A Hidden Ability Clause possibility.

[Blade_of_darkness]

This is likely going to be the only time that I'm going to post in a place like this. Still, I do have something that warrants at least some discussion around these parts.

That being said, I'd like to talk about the hidden abilities that Pokémon has, & the impact that those abilities made in competitive battling. I've had some Pokémon with their hidden abilities, & compared to the ones that don't, it may impact on a Pokémon's overall performance in the field, & also, how they're used.

Take, for example, Vulpix & its evo having Drought as its hidden ability, & Politoed having Drizzle as its hidden ability. These two enable trainers that build their team that takes advantage of either of these abilities, they all of a sudden realize that they no longer need a rain dancer or a sunny day user. They can come packing with one of those, & build their team around these two.

That brings me to this: Is it possible for someone to enact a clause that forbids hidden abilities altogether? Will it become widespread to the point in which it'll become a common rule in Smogon?

Start talking to me.

 

[Ho-Oh]

Why would you want to forbid hidden abilities? They make it 10x more useful in most cases. Harder for others, but you adjust. Multiscale Dragonite isn't invisible, uhh, Moxie Salamence isn't invinsible, and so on. Without hidden abilities, it'd just go back to DP play, which anyone is free to do even now, thanks to Simulators and wifi. I'm not sure why people would prefer to use a rain dancer in a tier where actual perma rain is possible, really.

 

[Evisector]

I don't think so. They might ban some of the more defining abilities, such as the weather, which shape the meta, but others are fine. Multiscale Dragonite, while annoying, is not that hard to beat - a single Stealth Rock will render it vulnerable.

Who was Xatu in DP OU? A nobody. What about Gastradon? Completely outclassed by Swampert in Gen IV. Certain abilities give life to Pokemon that would have never seen the life of day, why should they be sent to the depths of NU again?

I'm all for playing DP again with a nice weather-less meta, but this is Gen V and should remain that way.

 

[Xander Olivieri]

Smogon already bans Drizzle+Swift Swim combinations which pretty much weakens the use of Drizzle and forces you to use a Rain Dancer in its place.

No one really cares that SunnyDay and Sandstorm also both have the same effect with Chlorophyll and Sand rush since those teams are usually said to be weaker and less used than Raindance teams.

And I agree with the fact that SOME Hidden Abilities make some Pokemon better without breaking Meta.

Magic Bounce Espeon/Xatu are good, but really they aren't game breaking at all. Magic Guard+ Life Orb is way more threatening and most Pokemon have Magic Guard as a default ability.