League Rules
***Since Pokemon Showdown uses the Smogon format and rules, we will be using them for the GTA along with a few additional rules for the draft. You can find all rules and regulations from Smogon on what is legal/illegal in the format at the following links: http://www.smogon.com/xy/articles/clauses
http://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/formats/***
http://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/formats/***
For Off-Season-specific rules that are in addition to the rules below, please defer to the pages in the dropdown from "League Rules" in the menu!
Penalty Chart
A) New Teams & Registration
- Go to the homepage to see if registration for the next season of the GTA is open.
- Submit the application and read through the rules on this page.
- Once approved for the league, you can confirm your registration by sending your Team Logo to the person who contacted you (must include team name and mascot in logo).
- In addition, please send your availability for the draft during the scheduled week (Season 5: 4/30)
B) Language & Behavior
- In the GTA, we want to create a positive and fun environment for all of our teams so that we can all grow and learn without affecting one another negatively. Therefore, there will be restrictions (just like in esports & traditional sports) on what expressions you may share during matches. We want to encourage good sportsmanship regardless of the situation in the match and expect all coaches to refrain from expressing the following things in the chat:
- Cursing and profanity
- Gloating or bragging
- Bad sportsmanship
- Doing these things during a match will result in receiving violations:
- 1 violation: Warning
- 2 violations: forfeit match with most recent violation + 2nd warning
- 3 violations: forfeit match with most recent violation + suspension of current and next season
- We care deeply for all our coaches and desire for everyone to feel accepted and treated fairly.
C) Regular Season Matches, Match Replays, & Rescheduling Matches
- Matches will be played on Pokemon Showdown's Anything Goes format: see more here.
- Each team cannot have more than one of the same item on their team for one battle (no all leftovers teams, etc.). This will force more strategic play for the coaches as they pick their lineup each week!
- ***PLEASE NOTE: The above rule is continually enforced during the season, and if caught breaking this rule it will result in a 6-0 loss for the team breaking the rule.***
- Match replays must be downloaded and sent by the winner of the match to your designated Match Overseer following the conclusion of the match, and Sunday at midnight at the end of the week being the latest possible time to send it. If you download the replay and receive a screen full of code in your browser (usually occurs on Macs in Safari), simply copy and paste it into an email sent to your designated Match Overseer. No other form of the replays will be accepted (this includes the replay link, as it is not a reliable method for retrieving the replay)
- See the image at the bottom of this section for an example email sent containing stats and replay.
- Each coach MUST record EACH Pokemon who KO's the opponent's players and if they faint, and send this information to the Head of the League along with the replay file. The LOSER of the match must GIVE the WINNER their recorded stats from the match, so that it can be sent together by the winner. It is the WINNER'S RESPONSIBILITY to record the match information and PROVIDE BOTH the REPLAY and ALL KO's & FAINTS.
- The penalties for each violation of not providing the match information as specified are as follows for the winner:
- 1st violation: warning
- 2nd violation: warning
- 3rd violation: -1 differential to match (minimum of +0 differential)
- 4th violation: -2 differential to match (minimum of +0 differential)
- 5th violation: -3 differential to match (minimum of +0 differential)
- Rest of violations: +0 differential to match
- The penalties for each violation of not providing the match information as specified are as follows for the winner:
- Receiving match replays from anyone other than the winner will not be accepted. The winners of matches are the only ones who can send the replays. This is so there will be no confusion on who is responsible for the replays (this rule functions similar to when players win matches in sports/esports when they sign for their victory).
- Any team that forfeits more than one match during the regular season will suspended until the conclusion of the following season, but can reapply for the league after that time of suspension.
- Upon Suspension, the team's assets are available to be used for other teams (mascots, coach names, and team names).
- A team may concede to their opponent if they determine that they cannot win, but can only stall out. The winner's differential for their victory will be equal to the number of players they have remaining on their team.
- Each week, teams will have their matches set to a default time of 7:30 PM on Saturday. Each coach must contact their opponents to schedule a different time for their match if the default time does not work. This must be done and posted to the GTA Discord #matches channel by midnight on Wednesday of that week. The coach in need of the time change is responsible for the request and must initiate it with their opponent.
- For alternative times, coaches may schedule up to a maximum 2-hour block of time for their match to occur in, and must specify it when posting in the Discord channel #matches.
- If either team cannot follow through with the time established (default or otherwise), they must contact their Match Overseer for the week and their opponent to inform them about the issue. If there is no other alternative time that the opponent can reschedule to, then the team who was unable to follow through with the original established time must forfeit the match, resulting in a 6-0 loss.
- If a team wants an extension, they must contact their Match Overseer for the week and it will be at his/her discretion.
- ***PLEASE NOTE: BOTH teams are equally responsible for rescheduling and playing their match each week in the event that they cannot participate in the default time Saturday at 7:30 PM, and both teams CAN potentially receive forfeits for not scheduling the match. ***
D) Tournament, Divisions, & Qualification
- The teams will be evenly distributed into divisions at random (no seeding or handicapping), and each division will consist of a number of teams based on the total number of teams participating in the season.
- To qualify for the championship tournament at the end of the season, you must be 1 of the top 2 teams in your division (seeds will then be determined based on ranking and records), and you cannot forfeit more than once during the regular season.
- The number of rounds in the tournament, as well as the matched pairs, will be determined at the beginning of the regular season and will be based on the number of participating teams.
G) Mid-Season Trades
- There will be two opportunities during the regular season for any coach to trade one of their players for another.
- The 1st opportunity will be a FREE AGENCY trade held during Week 4: a coach trades their player for another player from the remaining pool of those who weren't drafted this season. The players must be of equal base value in order to be a valid trade.
- The 2nd opportunity will be an option between FREE AGENCY and TEAM TRADE held during Week 8. Team trades can be between two teams for players of equal base value.
- These two opportunities will be announced at the start of the season.
- Any trades must take place at least 3 days before their match during those weeks in order to use the newly selected player.