Going for an Arena Brawl

Earlier in April, the Silph Arena instituted a novel themed cup format that "segregated" or "shoehorned" Pokémon into six groups, after which a Trainer picks from the six groups that were formed in order to form a team as mandated by the Arena competition. The intent is, of course, to create a totally new format that reduces reliance on certain dependable meta Pokémon. For this month's themed cup, a similar format is once again instituted. This time, the Pokémon are separated not by color as in the Prismatic themed cup format, but by weight, which results in something called "Brawler".

The separation of Pokémon by weight recalls something else that is separated by weight, which would be boxing classes. True to that, the six groups are called Bantamweight, Featherweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, Cruiserweight, and Heavyweight, containing approximately 50-70 selected species (save for "Heavy", which only has 30). Legendary and Mythical Pokémon are included accordingly and can possibly be selected if one can somehow make them work, though it is likely that one may not. The full lists and grouping of species can be seen on the page for the themed cup. One Pokémon from each group is selected, heeding the Great League format and the rules of no Mega Evolution and no duplicate species; unlike Prismatic, Shadow Pokémon are also permitted.

According to the development notes, which also affirm the distinct similarity of Brawler to Prismatic, the latter did succeed in differentiating Pokémon but had the side effect of clustering types as well, as types are often linked to (very specific) colors. Separating Pokémon by weight thus makes evident seemingly unlikely options and clusters the big hitters, preventing them from being chosen together. One of the ultimate goals of the format is thus to allow various and diverse Pokémon to be picked, essentially to make them "shine".

Because of the practice of selecting Pokémon for the group lists, there are bans that may not be immediately evident. Typical meta Pokémon such as Mew, Azumarill, and Bastiodon that even transgress themed cup formats have been excluded. Some Pokémon that are known to need lots of Candy XL, particularly lighter Pokémon that can be bulked up for competitions like Pachirisu and Vullaby, are out. Speaking of regional Pokémon, of which Heracross is an included one, they were also considered to be kept or thrown out based on their weight groups. Shadow Pokémon escaped being excluded because Trainers should be able find a way to deal with them, including the possibility of actually making them work later on.

It is said that much was learned from Prismatic and thus applied to Brawler to make it work in diversity and variety. This is apparent in the selection, separation, and "shoehorning" that went on across the groups of the themed cup, much like boxers in their separate classes. At least now those same "boxers" as Pokémon species can compete together in the Silph Arena as a team and make for an "Arena brawl" in their name.

One year ago: Singing My Hearts Out: After One Year

Two years ago: Cosplay: Project "Untitled"

Three years ago: The Joys and Sorrows of Raid Marathons

Four years ago: Late-Night Lure Party