OK, so it's no surprise this whole situation was poorly handled by nearly everyone involved, but now we have a chance to start over. Considering we have new suspects coming up in the future, I want to explain why I think this Mega Sableye suspect was a disaster. I'd just like to preface this little post with that if you believe or based your suspect voting solely on the fact that x Pokemon needs to remain in order to check y Pokemon,
then I strongly urge you to reconsider. For instance, if we were to take this user's suspect voting:
They begin by stating that every Pokemon is overpowered, which I presumed to be a joke, but they then go on to describe how multiple other supposed overpowered Pokemon exist in the tier, and if they're allowed to remain, so should Mega Sableye. The key point here is to figure out what it is this suspect test is determining. We're attempting to find out if Mega Sableye is broken or not. Not if Swellow is broken, not if Toxapex is broken, but Mega Sableye. Therefore, arguments like "Mega Sableye should stay because it's not as broken as some other Pokemon" have no place here. Now, looking back at user Stall is coming's post, it's unclear whether or not they voted Do Not Ban because Mega Sableye truly isn't a broken Pokemon or because it's just not as broken as other Pokemon. Additionally, they conclude the post by stating that this suspect is "meaningless" thanks to the assortment of broken Pokemon in the tier, which directly contradicts the very point of this suspect test. This means that this vote could be skewed altogether, which is a big deal in this specific instance since we only have 5 votes, thanks to the rather high requirements. Another example:
Another Do Not Ban, but this time the post begins with stating that Deoxys-Attack is legal, therefore Mega Sableye ought to remain, as they believe the two Pokemon are equally as overpowered. As many in this thread have reiterated, this method of reasoning is flawed as it again fails to answer the question of
"Is Mega Sableye broken or not?". If they perceive Deoxys-Attack to be overpowered, that is an entirely different matter and should not sway their opinion on this unrelated situation. However, to give user pip credit, they do go in-depth and describe why he think Mega Sableye is fine thanks to the multitude of new Fairy types introduced that can beat it up, but the TL;DR makes me believe that the one driving force behind their decision is Deoxys and how teams fueled by it check Sableye, despite them considering the former broken.
I should state that the section above is not intended to insult or call out the users in question, but instead to analyze their posts to determine exactly why the reason why they voted for the option they have is flawed. It is true that they might also just believe Mega Sableye is just not broken for more legitimate reasons, such as the ones described in pip's post, but this is more acceptable, but at least this way the vote and the overall verdict will be more accurate. As a change of pace, let's look at a post that accurately describes why they believe Mega Sableye is not broken. The following post is also a Do Not Ban, so there isn't any ban-favored bias or anything like that:
Before I begin, note how this user doesn't base their reasoning on other Pokemon, but instead focuses on Mega Sableye. They successfully answered the question proposed by iLlama with this suspect test, being "Is Mega Sableye broken". Please keep this in mind for any future suspect tests, guys. Returning to the post, they state that the opportunity cost of using Sableye as both your Mega and your HP-receiving Pokemon is high, as well as how strong wallbreakers like Swellow and Araquanid can OHKO it. Lastly, they conclude the post with how a Pokemon dedicated to handling Mega Sableye is not extreme, as that Pokemon helps your matchup vs both Mega Sableye and non-Mega Sableye stall considerably, which goes a long way considering stall is quite popular on the ladder. All-in-all, a solid post all around.
Moving On
Moving on from this little fiasco may not be too easy for us, but needless to say, it needs to happen. I, however, agree with TI when he stated that the earlier decisions should be undone so we can hold normal, proper suspect tests with actual valid votes. We have 5 total votes, a few of which vote ban simply because of external factors,
which completely ruins the legitimacy of this suspect test, IMO. Be that as it may, from this point further, I'd recommend discussing one Pokemon in a coherent manner before touching upon other topics, just to keep focused and not get confused amongst ourselves. That one Pokemon should be Mega Sableye. I'd just like to state that the following is my opinion so you may disagree:
: Personally, I think that this Pokemon is too much. Assuming it has boosted HP, it not only is better at totally shutting down hazards users (The added HP helps it check Pokemon like Spikes Greninja, defensive Clefable, offensive and defensive Garchomp, the ever-present Shuckle and Deoxys-A, offensive Landorus-T [Though the absolute extreme, a Landorus-T inheriting Deoxys-Attack's attack using Supersonic Skystrike at +2 will OHKO, but it can live in any other reasonable situation] and so much more, just about the few Pokemon that can reliably set up entry hazards against this is Primal Groudon [which fears Foul Play], Arceus-Fairy with Sp.Atk investment [which I doubt exists], Mega Mawile [doesn't use rocks] or something like Excadrill w/ Mold Breaker) but it's now also better as an all-purpose check vs most of everything thanks to its great defensive typing and huge bulk. The new HP also unlocks Metal Burst as a viable move, giving it offensive presence. It's existance also enables Dugtrio (which is lowkey super broken as well, IMO) to be even more threatening. Good stall gods like Arceus and Ho-Oh give it even more Attack / high Special Attack to help pick off annoying Pokemon like Primal Groudon and other strong wallbreakers. It's so good at denying hazards and shutting down stallbreakers in combination with its partner Dugtrio, it does so much for bulky archetypes and is extremely tough to deal with. IMO this suspect test got it wrong majorly and should be revoked as soon as possible.
In conclusion, whilst it's quite unanimous that this could have been handled better, right now the council should recognize their mistakes and revert any hasty decisions made, as the recent turn of events have done nothing to help make the metagame more balanced. It's also important for everyone here to keep in mind that simply because something is used very often doesn't make it overpowered. While I do agree that Deoxys-Attack teams are far too common and boring on the ladder, banning it is not the solution! But that's a topic for another day. Firstly, I would want this whole Mega Sableye deal to get cleared up first.