Smogon, the most popular onlinePokemonbattling community, has announced its first two bans of thePokemon Scarlet and Violetmetagame. Though the initial days of chaos following the release ofPokemon Scarlet and Violethave been particularly enjoyable as players scramble to formulate teams, two particularly powerful new additions are so strong that Smogon’s tiering council has outlawed them.Power creep has been well-documented within the Pokemon universe since the addition of Mega Rayquaza inORAS, withPokemon Sword and Shieldadding to this issue by making Zacian, the box legendary ofPokemon Sword, arguably the single-strongest Pokemon of all time due to its incredible typing, move pool, and ability. Though Game Freak has tried to address this issue inPokemon Scarlet and Violetby nerfing its signature ability, Intrepid Sword, a whole host of newPokemon are looking to challenge Zacianfor the top spot and, in the process, exasperate the issue.RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Trick Makes It Easy To Get Up MountainsThough Smogon loves to let users experiment when newPokemontitles release, two ofPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Pokemon have been so strong that the tiering council voted unanimously to quickban them from the OverUsed tier, effective immediately. The first of these Pokemon is Flutter Mane, a Paradox Pokemon that older players may recognize as a slightly odd-looking Misdreavus, and the second is an entirely new Pokemon named Houndstone.
The official thread posted by Smogon’s OU tier leader goes into detail as to why the council voted unanimously to remove both threats from theOU metagame inScarlet and Violet. The issue with Flutter Mane was, due to its great special attack and speed in combination with strong offensive typing and coverage, very few Pokemon could check it.
Houndstone, on the other hand, is quite a middling Pokemon as far as stats go, but its signature move, Last Respects, is incredibly broken. Last Respects is a Ghost-type move that starts at 50 base power and increases by another 50 for each fainted Pokemon in the user’s party, up to a maximum of 300 base power before factoring in the same-type attack bonus. This level of base power on a move is unprecedented within thePokemonfranchise, and the only counterplay is to either have a Normal-type on your team or a Pokemon capable of outspeeding and KO’ing Houndstone in a single hit. Both of these options heavily constrict team building and have led to Houndstone being banned.
While Flutter Mane will not be making a return to the OU tier, the same cannot be said for Houndstone. Basculin and Basculegion, who will soon be available to send toPokemon Scarlet and VioletthroughPokemon HOME, will also be able to learn Last Respects due to thecreepy way Basculin evolves inPokemon Legends Arceus. Instead of banning all three Pokemon, the tiering council is aiming to instead ban Last Respects as a move, which would lead to the reinstatement of Houndstone.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetare available now on Nintendo Switch.
