Gen 9 has never been short of controversial threats. Since Scarlet and Violet released, everyone wanted to ban Gholdengo’s ass. With this post I want to highlight the most controversial mons that gained traction and outcries for a ban/suspect. I won’t go over
cause I’ve talked about it to death. The rest of these are fair game.
Unmasking The Ogre
Starting off strong with this one. After dodging the fraud allegations from earlier in DLC2, Wogre has been a hot topic among the playerbase, low ELO and high respectively. Ivy/Pwhip/Play Rough hits nearly everything besides Grasses, but imo Wogre can forgo any coverage because Ivy Cudgel is a very spammable Water type move for having 0 drawbacks off. So you often don’t have to click SD. Switch-ins like Pult, Kyurem, Raging Bolt, and Zama can tank a hit, but Wogre can come back in to chip it even further to the point where it stops being a check since Wogre forces switch ins easily. Because most dragons can be put in range of +2 Cudgel, you can ditch Play Rough for other options like Knock Off which OHKOs Sinistcha at +2 and punishes Dnite, Encore which punishes the opponent for clicking a single status move, or U-Turn which ruins the hopes for Serp, Rilla, and Wo-Chien trying to check you. The best set imo is Trailblaze + Encore, which punishes Zama for trying to 1v1 you with Iron Defense and DD Kyurem thinking it got a setup opportunity from you. Since the Volc ban, Wogre can justify running Adamant for even stronger Cudgels while outrunning Kyurem. Trailblaze in general mitiages the issue of being “bad vs HO” which isn’t even true btw since Wogre’s raw power can let it trade or disrupt Gambit/Bolt with Encore. There’s a reason its been under discussion for a suspect test. Wogre does have a few positive traits for the tier. It stops Mola from brainlessly clicking Flip Turn and helps vs the degenerate Gliscor/Gking/Garg cores. However the benefits of having Wogre may not outweigh the strain it has on teambuilding. We’ll see halfway or by the end of WCOP.
Breaking The Ice
Kyurem was suspected in January but didn’t meet the threshold to get banned. Kyurem’s ability to shred defensive cores with Specs or HDB has alarmed players, especially with options like Tera Ground/Fairy making it more difficult to rkill. I’ve already talked about Kyurem extensively, but in short, I don’t think it’s an issue. Specs is rocks weak, meaning you can limit its opportunities through hazards more easily than other breakers in a similar caliber like Wogre or Primarina which is reasonable for the sheer power it provides. HDB is the best set, but may struggle to pick up KOs on targets like Garg or Clef.
Piercing The Shield
The Zama ban cries are more recent. Ironpress sets can snowball with the right moveslots and Tera. Resto Chesto with Tera Dark can beat Gliscor, Pult, Ghold, and Moltres. Tera Fire beats Hex Pult, Molt, and Fairies. Roar beats Tera Ghost mons and opposing setup. It is a similar dynamic to Volc, but less dramatic. Zama still has consistent counterplay through stuff like T-Wave Ghold and is manageable through smart team compositions. Its what CM Suicune was to ADV. Zama checks several physical attackers and Darkrai in one-slot which is valuable for the amazing speed tier it holds, is it broken? I’d wait.
Breaking The Tyrant
Gambit ban cries have been lesser in recent months but they’re still arguments made about it being too much for the tier. Supreme Overlord and Tera can reverse the tide of a match. Its a mon you pretty much always need to account for in the builder and in battle, after all, it is the most used Pokemon on the ladder, so teams are expected to have a gameplan around it, whether its Encore, Zama, Flame Body Tran, Helmet Taunt Lando, BU Tusk, Skarm, Taunt Helmet Ting-Lu, or dedicated lures like Low Kick Weavile.
Or Probopass. We see this in ADV where Ttar’s Sand and Skarm’s Spikes centralize the meta. However this led to players finding creative work arounds like Rain Dance + Dug to trap Ttar and remove Sand for teammates like Lax, Cune, Hera, etc. Some centralization is fine as long as it incentivizes good team building but not severely limit options. Gambit has established itself as the perfect glue mon, providing strong priority, excellent bulk, and a bulky Steel. It covers multiple holes that would have to be filled by 2-3 other mons. Personally, I think its fine.
Fighting The Storm
Unless your name is Unaware Clodsire, Ting-Lu, or Blissey, Raging Bolt almost always claims a kill or two. With Booster and a Calm Mind, Bolt reaches nearly 800 SpA, 2HKOing or OHKOing most of the tier. It gets opportunities off its amazing bulk. Tera Fairy can let it trade with Tusk and Dragons. Bolt has other good sets like Specs, Assault Vest, and Taunt Three Attacks, but the standard Calm Mind is the main thing to look out for. So it could be argued that Bolt is too much for the tier. It can also be argued that counterplay is sufficent enough. Bolt can be limited by Encore, hazards, and bulky Grounds. Without Tera, Offensive Tusk OHKOs after rocks. I am on the fence with R-Bolt since it can snowball easily with Dpulse 2HKOing every Ground type minus Ting/Clod/SpD Gliscor but it can be limited in how many kills it gets.
Poisoning The Vampire
SD Gliscor is highkey the best Balance breaker behind Waterpon, but where most breakers can be worn down via hazards, Gliscor never fucking dies. Meaning you can outlast its checks longterm via PP stall. Knock + Hazards handles everything else. Earthquake is obviously good for STAB but Tera Normal Facade is the way to go for being a nuke button after one Swords Dance while flipping your matchup into Weavile/Kyurem. SpD Gliscor is difficult to one-shot without an Ice move or strong Water move (Waterpon Cudgel). SD is also incredibly easy to splash since hazards are highly accessible this gen. The utility sets are fine, but I find that SD creates unhealthy dynamics. Gliscor’s bulk and longevity makes it more of a strain for Balance than Wogre or Kyurem. Probably the mon I think should be suspected first. Thank you for listening to my hot take.
Confiscating the Ghold
Like I said earlier, ppl wanted this thing banned for over a year now. Ghold has defined the hazard/hazard removal dynamic since the generation started. In 2024, most people find it fine, but there are a few that call for Ghold to be banned/suspected, especially after its best check was booted out of the tier recently. Ghold has piloted hazard stack and webs alike while being a strong wallbreaker. Ghold isn’t as good as in previous metagames but obviously still great. Faster threats, Tusk opting to run Knock Off more, and the tier in general being more prepped for it. The hazard dynamic is honestly the cause of GameFreak gutting Defog on a bunch of mons and adding Spikes on like 20 pokes because they think players will use Spikes in a double format with games ending in single-digit numbers. Ghold has a 4MSS, wanting Recover, Focus Miss, T-Wave, Dgleam, Psyshock, but not able to fit them.
Waking The Nightmare
Darkrai discourse is pretty new in a post-Sleep ban world. Some players have argued Darkrai’s raw speed and wallbreaking capabilities are too much for the tier. Dpulse/Sludge/Beam/Focus Miss hits everything at least neutrally. Nasty Plot jacks up its damage output to new levels. Knock cripples special walls along with Spikes, and Wisp is a midground that cripples Gambit, Ting-Lu, Tusk, etc. With Tera Poison, it makes checking Darkrai harder for Fairies. However I disagree with the notion that Darkrai is too much. Its main STAB option is surprisingly weak without a boosts, so it mostly relies on its good coverage. Darkrai is pretty frail and pure Dark doesn’t help it defensively. It also has legitimate checks like Zama, SpD Corv, Clodsire, Ting-Lu, AV Hatt, SpD Washtom, Tran, Tinka, etc. With how popular Darkrai is getting, it’s only a matter of time before people start prepping for it more.
G-Fire was suspected a couple months ago but calls for another suspect test are rare these days.
A few people hate Samu’s free Spikes, but anytime it’s mentioned as banworthy, it’s never taken seriously.
Believe it or not, there’s people out there that still want Garg banned in 2024.
Someone out there hates Primarina’s guts and wants it banned or had a bad experience watching The Little Mermaid.