Nintendo and Game Freak have made some controversial changes to Pokemon sword and Pokemon Shield. The pair of Nintendo Switch games haven’t changed much since release unless you count the pair of expansions that have increased and amplified the experience of both. Other than this, Nintendo and Game Freak have done very little with the two games. However, the duo recently announced the Ranked Battle Series 9 rulebook, which has in turn revealed a slew of changes, some of which are proving to be quite controversial.
With Season 8, Trainers will be allowed to use one limited Legendary Pokemon. At the time, this was a change from the Season 7 rule set. That said, for Season 9, this change will be reversed. In other words, this aspect of the rulebook returns to Season 7. And of course this means that the current meta is changing and changing again in a big way.
This is great news for some players. Legendaries are legendary for a reason: they are very powerful and a bit borderline on OP. This, of course, means that players would exploit legendary players, particularly Zacian, which in turn meant that those who weren’t running with Zacian and others in their team felt pressured to change their side to correct this. In other words, it created a bit of a restrictive meta, and it’s this meta that many players like to see disappear.
However, others say Nintendo and Game Freak should stop shaking up the meta all the time. All competitive online games make meta changes, but usually these changes are gradual. Players who are against the changes quickly find that regular changes make the game difficult to keep up with and prevent strategies from developing over time.
Both arguments are of course valuable, but for now Nintendo seems to agree with those in the former camp. That said, it remains to be seen for now what the meta will be in Season 9, although it will likely be similar to the Season 7 meta.
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