Ranked Battles Series in Pokémon Sword and Shield

This is a chronological list of all Ranked Battles Series in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Ranked Battles Series define the restrictions that exist in a given format of play.

The first Ranked Battles Series was introduced on November 15, 2019, coinciding with the launch of the games, and the start of Ranked Battles Season 1.

Outside of Korea, there were no competitive tournaments using Pokémon Sword and Shield during the fall of 2019, as tournaments at this time were still held on the 3DS. However the Korean League Season 1 on December 15, was held on Sword and Shield, and therefore became the only tournament to use the Series 1 Ruleset. The games became the official platform for official competitive play worldwide from January 4, 2020 until August 21, 2022, with the final tournament being the 2022 World Championships. Series 13 and Series 14 were used for online battles after the end of the 2022 VGC season, but were never used in official competitive play.

Unlike Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, The ranked Battles Series used in online battles always matched the ruleset used in competitive play for the entire duration that Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield were the official VGC platform.

Series list

Note: The Series currently in use for online battles is shown with a yellow background. Pokémon Sword and Shield are no longer legal in official competitive play.

Series	Series banner	Active period
Series 1		Run 1: November 15, 2019 00:00 UTC December 31, 2019 23:59 UTC (47 days)
Series 2		Run 1: January 1, 2020 04:00 UTC February 29, 2020 23:59 UTC (60 days)
Series 3		Run 1: March 1, 2020 04:00 UTC April 30, 2020 23:59 UTC (61 days)
Series 4		Run 1: May 1, 2020 04:00 UTC June 30, 2020 23:59 UTC (61 days)
Series 5		Run 1: July 1, 2020 04:00 UTC August 31, 2020 23:59 UTC (62 days)
Series 6		Run 1: September 1, 2020 04:00 UTC October 31, 2020 23:59 UTC (61 days)
Series 7		Run 1: November 1, 2020 04:00 UTC January 31, 2021 23:59 UTC (92 days)
Series 8		Run 1: February 1, 2021 04:00 UTC April 30, 2021 23:59 UTC (89 days)
Series 9		Run 1: May 1, 2021 04:00 UTC July 31, 2021 23:59 UTC (92 days)
Series 10		Run 1: August 1, 2021 04:00 UTC October 31, 2021 23:59 UTC (92 days)
Series 11		Run 1: November 1, 2021 04:00 UTC January 31, 2022 23:59 UTC (92 days)
Series 12		Run 1: February 1, 2022 04:00 UTC August 31, 2022 23:59 UTC (212 days)
Series 13		Run 1: September 1, 2022 04:00 UTC October 31, 2022 23:59 UTC (61 days)
Series 14		Run 1: November 1, 2022 04:00 UTC Until end of service