Pokemon Sword and Shield officially become the franchise's competitive games

As of January 4, 2020, Pokémon Sword & Shield is officially the competitive E-Sports game for Pokémon worldwide. Previously, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were the games that prevailed in official competitions.

Thus, new rules come into effect to then add the pokémons and new mechanics of the new generation present in Sword & Shield. Double battles continue as the main format of championships, and now, only Pokemon from the new Galar region are allowed.

As before, all non-catchable or hatchable pokemon are banned, with Mew, Zacian, Zamazenta and Eternatus being the ones present in the Sword & Shield pokedex and with these characteristics.

The new generation also introduced the mechanics of Gigantamax, so some gigantic versions of pokémon are also banned, but for a limited time. For now, Gigantamax allowed in official competitive include Butterfree, Corviknight, Drednaw, Centiskorch, Meowth, Pikachu, Eevee, Snorlax, Sandaconda, and Charizard (but only with Blaze).

With these necessary definitions, the 2020 competitive games, championships and tournaments can now officially be held across the globe. In just a few weeks several places around the world should already be hosting official tournaments.

It is also worth remembering that whenever an update comes out, rules, bans and general regulations can also be changed. Regarding Gigantamax shapes, while new shapes are added, they should later be whitelisted for competitive. First a time of analysis and adjustment is needed, until then, forms not mentioned above are banned.