[B][SIZE=3]Mega-Salamence[/SIZE][/B]

[IMG]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/373-m.png[/IMG]

[B]Why was it suspected?[/B]

In the XY metagame, Salamence was not an often used or very viable Pokemon. Competition with faster dragon-types such as Garchomp and Latios, as well as the introduction of fairy-types greatly reduced its ability to function in the OU metagame. However, with the advent of ORAS, the Salamencite item was released, give Salamence a powerful new Mega-Evolution - Mega-Salamence.

Mega-Salamence sported increased attack (145), special attack (130), and speed (120), as well as an significant boost to its defense stat (130). With a pre-Mega-evolution ability of Intimidate, Salamence could easily find a time to set-up a Dragon Dance, with its post-Mega-evolution ability of Aerialate giving the dragon powerful Flying-type STAB moves. Due to its increased bulk and attack stats, Mega-Salamence was not only difficult to wall, but also difficult to take down. Finally, Mega-Salamence could outrun and beat common OU scarfers with its blazing fast speed.

[B]What were arguments for and against banning Mega-Salamence?
[/B]
Arguments for a Mega-Salamence suspect were overwhelming. The vast majority of players clearly recognized that Mega-Salamence was both overpowered and overcentralzing. With its increased attack stat, power boost from Aerialate, and access to Dragon Dance, Mega-Salamence could muscle its way past most of OU’s physical walls. In addition, Mega-Salamence could also run a special attacking set with moves such as Draco Meteor, Hydro Pump, and Fire Blast to surprise its move common checks. Finally, Mega-Salamence’s increased bulk coupled with access to Roost allowed it tank most super-effective moves and set up additional Dragon Dance boosts. A popular set of Dragon Dance, Roost, Substitute, and Frustration could easily 6-0 unprepared teams.

Due to the combination of its bulk, power, and versatility, Mega-Salamence did not have counters, but instead niche checks, making it a very centralizing Pokémon in the metagame. With its increased speed, offense checks were few - teams had to run uncommon Pokémon such as Choice Scarf Noivern or Choice Band Mamoswine.  Defensive checks such as Rotom-W , Skarmory, and Rhyperior could not beat a SubRoost set 1v and completely lost to a special attacking set. Furthermore teams had to run numerous Mega-Salamence checks to avoid being swept by the dragon, making it very restrictive to teambuilding.
As such, the OU council decided to discuss whether to quickban Mega-Salamence, which would result in its immediate banishment from the OU tier, or to hold a formal suspect test with a laddering phase and voting phase.

The primary debate was not actually if Mega-Salamence should be banned, but how the monstrous dragon should be banned. Most players favored an immediate quickban that would restore the OU metagame, while some believed a suspect test would be better, giving more time to evaluate the impact of Mega-Salamence. These people argued that more Mega-Salamence checks might pop-up, especially as people spent more time teambuilding. However, many people pointed out that due to an early ORAS OU ladder, the negative impact of Mega-Salamence to the metagame was very clear and it was unlikely that new checks would suddenly pop-up. They noted that even if a suspect test were to occur, Mega-Salamence would likely be banned anyways, making a suspect test a waste of time.

[B]What was the result?[/B]

	After a week of mostly repetitive discussion on how Mega-Salamence was a broken Pokemon, the OU suspect council quick-banned the Salamencite item, effectively banning Mega-Salamence. While this solved the most obvious problem in the OU metagame, the resulting metagame was better, but still not very good. Offensive teams were very effective and dominant in the metagame, much in part due to one Pokemon in particular – Greninja.

[B][SIZE=3]Greninja[/SIZE][/B]

[IMG]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/658.png[/IMG]

[B]Why was it suspected?[/B]

	In the late XY metagame, Greninja was a potent offensive threat, but was never suspected. Bulky fairy-types such as Clefable as well as Assault Vest users such as Azumarill and Conkeldurr were common and effective Greninja checks. However, the introduction of move tutors in ORAS gave Greninja potent tools in Gunk Shot and Low Kick, moves that greatly amplified Greninja’s coverage, pushing it towards being an overpowered Pokemon. With a simple moveset of Dark Pulse, Ice Beam, Gunk Shot and Low Kick, Greninja could 2HKO much of the OU metagame. Former checks such as Azumarill and Ferrothorn were hard hit by Gunk Shot and Low Kick respectively. As such, the OU council decided to run a Greninja suspect test.

[B]What were arguments for and against banning Greninja?[/B]

	Arguments for banning Greninja emphasized its great power and fast speed tier. With Protean and Life Orb boosting its attack power, Greninja could OHKO many slightly weakened offensive Pokemon, as well as 2HKO most defensive Pokemon after Stealth Rocks. Sitting at base 122 speed, Greninja outpaced a plethora of common OU Pokemon such as Garchomp, Latios, Gengar, Keldeo and Thundurus. While offensive teams often had faster Pokemon or priority that could check Greninja, most balanced teams lacked Pokemon that could reliably tank a hit, outspeed Greninja, and KO back. Most importantly, Greninja could not bypass its most common checks such as Clefable and Azumarill with a super-effective gunk shot.

	Anti-ban proponents pointed out that Greninja failed to KO common defensive Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Rotom-W, and defensive Mega-Scizor with its most common moveset. If Greninja ran coverage moves such as HP Fire to bypass Ferrothorn, it would lose out on coverage to other Pokemon. In addition, Greninja was frail and easily revenged by priority attacks such as Talonflame’s Brave Bird, or by Scarfers such as Scarf Landorus-T. In fact, Greninja could only really switch into resisted moves or risk taking a huge chunk of damage.

	However, many people noted that Greninja could afford to swap out a move, most often Low Kick, because of the amazing coverage already provided by the simple combination of Dark Pulse, Ice Beam and Gunk Shot. This versatility essentially allowed Greninja to choose its own checks, while also being able to easily adapt its moveset to any metagame trends. Although Greninja cannot KO many defensive Pokemon, being able to 2HKO most defensive Pokemon meant that very few Pokemon could directly switch-into Greninja. In essence, every time Greninja got a free switch-in, it could get a KO relatively easily. Greninja’s moves were also very spammable – although it may not be able to KO opposing Pokemon by simply spamming Dark Pulse or Ice Beam, it could significantly wear down the opposing team with constant offensive pressure, allowing one of its teammates to sweep much more easily. Finally, Greninja’s access to Spikes and Toxic Spikes further augmented its ability to apply offensive pressure, especially as Spikes + Protean allowed Greninja to absorb Volt Switches from Rotom-W.

[B]What was the result?[/B]

	In the end, Greninja was banned from the OU tier with a 82% supermajority, indicating the a large majority of the qualified voters felt that Greninja’s amazing offensive presence was too much for the tier. Despite its frailness, Greninja’s amazing combination of speed, power, and coverage made it broken in the eyes of many players. After Greninja’s ban, the OU metagame drifted away from heavy offense, and more towards a mix of offensive and balanced teams. While some people believed that this metagame was good, others felt that the OU metagame was too heavily match-up based. Evidently, more suspect testing was needed.