is allowed in “VGC”, such as all Pokémon being auto-leveled to level 50, or the Species and Item Clauses (you may not use the same Pokémon or items, respectively, more than once on your team).
Regulation Sets: specific set of rules that apply on top of the previous two. These refer to specific Pokémon, moves or items that are allowed or banned, and change during the season.

Battle rules

Players will play in Double Battles in Pokémon Champions.
- - Each player selects four out of the six Pokémon in their Battle Team.
  - Gameplay continues until a player makes all four of their opponent’s Pokémon faint or until the in-game time limit has expired.
There is no round timer and all matches shall be allowed to finish when a player’s all four Pokémon faint or the in-game time limit has expired. The in-game timers are the following:
- - Team preview: 90 seconds (TBC)
  - Move time limit: 45 seconds (TBC)
  - Player total time limit (called “Your time” in game): 7 minutes (TBC)
  - Game time: 20 minutes (TBC)
If the match ends with an unresolved outcome, the tiebreakers that apply are first late shows, then sudden death. For disconnection cases, refer to the most current rules document.
Matches played during Swiss rounds may be best-of-one or best-of-three, with the latter strongly recommended in Regional-level and higher-tier events. All top cuts must be played as best-of-three.
In TPCi events, players will compete with open team lists. At the start of a match, players will swap team lists with the opponent, and will exchange them back at the end. Players may not take notes or alter their opponents’ list. The team list contains the following info:
- - Pokémon species, including forms or regional variants
  - Abilities
  - Held items
  - All known moves
  - Tera Type

Team rules

Players may use Pokémon that were:
- - Obtained in Pokémon Champions (temporary or permanent license)
  - Sent to visit to Pokémon Champions via Pokémon HOME
  - Received through an official event or distribution
Pokémon may make use of any move or Ability available to that Pokémon through normal gameplay. This includes Hidden Abilities and event-exclusive moves and Abilities.
Pokémon above and below level 50 will be auto-levelled to level 50 during battle.
Each Pokémon may hold an item, though no two Pokémon may hold the same item.
A player’s team cannot contain two Pokémon of the same species, that is, with the same National Pokédex number (for example, Heat Rotom and Wash Rotom are not allowed, since both are still Rotom).

Regulation sets

All official events starting at different points of May 2026 will use Pokémon Champions until further notice. This applies to TPCi, TPC and PKI events.

The official VGC rules may vary with each series of Ranked Battles in the in-game ladder. That means that both online & real-life events will usually follow such regulations, unless announced otherwise.

Regulation Set M-A: 8 April–TBC 2026

Regulation Set M-A

The Regulation Set M-A of Pokémon Champions is the first official ruleset confirmed in the new games. Mega Evolutions are allowed. Regulation Set M-A is the official format of in-game Ranked Battles from 8 April to TBC 2026, and will be used in VGC events since May, starting online with the Global Challenge, offline with some Asian National tournaments, and in TPCi regions with the Indianapolis Regional Championships.

Permitted Pokémon

Banned Pokémon

Terastallized Pokémon