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Raivaly
Raivaly is in Open Beta. Pokémon VGC fantasy leagues, Global Dream Teams, live meta analytics, and automated tournament scoring are available now.
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Official Rulebook

How to Play: Pokémon VGC Circuit

Everything you need to know to draft, manage, and win your Raivaly fantasy league.

League & Drafting

Raivaly brings the tension of traditional fantasy sports to the competitive esports scene. For the Pokémon VGC circuit, you will compete in closed leagues of 4 to 8 Managers in a season-long battle spanning official Play! Pokémon tournaments.

Live Snake Drafts & Exclusivity

Before the season begins, managers participate in a live Snake Draft. Raivaly operates on strict Exclusive Ownership: if you draft a specific Pokémon, no one else in your league can have it.

  • Cosmetic Forms: Purely visual variants (e.g., Maushold Family of 3 vs 4) are grouped together. Drafting the base species gets you all cosmetic variants.
  • Biological Forms: Forms with distinct stats or typings (e.g., Alolan Ninetales, Ogerpon-Hearthflame) are treated as entirely separate draftable entities.

Roster Management

Every manager maintains a team of exactly 6 Pokémon. Before a real-world tournament locks, you must assign your roster into two distinct categories:

The Starters

4 roster slots. Pokémon in these slots earn 1.0x of their calculated score for the event.

The Bench

2 roster slots. Pokémon in these slots only earn 0.5x of their calculated score for the event.

Important Operational Rules

  • Roster Lock: Rosters lock exactly at Midnight (00:00 UTC) on the day the real-world event begins. Ensure your Starters and Bench are set before this time.
  • Did Not Play (DNP): If a rostered Pokémon does not play, or fails to reach Phase 2 (Day 2) of an event, it will score exactly 0 points for that tournament.

The Scoring Engine

Scores are calculated per Pokémon, per event, using our automated Peak Performance + Rarity model.

Score = (Base * Rarity * Event) * Status

1. Base Points

Awarded based on the single highest placement the Pokémon achieved at the event.

  • Winner: 35 pts
  • Finalist: 25 pts
  • Made Top 4: 20 pts
  • Made Top 8: 15 pts
  • Made Top Cut: 10 pts
  • Made Day 2: 5 pts

2. The Rarity Multiplier

Rewards managers for taking risks on underdogs. Based on overall Day 2 usage percentage.

  • Tier 1 (>20% Usage): x1.0 (Meta Staples)
  • Tier 2 (10-20% Usage): x1.2 (Core Picks)
  • Tier 3 (5-10% Usage): x1.5 (Rogue Picks)
  • Tier 4 (<5% Usage): x2.0 (Underdogs)

3. The Event Multiplier

Larger tournaments carry heavier weight to escalate tension.

  • Regionals: x1.0
  • Internationals: x1.4
  • Worlds: x1.8

The Tier System

Our platform does not use subjective opinions to rank Pokémon. Raivaly calculates absolute, objective tiers by evaluating a Pokémon's Average Consistency Score across all eligible events in the active ruleset.

The Consistency Formula

To measure pure meta-viability, we multiply a Pokémon's Base Points by its Rarity Multiplier, but we explicitly exclude the Event Multiplier. This prevents one-hit wonders from faking greatness at large tournaments, showing you exactly how many baseline points a Pokémon is projected to earn you week in and week out.

  • SS Tier: ≥ 33.0 Avg. Pts.
  • S Tier: ≥ 22.0 Avg. Pts.
  • A Tier: ≥ 15.0 Avg. Pts.
  • B Tier: ≥ 10.0 Avg. Pts.
  • C Tier: ≥ 5.0 Avg. Pts.
  • D Tier: > 0 Avg. Pts.
  • E Tier: 0 Avg. Pts.
  • UR Tier: 0 events eligible

During a live draft, these tiers are locked. However, the system actively highlights the Best Available Pokémon remaining on the board with a glowing UI effect, giving you real-time analytical advantages as other managers build their teams.

Roster Moves

Current Beta RulesRoster changes are immediate. Private League managers can replace a rostered Pokémon with an available Free Agent, while Global Dream Team managers can select any eligible Pokémon not already on their roster. Priority-based Waiver Claims and Manager Trades are planned, but are not enabled.

Each team receives 8 Roster Moves per season after its initial roster is created. Replacing one rostered Pokémon with one incoming Pokémon uses one move.

Only a successful replacement uses a move. Failed or invalid attempts use none, and Pokémon cannot be dropped without adding a replacement. Changing starters and bench positions is always separate from the Roster Move allowance.

The future Waiver Claim system will resolve competing requests in drafted leagues through published priority rules. Raivaly does not use FAAB.

The Stash MechanicYou are permitted to draft and hold Pokémon that are not currently eligible in the active Regulation (e.g., holding a Restricted Legendary during Reg H) to prepare for future format shifts.

The End Game

The ultimate goal is to accumulate the highest total score across all events. The manager with the highest cumulative sum at the end of the season wins. In the event of a tie, the platform engine resolves standings using the following hierarchy:

  1. Tournament Wins:
    Who started the most event winning Pokémon throughout the season?
  2. Highest Peak:
    Who achieved the single highest event score of the season?
  3. Highest Floor:
    Who achieved the highest "worst" event score of the season?
  4. The Clutch Factor:
    1. Worlds: Who scored the most points at the World Championship?
    2. Internationals: Who accumulated the most total points across all International Championships?