Table of Contents
Tournament Check-In
For any event, you have to show up before the announced start time to double check your participation. Typically, this involves checking-in on the tournament’s Battlefy page in the hour prior to the start, with check-in closing exactly at the announced start time, so that the event’s schedule is as smooth as possible.
Therefore, it is the player’s responsibility to check all instructions and perform all sign-up steps required for each particular event. Generally, you will be required to register on the tournament’s platform (like Battlefy), join Victory Road’s Discord server or third’s parties ones, and submit your team for the event.
Late Shows
Once pairings for each round are posted, players are expected to join their match’s chat room and post to signal activity.
Any player not showing signs of activity or showing up late to their match will be penalized as follows:
- Five (5) min after pairings are posted: game 1 loss.
- Ten (10) min after pairings are posted: game 2 loss (that is, round loss).
- Multiple late showings might result in a disqualification at the head TOs discretion.
- Any players not showing up after round 4 with a record that makes them not eligible for top cut (that is, 3 or more losses) will be automatically dropped.
- We strongly recommend you to avoid delaying your games upon contacting your opponent for the sake of everyone’s playing experience.
If you’re waiting on your room and your opponent does not show up, please go to Report Match Issue and a TO will come over.
Drops
If you wish to drop from the tournament, you MUST FIRST report your match result via the tournament platform (like Battlefy), and then click Report Match Issue and request to be dropped by a staff member through the Battlefy chat.
If you’re dropped but decide to keep on playing, you MUST ask any TO to rejoin. You will be able to do so until the round you were dropped in is in play. No players will be allowed to rejoin afterwards due to software limitations on Battlefy.
Round Timer
We will enforce a 60 minute round timer for each round, though a grace period of 5 minutes is allocated for any matches having communication errors.
If by chance the timer is hit, games in play will ideally be allowed to finish. If for any reason the event cannot be delayed and the TO needs a result, both players will take a screenshot of their team’s current status and send it to the TO, and the TO will report back with the winner of the match:
- The player with the most Pokémon left wins.
- If both players have the same number of Pokémon remaining, then the winner is the player whose remaining Pokémon’s added HP has the greatest percentage of their team’s total full HP.
If both players do not report back in a timely fashion and the round timer passes without any response back from the match, TOs may issue game losses.
If one player is late to the match and that causes the match to go past timer, then that player will be issued a loss regardless of the outcome of the match, as timer is considered to be over.
Please keep in mind that these measures are meant to keep the tournament as dynamic as possible and for the sake of everyone’s playing experience.
Tie Breakers
A tie could be produced in the following scenarios:
- Both players get a game loss (double loss) once the round time is up or the organization considers the time is close enough to the limit.
- The round time is up or the organization considers the time is close enough to the limit and the round result is still 0-0 or 1-1.
- Any other reason considered by the organization not disclosed in this page.
If the staff cannot determine a winner, the tie will be resolved randomly with a coinflip.
Result Manipulation
When both players show up for a round, match wins/losses MUST be determined only by game play.
Any player found to be asking their opponent to give them a win, either directly, indirectly or via bribery or coercion, will be immediately disqualified from the event, losing any right to the prizes earned, such as prize money or other products.
Players are able to grant the victory to their opponent, but once this decision is taken, it will not be revoked.
Identities & Ghosting
All players are expected to sign up using their real identities, such as their real names and actual Discord usernames. Those can differ from one another, but must remain true and unipersonal.
Any player proven to be ghosted (helped by other players, regardless if they were already eliminated or didn’t take part in the event) or signing up with a fake/alt identity, will be disqualified from the event, losing any right to the prizes earned, such as prize money or other products.
Connection issues
As soon as you notice a connection issue on your Nintendo Switch, you must do all of the following:
- Take a screenshot of the error message with the screen capture button (◙) on their Nintendo Switch, or a pic with your phone, and send it to the TO via Battlefy private chat, or exceptionally X or Discord.
- The player causing the connection issues will receive a different error message than the one who didn’t and thus will be assigned a loss for the game.
- Check if the internet connection to the game remains after the match concludes by pressing “Y” and then taking a clip by using the screen capture button (◙) again (you will have to hold it down for 3 seconds to start recording). Send the video to the TO via Battlefy private chat, or exceptionally X or Discord.
The scenario will be resolved in the following order:
- Player agreement: players will be allowed to consider the in-game situation of the match prior to the connection issues. By signing-up to the event, all players accept the responsibility of admitting to causing a disconnect and take a game loss if a) they know their connection caused the issue or b) the issue occurred at a point where they had already lost the game. Coercion, bribery or other means to determine the outcome of a disconnect are strictly prohibited.
- Evidence evaluation: if no player agreement is in place, players must flag the match on Battlefy (“Report Match Issue”). The TOs will evaluate all evidence provided by the players to prove they didn’t cause the match disconnect.
- If one player is deemed responsible for the disconnect, they will receive a game loss.
- If one player doesn’t send the pic/screenshot and clip to the TOs, they will receive a game loss in that match. If both fail to send their proofs, both may get a game loss.
- If no player sends the send the pic/screenshot and clip to the TOs, both of them may receive a game loss in that match.
- Keep in mind that a screenshot or pic where the disconnection message is clearly visible over the match is the golden proof. Videos where the message is visible on the screen are also valid. However, if you try to take a video using the Nintendo Switch’s screenshot feature, the message won’t show up. This is therefore not valid as an evidence.
- Manual resolution: If players can’t reach an agreement and evidence can’t determine who caused the connection issue, the TOs keep the right to take the following procedures:
- Cancellation of the match, requiring players to start a new match.
- Cancellation of the match, requiring players to start a match bringing the same Pokémon in turn one.
- Cancellation of the match, requiring players to recreate all turns from the game.
- Game loss to one or both players for any reasons not disclosed in this ruleset.
In all cases, the TOs decision will be communicated clearly to both players over on the Battlefy chat. The decision is final and irrevocable.
Keep in mind that players repeatedly causing connection issues will be noted by our TOs and are subject to disqualification at the head TOs discretion. Should a situation arise that is not covered above, the TOs will handle on a case-by-case basis.
Public Teamlists
For tournaments with public teamlists or team sheets in play, those teams will be accessible for both players paired each round.
Players will be able to check their opponent’s team before and during the match by using the URL in the same chat room they connect each other. The public list must be the exact same as the Pokémon team used in the match.
The procedure for solving any public teamlist issues is:
- If any player is reported once for having different information between their team list and their game, they will receive a game loss. However, they will be able to make the adaptation for the next game and following rounds.
- If any player is reported twice for keeping different information between their team list and their game, they will receive a game loss and the Pokémon affected will removed for the rest of the tournament.
- If any player is reported thrice for keeping different information between their team list and their game, they will be disqualified from the tournament.
After a team list error is found, players must amend it. Since the public list URL field can not be edited after the tournament starts, players will be responsible for sending a new team list every round on their chat and make sure their opponent checked it properly by asking them directly before the match
starts.
Standard of Conduct
All players competing on our tournaments or taking part in any of our activities are expected to have a respectful behaviour towards other players and the Victory Road staff. Similarly, all players are subject to the Play! Pokémon’s standards of conduct.
Any player whose behaviour is deemed against these standards of conduct will be disqualified from the tournament, losing any right to the prizes earned, such as prize money or other products.
Unacceptable behaviour includes, but is not limited to, insults, slurs and discrimination based on ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs. Victory Road’s TOs will evaluate each situation in a case-by-case basis and will decide on the most appropriate measures.
Stream and YouTube content
All players acknowledging that they have a capture card available for any event are subject to being asked about their gameplay signal so that Victory Road can stream/record their matches and upload them to media platforms (Twitch, Youtube…) both owned by Victory Road or third parties.
Given that, as of today, we don’t have a spectator mode available for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, we will have to use player’s signals recorded with specific hardware like capture cards.
Public Image
By participating in any tournament or event hosted by Victory Road, all players are subject to having any information they submit as part of their sign-up published on Victory Road’s website and social media platforms, included but not limited to, real name, country of residence and details pertaining to their participation, such as their team of Pokémon or any details thereof.
Players may and are encouraged to reach out to Victory Road in case they want to be excluded from this treatment ahead of the event, and each situation will be treated by individual basis. While ghosting and fake identities are not permitted at our events, safety and well-being of the participants is the utmost priority, and therefore players with certain circumstances may be allowed to play under an alias at Victory Road’s discretion.
Rules Agreement
All players competing in the event accept the rules disclosed in this page and are expected to follow staff instructions during the course of the event.
The player accepts knowing all rules disclosed in this document before they sign-up to any Victory Road event.
