So with Pokemon Home on the horizon and a release finally expected as of Monday (presuming they don't psyche us out again), I figure now is a time to talk about some of the changes that will be coming to Generation 9 Free-For-All with Pokemon Home. First of all, the Free-For-All council has held a vote nad we have our initial banlist.
Home Banlist
Pokemon Bans:
Annihilape
Arceus (all formes)
Calyrex-Ice
Calyrex-Shadow
Chi-Yu
Dialga
Dialga-Origin
Flutter Mane
Giratina
Giratina-Origin
Groudon
Iron Bundle
Koraidon
Kyogre
Landorus-Incarnate
Magearna
Mewtwo
Miraidon
Palafin
Palkia
Palkia-Origin
Rayquaza
Spectrier
Urshifu-Single-Strike
Zacian
Zacian-Crowned
Zamazenta
New Move Bans:
Last Respects
Unbans:
Houndstone
You can see the
full voting record here
In accordance with Smogon's tiering policy, council votes require a super-majority to ban regular Pokemon, and to unban box cover legendaries that are Uber by default. This didn't actually have a big impact on the results, as almost all of the votes were a super-majority one way or the other. The only Pokemon that would have been banned with a majority vote but failed to pass the supermajority threshold is Hoopa-Unbound, which will we likely revote on after a few weeks to see how it plays out. We will also be paying close attention to many of the other Pokemon that did not receive a ban but are on our watch list, such as Regieleki and Ursaluna.
The Free-For-All council decided to unanimously follow OU's precedent and ban Last Respects. This means both formes of Basculegion and Houndstone will be legal in Free-For-All after Home drops.
But there are some big changes coming to Free-For-All, and we may as well start with the big dog, because the observant of you may have noticed something missing from the list of bans above.
Zamazenta-C
In a surprise turn of events, Zamazenta-C received a vote of 3 no ban, 1 abstain, and 1 ban, giving 75% supermajority for no-ban. We actually hadn't even discussed Zamazenta-C as part of the Home banlist. The council has discussed it several times before, including in Generation 8, as a potential candidate for unban. I put all the legendaries on the ballot just out of principle, and the votes were there to make the Shield Wolf legal in Generation 9 Free-For-All.
I'm excited to see how Zamazenta plays. With the nerf to its ability and its item slot locked up, it's very dependent on its high stats to perform. It relies on Wish partners or Rest to stay healthy, has limited options to set up, and is easily chipped down in a format where chip damage is a huge deal and racks up very fast. It also faces high competition from all the Steel-type alternatives. Lack of Leftovers is a huge problem for it. Overall, I expect this to be a fascinating addition to the metagame.
Landorus and Spectrier
For those that are unaware, Landorus-Incarnate and Spectrier were actually legal in Generation 8 Free-For-All. They were top threats, but they were held back due to their lack of reliable recovery and the sheer amount of bulk the metagame possessed to tank truly devastating hits. However, they were always on the cusp of being pushed over the edge. With Terastallization, Spectrier can deal with its lack of coverage options and break through would-be counters like Blissey or Umbreon. Meanwhile, Landorus now gets Nasty Plot and can use Terastallization to boost its Earth Power to reach truly insane levels of power. While these Pokemon were reasonable in Generation 8, with the buffs they received this generation we do not believe the meta can handle them anymore.
Ursaluna, Hoopa-Unbound, and Regieleki
These three avoided the ban-hammer and will be legal in Generation 9 Free-For-All, at least initially.
Hoopa-Unbound was the closest vote, with 3 ban to 2 no ban falling just a few percentage points short of a super-majority. This is a relatively slow format, so Hoopa's mediocre 80 base speed is not a serious concern for it. Its mixed offenses are practically impossible to wall, and due to how slow the metagame is it can outspeed most threats quite easily. Without knowing what set its running, you can't reliably switch anything in. Overall, the majority of the council is concerned that there just isn't good counterplay to this threat. We'll watch it carefully, but we will give it time before holding any re-vote.
Ursaluna was also a close vote, with a 2 ban to 3 no ban vote. Much like Hoopa-Unbound there is very little that can handle it, and it is incredibly bulky. With Rest for recovery and either Swords Dance or Sleep Talk this monster is an offensive powerhouse that is very difficult to remove. Overall, the sheer amount of power it brings to bear (no pun intended) leaves it without good answers. Unlike in a format like OU where its slow speed would hold it back, in this format speed is just not as important and its incredible bulk and ability to take chip damage is far more important. We'll pay close attention to this one and may hold a re-vote if it looks like it's too much.
Regieleki avoided the banhammer completely with a unanimous no ban vote, in spite of having been discussed as a potentially overpowered newcomer. There was some fear that with Tera Ice it could break through the Ground-types that had been flummoxing it previously. However, it's so fragile as to have severe consistency issues and is unlikely to be as strong in practice as it appears on paper. The biggest problem Regieleki had in Generation 8 was that if it clicked anything other than Volt Switch (or it got caught by someone switching to a Ground-type or using Protect) it had a very high risk of being KO'd. Terablast Ice is offensively terrifying, but Regieleki runs a mortal risk every time it tries to use it.
New Defoggers
With the confirmation that Defog and Roost are getting better distribution than originally believed, our options have opened up substantially. Currently Corviknight is the only hazard control capable of consistently keeping hazards off the field. Running anything else as your hazard control is inherently unreliable. However, we have a number of new options coming to us with the release of Home. This bodes very well for the health of the metagame.
Zapdos
Offensive teams can rejoice, Defog has been restored to Zapdos' movepool! Zapdos fits more offensive FFA teams much better than Corviknight, and it has the bulk and typing to stick around but Volt Switch to keep more momentum and provide offensive pressure. The only change to its game from Generation 8 will be the removal of Toxic (both from its movepool, and because the move is banned this generation). However, Zapdos has plenty of other great move choices, such as Discharge, Thunderbolt, and Light Screen.
Scizor
With Roost returned to its movepool, Scizor has the staying power to Defog throughout the match. While its defensive typing does leave it a little too weak to Fire, it should be a viable Defog option.
Dragonite
Especially with Heatran returning, defensive Dragonite will provide a much needed check to some very dangerous threats. With Defog back on its movepool, it offers the utility it needs to do the job. Heal Bell is gone, but it always had other options and will probably want to carry some versatile coverage to handle Heatran terastallizing.
Mew
While its movepool is still gutted, it does get Roost and Defog back which means it should be usable as a hazard remover. Overall I'm not sure how good it will be, but it should be a usable option.
Empoleon
With Roost and Scald in its movepool, Empoleon is looking to be a stellar addition to Generation 9 Free-For-All. Its typing and defenses are excellent, it's anything but passive, and it has the reliable recovery to stay on the field. It has a spammable STAB move with 111 SpA backing it, both Rocks and Defog, phasing, and reliable recovery. I see good things in this Pokemon's future. The fact that it looks like a viable pick even without running Defog bodes very well.
Buffed Pokemon
There are many Pokemon getting new moves to their movepools, and a few that are very impactful. Let's talk about a few of the standouts
Hippowdon
This A+ level threat in Generation 8 Free-For-All really fell from grace in SV. It faces steeper competition from more viable Ground-type competition (including newcomer Clodsire, and old favorite Gastrodon which is doing much better in the Generation 9 meta than it was in Generation 8) and it lost High Horsepower which made it a lot more passive. Well, Hippowdon is getting High Horsepower back! While it still faces higher competition, this should make it a harder hitting presence and a better fit on a wider variety of teams.
Charizard
With the addition of Roost, Charizard is once again worth consideration as a bulky attacker that can stay healthy throughout a match while putting on the pressure. It probably will only fit on Sun teams, an archetype that's only viable due to Walking Wake's power, but this should be enough to give this fan favorite some actual viability in the format.
Toxapex
It now gets Scald, finally giving it some offensive presence beyond Infestation. However, it still suffers from the banning of Toxic Spikes which has robbed it of one of its most important niches. It should be much more viable as a result of this, however.
The Newcomers
There are so many newcomers to go over, so let's just go through some highlights that have caught my eye as being interesting.
Arcanine-Hisui
Rock Head Head Smash and Flare Blitz with reliable recovery. This looks like a hard-hitter and I'm excited to use it. Its defensive typing is absolute trash, and you really want to use the terastallization offensively if at all. I'm not expecting it to be a metagame staple, but I'm excited to give it a try as it definitely has the tools to carve itself a niche in this format.
Gliscor
Poison Heal and Spikes, this thing is going to be an obnoxiously good hazard setter and just great at sticking on the field and keeping those Spikes up. Its natural defensive typing is well-suited to deal with all our Defogger candidates, with the sole exception of Dragonite with Ice Punch. And you can always just terastallize if Ground/Flying isn't what you need, this looks like the kind of Pokemon that can put defensive terastallization to amazing use.
Zapdos-Galar
One of our best wallbreakers from Generation 8 is returning. Thunderous Kick provides it a way to break through Dondozo, which cannot take the defense drops, and also allows it a Fighting STAB that doesn't drop its defense. As with last generation, its biggest problem is that offensive teams are going to want to run classic Kantonian Zapdos as their Defogger, which runs into species clause issues if you want to use this as your wallbreaker.
Slowking-Galar
One of our best regenerator pivots returns, and this time Toxapex isn't overshadowing it. Galarian Slowking has that nice balance of offensive presence and staying power that makes it useful on all kinds of teams, and with Toxic Spikes banned its ability to spread poison with Sludge Bomb is more valuable than ever.
Togekiss
With the addition of Moonblast to its movepool, this thing is finally able to flex its muscle as a Fairy-type powerhouse. Flinch haxing isn't quite as good in FFA where there are 3 opponents and flinching one of them doesn't necessarily help you, but a hard-hitting STAB like Moonblast definitely helps.
Heatran
A wickedly good stallbreaker, in a format that really appreciates good stallbreakers. With terastallization to get around its notorious Ground weakness, Heatran could become an incredibly strong contender in this new metagame. Its ability to just shut down enemies with Magma Storm plus Taunt is very difficult to handle, although it does rely on Wish passing for recovery.
Tornadus-Therian
It gets Regenerator and has good offense and bulk. While it has lost Defog so it can't fill that role, it should still have some viability as an offensive regenerator. We can already see this in our format with Amoonguss of all things having success with offensive sets. So I suspect Tornadus may have a good place in the metagame.
Thundurus-Therian
A great electric-type wallbreaker, but suffers due to lack of reliable recovery. It didn't really shine much in the last generation, but it definitely has the potential to make a showing this generation.
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike
While Urshifu will appreciate that Toxapex is less prevalent in this meta, it still suffers the problem of being reliant on Choice Band to put in work and Close Combat as a Fighting-STAB which means it can take a lot of damage whenever it needs to use that. It remains to be seen how it will fare in this meta. The addition of Swords Dance is an interesting option, but Urshifu really benefits from immediate power of a Choice Band so I suspect that will remain its standard set in Free-For-All. However, Swords Dance will provide some alterantive.
Calyrex
With the reintroduction of Aromatherapy, Calyrex will have exclusive access to the role of status healing. I'm not sure if it will be viable, as it's otherwise a pretty bad Pokemon, and Rabsca may be a better pick for a one-trick-pony with a uniquely impactful trick.
Zarude
A niche but viable wallbreaker from last generation, this generation its ability to cure its own status ailments will be much more valuable. Moreover, it has a much better type matchup this generation. Last generation it lost typing-wise to the premier Unaware user, Clefable. This generation it has a super-effective STAB over Dondozo and Skeledirge. It remains to be seen whether this will be a major contender.