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Published on November 22nd, 2013 | by Firestorm

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Pokémon Announces Standard Format for VGC ’14 Season

The official rules document for the VGC ’14 season has been updated by The Pokémon Company International and is more or less what we reported on a few weeks back.

Standard Ruleset (VGC ’14)

• All matches are played in Doubles format
• Pokemon above Level 50 will be brought down to 50 for the match while those below 50 will stay as-is
• Players choose 4 of their 6 registered Pokemon after team preview
• Pokémon must meet all three of the following conditions to be eligible for use:
  1. Pokémon must be found in the Coastal Kalos, Central Kalos, or Mountain Kalos Pokédex (Full list can be found here)
  2. Pokémon must have been obtained in Pokémon X or Y (identifiable by a blue pentagon on the stats screen)
  3. Mewtwo, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde are banned
• Species Clause: No two Pokémon can share the same Pokédex number.
• Item Clause: No two Pokémon can hold the same held item.

You can find the full rules document here with the key bits taken out for you below:

Pokémon Organized Play supports several tournament formats for sanctioned play of the Pokémon video games. This document covers each of the approved formats and their variations. Tournaments that do not use one of the formats described here may not be sanctioned.

7. Standard Format Style

All sanctioned Pokémon video game tournaments require players to assemble a team of Pokémon, with items, prior to the start of the event. The standard format style for all Play! Pokémon tournaments is Double Battle.

7.1. Double Battle

In Double Battles, each player selects four Pokémon from his or her party of six to battle with. At the start of the battle, players send out the first two Pokémon in their party, making a total of four Pokémon on the battlefield. Game play continues until a player makes all four of his or her opponent’s Pokémon faint.

8. Standard Team Construction Rules

• When building a team for a Play! Pokémon tournament, all players must adhere to these standard construction rules.
• A player’s team cannot contain two Pokémon with the same Pokédex number.
• Each Pokémon on a player’s team can hold an item, though no two Pokémon may hold the same item.
• A player’s team cannot contain two Pokémon with the same nickname.
• A player’s team cannot contain a Pokémon nicknamed with the name of another Pokémon (for example, an Unfezant named “Pidove”).
• Pokémon may only use moves that have been learned through one of the following methods:
  • By leveling up
  • By TM or HM
  • As an Egg Move, through breeding
  • From a character in the game
  • A move already known by a Pokémon received at an official Pokémon event or promotion

9. Sanctioned Format

Pokémon Organized Play supports one format for sanctioned play: Standard. Sanctioned events are listed on the POP website, and the results are reported to POP after the event concludes.

9.1. Standard Format

The Standard format is the standard tournament format for Play! Pokémon video game events. This format will be used at all premier events unless specified otherwise. The Standard format for the 2014 season will use the following restrictions:

• Only Pokémon X and Pokémon Y Game Cards or downloadable versions are permitted for use.
• Players may use Pokémon from the Central Kalos Pokédex from #001 to #150, Coastal Kalos Pokédex from #001 to #153, or Mountain Kalos Pokédex from #001 to #147.
• Pokémon must be placed in the Battle Box.
• Pokémon are allowed to Mega Evolve.
• Pokémon above Level 50 are permitted, but they are auto-leveled down to 50 for the duration of battle.
• Players may use Pokémon with Hidden Abilities.
• Players may use items that have been officially released via Pokémon X, Pokémon Y, the Pokémon Global Link, or an official event or promotion.

9.2. Kalos Native

Pokémon used in the Standard Format must be native to the Kalos region in Pokémon X or Pokémon Y. A native Pokémon is a Pokémon that is hatched or caught in Pokémon X or Pokémon Y. Pokémon that have been transferred to Pokémon X or Pokémon Y via Pokémon Bank or Poké Transporter are not native.

The primary difference (aside from everything that comes with using Pokémon X and Y of course) from the last season is that there will be a restriction on the Pokémon used based on Pokédex much like there was in the VGC ’11 season. Using Veekun’s filter, you can get a full list of Pokémon allowed (minus Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, and Mewtwo). Additionally, the moves Sky Drop and Dark Void are no longer banned from use and we once again lose move tutor moves from previous generations.

As far as time goes, you will be allowed to take notes at any time during the match rather than just after you’ve taken your move. You will have 45 seconds to make your move as opposed to 60 seconds last season and we will return to a 15 minute time limit for each match like in the VGC ’12 season rather than 20 minutes.

4. Time Limits

Tournament staff is responsible for running a timely event. To assist in this effort, POP has established guidelines for time limits during various portions of the event. Players may take notes at any time during their match but must begin each match with a blank sheet.

4.1. Pre-game Time Limit

Players will have 90 seconds to view their opponent’s team and select their Pokémon.

4.2. Mid-game Time Limit

Any mid-game effects, such as selecting a move or retreating Pokémon, are to take place within the 45 seconds allocated per turn.

4.3. Match Time Limits

Single-game matches will be 15 minutes. For best-of-three matches, each game in the match will be 15 minutes.

About the Author

Firestorm is one of the co-founders of Nugget Bridge and the Community Manager for eSports Tournament Platform Battlefy. He has been playing Pokémon since 1999, competitively since 2007, and attending tournaments since 2010. He lives in Vancouver, Canada with a degree in Interactive Art & Technology + Communications. You can follow him on Twitter at @rushanshekar.

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