RNGIsFatal
Banned deucer.
Okay one time in Discord I almost got scolded to death because I said "banning Terrakion, while I support it, is a change that removes the last top-tier scarfer in the metagame". I mean, I get it. Stuff like Victini exists. But if we take a look at banned 'mons like Hoopa-U, Keldeo, and Terrakion, most of them have Stealth Rock resistances which means they can come in more than just a couple times to bring pain, and they all (except Poopa-U) can safely retreat against Weavile which kills like almost every Pokemon with adapt + band + pursuit at this point (in Hoopa-U's case, it can just win against Weavile 1v1 unless Weavile is scarf(???) or it is locked into Psychic-type moves). Now what I want to say by making reference to scarf users is that revenge killing is gonna be very reliant on priority meaning anti-priority stuff might be more prevalent.How will this affect the metagame?
Well this is just my perspective, it might be totally wrong but this is how I generally predict about this meta.
* Now birdies like Zapdos, Mandibuzz, and Skarmory (which is 2HKO'd by adapt + band + CC) have one less pain to face and I think they will carry Magic Bounce more than before. This doesn't mean Delta Stream won't be a good ability for them, however.Do you see any specific mons that will appreciate this ban?
* No more Doublade memes
* Idk, people will still use Gligar / Hippowdon because of Landorus-T and stuff so I don't think walls that were dedicated to stop Terrakion will decline in usage or anything.
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One thing I noticed during Terrakion suspect that is possibly more significant issue than the suspect itself (doesn't mean I took suspect lightly, everyone was voting ban's etc etc) is the controversy on Adaptability.
Tbf I half agree and half disagree. Some people might know this already but Adaptability shines when STAB combination is good enough to threaten the notable portion of the metagame. Let's take a look at banned stuff:This ability is just absolutely insane, slap it on anything offensive and it turns into this unwallable fucking beast of a Pokemon. - avocado
* Keldeo
- Notable walls that can take care of dual STABs are Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and that's about it.
- Chansey gets dunked on by Secret Sword
* Terrakion
- Only possible switch-ins are Hippowdon, Buzzwole, and Gligar. (Tapu Fini lacks reliable recovery outsides Poison Heal)
- Due to excellent STAB combination and ability to force shitload of switches it can free a moveslot to slap in stuff like Stealth Rock and Toxic
But if we move on to other stuff, Adaptability isn't good in reality. Garchomp? Landorus-T? Well, it has p good Attack, good Speed as a potential Scarf user, but guess what, Skarmory says hi, and Buzzwole / Hippowdon are impossible to surmount without SD boost and they just won't die if they have Intimidate.
This kinda finalizes my reasoning; very few Pokemon are able to simultaneously threaten most of the metagame, make efficient lure sets, always do something meaningful against any archetype of teams while possessing top tier Speed and enough offensive stats. Keldeo just wrecks any teams that is not specifically prepared for it, and the same goes Terrakion except it has an access to stuff like Swords Dance and Stealth Rock. The only good Adaptability users we have, I would say, are Bisharp, which cannot set up at all and is reliant on inconsistent priority move against hyperoffense, and Lucario, which has less powerful priority move and therefore has to choose between carrying scarf (who tf uses scarf lucario) and be dead weigh against stall, or, carry Swords Dance / Nasty Plot and don't do much against hyperoffense.An ability is deemed banworthy when we believe that the ability itself is the issue, and that a disproportionate amount of users become "broken" with the ability. - Laxpras
So yeah. I have been actively playing AAA during Terrakion suspect and this is what I think.
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