Little Cup

[TheShuckleTamer]

Is there an official smogon little cup ban list? If so, please let me know what it is or what's in the ban list.

Thank you.

 

[UB-01 Kenobi]

Rules
Pokemon Eligibility

In order to be used in LC, a Pokemon must comply with the following criteria:

• The Pokemon must be able to evolve.
• The Pokemon must be at its earliest evolution stage.
• The Pokemon must be at level 5.

Clauses

Little Cup, like other metagames, uses clauses to ensure the most competitive environment. These are:

• Species Clause: Only one Pokemon from each species may be on a team.
• Sleep Clause: Only one Pokemon per team can be put to sleep by an opponent at a time.
• OHKO Clause: Moves that score a guaranteed OHKO on the opponent (Sheer Cold, Horn Drill, Guillotine, and Fissure) are banned.
• Evasion Clause: Moves that boost evasion (e.g. Double Team and Minimize) are not allowed. Note that moves with an alternative purpose that also incidentally affect evasion (such as Defog and Acupressure) are allowed.

Banned Moves and Abilities

• Dragon Rage: This move always inflicts 40 damage on the foe, unless it is a Fairy-type. This move is an absurdity in LC, where no Pokemon can even reach an HP stat above 40.
• Sonic Boom: This move always inflicts 20 damage on the foe, unless it is a Ghost-type. Although it is less brutal than Dragon Rage, it is still enough to instantly take out a large portion of the tier.
• Swagger: In conjunction with moves such as Thunder Wave, this move could successfully immobilize an opposing Pokemon while dealing rather consistent damage. It was deemed uncompetitive and banned from the tier
• Moody: This ability increases a random stat by 2 and decreases a random stat by 1 at the end of each turn. It is considered too random to be competitively relevant.

Banned Items
Eeveeium: This item worked exclusively on Eevee, allowing it to boost its Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by two stages. Coupled with Eevee's access to the ability Adaptability and overall okay stats, these boosts derived from Eeveeium pushed an otherwise unnoteworthy Pokemon over the edge. The item was quickly banned following the same reasoning as banning a mega stone in OU.

Banned Pokemon

Base Stats: 70 HP / 110 Atk / 80 Def / 55 SpA / 80 SpD / 105 Spe
Abilities: Swarm / Technician / Steadfast

Scyther's base stats, which are actually the same in total as its evolution, Scizor, are simply too good to allow Scyther to battle with the rest of LC. Scyther has access to everything it needs to abuse these high stats, including boosting moves (Swords Dance and Agility) and strong STAB (Technician-boosted Aerial Ace and Bug Bite). It even has priority, again boosted by Technician, in Quick Attack. Even after Stealth Rock, Scyther lives most attacks too thanks the absurd BST it posses. Scyther has never been unbanned and likely never will be.

Base Stats: 55 HP / 95 Atk / 55 Def / 35 SpA / 75 SpD / 115 Spe
Abilities: Inner Focus / Keen Eye / Pickpocket

While not as extreme as Scyther in stats, Sneasel still has excellent offensive STAB attacks and a simply brilliant stat spread for its role. Sneasel was actually temporarily allowed in early XY LC, but it was banned due to its extremely strong Knock Off, which by itself, or in conjunction with Ice Punch and Brick Break, was able to wear down Sneasel's common switch-ins. Furthermore, Sneasel was difficult to revenge kill due to its access to a priority move, Ice Shard and blistering Speed.

Base Stats: 65 HP / 55 Atk / 115 Def / 100 SpA / 40 SpD / 60 Spe
Abilities: Chlorophyll / Leaf Guard / Regenerator

Tangela was of the first Pokemon banned by the LC Council in XY. Tangela was originally allowed into the metagame, but it was found to be simply too strong and bulky, especially when running its signature set of Sleep Powder, Solarbeam, and Ancient Power with support from Drought Vulpix. Even outside of the sun, Tangela could run a devastatingly resilient defensive set or an extremely strong and durable Life Orb set that used Leaf Storm and Regenerator. Tangela was banned by a unanimous vote from the LC council.

Base Stats: 65 HP / 65 Atk / 45 Def / 75 SpA / 45 SpD / 95 Spe
Abilities: Speed Boost / Compound Eyes / Frisk

Yanma was the second Pokemon banned by the LC Council in XY. Yanma had two destructive sets that were simply too strong for the Little Cup metagame: a Speed Boost set, which easily sweep opponents late-game when priority users had been eliminated, and a Compound Eyes set that utilized Hypnosis and Yanma's 20 Speed to cripple all potential counters and either set up with Substitute or get out with STAB U-turn. Ultimately, the proliferation of the second set, one that was simply too fast, strong, and unstoppable for LC, was what pushed Yanma over the edge and led to a unanimous vote.

Base Stats: 65 HP / 75 Atk / 105 Def / 35 SpA / 65 SpD / 85 Spe
Abilities: Hyper Cutter / Sand Veil / Immunity

Gligar's unique typing and great offensive and defensive stats were what led to its inevitable ban from XY LC. It could run a variety of sets, from a support hazard setter to a Swords Dance sweeper. After the ban of Yanma and Tangela, Gligar became the most over-centralizing Pokemon in the tier, proved by an astounding 47% usage rate. Little Cup became a metagame filled with Choice Scarf Hidden Power Ice Pokemon with the intent of taking on Gligar, and the "Fly Scorpion"'s versatility was deemed to much for the tier.

Base Stats: 62 HP / 48 Atk / 66 Def / 59 SpA / 57 SpD / 49 Spe
Abilities: Sweet Veil / Unburden

Despite its cute appearence Swirlix was on of, if not, the most terrifying sweeper to have ever graced Little Cup. Capable of running a variety of sets, Swirlix began to dominate the tier with its fantastic combination of Belly Drum, Cotton Guard, Calm Mind, and Unburden, being even further bolstered by a diverse movepool. There was no way to know if your "Swirlix counter" would actually counter the opposing Swirlix, and this versatility was just too much for Little Cup to handle.

Base Stats: 60 HP / 85 Atk / 42 Def / 85 SpA / 42 SpD / 91 Spe
Abilities: Insomnia / Super Luck / Prankster

Murkrow's fantastic offensive stats, coupled with access to solid STAB moves in Brave Bird and Dark Pulse, made it a huge threat in Little Cup. It could effectively sweep with an extremely threatening Life Orb set, an annoying Substitute + Thief set, or even a Prankster + Haze utility set. Its raw damage output coupled with its versitility and few possible counters prompted Murkrow's ban.

Base Stats: 30 HP / 40 Atk / 55 Def / 40 SpA / 55 SpD / 60 Spe
Abilities: Pure Power / Telepathy

At first glance, Meditite's stats seem underwhelming, but it was blessed with Pure Power, an amazing ability that doubled its Attack to a toppling 28. This, in conjunction with a solid movepool and decent bulk, made Meditite one of the most devastating wallbreaker in Little Cup. However unlike the other wallbreakers of the tier, its main STAB prevented it from being worn down throughout the match forcing team allowing it to continually abuse its 28 Attack. Even its middling Speed or medocre bulk were a non issue, as a Choice Scarf would patch up its the lack luster Speed while an Eviolite would mend its rather mediocre bulk, both bolstering Meditite's already insane levels of power.

Base Stats: 60 HP / 60 Atk / 60 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe
Abilities: Levitate

Misdreavus's ban was rather controversial, as many users were unsure of their feelings towards the Ghost-type. The omnipresent Knock Off and extreme viability of Choice Scarf Pawniard seemed to keep Misdreavus in check, and the plethora of bulky Normal- and Dark-types proved to be a challenge for Misdreavus to overcome and perform its role effectively. However with its 19 Speed, 18 Special Attack, and access to a variety of great support and offensive moves frequently lead to Misdreavus surmounting
these challenges. Due to its centralization and its ban from the tier.

Base Stats: 90 HP / 50 Atk / 34 Def / 60 SpA / 44 SpD / 70 Spe
Abilities: Unburden / Aftermath / Flare Boost

Drifloon's ban was also highly controversial, as its bests sets were not nearly as powerful as Misdreavus's. However, Drifloon did possess the ability to shut down a number of Pokemon of the tier's best Pokemon. Drifloon also had only a couple of reliable counters, most of which were susceptible to trapping. Other avenues of support proves to make Drifloon difficult to handle overtime, as hazard support crippled most of its checks especially in tandem with burn damage while Knock Off spam made teams susceptible to its admittedly weak Acrobatics. With Unburden, Drifloon outspeed the entire tier once its Berry Juice was consumed, making means of revenge killing it hard to manage. The combination of these traits lead to Drifloon's frequently debated ban.

Base Stats: 65 HP / 60 Atk / 60 Def / 85 SpA / 75 SpD / 40 Spe
Abilities: Download / Trace / Analytic

Porygon has long been a staple of Little Cup and one of the best Pokemon available. However in SUMO Porygon gained an absurd new toy: Z-Conversion. Z-conversion boosted Porygon's already above average stats by one stage, which coupled with a boost from Download turned Porygon into a fast, bulky, and extremely hard to wall Pokemon. Conversion's mechanics also proved to make the set more deadly, as Porygon could change its typing to avoid being weak to Fighting-type priority and therefore revenge killing Porygon became even harder to accomplish. Z-Conversion pushed Porygon over the edge, which lead the council to ban Porygon in the early stages of the metagame.

Base Stats: 40 HP / 45 Atk / 40 Def / 55 SpA / 40 SpD / 84 Spe
Abilities: Honey Gather / Shield Dust / Sweet Veil

Cutiefly was the first Pokemon in LC to have access to Quiver Dance, which by itself made Cutiefly a good Pokemon in Little Cup. However Cutiefly had access to Baton Pass which it frequently abused alongside Quiver Dance. Cutiefly Baton Passing +1 Speed, +1 Special Attack, and +1 Special Defense into the likes of Magnemite, Houndour, Vullaby, Staryu, Pumpkaboo, and even some Physical oriented Attackers such as Timburr proved to be overwhelming for the tier. Pass recipients were not only limited to Cutiefly is the first Pokemon in Little Cup to have been suspected due to its Baton Passing abilities, and due to Baton Pass being an overall viable yet fair strategy in LC, it is also Little Cup Pokemon to be banned for its Baton Passing capabilities banned.