In the Pokémon tournament scene, there is currently a controversy surrounding the professional Alex “Len” Soto. The player has been banned from all tournaments following a post on “X.com”.
Who is it about? Alex “Len” Soto is part of the Spanish professional community of Pokémon games, currently Scarlet and Violet. The player is known for teams based on the “Trick Room” principle, and successfully participated in several regionals.
What is the situation? At one of his recent tournaments, a problem occurred: Two of his Pokémon failed the checks and were not allowed to compete. According to “Len”, these were bred and caught in the game (via X.com).
In response to the ban, Len apparently reacted with a post on X, which is no longer available. In it, he stated that he wanted to “bombard” TPCI if his Pokémon were excluded again.
The reaction to this was a permanent ban from all tournaments. Now, Len has responded with a statement, emphasizing that it was just a “meme”.
How does the professional respond to the ban?
This is what Len says about the situation: In a lengthy post on X.com, the professional stated that he had been informed that he was permanently banned from official competitions due to “online threats”.
“If you look at the last tweets I posted, I assume they are referring to the tweet where I said I would bombard TPCI if my Pokémon were banned again,” he admits.
However, he emphasizes that he would be sorry if someone had interpreted that literally: “It is a fairly common Spanish ‘meme’ that aims to make fun of an impossible situation, and I also wrote the tweet with several spelling mistakes to make it even more absurd,” says “Len”. But he understands that it could be misinterpreted due to language barriers if someone is outside of Spain.
Additionally, he explains: “I know the tweet was not correct and that I should have behaved exemplary as a professional player.” Now he asks to be allowed back. He has been participating in competitions since 2016 and has contributed to growing the community. He is “shocked” because he just quit his job to focus on his eSports career, create content for the game, and join the eSports club “ESPORTMANÍACOS”.
This has put not only his hobby but his profession at risk: “I will do everything in my power to fix this situation so that I can continue to participate in competitions because that is what makes me happy,” says Len: “I hope I have expressed myself as clearly as possible, and I sincerely apologize to the Pokémon Company and anyone else who may have felt offended.”
What happens next? This is still open; as of now, the ban stands firm. Whether there will be a change remains to be seen.
In the reactions, there is currently a lot of support for “Len”: Some see it as a slip-up of a young player that should not result in the end of an entire career.
However, there is also a counterargument, with some emphasizing that one does not joke about issues like bomb threats. Especially in light of the original situation regarding the disqualified Pokémon, some view this critically as they see it as an attempt to cheat.
It remains to be seen how this issue will develop. What do you think about the situation? Let us know in the comments.
Apart from the main Pokémon games, Pokémon GO is in focus this month. A major event is coming up: The global Sinnoh tour at the end of February marks the finale of the current season.
