As it does each season, Pokémon developer GameFreak reveals its list of banned Pokémon alongside the ruleset for Ranked Battle.
This time, the list excludes the ten most-used Pokémon from Series 5/Season 8 from both Singles and Doubles.
The Pokémon banned are:
- Venusaur
- Gyarados
- Porygon2
- Tyranitar
- Torkoal
- Hippowdon
- Magnezone
- Togekiss
- Excadrill
- Whimsicott
- Incineroar
- Mimikyu
- Rillaboom
- Cinderace
- Indeedee
- Dragapult
These are naturally joined by the Legendary Pokémon, such as Sword and Shield's Eternatus, Zacian and Zamazenta.
Howwever, the controversy surrounds the use of Singles to curate this list, as competitive Pokémon has exclusively used Doubles for some time now. Some of the Pokémon included aren't exactly anything to shout home about in competitive play, while others (Porygon2) are widely used.
Another quirk is that Porygon2 is now banned — despite GameFreak giving away an IV-prepared, competitive-ready version this weekend to celebrate the finals of the Players Cup.
You can find all details of the ruleset for Series 6 over on Serebii.
