Battle Rules

Okey dokey, so, I see a lot of members asking about what certain clauses mean, especially around tournament times. So if you're new to competitive battling, or just confused by all the crazy rules people seem to be making up lately, you might not know what people refer to as the standard rules. Here they are.

Item Clause
By far the most common rule, item clause states that each Pokemon on the team must be holding a different item from one another. So no double leftovers or focus sash. Items that do the same thing but aren't the same, such as leftovers and black sludge, are allowed.

Sleep Clause
You may only put one Pokemon to sleep at a time. Once that Pokemon wakes up, you may put it or another Pokemon to sleep again. But again, only one Pokemon on their team can be asleep at one time. Pokemon asleep due to the effects of Rest or Effect Spore do NOT count towards that limit.

Species Clause
Each Pokemon must be of a different species. Different Pokedex number means it's a different species.
Eg. Cannot have more than one Garchomp in your team.

Different forms of the same pokémon are not allowed, such as Giratina Origin Form and Giratina Another Form, or Doexys-F and Deoxys-L.
Pokémon of the same evoluationary line are okay, such as Raichu or Pikachu.

OHKO Ban
You cannot use moves that will give a certain One Hit KO to the opponent if hit. The following moves are banned:
- Fissure
- Guillotine
- Sheer Cold
- Horn Drill

No Ubers


Other clauses that are used but not always included in Standard:

No "Hax" Items
Hax items are those that rely on luck, eg. Quick Claw, which gives you the possibility of striking first.
The following items are banned:
- Quick Claw
- Focus Band
- King's Rock

Self-KO Clause
It's used to break ties. If both players are down to their last Pokemon and one uses a move that kills itself, such as Explosion, Self-Destruct, Destiny Bond, or Memento, the trainer who used that move is considered the loser in the match.

Freeze Clause
No two pokémon can be frozen on the same team at any one time.
This clause is dodgy because if you where to freeze the foe then they switched out you shouldn't take the risk of using ice beam/punch again or any move induces freeze.

Evasion clause
Pokémon can not use moves such as double team/minimize or moves that lower opponents accuracy such as sand attack/mud slap. Moves that lower the foe's evasion stat are allowed. these moves are defog and sweet scent.