As short lived as Cyclizar’s presence in OU has been in reality, the length of that stay is still surprising considering it was on the radar since day one. I mean, Smogon’s had a BP Clause for quite a few years now, a strat that tiptoes this close to an outright no-no in competitive play having this long a leash was strange to me. Perhaps that’s because there were more pressingly broken mons that delayed this decision, and Cyclizar’s Shednanigans definitely had a hand in facilitating many a sweep by said culprits. Even though I didn’t agree, I’ve seen way more pro-Cyclizar sentiment than expected, and it was a pretty common opinion to feel that it wasn’t broken. Still, if for no other reason it’s interesting that it got the community to dig up a long dead phrase when talking about it: “Sub-pass.”
I would’ve been fine with just a Shed Tail ban but respect the counsel’s process in banning the mon, not the move. Passing a sub and switching in one move is ridiculous utility. Sure, a dedicated support mon may be somewhat matchup dependent, but Shed Tail + Regen + Sitrus makes what should be a relatively one-time use move pretty spammable, and it also possesses a high Speed stat as well as other fantastic utility options all in one set—this role is not something Orthworm can replicate with anywhere close to the same success. The problem is, though, I think in taking down the bike lizard we’ve also accidentally argued that the concept of Sub-passing is actually…manageable.
I’ll just cut it off at the head here before someone says it: no way in hell should BP chains be allowed in formats ever again. What I am saying is if a) we already have a clause in place that prevents passing stat boosts, b) it’s been established that Cyclizar was the problem and not Shed Tail, and c) Shed Tail is better than Sub + BP, is Sub-passing—or even dry passing—something that could be allowed in OU? I’m legitimately asking.
I don’t have an opinion on that, honestly. There are other relevant factors in actual application like HP stats, move distribution, opportunity cost and individual mon viability, and we are still in the pre-Home meta. However it’s fair to ask why this thing wasn’t shown the door with Flutter Mane two months ago if we have a clause that forbids the use of a “worse Shed Tail.” Was it just to spare tha gawd Orthworm, or do we as a community feel differently about this mechanic now?
In any case, I think it’s worth discussing further.