Hi folks! As we all know, mega evolutions are the biggest innovation introduced in Gen VI. Certain Pokémon that were barely OU in B/W went straight to Ubers thanks to the boosts provided by their respective mega stone, while others that used to stagnate in lower tiers, became massive threats in our flagship tier after receiving a mega evolution in Gen VI.



According to many players, "team matchup" and "power creep", two expressions that we've gotten used to hearing first in X/Y and again in OR/AS, have been massively exacerbated by the presence of mega evolutions in the tier. While it's safe to say that many mega evolutions are absolutely balanced and on par with other regular Pokémon, we thought it would have been interesting to test an alternative metagame where we're going to pretend that mega evoultions were never introduced in the game.



Basically, in this experimental tier, named "OU (no Mega)", we're going to test the effects of mega evolutions on the metagame in order to address, among other things, the following issues:

1) bearing of mega evolutions on the match up component of the game;

2) restrictions on team building caused by mega evolutions;

3) level of diversity in a metagame without mega evolutions.



The OU (no Mega) ladder, which is being implemented as I type this post, will be open for playtesting for a few weeks. The tier will basically follow the standard OU banlist and rules, with the only exception that mega stones will have no effects. After we get a stable metagame, and according to the level of interest (or lack thereof) it creates in the playerbase, we might start to progressively introduce the mega evolutions that we, as a community, perceive as balanced for the tier.



This thread will serve as a general metagame discussion one, where everyone will be allowed to share their impressions on the new tier. One or more themed tournaments will be organized with the help of Tournament Directors. Do note, however, that this is by no means a Suspect Test and that we're not going to have any vote. Likewise, the OU (no Mega) tier is not going to replace the Standard OU one, which is still going to represent our official OU metagame.



Have fun laddering!