April Newsletter – PvP Update

Banned Abilities:
Moody, Shadow Tag & Arena Trap

Banned Pokémon: 
Aegislash, Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin Sky, Tapu Lele, Zeraora, Blaziken (HA), Pheromosa, Naganadel, Marshadow, Manaphy, Darkrai

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold, Swagger, Baton Pass

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta Intentions:
The Regular PokeOne OU meta follows the classic Gen 7 OU rules with a few unique twists tailored to PokeOne’s mechanics and available Pokémon pool. This balanced and versatile meta encourages a mix of offensive, defensive, and balanced playstyles, offering opportunities for creative team-building and strategic gameplay.

Banned Abilities:
Moody, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, Drizzle, Drought, Sand Stream, Snow Warning, Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, Slush Rush, Sand Rush.

Banned Pokémon:
Aegislash, Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin-Sky, Tapu Lele, Zeraora, Blaziken (HA), Pheromosa, Naganadel, Marshadow, Manaphy, Darkrai

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold, Swagger, Baton Pass

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta intentions:
Promotes Hyper Offense at the expense of losing Aurora Veil HO teams (Rain sweepers that would otherwise outspeed HO Pokemon are absent). Promotes other defensive courses due to Ferrothorn and Amoonguss not needed for Rain check. With weather-focused teams and weather-abusing Pokémon banned, teams will likely move toward more consistent and balanced compositions. Offensive and defensive threats with broad coverage become much more viable.

Banned Abilities:
Moody, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap

Banned Pokémon:
Aegislash, Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin-Sky, Tapu Lele, Zeraora, Blaziken (HA), Pheromosa, Naganadel, Marshadow, Manaphy, Darkrai, Clefable, Chansey, Skarmory, Blissey, Alomomola, Toxapex

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold, Swagger, Baton Pass

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta intentions:
With the absence of bulk-heavy stall cores and supportive recovery Pokémon, teams will shift to faster, more offensive playstyles. Offensive powerhouses will dominate, and the games will be faster-paced with less stalling. Without stall defensive staples, balanced teams with a mix of offense and defense will be more popular. Teams may also lean toward Hyper-Offense due to the absence of defensive bulwarks. As stall strategies are largely eliminated, battles become much more dynamic, where each turn is used to push offensive momentum or disrupt opponents rather than healing or waiting. Alternative and Creative Stall is also promoted as Stall players are encouraged to adjust their strategies and team cores.

Banned Abilities:
Moody, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap

Banned Pokémon:
Aegislash, Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin-Sky, Tapu Lele, Zeraora, Blaziken (HA), Pheromosa, Naganadel, Marshadow, Manaphy, Darkrai

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold, Swagger, Baton Pass, Fake Out, Extreme Speed, Feint, First Impression, Accelerock, Aqua Jet, Bullet Punch, Ice Shard, Mach Punch, Quick Attack, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Vacuum Wave, Water Shuriken

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta intentions:
Without priority moves, raw speed becomes much more important. Pokémon that rely on sweeping after setting up (e.g., Dragon Dance, Swords Dance) or boosting their stats will thrive, as there’s no priority move to shut them down. Without priority moves to check faster threats, teams will likely turn to alternative methods of speed control, such as Tailwind, Icy Wind, Trick Room, and Thunder Wave. With the removal of the priority threat, creative offensive Pokémon that might not traditionally get the spotlight in metas with priority moves (due to lack of speed or being countered by priority) could shine. Hyper Offense will feel a bit weaker in this meta with the loss of priority moves as many HO Pokemon utilise priority moves. Glass Cannon Wallbreakers will feel more useful due to the lack of priority revenge killers. Pokemon that rely on priority moves in their kit will have less utility.

Banned Abilities:
None

Banned Pokémon:
Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin-Sky, Blaziken (HA)

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta intentions:
In this meta, most of the Uber-tier Pokémon are allowed to play. This means you’ll have access to some of the most powerful Pokémon in the game, including offensive juggernauts that can sweep with ease, defensive titans that can control the game with status moves, and fast threats capable of wrecking teams in a few turns. With most broken or high-tier threats allowed, battles will be fast, aggressive, and centered around speed, offensive power, and defensive titans. Removing insta-kill moves and evasion boosts ensures the battles remain competitive. It also gives players a chance to use their favourite Pokemon that would otherwise be banned in other metas.

Banned Abilities:
Moody, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, Beast Boost, Drizzle, Drought

Banned Pokémon:
Aegislash, Greninja (HA), Weavile, Toxapex, Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin-Sky, Tapu Lele, Zeraora, Blaziken (HA), Pheromosa, Naganadel, Marshadow, Manaphy, Darkrai, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, Terrakion, Jirachi, Thundurus, Mew, Latios, Clefable, Gliscor, Ferrothorn, Chansey, Zapdos, Weavile, Greninja, Toxapex, Heatran, Tornadus, Landorus, Keldeo, Skarmory, Conkeldurr, Bisharp, Suicune, Conkeldurr, Tyranitar, Azumarill, Scizor, Amoonguss, Tangrowth, Diggersby, Crawdaunt, Rotom, Mimikyu, Garchomp, Dragonite, Alolan-Ninetales, Hydreigon, Alakazam

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold, Swagger, Baton Pass

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta intentions:
By banning dominant threats, the meta will open up space for less used Pokémon to shine. The absence of top-tier threats will push players to experiment with other options, which may otherwise be overshadowed by these dominant forces. Pokémon that are typically not considered “top-tier” may gain popularity and become more useful when the usual threats are unavailable. It also gives players a chance to use their favourite Pokemon that would otherwise not be viable in other metas.

Banned Abilities:
Moody, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap

Banned Pokémon:
Aegislash, Landorus Incarnate (HA), Shaymin-Sky, Tapu Lele, Zeraora, Blaziken (HA), Pheromosa, Naganadel, Marshadow, Manaphy

Banned Moves:
Minimize, Double Team, Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold, Swagger, Baton Pass, Stealth Rock, Spikes

Banned Items:
Bright Powder, Focus Band, King’s Rock, Lax Incense, Quick Claw, Razor Fang

Meta intentions:
Offensive threats will gain strength in this environment as they can push through without worrying about Stealth Rock or Spikes damaging their team over time. Since these hazards are banned, players won’t need to worry about damage every time a Pokémon switches in, as a result, fire-type Pokémon or other types that usually struggle with residual hazard damage will be able to switch in more freely and maintain a strong offensive presence. Stall will feel slightly weaker in this meta due to the absence of passive damage stacking up.