Rule variants: Difference between revisions

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Rule variants, also known as formats, are sets of regulations that players follow when engaging in competitive battles. Rule variants typically restrict the species, levels, items, and moves of Pokémon, or place time limits on battles.

Rules are employed in official settings (such as in-game content and officially organized tournaments), as well as unofficial settings.

Rules

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While normally banning unreleased and/or illegitimate Pokémon, moves, items, and Abilities, there are other sets of rules set to be followed by players in varying contexts, be they official or otherwise. These are often called "clauses," a term initially seen in the Stadium series of games, used as a shorthand for more complex rules that impose restrictions on gameplay. Clauses are commonly made with the aim of reducing variance and thus producing a "fairer" metagame.

Many unofficial clauses are seen on Smogon, a popular competitive Pokémon website. On Smogon, rules are often proposed through "suspect tests" initiated by a council of players particularly dedicated to the metagame in question, wherein qualified tournament and ladder players will then vote on whether or not the rule will be instated, usually requiring a majority of 61% or higher. Common Smogon-popularised clauses include OHKO clause, Evasion clause, Moody clause, and Endless battle clause, which are seen across all of their metagames, being dubbed "Smogon-wide Clauses".[2]

The following clauses have seen considerable usage:

• Species clause: Each Pokémon on a player's team must be of different species or National Pokédex number.
• Item clause: Each Pokémon on a player's team must be holding different items.
• Sleep clause: Each player can only have one Pokémon asleep at a time.
  • Sleep inflicted through Rest and Sleep Talk count for the Pokémon Stadium series, Pokémon Colosseum, and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness; also, in those games, when a Pokémon is sleeping and one of its teammates is attacked by a move that induces sleep like Spore, the move fails. However, self-inflicted sleep still succeeds.
  • In Smogon metagames, self-inflicted sleep, such as through Rest, does not count.
  • In the event of an outright sleep ban, seen in some Generation I and V metagames, the rule is referred to as Sleep moves clause.
• OHKO clause: Fissure, Horn Drill, Guillotine, and Sheer Cold are banned.
• Freeze clause: Each player can only have one Pokémon frozen at a time.
  • In games like Pokémon Stadium, when a Pokémon is frozen and another Pokémon of the same team is attacked with a move that causes Freeze, the Freeze rate is reduced to 0%.
• Evasion clause: Double Team and Minimize are banned. This is sometimes expanded to include less direct measures to increase evasion, such as Acupressure, Moody, Sand Veil, and Snow Cloak. While not boosting evasion itself, items such as Bright Powder which have a mostly equivalent effect are sometimes banned in the spirit of the rule.
• Event clause: Pokémon and items that have only been released through events, such as Mew, are ineligible. The ban is rarely referred to by name due to the Pokémon (and sometimes items) banned being specified.
• Moody clause: The ability Moody is banned. Commonly used on Smogon.
• Baton Pass clause: Commonly used on Smogon, this comprises various restrictions on Baton Pass, ranging from an outright ban to an arbitrary number of users per team. Commonly seen in Single Battle metagames where full Baton Pass teams can easily spiral out of control. These bans can get quite specific, such as "TrapPass clause" in Generation II metagames, which bans the use of Baton Pass alongside Mean Look or Spider Web, due to the combination causing Pokémon to remain unable to escape.
• Swagger clause: Followed mainly in Generation V and Generation VI competitive play on Smogon, the move Swagger is banned. With more moves being banworthy since then, the clause is rarely referred to by name in modern times.
• Self-KO clause: The player automatically loses if their last Pokémon uses Selfdestruct or Explosion. Destiny Bond and Perish Song also fail when used by the last Pokémon.
• Terastal clause: Pokémon cannot Terastallize. Commonly seen in constructed metagames, such as "Pet Mods" on Pokémon Showdown!.
• Dynamax clause: Pokémon cannot Dynamax or Gigantamax.
• Gems clause: Exclusive to Generation V, the only generation where Gems other than the Normal Gem are obtainable, and bans their use. It appears specifically in Smogon's OverUsed metagame.
• Mega Rayquaza clause: Rayquaza cannot Mega Evolve. Used in Smogon's Generation VI and VII "Uber" metagames.
• Deoxys camouflage clause: Seen in Generation III metagames and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Deoxys formes are revealed upon entering battle.
• SleepTrap clause: Followed mainly in Generation II competitive play, sleep-inducing moves cannot be used in conjunction with moves that trap the opposing Pokémon permanently such as Mean Look. Given the nature, moves like Whirlpool are exempt.
• Cleric clause: Seen in Generations I and II. All Pokémon must be healthy at the beginning of the battle, this means that they must have full HP, full PP, and no status conditions like sleep or freeze. Games like Pokémon Stadium enforce this rule automatically by "curing" all Pokémon before the battle.
• Tradeback clause: Exclusive to Generation I metagames. Players cannot use Pokémon or moves obtained through the Time Capsule in Generation II; eg. Lovely Kiss Snorlax or Ice Punch Gengar. Exceptions are made for Stat Experience and DVs primarily for historical reasons.
• Invulnerability clause: Exclusive to Generation I metagames.^[1] This bans the use of Dig and Fly, due to a glitch involving Pokémon becoming invincible when the moves are interrupted by paralysis or confusion.

There are other rules normally followed only by official tournaments, such as:

• Nickname clause: No two or more Pokémon can have the same nickname.
  • Additionally, Pokémon cannot be nicknamed with the name of another Pokémon (e.g. an Unfezant named "Pidove" or "Arbok").
• Level Sum Limit: Seen in Generations I and II's official competitive formats, with the exception of Prime Cup. The three Pokémon that were chosen for the battle should have a specific Level Sum, e.g., in the case of the Poké Cup, the Level Sum Limit must be between 150 and 155, effectively giving five levels to distribute amongst Pokémon.

In addition, official tournaments in Generation V onward have required the use of the Battle Box feature, locking it upon entry. Plus, official tournaments will often limit the amount of Pokémon that can be brought into a game; usually, three for Single Battles, and four for Double Battles.

Tiers

Main article: Tier

In unofficial multiplayer play, Pokémon are typically divided into tiers. A Pokémon's tier placing depends on several factors, including its base stats, type, Abilities, movepool, and usage.

Tiers also serve as banlists. Battles take place according to tier, with all Pokémon in a higher tier banned. In the most common metagame, the Standard or Overused metagame, all Pokémon in the Uber tier are banned. In the Underused metagame, all Pokémon in the Borderline or higher tiers are banned.

As a variation of tiers, in certain communities, players are only allowed to use a maximum of one Pokémon out of a select group of Pokémon. This group of Pokémon is usually limited to legendary and pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

Generation I

In the games

Pokémon Stadium (Japanese)

The first Pokémon Stadium game, which was only released in Japan on August 1, 1998, features a tournament mode with two divisions: the L1-30 division, based on Nintendo Cup '98, and the L50-55 division, based on Nintendo Cup '97. The finalists from the Nintendo Cup '97 appear as opponents in the L50-55 Division.

Each division features a set of rules that would become standard for all console games:

• The species, self-KO, sleep, and freeze clauses are in effect.
• Both teams are shown before the battle, and each player must select three Pokémon to battle.

The game also features a Free Battle mode where players can customize the rules.

Pokémon Yellow

The Cable Club in Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue feature no rule regulations. However, Pokémon Yellow features an exclusive battle arena, Colosseum 2, with three Cups.

Each player can only use three Pokémon, and no additional rules are in effect, with the exception of level limitations. These Cups would later be used in the international Pokémon Stadium and future international tournaments.

Pokémon Stadium

The Japanese Stadium Cups in Pokémon Stadium

The second Pokémon Stadium game, which was released internationally as Pokémon Stadium, features tournaments called Stadium Cups.

All versions of Pokémon Stadium featured the Pika and Petit Cups from Pokémon Yellow Version's Colosseum 2, along with the Prime Cup, a no-holds barred tournament based on the normal Cable Club battles.

The Japanese version, known as Pokémon Stadium 2, also features three Nintendo Cups based on the first three Japanese tournaments, Nintendo Cups '97, '98, and '99. In-game representatives of its real-life participants appear as opponents in Round 2 of Nintendo Cup '98, while Nintendo Cup '99 and the Prime Cup each have four divisions. All three cups follow the species, self-KO, sleep, freeze, and event clauses.

In the international versions, the Nintendo Cups were replaced with the Poké Cup from Yellow's Colosseum 2. The Poké Cup features the four divisions and the arena of Nintendo Cup '99, but the rules of Nintendo Cup '97. All four Cups follow the species, self-KO, sleep, and freeze clauses, while only the Pika and Poké Cups follow the event clause.

Pokémon Stadium also introduced a Gym Leader Castle, where the player has to defeat the eight Gym Leaders and the Elite Four of the Generation I games. While the Castle features no level restrictions, all of the opposing Pokémon will be at level 50 by default. If the player uses a higher leveled Pokémon, all of the opponents' Pokémon would be at the same level as the player's highest-leveled Pokémon. A similar auto-leveling feature would appear in the battling facilities such as the Generation III Battle Frontier. The Castle features the same clauses as the Stadium Cups.

Pokémon Stadium was also the first Pokémon game that allowed more than two players to battle at a time. Up to four players can compete in the Free Battle mode; if two players are on a team, each player can only select and control three Pokémon. A similar mode of play, Multi Battle, was introduced in the Generation III main series games.

In tournaments

Nintendo Cup '97

A series of annual tournaments sponsored by Nintendo began in 1997, taking place in various locations across Japan. These tournaments, which would later be referred to as Nintendo Cups in the Japanese version of the Pokémon Stadium series, established the first set of rule variants that would pave the way for future tournaments and Pokémon games.

In the first of these tournaments, Nintendo Cup '97, Full Battles did not take place due to time constraints, instead, each player selected three Pokémon to battle after showing their party of six to their opponent. The battles took place in the Game Boy.

The event consisted of 15 regional tournaments. At the end, the 15 champions competed in a national tournament to determine who was the best trainer. The national event took place during the Nintendo Space World '97. Toru "Miyasawa" won the tournament thus becoming the first national champion in Pokémon History; on the other hand, Hiroki Yoshi was the runner-up, while the third place was a tie between Yojiro Yuki and Yusuke Suzuki. The champion and the runner-up got a Nintendo 64 console.^[2][3][4]

The players of the national tournament were depicted as opponents in the Pokémon Stadium|first}} Japanese Pokémon Stadium game, with 8 out of the 15 players being randomly selected to appear on any given playthrough. In addition, most of the Pokémon that appeared in Pokémon Stadium were selected due to their tournament performance.^[5]

In the international scene, the Nintendo Cup '97 was renamed Poké Cup and appeared in the games Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Stadium 1.

JP Nintendo Cup '97       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration August 29 to November 23, 1997 Registration ??? Release of Rankings November 23, 1997 Maximum Entries 3,584   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause Info	Banned Pokémon   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time 10 minutes Command Time ??? Total Level 155 Level Range 50-55   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Nintendo Cup '97 are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Nintendo Cup '98

The Nintendo Cup '98 made use of the first Japanese Pokémon Stadium}} game 12 days before it was officially released. In the tournament, only Pokémon that were available in that game were allowed to participate. The restriction to level 30 or lower narrowed down the choice of Pokémon even further, with a total of 33 species legal for use.

Like the previous event, the Nintendo Cup '98 was divided into two phases: seven local tournaments and one national tournament. The national tournament took place at the Studio 1 of TV Tokyo on August 30, 1998. The contestants were the seven champions from the local tournaments. Norishige Hanamoto was the champion, Tatsuya Hori was the runner-up, Shinji Yoshikawa won the third place and Shōhei Yanagisawa won the fourth place. The first three places got a gold, silver and bronze trophy receptively, on the other hand, the first four places got a Game Boy Light, a Game Boy Printer and a copy of the Pokémon Yellow Version once it was released.^[6][7]

The seven finalists of the national tournament, along with one generic Lad trainer to fill out the roster, were depicted as opponents in the second Japanese Pokémon Stadium game, in the Round 2 mode.

JP Nintendo Cup '98       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration July 19 to August 30, 1998 Registration ??? Release of Rankings August 30, 1998 Maximum Entries 1,528   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause	Pokémon Not Banned   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time ??? Command Time ??? Total Level 90 Level Range 1-30   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Nintendo Cup '98 are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Spring Pokémon League

The instructions about the front side of the return postcard required for the event entry

The instructions about the back side of the return postcard required for the event entry

The Spring Pokémon League was a series of tournaments organized by Nintendo. The events took place in March and April 1999 in Japan. To give variety to the game, the tournaments used the rules of the Petit Cup, which only allowed "cute" Pokémon. Battles used Pokémon Stadium 1 before it was released, and the competitors could use their Pokémon from their Game Boy cartridges. To participate, players had to send a postcard to Nintendo before a certain date, after which the company sent them an invitation in case they were selected or a notice of loss in case they were rejected. The reply mail was sent at least one week before each tournament started and there was no entry fee.

There were five regional tournaments. The Kumamoto tournament took place on March 27 and 28 at the TKU Plaza and was won by Naruyoshi Isasaka. The Osaka tournament took place on April 4 at the ATC Hall and was won by Atsushi Fujiwara. The Tokyo tournament took place on April 11 at the Tokyo Ryutsu Center and was won by Yasuaki Yoshitake. The Sendai tournament took place on April 25 at the San Festa and was won by Zenichiro Murakami. Finally, the Nagoya tournament took place on April 29 at the Fukiage Hall and was won by Kenta Takeshita. Unlike the previous events, there was not a national tournament.^[8]

JP Spring Pokémon League       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration March 27 to April 29, 1999 Registration March 3 to April 9, 1999 Release of Rankings April 29, 1999 Maximum Entries 256 per tournament   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause Info	Pokémon Not Banned   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time ??? Command Time ??? Total Level 80 Level Range 25-30   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Spring Pokémon League are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Nintendo Cup '99

Nintendo Cup '99 combined aspects from the previous tournaments. In addition to the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo and Mew, the Pokémon used by the finalists of the Nintendo Cup '97 and the Nintendo Cup '98 were also banned from the tournament. In the event, battles took place in Pokémon Stadium 1 where players used the Transfer Pak to use their teams from Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow.

Nintendo Cup '99 also consisted of two phases: 12 local tournaments and one national tournament. The national tournament took place during the Nintendo Space World '99. The contestants were the 12 champions from the local tournaments. Yukifumi Aoki was the champion, Yasuhito Kajihara was the runner-up and Akihiro Nagai won the third place.^[9]

Nintendo Cup '99 also appeared in Pokémon Stadium 1; however it was cut in the international version.

JP Nintendo Cup '99       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration July 1 to August 28, 1999 Registration ??? Release of Rankings August 28, 1999 Maximum Entries ???   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause Info	Banned Pokémon   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time ??? Command Time ??? Total Level 150 Level Range 1-50   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Nintendo Cup '99 are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Pokémon League Summer Training Tour '99

The Pokémon League Summer Training Tour '99 was the first series of Pokémon tournaments that took place in the United States. From July 10 to September 12 players could visit the nearest mall to compete in Pokémon battles, play Trading Card Game matches, try out the new titles: Pokémon Pinball and Pokémon Snap, participate in a Mew distribution event or watch Nintendo employees demonstrating the upcoming game: Pokémon Yellow. The event took place in 20 cities, these were: Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Kansas City (Missouri), Salt Lake City, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Dallas, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Bethesda (Maryland), New Jersey and New York. Each city had its own series of tournaments.

The event was also famous because it marked the debut of the Pika Cup, the Poké Cup and the Prime Cup outside of Japan. The Pika Cup was for Pokémon of Levels 15-20 (Mewtwo and Mew were banned along with Pokémon that were impossible to obtain at those levels); on the other hand, the Poké Cup was for Pokémon of levels 50-55 (Mewtwo and Mew were still banned); finally, the Prime Cup was for Pokémon of levels 1-100 (Mewtwo and Mew were allowed).

Each division was opened to a maximum of 1,000 players between ages 7 to 14. To participate, players had to bring their Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket or Game Boy Color and a game of Pokémon Red or Pokémon Blue; Link Cables were provided by Nintendo employees and battles took place with Colosseum 1 mechanics. Before each battle, players had to show their six Pokémon to their opponent (all had to be of a different species), then they had to choose three for the battle and deposit the other three in Bill's PC. Like their Japanese counterparts, the Pika Cup and the Poké Cup had a Level Sum Limit for the Pokémon that were chosen for the battle: 50 for the Pika Cup and 155 for the Poké Cup. All formats featured Freeze, Sleep and Self-KO clauses; finally, if a player's Game Boy ran out of batteries he lost the match.

All tournament registrants got a Pokémon sticker sheet, a mini-poster with all the Pokémon, a window decal and a tournament brochure. Players could also earn Badges depending on their performance: a Competition Badge just for competing, a Boulder Badge for winning one match and a Cascade Badge for winning two matches. Players that earned the three Badges could be selected to play against a Gym Leader from Nintendo, they got a Pokémon Trainer Cap in case they won.^[10][11][12]

Due to the success of the event, it was extended from October 9 to November 7. The second half of the event was renamed as the Pokémon League Nintendo Training Tour '99 due to the change of season. The new event included San Francisco and Los Angeles and six new cities: Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Boston, Mesa (Arizona), St. Louis and Miami. The formats and rules were the same; however, the tournaments were now opened for players of all ages and Pokémon Yellow was banned despite the fact that it was officially released during the first days of the event.

• 

  A picture of the Dallas event, some kids can be seen playing competitive battles in the left.

• 

  Nintendo employees demonstrating the upcoming game: Pokémon Yellow.

• 

  The Pikabeetle.

• 

  Pokémon paraphernalia that was given away to the people that registered for the tournaments.

• 

  The rules of the different formats.

NA Pokémon League Summer Training Tour '99       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration July 10 to November 7, 1999 Registration July 10 to November 7, 1999 Release of Rankings ??? Maximum Entries 1,000 per tournament   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause	Banned Pokémon   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V Varies depending of the format   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time ??? Command Time ??? Total Level Varies Level Range Varies   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Pokémon League Summer Training Tour '99 are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Pokémon 2000 Stadium Tour

A series of tournaments were held in Canada and the United States during the Pokémon 2000 Stadium Tour, which took place to promote Pokémon Stadium. Competitors were separated into three skill groups: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Each skill group was assigned to one division of Pokémon Stadium: Pika Cup for Beginners, Poké Cup for Intermediate players and Prime Cup for Advanced players. Battles took place in the Game Boy and in Pokémon Stadium. In the case of the Game Boy, if both players had a Yellow Version they played in the Colosseum 2 mode; however, if one or both had a Red or Blue Version they played in the Colosseum 1.^[13]

NA Pokémon 2000 Stadium Tour       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration February 5 to April 9, 2000 Registration ??? Release of Rankings N/A Maximum Entries 1,000 per day   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause	Banned Pokémon   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V Varies depending of the format   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time ??? Command Time ??? Total Level Varies Level Range Varies   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Pokémon 2000 Stadium Tour are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Pokémon 2000 World Championship

Thunder for Down Under, a worldwide qualifier, took place in various countries in the year 2000. In this tournament, players from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States all competed in regional championships, with the winners heading for the Pokémon 2000 World Championship, the first Pokémon World Championship, in Sydney, Australia. The regional and Continental events featured three formats: Pika Cup, Poké Cup and Prime Cup; however, the World event only featured the Prime Cup. Pokémon Stadium was used for the battles. Regarding the Prime Cup rules, Mewtwo was allowed in the Spanish tournament, on the other hand, Mew was banned in all the events. Darryn Van Vuuren, from the United Kingdom, won the World tournament thus becoming the first World Champion in Pokémon History; on the other hand, Edwin Krause from Germany finished on second place, Sergio García Maroto from Spain finished on third place and Ian Garvey from the United States finished on fourth place.^[14][15]

NA PAL Pokémon 2000 World Championship       R G B Y St St G S C St2 R S E FR LG Colo XD D P Pt HG SS PBR B W B2 W2 Duration June 1 to September 22, 2000 Registration ??? Release of Rankings September 22, 2000 Maximum Entries ???   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause Info	Banned Pokémon   Pokémon from the following Generations: I II III IV V Varies depending of the format   Banned Items   ALL NONE N/A   Banned Moves     Sky Drop     Dark Void     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam     Hyper Beam   NONE	Rules   Format Single Battle Party 3 per battle 6 per entry Format Party Single Battle 3 per battle 3-6 per entry Double Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Triple Battle 6 per battle 6 per entry Rotation Battle 4 per battle 4-6 per entry Battle Time 10 minutes Command Time 12 seconds Total Level Varies Level Range Varies   Clauses   Evasion Clause Sleep Clause Freeze Clause Self-KO Clause Item Clause Species Clause
All Pokémon, items, moves, and Abilities unreleased or unobtainable legitimately during the duration of the battles under Pokémon 2000 World Championship are also banned, but they are not specifically listed.

Generation II

In the games

Pokémon Stadium 2

The final Pokémon Stadium game, Pokémon Stadium 2, features four Stadium Cups. The Poké and Prime Cups returned from the original; however, the Prime Cup only had one division. The Little Cup and the Challenge Cup were added, with the latter featuring four divisions. The moves Dragon Rage and SonicBoom are banned in the Little Cup, making it the first rule variant to prohibit certain moves. In the game, players can customize and save various sets of rules. Still, all cups follow the species, item, self-KO, sleep, and freeze clauses; only the Prime Cup follows the event clause. With a total limit of 155, only the Poké Cup has a total level limit.

Pokémon Crystal

Pokémon Crystal introduced the first Battle Tower, a special battling facility. The Battle Tower's rules are similar to Pokémon Stadium's, and this was later followed by future Battle Towers:

• Players must select three different Pokémon to battle.
• All Pokémon must be holding different items.

A change from the Pokémon Stadium games, a draw will end the player's streak, even if the opponent's Pokémon causes the draw with a move such as Explosion. Also, items cannot be used from the Bag.

Unlike future Battle Towers, event Pokémon can be used in the level 70 and higher divisions.

In tournaments

Nintendo Cup 2000

Nintendo Cup 2000 logo

In Japan, a fourth series of tournaments for the Pokémon games, Nintendo Cup 2000, was held. The event used Pokémon Stadium 2 to organize battles days before the game was officially released. Similar to Nintendo Cup '97, the tournaments took place using Pokémon from levels 50-55, with a total limit of 155. At the end, the winners of the eleven local tournaments competed in a national tournament. Yuki Sato won the event, Akira Nakamura finished on second place and Tatsuaki Fujita finished on third place. The runner-up and the third place won a silver and a bronze trophy respectively, on the other hand, the champion won a Game Boy Advance once it was released.^[16][17]

Like the other official tournaments, the Nintendo Cup 2000 appeared in the game Pokémon Stadium 2. In the English versions of the game, the format inherited the name of the Poké Cup due to its similarities with the tournament that appeared in the international Pokémon Stadium 1.