The third iteration of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Ranked Battle Series is now live with some new rulesets allowing some of the Pokémon from Pokémon Home and a few extra Gigantimax forms to be used.
As the first Ranked Battle Series since the release of Home, The Pokémon Company has made some big changes to the availability of certain Pokémon in competitive, online battles that are now being put into practice.
Starting March 1 and lasting until April 30, players can compete in ranked Singles or Doubles, all with a full ruleset that reflects very closely to the current VGC meta as both Sword and Shield continue to evolve. Ranked Battle Series Three lets in multiple Gigantimax forms that were previously banned, along with several Pokémon that are now legal to use that were introduced through Home, including the remaining Kanto and Alolan starters.
These are the official list of rules for both the Singles and Doubles format of Ranked Battle Series 3.
Singles Ruleset
- Pokémon Restrictions: Available National Pokédex (Galar Symbol)
- Pokémon Limits: Team of 3 to 6 Pokémon from Level 1 to Level 100. All Pokémon then set to Level 50
- Match Length: No limit
- Allowed Gigantamax: Charizard, Butterfree, Pikachu, Meowth, Kingler, Lapras Eevee, Snorlax, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalossal, Flapple, Appletun, Sandaconda, Toxtricity, Centiskorch, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie
- Battle Time: 20 Minutes
- Your Time: Seven Minutes
- Team Preview: 90 Seconds
- Turn Time: 45 Seconds
Doubles Ruleset
- Pokémon Restrictions: Available National Pokédex (Galar Symbol)
- Pokémon Limits: Team of 4 to 6 Pokémon from Level 1 to Level 100. All Pokémon then set to Level 50
- Match Length: No limit
- Allowed Gigantamax: Charizard, Butterfree, Pikachu, Meowth, Kingler, Lapras Eevee, Snorlax, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalossal, Flapple, Appletun, Sandaconda, Toxtricity, Centiskorch, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie
- Battle Time: 20 Minutes
- Your Time: Seven Minutes
- Team Preview: 90 Seconds
- Turn Time: 45 Seconds
Here is the full list of banned Pokémon and forms that will still be unavailable for use in the competitive battling scene, most of which are Legendary or Mythical Pokémon.
Banned Pokémon
- Mewtwo
- Mew
- Celebii
- Jirachi
- Cobalion
- Terrakion
- Virizion
- Reshiram
- Zekrom
- Kyurem
- Keldeo
- Cosmog
- Cosmoem
- Solgaleo
- Lunala
- Necrozma
- Marshadow
- Zeraora
- Meltan
- Melmetal
- Zacian
- Zamazenta
- Eternatus
Banned Gigantimax Forms
- Machamp
- Gengar
- Garbodor
- Copperajah
- Duraludon
Players who competed in Ranked Battle Series 2 can now claim their seasonal rewards by checking your ranking in the Ranked Battle mode and then going into the Mystery Gift and selecting “Receive via Battle Stadium.”
Pokémon Sword and Shield Ranked Battle Series 3 will run until April 30, so you better get your teams together and start climbing up to Master Ball Tier.
