The next ruleset for the Pokémon Video Game Championships (VGC) has been announced; following a series of polls held on Play! Pokémon's various social media accounts, Regulation Set F was voted to return from 1 December 2025 to 31 March 2026.
This is the final official ruleset for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet before the release of Pokémon Champions and reintroduction of Mega Evolution to VGC in early 2026.
Regulation Set F was the sixth official ruleset for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and originally ran from 4 January to 30 April 2024. Pokémon eligible for use included those in the Paldea Pokédex, Kitakami Pokédex, Blueberry Pokédex, and Pokémon that can be transferred through Pokémon HOME, excluding Restricted Special Pokémon such as Koraidon and Miraidon.
The highest-level event to use the Regulation F ruleset was the 2024 Europe International Championships, won by 3x Regional Champion Nils Dunlop alongside Urshifu Rapid-Strike, Porygon2, Ursaluna, Amoonguss, Incineroar, and Flutter Mane.
This team features a powerful Trick Room mode with Porygon2's incredible defensive stats boosted by the Eviolite, allowing it to set up Trick Room for slower Pokémon on the team, mainly being Ursaluna and Amoonguss. While the latter of the two supports the team with Spore and Rage Powder, Ursaluna instead uses its incredibly high Attack stat, boosted by its ability Guts, to easily pick up one-hit knockouts before the opposing Pokémon can react. Incineroar functions well both in and out of Trick Room, supporting its team by lowering the opposing Pokémon's Attack stats with Intimidate and disrupting them with Fake Out, Knock Off, and Parting Shot. Outside of Trick Room, the team's main sources of damage are Urshifu and Flutter Mane, with the former using the Choice Scarf to immediately outspeed most Pokémon in the format, and the latter using a more defensive moveset with Substitute, allowing it to stick around for longer while using powerful attacks like Moonblast and Shadow Ball.
As a reminder, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's online Ranked Battles are still using the Regulation Set J ruleset until 4 January 2026, a format which allows the use of Mythical Pokémon.
Regulation F is currently set to make its debut at the upcoming 2026 Toronto Regional Championships, running from 17-18 January 2026. Europe, Oceania, and Latin America's first events using this ruleset run one week later from 24-25 January, being the 2026 Birmingham, Auckland, and Mérida Regional Championships respectively. The 2026 Grand Challenge IV is also set to begin in January, although the specific dates are yet to be announced. This online event is likely to be using the Regulation F ruleset as well.
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