Less than one month into Pokémon Sword and Shield Ranked Series Eight, big changes are already coming to its ninth season. Most notably, the rule allowing one restricted legendary Pokémon on teams will be reverted.
The ongoing Ranked Series Eight allows for one restricted legendary per team chosen out of 24 Pokémon, including powerhouses such as Zacian, Calyrex, and Kyogre. These legendaries will now join many of their mythical brethren on the ban list, marking a return to a near-identical ruleset introduced in Series Seven.
While most top teams leveraged the prowess of legendaries, the wide-open pool should still allow for powerful rosters. As long as each Pokémon has a Galar or Battle Ready mark, they can be used for Ranked Series Nine, which is set to begin on May 1 at 10pm CT.
Here’s the full list of rules for Ranked Series Nine, including the updated ban list.
Rules
- Region: International
- Battle Format: Single and Double Battles
- Battle Limits: No Battle Limits per day
- Battle Time: 20 minutes
- Your Time: Seven minutes
- Team Preview: 90 Seconds
- Turn Time: 45 Seconds
- Banned Pokémon: Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Dialga, Palkia, Victini, Giratina, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Genesect, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, Diancie, Volcanion, Cosmog, Cosmoem, Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma, Magearna, Marshadow, Zeraora, Meltan, Melmetal, Zacian, Zamazenta, Eternatus, Zarude, Calyrex
- Allowed Gigantamax: Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Butterfree, Pikachu, Meowth, Machamp, Gengar, Kingler, Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax, Garbodor, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalossal, Flapple, Appletun, Sandaconda, Toxtricity, Centiskorch, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie, Copperajah, Duraludon, Urshifu
- Pokémon Limits:
- For Singles: Team of three to six Pokémon from Level one to Level 100. All Pokémon then set to Level 50.
- For Doubles: Team of four to six Pokémon from Level one to Level 100. All Pokémon then set to Level 50.
