{"id":104933,"date":"2019-12-04T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/12\/pokemon_championship_rules_are_changing_in_2020_as_sword_and_shield_take_over"},"modified":"2019-12-04T16:30:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T16:30:00","slug":"pokemon-championship-rules-are-changing-in-2020-as-sword-and-shield-take-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/12\/04\/pokemon-championship-rules-are-changing-in-2020-as-sword-and-shield-take-over\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon Championship Rules Are Changing In 2020 As Sword And Shield Take Over"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Swordshield\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

The Pok\u00e9mon Company has shared lots of information on the future of the Pok\u00e9mon Video Game Championships (or VGCs). From 4th January 2020, tournaments will officially shift to Pok\u00e9mon Sword and Shield<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, competitive players will need to adapt their current strategies as they begin to compete with the new games. A list of rules has been shared today:<\/p>\n

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Tournaments in the 2020 Video Game Championships will include the following rules:<\/p>\n

– All battles will be Double Battles played in Pok\u00e9mon Sword<\/em> and Pok\u00e9mon Shield<\/em>.
– Each player will need their own Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite and a physical or digital version of Pok\u00e9mon Sword<\/em> or Pok\u00e9mon Shield<\/em> to compete.
– Pok\u00e9mon will need to have the Galar symbol, showing they were caught in the Galar region.
– All Pok\u00e9mon from the Galar Regional Pok\u00e9dex will be permitted except for Mythical Pok\u00e9mon and certain Legendary Pok\u00e9mon.
– All Pok\u00e9mon will be set to Lv. 50, including Pok\u00e9mon below Lv. 50.
– Duplicate Pok\u00e9mon will not be allowed.
– Duplicate held items will not be allowed.
– Each battle will begin with a 90-second Team Preview phase.
– Players will have 7 minutes of Your Time, 45 seconds of Move Time, and (now returning to the VGC) 15 minutes of Game Time in each battle.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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There are also extra rules in place for any Pok\u00e9mon capable of Gigantamaxing. The list of species permitted to Gigantamax will expand every few months, based on events in which these Pok\u00e9mon become more common within Sword and Shield. The rules are very clear in that Pok\u00e9mon capable of Gigantamaxing are not<\/em> legal until they are included in the Play! Pok\u00e9mon VG Rules and Formats document (which will be regularly updated in relation to this new ruling).<\/p>\n

As of 4th January 2020, the following are the only Pok\u00e9mon with the Gigantamax Factor that are permitted to compete:<\/p>\n