Pokémon permanently bans top Korean players following Metronome protest

Following the disqualification of all four finalists in Korea’s biggest Pokémon tournament last week, Pokémon Korea (TPCK) has now permanently banned those Korean players from participating in its circuit.

The official ruling came today after the players all agreed to run Metronome-only teams in the final rounds of the 2023 Pokémon Trainers Cup, South Korea’s national championship, as a way to protest the structure of their circuit. Metronome is a Pokémon move that picks a random attack for the user, meaning the entire finals would have been based on randomness and luck rather than strategy.