Announcement (April Fool's 2022) The Boys are Back in Town

Status
Not open for further replies.

Merritt

no comment
is a Tournament Directoris a Site Content Manageris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host
Head TD

With the announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet setting an expiration date for Generation 8 Little Cup, the council has discussed the correct course of action for achieving the best possible metagame. Ultimately, it was determined that LC would be best served by testing previously banned Pokemon to see how they fare in the modern meta and decide if there was any merit to freeing them for the remainder of SwSh LC.

Discussion was split between 4 candidates and, in the interest of time, we've decided to look at all four at once. We've received permission to allow Cutiefly, Gothita, Gastly, and Vullaby to all be temporarily legalized on the LC Ladder, so that the community can gain an understanding of which are still too much for LC and which could reasonably be suspect tested.

:ss/cutiefly:
Cutiefly was quickbanned over two years ago, following the release of Pokemon Home compatibility, for its ability to apply immense pressure to opposing teams. Alongside Quiver Dance sets, Cutiefly was also capable of running pivot sets with Sticky Web support for its team, being able to set them up remarkably consistently and effectively neuter checks like Diglett and mid speed Scarf Pokemon. Even with the ban of Sticky Web and an influx of new potential checks from DLCs, Cutiefly may still be too strong of a sweeper and pivot for the metagame to handle.

:ss/gothita:
Gothita was quickbanned extremely early into the generation, prior to even the release of Home, when distribution of moves like Knock Off was extremely limited and the main Fighting-type Pokemon lacked U-turn and general longevity. While Gothita does still offer high levels of team support with Shadow Tag and a wide offensive and supportive movepool, it sacrifices quite a bit of momentum when used as a revenge killer and suffers from limited moveslots and mediocre stats when utilitizing its status moves.

:ss/gastly:
Gastly was banned in the same round as Gothita, well before moves like Knock Off regained their prior spread and well before checks like Porygon, Abra, and Staryu were reintroduced in the DLC. While the lack of Pursuit still leaves Gastly in a strong position as a powerful and fast wallbreaker, enough checks have returned to LC that it may now be manageable.

:ss/vullaby:
Vullaby remains one of the more controversial bans in recent memory, with a significant following of support to return after the test due to a perceived higher quality of the metagame with Vullaby. Vullaby was capable of several different options during its time in Little Cup, each set having its own advantages, and fit onto nearly every team due to its sheer versatility. Whether or not Vullaby's return means a healthier, more interesting metagame remains to be seen.

Note again that this is not a formal suspect, and so you are not required to ladder for suspect voting requirements. Cutiefly, Gastly, Gothita, and Vullaby will be legal on the ladder until Friday, April 15th, at 11:59 PM EDT.

Note that all four will remain ineligible for tournaments.

Please use this thread to share your impressions of these Pokemon and the new metagame!

When posting in this thread, please keep in mind these rules:
1. No one-liners or uninformed posts.
2. No discussion on other potential suspects or the suspect process.
3. Be respectful.

Your post will be deleted and possibly infracted if you fail to follow them.

:slugma: Kris free em
 

Fiend

someguy
is a Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
LC Leader
:cutiefly: :gastly: :gothita: :vullaby:
I'm not sure how long you were fooled, but this was an April Fool's Day prank!

The ladder has been hectic and fun with the new arrivals. The feedback has been overwhelming and changed our plans. Thanks to community feedback, Cutiefly, Gastly, Gothita, and Vullaby will remain legal on the LC ladder for an indeterminate length of time. Tiering actions in response to this new metagame will follow after a council vote.
 

Berks

has a Calm Mind
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
this is actually wonderful

e: the ladder has these as legal but the team builder doesn’t, someone should probs get that fixed so folks don’t get cheesed too hard
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top