Formats

File: config/frontier/formats.conf

Formats define the competitive rules for battles — which clauses apply, what’s banned, level caps, team sizes, and team preview behavior. Each ladder references a format by ID.

Quick Example

formats {
    standard {
        displayName = Standard
        clauses = [
            "species_clause"
            "sleep_clause"
            "evasion_clause"
            "ohko_clause"
            "gimmick_ban"
        ]
        teamPreview = true
        teamSize = 6
        validateLegality = true
    }
}

All Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`displayName`	String	`"Standard"`	Human-readable name shown in GUIs and messages.
`includes`	List<String>	`[]`	Other format IDs to merge rules from. Clauses and bans are combined.
`clauses`	List<String>	`[]`	Clause IDs to apply. Must match keys in `clauses.conf`.
`bannedSpecies`	List<String>	`[]`	Species to ban (Showdown IDs, e.g. `"mewtwo"`, `"arceus"`).
`bannedMoves`	List<String>	`[]`	Moves to ban (e.g. `"swagger"`, `"baton_pass"`).
`bannedAbilities`	List<String>	`[]`	Abilities to ban (e.g. `"moody"`, `"shadow_tag"`).
`bannedItems`	List<String>	`[]`	Items to ban (e.g. `"kings_rock"`).
`targetLevel`	Int?	`null`	If set, all Pokemon are treated as this level. `null` = use actual levels.
`teamSize`	Int	`6`	Maximum Pokemon on a team.
`pickCount`	Int?	`null`	Number of Pokemon to pick from the team for battle (bring 6, pick 4 for VGC). `null` = use all.
`requireUnevolved`	Boolean	`false`	Only unevolved Pokemon (Little Cup).
`randomTeams`	Boolean	`false`	Generate random teams instead of using the player’s party.
`teamPreview`	Boolean	`true`	Show team preview phase before battle.
`randomGens`	List<Int>	`[9]`	Generations to pull from for random team generation.
`validateLegality`	Boolean	`false`	Check that each Pokemon’s moves and abilities are legal for its species/form.
`previewSettings.hideOpponentTeam`	Boolean	`false`	Hide the opponent’s team during preview.
`previewSettings.randomLeadSelection`	Boolean	`false`	Leads are chosen randomly instead of by the player.

Default Formats

Frontier ships with seven formats out of the box:

ID	Display Name	Key Rules
`standard`	Standard	6v6, standard clauses, legality checks
`doubles`	Doubles	6v6 doubles, standard clauses
`vgc`	VGC	Bring 6 pick 4, level 50, standard clauses
`little_cup`	Little Cup	Level 5, unevolved only, standard clauses
`monotype`	Monotype	All team members must share a type
`random`	Random Battle	Random teams, team preview on
`random_doubles`	Random Doubles	Random teams, doubles, pick 4

Here’s what the VGC format looks like in the actual config:

vgc {
    clauses = [
        "species_clause"
        "sleep_clause"
        "evasion_clause"
        "ohko_clause"
        "gimmick_ban"
    ]
    displayName = VGC
    pickCount = 4
    targetLevel = 50
    teamPreview = true
    teamSize = 6
    validateLegality = true
}

Format Inheritance

The includes field lets you build formats on top of other formats. Clauses and ban lists are merged from all included formats. Scalar fields (like displayName and teamSize) use the top-level format’s values.

formats {
    base_ou {
        clauses = ["species_clause", "sleep_clause", "evasion_clause", "ohko_clause"]
        bannedSpecies = ["mewtwo", "arceus", "zacian"]
        validateLegality = true
    }
    ou_no_tera {
        displayName = "OU (No Tera)"
        includes = ["base_ou"]
        clauses = ["ban_tera"]
    }
}

In this example, ou_no_tera inherits all clauses and bans from base_ou, then adds ban_tera on top. The final clause list is the union of both.