About Double Battle Format
Welcome to the Double Battle Format!
This project is an effort by me — Matthew Brower — and my family and friends to integrate and emulate the Double Battle game system from the Pokémon Video Games into the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG). I have over 15 years of experience playing competitively, judging Pokémon events, and growing my local community.
This isn’t a "just-me" type of effort, of course. I’d also like to particularly thank my brother — Nathan Brower — for not only his work on this website, but for his invaluable counsel during the creation and refinement of the ruleset, as well as throughout the growth of the game. I also want to thank my friends in no particular order: Forrest, NerinSerene, Jalen, Colin, Gil, Mikela, and so many more for your friendship and support.
The Core Idea
If you've ever played in or watched the Pokémon Video Game Championships, or played Pokémon Ruby or Sapphire version, you've seen the Double Battle Format in action. Pokémon that would normally be regarded as niché due to their support-focused playstyle became vital for their utility in battle.
The same is true here, in the Trading Card Game version: Double Battle Format (DBF). Here, you are incentivized to create combos and use "Support Pokémon" in a variety of ways. You could power up a partner Pokémon's Attacks with extra damage or Energy, draw cards for consistency, disrupt your opponent — or even just as another attacker!
The core "heart" of DBF is to foster this intriguing combo potential in the TCG, and to give the community an interesting side format with which to take a break from Standard.
Our Goals
At its core, this format is a way for us to give back to our community. In the future, it is our hope that this format serves as a wide-spread alternative format for players to enjoy as a side event. For organizers and stores, our hope is that they might seek to hold events for their players to enjoy in the offseason, when Championship Points aren't on the line.
We seek to grow this format and to make it as widespread as possible — and you can help!
Looking to Get Involved?
If you're ready to start playing, check out our Rules Page, and join our Discord community! We're always ecstatic to have new players join in and enjoy this exciting format with us! Our community is always growing, and we're always looking for new friends and rivals!
If you're a tournament organizer, we hope that you consider running Double Battle Format events in your local area! With the Double Battle Format, tournament organizers and friendly local game stores can grow and sustain your local communities by giving players new and interesting events to play!
Have questions about the format, seeking to run a tournament, or have a ruling question not answered by our Compendium? Feel free to reach out via Discord!