It’s been several months following the successful release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, an open-world lite version of Pokémon that changed up key pieces of the standard formula, but not by too much. Following the excitement of the many new Pokémon appearing in Scarlet and Violet’s featured Paldea region, fans gear up for the heated competition awaiting them in 2023. Significant conversations at the start of this year had been the legalization of Terastallization in the competitive Pokémon community. Finally, the results are in, and players can Terastalize their Pokémon.
The results were revealed by one of the larger competitive Pokémon communities, Smogon, who shared the votes yesterday. The voting began at the start of the week and came down by a narrow margin. These rulings were made for official Smogon-recognized tournaments that take place worldwide.
Of the 351 people who could vote, only 346 voted, with 205 votes choosing to act against the use of Terastallization and 141 with no action. Although the votes leaned more towards an “action” against Terastallization, the number of people who voted for this only reached 59.25% of the total votes, and for the competitive community to go forward with an action, there needs to be at least a 60% vote for the community to make a decision.
Even if those who did not vote participated in it, it would not be enough to remove Terastallization, making it legal. The discussion is a valid argument because Terastallization is the new mechanic added for this entry in the Pokémon series, but when used in combat, it heavily increases a Pokémon attack and defenses, along with the Pokémon’s typing, greatly changing the tide of a battle.
This was the first round of voting, and it was extremely close, but it does mean the competitive community for Scarlet and Violet will need to think about how to rank Terastallization in trainer battles. A Pokémon’s rank could increase or decrease based on their effectiveness when using Terastallization in combat, along with some preferred Terastallization typings.
The close vote should not surprise too many competitive Pokémon fans. When Pokémon Sword and Shield, Smogon did ban Dynamaxing, the unique gimmick from the Galar region that caused Pokémon to grow to gigantic heights, dramatically increasing their power and moveset. By allowing Terastallization in competitions recognized by Smogon, players can consider the best ways to use this powerful mechanic to their advantage.
