Recently, it has come to my attention that some people are a little confused about what the official competitive rules are for the Pokemon trading card (TCG) and video games (VG). Only The Pokemon Company International (TPCi) can create the official competitive rules for the games. These rules are what are used for most live events as well as any online activities, such as the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online and the main line of the Pokemon video games on the Nintendo consoles. Note that the video game's official rules are also referred to as the VGC (Video Game Championships) rules. The following URL is a link to the official Pokemon documentation: http://www.pokemon.com/us/play-pokemon/about/tournaments-rules-and-resources/
* Questions & Answers
Q. A certain fan site says that their rules are official. Are they lying?
A. It depends upon the context, but either way the rules may only be official to them. A number of fan sites create their own rules for the games either arbitrarily or because they think that they are somehow creating a more fair method of play. Often times they simply modify the official Pokemon rules to meet their goals.
Q. Does using a fan site's rules hurt me when I play competitively under the official Pokemon rules?
A. It really depends on how far deviated the fan site's rules are from the official Pokemon rules. Some fan sites go as far as either allowing items and Pokemon that are banned or banning items and Pokemon that are allowed under the official rules. Either way, attempting to transfer decks or teams built under the fan site's rules may not be successful.
* Questions & Answers
Q. A certain fan site says that their rules are official. Are they lying?
A. It depends upon the context, but either way the rules may only be official to them. A number of fan sites create their own rules for the games either arbitrarily or because they think that they are somehow creating a more fair method of play. Often times they simply modify the official Pokemon rules to meet their goals.
Q. Does using a fan site's rules hurt me when I play competitively under the official Pokemon rules?
A. It really depends on how far deviated the fan site's rules are from the official Pokemon rules. Some fan sites go as far as either allowing items and Pokemon that are banned or banning items and Pokemon that are allowed under the official rules. Either way, attempting to transfer decks or teams built under the fan site's rules may not be successful.