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Metagame Linked (OMotM)

this thing crashes the game. I don't know why.

duraludon.gif

Duraludon @ Eviolite
Ability: Stalwart
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Dragon Cheer
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse

imagine something to do with Dragon Cheer targeting the user due to Stalwart's redirection mechanic or just Dragon Cheer itself.

replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9linked-2550568133

edit: Coaching works the same way.
 
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Another Meme set, way too much counterplay to be good, but it's funny

Riolu @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Lonely Nature
- Endure
- Bullet Punch
- Vacuum Wave
- Crunch
 
So…. we heard you like quickbans?
Council Vote #2​

Pokemon / Move / Ability:dhelmise:Anchor9:dhelmise:
dhelmise		:parasect:
Ivy		:solosis:Solosis:slaking:VannAccessible:equilibra:Final Verdict
:booster energy:Booster EnergyBANBANBANBANBAN5-0-0
:Torkoal:DroughtBANBANBANBANBAN5-0-0
:Pincurchin:Electric SurgeBANBANBANABSTAINBAN4-1-0
:Jirachi:Serene GraceBANBANBANBANBAN5-0-0
:dragapult:DragapultDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BAN0-0-5
:regieleki:RegielekiDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BAN0-0-5
:manaphy:ManaphyDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BAN0-0-5
:ogerpon-wellspring:Swords DanceRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0
:Gholdengo:Nasty PlotRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0
:Polteageist:Shell SmashRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0
:Venusaur:GrowthRESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICT1-0-4
:iron valiant:EncoreDO NOT RESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTABSTAINRESTRICT3-1-1
:Samurott-Hisui:CopycatRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0

:booster energy: :booster energy: :booster energy:
:sv/torkoal: :sv/pincurchin: :sv/jirachi: :sv/ogerpon wellspring: :sv/gholdengo: :sv/polteageist: :sv/iron valiant: :sv/samurott-hisui:
Booster Energy, Drought, Electric Surge, and Serene Grace have been banned, and Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Encore, and Copycat have been restricted from Linked!​
:pmd/iron boulder: Booster Energy: Booster Energy was one of the reasons we resorted to voting so early on. It enabled monsters like Iron Moth, Iron Boulder, and Iron Valiant to outspeed and muscle through pretty much everything. This was on our radar since the very concept of Gen 9 Linked was created, and it finally gets to go.

:pmd/torkoal: Drought: After Booster Energy, we also decided to go after the second best thing to activate these monsters. Sun teams are already pretty good, and Walking Wake is nefarious for destroying the hopes and dreams of players. If I see someone use Manual Sun after this ban, I will eat their souls.

:pmd/pincurchin: Electric Surge: Read Drought. I'm too tired to write stuff :(

:pmd/jirachi: Serene Grace: Serene Grace gets rid of the evil Double Flinch strategies run by Jirachi and, to a lesser extent, Sawsbuck, along with the demonic Freeze spam Blissey. We do lose Meloetta as collateral damage, though ;-;

:pmd/polteageist: Swords Dance, Nasty Plot Shell Smash: (90 percent of your existing teams are now illegal hehe) This ban limits snowball breakers and sweepers, and eases the meta away from HO, making Bulky Offense, Balance, and Stall more viable. We decided not to include Tail Glow in this because it doesn't have strong abusers, and Growth is poor after the Drought ban.

:pmd/samurott-hisui: Copycat: This ban prevents the BS Ceaseless Edge and Population Bomb spam, along with the 67 million other things I'm not gonna mention here.

:pmd/iron valiant: Encore: This prevents the weird Encore + Disable or Torment interaction. Restricting this really helps us stabilize our coder's mental health.
Pokemon / Move / Ability:dhelmise:Anchor9:dhelmise:
dhelmise		:parasect:
Ivy		:solosis:Solosis:slaking:VannAccessible:equilibra:Final Verdict
:lilligant-hisui:ChlorophyllABSTAINABSTAINUNBANUNBANUNBAN3-2-0
:raichu-alola:Surge SurferABSTAINABSTAINUNBANUNBANUNBAN3-2-0

:sv/lilligant-hisui: :sv/raichu-alola:
Following the ban of Drought and Electric Surge, Chlorophyll, Surge Surfer (and Raichu-Alola) have been unbanned from Linked!​

:pmd/lilligant-hisui: Chlorophyll: With Drought still banned and no one quite desperate enough to click Sunny Day manually (right?), we’ve decided to let Chlorophyll run free.

:pmd/raichu-alola: Surge Surfer: Read Chlorophyll :)
:sv/jirachi: :sv/meloetta:
Following the ban of Serene Grace (their only ability), Jirachi and Meloetta have been banned from Linked!​

:worrywhirl::worrywhirl::worrywhirl:
Chi-Yu is now banned on ladder (its ban was missed initially). Stalwart, Propeller Tail, Revival Blessing, and Focus Punch have been fixed. Everybody say "Thank you dhelmise!"

These bans basically flipped the entire meta on its head and probably rendered half your teams illegal overnight. We’re hoping this version feels a bit more balanced than the previous version, and that you have fun cooking up some new sets. We’re open to suggestions on what should be on our radar (eg: Dragapult and Regieleki), especially with a Tiering Survey in the works. Until then, enjoy the meta, bye o/

dhelmise to implement!​
 
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:sv/iron hands: :sv/conkeldurr:
Like I previously mentioned, Focus Punch is kind of bugged. If you use it, you won’t flinch when your opponent hits you. This making the move significantly more reliable to use and gives any Pokemon that learns it a big thud stick.
The 2 strongest users of Focus Punch being Iron Hands and Conkeldurr, which not only have the hardest hitting Focus Punch, they are also 2 Pokemon that really could use it properly too. Both being fairly bulky and Conkeldurr having Mach Punch for priority.
With Sword Dance and Booster Energy, Iron Hand provides insane damage output.
For reference, this is what 1 SD > Focus Punch does to Gliscor with Stealth Rock up.
+2 252+ Atk Quark Drive Iron Hands Focus Punch vs. 244 HP / 36 Def Gliscor: 295-348 (83.8 - 98.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
I don’t think I need to explain further. Anything that gives you +2 in either offense should be restricted immediately ngl.

:sv/ribombee:
Ribombee is a really solid choice for HO teams. Being the fastest setter of Sticky Webs and has reliable means to ignore typical Sticky Web counters. With Skill Swap, you are minimum disrupt your opponent, but making sure Magic Bounce doesn’t block your webs.
Sticky Webs are stronger in this metagame since Choice Scarf is less desirable and speed abilities are all banned. It is also especially important when Iron Boulder dittos can decide who wins or loses.
Honorable mention to Araquanid, who can use Entrainment into Sticky Web to also bypass Magic Bounce, but is less effective.

lol I was writing this and suddenly see a massive ban wave.
 
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Solosis said:
So…. we heard you like quickbans?
Council Vote #2​

Pokemon / Move / Ability:dhelmise:Anchor9:dhelmise:
dhelmise		:parasect:
Ivy		:solosis:Solosis:slaking:VannAccessible:equilibra:Final Verdict
:booster energy:Booster EnergyBANBANBANBANBAN5-0-0
:Torkoal:DroughtBANBANBANBANBAN5-0-0
:Pincurchin:Electric SurgeBANBANBANABSTAINBAN4-1-0
:Jirachi:Serene GraceBANBANBANBANBAN5-0-0
:dragapult:DragapultDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BAN0-0-5
:regieleki:RegielekiDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BAN0-0-5
:manaphy:ManaphyDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BANDO NOT BAN0-0-5
:ogerpon-wellspring:Swords DanceRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0
:Gholdengo:Nasty PlotRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0
:Polteageist:Shell SmashRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0
:Venusaur:GrowthRESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICTDO NOT RESTRICT1-0-4
:iron valiant:EncoreDO NOT RESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTABSTAINRESTRICT3-1-1
:Samurott-Hisui:CopycatRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT5-0-0

:booster energy: :booster energy: :booster energy:
:sv/torkoal: :sv/pincurchin: :sv/jirachi: :sv/ogerpon wellspring: :sv/gholdengo: :sv/polteageist: :sv/iron valiant: :sv/samurott-hisui:
Booster Energy, Drought, Electric Surge, and Serene Grace have been banned, and Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Encore, and Copycat have been restricted from Linked!​
:pmd/iron boulder: Booster Energy: Booster Energy was one of the reasons we resorted to voting so early on. It enabled monsters like Iron Moth, Iron Boulder, and Iron Valiant to outspeed and muscle through pretty much everything. This was on our radar since the very concept of Gen 9 Linked was created, and it finally gets to go.

:pmd/torkoal: Drought: After Booster Energy, we also decided to go after the second best thing to activate these monsters. Sun teams are already pretty good, and Walking Wake is nefarious for destroying the hopes and dreams of players. If I see someone use Manual Sun after this ban, I will eat their souls.

:pmd/pincurchin: Electric Surge: Read Drought. I'm too tired to write stuff :(

:pmd/jirachi: Serene Grace: Serene Grace gets rid of the evil Double Flinch strategies run by Jirachi and, to a lesser extent, Sawsbuck, along with the demonic Freeze spam Blissey. We do lose Meloetta as collateral damage, though ;-;

:pmd/polteageist: Swords Dance, Nasty Plot Shell Smash: (90 percent of your existing teams are now illegal hehe) This ban limits snowball breakers and sweepers, and eases the meta away from HO, making Bulky Offense, Balance, and Stall more viable. We decided not to include Tail Glow in this because it doesn't have strong abusers, and Growth is poor after the Drought ban.

:pmd/samurott-hisui: Copycat: This ban prevents the BS Ceaseless Edge and Population Bomb spam, along with the 67 million other things I'm not gonna mention here.

:pmd/iron valiant: Encore: This prevents the weird Encore + Disable or Torment interaction. Restricting this really helps us stabilize our coder's mental health.
Pokemon / Move / Ability:dhelmise:Anchor9:dhelmise:
dhelmise		:parasect:
Ivy		:solosis:Solosis:slaking:VannAccessible:equilibra:Final Verdict
:lilligant-hisui:ChlorophyllABSTAINABSTAINUNBANUNBANUNBAN3-2-0
:raichu-alola:Surge SurferABSTAINABSTAINUNBANUNBANUNBAN3-2-0

:sv/lilligant-hisui: :sv/raichu-alola:
Following the ban of Drought and Electric Surge, Chlorophyll, Surge Surfer (and Raichu-Alola) have been unbanned from Linked!​

:pmd/lilligant-hisui: Chlorophyll: With Drought still banned and no one quite desperate enough to click Sunny Day manually (right?), we’ve decided to let Chlorophyll run free.

:pmd/raichu-alola: Surge Surfer: Read Chlorophyll :)
:sv/jirachi: :sv/meloetta:
Following the ban of Serene Grace (their only ability), Jirachi and Meloetta have been banned from Linked!​

:worrywhirl::worrywhirl::worrywhirl:
Chi-Yu is now banned on ladder (its ban was missed initially). Stalwart, Propeller Tail, Revival Blessing, and Focus Punch have been fixed. Everybody say "Thank you dhelmise!"

These bans basically flipped the entire meta on its head and probably rendered half your teams illegal overnight. We’re hoping this version feels a bit more balanced than the previous version, and that you have fun cooking up some new sets. We’re open to suggestions on what should be on our radar (eg: Dragapult and Regieleki), especially with a Tiering Survey in the works. Until then, enjoy the meta, bye o/

dhelmise to implement!​
Click to expand...
Thx Dhelmise! Yeah ngl SD, NP and Shell Smash def needed to be restricted, and I'm glad booster energy is gone.
 
Solosis said:
:pmd/lilligant-hisui: Chlorophyll: With Drought still banned and no one quite desperate enough to click Sunny Day manually (right?), we’ve decided to let Chlorophyll run free.
Click to expand...
Sure....
Anyway heres a fun combo that I made!

Walking Wake @ Heat Rock
Protosynthesis
-Sunny Day
- Hydro Steam
-Flip Turn
-Flamethrower

Venusaur @ Black Sludge/Whatev
Chlorophyl
-Growth
-Solar Beam
-Sludge Bomb
-Weather Ball
 
I’m really glad that SD/NP/SS got restricted. Those were pretty dominate strategies that basically require you to use Unaware and heavily outclassed different sets.

:sv/ogerpon: :sv/ogerpon-wellspring: :sv/ogerpon-cornerstone:
For instance, Ogerpon would be great with Focus Energy + Ivy Cudgel. You would give yourself +2 crit chance inherently and Ivy Cudgel already having +3 meant Ogerpon would have guaranteed crits on Ivy Cudgel, while having high crit chance on your other moves too.
This strategy is significantly less effective than just using Sword Dance. Sure you ignore defensive boosts like Iron Defense and Reflect, or dealing more against Unaware, but you eventually just got to +6 easily and steamroll through most team anyways, then finding a way to deal with Unaware later.

And that’s kind of a trend with many Pokemon. You could use some sort of interesting combo for your linked move. Or you could give yourself free +2s every time before using an attack. The choice is pretty obvious.


AintTellingUNothing said:
Sure....
Anyway heres a fun combo that I made!

Walking Wake @ Heat Rock
Protosynthesis
-Sunny Day
- Hydro Steam
-Flip Turn
-Flamethrower

Venusaur @ Black Sludge/Whatev
Chlorophyl
-Growth
-Solar Beam
-Sludge Bomb
-Weather Ball
Click to expand...
Like this is some more creative stuff here that would be overlooked before.
 
Hello! Thanks for bringing this back to Gen 9. I'll keep this short. I'd like to propose that Linked be played with Open Teamsheets. Thanks in advance to anyone who agrees, and would like to actually argue for this in lieu of myself.

Open Teamsheets: Allows each player to see the Pokémon and all non-stat information about them, before they choose their lead Pokémon
Click to expand...
 
Slayer95 said:
Hello! Thanks for bringing this back to Gen 9. I'll keep this short. I'd like to propose that Linked be played with Open Teamsheets. Thanks in advance to anyone who agrees, and would like to actually argue for this in lieu of myself.
Click to expand...
I don’t think OTS is that necessary for this metagame. It was for a previous OM, NatDex CamoChaos, but that was because that metagame let you have any move on any Pokemon.
Here, it isn’t that much of a problem to correctly guess what moves your opponent is using. They only have their vanilla moveset and you can only realistically expect a few different movesets.
 
Chlorophyll HAS to go. I've already run into 3 different sun teams on ladder with 0 counterplay. You HAVE to run your own weather to counterplay theirs or a +2 Solar Blade from Lilligant-Hisui OR +2 Venusaur Solar Beam is going to punch a hole through your entire team before you get a chance to respond.
 
ive got some funny things to share, awesome ass tier.
Shiftry @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wind Rider
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Tailwind
- Explosion
- Knock Off
- Taunt

actually insane momentum grabber, enables insane swepers like cm psychic hoopa u, head smash flare blitz harc, and what ive been running dual stabs life orb bramble which actually cooks so hard. its a bit goofy, my team 100% needs a LOT of refinement but its very fun and cool to use. but i think that tailwind could legitimately work well in this. (feedback / mon suggestions greatly apprecaited)

https://pokepast.es/967b0b3a4f4e389d - heres a team


another funny thing is that i unironically think spidops is one of the best webs etters, (webs being one of the best archetypes) due to having the slowest pibot (and not having immunities like vika)

finally,
Terapagos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Tera Shift
Tera Type: Stellar
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Roar
- Rapid Spin
- Flamethrower
- Tera Starstorm
this guy is awesome. if they try to switch into ghosts like pult to block spin they get roared out and you get a free spin, ghold does block this but gets ruined by flame thrower, just a cool mon generally but this set is funny. ill be exploring this a bunch more from now so expect more goofy shit

also priority and chlorophyll and screens are stupid asf
 
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Endrism said:
Chlorophyll HAS to go. I've already run into 3 different sun teams on ladder with 0 counterplay. You HAVE to run your own weather to counterplay theirs or a +2 Solar Blade from Lilligant-Hisui OR +2 Venusaur Solar Beam is going to punch a hole through your entire team before you get a chance to respond.
Click to expand...
Golduck and Altaria sitting in the corner:
 
Cuddly said:
Golduck isn’t really a great answer to Lilligant-H. You know, a Grass type, with higher Speed anyways and Victory Dance and you have to use Golduck on your team.
I’m pretty sure you’re just better off using Weavile ngl.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, but Altaria w Cloud Nine lowk resists both it's stabs and has good set up. Only thing to look out for is Triple Axel
 
Guys I may have created a nuke, been testing it and w tailwind support from Kilowattrel it is honestly insane.

Kingdra @ Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Energy
- Draco Meteor
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Guaranteed Crit, Sniper Boosted, Stab Boosted Draco meteor does a shit ton of damage. It would be great to get the calcs for this, tried using the damage calculator but I couldn't find anywhere that gave the Critical Hit factor
 
:sv/talonflame:
Talonflame @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Gale Wings
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Temper Flare
Talonflame was at one point a pretty strong OU Pokemon thanks to Gale Wings giving prioriry to Brave Bird, as well as Roost and for Doubles priority Tailwind. That was until Gen 7 where Gale Wings only activates if you’re at full health, effectively ruining the ability. You got 1 priority Brave Bird in the best conditions and Roost effectively no longer had priority. You still had priority Tailwind and some substitutes like Acrobatics and DWB, but it was never really the same. And while Talonflame fell off in Gen 6, its now basically regulated to just “cope” sets with fast burns and defogs. Born to Gale Wings, forced to Flame Body.
In Linked, it’s somewhat a different story. Since you can link 2 moves together, you can effectively keep your priority more often and have priority Roost in a way. If you’re at full HP, you can Brave Bird with priority, and while maintaining your priority, heal off the recoil with Roost to bring yourself back to full HP.
This isn’t foolproof however. If you get so much as nicked by a weak U-Turn, you will lose your priority. If you don’t KO your target, you likely will get hit by an attack that’s cause you to lose your priority too. Get hit by Toxic or Sand is up, you can forget about it. However it isn’t so bad with careful play and how fast Talonflame already is. You likely can Brave Bird into Roost to get your health back. You can also run out of PP on Roost if you’re not careful.
HDBs is the best item for obvious reasons. Avoiding Stealth Rock is crucial. Sword Dance helps Talonflame break past Pokemon and potentially sweep. Temper Flare lets you hit Steel types other than Heatran and doesn’t break Gale Wings like Flare Blitz would. If you use Will-o-wisp, you can cripple some Pokemon, but you’re also harder walled thanks to Gholdengo.
:slowking-galar: :Alomomola:
Talonflame really appreciates the slow bulky Regen pivots. Slowking can provide Future Sight and removes Sand with Chilly Reception. Alomomola can Wish Talonflame to full health and can lure in Grass types.
 
From Deerifius on OM Discord:

Untitled65_20260304083544.png


Before this tier launched, the Linked council understood the paradox mons would be muddy business. Gen 8 Linked had banned all the speed abilities and we wished to adhere to that precedent, as speed is inherently dominant in an HO meta such as this. However, we did not necessarily wish to ban Protosynthesis and Quark Drive as abilities, because doing so would gut the tier of the paradox mons, and thus, much of the Gen 9 flavor. So if a sweeping paradox ban is off the table and we don’t want to play whack-a-mole with the individual mons, the question becomes, “to what degree do we nerf Booster Energy, Sun and Electric Terrain?”

Yesterday, we banned Booster Energy, Drought and Electric Surge to limit these mons, and in the spirit of testing, we felt Chlorophyll and Surge Surfer might find a place on manual teams.

Well… funny story.

The Discord mob was quick to point out we collectively underestimated the power of manual Linked Sunny Day teams as an archetype (well, not dhelmise, he totally called this). Restricting Sunny Day as a linked move with inherently hinders the playstyle’s momentum, as Dragapult being a sun setter with U-Turn immediately following is arguably more effective at grabbing momentum than Torkoal or Ninetales. We didn’t go as far to hit Heat Rock, as the majority isn’t there yet.

At the risk of appearing indecisive and overly quick to tiering action, the council has agreed to vote on a back up slate. We do not make this decision lightly, and we appreciate your patience. Balancing a new meta is challenging and we just want everyone to have fun.

With a great portion of Sun’s threat level being owed to Growth Lilligant-H, and Venusaur waiting in the wings if Lilligant were to be individually banned, we will also re-vote on Chlorophyll.

Finally, as to not unilaterally nerf Sun and accidentally make Quark Drive teams able to gain uneven momentum and become dominant again, we also voted on restricting Electric Terrain from being linked.

Council Vote #3​


Pokemon / Move / Ability
:parasect:
Ivy​
:equilibra:Final Verdict
:lilligant-hisui:Chlorophyll
BAN​
BAN​
BAN​
BAN​
BAN​
5-0-0
:dragapult:Sunny DayRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT
RESTRICT​
5-0-0
:Regieleki:
Electric Terrain		RESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT
ABSTAIN​
RESTRICT​
4-1-0​

:sv/lilligant-hisui:

:sv/dragapult: :sv/Regieleki:
Chlorophyll is banned and Sunny Day and Electric Terrain have been restricted from Linked!​

Please do the honors dhelmise :)
 
VannAccessible said:
From Deerifius on OM Discord:

View attachment 813797

Before this tier launched, the Linked council understood the paradox mons would be muddy business. Gen 8 Linked had banned all the speed abilities and we wished to adhere to that precedent, as speed is inherently dominant in an HO meta such as this. However, we did not necessarily wish to ban Protosynthesis and Quark Drive as abilities, because doing so would gut the tier of the paradox mons, and thus, much of the Gen 9 flavor. So if a sweeping paradox ban is off the table and we don’t want to play whack-a-mole with the individual mons, the question becomes, “to what degree do we nerf Booster Energy, Sun and Electric Terrain?”

Yesterday, we banned Booster Energy, Drought and Electric Surge to limit these mons, and in the spirit of testing, we felt Chlorophyll and Surge Surfer might find a place on manual teams.

Well… funny story.

The Discord mob was quick to point out we collectively underestimated the power of manual Linked Sunny Day teams as an archetype (well, not dhelmise, he totally called this). Restricting Sunny Day as a linked move with inherently hinders the playstyle’s momentum, as Dragapult being a sun setter with U-Turn immediately following is arguably more effective at grabbing momentum than Torkoal or Ninetales. We didn’t go as far to hit Heat Rock, as the majority isn’t there yet.

At the risk of appearing indecisive and overly quick to tiering action, the council has agreed to vote on a back up slate. We do not make this decision lightly, and we appreciate your patience. Balancing a new meta is challenging and we just want everyone to have fun.

With a great portion of Sun’s threat level being owed to Growth Lilligant-H, and Venusaur waiting in the wings if Lilligant were to be individually banned, we will also re-vote on Chlorophyll.

Finally, as to not unilaterally nerf Sun and accidentally make Quark Drive teams able to gain uneven momentum and become dominant again, we also voted on restricting Electric Terrain from being linked.

Council Vote #3​


Pokemon / Move / Ability
:parasect:
Ivy​
:equilibra:Final Verdict
:lilligant-hisui:Chlorophyll
BAN​
BAN​
BAN​
BAN​
BAN​
5-0-0
:dragapult:Sunny DayRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT
RESTRICT​
5-0-0
:Regieleki:
Electric Terrain		RESTRICTRESTRICTRESTRICT
ABSTAIN​
RESTRICT​
4-1-0​

:sv/lilligant-hisui:

:sv/dragapult: :sv/Regieleki:
Chlorophyll is banned and Sunny Day and Electric Terrain have been restricted from Linked!​

Please do the honors dhelmise :)
Click to expand...
Welp that was quick lol. RIP the Growth+ Solar Blade/Beam nukes, some will miss you, others will just replace you with rain.
 
Finally, as to not unilaterally nerf Sun and accidentally make Quark Drive teams able to gain uneven momentum and become dominant again, we also voted on restricting Electric Terrain from being linked.
Click to expand...
Frankly I don't see how this holds any reasoning for a ban. Electric Terrain has not shown any signs of being remotely problematic in the Sun meta, and banning something just to not unilaterally affect one teamstyle just makes no sense, bans are only supposed to hit broken things, you don't ban something not broken just to not only target one teamstyle.

Addressing the comparison to the pre-Booster Energy ban meta, Electric Terrain teams have infinitely more counterplay than Booster Energy, the terrain has a set timer, there are several other viable terrains(psyspam is relatively niche but :rillaboom: is a top 5 mon that also hits nearly all of the eterrain mons), and requires both a mon slot as a dedicated setter and an entire turn to get up, which allows opposing teams to either setup or get webs/screens/Trick Room/Tailwind up. None of the Electric Terrain setters are particularily good(certainly nowhere near as good as :dragapult: was for sun), :Regieleki: thuds into the suggestion of a ground type, :Kilowattrel: has really bad bulk and very little offensive pressure of any kid, and while :Mew: and :Zapdos: are fine mons, having to dedicate a moveslot to Electric Terrain and another to pivoting severely restricts what they can do, often making it so that they can't pose any offensive threat. This isn't getting at the fact that Electric Terrain doesn't actually matchup well into the top metagame threats, priorityspam teams featuring :Rillaboom: will easily overwrite the terrain, the lack of power boosting means that it can't muscle through screens like Sun did with Growth spam, Hydro Steam, and Spa boosts, webs threatens to completely shut down speed boosts from Quark Drive, and Trick Room/Tailwind teams can out/underspeed Electric Terrain boosted threats and simply KO them.

Quark Drive mons are also considerably worse than where they were in the Booster Energy meta even with Quark Drive boosts. Without Swords Dance, :Iron-Valiant: and :Iron-Boulder: now lack a considerable amount of their immediete pressure and snowballing power. This is especially true for :Iron-Boulder:, which now lacks any form of linkable setup, but even for :Iron-Valiant: the amount of pokemon that can live a +1 Moonblast far outweight the amount that could tank a +2 Spirit Break or Close Combat, and the fraility of both mons means that not OHKOing an enemy often leads to the mons being OHKO'd themselves. The general increase of viability in bulkier mons contributes to this as well, without +2 snowballs much bulkier mons like :Ting-Lu: are now being ran more, which severely hurts :Iron-Moth:, a pokemon that relies on outspeeding and immedietly killing its enemies. Even not accounting for the mon slot required to get Electric Terrain up and the amount of ways to remove the terrain or abuse the turns required to get it up, the Quark Drive mons have been hammered by indirect and direct nerfs that prevent them from any semblence of the dominance they once had.

I hope the council rethinks the Electric Terrain restriction, Electric Terrain teams(and honestly every single Quark Drive mon) have not shown any sign of being broken in the post-Booster Energy/+2 Setup ban metagame and with the current speed of tiering action, speculative bans are entirely unneeded. If Electric Terrain proves to be banworthy in the post-Sun metagame, it should absolutely be banned, but we should not ban things simply because they might possibly be banworthy, especially with so much already-viable counterplay in the meta.
 
Out of curiosity, what are thoughts on Screens as Linked moves? While they don't bother me too much as I have two crit machines (Focus Energy, Scope Lens Kingdra and Hone Claws Flower Trick Meowscarada), with how easy it is to set up for such a good effect, does anyone think it's broken or is it just a part of life here?
 
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