FAQ & Rules

The Trainer Shed is Singapore's only regular community tournament organiser using official Pokémon VGC (Video Game Championships) and TCG (Trading Card Game) rules. We also host Pokkén Tournament DX events in partnership with Pokken Singapore, and fun side formats like Z-A Ranked Battles. We provide a space for aspiring World Champions to practice, compete, and connect.

Everyone. Our tournaments are open to all ages and skill levels — no ranking or qualification needed.

Most of our events are held at *SCAPE (2 Orchard Link, Singapore 237978), our official partner venue since 2022. Some events may be held at local community gaming and card shops — check the specific tournament details for venue information.

VGC stands for Video Game Championships — the official competitive format for Pokémon video games. Players battle in Double Battles using teams of up to 6 Pokémon, bringing 4 to each match. VGC is now played on Pokémon Champions, and we follow the current official ruleset, Regulation M-C, as released by The Pokémon Company.

Bring your device with Pokémon Champions installed and your competitive team ready to go before the tournament starts, plus a charger — batteries don't last forever. Switch and mobile are both fine at our events; see Devices & Equipment below for the details.

An open team sheet (OTS) is a physical sheet you fill in before the tournament. Players swap sheets before their match starts. It lists: • Pokémon species, including forms and regional variants • Abilities • Held items • All known moves • Stat alignment Only your training (EVs) stays hidden, so there are no surprise picks — matches come down to your bring decision and clean execution.

Yes, but physical notes only — pen and paper. Note-taking is allowed at our events and at official Play! Pokémon events. Phones and other devices can't be used for notes during a match.

Rental teams no longer exist in Pokémon Champions — they've been replaced by Replica Teams. Replicas let you share a full team setup (Pokémon, ability, nature, EV spread, moves, held item) via a code, but you must already own each Pokémon and item yourself, then spend Victory Points in-game to train them to match the replica's spec. Replica Teams are allowed in our community events by default; check the specific tournament rules for any event-specific restrictions.

Pokémon Champions is the Pokémon game released on 8 April 2026 and now the primary title for VGC (Video Game Championships) competitive play, succeeding Pokémon Scarlet & Violet as the standard competitive game.

Yes — we're already running them. Every VGC event we run is on Pokémon Champions on the current regulation. Expect regular tournaments, community play sessions, and practice nights.

VGC officially transitioned to Pokémon Champions when the game launched on 8 April 2026. Champions has run through Regulation M-A (April–June 2026), Regulation M-B (June–September 2026, used at the 2026 World Championships), and is now on Regulation M-C (9 September – 2 December 2026).

Mega Evolution is the format's signature once-per-battle gimmick. A Pokémon Mega Evolves only if it holds the matching Mega Stone (so it gives up its item slot), only one Pokémon per team can Mega Evolve per battle, and the Mega happens on the same turn as the chosen move — it doesn't cost a turn. Regulation M-C adds six new Mega Evolutions — Mega Salamence, Mega Golisopod, Mega Baxcalibur, and the new Z Mega Evolutions Mega Absol Z, Mega Garchomp Z and Mega Lucario Z. Champions has no Terastallization.

Registration is done online through our website. Find the tournament you want to join on the home page, click 'Register Now', fill in your details, and complete the payment. You'll receive a confirmation once your registration is complete.

We accept credit/debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), GrabPay, and PayNow through our secure Stripe payment system.

Refund policies vary by tournament. Generally, refunds are available up to 48 hours before the event. Please note that Stripe transaction fees are non-refundable — the refunded amount will be the registration fee minus any payment processing fees charged by Stripe. Contact us through our social channels for refund requests.

Please let us know as soon as possible so we can adjust the tournament bracket. Contact us through Discord or Telegram.

Pokémon Champions runs on the Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, Switch OLED, and Switch 2, and there is a mobile version. It's a battle-focused game — matches connect over the internet through the in-game Private Battles feature.

Both the Nintendo Switch and the mobile version of Pokémon Champions are fine at our tournaments, and you may use wireless controllers or wireless headphones. We enforce the official ruleset for format and Pokémon legality, not the hardware restrictions that apply at Regional Championships and above.

Championship-level events — Regional Championships, International Championships and Worlds — are Nintendo Switch only (Switch, Switch Lite, Switch OLED or Switch 2). The mobile version is limited to store-level events such as Open Play Sessions, VGC Cups and Challenges. The Pokémon Asia Championship Series is run separately by The Pokémon Company under its own rules, so check those for each event.

No. For the Pokémon Asia Championship Series, nothing has been announced about mobile play in Singapore. Indonesia is the only Asia region so far confirmed as mobile-only for the VGC category. We'll update this page if that changes for Singapore.

At Championship-level Play! Pokémon events, only officially licensed wired controllers and wired headphones are allowed, connected directly to your system, with Joy-Con controllers kept attached to the Switch — no wireless. Our own events allow wireless, but if you're preparing for a Regional or above, practise with a wired setup.

Swiss pairing is a tournament format where players are matched against opponents with similar records. After each round, players with the same win-loss record face each other. This means everyone plays every round — no one is eliminated during Swiss rounds.

After Swiss rounds, the top-performing players advance to a single-elimination bracket called 'Top Cut'. This is typically Top 4 or Top 8 depending on the number of participants. Top Cut matches are usually Best-of-3.

The number of Swiss rounds depends on attendance. As a guide: • Up to 8 players — 3 rounds • 9–16 players — 4 rounds • 17–32 players — 5 rounds • 33–64 players — 6 rounds • 65–128 players — 7 rounds The exact number is announced before the tournament begins.

Best-of-3 (Bo3) means players play up to 3 games in a match, and the first player to win 2 games wins the match. This is standard for Top Cut rounds and some Swiss rounds depending on the tournament.

Standings use match points (3 for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss) and tiebreakers including Opponent's Match Win Percentage (OMW%), Game Win Percentage (GW%), and Opponent's Game Win Percentage (OGW%) — the same system used at official Pokémon tournaments.

It is The Pokémon Company's official competitive circuit for the Asia-Pacific region, including Singapore. Each season runs four leagues — Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Premier Ball and Master Ball — with League Points, World Championships invites and travel awards for the top finishers. The Premier Ball League opens the season; the Master Ball League closes it and crowns the region's strongest player.

As of September 2026: • Great Ball League Season 1 — running now: small TCG tournaments at Pokémon TCG GYM stores through September and October, All Ages, SGD15 with a booster pack as the participation prize. Seasons 2 and 3 are listed as coming soon. • Premier Ball League — 12 December 2026 at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. TCG registration is open until 11 November across Junior, Senior and Masters divisions. • Ultra Ball League — roughly four events per season, dates not yet announced. • Master Ball League — closes the season, dates not yet announced. The VGC side runs on its own timeline — see the next question.

Yes, but it's running behind the TCG category. The Premier Ball League VGC category has a confirmed date and venue — 12 December 2026 at Suntec, alongside the TCG event — but registration has not opened yet, and the VGC season schedule is still listed as coming soon. The Great Ball League is TCG only. No VGC regulation has been announced for any Asia Championship Series event, so the Pokémon Champions ruleset these will use isn't known yet.

From the 2026-27 season, larger Ultra Ball League events split into Junior, Senior and Masters divisions rather than a single All Ages field — announced on 9 September 2026 for the TCG category. Not every event will: a division needs at least 33 players, and one that falls short may be merged with another, with League Points awarded on placement within the combined group.

The official Singapore hub is at https://trainers-asia.portal-pokemon.com/sg/2026-27/. Follow The Trainer Shed on Discord for community updates and practice sessions around each event.

The Singapore Master Ball League ran on 23–24 May 2026, with VGC and TCG divisions, as an open team sheet event on Pokémon Champions Regulation M-A. That event is over — the 2026-27 season is the current one.

Pokémon Wind and Waves is a mainline Pokémon game announced for 2027. Little has been confirmed beyond that, including whether it will be used competitively.

Not known yet. VGC is on Pokémon Champions for now, and The Pokémon Company has not said what the competitive title will be after that. We will update this page when they do.

Our Formats page tracks every upcoming Pokémon game relevant to competitive play, and we post news to Discord as it lands.

TCG stands for Trading Card Game. Players build a 60-card deck and battle using the official Pokémon TCG rules. We follow the current Standard format set by The Pokémon Company. Since the 2026 rotation (10 April 2026 for in-person events, 26 March 2026 on TCG Live), cards with regulation marks H, I and J are legal and the older G mark has rotated out. Legality follows the regulation mark printed on the card, not how recent the set is.

Bring your 60-card deck in sleeves, dice/counters for damage, and a printed or written deck list. Make sure your deck follows the current Standard format card legality.

Yes — proxy cards are allowed by default in our tournaments unless a specific event states otherwise. We believe competitive play should be about deck-building skill and strategy, not the size of your wallet. That said, proxies must be clearly identifiable as the card they represent.

Pokkén Tournament DX is a fighting game featuring Pokémon, available on Nintendo Switch. Players choose a Pokémon and battle in real-time 3D arenas. We host Pokkén events in partnership with Pokken Singapore.

Pokken Singapore is our partner community dedicated to the Pokkén Tournament competitive scene in Singapore. They help organise and run our Pokkén events. Find them on X (Twitter) at @PokkenSingapore.

Bring your Nintendo Switch with Pokkén Tournament DX installed and charged. A Pro Controller is recommended but not required.

Z-A Ranked Battles are a fun side format we occasionally run alongside our main tournaments. These use the in-game Ranked Battle ruleset from Pokémon Legends: Z-A, giving players a chance to compete in a different metagame from the standard VGC format.

No — they're hosted from time to time rather than on a fixed schedule. Keep an eye on the tournament listings for when the next one pops up!

We expect all participants to be respectful, sportsman-like, and follow fair play rules. Cheating, aggressive behaviour, discrimination, and unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification and a ban from future events.

Raise your hand and call a tournament organiser (TO). TOs will make rulings based on official Pokémon rules. Their decisions are final.