Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Rules For Series 1 Competitive

In the most recent Pokemon games, Nintendo has created modes where players can participate in online battles. In these online battles, players play very competitively to raise their Pokemon teams to beat out other players. There is even a ranked ladder where players try to reach the highest rank, Master Ball Rank.

After finally addressing the performance issues of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Nintendo also announced that competitive Pokemon is back. Ranked is returning to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and the rules for Series 1 are now available. Here, we will go over the ruleset for competitive online Pokemon.

What Are The Series 1 Rules For Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?

The rules for competitive Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet were actually announced in Pokemon Home, an app where players can store their Pokemon across multiple games. In the app, the Series 1 rules for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are laid out.

There will be a 20-minute total time limit for each battle. The preview time to select your Pokemon will be 90 seconds, while the turn time is 45 seconds. Players will each have 7 minutes of playing time. These timers are to make sure that no player is purposefully stalling and to make sure that each battle ends in a timely manner.

On top of that, there are Pokemon restrictions for Series 1. Series 1 will ban the use of Paradox Pokemon. That means no Pokemon like Scream Tail or Iron Treads. Ruin Pokemon are also banned, which means Pokemon like Chien-Pao.

Legendary Pokemon are also banned, so no Koraidon or Miraidon can be used in competitive gameplay. Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard are banned as well because they were just introduced in Scarlet and Violet through raids. But all other Pokemon, like Palafin are allowed so long as they are caught in Scarlet and Violet. Terastrializing Pokemon was not mentioned, so it is assumed that players can freely use Tera Pokemon as well.

Although it is unwritten, the Series usually adheres to the Pokemon's Video Game Competition (VGC) rules as well. That means ranked will be double battles, and only four Pokemon can be brought in per battle. VGC, which is an official Pokemon tournament, has historically followed the series rules as well. So in person Pokemon tournaments will follow Series 1 rules.

When Will Ranked Come To Pokemon Scarlet And  Violet?

On top of the Series 1 rules, we now know when ranked in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is coming. Players can play ranked in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet starting on December 2nd. On top of that, the Series 1 ranked season will last until January 31st.

This gives players about two whole months to reach the highest rank they possibly can. Getting a high rank will often give players good rewards. In Pokemon Sword and Shield, players were often rewarded with items like Bottle Caps or Ability Capsules, items which are essential for competitive Pokemon gameplay. So anyone interested in competitive Pokemon should consider playing ranked gameplay.

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All featured images are courtesy of Nintendo of America / The Pokemon Company