The Ubers Council has decided to suspect Zacian-Hero!
Reasoning
Following Zacian-Crowned's ban in January, Zacian-Hero has seemlessly stepped into the vacancy left by its big brother and it hasn't looked back since. Like Zacian-Crowned, Zacian-Hero has Intrepid Sword as its ability, which means it too comes out of its Poke Ball with +1 Attack ready to go. While Zacian-Hero isn't as well rounded of a Pokemon as its sword wielding counterpart, it is every bit as powerful and more. It may not appear that way at first, as Zacian-Hero only has a base 130 Attack stat, as opposed to Zacian-Crowned's ridiculous base 170, but unlike Zacian-Crowned, Zacian-Hero can actually hold an item. To give you an idea of the significance of that, here are a few damage calcs to help paint a better picture:
+1 252+ Atk Choice Band Zacian Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 197-232 (49.4 - 58.2%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 160-189 (40.2 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252+ Atk Choice Band Zacian Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Ho-Oh: 390-460 (93.7 - 110.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Ho-Oh: 318-376 (76.4 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Choice Band Zacian Play Rough vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Groudon: 207-244 (51.6 - 60.8%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Groudon: 186-220 (46.3 - 54.8%) -- 10.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Essentially nothing available to us is safe from Zacian-Hero's onslaught if it uses a boosting item like Choice Band. Because of this, Zacian-Hero contantly forces 50/50s and can straight up end the game if you get it wrong even once. On top of that, Zacian-Hero is an incredibly potent user of Swords Dance. Without having to hold a Choice Band, it can handily bypass counters like Necrozma-Dusk-Mane through a Babiri Berry, for example, as well as taking advantage of Pokemon like Ho-Oh or Eternatus trying to pivot in on a resisted move from the Choice Band set. To make matters worse, Zacian-Hero has an astounding base 138 Speed stat, making it difficult to check it offensively as well. This incredible offensive pressure has lead to Zacian-Hero putting a huge strain on both team building and playing in SS Ubers. Since not even the best physically defensive Pokemon are enough to withstand Zacian-Hero, we now often see teams that stack a combination of shaky answers like Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, Ho-Oh and Tangrowth together on a single team.
It isn't all sunshine and rainbows for Zacian-Hero, though. Where Zacian-Crowned was part Steel-type and content absorbing Knock Off, Zacian-Hero is a pure Fairy-type highly reliant on its item, regardless of its set. It can't switch into any of the top tier SS Ubers Pokemon reliably and is very prone to entry hazards, too. On top of that, Zacian-Hero has to battle through Rocky Helmet, if not multiple helmets, to make progress, resulting in it being worn down rapidly in many of its games. Even so, Zacian-Hero's stronghold on the metagame has motivated the Ubers Council to suspect test it. We're looking forward to your posts on the matter, as well as your participation in the voting process. Please read through all the information and rules outlined below before getting started.
Suspect Test Information
- The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 80 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 80 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 84. Also, needing more than 50 games to reach 80 GXE will suffice. For reference, there's a minimum games required table posted below.
- You must signup with a newly registered account on Pokemon Showdown! that begins with the appropriate prefix for the suspect test. For this suspect test, the prefix will be UBZH. For example, I might sign up with the ladder account UBZH Tony.
- Laddering with an account that impersonates, mocks, or insults another Smogon user or breaks Pokemon Showdown! rules may be disqualified from voting and infracted. Moderator discretion will be applied here. If there is any doubt or hesitation when making the alt, just pick another name. There are infinite possibilities and we have had trouble for this repeatedly. If you wish to participate in the suspect, you should be able to exhibit decent enough judgement here. We will not be lenient.
- We will be using the regular Ubers ladder for this suspect test. We will not be creating a new Suspect Ladder. At the beginning of every battle, there will be an announcement denoting the ongoing suspect with a link to this thread.
- Any form of voting manipulation will result in swift and severe punishment. You are more than welcome to state your argument to as many people as you so please, but do not use any kind of underhanded tactics to get a result you desire. Bribery, blackmail, or any other type of tactic used to sway votes will be handled and sanctioned.
- Do not attempt to cheat the ladder. We will know if you did not actually achieve voting requisites, so don't do it. Harsh sanctions will be applied.
- We will be posting the voting identification thread immediately after this thread. Your voting requisites will be confirmed by a moderator. Please avoid getting more games before getting confirmed.
- The suspect test will go on for two weeks, lasting until June 13th, 10 PM GMT, and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.
| GXE | Minimum Games Required |
| 80 | 50 |
| 80.2 | 49 |
| 80.4 | 48 |
| 80.6 | 47 |
| 80.8 | 46 |
| 81 | 45 |
| 81.2 | 44 |
| 81.4 | 43 |
| 81.6 | 42 |
| 81.8 | 41 |
| 82 | 40 |
| 82.2 | 39 |
| 82.4 | 38 |
| 82.6 | 37 |
| 82.8 | 36 |
| 83 | 35 |
| 83.2 | 34 |
| 83.4 | 33 |
| 83.6 | 32 |
| 83.8 | 31 |
| 84 | 30 |
Suspect Test Rules
- No unhelpful one liners nor uninformed posts;
- No discussion on other potential suspects;
- No discussion on the suspect process -- this includes testing Zacian-Hero vs other potential suspects like Calyrex-Shadow;
- You are required to make respectful posts;
- Failure to follow these simple guidelines will result in your post being deleted and infracted without any prior warning.
- Please also take a moment to read over some suggestions from the Ubers Council and the Ubers Moderation team for posting in this thread; adhering these will help out our time moderating the thread and present your arguments better and more educated.
- Do not argue because it's your favorite Pokemon. This should be common sense, but please don't do this, because we will delete posts like this.
- You do not need a boatload of experience to have an informed opinion, but please try to minimize the theorymon aspect and use your experiences watching and playing. Playing some on the ladder before posting is plenty if you're concerned about this.
- Do not flame, belittle, or be disrespectful to users in this thread. While not everyone will read this post in its entirety nor will everyone have informed opinion, please be sure not to be disrespectful. If there's an issue, bring it up to a moderator.
- Do not use the argument of broken checking broken. Should your argument rest on your opinion that banning the Pokemon or mechanic being tested in this suspect test will make a Pokemon or mechanic broken, overpowered, and/or uncompetitive; don't. If something needs to be banned because of the result this suspect, then so be it.
- This thread is not to voice complaints about the suspect process or decisions of the council. While we are more than open to hearing complaints that may arise, this isn't the place for it. I suggest you message the Ubers Council, an Ubers Tier Leader (Icemaster or myself), or make a post in Senior Staff requests, should you have a badge.
The test will run until Sunday June 13th, 10 PM GMT -4. In order to ban Zacian-Hero, a 66.6% supermajority will be required. If you meet the requirements then post a screenshot in the voting requirements thread - but please take note of the criteria outlined there when you do in order to be eligible!
