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Video Game Tournament Formats

 

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.


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.

Single Format Style
The teams will consist of 6 usable Pokemon but only 3 will be used per battle. The battle will be Single Battle. 

Modified Format 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 Gengar named “Zebstrika”).

  • Pokémon may only use moves that have been learned through one of the following methods:

           o By leveling up
           o By TM or HM
           o As an Egg move, through breeding
           o From a character in the game
           o A move already known by a Pokémon received at an official Pokémon event or promotion
 

The Modified format is the standard tournament format for PLAY! Pokémon video game events.This is the current Modified format for the 2013- 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. 

  • Pokémon used must be native to the Kalos region in Pokémon X or Pokémon Y.

 

Kalos Native 
Pokémon used in the Modified 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. 

 

 

 

Champion Format Team Construction

This format is similar to Modified Format except that a Player may only use Pokemon from the sixth generation. Everything else pretaining to the structure of the Format is exactly the same as Modified. 
 

Other Information:
• The use of external devices to alter the Pokémon in a player’s party is expressly forbidden. Random checks will be performed throughout the tournament to determine whether or not an external device has been used to modify a player’s party. Players found to have Pokémon that have been tampered with will be disqualified from the event, regardless of whether the player tampered with his or her game or received a Pokémon or item that was tampered with by someone other than the player. It is the player’s responsibility to have legal Pokémon. Event officials have the final determination regarding the legality of a Pokémon.
• A player should notify the staff immediately if he or she believes that there is a problem with an opponent’s Pokémon. At the end of the round, all match results become final. Issues that go unreported until after the round has completed will not change the result of that match, regardless of whether there is a problem with an opponent’s Pokémon.
• Players and spectators are expected to demonstrate proper sportsmanship over the course of the event. A player may be disqualified from the event based on actions taken by friends or relatives who disrupt the operation of the tournament.

Tournament Operation:
The tournament is a Single Elimination event. Each match will consist of a single game and will result in the winner advancing to the next round and the loser being removed from the tournament. The last player remaining will be the winner of the event.

A player wins by knocking out his or her opponent’s final Pokémon.
• If the player’s final Pokémon used Selfdestruct, Explosion, Destiny Bond, or Final Gambit, and both players’ final Pokémon are knocked out as a result, that player loses that game.
• If a player’s final Pokémon used Double-Edge, Volt Tackle, Flare Blitz, Take Down, Submission, Brave Bird, Wood Hammer, Head Smash, Struggle, or Wild Volt, or was holding Life Orb, and both players’ final Pokémon are knocked out as a result, that player wins that game.
• If both players’ final Pokémon is knocked out by a weather condition, such as Hail or Sandstorm, the player whose Pokémon is knocked out last wins the game
• If a Pokémon’s ability or held item, such as Rough Skin, Aftermath, Liquid Ooze, Iron Barbs, and Rocky Helmet, results in each player’s final Pokémon being knocked out, the player with the ability or held item will win the game.
• A player who selects “Run” during a battle will count as the loser of that game, whether selected intentionally or not.
• If a player loses connection during a battle due to technical difficulties, that player will count as the loser of that game, whether intentional or not.

Random byes will be assigned during the first round based on the number of players participating in that round.

 

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