Hanging by a Cliff

The idea for this post is kind of an old idea that I meant to develop and post in November of last year, but I didn't for reasons I'll soon explain. In the world of competitive battling for Pokémon Go, the Silph League Arena by the Silph Road is a key community organizer with its rotating monthly themed formats. However, it's not the only one; another key community organizer is Go Stadium, and it has its own way of doing things. That includes having a format of its own that really stands out. The name of that format is "Cliffhanger", which is why I titled this post the way it is. It's a neat format that deserves to be detailed in some capacity.

Unlike most SLA formats, this format is fully formulaic, even mathematical. Like the SLA, this format utilizes the Great League for a team of 6 Pokémon and the "species clause" (no duplicates) is in effect. All possible Pokémon for the League are distributed into "tiers" with specific point values; as of today, there are four tiers from 0 to 3, and the point values for each tier are 9, 5, 1, and 0. Each tier represents how high on the "meta ladder" certain Pokémon are. The catch is that one cannot exceed a threshold of points when making a team, which at present is 17 points. With the points as they stand, this means that no more than 1 tier 0 with or without 1 tier 1 Pokémon, or no more than 3 tier 1 Pokémon without a tier 0 Pokémon can be present on a team, with the rest being rounded out by tier 2 and tier 3 Pokémon to satisfy the point threshold.

This format takes the open Great League format and applies a few restrictions to make it balanced (as the division of Pokémon into tiers and specification of what are allowed) and predictable (the six Pokémon format common across Pokémon realms). It is also akin to the Voyager theme of SLA, but the restrictions aren't region-based. As evidenced by the "as of today" expression, the format has gone through some changes, owing to the gradual introduction of certain Pokémon and the moves that go with them; when I intended to detail this way back in November, the tiers were still simple, but today (officially tagged as version 3.0) there are more Pokémon in each tier, with some having moved up in terms of points. Therefore, unlike the theme formats of the SLA, which tend to remain as they are and if "updated" would get a new name, this is an ever-adaptive format that is expected to change as the landscape of Pokémon Go changes.

Now, I meant to detail this in November because this was the exact format that was used in a raid group tournament that I missed - sort of happily, for a different and more noble "call of duty" still involving Pokémon on that same day. Since then, I have been wondering about this format and if my raid group would deal with holding a tournament with this format again. It was only a couple of days ago that the version 3.0 specifications were announced, which was mentioned in a discussion in my raid group. However, I also learned that the execution of that previous tournament, which was conducted by usage of the systems for the SLA, led to a warning for my raid group and the suggestion that the two organizers cannot intermingle. The hope for another raid group tournament with this format now seems limited, given how my group is gravitated toward the official SLA formats and the current state of things.

The Cliffhanger format of Go Stadium is neat in that it ties more into open Great League in general, unlike the SLA formats that apply an overarching thematic restriction. Still, the intent of both are to improve the way things go in PvP battling, which explains why my raid group is interested in them regardless. As well, to be able to partake in them allows one to deal with different situations, from which the experience gained may be applied to yet other situations. It's something that competitive Pokémon Go battling is rich with, just as its community organization is rich in all sorts of ways.

One year ago: Folding Paper for Pokémon

Two years ago: Pokémon in Poké Balls Stickers

Three years ago: Cosplay: J-COSHOKAI 2 - Utsukushii Hana