Pokemon GO regularly adds new Pokemon from throughout the game’s various regions, both as first debuts and eventually with the shiny variant available. Even with close to 1,000 in the game, there are still plenty more Pokemon to be added to Pokemon GO’s Pokedex – and presumably even more to add once Pokemon Winds and Waves releases – and Scopely Explore typically finds some clever, themed way to bring them into the game. For example, this week saw the release of Minior into Pokemon GO, timed alongside the upcoming Orionid Meteor shower that will happen in the early morning of October 21st.
But while Pokemon GO players might be excited to catch Minior in its various forms, competitive players won’t be able to use the meteor Pokemon any time soon. Right alongside its debut in the game, Pokémon Go has banned Minior from competitive play in Tournaments.
Why was Minior Banned in Pokemon GO Tournament Play?
While no reason is given for Minior’s ban from Pokemon GO Tournament play, it seems likely that it is connected to the Pokemon’s dual forms and potential potency. Similar to Cramorant or Mimikyu, Minior changes form at certain points in the battle, in this case based on Minor’s HP.
To start, Minior is in meteor form, which you can look at has having a protective shell around the Pokemon. As a result, Minior has a higher defense when in meteor form (194) and a lower attack (116).
After Minior drops below 50% HP, however, the Pokemon’s core is exposed and its stats flip. Now Minior’s attack is higher (218) but its defense is lower (131).
Presumably, the high attack and low defense form is what has resulted in Minior being banned from Pokemon GO Tournament play, but there has been no official reason given. All we know at this point is a Tuesday update to the banned Pokemon list now includes the meteor Pokemon.
New Questions Added!
GameRant Quiz
The good news is that, unlike Mimikyu, Minior is still legal in the Go Battle League, whereas the imitation Pikachu Pokemon was banned for a while after its debut. It has since been unbanned, so there’s the possibility that Minior will eventually be used for Tournament play as well.
Perhaps the Tournament organizers simply want players to get a handle on counter picks to Minior before letting it run wild. One of the biggest Pokemon GO tournaments of the year, the Pokemon Latin American International Championships are next month, so there might not be enough time to formulate strategies to counter Minior if it proves to be too strong in competitive play.
Minior’s form changing is only available in Team GO Rocket, GBL, and Trainer battles for now.
For non-competitive players, there’s a neat new Pokemon to collect in Pokemon GO, which you can catch every evening from 5pm to 9pm local time until October 24th. Its debut is timed to the Orionids Meteor shower and then subsequent appearances will be tied to future meteor showers, like the Leonids in mid-November and the Gemini’s in mid-December. During each of those showers, Minior will have a different colored core — right now the green core Minior is appearing.
