TL;DR: The Pokémon Company announced on March 1 that Ranked Battle Season 41 — the final competitive season for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet — will launch on April 1, 2026, and run until online servers go offline. The season uses Regulation Set I (dual-restricted, no Mythicals), but monthly rankings and end-of-season placement rewards are being dropped. Servers are not expected to shut down anytime soon, with historical precedent and Nintendo’s shared Switch/Switch 2 online backend suggesting competitive play could remain available for years.
After 40 consecutive monthly competitive seasons spanning nearly three and a half years, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are reaching the end of their seasonal rotation. The Pokémon Company confirmed on March 1, 2026 that Ranked Battles will receive no further updates after the start of the final season — Season 41 — which begins Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 04:00 UTC. While the announcement marks a significant milestone for Generation 9’s competitive scene, the servers themselves are not going anywhere imminently.
What Changes With Season 41
Season 41 differs from every prior competitive season in two key ways. There will be no final monthly rankings announced for this season, and no rewards will be given based on final rankings. That means the familiar end-of-month grind — logging hours to secure a placement reward and watching your rank fluctuate against a resetting meta — is now a permanent fixture of Scarlet and Violet’s past.
Players can still queue Ranked Battles normally under the same ruleset, but the monthly feedback loop that drove much of the game’s competitive longevity is being retired. The final season will run until the game’s servers go offline, with no timeline yet given for when that might happen.
Regulation Set I: The Ruleset That Closes Out Gen 9
Season 41 will follow Regulation Set I, the same format that has been in use for the past several months. This is a dual-restricted format, meaning teams may include up to two Legendary Pokémon — with Mythicals remaining off the table entirely.
The eligible pool is expansive. It covers the first 400 entries of the Paldea Pokédex, the first 242 from the Blueberry Pokédex, and the first 200 from the Kitakami Pokédex. Several regional variants round out the roster, including Alolan forms of Raichu, Meowth, and Persian, as well as Galarian forms of Meowth, Weezing, and the Legendary Birds. All Pokémon are automatically set to Level 50, duplicate held items remain forbidden, and all forms of Terastallization — Scarlet and Violet’s signature battle mechanic — are permitted.
Season 41 Timer Rules:
| Type | Duration |
|---|---|
| Total time | 20 minutes |
| Player time | 7 minutes |
| Preview time | 90 seconds |
| Turn time | 45 seconds |
Don’t Panic — The Servers Aren’t Going Anywhere Yet
The end of seasonal updates doesn’t signal imminent server closure. Historical precedent across the franchise tells a more reassuring story: competitive online play in past Pokémon titles has typically remained available for as long as the platform’s online infrastructure was active. Nintendo’s original Switch and the Switch 2 share the same online backend, which means Ranked Battles in Scarlet and Violet could realistically remain accessible for as long as the Switch 2 retains Nintendo’s server support — a timeframe that, as of early 2026, could stretch well beyond a decade.
Neither Game Freak nor The Pokémon Company publishes a formal sunset policy for ranked support, so players should not interpret “no more seasons” as “servers closing soon.”
What’s Next for Pokémon Competitive Play
The closing of Scarlet and Violet’s seasonal chapter comes just days after a major franchise announcement. Pokémon Winds and Waves — the Generation 10 titles — were formally revealed on February 27, 2026, and are currently slated for a 2027 release. No details about competitive ranked systems for those games have been shared yet. Assuming a holiday launch window, The Pokémon Company may not surface more information until a Pokémon Presents broadcast in 2027.
In the meantime, the current Play! Pokémon circuit continues at full speed: the Pokémon Seattle Regional Championships is live this weekend, with Scarlet and Violet VGC, TCG, and Pokémon GO all streaming concurrently. The 2026 Europe International Championships also recently wrapped, with notable results in the VGC format.
For competitive players, Season 41 isn’t just an ending — it’s a final window to cement a Regulation Set I legacy in the Gen 9 ladder before the chapter formally closes. Check out the full Pokémon Winds and Waves starter reveal to see what’s coming next in the franchise.
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