Cinderace had a large impact on the metagame ever since Libero got released just before DLC 1: Isle of Armor. After a survey indicated that a vast majority of the playerbase viewed Cinderace as problematic, the OU council continued to monitor it throughout the Magearna suspect test. Ultimately, we concluded that banning Cinderace for the time being made sense given the rapidly changing state of the metagame so long as we met the condition of retesting Cinderace in the future. This retest will give players who achieve voting requisites a chance to fully examine Cinderace's place in the metagame; they will be able to determine if Cinderace is banworthy or not with this information.
Cinderace is a potent physical attacker with access to Libero and a variety of strong coverage moves. It is capable of dealing large amounts of damage with its signature move, Pyro Ball, but it is equally threatening with Gunk Shot. Both of these moves are able to push would-be checks to their limits, potentially even breaking through with proper conditions. Pyro Ball and Gunk Shot are not all Cinderace has at its disposal, though. Zen Headbutt allows Cinderace to threaten Toxapex and Kommo-o and others, while U-turn allows for pivoting and wearing down normal counterplay. Alternatively, Sucker Punch allows for boosted priority, potentially taking out Dragapult and helping Cinderace sweep if it elects to use a Bulk Up variant instead of a pivot variant. With impressive speed and attack, Cinderace is able to make use of these moves in conjunction with Libero to be one of the most threatening offensive presences we have seen all generation.
While Cinderace is relatively frail, it does have a lot of things going for it that make it more accessible in-battle. Libero can help change typings to prompt timely resistances, making it so that Cinderace is not stuck with the mono-Fire typing defensively. Heavy Duty Boots, a staple item on Cinderace, permits repeated pivoting despite a weakness to Stealth Rock and vulnerability to other forms of entry hazards. You also find Cinderace partnered with lots of Pokemon that have access to U-turn, Volt Switch, and Teleport, permitting safe entry against otherwise threatening Pokemon. While it may be true that Cinderace is appreciative of momentum oriented support, it would be a stretch to say it is outright reliant on these types of teammates as it is a massive threat to opposing teams regardless of what team it finds itself on.
With this said, there are some checks and counters to Cinderace. With mono-Fire typing, Cinderace finds itself constantly threatened by Water types such as Toxapex, Slowbro, Gastrodon, and the surging Urshifu-Rapid-Strike. The former two in particular can check it defensively, but must be fearful of Zen Headbutt and U-turn respectively. In addition, Ground types like Rhyperior and Hippowdon are able to handle Cinderace both offensively and defensively so long as they do not get chipped down too much. Knock Off poses a major threat to Cinderace as losing Heavy Duty Boots can cut away at Cinderace's longevity and status such as paralysis or poison also make it far less effective in the long haul, thus making Cinderace limited in-battle during certain match-ups. Finally, Cinderace relies on moves that have potential drawbacks such as the accuracy of Pyro Ball and Gunk Shot. Given how fragile Cinderace is, a single misfire can lead to it being permanently crippled or even taken out prematurely.
Cinderace is not an unstoppable force in the metagame and giving it a fair retest was deemed a priority by the SS OU council. It is a very strong and fast Pokemon with an unmatched offensive profile that oftentimes allows it to break down defensive cores as games play-out. Libero is a fantastic ability that Cinderace makes use of very well due to its physically offensive movepool as well. However, there are still checks and counters present in the metagame and this retest can be used to gauge if those are sufficient or if Cinderace is still broken in the SS OU metagame. This thread should be used to focus on Cinderace's place in the suspect metagame and nothing else. There should be no discussion of alternative suspects or discussion opposing this retest. Normal suspect rules and procedure, which is outlined below, applies to this retest as well. Finally, the threshold necessary to unban Cinderace is 50%+1 due to it being a retest and for more on this, consult this thread
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Cinderace
Do Not Unban: 84
Unban: 27
Do Not Unban % = 75.68%
50% pro-Do Not Unban majority is required for Cinderace to remain banned, and the outcome will not be changed by more votes. Thus, Cinderace will not be unbanned from OU. Tagging Marty and The Immortal to make the change on PS when they have the time (remove Cinderace from the gen8ou ladder); thanks!
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