Pokemon tournament cancelled after all four finalists stage a protest using a single, zero-damage move

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Participants were disqualified from South Korea’s Pokemon Trainers Cup finals after opting for a Metronome-only battle

Pokemon
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

A Pokemon Scarlet and Violet tournament has been cancelled in South Korea after it emerged that the finalists planned to do battle using only Metronome.

Organizers pulled the plug on the Pokemon Trainers Cup finals after each of the four finalists revealed their teams would be made up of Pokemon that only knew the Metronome move. If you're unaware, Metronome is an unusual and unpredictable ability which, when used, results in a random move from almost all of the series' existing abilities.

As you can imagine, this would have led to a chaotic, although arguably still highly entertaining, battle. But this was in no way a coincidence or ill-considered tactic on the part of the players; it was a form of protest.

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On Twitter, Nash, one of the disqualified players, explained at length the issues players faced when participating in the competition run by Pokemon Korea. This included problems with the qualifying process, including a best-of-one format that left participants "very frustrated," and poor communication by those hosting the event.

According to Nash, those competing were also not given adequate downtime between games. "People were getting re-match after re-match, and could not stop playing during the tour." Ultimately, Nash says the "real problem" is the "absolute disrespect" shown to players, which is what led to the decision to protest.

The player says that on June 3, the day after they locked in their Metronome-only teams on the system, the finalists were sent an email informing them they were disqualified for choosing Pokemon with one specific move, which Pokemon Korea says "falls into prohibited acts".

"Pokemon Korea saw our teams, didn't like it, and therefore disqualified all four of us for playing Metronome," says Nash.

Despite not being able to get their message across in what was to be a live-streamed event, there has been an outpouring of support for the players and their situation. "I understand your frustration, and respect your decision to stand up," one Twitter user wrote in response. Another said: "I hope your courageous actions will make a difference at TPC."

See how Scarlet and Violet fare as we rank the best Pokemon games.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

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