VGC 2018 Rules Update

Recently, we received news of the VGC 2018 rules so it's time to talk about them as well as know all the important information associated with it. I plan on listing each one of them reveals as well as giving a brief description of what it means for the 2018 format and giving some helpful ideas on what you can do to prepare for the 2018 format when it's playable in format.

You can read the official document that was released here.

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Double Battles played in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

This is standard and something that no one is surprised about. VGC at its core is double battles that won't be changing. Games being played on Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are also very much unexpected since the games will be released on November 17, 2017. This also does 100% confirm that the 2018 European International Championships taking place the same weekend the games come out will be played using VGC 2017 rules and on Pokemon Sun and Moon.

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All Pokemon must have the Alola symbol to show they were obtained in the Alola Region

Although this isn't exactly news, it was very interesting to see if this was going to be a thing because in all formats on Battle Spot the VGC ladder has allowed players to use Pokemon from older games so technically, a Sceptile obtained from the Gameboy copy of Pokemon Ruby could be used as well as a Greninja obtained from the 3DS copy of Pokemon X could be used on the same team. This rule means that players will be forced to use Pokemon obtained from Pokemon Sun and Moon, as well as Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. This also does mean that if a Pokemon isn't obtainable from these games, it won't be legal, but if you follow the trend of GameFreak which is making sure that you're able to catch every single Pokemon created in each generation of games.

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Duplicate Pokemon and Items will not be allowed. All items will be legal as well

While the first one isn't news since no duplicate Pokemon and items have always been a staple in VGC, the 2nd point about all items being legal means that Mega Evolution will be making its return to VGC. Mega Evolution wasn't legal in 2017 to showcase Z-Moves, but 2018 will make it legal to have both Z-Crystals and Mega Stones on your team so it'll be interesting to see how players make use of both having the right Z-Crystal and the right mega stone onto teams.

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All Pokemon are set to level 50, including Pokemon below level 50 for the duration of the battle

A change introduced in VGC 2017, this change means that a Rowlet that was just obtained at the very beginning of your copy of the game could be used in a VGC match and will be leveled up to 50 for the game. This is a welcomed change as it makes it easier to get Pokemon ready for VGC with only relying on simply evolving a Pokemon to the correct stage.

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All Pokémon, excluding Mythical Pokemon, some legendary Pokemon, and Ash-Greninja, will be legal

This is very important as it means that the format will be very similar if not very much identical to the format playable on Battle Spot Doubles. This does mean that Pokemon like Groudon and Xerneas will not be legal, but Pokemon like Landorus and Zapdos will most likely be legal. The way you'll be able to tell is that if a Pokemon is able to be caught or obtained anywhere in either Sun and Moon or Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you'll be able to use it in VGC 2018. It won't be exactly the same as GameFreak has confirmed that there will be new Pokemon, as shown by the 3 new Ultra Beasts, a new Lycanroc form and exclusive Z-Move, and Kommo-o getting an exclusive new Z-Move, but teams that have done well in the current Battle Spot Doubles will find some success.

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All Live Tournaments will transition to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon on January 1, 2018

This is important because it means that the European International Championships will be played under the 2017 format. While this isn't necessarily news, it is interesting as it seems that the Pokemon Company has heard the complaints of how last time, players had to rush through their copy of Pokemon Sun or Pokemon Moon in order to have more time to get a team for the event should they decide to compete. It also means that Memphis Regionals will be played in the same format as well. Finally, it means that between the release of the games and the format change, you'll have roughly 6 weeks to prepare a team in-game and collect all necessary items before you'll be able to start considering taking the team to events.

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Player Time is 5 minutes

The most controversial of the new updates, your personal timer has been cut in half from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. Many players are very happy with this because it can be argued that most games will be ended prematurely and the player who will have won the game may not end in time. Whether or not this will be true remains to be seen, but it will be safe to say the 45 seconds given in VGC 2017 to select your moves will probably be lowered to 30 seconds to accommodate this change. Whether or not this is an update is a good thing, it will certainly be interesting to see how this affects games and how viable defensive play becomes now that the bulkiest Pokemon that have been seen in past seasons are affected by this.