Well, here we are again. It's always such a pleasure. It's time to suspect Gen 5 Stealth Rock! We don't normally do suspects here in the land of Random Battles, and we don't plan to do any more after this. However, we have extenuating circumstances that make this suspect rather necessary.
Earlier in spring of 2026, the Random Battles development council brought up a motion and ultimately voted to remove Stealth Rock from gens 4 and 5 of Random Battles. Additionally, all levels of Stealth Rock-weak Pokemon and Stealth Rock setters were adjusted manually in an attempt to preliminarily balance Pokemon after the change. They did this on the grounds that Stealth Rock contributes too heavily to matchup imbalance; additionally, it upsets the level balancing of most Stealth Rock-weak Pokemon to the point where they are much stronger than they should be in games where the opponent does not get Stealth Rock, and they are much weaker than they should be in games where Stealth Rock is present. These are all valid under-the-hood concerns, and at the time the council believed it to be in their best interest to remove Stealth Rock altogether. However, several concerns quickly arose from the community. Many long-time Gen 4 players began to complain that the new format is much too slow, much too stall-centered, and perhaps even more imbalanced matchup-wise than when Stealth Rock was present; these concerns, too, are entirely valid. The play-feel of Gen 4 was drastically different in its current Stealth Rock-less state, and to many, this was a change for the worse. Ultimately, the Gen 4 Stealth Rock suspect ended with over 80% of the vote to keep Stealth Rock banned.
This is, of course, only tangentially relevant to Gen 5. Gen 5 is still geared much more towards offense by the very nature of power creep; however, is it geared enough towards offense, or does it need more? Fewer people have protested about the ban in this gen in particular, but we are bound by due process to test it here as well. The main downside of this suspect test is that Stealth Rock hasn't been in the format for over six months, now; many who may ladder might not even know or remember how the format was before. That's, unfortunately, just something we'll have to deal with. Wish this could've been done differently.
So, we ask you, the community, to vote in this suspect test. Do we keep Stealth Rock banned, or should we unban it and revert all changes to levels and sets to what they were before action was initially taken?
Suspect Requirements
In order to qualify, you should ladder using the "Gen 5 Random Battle (Suspect Test)" ladder
In order to qualify over the next two weeks via the ladder, you will need to hop on a new alt and reach at least 1575 ELO and at least 85% GXE simultaneously, with no outside assistance. The ladder suspect begins now and ends on November 24 at 11:59 PM Eastern time.
You must use the "/linksmogon" command on your reqs account at some point in order to be verified.
See all people who have qualified here!
Additionally, the following users have qualified for this suspect by default due to their tournament performance in Gen 5 Open and World Cup of Randbats:
If you believe you should be on either of these lists and that we are in error, please let us know.
Members of the Random Battles Development Council (including myself) do not automatically get reqs. No members of the council have automatically qualified from tournament performance.
Suspect Voting
The voting stage for this suspect will occur shortly after all reqs have been verified. Per a council vote on the threshold, a 60% supermajority will be required to keep Stealth Rock banned. In other words, if more than 40% of qualified voters want Stealth Rock back, it will be brought back, with no questions asked. If Stealth Rock is brought back, neither Stealth Rock nor Rapid Spin will be enforced on every team. However, they will be enforced on the individual Pokemon that can run them.
If you have obtained reqs, please be sure to vote.
This thread will remain open to CIVIL discussion and answering of questions about the suspect. Good luck laddering, everyone! Remember, ladder period ends Tuesday, November 24.
Earlier in spring of 2026, the Random Battles development council brought up a motion and ultimately voted to remove Stealth Rock from gens 4 and 5 of Random Battles. Additionally, all levels of Stealth Rock-weak Pokemon and Stealth Rock setters were adjusted manually in an attempt to preliminarily balance Pokemon after the change. They did this on the grounds that Stealth Rock contributes too heavily to matchup imbalance; additionally, it upsets the level balancing of most Stealth Rock-weak Pokemon to the point where they are much stronger than they should be in games where the opponent does not get Stealth Rock, and they are much weaker than they should be in games where Stealth Rock is present. These are all valid under-the-hood concerns, and at the time the council believed it to be in their best interest to remove Stealth Rock altogether. However, several concerns quickly arose from the community. Many long-time Gen 4 players began to complain that the new format is much too slow, much too stall-centered, and perhaps even more imbalanced matchup-wise than when Stealth Rock was present; these concerns, too, are entirely valid. The play-feel of Gen 4 was drastically different in its current Stealth Rock-less state, and to many, this was a change for the worse. Ultimately, the Gen 4 Stealth Rock suspect ended with over 80% of the vote to keep Stealth Rock banned.
This is, of course, only tangentially relevant to Gen 5. Gen 5 is still geared much more towards offense by the very nature of power creep; however, is it geared enough towards offense, or does it need more? Fewer people have protested about the ban in this gen in particular, but we are bound by due process to test it here as well. The main downside of this suspect test is that Stealth Rock hasn't been in the format for over six months, now; many who may ladder might not even know or remember how the format was before. That's, unfortunately, just something we'll have to deal with. Wish this could've been done differently.
So, we ask you, the community, to vote in this suspect test. Do we keep Stealth Rock banned, or should we unban it and revert all changes to levels and sets to what they were before action was initially taken?
Suspect Requirements
In order to qualify, you should ladder using the "Gen 5 Random Battle (Suspect Test)" ladder
In order to qualify over the next two weeks via the ladder, you will need to hop on a new alt and reach at least 1575 ELO and at least 85% GXE simultaneously, with no outside assistance. The ladder suspect begins now and ends on November 24 at 11:59 PM Eastern time.
You must use the "/linksmogon" command on your reqs account at some point in order to be verified.
See all people who have qualified here!
Additionally, the following users have qualified for this suspect by default due to their tournament performance in Gen 5 Open and World Cup of Randbats:
If you believe you should be on either of these lists and that we are in error, please let us know.
Members of the Random Battles Development Council (including myself) do not automatically get reqs. No members of the council have automatically qualified from tournament performance.
Suspect Voting
The voting stage for this suspect will occur shortly after all reqs have been verified. Per a council vote on the threshold, a 60% supermajority will be required to keep Stealth Rock banned. In other words, if more than 40% of qualified voters want Stealth Rock back, it will be brought back, with no questions asked. If Stealth Rock is brought back, neither Stealth Rock nor Rapid Spin will be enforced on every team. However, they will be enforced on the individual Pokemon that can run them.
If you have obtained reqs, please be sure to vote.
This thread will remain open to CIVIL discussion and answering of questions about the suspect. Good luck laddering, everyone! Remember, ladder period ends Tuesday, November 24.
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