Pokémon Champions Regulation Set M-C Goes Live With Z Mega Evolutions and 24 New Battle-Eligible Pokémon

Regulation Set M-C is now live in Pokémon Champions on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, kicking off the third official ranked ruleset for the battle-focused spinoff and bringing three brand-new Z Mega Evolutions into play alongside 24 additional Pokémon that become legal for ranked battles through December 1, 2026.

As outlined in the official announcement on Pokemon.com and the dedicated Pokémon Champions regulations notice, Regulation Set M-C runs from 02:00 UTC on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 to 01:59 UTC on Wednesday, December 2, 2026. All Pokémon that were eligible for ranked play under the previous M-A and M-B sets remain legal, so the new period adds rather than resets the available roster.

The headline additions are the three Z Mega Evolutions first teased during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships. Mega Absol Z arrives as a Dark/Ghost form with the Sharpness ability, boosting the damage of slicing moves such as Night Slash, Aerial Ace, Psycho Cut and Shadow Claw by 50 percent. Mega Lucario Z introduces Aura Break, a new ability that halves the damage it takes from opposing contact moves, while Mega Garchomp Z picks up Levitate, granting immunity to Ground-type attacks and entry hazards.

Those three Z Mega evolutions are accompanied by three more standard Mega Evolutions: Mega Salamence, Mega Golisopod, and Mega Baxcalibur. In total, the update brings 24 Pokémon newly into the ranked pool, with longtime VGC staples Rillaboom and Baxcalibur among the confirmed additions. Trainers can inspect the full roster in-game by opening Recruit, selecting Recruit Pokémon, choosing Roster Info, and then viewing Pokémon Featured in This Roster.

In competitive play, the set introduces several rules shifts worth tracking. Duplicate held items are banned, total match time remains capped at 20 minutes with a 7-minute player clock per side, and each turn is limited to 45 seconds. Mega Evolution is restricted to a single use per battle, so the decision of when to trigger the transformation becomes a critical strategic choice rather than a default mid-game option.

Regulation Set M-C will also serve as the official format for the 2027 Latin America International Championships (LAIC), giving the early ladder a direct bearing on the international calendar and giving players a meaningful target to test new teams against before next year's circuit begins. The launch timing lines up with Nintendo's broader September push on Switch and mobile, where Pokémon Champions sits alongside the larger franchise's mobile presence on iOS and Android.

With the update now live worldwide, trainers can already queue into ranked matches under the new ruleset, and the regulation window runs until early December.