I wanna open this by stating that this is not a "oh shit we messed up" decision. I firmly stand behind the belief that Pheromosa did not warrant action early on in the creation of the metagame nor do I have any regret over ignoring it. However, metagame developments and discovery of new sets due to SPL exposure has pushed it over the edge, in my opinion.



I wanted this suspect to happen because I feel like Pheromosa, simply put, doesn't belong in OU any longer. Its absurd offensive stats coupled with its Speed make it an incredible threat that puts an unreasonable strain on teambuilding. In particular, sets focusing on Z-Focus Blast have incredibly limited counter play, relying almost entirely on Toxapex, Alolan Marowak, Mimikyu, and the many priority users that exist. While it's not an utterly unstoppable behemoth with legitimately no viable OU counter play like some things we've previously taken action against, it is a Pokemon that posses incredibly strength and simply has a negative impact on the metagame. While counter play does exist, to an extent, it's incredibly limited and unreasonable to aptly prepare for.



Speaking purely about counter play, the most reliable answer is Toxapex. Toxapex is probably the most surefire way to reliably beat it, however, even with this in mind, there are other sets available to people, including HP Electric, found on either Specs, Life Orb, or Fightinium Z. This allows Pheromosa to 2HKO Toxapex upon switchin (can do upwards of 80% to Toxapex when Modest Specs Pheromosa is within Electric Terrain). While this isn't exactly standard or Pheromosa's most frequently used set, it's something to take into consideration. Alolan Marowak, unlike Toxapex, simply is able to live any hit Pheromosa can throw at it with ease. Marowak also punishes Pheromosa for going for High Jump Kick, restricting Pheromosa's abilities even more. However Marowak isn't the epitome of a bulky Pokemon and it is weak to Stealth Rocks, making it incredibly easy to wear down. Lastly, all the priority users in the tier, between Mega Scizor, Banded Zygarde, Bullet Punch Mega Metagross, Mimikyu, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Mawile are able to heavily dent or straight up eliminate would be threats. While this is one of the more effective forms of counter play, Pheromosa's incredibly poor bulk turns out to be just enough, in most cases, to survive a single hit from these Pokemon. Mega Pinsir, obviously, kills no matter the circumstance, and Adamant CB Zygarde, which is the standard, always kills Pheromosa after rocks, and has a decent chance to do it without. With this in mind, nothing stops the Pheromosa from switching out of any of these attacks, which is why priority isn't exactly a catch all way to defeat a Pokemon.



I really like to focus on defensive synergy when building with Pokemon; I'm a big fan of things like Mega Metagross, Alolan Marowak, and Landorus-Therian. Three big offensive threats provide a lot of utility to a team by what kind of things they handle and check, while not at all being anything close to passive. Pheromosa doesn't really do anything defensively for a team. I'm gonna go back a little bit to about a year ago to when Hoopa-Unbound was still in the tier. I still had similar views to what I do now, but Hoopa-U made me realize something; sometimes offensive threats that don't check much are just too good to pass up. I used Hoopa-U a lot after my SPL games vs Sweepage and Gingy where Specs Hoopa-U collected 6 kills in two games. It put loads of pressure on both teams used and simply 2HKOd everything on the playing field. It put both games in my hands to play and it rewarded me for getting a few predictions right. Pheromosa is not the same thing Hoopa-U was in XY; it doesn't simply 2HKO the entirety of the tier. However, Pheromosa does somethings that Hoopa-U could not do. The speed tier Pheromosa posses is incredible; getting a reliable way to revenge kill a multitude of Pokemon without going into a Choice-locked Scarf Pokemon is incredibly nice, but also its speed makes it that much harder to counteract. It also has a really under looked factor; Rapid Spin. Offensive Spin Pheromosa is such an incredible asset to teams that I simply love using it. It's a very prolific offensive threat that doubles as one of the most viable hazard removers in the tier. Pheromosa can also pull off another very nice set in Choice Scarf. Scarf Pheromosa is simply the fastest Pokemon in the tier, being able to revenge kill any threat that doesn't find the time to boost twice or is Agility Mega Metagross. Its great strength gives it loads of power right off the bat and lets it nail offensive threats with ease. All of the things I mentioned above simply ignores sets for offensive reasons as well. I feel moments of deja vu whilst using Specs Pheromosa to the times of Specs Hoopa-U in XY; get a prediction right and collect a kill, or get the ability to switch out as they switch into a resist to your Choice-locked attack. I'm not going to say these two 'Mons are anywhere close in terms of power, though. Specs Pheromosa has far less spammable STABs than XY Hoopa-U and relies almost entirely on Focus Blast, one of the things you really would prefer not to rely on. This all ties into why Z-Focus Blast sets are so good; you really don't need to rely on it, should predictions go right, just click your perfectly accurate All-Out Pummeling and collect a kill.



All of the counter play I listed is most certainly enough reason to justify a stance against banning Pheromosa; albeit, I disagree with it, it's most certainly understandable and quite logical. Pheromosa has means of not being an uncounterable being, with good play, it doesn't simply turn a game around because of its skill set. However, its presence and existence is deterimental to the development of the tier.