It’s true that there’s no technical or even mathematical support for ranked FFA, but those are theoretically fixable problems. What really makes ranked FFA an impossibility is the moderation concerns. I have been told by an admin that “rated FFA would be hell on earth and we would never ever allow it”. Having played a lot of FFA rands through matchmaking, I can’t disagree.
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Generation 9 Free-For-All
- Thread starter Darvin
- Start date
This is an accurate overview of the council's position.
Toxic and Toxic Spikes were already in the discussion for a potential ban in generation 8, but the vote never happened due to council turnover and the end of generation. In generation 9 due to dexited moves we went ahead with the vote and banned it. We felt the result was strongly positive. Regular Poison and Burn have completely filled the void left by Toxic in a more balanced and healthy fashioned. Casual teams don't just auto-lose to Toxic stall, and serious teams have a lot more flexibility in composition. The people in our community, both the minority who play seriously and the majority who play casually, expressed that they felt this improved the format and made it more fun to play. For everybody.
We were aware of the potential problems with Fling when we held the Toxic vote. If you go back to our voting record, Fling was on the slate, and we voted no-ban at the time precisely because it was once-per-match. But things changed with the DLC's, as there are now Pokemon with access to Recycle + Fling and Harvest + Fling, and there were cases of people trolling and running these kinds of sets. Fling is banned precisely because it is not once per match. We do not do complex bans, and banning Fling was the lightest touch given the situation.
Sleep was actually voted on in generation 8, and only survived by a narrow 3-2 vote. If OU had banned Sleep last generation, I am certain it would have been axed in FFA as well. If FFA were created today, we would inherit our clauses from OU and DOU which would mean Sleep clause would not be standard. We'd either go with unrestricted Sleep or no Sleep, and between the two I think the vast majority of players would prefer the latter.
We are not and have never been an AG-based format. We started with the DOU banlist and worked from there. When I took over, my highest priority was addressing griefing moves and the community was behind me. These bans enjoyed broad support from all kinds of players, both those who wanted to play the format casually and those who wanted to do so seriously. You can come onto the Free-For-All Discord if you want to speak on these matters. Things like the Fling ban are discussed well ahead of the actual vote.
Here's a link to the post where we announced our ban of Hoopa-U.
Free-For-All is a slower metagame where most Pokemon do not run speed investment. Hoopa-U's 80 base speed is fast enough to outspeed the vast majority of the metagame without even running full investment, and offensively it can OHKO or 2HKO anything. What few defensive checks exist will be different depending on whether you're up against a physical, special, or mixed set. So you can't handle it offensively since most of your team is too slow, and you can't handle it defensively since you have to know its set just to check it (there are no counters). This means there just isn't good counterplay to Hoopa-Unbound, other than hoping it attacks somebody else. This is not a healthy dynamic. Even very powerful Pokemon like Zamazenta or Kyurem-Black aren't this oppressive, and they have good counterplay. Hoopa-Unbound doesn't.
It's also worth noting that Hoopa-Unbound was banned before Alomomola got Flip-Turn, which added incredible support to offensive builds that want to keep their wallbreakers healthy throughout the match. It would be even better now than it was when it was banned.
He is banned because of unmatched offensive power and lack of reliable counters etc.
im not sure if this is the right place to ask about this but due to the large amount of bans is there a possibility there could be a seperate challengeable format without as many restrictions? its really annoying to try to play casually with friends then learning everyone has a million illegal moves and pokemon we have to add to the challenge code
Hi, Ive played a ton of ffa and I was wondering if the mon pecharunt could be suspect tested, since its ability combined with poison gas makes for a deadly combo, with recover, and parting shot as defensive tools to make sure it never dies, combined with the fact that its really good with tera to shut down obvious weaknesses. This mon is essentially unkillable. Not to mention even if you do being mons that can in paper deal with it, it pairs really well with stall teams to ensure it can still stay to pass on more poison. I hope you consider this message.
While Pecharunt is annoying to deal with and its Poison Gas shenanigans must be respected, none of the council regards it as banworthy.
Pecharunt has 4 moveset syndrome, and can't run everything it wants on the same set. A set like you're describing with Poison Gas and Parting Shot means you don't have room for Nasty Plot, so Pecharunt will just be harmlessly walled by any specially defensive Poison or Steel-type. It's still a good set that exerts a lot of pressure, but it has good checks and counters that are easy to fit on a team.
Terastallization is a game-changing effect, to the extent it was suspected in OU and even banned in NatDex. It is exceedingly powerful, but it's also a 1/match effect. If you're using tera on Pecharunt, it's precisely because it's going to be massively beneficial. Defensive terastallization is normal in the generation 9 Free-For-All format and Pecharunt is not unusually oppressive as an abuser. We have banned a Pokemon before in part because Terastallization made countering it impractical, but Pecharunt is nowhere near the defensive behemoth that Dondozo was.
I'd recommend looking at our viability rankings and picking some good Pecharunt checks and counters from the list. Garganacl would be a solid selection, since it's immune to status and is largely impervious to anything Pecharunt can throw at it. If you don't want to play the meta, that's also fine; lots of people enjoy just bringing meme teams or their favorites to mess around. But we're not going to ban anything on the basis that people just don't want to use any of the meta Pokemon that counter it.
We also don't do suspect tests in FFA, as we do not have a proper ladder and never will. Instead we have a council of knowledgeable players who vote on these decisions. We also consult with the community in the Free-For-All Discord on major decisions (edit: the link is in the main post in this thread, and I'll cross-reference it here: https://discord.gg/UgWA9Uek94)
Pecharunt has 4 moveset syndrome, and can't run everything it wants on the same set. A set like you're describing with Poison Gas and Parting Shot means you don't have room for Nasty Plot, so Pecharunt will just be harmlessly walled by any specially defensive Poison or Steel-type. It's still a good set that exerts a lot of pressure, but it has good checks and counters that are easy to fit on a team.
Terastallization is a game-changing effect, to the extent it was suspected in OU and even banned in NatDex. It is exceedingly powerful, but it's also a 1/match effect. If you're using tera on Pecharunt, it's precisely because it's going to be massively beneficial. Defensive terastallization is normal in the generation 9 Free-For-All format and Pecharunt is not unusually oppressive as an abuser. We have banned a Pokemon before in part because Terastallization made countering it impractical, but Pecharunt is nowhere near the defensive behemoth that Dondozo was.
I'd recommend looking at our viability rankings and picking some good Pecharunt checks and counters from the list. Garganacl would be a solid selection, since it's immune to status and is largely impervious to anything Pecharunt can throw at it. If you don't want to play the meta, that's also fine; lots of people enjoy just bringing meme teams or their favorites to mess around. But we're not going to ban anything on the basis that people just don't want to use any of the meta Pokemon that counter it.
We also don't do suspect tests in FFA, as we do not have a proper ladder and never will. Instead we have a council of knowledgeable players who vote on these decisions. We also consult with the community in the Free-For-All Discord on major decisions (edit: the link is in the main post in this thread, and I'll cross-reference it here: https://discord.gg/UgWA9Uek94)
One final viability ranking update for Generation 9 Free-For-All:
Gliscor from A- to A: while its quadruple ice weakness is deeply problematic, and it can have troubles in a meta where every serious team is built to last hundreds of turns, Gliscor is still just an amazing anchor for any FFA team. It can set hazards, it can stallbreak with Taunt and Knock Off, it can setup with Swords Dance and become a terrifying menace, and can fit on a lot of team compositions that really want to have a Ground-type that isn't weak to opposing Ground-types.
Umbreon from A- to B: the Free-For-All metagame revolves heavily around the move Wish, both using it yourself to keep your team healthy and thwarting opponents from using it. Umbreon is a solid Wish user, but both Alomomola and Jirachi are better options in most circumstances. Given that it's more of a niche pick, we feel B rank is a better fit for Umbreon.
Roaring Moon to B rank. Most Dragon Dancers are outclassed due to Kyurem-Black being legal in the format, but Roaring Moon finds is niche in stallbreaking with Knock Off, Roost, and Taunt. It has four moveset syndrome, however, as it can only afford to run either Substitute or Dragon Dance and cannot fit any coverage. It can also use Jaw Lock to stop switching, although the fact that this is mutual can be a very big problem.
Moltres to C rank. Moltres is a fascinating defensive Fire-type, with some really good qualities and a lot of longevity. It offer a good check to a wide variety of threats, reliable recovery, and has some very useful move options including Will-o-Wisp, Roar, and Fire Spin for trapping. Pressure is a very good ability in Free-for-All, where PP stall comes up surprisingly often as a relevant strategy. However, Moltres faces fierce competition, most notably from Skeledrige which is the format's preeminent defensive Fire-type. However, as a niche alternative, Moltres earns a C rank.
Volcarona to C rank. In a format where almost every serious team carries a Blissey and an Unaware user (with Skeledirge being the most popular), Volcarona is an extremely inconsistent win condition despite its incredible power. We do feel it's powerful enough to merit a place on the viability rankings, alongside other powerful threats that must be respected but have significant consistency issues.
Gallade from C to unranked. Gallade is just too frail, slow, and unreliable to merit a place on our viability rankings. It is an enormous threat that must be respected, but as a serious choice for teammate it is utterly unreliable and inconsistent. There are significantly better choices if you want a destructive wallbreaker.
Breloom from C to unranked. Poison Heal is a fantastic ability, but Breloom simply doesn't have the bulk or typing to make it work. Its STAB combination is terrible, it can be PP stalled by many defensive walls, and it has 4 moveset syndrome so it can't even carry everything it needs.
Iron Moth from B to unranked. The big problem with Iron Moth is the lack of a usable single-target Poison STAB. Sludge Wave deals significantly less damage due to being multi-target, and this leaves Iron Moth very predictable and relatively easy to counter. Without Sludge Bomb to threaten poisoning, a lot of specially-defensive walls deal with it quite easily. While it is exceedingly powerful, it's just outclassed by better special attacking options that have usable secondary STAB's or other beneficial options.
Sylveon to unranked. Between Clefable and Scream Tail, Sylveon is simply outclassed by better options. In theory it can run a hybrid set that the others can't, but you have to stretch pretty far to find a case where you wouldn't be better off swapping it for one of the main fairies. We don't feel it can justify a spot in C rank.
And that's probably where the VR will be for the end of Gen 9. Given the rough start we had, the format has reached a pretty good place with some decent options and some flexibility in team-building. I would say I look forward to what the future holds, but I suspect it will be broken mega evolutions and volatile Z-moves. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them ;-)
Gliscor from A- to A: while its quadruple ice weakness is deeply problematic, and it can have troubles in a meta where every serious team is built to last hundreds of turns, Gliscor is still just an amazing anchor for any FFA team. It can set hazards, it can stallbreak with Taunt and Knock Off, it can setup with Swords Dance and become a terrifying menace, and can fit on a lot of team compositions that really want to have a Ground-type that isn't weak to opposing Ground-types. Umbreon from A- to B: the Free-For-All metagame revolves heavily around the move Wish, both using it yourself to keep your team healthy and thwarting opponents from using it. Umbreon is a solid Wish user, but both Alomomola and Jirachi are better options in most circumstances. Given that it's more of a niche pick, we feel B rank is a better fit for Umbreon. Roaring Moon to B rank. Most Dragon Dancers are outclassed due to Kyurem-Black being legal in the format, but Roaring Moon finds is niche in stallbreaking with Knock Off, Roost, and Taunt. It has four moveset syndrome, however, as it can only afford to run either Substitute or Dragon Dance and cannot fit any coverage. It can also use Jaw Lock to stop switching, although the fact that this is mutual can be a very big problem. Moltres to C rank. Moltres is a fascinating defensive Fire-type, with some really good qualities and a lot of longevity. It offer a good check to a wide variety of threats, reliable recovery, and has some very useful move options including Will-o-Wisp, Roar, and Fire Spin for trapping. Pressure is a very good ability in Free-for-All, where PP stall comes up surprisingly often as a relevant strategy. However, Moltres faces fierce competition, most notably from Skeledrige which is the format's preeminent defensive Fire-type. However, as a niche alternative, Moltres earns a C rank. Volcarona to C rank. In a format where almost every serious team carries a Blissey and an Unaware user (with Skeledirge being the most popular), Volcarona is an extremely inconsistent win condition despite its incredible power. We do feel it's powerful enough to merit a place on the viability rankings, alongside other powerful threats that must be respected but have significant consistency issues. Gallade from C to unranked. Gallade is just too frail, slow, and unreliable to merit a place on our viability rankings. It is an enormous threat that must be respected, but as a serious choice for teammate it is utterly unreliable and inconsistent. There are significantly better choices if you want a destructive wallbreaker. Breloom from C to unranked. Poison Heal is a fantastic ability, but Breloom simply doesn't have the bulk or typing to make it work. Its STAB combination is terrible, it can be PP stalled by many defensive walls, and it has 4 moveset syndrome so it can't even carry everything it needs. Iron Moth from B to unranked. The big problem with Iron Moth is the lack of a usable single-target Poison STAB. Sludge Wave deals significantly less damage due to being multi-target, and this leaves Iron Moth very predictable and relatively easy to counter. Without Sludge Bomb to threaten poisoning, a lot of specially-defensive walls deal with it quite easily. While it is exceedingly powerful, it's just outclassed by better special attacking options that have usable secondary STAB's or other beneficial options. Sylveon to unranked. Between Clefable and Scream Tail, Sylveon is simply outclassed by better options. In theory it can run a hybrid set that the others can't, but you have to stretch pretty far to find a case where you wouldn't be better off swapping it for one of the main fairies. We don't feel it can justify a spot in C rank.And that's probably where the VR will be for the end of Gen 9. Given the rough start we had, the format has reached a pretty good place with some decent options and some flexibility in team-building. I would say I look forward to what the future holds, but I suspect it will be broken mega evolutions and volatile Z-moves. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them ;-)
Seeing as Pokemon Champions might mean the introduction of megas to this format, I've been spending some time recently speculating on what mega evolution could accomplish in Free-For-All, and I'd like to share my thoughts:
Obvious bans:
Potential banworthy mons:
Very powerful physical attacker with Dragon Dance and Roost. Destroys everything that isn't Corviknight.
Bulky Darkrai with 165 base Special Attack and Nasty Plot. Psyshock for Blissey, Sludge Bomb for Fairies. It breaks everything but it doesn't have reliable recovery and is slow, so potentially manageable.
Destroys nearly every Pokemon besides Blissey, although it does have IronPress so it can beat Blissey that way. Has a lot of potential on sun teams. Again, this doesn't have reliable recovery, so it could be manageable.
Parental Bond-boosted Power-Up Punch sounds crazy, but it's only off a 125 base Attack stat, and this format is dominated by Unawares. I can see Seismic Toss being really good on this. It also gets Wish to heal itself and potentially others.
Very strong Nasty Plot/Calm Mind sweeper with STAB Close Combat for Blissey and Steel moves for Clefable. Doesn't get any reliable recovery so will pair well wish a Wish user or pivot.
Its STABs threaten the two best Pokemon in this format. No reliable recovery and 80/80/80 defensive stats, so will function as a wallbreaker who needs support. Then again, might not actually be that good since regular Blaziken is never used here.
Metagame staples:
Swords Dance or mixed sweeper with no reliable recovery. Really struggles with Skeledirge or Dondozo if that is freed when Champions releases, and mixed sets might struggle into Tera Ghost Blissey and Idef Corviknight.
Rapid Spinner with reliable recovery. Bulk Up sets are going to be powerful, this will also be really strong on rain teams. I'm really excited to use this Pokemon.
Basically a sidegrade to Kyurem-Black with more bulk and slightly more Attack but less speed. Uses a mega slot, but this also has Swords Dance, Icicle Crash, and Glaive Rush which might make it worth using over Kyurem-Black. Not having Teravolt will be pretty disadvantageous, but it gets High Horsepower for Skeledirge and if it keeps Thermal Exchange when it mega evolves then it won't have to worry about burn, which is nice.
Good attack and speed with access to Swords Dance, but it's really frail so it might struggle. We'll have to see, it might be good with defensive investment.
Dragon Dance and Mold Breaker with STABs that hit the two best Unaware users in the format for Super-Effective damage is really cool. It's weak to rock before it mega evolves and doesn't have reliable recovery, so it will need some support to lean on.
Psyshock combined with special coverage and Recover feels really powerful, like it's a more offensive Galarian Slowking. These also both get Wish for support, and Latios gets Psychic Noise.
It's really bulky and has Swords Dance and Roost, so this could be a really powerful metagame threat. Its coverage options are a little lacklustre but it has high Attack and Speed, could potentially flinch down bulky mons with Iron Head.
This has a stronger Volt Switch than Regieleki (before Specs), so it might be good. Unfortunately it doesn't have an Ice move. It can still Knock Off into most Grounds and make progress, but this gets walled by Gliscor and has no reliable recovery.
This might be really good, seeing as losing speed doing matter much in this format and the extra bulk and Attack will help this Pokemon out a lot. I really want to try making a Sand team once we get access to this.
Dragon Dance and Roost is really nice. It's more frail than Gouging Fire and can't hold Leftovers or Boots, but has more Attack and Speed, and a better ability when Sun isn't up.
This has really good bulk plus Swords Dance and Synthesis, so this could potentially be a really scary sweeper. It also has Iron Defense and Body Press coming off of a 172 base defense stat.
This has Nasty Plot, could be a decent rain abuser and it has good offensive typing but it has no reliable recovery.
Decent special/mixed attacker with reliable recovery. Not being able to Terastalize this will suck, though, and regular Dragonite has a higher Attack stat and would probably be better as a Dragon Dancer.
Could be a decent Pokemon on rain, but regular Greninja is almost never used here so it might suck. I like the idea of getting a KO to activate Battle Bond before mega evolving, but it sounds inconsistent.
This has 175 base Special Attack, so once Blissey and Clodsire are out of the way this thing can go insane. Its only recovery is Pain Split, which might limit this in some situations, since it also can't hold Leftovers or Boots. You could also Psych Up on Calm Mind users or just Calm Mind yourself, run Substitute+Curse+Pain Split, it even gets Taunt so this could stop other Pokemon from recovering HP in certain positions.
Really powerful slow bulky attacker, you could go for Bulk Up sweeps with Alomomola support, this could potentially be really strong.
Other random Pokemon that I want to talk about:
This could be a decent Shell Smash user but its stats are kinda bad and this has no reliable recovery.
Probably will never be used over regular Clefable.
No reliable recovery and gets hard walled by Corviknight. Some Swords Dance potential, its Attack is really high, it just needs a teammate to deal with Corviknight.
Pure Dragon type and has less Defense than base Garchomp. Nasty Plot just gets walled by Unawares, and Latios and Dragonite have harder hitting Draco Meteors.
Probably trash if it doesn't get reliable recovery.
Not worth using over regular Slowbro.
Hippowdon has better typing and reliable recovery.
Potential Dragon Dance Roost user
Loses half its HP to Stealth Rock and can't hold a Heat Rock, but could potentially work as a sun setter that can take advantage of its own sun.
Walled by Unawares.
Potential Magic Bounce user
Potential sun abuser
This has reliable recovery and all the good special Fairy moves, and high Special Attack and Special Defense, but has very weak coverage and very little utility, so probably outclassed by Clefable.
Potential threat with Sharpness.
Overall, I'm really excited to play Free-For-All with mega evolutions and create new powerful teams in the Pokemon Champions metagame. I'd be excited to see if anyone else has thoughts about these megas. I'm particularly excited to use Latios, Starmie, and Skarmory.
Obvious bans:
Potential banworthy mons:
Very powerful physical attacker with Dragon Dance and Roost. Destroys everything that isn't Corviknight. Bulky Darkrai with 165 base Special Attack and Nasty Plot. Psyshock for Blissey, Sludge Bomb for Fairies. It breaks everything but it doesn't have reliable recovery and is slow, so potentially manageable. Destroys nearly every Pokemon besides Blissey, although it does have IronPress so it can beat Blissey that way. Has a lot of potential on sun teams. Again, this doesn't have reliable recovery, so it could be manageable. Parental Bond-boosted Power-Up Punch sounds crazy, but it's only off a 125 base Attack stat, and this format is dominated by Unawares. I can see Seismic Toss being really good on this. It also gets Wish to heal itself and potentially others. Very strong Nasty Plot/Calm Mind sweeper with STAB Close Combat for Blissey and Steel moves for Clefable. Doesn't get any reliable recovery so will pair well wish a Wish user or pivot. Its STABs threaten the two best Pokemon in this format. No reliable recovery and 80/80/80 defensive stats, so will function as a wallbreaker who needs support. Then again, might not actually be that good since regular Blaziken is never used here.Metagame staples:
Swords Dance or mixed sweeper with no reliable recovery. Really struggles with Skeledirge or Dondozo if that is freed when Champions releases, and mixed sets might struggle into Tera Ghost Blissey and Idef Corviknight. Rapid Spinner with reliable recovery. Bulk Up sets are going to be powerful, this will also be really strong on rain teams. I'm really excited to use this Pokemon. Basically a sidegrade to Kyurem-Black with more bulk and slightly more Attack but less speed. Uses a mega slot, but this also has Swords Dance, Icicle Crash, and Glaive Rush which might make it worth using over Kyurem-Black. Not having Teravolt will be pretty disadvantageous, but it gets High Horsepower for Skeledirge and if it keeps Thermal Exchange when it mega evolves then it won't have to worry about burn, which is nice. Good attack and speed with access to Swords Dance, but it's really frail so it might struggle. We'll have to see, it might be good with defensive investment. Dragon Dance and Mold Breaker with STABs that hit the two best Unaware users in the format for Super-Effective damage is really cool. It's weak to rock before it mega evolves and doesn't have reliable recovery, so it will need some support to lean on. Psyshock combined with special coverage and Recover feels really powerful, like it's a more offensive Galarian Slowking. These also both get Wish for support, and Latios gets Psychic Noise. It's really bulky and has Swords Dance and Roost, so this could be a really powerful metagame threat. Its coverage options are a little lacklustre but it has high Attack and Speed, could potentially flinch down bulky mons with Iron Head. This has a stronger Volt Switch than Regieleki (before Specs), so it might be good. Unfortunately it doesn't have an Ice move. It can still Knock Off into most Grounds and make progress, but this gets walled by Gliscor and has no reliable recovery. This might be really good, seeing as losing speed doing matter much in this format and the extra bulk and Attack will help this Pokemon out a lot. I really want to try making a Sand team once we get access to this. Dragon Dance and Roost is really nice. It's more frail than Gouging Fire and can't hold Leftovers or Boots, but has more Attack and Speed, and a better ability when Sun isn't up. This has really good bulk plus Swords Dance and Synthesis, so this could potentially be a really scary sweeper. It also has Iron Defense and Body Press coming off of a 172 base defense stat. This has Nasty Plot, could be a decent rain abuser and it has good offensive typing but it has no reliable recovery. Decent special/mixed attacker with reliable recovery. Not being able to Terastalize this will suck, though, and regular Dragonite has a higher Attack stat and would probably be better as a Dragon Dancer. Could be a decent Pokemon on rain, but regular Greninja is almost never used here so it might suck. I like the idea of getting a KO to activate Battle Bond before mega evolving, but it sounds inconsistent. This has 175 base Special Attack, so once Blissey and Clodsire are out of the way this thing can go insane. Its only recovery is Pain Split, which might limit this in some situations, since it also can't hold Leftovers or Boots. You could also Psych Up on Calm Mind users or just Calm Mind yourself, run Substitute+Curse+Pain Split, it even gets Taunt so this could stop other Pokemon from recovering HP in certain positions. Really powerful slow bulky attacker, you could go for Bulk Up sweeps with Alomomola support, this could potentially be really strong.Other random Pokemon that I want to talk about:
This could be a decent Shell Smash user but its stats are kinda bad and this has no reliable recovery. Probably will never be used over regular Clefable. No reliable recovery and gets hard walled by Corviknight. Some Swords Dance potential, its Attack is really high, it just needs a teammate to deal with Corviknight. Pure Dragon type and has less Defense than base Garchomp. Nasty Plot just gets walled by Unawares, and Latios and Dragonite have harder hitting Draco Meteors. Probably trash if it doesn't get reliable recovery. Not worth using over regular Slowbro. Hippowdon has better typing and reliable recovery. Potential Dragon Dance Roost user Loses half its HP to Stealth Rock and can't hold a Heat Rock, but could potentially work as a sun setter that can take advantage of its own sun. Walled by Unawares. Potential Magic Bounce user Potential sun abuser This has reliable recovery and all the good special Fairy moves, and high Special Attack and Special Defense, but has very weak coverage and very little utility, so probably outclassed by Clefable. Potential threat with Sharpness.Overall, I'm really excited to play Free-For-All with mega evolutions and create new powerful teams in the Pokemon Champions metagame. I'd be excited to see if anyone else has thoughts about these megas. I'm particularly excited to use Latios, Starmie, and Skarmory.
For a lot of the new megas, it's going to come down to their ability. If Mega Starmie gets Huge Power as it's expected to, it will almost certainly be banned in FFA. In rain, it's basically Dracovish where it can just click its STAB and delete anything that doesn't have Water Absorb. Sorry if you're looking forward to it, but it will very likely be a quickban. The same is true for Mawile and Medicham, we ran some calcs on them and they just dismantle the meta without counterplay, so unless there are big defensive shifts to counterbalance them they're almost certainly getting quickbanned in this slow format where speed is not counterplay.
Lucario and Bunneary are also looking like quick-bans; while they're frail and inherently inconsistent in this format, they don't have great counterplay and more or less just get a free KO. If your counterplay to a threat is to hope it doesn't target you and fizzles out over the next few turns, then that's the hallmark of a broken FFA Pokemon. It might very well be inconsistent (we saw this with Hoopa-U earlier this generation) but lack of counterplay isn't healthy for the format even if it is something that doesn't win games on its own.
A couple of remarks:
I'd also mention that
and 
are on my watch list for their raw offensive power.
Lucario and Bunneary are also looking like quick-bans; while they're frail and inherently inconsistent in this format, they don't have great counterplay and more or less just get a free KO. If your counterplay to a threat is to hope it doesn't target you and fizzles out over the next few turns, then that's the hallmark of a broken FFA Pokemon. It might very well be inconsistent (we saw this with Hoopa-U earlier this generation) but lack of counterplay isn't healthy for the format even if it is something that doesn't win games on its own.
A couple of remarks:
Not sure why Alakazam-Mega is there. It's something to watch due to its crazy stats but Trace is a hard ability to control in FFA and its still relatively frail. The others I agree are obvious bans.Obvious bans:
Kangaskhan lost Power-Up Punch, and it's very unlikely it will ever get it back. Still a beast on the watch list if only because of Seismic Toss.
This guy is on my watch list, actually. Shell Smash is no joke. Remember that Pokemon can still be broken in this format even if they are inconsistent and unreliable. It doesn't matter if it's frail and ends up fizzling out, if your counterplay amounts to hoping it doesn't target you then that's not really a healthy Pokemon for the format.
Also on my watch list, along with Charizard-X. Really depends on what its movepool is like in gen 10, and also on the meta surrounding it. Sun has always been on the verge of requiring tiering action in FFA because of how difficult it can be to handle, and part of what has held it in check is a lack of good setters. It doesn't matter if it only lasts 5 turns, that's long enough to do some damage and then get out.
I'd also mention that
and are on my watch list for their raw offensive power.Recently there's been some discussion on the Free-For-All Discord, and after some community polling we've decided to test the Species Clause.
Species Clause is Removed from Generation 9 Free-For-All
Tagging dhelmise to implement, thank you in advance
We will hold continued discussion with our community about this change in the Free-For-All Discord server, and hold another community poll and vote at the start of Generation 10 to decide whether this change will be carried forward in the next generation. If you're a Free-For-All player who wants to speak on this matter, we welcome your discussion both here on the Smogon forums and in the Free-For-All Discord server.
Species Clause is a standard clause in almost all competitive Pokemon formats, and is so ubiquitous it often gets overlooked. There are many reasons for the clause to exist, most notably to force team diversity and prevent any over-centralizing Pokemon from taking up multiple team slots. Another important aspect is that it prevents "overload" strategies where a player attempts to overload checks and counters by running multiple copies of the same Pokemon until the opposing team no longer has a counter-measure.
However, we do not believe that these issues are necessarily problems for Free-For-All. There are no centralizing Pokemon that threaten to take up multiple team slots. The best Pokemon in the format is Blissey, and you can already run a "second Blissey" by using Chansey. Most teams don't do this, which indicates to us that running two of the same Pokemon is a bit of an unusual decision to begin with. The format is also well-prepared to handle threat overload; since there are three opposing teams, you already need to build around the possibility that multiple opponents might field the same threat against you. Threat overload is already something that any serious Free-For-All team needs to address at the teambuilder level, and allowing a single opponent to overload is unlikely to have significant impacts on building.
Removing the restrictions of species clause allows players to use different formes of the same Pokemon on the same team that might fill completely different roles. For instance, Galarian and Kantonian Zapdos have radically different typing, ability, movepool, and stats. The Rotom formes are Pokemon that have been getting some discussion as of late, and being able to run multiple on the same team is an interesting proposition for volt-turn cores.
Overall, we feel this is a case where the potential advantages and pitfalls are worth exploring. Perhaps this will be a disaster we will backpedal on, perhaps it will be a fun change without any serious drawbacks, or maybe it won't change much at all as most teams still prefer to run 6 distinct Pokemon. We'll find out, and I look forward to hearing your feedback!
Species Clause is Removed from Generation 9 Free-For-All
Tagging dhelmise to implement, thank you in advance
We will hold continued discussion with our community about this change in the Free-For-All Discord server, and hold another community poll and vote at the start of Generation 10 to decide whether this change will be carried forward in the next generation. If you're a Free-For-All player who wants to speak on this matter, we welcome your discussion both here on the Smogon forums and in the Free-For-All Discord server.
Species Clause is a standard clause in almost all competitive Pokemon formats, and is so ubiquitous it often gets overlooked. There are many reasons for the clause to exist, most notably to force team diversity and prevent any over-centralizing Pokemon from taking up multiple team slots. Another important aspect is that it prevents "overload" strategies where a player attempts to overload checks and counters by running multiple copies of the same Pokemon until the opposing team no longer has a counter-measure.
However, we do not believe that these issues are necessarily problems for Free-For-All. There are no centralizing Pokemon that threaten to take up multiple team slots. The best Pokemon in the format is Blissey, and you can already run a "second Blissey" by using Chansey. Most teams don't do this, which indicates to us that running two of the same Pokemon is a bit of an unusual decision to begin with. The format is also well-prepared to handle threat overload; since there are three opposing teams, you already need to build around the possibility that multiple opponents might field the same threat against you. Threat overload is already something that any serious Free-For-All team needs to address at the teambuilder level, and allowing a single opponent to overload is unlikely to have significant impacts on building.
Removing the restrictions of species clause allows players to use different formes of the same Pokemon on the same team that might fill completely different roles. For instance, Galarian and Kantonian Zapdos have radically different typing, ability, movepool, and stats. The Rotom formes are Pokemon that have been getting some discussion as of late, and being able to run multiple on the same team is an interesting proposition for volt-turn cores.
Overall, we feel this is a case where the potential advantages and pitfalls are worth exploring. Perhaps this will be a disaster we will backpedal on, perhaps it will be a fun change without any serious drawbacks, or maybe it won't change much at all as most teams still prefer to run 6 distinct Pokemon. We'll find out, and I look forward to hearing your feedback!
Since the removal of Species Clause, I've been working on figuring out the best way to take advantage of it. The reason for Species Clause in most competitive Pokémon formats is to prevent strategies where multiple of the same offensive Pokémon wear down its checks enough to run rampant. I experimented with semi-stall teams using two Zapdos or two Ogerpon, but using just two Pokémon of the same species and different forms didn't justify itself enough. To make use of multiple Pokémon of the same species, you have to go offensive.
Species spam offense utilises four or five Pokémon of the same species with one or two support Pokémon. Most Free-For-All teams are equipped to deal with three Ogerpon (for example) each from a different player. However, five Ogerpon from the one player poses a much stronger threat. The way to play species spam offense is to target trainers, one by one, to the point of elimination. Many teams crumple once faced with a targeted attack of the same offensive Pokémon over and over. Each elimination reduces the amount of offensive pressure immensely. Once every defensive check to the species is down, species spam is unstoppable. Over the course of the early game, the species spam user will often take a KO or two, and the teams are very offensive, so it makes them very unlikely to be targeted by the anti-stall hivemind of FFA ladder. I believe that right now, species spam offense is the most consistent strategy on FFA ladder. However, in friendly battles organised on the FFA Discord, these teams are much weaker, due to the competitively made and bulkier nature of their teams, and also due to stronger analytical counterplay and evaluation on the part of the Discord players. All of my replays on ladder were played by my alt, It's Oger For You.
Ogerpon Spam
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I have modified this team a few times over the course of playing with it, and I generally find this one to be the strongest species spam team. Ogerpon's main checks are physdef Corviknight and Pecharunt, but with five of them, supported by a Pawmot, they can break through them or otherwise deplete their Recover or Roost PP with their Swords Dancers and the high crit rate of Ivy Cudgel behind them. Ogerpon also gets a lot of value out of its reliable recovery in Synthesis, which allows its onslaught to continue for many turns. I also think that this team has a lot of good ideas into meta FFA teams, potentially in a double or triple Ogerpon balance adaptation.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2596047050-g9dbb12ktucvmywjo9sfd1ggnryma5kpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2596053531-b0gavssp20ht3htfm3c2of4gcsm3bmypw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2596920235-fb9fnwmk3bm729clrfxolqgmck7ppgmpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2592564418-xlqlxmmcvlwed6qjknyj6t1ag7oiby0pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2623852538-5j5yk0ki031cgsp0y4yf7x8ui026e90pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2604541286-3i56bv5v4uj6mjojkvonnb2n6c7g8pipw
Gouging Fire Spam
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Gouging Fire is another powerful wallbreaker that can abuse sun to provide damage boosts due to its Protosynthesis ability and Fire STAB. Both of these boosts cannot be ignored through the Unaware ability. Gouging Fire also has immunity to burn and access to Dragon Dance. It can struggle to deal with Skeledirge and also Clodsire, for which Heat Crash becomes a 60 BP move. Its middling speed also lets it get outsped by a variety of offensive threats and revenge killers while unboosted. Gouging Fire is also weak to Stealth Rock and very dependent on sun for its damage.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2597848892-srjlya0gi4ogtlyv6lqg19h2sb54h2dpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2597860602-25yjlrbyiw9u4sg1wmvg0s8xjbas6m2pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2598667590-wakpt5mn534m0rmb0yym0d60a6658iapw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2604564322-rqfasa2igmk08c1ipohqg1cbj1c0a3ypw
Kyurem-Black + Baxcaliburs
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Even though Species Clause has been removed, Kyurem-Black is still limited to one per team due to the in-game restrictions in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. However, Baxcalibur has a lot of the same qualities as Kyurem-Black and can be spammed. This team has a lot of weaknesses, like Stealth Rock and a lack of reliable recovery. It also struggles into Corviknight and Zamazenta. What it does have is lots of power and priority in Ice Shard.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2602839932-0hauav35s9h8vxgwb1e5vx1jkralx5spw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2625444797-nk48gsyr6jr4bldi6kxne9iw3p1cr5hpw
Overall, although I don't think that species spam is going to be particularly disruptive in the FFA meta, it's a solid offensive structure that can perform well on ladder into the more casual players who tend to target the bulkier, meta teams.
Species spam offense utilises four or five Pokémon of the same species with one or two support Pokémon. Most Free-For-All teams are equipped to deal with three Ogerpon (for example) each from a different player. However, five Ogerpon from the one player poses a much stronger threat. The way to play species spam offense is to target trainers, one by one, to the point of elimination. Many teams crumple once faced with a targeted attack of the same offensive Pokémon over and over. Each elimination reduces the amount of offensive pressure immensely. Once every defensive check to the species is down, species spam is unstoppable. Over the course of the early game, the species spam user will often take a KO or two, and the teams are very offensive, so it makes them very unlikely to be targeted by the anti-stall hivemind of FFA ladder. I believe that right now, species spam offense is the most consistent strategy on FFA ladder. However, in friendly battles organised on the FFA Discord, these teams are much weaker, due to the competitively made and bulkier nature of their teams, and also due to stronger analytical counterplay and evaluation on the part of the Discord players. All of my replays on ladder were played by my alt, It's Oger For You.
Ogerpon Spam
-----I have modified this team a few times over the course of playing with it, and I generally find this one to be the strongest species spam team. Ogerpon's main checks are physdef Corviknight and Pecharunt, but with five of them, supported by a Pawmot, they can break through them or otherwise deplete their Recover or Roost PP with their Swords Dancers and the high crit rate of Ivy Cudgel behind them. Ogerpon also gets a lot of value out of its reliable recovery in Synthesis, which allows its onslaught to continue for many turns. I also think that this team has a lot of good ideas into meta FFA teams, potentially in a double or triple Ogerpon balance adaptation.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2596047050-g9dbb12ktucvmywjo9sfd1ggnryma5kpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2596053531-b0gavssp20ht3htfm3c2of4gcsm3bmypw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2596920235-fb9fnwmk3bm729clrfxolqgmck7ppgmpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2592564418-xlqlxmmcvlwed6qjknyj6t1ag7oiby0pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2623852538-5j5yk0ki031cgsp0y4yf7x8ui026e90pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2604541286-3i56bv5v4uj6mjojkvonnb2n6c7g8pipw
Gouging Fire Spam
-----Gouging Fire is another powerful wallbreaker that can abuse sun to provide damage boosts due to its Protosynthesis ability and Fire STAB. Both of these boosts cannot be ignored through the Unaware ability. Gouging Fire also has immunity to burn and access to Dragon Dance. It can struggle to deal with Skeledirge and also Clodsire, for which Heat Crash becomes a 60 BP move. Its middling speed also lets it get outsped by a variety of offensive threats and revenge killers while unboosted. Gouging Fire is also weak to Stealth Rock and very dependent on sun for its damage.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2597848892-srjlya0gi4ogtlyv6lqg19h2sb54h2dpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2597860602-25yjlrbyiw9u4sg1wmvg0s8xjbas6m2pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2598667590-wakpt5mn534m0rmb0yym0d60a6658iapw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2604564322-rqfasa2igmk08c1ipohqg1cbj1c0a3ypw
Kyurem-Black + Baxcaliburs
-----Even though Species Clause has been removed, Kyurem-Black is still limited to one per team due to the in-game restrictions in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. However, Baxcalibur has a lot of the same qualities as Kyurem-Black and can be spammed. This team has a lot of weaknesses, like Stealth Rock and a lack of reliable recovery. It also struggles into Corviknight and Zamazenta. What it does have is lots of power and priority in Ice Shard.
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2602839932-0hauav35s9h8vxgwb1e5vx1jkralx5spw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9freeforall-2625444797-nk48gsyr6jr4bldi6kxne9iw3p1cr5hpw
Overall, although I don't think that species spam is going to be particularly disruptive in the FFA meta, it's a solid offensive structure that can perform well on ladder into the more casual players who tend to target the bulkier, meta teams.