

The pro-ban argument usually stems from a risk-reward evaluation, and this stems to a degree from Hoopa-U's power level. The Choice Scarf set was a niche option, allowing Hoopa-U to compensate for its lacking Speed tier, that let it apply heavy pressure to offensive teams because it could outspeed everything up to Mega Lopunny and Mega Manectric. However, the recoil from Life Orb sets led to those sets having a shorter life span, and the Choice Specs and Band sets were more capable of surviving hits after hazard damage and getting more hits in.
#Hoopa unbound smogon full
The Life Orb set was initially the most popular one, as it granted Hoopa-U the luxury of switching moves and took full advantage of both of Hoopa-U's incredible offensive stats. The Choice Band set acted very similarly, although its coverage and STAB moves are a little less spammable than those of the Specs set, as the likes of Mandibuzz and physically defensive Skarmory could take it on. Sporting perfect coverage between Dark Pulse, Psyshock, and Focus Blast, it was capable of dealing large amounts of damage to most of the tier and could even 2HKO Chansey with Psyshock this essentially meant that Choice Specs Hoopa-U had no reliable switch-in due to its insane power and solid coverage. The Choice Specs set is arguably Hoopa-U's most powerful one, and its discovery and popularity in the tour scene was the tipping point that led to this suspect. The primary ones were a Choice Specs set, a Choice Band set, a Life Orb set, and a Choice Scarf set. Hoopa-U had several different sets it could run effectively. The strain Hoopa-U put on teambuilding and playing in in-game scenarios was enough to consider it suspect worthy and, afterwards, banworthy. Offensive teams were also pressured by Hoopa-U's presence, as it could typically survive a hit from almost all special attackers, including Latios, Alakazam, Thundurus, Mega Manectric, Starmie, and even Keldeo Choice-locked into Scald or Hydro Pump. Hoopa-U's power ties in here, as it could shred defensive teams with its multiple viable sets, large movepool, and great offensive stats, putting a massive strain on balance and stall teams, forcing them to run Choice Scarf Tyranitar or Pursuit Weavile to revenge kill it. The main idea behind the suspect test is that by removing Hoopa-U, teams have more breathing space when it comes to covering threats in the metagame, as many teams can struggle to prepare for such a huge number of Pokémon. Hoopa-U was chosen as the next suspect primarily because its offenses formed such a constriction on the metagame. Hoopa-U's impact on the metagame has become clear over the last couple of months, and it has culminated in this suspect test, as seen by the surge in usage of Choice Scarf Tyranitar and the rise of other Pursuit users, mainly Choice Band Weavile. This immediately made Hoopa-U a premier threat upon its release. With a base Attack stat of 160 and a base Special Attack stat of 170, on top of an immense movepool with fantastic coverage, Hoopa-U has virtually unprecedented raw power levels, especially in terms of the OU metagame. However, upon the release of ORAS, it was discovered that Hoopa had received an alternate forme, and this one seemed absolutely overpowering at a glance. At the time, it appeared Hoopa only had one forme. Initially, in XY, a Pokémon simply called Hoopa was unearthed to be hidden in the code. Hoopa-U is an exciting mid-generation addition to the Pokémon fold.
