Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Series 2 Ranked Battles: Date and rules

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Series 2 (not to be confused with Season 2) will feature some modified rules regarding Ranked Battles. Naturally, some players will wish to know more about it. For starters, it'll kick off on February 1, 2023, and end on March 31, 2023.

Serebii has revealed other details about the new Ranked Battles. For instance, the most important difference between Series 2 and its predecessor is that the former will allow Trainers to use Paradox forms, excluding Koraidon and Miraidon. However, there are some banned Pocket Monsters worth addressing.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Series 2 Ranked Battles: Date, Paradox forms, and other changes

These two Paradox forms are still banned (Image via Game Freak)

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Series 2 Ranked Battles will include both Singles and Doubles rulesets. Trainers interested in Single Battles can pick three members of their team, and they will be set to Level 50. The Doubles ruleset is virtually the same, except players will choose four Pokemon from their team instead of just three.

Here is a list of Pocket Monsters that cannot be used in the Series 2 Ranked Battles:

• Charmander
• Charmeleon
• Charizard
• Galarian Meowth
• Johto Wooper
• Quagsire
• Froakie
• Frogadier
• Greninja
• Scorbunny
• Raboot
• Cinderace
• Perrserker
• Wo-Chien
• Chien-Pao
• Ting-Lu
• Chi-Yu
• Koraidon
• Miraidon

All the options on the above list are either Pocket Monsters found outside of Paldea or Legendaries. The new ruleset will last from February 1 to March 31, 2023.

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List of Paradox forms that you can use in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The biggest change to highlight here is the addition of Paradox forms for Ranked Battles. Here is a list of the ones Trainers can now use in Series 2 that they couldn't in Series 1:

• Great Tusk
• Scream Tail
• Brute Bonnet
• Flutter Mane
• Slither Wing
• Sandy Shocks
• Roaring Moon
• Iron Treads
• Iron Bundle
• Iron Hands
• Iron Jugulis
• Iron Moth
• Iron Thorns
• Iron Valiant

Some of the entries in the above list are bound to shake up the meta with their presence. The most notable examples would be Flutter Mane, Roaring Moon, Iron Bundle, and Iron Valiant, but other options could see some good usage in tourneys. The rewards for these updated Ranked Battles are yet to be revealed.

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Practicing for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Series 2

One of the best ways to prepare for the new rules is to participate in practice battles with them. Pokemon Showdown has a fresh ladder under S/V Doubles known as "VGC S2023 Series 2," which is the perfect place to test out some new strategies.

For those who don't know, Showdown is a battle simulator where players can experiment with things in various different tiers, generations, etc. It's free to use and has thousands of other people on it at any given time. The aforementioned ladder is jam-packed shortly after its debut, as many Trainers eagerly practice for the new VGC rules.

The actual game versions of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet still have Series 1 ongoing until January 31, 2023, so players can still engage in some Ranked Battles in the meantime. Trainers seeking rewards from this should try to climb the Singles and Doubles ladder as much as possible before it's too late.