"With the release of the Standard ruleset for the VGC ’14 season last week, many players were disappointed that there would be no in-game ladder to easily find opponents to practice against from around the world. Quick to respond, The Pokémon Company International has announced that the next Special ladder on Battle Spot will feature the exact same ruleset as the one that will be used for this season’s Video Game Championships. For quick reference, that is:
- Sleep / evasion clauses do not apply here
- Blaziken, as it is not in the Kalos dex, is not eligible for this season
- While they have to be hatched in Kalos, Pokebank will bring some additional egg moves from the previously unreleased pokemon
- Nintendo doesn't give a crap about our metagame, so Mega-Gengar and Mega-Kangaskhan are allowed
What will be the dominant strategy?
- 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:
- Pokémon must be found in the Coastal Kalos, Central Kalos, or Mountain Kalos Pokédex (Full list can be found here)
- Pokémon must have been obtained in Pokémon X or Y (identifiable by a blue pentagon on the stats screen)
- 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."
- Sleep / evasion clauses do not apply here
- Blaziken, as it is not in the Kalos dex, is not eligible for this season
- While they have to be hatched in Kalos, Pokebank will bring some additional egg moves from the previously unreleased pokemon
- Nintendo doesn't give a crap about our metagame, so Mega-Gengar and Mega-Kangaskhan are allowed
What will be the dominant strategy?
