I've compiled some valid reasons coming from both sides, partly to help decide which way to vote if I ever get reqs, and since a lot of people seem unsure just how to vote yet.
Ban reasoning
- Although arguably not broken on Dark, Hoopa-U is arguably broken on Psychic, as it isn't needed to check Fighting-types with a Choice Scarf and its teammates provide it the flexibility to use more powerful sets, such as Life Orb, Choice Band, and Choice Specs, the last of which has basically zero switch-ins. The lack of switch-ins sets Hoopa-U apart from other wallbreakers like Landorus-I, Mega Medicham, Mega Gardevoir, etc, which have switch-ins, as few as they may be. Possibly one of the few Pokemon that have zero switch-ins, Hoopa-U presents an unhealthy metagame element, making certain matches "brainless", an example being Psychic vs. Psychic. This violates the 2nd rule in the Monotype tiering philosophy, which wishes to ban "elements of the metagame that are broken, uncompetitive, or unhealthy".
- Regardless of which type Hoopa-U is on, it needs to removed because it is broken by itself, not just because it has great team support on Psychic.
- Even if Hoopa-U's ban would poorly affect Dark, if it is broken on Psychic, it should be banned regardless. As we saw with Shaymin-S and Kyurem-W, "broken" Pokemon should not be allowed to stay in order to help out a certain type.
- Psychic provides it teammates that can patch up Hoopa-U's weaknesses. An example is Slowbro, who takes on several Pokemon that are typically used to revenge kill Hoopa-U, like Landorus-T.
- Even IF Hoopa-U is predictable or not, the Choice Specs set is still as dangerous as ever. Even if, say, every single Hoopa-U ran Choice Specs, it still would be dangerous as ever. That's because that set has zero switch-ins; no matter the set, most teams' answer to it will be a quick physical Pokemon. You can predict the set on Dark easily and on Psychic for the most part, but that doesn't detract from how dangerous Hoopa-U is.
- Hoopa-U is extremely difficult to counterplay against, possibly the most difficult in the whole current meta.
Do Not Ban reasoning
- Banning Hoopa-U will have an adverse effect on the metagame overall. Although it weakens Psychic, it makes Dark even more weak to Fighting Monotype and Fighting-types in general. Mega Sableye's ban was done primarily to help improve lower tiered types, which, for the most part, were forced to run suboptimal sets to check it. That ban was made while considering other types that would be affected, so shouldn't Hoopa-U's ban's effect on Dark be considered too?
- Most types do not specifically need to consider Hoopa-U when teambuilding unlike previous bans, like Mega Sableye. Although it is impossible to switch into, it is easy to revenge kill because of its poor physical bulk. Unless it's some sort of stall team, most teams would naturally have a way to revenge kill it, due to its base 80 Speed. Most Psychic, Flying, Water, Bug, Dragon, Normal, Ground, Dark, Fairy, Fire, Grass, and Rock teams can revenge kill it (while Poison can pursuit trap it or just pull out a Scolipede). Yes, Hoopa-U is one of the most powerful Pokemon out there, but after nabbing a KO, the opponent can scare it out and set up or land a good hit. If we ONLY look at Hoopa-U's power, of course it would be seen as broken.
- In Monotype, where disadvantages from team preview are even more evident, teams need to be able to utilize counterplay. Not having a reliable switch-in for something isn't an element that Hoopa-U alone brings.
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I think a lot of people, like me, aren't too sure how to vote just yet since both sides have pretty solid points. If I had to vote now, I'd go for a ban. No matter how you spin it, the Choice Specs still has zero safe switch-ins out there, and being on Psychic makes it even more dangerous (not because Psychic is super popular rn, but because it supports it well). The point of counterplay being inevitable (Mega Camel v. Steel, Excadrill v. Rock, Kyu-B v. Flying, etc) and accentuated in Monotype was brought up. This is probably one of the more valid DNB points imo. Although I'd still vote for a ban because Hoopa-U forces you to work around it once it gets switched in on the right Pokemon in nearly every matchup. I don't think any single wallbreaker (other than maybe Landorus-I) does that except Hoopa-U. IMO The real weak points would be probably against the types that are prominently offensive, like Fire, Dragon, and Fighting, but Psychic has a good matchup with all three except Fire (unless you use [mega] Lati@s).
Ban reasoning
- Although arguably not broken on Dark, Hoopa-U is arguably broken on Psychic, as it isn't needed to check Fighting-types with a Choice Scarf and its teammates provide it the flexibility to use more powerful sets, such as Life Orb, Choice Band, and Choice Specs, the last of which has basically zero switch-ins. The lack of switch-ins sets Hoopa-U apart from other wallbreakers like Landorus-I, Mega Medicham, Mega Gardevoir, etc, which have switch-ins, as few as they may be. Possibly one of the few Pokemon that have zero switch-ins, Hoopa-U presents an unhealthy metagame element, making certain matches "brainless", an example being Psychic vs. Psychic. This violates the 2nd rule in the Monotype tiering philosophy, which wishes to ban "elements of the metagame that are broken, uncompetitive, or unhealthy".
- Regardless of which type Hoopa-U is on, it needs to removed because it is broken by itself, not just because it has great team support on Psychic.
- Even if Hoopa-U's ban would poorly affect Dark, if it is broken on Psychic, it should be banned regardless. As we saw with Shaymin-S and Kyurem-W, "broken" Pokemon should not be allowed to stay in order to help out a certain type.
- Psychic provides it teammates that can patch up Hoopa-U's weaknesses. An example is Slowbro, who takes on several Pokemon that are typically used to revenge kill Hoopa-U, like Landorus-T.
- Even IF Hoopa-U is predictable or not, the Choice Specs set is still as dangerous as ever. Even if, say, every single Hoopa-U ran Choice Specs, it still would be dangerous as ever. That's because that set has zero switch-ins; no matter the set, most teams' answer to it will be a quick physical Pokemon. You can predict the set on Dark easily and on Psychic for the most part, but that doesn't detract from how dangerous Hoopa-U is.
- Hoopa-U is extremely difficult to counterplay against, possibly the most difficult in the whole current meta.
Do Not Ban reasoning
- Banning Hoopa-U will have an adverse effect on the metagame overall. Although it weakens Psychic, it makes Dark even more weak to Fighting Monotype and Fighting-types in general. Mega Sableye's ban was done primarily to help improve lower tiered types, which, for the most part, were forced to run suboptimal sets to check it. That ban was made while considering other types that would be affected, so shouldn't Hoopa-U's ban's effect on Dark be considered too?
- Most types do not specifically need to consider Hoopa-U when teambuilding unlike previous bans, like Mega Sableye. Although it is impossible to switch into, it is easy to revenge kill because of its poor physical bulk. Unless it's some sort of stall team, most teams would naturally have a way to revenge kill it, due to its base 80 Speed. Most Psychic, Flying, Water, Bug, Dragon, Normal, Ground, Dark, Fairy, Fire, Grass, and Rock teams can revenge kill it (while Poison can pursuit trap it or just pull out a Scolipede). Yes, Hoopa-U is one of the most powerful Pokemon out there, but after nabbing a KO, the opponent can scare it out and set up or land a good hit. If we ONLY look at Hoopa-U's power, of course it would be seen as broken.
- In Monotype, where disadvantages from team preview are even more evident, teams need to be able to utilize counterplay. Not having a reliable switch-in for something isn't an element that Hoopa-U alone brings.
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I think a lot of people, like me, aren't too sure how to vote just yet since both sides have pretty solid points. If I had to vote now, I'd go for a ban. No matter how you spin it, the Choice Specs still has zero safe switch-ins out there, and being on Psychic makes it even more dangerous (not because Psychic is super popular rn, but because it supports it well). The point of counterplay being inevitable (Mega Camel v. Steel, Excadrill v. Rock, Kyu-B v. Flying, etc) and accentuated in Monotype was brought up. This is probably one of the more valid DNB points imo. Although I'd still vote for a ban because Hoopa-U forces you to work around it once it gets switched in on the right Pokemon in nearly every matchup. I don't think any single wallbreaker (other than maybe Landorus-I) does that except Hoopa-U. IMO The real weak points would be probably against the types that are prominently offensive, like Fire, Dragon, and Fighting, but Psychic has a good matchup with all three except Fire (unless you use [mega] Lati@s).