Format rules

Rules

Vanillamon is defined by one test: a legal Pokémon has attacks without printed rules text.

The core rule

Only Pokémon cards whose attacks have no text are allowed. An attack name, attack cost, damage number, and GX reminder text in brackets do not count as attack text for this format.

Plain test: if there are words under the attack name explaining what the attack does, the Pokémon is not legal in Vanillamon.

Card pool and deck construction

All sets legal in the SUM-on format are legal in Vanillamon before the banlist is applied. Deck construction uses the same limits as Expanded.

The Pokémon restriction is severe, but all other cards are legal unless they appear on the Vanillamon banlist.

Abilities are allowed

Abilities are not attacks. A Pokémon with strong abilities can be legal as long as its printed attacks pass the no-text test.

This is where much of the format depth comes from: ability engines can define a deck even when the attacks are intentionally simple.

Rule Box Pokémon can be legal

Rule Box Pokémon are allowed when their attacks pass the same test. GX attacks also follow the test, but bracketed GX reminder text is ignored.

What counts as text?

Any printed words describing the attack count as text. Coin-flip instructions, bench damage, status conditions, discard clauses, search clauses, and similar instructions all make the Pokémon illegal, even when the game rules might describe those words as part of damage calculation.