I’ve been pondering making a post for about a week now. With real life getting in the way and honestly figuring out what approach I wanted to take with this post…it has taken me a while but we’re finally here. It has been rather frustrating to see some opinions/takes in recent weeks as we find ourselves in a metagame state that was very much avoidable. I have concluded that we as a player base have to face some realities.
Firstly, I need some of the player base to stop being opposed to bans of any kind. If you feel the metagame is in a fine state and nothing needs to change, you have the right to that opinion. That does not change the reality that a large portion of the player base finds this metagame untenable, which has been the case for most of this chaotic metagame. So, being that the general view is a good amount of Pokemon are problematic and you do not want the council to take matters into their hands, the reality needs to set in that more Pokemon will be banned, and that’s the only way to have a quality metagame.
I understand the prospect of banning even more Pokemon after having already binned 20+ is too much for certain players but realities have to be faced. This is arguably the most power crept Metagame and terastalization has only enlarged that. We currently have a metagame where a lot of matchups are decided turn 1 and that is very unhealthy. I feel the prospect of keeping Pokemon like Kyurem certainly doesn’t aid in the development of the Metagame.
"Yeah, now, well, the thing about the old days: they the old days" - Slim Charles from The Wire
The chance to remove terastalization seems to have passed. It is time for some of the player base to face that reality. With barely 1/4th of the qualified player base supporting the outright removal of terastalization, the chances of that changing are Slim to none. With that being the case though we need to remove all of the excessive abusers of tera to make it as palatable as possible. The prospect that we keep tera and allow Pokemon like Archaludon, Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, Roaring Moon, Volcarona, or even Kingambit to remain in the tier is laughable. Let’s remind ourselves that this mechanic and these power crept Pokemon are made with the mindset of doubles gameplay. If you want to keep Terastalization, I need us as a player base to come to the understanding that we have to remove the most absurd abusers of the mechanic for it to be palatable.
If we’re to shape OU into a proper tier that stands the test of time with the power creep that game freak has bestowed upon us. I feel you can make the strong case we have to witness an additional 10 bans to have a stable state. Now now, I know 10 is a large number, btw Welcome to SV OU if you find that stunning. What I find stunning is the fact only 1/4th of the qualified player base right now supports the outright removal of terastalization while we load into unwindable matchups. I’m not personally pro the removal of terastalization but if you feel it is a balanced mechanic that deserves to stay then you must realize that your favorite Pokemon can not stay.