Registration for the Galar Newcomers online tournament is now live on Pokémon Sword and Shield. The sign-up period ends on Thursday, January 23 at 3:59 P.M PST. The tournament will then run from January 23 at 4 PM PST and end on January 26 at 3:59 PM PST. If these dates and times look different than the initial announcement, it’s because they are. After some initial confusion about the event, it looks like Pokémon has decided to change when the tournament will be held. As of now, these dates and times seem to be final.
To sign up for the tournament, players can go to the VS menu to enter the Battle Stadium. Then navigate to online tournaments, search for official competitions, and select ‘Galar Newcomers’ for registration.
Galar Newcomers rules
The Galar Newcomers tournament will celebrate the new Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Competitors will only be able to use these Pokémon, as well as their Gigantamax forms. Zacian, Zamazenta, and Eternatus will not be available for use, however.
This tournament will have exclusively doubles battles and players will not be able to use duplicate Pokémon or items. All Pokémon will be set to level 50. Players will be able to choose four of their six Pokémon and each player will have 10 total minutes to take their turns. Players will only be able to participate in 15 battles per day during the tournament.
Tournament rewards
Players will get 50 Battle Points for simply entering the tournament and playing in one battle. Once the tournament is over, players will receive additional rewards based on how well they did. These rewards have not been officially announced, but players can expect more Battle Points and possibly some battle items.
This will be the second official online tournament in Pokémon Sword and Shield, and it looks like this is just the beginning! Be sure to stay tuned for more news, guides, and information on all the latest in Pokémon.
