Following a massive upset in Korea’s top Pokémon contest last week, Pokémon Korea (TPCK) has permanently banned the four Korean finalists from its events. These players had all decided to use Metronome-only teams in the final rounds of the 2023 Pokémon Trainers Cup, Korea’s national championship. This move, which selects a random attack, made the finals more about luck than skill. This was their way of protesting the circuit’s setup.
After they submitted their teams, officials disqualified them from the tournament. They also lost their spots in the World Championships on day two. Today, TPCK also banned them from future events.
Additionally, beyond the disqualification, TPCK provided more reasons for the ban. A tweet from Nash, one of the disqualified players, revealed that using hacked Pokémon was a key reason. “Changing and adding reasons now seems intentional,” he claimed.
Despite the bans being linked to the use of hacked Pokémon, the players were trying to highlight bigger issues. Throughout the season, players from Asian regions have complained about the circuit’s structure. For instance, qualification often depends on single matches instead of best-of-three series. When players raised these concerns, they were met with silence, disqualifications, and now bans.
After this news broke, the VGC community supported the Korean players. 2016 Pokémon world champion Wolfe Glick noted that TPCK could have used this incident as a chance to improve by listening to player feedback. Instead, they chose to ignore the complaints, essentially telling players to “deal with it or we’ll ban you.”
This situation raises questions about how The Pokémon Company runs its tournaments and listens to its community. ESN.GG has reached out to The Pokémon Company for comment.