The SUBLime: forbidden fruit (bans in BW SU)
With new players getting into BW SU through the forum thread and ongoing BW SU Open tournament, there's been an uptick to the (ongoing) discussion of the current banlist. I have my own thoughts on the banlist for the tier, so I'd like to use this post to give an overview to some of the existing bans, a couple of my thoughts on the state of the tier, and propose potential avenues for BW SU tiering action in the future.
I'll start this off by mentioning what I think are overwhelmingly uncontested bans for any competitive BW lower tier: "trapping" abilities (e.g. Arena Trap), "weather" abilities (e.g. Drought), Moody, Swagger, and sleep moves. I don't think anyone who wants to play this metagame seriously wants any of these elements to be unbanned, and it's pretty clear why all of these elements are disallowed from UU to ZU.
Heat Rock is the only unique item ban in BW SU, and it was banned earlier on to nerf sun teams. It was easy to consistently set up Sunny Day with setters like Illumise and proceed to use multiple Chlorophyll users and Fire-types to run through most teams. There's not a wide variety of options that can stand up to the onslaught of sweepers available, partly because the state of special walls in SU is as limited as it is, so sun teams had very strong matchups during an already volatile state of the metagame. We drew on the precedent of PU banning Damp Rock to act on sun at the time, as the style was as effective as it was because there were multiple threats that could be stacked on it and multiple great enablers of sun setters, justifying an item ban. I don't see much need to revisit this ban for the sake of creating another really strong hyper offensive structure. Even rain itself is already solid just using Beartic, Seaking, and whatever random third that joins the team.
Baton Pass's ban was uneventfully grandfathered in from ZU at the beginning of the format, and Baton Pass itself is a huge can of worms policy-wise. A notable amount of SU's top threats have Baton Pass in their movepool, including Lopunny, Lunatone, Leavanny, Plusle, Hypno, and Girafarig, most of which have boosting moves that they could go nuts with by passing boosts from Agility/Rock Polish, Calm Mind, Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, and so on. I don't really think this is at all reasonable to release into the metagame, and I'd rather Baton Pass stay banned entirely, as has been the status quo and the case in most usage-based tiers.
Although there's been discussion about the potential of freeing Baton Pass in the form of "Dry Pass", which BW OU has done, the goal of tiering SU has been and continues to be to follow the Smogon tiering policy framework. That includes minimizing complexity, so Dry Pass isn't on the table. As for my personal perspective, I think the tier is already solid without needing to add additional elements to it with a complex ban, so I'm opposed to it on that front too. This is kind of a "spoiler" for my personal later thoughts on the banlist, but my perspective (with one exception) is "I would rather see something restrictive removed from the metagame than added".
Now for actual Pokemon bans!
Raticate was an earlier ban in BW SU's history, during an especially volatile period before the tierlist was fully ironed out. Raticate was banned on the grounds that it was too fast for a wallbreaker, as its Guts-boosted Facade dealt incredible damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist Normal. Most Normal-resistant Pokemon in the tier have some pretty severe flaws, whether that's a lack of recovery, exploitable weaknesses, or being passive, so Raticate has a fantastic time preying on the metagame. It outsped everything in the tier at the time besides, Fearow, and it still had Sucker Punch to pick off faster threats or U-turn to keep up momentum. Swords Dance made Guts sets even more of a threat if it was given free turns by any Protect users or switching, and though there was some experimentation with Hustle, Guts was overwhelmingly the stronger set. From there, Guts Raticate is basically free to pick and choose its checks: Wild Charge nails Corsola, Iron Tail hits Sudowoodo and other Rock-types super effectively, and Crunch eats up Lunatone and Lampent. The holes Raticate could tear in teams were way too much to deal with, and it could easily open up other physically offensive partners like Fearow to clean up in the late-game even if it destroyed itself. Only Fearow and Lopunny (an addition that came after Raticate was banned) naturally outspeed Raticate, and they don't really want to switch into its Facade, and Fearow is OHKOed by +2 Guts-boosted Sucker Punch anyway. Even with Lopunny around as an offensive check, I don't think adding such a fast and volatile wallbreaker is going to make the tier better, so my opinion is that Raticate should remain banned.
These two are basically the same: set up Quiver Dance and sweep. Tinted Lens means that Butterfree and Mothim are free to just run Bug Buzz as their attacking moves, giving them the flexibility to fit tools like Protect, Substitute, and Roost to deal with their counterplay. Masquerain and Beautifly, two Pokemon in SU right now, are pretty comparable to them as volatile, matchup-dependent setup sweepers. The difference is that both of them have to fit coverage moves because they can't exclusively rely on Bug Buzz to put in work, and this makes Masquerain and Beautifly a lot more challenging to use effectively. Needing coverage for Fire-types takes away from moveslots that could go to Substitute and Protect to safeguard the matchup moths from status, priority, and particularly Lopunny's Fake Out, and this helps keep them more balanced. With the way Masquerain and Beautifly already are in the metagame, I don't really want to see upgrades to them re-released into the tier at this time, especially with how untapped so much of the rest of the tier is.
Dustox is an odd case, as it's a Quiver Dance sweeper like Butterfree and Mothim, but it's not exploding Bug-resistant Pokemon with Tinted Lens Bug Gem-boosted Bug Buzz. Instead, Dustox becomes extremely obnoxious to break through after using Quiver Dance on a crit-me-not set. Phazers in BW SU are mostly limited to Dragon Tail Lickitung, something that can fail if Dustox is the last mon standing. The defensive boosts Dustox gained, sometimes including Iron Defense, could let it even let it beat Magmar and other supposed answers, giving it the opportunity to wear them down with Sludge Bomb or simply boost further. There's a pretty limited pool of Poison-types in SU beyond Swalot, which needs Encore and Fire Punch to beat Dustox, and the Steel-type options are horrible (Magnemite...), so Dustox got away with Sludge Bomb as its primary attacking move. Psychic variants could wear down Swalot and not need to boost to +6 before burning all of its Sludge Bomb PP against Gloom. I found Dustox to be pretty unhealthy as a presence, so like the other Quiver Dance sweepers, I'd rather not revisit it before retesting the last item in SUBL I'll cover.
Munchlax is something I actually think would be most likely to add something positive to the metagame. Munchlax was banned earlier on because of the concerns surrounding its immense defensive presence and synergy with Spikes. Fighting-type options in SU are painfully limited, including basically just Pignite before you're stuck with the Mienfoo-wannabe LCs like Meditite and Mankey. Munchlax was fairly difficult for most Pokemon to break through on their own because of its great bulk with Eviolite, and it could use Whirlwind on Spikes teams with Shelmet to really rack up passive damage. Entry hazard removal in BW SU being as limited as it is enabled Munchlax to really sit on teams and waste them away, so it was banned. However, I think enough time has passed that Munchlax could be a healthier option for the metagame. The tier itself is in a much less volatile state, as we haven't had a tierlist update since Wormadam-Sandy joined the tier over a year ago, and threats like Vanilluxe and Pignite have entered the metagame or risen up to make Munchlax's spot in the tier a lot more dynamic than simply using Body Slam and Whirlwind to ruin anything that isn't Corsola. Having another answer to Vanilluxe would be great, special attackers like Plusle and Luxray can use Volt Switch to still gain momentum against Munchlax, and Fire-types like Pignite and even Magmar can go more physically offensive to stop Munchlax. Lampent even has Taunt to shut down Munchlax sets that are just RestTalk with Body Slam and Whirlwind. My biggest reservation about freeing Munchlax would be that I think it's really going to take advantage of Spikes being so prominent in the tier at the moment, especially with Budew usurping Shelmet's place, and Munchlax would fix Budew Spikes teams's biggest problem of allowing Vanilluxe to switch in for free. Out of anything in the tierlist right now, I think the option it would make the most sense to retest is Munchlax. However, I'd rather not change the tierlist with the BW SU Open tour being ongoing right now. Additionally, this is my first chance to see the metagame played by a larger pool of people, and I would like to use this opportunity to see if there's metagame elements that are more problematic and should be removed before we go ahead with retesting anything.
Lastly, I'd like to discuss potentially problematic elements of the metagame that exist right now: Fearow and Vanilluxe.
Fearow was one of the few elements of the early and volatile metagame that went onto the chopping block and managed to escape a ban. Fearow was and still is a fast physical wallbreaker and offensive pivot, packing Drill Run for perfect coverage against the entire tier with its STABs alongside U-turn to keep up momentum. Although Fearow is kind of strapped for moveslots, it even has options like Quick Attack and Pursuit for some offensive utility. Fearow only escaped being banned because the vote was tied, leading to it remaining SU, something that prompted me to propose a tierlist update that would introduce more counterplay into the tier. We updated the tierlist with newer trends in BW ZU tours, which dropped Graveler, Lopunny, Vanilluxe, and Vullaby into the metagame. All of these new drops gave new options for dealing with Fearow; Graveler became another Normal-resistant Pokemon alongside Pupitar and Sudowoodo that packed both great bulk and Sturdy; Lopunny is the only Pokemon that naturally outspeeds Fearow, and it's pretty reliable at finishing off Fearow between Fake Out, Stealth Rock damage, STAB Return, and Fearow's frailty, even without a Silk Scarf; Choice Scarf Vanilluxe can outspeed and OHKO Fearow, and its offensive sets could use Endure + Weak Armor to get the jump on it; and Vullaby was one more physical wall that had a good shot at avoiding a 2HKO from Choice Band Fearow's Return after Stealth Rock. While none of these Pokemon are outright counters to Fearow, they've helped temper its place in the metagame to an extent.
Still, I do think Fearow is one of the closest things to borderline in the tier right now. All of our Normal-resistant options are already flawed in some way, and Fearow is already so threatening because it has Drill Run to nail every relevant Normal-resistant Pokemon in the tier. A lot of keeping Fearow in check comes down to relying on it to wear itself down with residual damage, whether it's from Stealth Rock, Rocky Helmet, or Double-Edge recoil. Fearow's Stealth Rock weakness is a major achilles heel when hazard removal in SU is so terrible, being limited to options like Drilbur, Sandshrew, and Squirtle, which either places a burden in the teambuilder or forces Fearow users to be very careful about how they're going to use Fearow in play when Stealth Rock is so easy to set. I think Fearow is held back further by the viability of options like Rocky Helmet Corsola, Luxray, and Endure + Salac Berry Plusle among other counterplay to it, but it's still on my radar as one of the most powerful elements we have. I especially think it's the forefront reason why VoltTurn is so effective in this tier, as Fearow itself is a wallbreaker with U-turn that synergizes with pivots like Luxray and Phione to keep up momentum really easily.
Vanilluxe is a more recent addition to the metagame than Fearow, but it's established itself as a wallbreaker and threat nearly on the same level. "Ice cream", as it's affectionately referred to, has few outright walls. Lickitung and specially defensive Hypno can switch into Ice Beam from Choice Specs sets, but both of them can be overwhelmed by Spikes and fall victim to all of the downsides of two-turn recovery with Wish, and these Pokemon are especially passive. Many Ice-resistant Pokemon like Phione and Pignite generally lack recovery, so most of them can't switch into Vanilluxe repeatedly. Vanilluxe has other sets like Autotomize, a Taunt stallbreaker set, and Choice Scarf, but it's generally agreed that the Specs set is the most overbearing one to deal with.
Conveniently, Vanilluxe suffers from many of the same issues as Fearow. Vanilluxe's Stealth Rock weakness and bad defensive typing make it a pain to get onto the field, so any time it's forced to switch out takes away from its ability to wallbreak properly. Its Choice Scarf set isn't strong enough to break apart most special walls and falls into the same pitfalls as its Choice Specs set of being prediction-reliant and worn down quickly. The Autotomize set is nice when it gets a turn to set up and outspeed the entire metagame, but it's probably not going to be strong enough to break through Fire- and Water-types on its own. Stealth Rock is really easy to set up in SU and a pain to remove without dedicating teamslots to limited options like Drilbur or just giving up on removal entirely and banking on Vanilluxe to simply break as much as possible before it goes down. Vanilluxe's biggest role is mostly as a glass cannon, but I do think that's a fine element to have in a metagame. Beartic plays somewhat similarly as an Ice-type with even more middling Speed, relying on its natural bulk and support to have more impact than just trading or breaking slow teams. I think this mostly comes down to whether or not people feel like Vanilluxe is so overbearing that it's worthy of being removed entirely. Vanilluxe's Speed is partly why I don't feel it's worthy of tiering action, as its non-Scarf sets aren't especially fast, notably being outsped by Magmar, and its underwhelming Speed combined with its Stealth Rock weakness leaves it pretty easily revenge killed. If we were to pursue action for the tier at this point, I'd rather see if freeing Munchlax doesn't make Vanilluxe easier to handle, and even then I would be more willing to ban Vanilluxe if Munchlax didn't prove to be enough to keep it in check.
tl;dr: Nothing besides Munchlax should be considered for an unban, and more discussion on the places of Fearow and Vanilluxe in the tier should take place.
I'll be using the BW SU Open tour to monitor both Fearow and Vanilluxe. I'm also interested to hear players' thoughts on the metagame, especially as Open continues, so feel free to share posts with your thoughts. I'd like to shout out
Fastwalker22 for opening up a YouTube
channel covering BW SU Open, so check that out if you're interested!
Luxray
Fearow
Chimecho
Gloom
Lopunny
Phione
Pignite
Vanilluxe
Granbull
Hypno
Magmar
Plusle
Budew
Corsola
Croconaw
Eelektrik
Graveler
Leavanny
Lickitung
Lunatone
Pupitar
Seviper
Sudowoodo
Swalot
Wormadam-Sandy
Abra
Dewgong
Drilbur
Dunsparce
Girafarig
Lampent
Masquerain
Seaking
Shelmet
Stantler
Vullaby
Archen
Beartic
Bellossom
Gastly
Grotle
Lumineon
Marshtomp
Mightyena
Octillery
Onix
Palpitoad
Wailord
Beautifly
Beedrill
Exploud
Grovyle
Heatmor
Illumise
Kecleon
Lileep
Magcargo
Porygon
Sandshrew
Seadra
Squirtle
Togetic
Anorith
Chinchou
Furret
Mankey
Meditite
Pineco
Servine
Duskull
Flareon
Venipede
Baltoy
Carnivine
Cranidos
Noctowl
Prinplup
Slowpoke
Solosis
Weepinbell
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