SM LC Detailed Ban List Rules The Pokémon must be at Level 5 The Pokémon must be the first of their evolutionary line and be able to evolve. The Pokémon must not be banned and should not carry a banned move or ability. Universal Battling Clauses That are Inherited Sleep Clause Only put one opposing Pokémon to sleep at a time. Species Clause Do not use multiple Pokémon of the same species. Self-KO Clause A battle cannot be won via moves like Explosion or Destiny Bond when used by the last remaining Pokémon. Team Preview The members of the teams and whether or not they have hold items will be visible before the battle. OHKO Clause The moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill and Sheer Cold are banned. Evasion Clause The moves Double Team and Minimize and the items Brightpowder and Lax Incense are banned. Moody Clause Moody is banned. Confusion Clause The moves Confuse Ray, Flatter, Supersonic, Swagger, Sweet Kiss, and Teeter Dance are banned. Attract Clause Attract is banned. Hax Item Clause King's Rock, Razor Fang, and Quick Claw are banned. Banned Moves Dragon RageDragon Rage is able to always inflict a 40 HP damage on the opponent if they're not a Fairy-type. This move is able to OHKO all non-Fairy Pokémon since no Pokémon is able to survive 40 HP in the metagame; therefore, it's banned. Sonic Boom This move is able to always deal a 20 HP to the opponent if they're not Ghost-type. Even though it's less broken than Dragon Rage, it's still able to deal massive damage and even OHKO some Pokémon. Conversion Conversion is broken in SM LC because Porygon can use Z-Conversion to boost all of its stats by one stage. In addition, Conversion allows Porygon to change its type based on the first move in its moveset, so you can essentially end up with an Electric-type Porygon with Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Recover and Z-Conversion with +1 in every stat. Conversion itself was banned rather than Porygon because Porygon is the only Pokémon that learns the move and is not broken without Conversion. Banned Items Eevium Z Eevium Z allowed Eevee to use its Z-Move, Extreme Evoboost, which gave it a +2 boost in its Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Eevee could then threaten teams itself or use Baton Pass to give these boosts to a teammate. Eevium Z was quickbanned at the beginning of SM LC. Banned Pokémon Scyther Type: Bug / Flying Base Stats: 70 HP / 110 Atk / 80 Def / 55 SpA / 80 SpD / 105 Spe Abilities: Swarm / Technician / Steadfast Scyther has been banned for the past several generations, and it will likely stay that way. Compared to the other Pokémon, Scyther has base stats that are far too high. Technician with Aerial Ace and Bug Bite as STAB attacks, accompanied by either Agility or Swords Dance, made Scyther a broken Pokémon. Sneasel Type: Ice / Dark Base Stats: 55 HP / 95 Atk / 55 Def / 35 SpA / 75 SpD / 115 Spe Abilities: Inner Focus / Keen Eye / Pickpocket Even though its stats aren't as extreme as Scyther's, they're still marvelous compared to other Pokémon. With extraordinary STABs in Ice Punch and Knock Off, access to Ice Shard, and access to Swords Dance, Sneasel was an extremely dangerous Pokémon in the metagame. Tangela Type: Grass Base Stats: 65 HP / 55 Atk / 115 Def / 100 SpA / 40 SpD / 60 Spe Abilities: Chlorophyll / Leaf Guard / Regenerator Tangela was not as impressive as Scyther and Sneasel, but with an excellent base 100 Special Attack stat and a fantastic base 115 Defense stat, it was still as powerful. It also has access to two competitive abilities (Chlorophyll and Regenerator) that allowed it play different effective roles. Chlorophyll doubles Tangela's Speed in the sun, and access to Growth and Solar Beam made it a dangerous sun sweeper. Regenerator recoveres up to 1/3 max of its HP when it leaves the field, which helped it play a defensive role with its high Defense. Tangela also has access to Sleep Powder and Leech Seed. The combination of these traits made Tangela a powerful Pokémon for the metagame. Gligar Type: Ground / Flying Base Stats: 65 HP / 75 Atk / 105 Def / 35 SpA / 65 SpD / 85 Spe Abilities: Hyper Cutter / Sand Veil / Immunity Gligar was the first suspect in the XY LC metagame. It was a good sweeper with a decent Speed and access to Swords Dance, Earthquake, Acrobatics, and Knock Off. It could also run an Eviolite set thanks to its high defenses which made it the best physical wall in the metagame. It can also learn some team supporting moves like Stealth Rock, Defog and also Baton Pass. In SM LC, Gligar remained banned on the initial ban list. Yanma Type: Bug / Flying Base Stats: 65 HP / 65 Atk / 45 Def / 75 SpA / 45 SpD / 95 Spe Abilities: Speed Boost / Compound Eyes / Frisk Yanma was the second suspect in the XY LC metagame. It was the fastest Pokémon tying with Diglett and Voltorb, and it had Speed Boost, which allowed it to be a powerful late-game sweeper. It could also run a Compound Eyes set that used Hypnosis to cripple its slower counters. In SM LC, Yanma remained banned on the initial ban list. Swirlix Type: Fairy Base Stats: 62 HP / 48 Atk / 66 Def / 59 SpA / 57 SpD / 49 Spe Abilities: Sweet Veil / Unburden Even though its stats are low compared to other Pokémon, its wide moveset and the ability Unburden made it the most feared threat in the metagame. With Unburden, Slurpuff doubles its Speed once it consumes its item, and powerful boosting moves such as Calm Mind, Cotton Guard, and Belly Drum made Swirlix an unstoppable late-game sweeper. Its unpredictability and power made it a Pokémon that is almost impossible to handle. Swirlix was originally banned during XY LC, and it remained banned at the start of SM LC. Murkrow Type: Dark / Flying Base Stats: 60 HP / 85 Atk / 42 Def / 85 SAtk / 42 SDef / 91 Spd Abilities: Insomnia / Super Luck / Prankster Murkrow basically had the ability to do the same things that got it banned last generation. It could OHKO or 2HKO most of the metagame with a mixed Life Orb set with Brave Bird, Dark Pulse, Sucker Punch, and Heat Wave. It reached the 19 Speed tier, which meant it was only outright outsped by Diglett, Elekid, Voltorb (never used, for good reason), and Choice Scarf users, but these frail Pokémon had to beware Sucker Punch. Murkrow was versatile because it could also viably run Choice Scarf, Eviolite, or Berry Juice sets. Z-Mirror Move was another possibility that SM gave it, which could give it a chance to have a free +2 Attack when it could KO something with it. Murkrow was quickbanned in early SM LC. Cutiefly Type: Bug / Fairy Base Stats: 40 HP / 45 Atk / 40 Def / 55 SAtk / 40 SDef / 84 Spd Abilities: Honey Gatherer / Shield Dust / Sweet Veil Cutiefly was the only Pokémon in LC to have Quiver Dance, and it could use it effectively. It had nice STABs in the forms of Moonblast and Bug Buzz. Cutiefly could reach 19 Speed. Its Fairy typing granted it resistances to Fighting- and Dark-type priority, which made it harder to revenge kill. In addition, Cutiefly has access to Baton Pass, which can allow it to pass its Quiver Dance boost to teammates. Cutiefly was suspected and deemed too much for SM LC, and it was banned. Misdreavus Type: Ghost Base Stats: 60 HP / 60 Atk / 60 Def / 85 SAtk / 85 SDef / 85 Spd Ability: Levitate The combination of Misdreavus's Ghost typing and Levitate gave it three immunities, and it is only weak against Ghost and Dark. It had an extremely versatile movepool that consists of options such as Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Thunderbolt, Nasty Plot, Destiny Bond, Taunt, and Trick. Eviolite, Berry Juice, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, and Life Orb are all viable hold items. It has excellent base stats for a LC Pokémon. Misdreavus hits 19 Speed, which can make it difficult to revenge kill without relying on Choice Scarf users or risking Speed ties, and its base 60 / 60 / 85 bulk can make it tough to bring down as well. Misdreavus was suspected and banned from SM LC. Meditite Type: Fighting / Psychic Base Stats: 30 HP / 40 Atk / 55 Def / 40 SAtk / 55 SDef / 60 Spd Ability: Pure Power / Telepathy Meditite caused problems due to Pure Power making it insanely powerful (28 Attack). Sets usually included High Jump Kick or Drain Punch, Zen Headbutt or Psycho Cut, and some combination of Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Bullet Punch, or Fake Out. Meditite's Speed tier (15 Speed if Adamant) made it easier to revenge kill, but the lack of reliable switch-ins is what ultimately made it broken. Meditite was suspected and banned from SM LC. Gothita Type: Psychic Base Stats: 45 HP / 30 Atk / 50 Def / 55 SAtk / 65 SDef / 45 Spd Ability: Frisk / Competitive / Shadow Tag Gothita's Shadow Tag ability allowed it to systematically eliminate foes that Gothita's teammates needed to be removed. With an Eviolite, Calm Mind, Psyshock, and Rest, Gothita could eliminate bulky walls like Spritzee. With a Choice Scarf, Gothita could be an effective revenge-killer, and it could take out Pokémon such as Mienfoo and Chinchou, who would normally be able to U-Turn / Volt Switch and escape. Gothita was suspected and banned from SM LC. As additional Pokémon are banned, they will be added to this listing.
Technically, Type: Null is not eligible for LC because it can't be obtained at Level 5, so it should be lumped in with "all the other stuff." I had it listed as banned in the other thread because that was before I learned that it was unobtainable, but I'll make sure that is fixed.