DISCLAIMER: Due to the date this was posted, the wording in this post was purposefully embellished and made dramatic in order to capitalize on the confusion of whether or not this is a joke. Don't worry. It's real. Well, the decision's real. The text outside of the hideboxes (as well as my own hidebox) is more or less a buncha hot air, though. You'll see in the Council Minutes I'll be posting soon. Enjoy the new format! The mons are actually doing pretty good :)
Rejoice, all ye faithful, for the Development Council has decided in a 5-4 vote to ban Moody from Gen 9 Random Battle, effective April 1, 2023.
Long has Moody plagued the format, being cited as the largest source of both complaints and uncompetitiveness; the simple act of raising one stat and lowering another each turn is simply too much for the Pokemon Showdown community to handle. No matter how low we make the levels of Glalie and Scovillain, their overwhelming nature will not cease. Even if Scovillain is 2HKOed by any resisted move, it would never cease grabbing a game and holding it hostage. Lo, one would simply see a Scovillain get a Speed boost on its first turn out, and promptly say: "Screw this. I am out.", not wishing to be slowly Leech Seeded to an inevitable loss. But no longer! Moody shall no longer terrorize the masses, Moody shall no longer be crowned in its wicked reign over the battles o' random.
Now, Glalie and Scovillain can become the absolute garbage they were always destined to become. Never again shall one be angry to be facing a Scovillain; now, instead, rejoice, for it is basically 5v6 if you have any Fire- or Dragon-type. And Glalie, once more, shall go back to its pre-Mega roots of setting Spikes and then dying, as is tradition. Not even its new level of 97 will save its offensive prowess, for it will never 2HKO a Life Orb Mew. Remember, next time you get one of these Pokemon, one of these shells of their former selves: you wanted this. This is what the community desires.
In Gen 8 and BDSP, however, Moody shall continue its rampage of Luck-Based Combat; the Council decided that Dynamax is enough to keep Moody users at bay most of the time, and we just don't really want to touch BDSP honestly.
An explanation from each Council member on their decision can be found sequestered in these Serious-Looking Hideboxes.
Rejoice, all ye faithful, for the Development Council has decided in a 5-4 vote to ban Moody from Gen 9 Random Battle, effective April 1, 2023.
Long has Moody plagued the format, being cited as the largest source of both complaints and uncompetitiveness; the simple act of raising one stat and lowering another each turn is simply too much for the Pokemon Showdown community to handle. No matter how low we make the levels of Glalie and Scovillain, their overwhelming nature will not cease. Even if Scovillain is 2HKOed by any resisted move, it would never cease grabbing a game and holding it hostage. Lo, one would simply see a Scovillain get a Speed boost on its first turn out, and promptly say: "Screw this. I am out.", not wishing to be slowly Leech Seeded to an inevitable loss. But no longer! Moody shall no longer terrorize the masses, Moody shall no longer be crowned in its wicked reign over the battles o' random.
Now, Glalie and Scovillain can become the absolute garbage they were always destined to become. Never again shall one be angry to be facing a Scovillain; now, instead, rejoice, for it is basically 5v6 if you have any Fire- or Dragon-type. And Glalie, once more, shall go back to its pre-Mega roots of setting Spikes and then dying, as is tradition. Not even its new level of 97 will save its offensive prowess, for it will never 2HKO a Life Orb Mew. Remember, next time you get one of these Pokemon, one of these shells of their former selves: you wanted this. This is what the community desires.
In Gen 8 and BDSP, however, Moody shall continue its rampage of Luck-Based Combat; the Council decided that Dynamax is enough to keep Moody users at bay most of the time, and we just don't really want to touch BDSP honestly.
An explanation from each Council member on their decision can be found sequestered in these Serious-Looking Hideboxes.
Vote: No Ban
I voted No Ban on Moody because, unlike seemingly the majority of people, I find it fun. I don't think Scovillain is particularly unbalanced, either, because its win rate has been hovering slightly below average since the start. Annoying sometimes, sure, but it's better by leagues than anything else it could do. I'm not looking forward to trying to make Scov and Glalie good now; being inconsistently good is better than being consistently bad in my eyes.
I voted No Ban on Moody because, unlike seemingly the majority of people, I find it fun. I don't think Scovillain is particularly unbalanced, either, because its win rate has been hovering slightly below average since the start. Annoying sometimes, sure, but it's better by leagues than anything else it could do. I'm not looking forward to trying to make Scov and Glalie good now; being inconsistently good is better than being consistently bad in my eyes.
Vote: No Ban
I do not support removing Moody from Gen 9 Random Battles. I want all mons to have their best possible sets (development principle 3). I don't think Moody is uncompetitive enough to warrant making an exception to remove it. Nor do I find it unfun; I enjoy playing with it and don't mind playing against it, win or lose.
I do not support removing Moody from Gen 9 Random Battles. I want all mons to have their best possible sets (development principle 3). I don't think Moody is uncompetitive enough to warrant making an exception to remove it. Nor do I find it unfun; I enjoy playing with it and don't mind playing against it, win or lose.
Vote: No Ban
I voted not to ban Moody in gen 9 as, first and foremost, I do not view it as a distinctly unfair, RNG-based, or uncompetitive strategy relative to sets like Dunsparce, these types of sets being necessary parts of the game. Moody is also good for the overall format health of gen 9. Gen 9 rands is largely a HO-oriented format with a lot of setup Pokémon, and so resultantly anti-offence measures such as priority, phasing, and status have never been more important. Moody is for all intents and purposes an anti-offence tool in practice, often just by threatening to PP stall a powerful attack on a choiced Pokémon. Taking Moody off its users will not reduce the prevalence of RNG in the format either; Scovillain losing Moody has turned it into just another offensive Pokémon that will sweep some matchups and do nothing in others depending on what Pokémon were randomly generated, and Glalie is just going to be a terrible Pokémon now in a way that level balancing can't save, when it was at least sometimes useful before, further increasing the prevalence of matchup disparity in the format.
I voted not to ban Moody in gen 9 as, first and foremost, I do not view it as a distinctly unfair, RNG-based, or uncompetitive strategy relative to sets like Dunsparce, these types of sets being necessary parts of the game. Moody is also good for the overall format health of gen 9. Gen 9 rands is largely a HO-oriented format with a lot of setup Pokémon, and so resultantly anti-offence measures such as priority, phasing, and status have never been more important. Moody is for all intents and purposes an anti-offence tool in practice, often just by threatening to PP stall a powerful attack on a choiced Pokémon. Taking Moody off its users will not reduce the prevalence of RNG in the format either; Scovillain losing Moody has turned it into just another offensive Pokémon that will sweep some matchups and do nothing in others depending on what Pokémon were randomly generated, and Glalie is just going to be a terrible Pokémon now in a way that level balancing can't save, when it was at least sometimes useful before, further increasing the prevalence of matchup disparity in the format.
Vote: Ban
I voted for the removal of Moody in Gen 9 Random Battles with the following reasoning: It affects the health of the format poorly, bringing wildly inconsistent Pokemon to the picture with polarising mechanics, in such a fashion I want to call "anti-jeu". This decision is following the precedent set by the ban of partial trapping in gen1 random battles. I did not vote for the removal of Moody in Gen 8 Random Battles because although the mechanics are strictly identical, the change in environment caused by the generation gimmick, dynamax, compared to terastal, seems to be sufficient enough to warrant a different treatment between the two formats.
I voted for the removal of Moody in Gen 9 Random Battles with the following reasoning: It affects the health of the format poorly, bringing wildly inconsistent Pokemon to the picture with polarising mechanics, in such a fashion I want to call "anti-jeu". This decision is following the precedent set by the ban of partial trapping in gen1 random battles. I did not vote for the removal of Moody in Gen 8 Random Battles because although the mechanics are strictly identical, the change in environment caused by the generation gimmick, dynamax, compared to terastal, seems to be sufficient enough to warrant a different treatment between the two formats.
Vote: Ban
The main reasoning for wanting moody removed from Random Battles is because of the uncompetitive element leading to frustration and less fun. When moody enters the field all strategy and skill-based play goes out the window, you kind of just have to hope and pray that Glalie/Scovillain get certain boosts. Removing player choice and instead letting the Showdown RNG play the game for you does not lead to a good competitive experience. Ultimately, the combination of lack progress being made during the Sub+Protect turns alongside the uncompetitive nature lessens the fun and enhances the dissatisfaction of Random Battles. Players want to feel satisfaction when playing Random Battles and Moody is just hindering players from feeling that.
The main reasoning for wanting moody removed from Random Battles is because of the uncompetitive element leading to frustration and less fun. When moody enters the field all strategy and skill-based play goes out the window, you kind of just have to hope and pray that Glalie/Scovillain get certain boosts. Removing player choice and instead letting the Showdown RNG play the game for you does not lead to a good competitive experience. Ultimately, the combination of lack progress being made during the Sub+Protect turns alongside the uncompetitive nature lessens the fun and enhances the dissatisfaction of Random Battles. Players want to feel satisfaction when playing Random Battles and Moody is just hindering players from feeling that.
Vote: Ban
I decided to vote ban on moody due to the the RNG inducing element. Scovillain has made the problems apparent with the addition of leech seed, causing the results of games to feel out of users control and be a detriment to many users' enjoyment of the format. I decided to ban moody as a whole rather than just moody on scovillain as I believe that scovillain amplifies the problem as a whole, rather than creating the problem.
I decided to vote ban on moody due to the the RNG inducing element. Scovillain has made the problems apparent with the addition of leech seed, causing the results of games to feel out of users control and be a detriment to many users' enjoyment of the format. I decided to ban moody as a whole rather than just moody on scovillain as I believe that scovillain amplifies the problem as a whole, rather than creating the problem.
Vote: Ban
Within generation 9, Moody is an uncompetitive mechanic which removes player choices and relegates the majority of the usefulness of a Pokémon to factors entirely out of both players’ control. For this reason, and because I do not find this mechanic fun, I believe Moody should be banned from gen 9.
Within generation 9, Moody is an uncompetitive mechanic which removes player choices and relegates the majority of the usefulness of a Pokémon to factors entirely out of both players’ control. For this reason, and because I do not find this mechanic fun, I believe Moody should be banned from gen 9.
Vote: No Ban
No reasoning given, but agrees with no-ban arguments, particularly those of livid washed.
No reasoning given, but agrees with no-ban arguments, particularly those of livid washed.
Vote: Ban
1) It is uncompetitive
Moody, at its root, is highly reliant on RNG to be effective especially on the Pokemon that use it. This means that if they are to win games, then it is most likely down to what boosts they get at the time. On the contrary, this also means that if a person is to lose with Moody, it is because they were unlucky in getting the boosts, or was against one of the rare counters to it. This is not healthy, especially due to the current state of format where Moody Pokemon are significantly more common to appear. Additionally, some may say that because the Moody Pokemon are near 50% winrate that it is balanced. However, this does not mean that. Anything that highly relies on RNG to be effective is inconsistent if it wins half the time. Having something so RNG-focused in a format that we are trying to make more competitive seems counter-intuitive.
2) It takes away the skill from the player
The Pokemon that run Moody all have sets to that take little to no skill to use such as Protect + Substitute. This can either make the user capable of winning a game they have no right to win just from spamming very simple moves or it is can mean the player plays very rigidly to fish for boosts which can possibly be bad for them. In any case, games should come down to skill as much as possible, and Moody takes that away.
3) It is not fun for many
It is no secret that Moody has soured the experience for many that play the format. You can see comments on other platforms other than Pokemon Showdown where people say Moody is annoying, not fun to play vs, and that they want it to be removed. These comments should not be ignored due to the sheer number of them that pop up over time. If the people who play the format are not having fun with a certain aspect of said format over several months, why keep this aspect? Random Battles is built for the fun of the community, if we remove the fun for it, this makes people dislike it more.
1) It is uncompetitive
Moody, at its root, is highly reliant on RNG to be effective especially on the Pokemon that use it. This means that if they are to win games, then it is most likely down to what boosts they get at the time. On the contrary, this also means that if a person is to lose with Moody, it is because they were unlucky in getting the boosts, or was against one of the rare counters to it. This is not healthy, especially due to the current state of format where Moody Pokemon are significantly more common to appear. Additionally, some may say that because the Moody Pokemon are near 50% winrate that it is balanced. However, this does not mean that. Anything that highly relies on RNG to be effective is inconsistent if it wins half the time. Having something so RNG-focused in a format that we are trying to make more competitive seems counter-intuitive.
2) It takes away the skill from the player
The Pokemon that run Moody all have sets to that take little to no skill to use such as Protect + Substitute. This can either make the user capable of winning a game they have no right to win just from spamming very simple moves or it is can mean the player plays very rigidly to fish for boosts which can possibly be bad for them. In any case, games should come down to skill as much as possible, and Moody takes that away.
3) It is not fun for many
It is no secret that Moody has soured the experience for many that play the format. You can see comments on other platforms other than Pokemon Showdown where people say Moody is annoying, not fun to play vs, and that they want it to be removed. These comments should not be ignored due to the sheer number of them that pop up over time. If the people who play the format are not having fun with a certain aspect of said format over several months, why keep this aspect? Random Battles is built for the fun of the community, if we remove the fun for it, this makes people dislike it more.
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