The results of the Round 3 voting brought quite a few big changes to the metagame, which as some of you know have caused quite an uproar across the community! Fans of Blaziken for generations (Heysup) had to watch in despair as the badass starter was shackled and locked away. Along with Blaziken went Bright Powder and Lax Incense... but for the most part everybody was happy to see those go. On top of that, the Psychics, Latios and Deoxys-E, were put on notice and only need one more simple majority ban vote to get the boot as well.
Will Blaziken be the first banned Pokemon to be re-evaluated and brought back down to be tested again in OU? Will Latios and Deoxys-E be permitted to continue roaming around in the OU metagame, or will their visas expire? Will the lack of Bright Powder or Lax Incense be enough to allow my moves to hit Garchomp in the sand?... this one is doubtful, but everything else is up to YOU to decide!
Since the ladder has been updated with last round's changes for a long time now, and peoples ratings have been reset since the changes were implemented, ladder ratings will not be reset for this period of testing. Everybody's current rating was achieved in the correct metagame, so it would be unfair to throw all of those efforts to away. Don't worry about any "unfair" advantage -- the PO rating system will ensure that the current people at the top of the ladder still need to play regularly to keep a high rating. Also, consider yourself lucky if you haven't been playing until now, because you now have higher rated accounts to feast on and steal higher points from!
This round will be using the same qualification requirements as last round -- Top 15 users + 15 points. For those who are unfamiliar with this, it basically means that the qualification threshold is 15 points below the 15th highest rated user (not alt) on the ladder.
JIBAKU EDIT: We are now setting a rating minimum of 1450 for qualification
BLOO EDIT: "Due to the extensive period(s) of server downtime, we'll be extending the testing period deadline to 11:59 PM EDT June 4th. All the other dates will be moved back accordingly."
Here are the dates to remember for this round of testing:
Finally, I am sad to announce that I will no longer be able to lead Pokemon policy for the 5th generation. I'm sure some of you might have noticed, but my activity level has taken a huge dive in recent weeks, and there's a good reason for it -- I recently scored my dream job working for a major gaming company :). Initially, I thought I would be able to juggle my career and my adminning duties both on Smogon and WishMKR, but my job has me much more busy than I would have imagined; I wake up for it at 7am and don't get home until 8pm or later usually. That basically leaves me next to no time at all for this stuff, and it's just not fair to you guys to have such an inactive leader. It actually really bugs me that it has come to this, because I really enjoyed this gig and I feel like I'm letting you all down! I hope you all can understand my decision to step down and at least take comfort in knowing that I'm putting Pokemon policy in excellent hands...
reachzero has agreed to take over in my stead! reach has an incredible Pokemon policy resume, having co-led 4th generation UU with Jabba, and having been my right hand man throughout the 5th generation. He's also an incredible player and definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to competitive Pokemon. To top it all off, he's a very likable and easily approachable guy, which is extremely important in a leader. I think reachzero will do a fantastic job taking my place as the head of 5th generation Pokemon policy!
I would like to still be a part of the Policy Review team, though, if you all would have me. The Pokemon tiering process is definitely one of my biggest passions on Smogon (it's what separates competitive Pokemon from anything else out there, IMO), and I can't ever see myself completely leaving.
So yeah, everybody should be congratulating JabbaTheGriffin and reachzero when they get a chance! They both have their work cut out for them :P. Now that that's all said and done, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Will Blaziken be the first banned Pokemon to be re-evaluated and brought back down to be tested again in OU? Will Latios and Deoxys-E be permitted to continue roaming around in the OU metagame, or will their visas expire? Will the lack of Bright Powder or Lax Incense be enough to allow my moves to hit Garchomp in the sand?... this one is doubtful, but everything else is up to YOU to decide!
Since the ladder has been updated with last round's changes for a long time now, and peoples ratings have been reset since the changes were implemented, ladder ratings will not be reset for this period of testing. Everybody's current rating was achieved in the correct metagame, so it would be unfair to throw all of those efforts to away. Don't worry about any "unfair" advantage -- the PO rating system will ensure that the current people at the top of the ladder still need to play regularly to keep a high rating. Also, consider yourself lucky if you haven't been playing until now, because you now have higher rated accounts to feast on and steal higher points from!
This round will be using the same qualification requirements as last round -- Top 15 users + 15 points. For those who are unfamiliar with this, it basically means that the qualification threshold is 15 points below the 15th highest rated user (not alt) on the ladder.
JIBAKU EDIT: We are now setting a rating minimum of 1450 for qualification
BLOO EDIT: "Due to the extensive period(s) of server downtime, we'll be extending the testing period deadline to 11:59 PM EDT June 4th. All the other dates will be moved back accordingly."
Here are the dates to remember for this round of testing:
- Sunday, 4/24/11 - This thread gets posted!
- Tuesday, 5/31/11, 11:59pm - Suspect Testing Round 4 ends
- A screen shot of ladder ratings at this time will be taken, and whatever they depict will be what is used when determining qualified voters
- Wednesday, 6/1/11, 12:00am - Voter Identification and Suspect Nomination thread goes up
- Saturday, 6/4/11, 11:59pm - Special Permissions Applications are due
- Sunday, 6/5/11, 11:59pm - Voter Identification and Suspect Nomination phase closes
- Monday, 6/6/11, 12:00am - Suspect Voting begins
Finally, I am sad to announce that I will no longer be able to lead Pokemon policy for the 5th generation. I'm sure some of you might have noticed, but my activity level has taken a huge dive in recent weeks, and there's a good reason for it -- I recently scored my dream job working for a major gaming company :). Initially, I thought I would be able to juggle my career and my adminning duties both on Smogon and WishMKR, but my job has me much more busy than I would have imagined; I wake up for it at 7am and don't get home until 8pm or later usually. That basically leaves me next to no time at all for this stuff, and it's just not fair to you guys to have such an inactive leader. It actually really bugs me that it has come to this, because I really enjoyed this gig and I feel like I'm letting you all down! I hope you all can understand my decision to step down and at least take comfort in knowing that I'm putting Pokemon policy in excellent hands...
reachzero has agreed to take over in my stead! reach has an incredible Pokemon policy resume, having co-led 4th generation UU with Jabba, and having been my right hand man throughout the 5th generation. He's also an incredible player and definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to competitive Pokemon. To top it all off, he's a very likable and easily approachable guy, which is extremely important in a leader. I think reachzero will do a fantastic job taking my place as the head of 5th generation Pokemon policy!
I would like to still be a part of the Policy Review team, though, if you all would have me. The Pokemon tiering process is definitely one of my biggest passions on Smogon (it's what separates competitive Pokemon from anything else out there, IMO), and I can't ever see myself completely leaving.
So yeah, everybody should be congratulating JabbaTheGriffin and reachzero when they get a chance! They both have their work cut out for them :P. Now that that's all said and done, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
