Eternal Zone - Pokémon Rulings Compendium

My opponent's Active Pokemon is Eternatus VMAX with the "Eternal Zone" Ability working, and they have 8 Pokemon on their Bench. I use Quaquaval ex's "Exciting Dance" attack, doing damage to Eternatus VMAX and then sending out Ting-Lu ex. Will Ting-Lu ex's "Cursed Land" Ability shut off "Eternal Zone" before the entire effect of "Exciting Dance" completes?: Yes. The switch effect of Quaquaval ex happens, and then with Ting-Lu ex entering the Active Spot, Eternatus VMAX's Ability gets shut off, meaning that player must immediately discard Pokemon until they have 5 Benched Pokemon. Then, Eternatus VMAX switches with a Benched Pokemon.

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2023-06-22)

Can I use Thorton to put a non-Dark Basic Pokemon from my discard pile onto my bench if I have Eternatus VMAX with the "Eternal Zone" Ability in play?: No, you can't play Thorton at all if there aren't any Basic {D} Pokemon in your discard pile.

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2022-09-29)

If I have Eternatus VMAX with the "Eternal Zone" Ability in play, can my opponent use Mawile GX's "Captivating Wink" Ability to play any non-Darkness Pokémon onto my bench?: No, if Eternal Zone is working, your opponent cannot force you to put any non-Darkness Pokémon into play.

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2020-09-24)

If I use Devolution Spray Z to devolve Eternatus VMAX with "Eternal Zone" Ability with enough damage already on the devolved Eternatus V to knock it out, is it KO'd before having to reduce my Bench down to 5 Pokemon, or if I discard it to reduce my bench is it not KO'd?: Well if the Eternatus VMAX is active it would get KO'd after reducing the Bench, but if the devolved Eternatus V is on the bench you could discard it as part of the bench reduction to avoid a KO.

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-20)

If my only Eternatus VMAX with "Eternal Zone" Ability is Active and gets KO'd, do I reduce my bench size down to 5 Pokemon before or after promoting one to the Active Slot?: You discard down to 5 Benched Pokemon before promoting a new Active Pokemon in this scenario.

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-20)

If I have Eternatus VMAX with "Eternal Zone" Ability in play and my opponent uses Celebi's "Time Spiral" attack to devolve one of my benched Darkness type Pokemon to a non-Darkness type Pokemon with enough damage already on the devolved Pokemon to knock it out, is it KO'd before having to reduce my Bench down to 5 Pokemon, or if I discard it to reduce my bench is it not KO'd?: You would discard your Bench down to 5 first, then check for a KO. That means you could discard the newly devolved Pokemon to avoid a KO, even if Eternatus VMAX is the one being devolved!

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-13)

Can a dual-type Pokemon like Bisharp from Steam Siege (being both a Darkness type and Metal type) be played onto the bench while Eternatus VMAX's "Eternal Zone" ability is on?: Yes, as long as the Pokemon is Darkness type it can be played onto the bench.

Source: TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-13)

If I have an Eternatus VMAX with "Eternal Zone" Ability and less than 8 Pokemon (all Darkness type) on my bench, can I use Giratina's "Distortion Door" Ability to put it from the discard pile onto my bench and use its effect before it is discarded?: No, you cannot even put it onto your bench because it is a non-Darkness Pokemon.

Source: Darkness Ablaze FAQ (2020-07-31), TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-13)

If you have 2 Darkness Pokemon on the bench and an Eternatus VMAX with the "Eternal Zone" Ability, can you play a non-Darkness Pokemon onto your bench?: No, you cannot put any non-Darkness type Pokemon into play. This includes things that would put Darkness type Pokemon directly into play, not just playing them from your hand!

Source: Darkness Ablaze FAQ (2020-07-31), TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-13)

If you have 8 Darkness Pokemon on your bench including a Weavile, and you devolve it into a Water type Sneasel, can you discard just the Sneasel and stop, or do you have to continue discarding benched Pokemon down to 5?: Once you begin discarding Pokemon you must complete the full action of getting down to 5 benched Pokemon, even if you don't have any non-Darkness Pokemon on your bench any more.

Source: Darkness Ablaze FAQ (2020-07-31), TPCi Rules Team (2020-08-13)