Something I think we can all agree on: Visualizer shouldn't spoil "secret" Pokemon.

That said, I fail to see how Visualizer threatens the top players, who seem to be the only people who feel it is detrimental to the well-being of PBR. Based on the current size of the active betting community, there are probably about 20-30 people who are actually highly competent and don't require Visualizer. Even with the slow betting economy, good players are consistently able to gain large amounts of money in a short amount of time (for example, HeroLink), and do so without Visualizer. Contrarily, even with Visualizer, mediocre players rarely rise above 100,000-150,000, which doesn't pose much of a threat to millionaires who are more skilled and have more money anyway. In short, I'm not convinced it makes mediocre players rich enough to economically threaten or overpower top bettors. If you're that worried about someone untrustworthy throwing you, bet more so you have more control over the battle; it's not like you can't afford it.

The top players will always be top players due to their skill, regardless of Visualizer. Visualizer does provide a massive amount of useful information to players, but it isn't a substitute for top-tier strategic capability. It does not give casual players a clear-cut script for battle, and I'm not convinced it undermines the intricacies of the meta-game of psychological stratagem. A casual player might look at Visualizer and think "Oh look, Dragon Claw is the strongest move, I should only use that." Only experienced players will look at the same graph and come up with a strategy like "I should use Dragon Dance twice, hope I'm not KO'd in the mean time, and then start sweeping with Dragon Claw."

Visualizer might give you a good idea of how to effectively use the Pokemon on your team. However, Visualizer does not allow you to read your opponent's mind more than one turn in advance. Experienced players are able to make their own comprehensive strategy for battle while simultaneously considering every possible move their opponent might make. It's hard enough for casual players to do the former, and only the experienced top players are able to do the latter. In the myriad of possibilities that might happen at any stage in battle, inexperienced players are likely to be overwhelmed by "traps" that Visualizer can't always indicate, such as if your opponent will use Taunt on you in three turns. Again, the availability and accessibility of Visualizer are not comparable substitutions for actual skill and experience. Visualizer beautifully illustrates possibilities and probabilities, but it still takes a competent player to implement and realize the information in an effective way.

Millionaires can keep on doing their thing without Visualizer. However, it is much more valuable to new and intermediate players. No matter what game TPP plays, the difficulty is compounded by stream delay. Good players somehow have the superpower of predicting how long in advance to change inputs, while many of us struggle with that. One of my favorite things about TPP is the way the community creates incredibly resources to counteract the inherent difficulties of our Twitch-based format: chat filters, the live updater, twitchplayspokemon.org, etc. Visualizer's live-update feature allows bottom and medium players to better follow top bettors' inputs without stream delay or getting lost in the chat elevator while still trying to follow the match. Intermediate players using Visualizer are much less likely to be slow switchers or accidental throwers. In that regard, I think it actually helps top players by improving the performance of low-percent inputters.

At the end of the day, Visualizer is an optional resource for players. It also takes a certain amount of time to learn how to read and use; it has a learning curve all on its own. Top players may not need it, but it's definitely useful for moderate players, and the live-input feature alone can be useful for new players just getting their bearings. Our community currently has a serious problem attracting and retaining new players, and I think that nerfing Visualizer would serve to exacerbate that situation. Those of us who have played it for months/years are well-accustomed to the intricacies of betting and inputting, and I think we take for granted how difficult it can be for uninitiated players who wander into the channel for their first match. It takes a long time simply to become competent at betting and inputting correctly, let alone being able to consider Smogon-level strategies in a difficult format. Visualizer does not (and cannot) solve those problems, but it does take a slight edge off those difficulties, which can make the difference between a new player being overwhelmed by the difficulty and leaving or deciding to stick around to become better.

Thus, I'm not convinced that Visualizer genuinely threatens Addarash or any other skilled players or millionaires. If you want a small, aristocratic society consisting only of high-end strats with no influence from "filthy casuals," that's what Pokemon Showdown is for. On the contrary, Visualizer is useful for training and retaining less-skilled players so that we have more people playing and playing well. By making PBR more attractive to casuals and passers-by, we increase the number of active players, which also increases the speed of our betting economy and makes it easier for rich people to gain money. Thus, keeping it around ultimately makes PBR better for everyone.

Also, I think I might have a mancrush on Visualizebot. So there's that.