Here’s Why Dunsparce Was Banned in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Little Cup

In an announcement that may have gone under the radar for many, the leader for Smogon’s Little Cup metagame said the LC council had banned Dunsparce. This comes right after the announcement that Flutter Shy and Houndstone were banned from the OverUsed metagame. But, what reasons were given for Dunsparce’s exclusion? Read on to learn everything you need to know.

Why Was Dunsparce Banned from the Little Cup?

It should first be mentioned what the Little Cup is, for those uninitiated. According to Smogon, the Little Cup is: “a format where players may only use Pokemon that have not yet evolved, are capable of evolution, and are obtainable at level 5 in-game.” So, the name is somewhat literal. But, it doesn’t look like Dunsparce was banned for any other reason than being too strong.

Fiend, the LC Leader on the Smogon forums, unceremoniously announced the banning of Dunsparce on Monday. The reason given was, much to the ironic delight of the fans on r/Stunfisk, “Dunsparce has become intolerably strong.”

“As soon as Meditite was no longer around to OHKO the stateline and its handful of ways to flinch through your checks became not only frustrating but absurdly difficult to deal with,” Fiend continued. They went on to elaborate that several of Dunsparce’s moves, such as Coil, Glare, and Serene Grace made their viability in the LC unsustainable. “Dunsparce would often run away with games despite facing the best (though limited) counterplay available,” they concluded.

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As mentioned, redditors on r/Stunfisk were delighted and (seemingly) incredulous at the news. One user wrote “I shed a tear reading this. It only took 23 years,” while another wrote “23 years later, Dunsparce accomplished something for the first time.”