Imperial

First shiny in so long, 3rd OT within 6,000+ hours lol...

Not saying that Crawdaunt is fine, because it's a problem, but we're now getting Toxicroak again so we'll be back to seeing Toxicroak + Poliwrath being spammed in the tier assuming Shaymin gets banned. Regarding the changes, I would propose the following: Venusaur - Quick banned to BL2 under offensive characteristics due to its HA (I believe this mon will be too strong under sun compared to Exeggutor/Victreebell/Typhlosion etc) Cloyster - As it avoided the cut off, does TC think that Cloyster is healthy for the tier or should a discussion thread be warranted? Gigalith - This was fine when it was in the tier last time, but people are saying it's going to be an issue (I personally disagree), so curious what TC members think about this mon?

I completely agree, we need as many waifus to balance out all of the furries in the game

Nah it's always the same, people randomly create an account, barely look at old posts beforehand, make a post asking the same thing, barely logs in after to check the responses, rinse and repeat...

Dear MightyMichele, I am writing this message to emphasise that I completely agree with the statement that you pointed out above. The development team are working really hard to implement Johto and an announcement will be made in due course. I hope you have a great day. Best regards, Incognition

Generally a lot of Pokemon tend to edge around below 5%, the people abusing the system trying to deliberately move a Pokemon out of a certain tier can be caught out and looked into like you do with matchfixing, etc with exceptions being if people want to try a new trend of course (e.g. Introducing Seismitoad into OU). I like the idea of being able to veto certain Pokemon, but then I assume TC will have to create a discussion thread, wait a whole for the process to take in effect etc. The only Pokemon in that list which seems to be an issue is Venusaur, some people are also saying Gigalith in NU. I just find two things really annoying: The number of Pokemon which keep on rising and dropping between UU and NU, whilst although dealing with Nidoqueen and Vaporeon, not concluding some other Pokemon which are problematic (e.g. Shaymin in UU and Scrafty/Sharpedo in NU). The number of times a Pokemon keeps on yo-yoing between UU and NU - I can confirm that Tentacruel/Gligar/Druddigon have moved up and down between tiers at least four times now. 4.36% used to be a viable percentile when the ladder was a lot more active, but when one of the UU seasonal tournaments didn't even completely fill, the biggest automated tournament in the game, that should tell you about the state of laddering and statistics overall. Please address this as soon as possible, the tiers are already a shitfest and it'll only keep getting worse.

As it stands, this is currently what would be moving up and down respectively: Once again, look at the number of Pokemon which will be moving up and down from UU and NU. Once again, look at how Tentacruel rises to UU and Druddigon/Gligar drop down to NU. Freezing the tier changes will only delay the inevitable, may I please ask what is the hold up for the devs implementing the solution to all this - increasing the usage % from 4.36% and potentially considering other factors as well? This may also help with the issue which will come when more HAs and legendaries are implemented in the next update.

IVs: 23 / 31 / 28 / x / 31 / 31 EVs: 6 hp, 252 attack, 252 speed Currently listed on GTL for $800,000 but price is negotiable. Sorry @Sebat love you

Random tournaments are great but I feel this will kill the incentive to play the actual competitive tiers even more. For example, you would need to introduce a minimum of 2-3 automated random tournaments a week, which means that one or more of the OU/UU/NU/DUBS tournaments will need to be replaced, and most of these have already died down a lot on ladder and during certain timezones. Not to mention that unlike the other tiers, randoms is basically luck based on your match up and many people have access to all of the sets for each Pokemon meaning that they're already going to be at an advantage. So although a cool incentive, I'd rather these were hosted unofficially. We need more people to invest in actual tiers, not to sway away from them.

I already expressed my concerns as to why Vaporeon was too strong for NU and should be banned, so I won't repeat myself here, but it was an extremely centralising Pokemon that definitely had uber-defensive characteristics and only dropped because of Toxicroak/Poliwrath being spammed in UU at the time. Could Tier Council have given a more in-depth explanation? Potentially, but there is also a Discord where discussions have/can take place so I'd recommend visiting the Colosseum server. Regarding Blaziken, I agree that this is another extremely centralising Pokemon, but it originally gained so much usage ever since it gained the move U-Turn. Although it's definitely A+ tier for sure, the physical set (most common) is the easiest to adapt to - Golbat, Slowbro, Quagsire, Rotom (if you don't switch into Flare Blitz), Qwilfish, Slowking, Sableye to name a few are able to check/counter this whilst also potentially chipping damage with Rocky Helmet and pressuring it with hazards (e.g. Stealth Rocks). The mixed set can be more difficult to deal with regarding predictions especially if you're running a slightly more defensive team, but it has an average speed making it pretty manageable mainly with offense, we have tools to deal with it (Altaria/Slowking/Mantine/Quagsire) obviously depending on its moveset and a lot of mons which are faster and can pressure it, not to mention the potential chip damage it has to take with Life Orb. Vaporeon, unlike Blaziken, was always able to self-recover and support teammates with Wish with an extremely high base 130 HP. As strong as Blaziken is, I don't think it fits the uber-offensive characteristics for NU. Rotom is completely fine. Generally, a Pokemon is measured based on how much it restricts the tier and a particular playstyle (e.g. Dugtrio in NU, Porygon2 in UU, Gallade in OU currently in discussion, etc).

Bro we're finally getting Johto and people now want the next thing... ISTG I'd rather that the devs work on implementing the existing features that we have in game such as the Battle Frontier, Subway Train in Unova and Pokemon Contests alongside improving the PvE and PvP side (e.g. Adding turn counters, legends, etc). On the practical side, I can't see them adding Gen 6 considering there wouldn't be Mega Evolutions and unlikely Fairy types which are the main things which stand out for this generation (graphics may be possible in the future though?). I'm sorry if it sounds rude, but Johto still hasn't been completed yet and self-entitled people like you don't seem appreciative and want more things added to the game without even enjoying what we're due to get.

It's a shame he is very selective about who he answers

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Monotype is cool, but the time is the same as the Champions League final. Also are we allowed to change teams during each round?

Hire a person specialised in Public Relations so that we can have clearer communication between the community and devs about features in the game. One minute they appear out of nowhere, then suddenly they disappear for months.

At the moment there's no other solution considering that nerfs don't happen in lower tiers. Shaymin is clearly a problem in UU and if it's not good enough to be in OU because of better tools like Serperior, so be it and it'll suffer the same fate as Porygon-Z, Dugtrio and Haxorus who are stuck in BL1. Regarding your second point, that's not necessarily true although maybe not for Shaymin. Once Serperior's HA was introduced and it was clear that there were hardly tools to handle it since there were barely any HAs added, the devs immediately introduced Crobat and Chandelure's infiltrator alongside Assault Gear.

It's been mentioned several times but I'll include it here - the devs don't implement nerfs unless the Pokemon is too strong for OU since we don't have an Ubers category in the game. That's why there's been discussions about Gallade in OU since sharpness is too strong for the lower tiers. So personally the most logical sense would be to temporarily ban it to BL1, wait until more HAs and potentially legendaries are introduced and then TC can re-evaluate Shaymin and drop it back into UU when it's appropriate to do so.

I thought I'd contribute to this discussion, hopefully, it will be helpful. First off, I'll list all of the sets I've seen being used: Seed Flare, Recover/Synthesis, Hidden Power Fire/Ice, Psychic/Earth Power (life orb) Seed Flare, Hidden Power Fire/Ice, Psychic, Earth Power (choice specs) Seed Flare, Recover/Synthesis, Sleep Powder, Psychic/Earth Power (life orb/leppa berry) Leech Seed, Recover/Synthesis, Giga Drain, Protect/Toxic (rocky helmet) From what I've seen, it's clear that the biggest threat from Shaymin is its impressive base stats (as it's a legendary) + Seed Flare combination. Not to mention the fact that as I speak, the tier is dominated by water types (Poliwrath/Crawdaunt/Jellicent/Empoleon/Swampert/Gastrodon) to list a few making Shaymin an excellent Pokemon to use generally and the usage statistics justify this (there's probably more water types I've missed out but these are the most common. I know Empoleon is dual-typing so Seed Flare does neutral damage, but Shaymin pressures it enough that it can't afford to switch in safely, especially with the 40% chance for a special defence drop). Shaymin also has Natural Cure, meaning it can't be crippled by status conditions such as Toxic/Thunder Wave, it also can't be put to sleep due to its typing. All it has to do is switch out to a mon which perfectly synergies/supports it and Shaymin can switch back in to repressure the opposing team. Finally, it's great defensively and is perfect in stall teams, with the overall stats making it great offensively as well (e.g. Giga Drain). My personal opinion, the reason why Shaymin dropped to UU in the first place is that OU is currently dominated by several steel types which installs a lot of immediate pressure (e.g. Scizor/Skarmory) and the tier has Serperior which pressures these mons way better than Shaymin with its more aggressive Leaf Storm + Contrary + HP Fire combination(s). Now, with Shaymin in UU, I believe the main counters are only Dusclops (PP stalling with Pressure + Rest), Umbreon (PP stalling with Wish + Protect) and potentially special defensive Snorlax (PP stalling with Rest), although all three are completely vulnerable if the 40% special defence drop activates. You also have Durant and Rotom-H, but I personally don't think it's safe for these to switch in, and with Rotom-H it doesn't outspeed meaning a non-scarf Rotom would take 2 hits alongside risking a special defence drop. There's also Salamence, which speed ties with Shaymin, but you risk potentially switching into an HP-Ice which will pretty much KO it. Shaymins high base speed makes it amazing as it outspeeds most non-scarfers except for Durant, Mismagius (which can't really do much in return) and Crobat, meaning it can pressure a lot of the tier with its good special attack stat + seed flare and generally amazing movepool (although currently we almost have a 4ms). I looked at the official Smogon site to compare its viability and Shaymin currently sits in UU there, however, the main difference is that the Smogon meta has all of the Hidden Abilities and most importantly the legendaries implemented to counter/pressure it, which we currently don't have in this game. To summarise, I can see that Shaymin is pretty centralising in the tier right now and the usage statistics prove that. People have to teambuild around this alongside having to look for answers to potential special defence drops if activated by Seed Flare. I think until we have enough utilities in the game to support teams against Shaymin, it should be temporarily banned to BL1 under offensive characteristics although I stress that Shaymin is also great defensively.

This seems pretty cool, are you able to give us a general idea what to expect in the event as these will likely be very similar if they're going to be reoccurring each year? I assume the regular/golden anniversary chests will return, but curious about the concept (will the main principle be to battle gym leaders/e4 members every year to collect chests for prizes)? I also assume that there may be exclusive vanities each year, but was wondering if there'll be any other differences considering that the kanto alphas and particles were exclusive or whether implementing future HAs/legends will be delayed for these sort of events.

Details and prices on the following? Walrein, Smeargle, Golduck, Ninetales, Raticate, Hypno, Sawk (on dn), Dodrio, Haunter, Raichu, Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, Dusclops

I personally feel 128 player tournaments are fine and they don't need to expand it further. Here's a trick - set up your teambuild around 5-10 minutes before the Tournament is about to begin. Once there's 5-10 seconds before the sign-ups start keep an eye until you see the notification that sign-ups are open. From there you should have around 30 seconds which is enough time to enter. As long as you join the queue, if you're locked into your party instead of a battle box team you can customise your teambuild until the tournament officially starts. In practice, you have 15 minutes and whatever your team is locked into when the tournament starts is what you will use. TLDR - As long as you have 6 Pokemon ready when you join the queue you can edit the team for the 15 minutes until the tournament officially starts.

I don't understand what you exactly mean, but it's always advertised on the forums every month and there's an official Discord which is updated regularly. All the teams can register whenever they want but half of the new ones never show up when it's due to start so it's pointless to register in the first place...

Sooo since this isn't being answered can the mods lock this thread? Thanks.

Not necessarily the 'best', but thought I'd share some common cores which newer players can build around for each tier which includes some hazard setters and removers. Obviously there will be weaknesses but that's where the remaining slots will hopefully be utilised. NU - Piloswine/Steelix, Slowbro/Slowking, Golbat UU - Empoleon, Salamence, Shaymin /// Dusclops + Umbreon OU - Gliscor, Amoongus, Rotom-W, Chansey (you can also include Skarmory somewhere)