Official E.C.P.L. Rules

Links to Rule Discussion Threads can be found at the bottom of this Post

This is meant to be a constantly updating list of rules for the East Coast Pokemon League. It will be linked from the Gym List, so that it is always easily accessible. This is the first draft based off of our previous conversations. Keep in mind this list applies only to official battles, we welcome and encourage battles using a wide variety of rule sets outside of official matches. Please respond with any suggestions or concerns.

General Rules
Official League battles will adhere to the following rules:
- Lvl. 50 All: Of course, all battles will be level adjusted. To ensure that stat rounding is the same whether using Pokemon Diamond/Pearl wi-fi, or Pokemon Battle Revolution, Lvl. 50 All will be used regardless of other level adjustment options available.
- Double Battles: We feel double battles offer much more complexity and fun than single battles. It also lets Trainers explore moves, abilities and team combinations that may be of little or no use in single battles.
- No Legendary Pokemon: We want to encourage the use of a wide variety of Pokemon, not just the handful with an obvious stat advantage. As a general rule, ask yourself “Could I hatch this Pokemon from an egg using a Ditto?” If the answer is “Yes.”, then the Pokemon passes this restriction.
- No Event Pokemon: Event Pokemon are those recieved as a bonus from another game (such as Surfing Pikachu from Battle Revolution) or from a sponsored download event (such as Toys R’ Us Manaphy). While most Event Pokemon are already covered by the “No Legendary Pokemon” clause, we want to make sure that Trainers who did not want to purchase extraneous games, or were not able to make it to a download events are not at a disadvantage.
- No Repeat Items/Pokemon: Again, to encourage the use of a wide variety of Pokemon, teams may not have more than one of the same Pokemon. Also, it is not allowed for more than one Pokemon on a team to hold the same item.

Gyms
Members: Much like the game, Gyms are for people who would like to specialize in a specific type of Pokemon. Joining a Gym is also your first step towards becoming a Gym Leader. You can leave a Gym and join another Gym, but you cannot be in more than one Gym at the same time. You can be both a Gym Member, and a Challenger (see below), but you cannot challenge yourself for a badge if you are a Gym Leader. Gym Pokemon must currently be of the same type as the Gym you are in, regardless of previous evolution stages. Dual types are allowed, so long as one of the types matches the Gym.
*Exceptions to this rule are the Bug and Dragon Gyms. In acknowledgment of their disadvantages, they are allowed to use any Pokemon from the Bug and Dragon Egg Groups, respectively.
Leaders: Once you have trained six Gym Pokemon, you are eligible to be a Gym Leader. If no leader currently exist for your Gym, you are automatically the Gym Leader. If your Gym already has a Leader, you may challenge them for Leadership rights.
As Leader, you will accept challenges from Challengers, keep track of your wins and losses (maybe even a battle summary), and ensure that Challengers are adhering to the Official Rules. Gym Leaders can choose any six of their Gym Pokemon each time they are challenged. Unlike Challengers, they need not use the same team each battle.

Challengers
For those of you that wanna be the very best, like no one ever was. Challengers will create a Trainer Card, which will keep track of your battle team, badges, and other information. Once registered, you may begin challgenging Gym Leaders for badges. You must use the same team (Pokemon, Moves, Held Items) for all of your Gym challenges. If you decide to change your team, you will need to register the new team and start from scratch.

Elite Four and Champion
Challengers that collect eight Gym Badges are eligible to become part of the Elite Four, or even the Champion (This of course, requires us to have at least eight Gym Leaders). Challengers only need eight Badges, but they are of course welcome and encouraged to try for more. E.C.P.L. will aim to have Gyms for all 15 types.
If there are four or fewer Challengers that meet the Badge requirement, they are automatically members of the Elite Four. Once there are more than four Challengers that meet this requirement, we will have a tournament to determine the Champion, and which remaining challengers are in the Elite Four.


...yes, this is intended to be much more difficult than the in-game leagues.

Discussion Threads
Challenge Team Discussion