Hello, and welcome to the July edition of PO (Pokémon Online) News! PO has recently had another usage tier shift, and this edition covers what has changed! The PO League is currently accepting challengers, and the POVT is underway. The v2.7.2.1 update for Windows and Android has been released as well! This edition of PO News covers all of these events as well as other tier, tournament, and server news! Recent Tier Changes May - June Usage Tier Shifts The following tier changes have occurred as a result of the most recent tier shift. Pokémon can rise to a higher tier if they have more than 4% usage in the higher tier, and Pokémon can drop to the next lowest tier if they have less than 4% usage in their current tier and have not been banned from the lower tier. Rise to SM OU: Alakazam Cresselia Heracross Medicham Pelipper Pinsir Drop to SM UU: Metagross Rotom-Wash Rise to SM UU: Araquanid Houndoom Kabutops Klefki Lucario Togekiss Torkoal Volcanion Whimsicott Drop to SM LU: Absol Alomomola Amoonguss Chesnaught Crobat Decidueye Entei Nidoking Sharpedo Slowbro Snorlax Note that Buzzwole and Victini dropped as well, but they were quickbanned along with Sharpedonite and Slowbronite. Drop to SM NU: Everything not already listed above SM NU in the Tier Listing. New Releases Banettite, Cameruptite, Marshadow, Lopunnite, Gardevoirite, and Galladite have all recently been released in Sun and Moon! Marshadow is in SM Ubers after being quickbanned from SM OU, and Mega Lopunny will start in SM OU, as Lopunnite has been quickbanned from SM UU. Mega Gardevoir and Mega Gallade will start in SM UU, as Gardevoirite and Galladite have been quickbanned from SM LU. Mega Banette and Mega Camerupt are both members of the newly formed SM NU. Recent Bans In Side Metagames Gengarite has been banned from SM Balanced Hackmons due to its access to Shadow Tag. Shadow Tag is banned from being used directly, but a Gengar holding Gengarite is able to bypass this after Mega Evolving. Additionally, a Gengar with Gengarite can run Illusion so that it can hide its identity before it Mega Evolves and traps its prey. In Monotype, Pheromosa and Metagrossite have been banned for the same reasons that they were banned in SM OU. Current Suspects Pidgeotite Suspect in SM UU Pidgeotite is being suspected for the same reasons that it was suspected last generation. Mega Pidgeot has access to the unique combination of No Guard and Hurricane, which, when combined with its base 121 Speed and base 135 Special Attack, can make it quite annoying to deal with. Mega Pidgeot can function as a stallbreaker with Work Up, Refresh, and Roost, or it can be an offensive threat with Heat Wave to cover incoming Steel-types and U-turn to gain momentum. Mega Pidgeot also has the potential to get past some of its defensive checks by spamming Hurricane until it confuses them, since No Guard ensures that it will never miss. Suicune Suspect in SM LU Suicune's base 100 / 115 / 115 bulk is very sturdy by LU standards, which allows it to be a formidable Calm Mind sweeper. Its Pressure ability also allows it to outlast foes that it can't break though such as Unaware users. Suicune is also capable of phazing with Roar to prevent opposing Calm Mind users from setting up with it, and its usable base 90 Special Attack gives it the option of running offensive sets with Ice Beam and Hidden Power. Crawdaunt Suspect in SM LU Crawdaunt is being suspected in SM LU due to its overwhelming wallbreaking capabilities. Crawdaunt's Adaptability ability allows it to have a STAB boost of 100%, which makes its moves such as Crabhammer, Knock Off, and Aqua Jet absurdly powerful. Furthermore, it has access to Swords Dance, which can make it a potent Aqua Jet cleaner as well. Protean Suspect in SM Balanced Hackmons Protean is also being suspected in SM Balanced Hackmons, since it allows the user's attacks to receive STAB, regardless of the move's type. Notable Protean users in SM Balanced Hackmons are Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Mewtwo X, and Mega Rayquaza. Tournament News POVT Round 1 The Pokémon Online Viability Tournament (POVT) is underway. In the POVT, Pokémon are divided into tiers based on viability, and players must purchase these Pokémon to build teams. At first, only the lowest tiers are available, but as the tournament progresses, higher tiers become available. Players also earn additional points as they progress through the tournament, so they can afford the higher tier Pokémon. Forum Tournaments The Ubers Major League II has progressed to Round 5. The Glowing Diancies lead the current standings with a 3-1-0 record and 7 points. The Lolcopter Lugias are in second with a 2-1-1 record and 5 points. Third place is currently shared between the FnG Mewtwos (2-0-2) and the Glorious Gengars (1-2-1), and they both have 4 points, but the FnG Mewtwos defeated the Glorious Gengars in Round 3. The current round is the last round before the playoffs in which first place advances straight to the finals while second and third place face off to determine who makes it to the finals. The Supreme RBY OU Tournament #3, a best-of-three (best-of-five after the quarterfinal) RBY OU tournament has a winner! @Roudolf13 defeated @The Idiot Ninja in a 3-2 series to claim first place. Congratulations, Roudolf13! Meanwhile, @Bomber. defeated @Mysterious M to finish in third place. The National Championship of Alola League (NCA) also has a winner — @sky dust defeated @Casparov in the final to impressively win the NCA without losing a single battle. Congratulations, sky dust! Server News v2.7.2.1 Update for Windows and Android The latest update (v2.7.2.1) for the PO Windows and Android clients is now available! The update fixes several mechanics bugs and the learnsets of some of the Alolan Pokémon, improves the Hidden Power selection for Generation 7, and includes updated translations. Note that Webclient users are already using the most up-to-date version. Server Tournaments It's time to announce the winners of the June leaderboards! On the regular leaderboard, @Tavi97 moved up from last month to take first place with a 105 points! @Annoying Orange finished in second place this month too with 76 points, and @Prince LudwigVKoopa claimed third place with 60 points. On the event leaderboard, first place was claimed by @Velvet Blood with 8 points! Not far behind, @mibuchiha dropped one place since last month to finish in second with 7 points, and @The Norman finished in third place with 6 points. Congratulations everyone! Trivia It is time to announce who finished with the most points on the Trivia leaderboards in June! The player who finished in first place on the knowledge leaderboard for the second straight month was Azumarill with an impressive 272 points! First place on the speed leaderboard was also claimed by Azumarill with 91 points. The player in first place on the event leaderboard was @Python with 213 points. Congratulations everyone! In other Trivia news, the /vote command can now be used to vote for knowledge games or speed games during category voting by including an * followed by the game type. If a game type is not selected, the default will be used, which is knowledge. Other News PO League Now Accepting Challengers The PO League is officially underway. Players can make a post in the Challenge Log thread; they will then link to it when they challenge Gyms. This season, players must earn six badges to be eligible to challenge the Elite Four, and players may have eight losses before they can no longer challenge Gyms. The season will last until mid August. The PO League members and their positions are listed below. BadgeGymGym LeaderSM Ubers@Mysterious MSM OU@MetaMenceSM UU@Annoying OrangeSM LU@DracoNovaSM LC@HSOWAORAS OU@Hassin627BW2 OU@FinchinatorHGSS OU@La.Melle2402ADV OU@SunnyORASGSC OU@Bomber.RBY OU@Roudolf13Monotype@AtliSM Balanced Hackmons@SupremeKai6Challenge Cup@diamondslight, @JoyFrost Elite Four@gengar17, @snaga, @Edna, @Casparov Champion@Troller This concludes this edition of PO News. If there is any news that you would like to see discussed in future editions of PO News, post in our suggestion thread or contact @E.T. on the PO forums. Spoiler: Special Thanks E.T. - Writer Sobi - Grammar Annoying Orange - Artist Do you want to contribute to Articles too? Here's How to Become an Articles Contributor.