Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have had a successful start in the game's competitive VGC (Video Game Championship Series), although many competitive players prefer 6v6 singles to Nintendo's 4v4 doubles concept. The most of those singles players switch to the Overused (OU) version of the Pokémon Showdown online fight simulator, which just had three new Pokémon banned from competitive singles play.

Before the most recent round of bans, the platform sent Miraidon and Koraidon to the banned Ubers tier along with Palafin, Iron Bundle, and the powerful Ghost-type Pokémon Flutter Mane and Houndstone. The Smogon council, which sets the rules for Pokémon Showdown, removed three additional monsters from competitive play earlier than expected as a result of recent studies and a significant sample size of games.

Which Three Pokémon From Scarlet & Violet Were Banned?

In Pokémon Showdown, Annihilape, Chi-Yu, and Cyclizar were all banned from participating in competitive singles. It's interesting to note that the three Pokémon were all prohibited for quite various reason. It's unfortunate that they can no longer be used by OU players because the three separate roles they had in teams were all too oppressive for the singles gameplay. Fans of the three monsters, which rank among the top Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, can, happily, still field them on Ubers tier teams.

Why Cyclizar, Chi-Yu, and Annihilape Were Banned from the Pokémon Showdown

Pokémon Showdown prohibited Annihilape, the ghostly version of Primeape, because of its enormous mass and excessive amount of Rage Fist. Although a Ghost move with 50 basic power might not seem like much, the move's ability to gain 50 additional power for each hit Annihilape takes made it extremely dangerous. The Pokémon could easily take enough hits thanks to the availability of the moves Drain Punch and Bulk Up, which made Rage Fist a much too potent attack. It's unfortunate because Annihilape had a charming design that could have easily competed with the best Pokémon of the generations prior to Scarlet and Violet.

Unlike Annihilape, Chi-Yu was banned from Pokémon Showdown for a much basic reason: it just dealt too much damage. Nothing in the game was able to wall Chi-Yu because of its coverage and Beads of Ruin's fully overwhelming ability. Iron Bundle and Palafin first destroyed the lava goldfish, but after they were banned from singles the previous month, Chi-Yu was left to swim erratically until the most recent round of bans.

For protection and utility, Cyclizar was largely prohibited from Pokémon Showdown. Cyclizar's ban is the most unexpected of the three, given how simple it is to locate and capture Cyclizar in the actual games and the fact that it has access to one of the greatest abilities ever: Shed Tail. The Pokémon that was changed in could sweep too easily if you switch out and make a replacement. Because of its Regenerator power, Cyclizar, unlike fellow Shed Tail user Orthworm, didn't even notice the move's huge HP cost. In fact, Shed Tail and Regenerator were almost often used together to make the helpless Cyclizar one of the strongest Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

"Written by V1tal"