‘Pokémon Legends: Z-A’ Ranked Battles Are Getting A Major Shakeup On July 15

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to receive its most dramatic competitive overhaul yet when Season 14 of Ranked Battles launches on July 15 at 11 p.m. PDT and runs through August 5.

The new season, detailed on the official Pokémon website, restricts Ranked Battle teams to Flying-type Pokémon only — a first for the game in this specific form — and revives Sky Battles, a mechanic dating back to the Generation 6 era of Pokémon X and Y. The developers have described it as a “special season” designed to shake up the competitive meta more significantly than any update since the game’s launch last October.

The restriction substantially reduces the usable Pokédex. Players will only be able to field one of either Yveltal or Rayquaza, since both are classified as restricted Pokémon under the season’s rules. The ruleset also produces some quirks: Vivillon, despite being part Flying-type, is excluded from the eligible list, while Latios and Latias — both closely associated with flight — are banned outright.

Once pre-evolutions unlikely to see competitive use are factored out, the effective roster is smaller than even Season 8, which had previously been the most restrictive season by limiting play to Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.

Among the Pokémon expected to stand out under the new rules are Dragonite, Fan Rotom, Skarmory, and Rayquaza. Dragonite’s strong stat spread and broad movepool make it a flexible pick, while Fan Rotom naturally resists Flying-type attacks and can hit back hard with Electric-type moves. Skarmory has long been considered one of the strongest options in the game’s Ranked format, and Rayquaza brings elite stats along with the ability to Mega Evolve without needing a held item, provided players have completed the game’s Mega Dimension downloadable content and taught it the move Dragon Ascent.

Crucially, the changes apply only to competitive Ranked Battles. Players working through the main story mode will see no impact from the new restrictions.

To participate once Season 14 goes live, players can access the mode by selecting Link Play, then Ranked Battles, from the game’s main menu. Rewards will be distributed based on final standing at the end of the season in August.

The update arrives as Pokémon Legends: Z-A approaches its one-year anniversary since its October 2025 release, having already received a major expansion in the form of December’s Mega Dimension DLC alongside a steady stream of smaller updates.