How Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Meta Led to a 17-Year-Old…

Summary

Gliscor has been banned from the competitive Pokemon Smogon OU format due to its combination of elements that made it too powerful for single battles.
The banning of Gliscor has sparked mixed responses from the competitive Pokemon community, with some supporting the decision and others criticizing it.
With Gliscor out of the picture, the competitive meta for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could see a significant shift as new Pokemon step in to fill the gaps left behind.

Competitive Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players will have one less critter they can use for single battles as a popular Gen 4 mon has been banned for the Smogon OU format. The council of competitive players that determines a critter's usage tier for the Smogon format recently determined that Gliscor should be banned from the OU tier due to a combination of elements that made the Ground/Flying type too powerful for standard competitive single battles. As a result, the competitive meta for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could see a dramatic shift now that this threat has been removed from the competition.

While double battles are the official VGC format, the competitive Pokemon community has embraced Smogon and its rule set for single battles, especially when using a site like Pokemon Showdown. The news of Gliscor's ban has received mixed responses from the competitive Pokemon community, with some applauding the decision as necessary and others criticizing it as targeting the wrong critter. Regardless of whether this is the correct decision, Gliscor's absence from Pokemon Singles OU will likely open the floodgates for new mons to fill in the gaps it has left behind.

Why Gliscor Was Banned from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Singles OU Format

Gliscor has been a staple of the competitive scene in the Pokemon series since it was introduced in Gen 4 but became a stand-out competitor when Hidden Abilities were introduced in Gen 5. With the addition of the Poison Heal Hidden Ability, Gliscor could reliably heal itself when holding a Toxic Orb, which would inflict it with the Poisoned status condition and activate Poison Heal, allowing it to regain some lost health each turn. Combining this Hidden Ability with solid Defense and HP meant players could use Gliscor to poison opponents with Toxic, and then stall out the battle until they faint from the poisoning.

A Standard Gliscor Build for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet OU

Ability	Poison Heal
Moves	Earthquake Toxic/Toxic Spikes Stealth Rock/Spikes Protect
Held Item	Poison Orb
Tera Type	Water
Nature	Impish
EV Spread	HP 252 / DEF 252 / SpD 4
Stat Totals	HP 182 / ATK 115 / DEF 194 / SpD 96 / SPE 115

While Poison Heal is the star of this Gliscor build, the reason why this critter became so popular in the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet meta was due to the threat of Gholdengo. The presence of Gholdengo in the meta has made entry hazards incredibly popular, since the Ghost/Steel type mon can block opponents from using a move like Rapid Spin and removing the entry hazards. Gliscor is a very versatile mon that can both tank thanks to its high Defense and Poison Heal ability, as well as set up entry hazards like Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock, giving it great synergy with Gholdengo.

It can be incredibly annoying to KO Gliscor thanks to its bulk, Poison Stall tactics, and Water Tera Type, plus the presence of Gholdengo means players have had to limit the move sets of common hazard removers like Great Tusk and Mamoswine to have a chance of weakening these opponents. Many players who are against the banning of Gliscor point to the fact that Gholdengo is the real issue and that Gliscor is simply a side effect of this Gen 9 mon's overpowered status. As critters like Gholdengo have continued the Pokemon series' power creep into Gen 9, it was only natural that Gliscor would rise to popularity as a response.

Now that Gliscor has been banned, it's likely that a historically popular creature like Landorus-T will be back in the Singles OU spotlight now that it doesn't have to worry about Gliscor's Toxic and entry hazards. Additionally, Great Tusk's move set could open back up now that it's likely entry hazards won't be a major part of the meta. Gholdengo's future may also be in question, as the community continues to argue that it's the problem instead of Gliscor and is deserving of a ban.

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