This Key Feature Of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Could Be Banned From Competitive

The "Pokémon" series is all about battling, and since the very first games players have been able to duel one another. From the beginning many were enthralled by its relatively complex — and balanced — turn-based gameplay, and naturally competitive "Pokémon" leagues started popping up as the series continued to get more popular. 

The games aren't always perfectly balanced, though, and there are countless examples of Pokémon, items, moves, and other mechanics from the games that are now banned in competitive play. Now, the already-divisive "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" versions may soon join the ranks as one of the most prominent "Pokémon" competitive sites looks to ban the games' most integral feature from its tournaments.

Smogon University, one of the most widely recognized competitive "Pokémon" sites, was founded in 2004 though it claims to have originated many years before then. It's been at the forefront of the competitive scene for years and still hosts many of its biggest tournaments after nearly two decades. It's no stranger to banning unbalanced aspects of the games, and banning terastal Pokémon — one of the most important things in "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" — would be one of the few times a core feature has been banned from competitive play.

The terastallize mechanic introduced in the overwhelmingly successful "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" has been compared to previous mechanics that empower Pokémon, like mega evolutions and dynamaxing. The twist of terastal Pokémon is that instead of just getting stronger and gaining new moves, they also gain a new type, new type advantages, and boosted multipliers. In the original announcement, arguments from the sides for and against its ban were presented alongside rules for submitting responses during the testing period. The suspect testing period goes until December 26, 2022, during which qualified users can share their thoughts on the mechanic.

National Dex is suspect testing Terastallization!
The suspect test will last until December 26th, so jump on the ladder and qualify for voting reqs to decide the fate of the newest mechanic of SV!

Reasons of the suspect and more information here: https://t.co/x0oNmhBGVI pic.twitter.com/RoGTiWx59a

— Smogon University (@SmogonU) December 14, 2022

The argument for its ban describes its "unpredictability and increase in offensive potency," and says that terastallizing creates an inconsistent metagame. The argument against its ban says it actually enhances the metagame because it "promotes the use of Pokémon which would otherwise be underwhelming or otherwise significantly worse than they are with tera." 

After the testing period is over, a vote will go through to determine the future of terastallization in competitive "Pokémon" tournaments — if it's banned, it will, of course, affect future Smogon University tournaments as well as those who follow its standards.