CAP 14 CAP 3 - Concept Submissions

[capefeather]

I have to wonder whether some of the submissions have actually been thought through. It's good to have a lot of viable possibilities in mind when submitting a concept. Otherwise, what you risk is just posting what looks like a good idea, only to find that the game's resources don't really accommodate it much. I look at concepts like Destiny Warrior and Asylum Rhapsody and I have no idea how those concepts could be done.

I don't think Gravity has anything close to a usable, not-outclassed effect other than maybe the levitation cancellation. Otherwise, why not just do something like No Guard or Compoundeyes, getting rid of that Gravity setup turn? Even Tailwind seems more compelling than Gravity. Gender mechanics are even worse. One sticking point here is that you will not know how to deal with any of the opposing Pokémon until they are sent out. That, to me, is a huge deal and what I think really breaks the viability of gender mechanics, even assuming there are move/ability effects that use gender mechanics effectively (I'm sorry, but Attract is a poor man's confusion no matter how you look at it). It should also be pointed out that PS! randomizes gender when one isn't specified, which means no male default exploitation.

Meganium Sulfate: Bulky U-turn / Volt Switch is not a foreign concept. I can't help but think of Scizor and non-Scarf Wash Rotom when I think of your concept. Forretress also sometimes uses Volt Switch, and even Trick Room sometimes uses normally "fast" U-turn / Volt Switch users.

 

[jas61292]

I don't really have a concept of my own, at least not yet, but I would like to provide some feedback on some of my favorites among the ones already submitted.

So, starting from the top, the first one to really catch my eye is Destiny Warrior's Black Hole. Gravity is a really cool field effect, and finding a way to make it more used would be fun. However, I have some concerns on how feasible it is. The fact is that gravity is just too short of an effect to have much impact on battles, so we would not only need to make a Pokemon who is good at using gravity, but one who makes gravity worth using. I mean, we can give it moves like Thunder and Blizzard, but then why not just use it in weather. And while entry hazards are great with gravity, they are still good without it. Basically, what I am saying is that I can't really see a way to make gravity worth running on such a Pokemon, when most strategies that utilize it can be used just as well, if not better in other ways. However, if we can find a way around this problem, I think this could make for a very interesting project.

The next one I want to comment on would be Rising_Dusk's Deciever. First of all, I like the name. Some of my friends and I made up a game by that name when we were younger, so it brings back good memories. But on a more serious note, I think this is a fantastic concept. Using information, or lack there of, to your advantage is something I have always been interested in. It's for this reason that Zoroark is one of my favorite Pokemon to use competitively. Knowing things about your opponent while at the same time withholding info from them is an important key to victory, and exploring more about how this works would be a fantastic learning experience. Of course, the fact that you even mentioned Multitype kinda turns me off, but if we can just pretend that that never happened, then I am completely behind a concept like this.

capefeather's Break the Mold 2: I really really like this one. While most of the concepts that I find to be well written focus on the metagame and changing, adding or learning about it, this one focuses on the Pokemon itself. Learning about different ways that things could potentially be used can be very interesting, and incredibly fun. I especially like the ideas you put out there, such as Mold Breaker supporter (I mean, what better way to break the mold then with Mold Breaker). Additionally, while this does focus on the Pokemon rather than the metagame, it will almost definitely have interesting effects there too, as by definition it will be introducing something new and different to the game. I think there is a lot to be learned from this concept and I fully support it.

I would like to briefly comment on the concept submitted by GRs Cousin. While it would certainly be cool to see a lower tier Pokeomn rise up to counter the new CAP, making it only conterable by that Pokemon is just asking for teams made up of CAP3 and 5 guys to beat that counter. I think a better way of approaching something like this is to do more of a Perfect Mate type concept but using a lower tier Pokemon. If the CAP can instead remove the counters of a lower tier Pokemon, maybe we can still make it rise, but without making our CAP overly powerful in the process.

MLaRF's Good Gimmick: just another short comment, while I believe this could be a lot of fun, the concept of gimmick is just too broad to me. If we could narrow it down to a more specific type of gimmick then maybe this could work, but as is, thee idea of gimmick Pokemon is just too broad to really get much out of.

Flare's Snow Emergency: Here we go! Ok, I have always loved hail as a concept and this is no exception. This would really let us explore what makes some weather's so much better than the others. And by others I mean hail. There are many ways to approach this, and not only could it make a new strategy viable, but it could completely shake up the metagame as a result. I am completely for this one.


I might comment on a few others when i have more time, but for now, those are my thoughts.

 

[Asylum_Rhapsody]

If I may respond...

I look at concepts like Destiny Warrior and Asylum Rhapsody and I have no idea how those concepts could be done.

...Gender mechanics are even worse. One sticking point here is that you will not know how to deal with any of the opposing Pokémon until they are sent out. That, to me, is a huge deal and what I think really breaks the viability of gender mechanics, even assuming there are move/ability effects that use gender mechanics effectively (I'm sorry, but Attract is a poor man's confusion no matter how you look at it). It should also be pointed out that PS! randomizes gender when one isn't specified, which means no male default exploitation.

I would agree with you were it not for the existence of prominent single-gender Pokemon such as Landorus, Latias, Latios, Necturna, and Tornadus. Their existence is exactly why I suggest building around them as a starting point, deciding which of these Pokemon this CAP will check or counter or vise versa and how. It is from these specific gendered interaction that others would theoretically naturally arise, or at least that's one of the questions to be answered.

If I can give an example, let's say that our CAP3 has Rivalry (a much more reliable game mechanic than Attract or infatuation) and that that makes it great at taking out one of the above single-gendered Pokemon. Counters to CAP3 would exist, probably Pokemon that are not normally single-gender, but competitive battlers would need to keep in mind that a counter Pokemon needs to be of one gender rather than of another gender (or even of no gender) in order to function as a counter to CAP3. One way to engineer this would be for the stats to be made such that the difference in damage from Rivalry depending on gender make the difference between whether a potential counter can actually switch in safely and reliably.

I knew when I proposed the idea that it would likely be met with resistance just because we have so little to work with and because it would be such a challenge to get right, but it's a challenge that I think the CAP project could very well rise to if it so chose.



Anyway, there are a couple of other submitted concepts that I do like and would like to comment on:

Destiny Warrior: I like the Black Hole on a more basic level, but I have to admit that I'm sort of with capefeather in scratching my head as to how it could be done. The only way I can think of to make it viable would be to engineer a new ability that would automatically cause a gravity effect, but it is my understanding that we want to avoid concepts that absolutely require us to create new game mechanics in order to function.

Rising_Dusk: I have to admit that I wasn't into this at first, but the more that I read about it, the more I got into the idea. The examples that you used of Illusion and Multi-Type are really what sold me. It's been mentioned before that Multi-Type is something that CAP has wanted to do for a while, and this seems like the perfect opportunity, though I have to say that the prospect of Illusion is pretty exciting as well.

capefeather: This is probably my favorite one right now, just because it captures me both from a competitive and from a flavorful angle. Stratagem is one of my favorite CAP projects exactly because it shows off the sort of wacky things that CAP can do and do well, and I like the idea of going at the concept again but from a different angle.

GRs Cousin: While I think that sounds like a cool idea, the impression that I've gotten is that most prominent CAP participants will not consider a concept designed to raise the usage of lower-usage Pokemon to be viable. I submitted a similar concept myself for CAP2, more akin to the Perfect Mate that jas61292 is suggesting, and it was shot down pretty fast.

Otherwise, the only submitted concepts that I feel like I would be actively against would be anything weather-related. I think that weather has enough interesting mechanics and support that there's very little that we could learn from yet another Pokemon made to abuse or counter it. It just already takes up so much of the metagame that I don't think that there's enough ground left to cover that isn't incredibly narrow.

 

[AOPSUser]

Name: Universal Check
General Description: A Pokemon that counters a lot of the OU metagame, but is not hard to counter.
Justification: Gen 5 is, no question, the most offensive metagame in the history of Pokemon. Most of those Pokemon have a few specific counters, but no one Pokemon counters the entire OU metagame, so teams often will run Skarmory, Gliscor, and Chansey/Blissey, thus limiting the rest of the team. If one Pokemon can step up and check the majority of OU, the rest of the team is more flexible.
Questions To Be Answered:
-How do you check most of OU?
-Would this Pokemon be a wallbreaker or a wall?
--How about a bulky offensive Pokemon?
-Will we need to restrict it to stop it from being broken?
--If CAP 3 checks the majority of OU, will lesser used Pokemon be used more to check CAP 3?
-The OU metagame is so diverse, how do you check the majority of it?
Explanation: In Gen 4 CAP, we had Krilowatt, which couldn't rip through teams or wall half the meta, but it sure countered Gyarados and Salamence well. However, in Gen 5, Krilowatt fell out, because of the rise of new Pokemon, who could destroy it and laugh at Trace. Now in Gen 5 CAP, we need to dedicate half our team to walling certain threats. Necturna can destroy many Pokemon with one Sketched attack, but that's a select few. If you Sketch Earth Power, you destroy Heatran but lose out on Hydreigon. If CAP 3 turns out to be this Anti-Meta Pokemon, then it can destroy many Pokemon without losing out on some others. For example, Necturna can use Sacred Fire to get past Blissey and Skarmory, but then it has no chance against Heatran. CAP 3 would be a semi-reliable (notice I said semi-reliable) check to all those Pokemon. Then you would be free to use anything for the rest of your team, thus adding diversity to the metagame.

 

[Skore]

Name: Stand and Fight!

General Description: A Pokemon that negates the secondary effect of U-Turn and Volt Switch, but allows normal switching (ie - not shadowtag).

Justification: Volt-Turning is an extremely prevalent playstyle in OU and may be the entire reason some pokemon are viable. This concept challenges that presumption and may lead to a definite answer.

Questions To Be Answered:

-Does being unable to do some damage and make a quick switch make some pokemon unusable?
-Does this add an extra layer to the prediction game?
-Will this just mean the same old pokemon (Scizor/Rotom et. al) learn new sets, or will new pokemon rise in a potential new "stand and fight" metagame.
-Will this just mean that all Volt-Turn teams would run a Stand'n'Fight counter then get back to business as usual?
-Is a pokemon like this ultimately needed or desirable in the current OU meta?
-Would this mechanic put less focus on getting hazards up to counter the Volt-Turners?

Explanation: In today's OU, volt-turning - even when it's not the theme of your team is still a desirable thing and many take it for granted that pokemon are going to bounce in and out of the match like yo-yo's, perhaps putting even more emphasis on getting hazards down to limit their switch-ins.
It also is a good way to play mind-games. He just U-turned out his Scizor from my Heatran, is he bringing in his Flash-Fire counter or just a pokemon that can resist my Fire Blast and KO me back?
I think getting back to a time where switching was something you did when needed, not a battle tactic may teach us more about the current meta and the pokes that inhabit it.

 

[Pokethan]

Name: Twisted Dimensions

General Description: A Pokemon that can use Trick Room in a unique or different way than normal.

Justification: Speed is probably the biggest stat that determines a Pokemon's worth in current meta-game and Trick Room was a field effect that allowed for pokemon with good stats in other areas except speed to shine. With the new additions to infinite weather Trick Room has really fallen out of use but if used correctly it has the ability to turn the metagame on its head.

Questions To Be Answered:

• How much is a pokemons worth determined by its speed?
• How effectively can weather be used when not affecting the speed tier, (Sand Force, Rain Dish, Hydration, Leaf Guard)
• How can Trick Room affect the current metagame as a whole by introducing a way to use it more effectively
• What pokemon become really usable when introduced into Trick Room that aren't used in Standard just because of their speed?
• How effectively would an opponent be able to react if their reliance on speed is cut?
• How many standard strategies are countered just because of the speed exchange?(Choice Scarf)

Explanation: Trick Room, like Gravity, is a field effect that has seen a lot of loss of use because of the fact that weather teams no longer have to keep setting up their weather and have instant setup through weather abusers. Because of these abusers speed has become a bigger factor than before with Chlorophyl and Sand Rush and Swift Swim has even gotten banned with Drizzle because of its effectiveness. What this would allow us to do is see what pokemon rely on their speed the most and which ones become viable under Trick Rooms condition and even how Trick Room could affect the metagame as a whole if given the boost all the weathers have recieved.

 

[Shouting]

Name: Moveset Sleuth
General Description: A pokemon that can essentially help determine the set of another opposing pokemon and act accordingly.
Justification: With the advent of team preview, Pure scouting in Gen4 is virtually non-existent when you know your opponent's team from the get-go. However, Team Preview cannot reveal specific roles a pokemon might have. Is that Jirachi holding a choice scarf? Or is it specially defensive? Versatility is a blessing in any Generation, especially this one, and can make a difference in a pokemon making OU or falling into UU because it is too predictable.
Questions To Be Answered:
-Is Versatility truly an asset over more narrow-minded pokemon?
-Will there be an increase or decrease in versatile pokemon (Jirachi, Celebi, Mew, etc.)
-Will choice items meet their downfall? Can they be effective even while being potentially given away?
-Is the "surprise factor" actually an influential factor in a battle at all?
-Are one trick ponies as good as or better than versatile pokemon once their set is revealed? Does knowing a set before hand make it easier to handle that set?
-Will previously used, more uncommon sets be able to shine more than conventional, more common sets?
Explanation: With abilities such as Frisk, Forewarn, and even anticipation around, this concept shouldn't be too hard in theory because such tactics exist already. The problem is that these abilities are traditionally set aside in favor of "better" abilities or the pokemon that have them reside in a lower tier and are thus outclassed in OU. Or, these abilities can not be abused by the pokemon that have them (Furret with Frisk)

Defensive and offensive threats alike can have versatility. How would the metagame change if you could tell that the Vrizion you saw in Team Preview is a Swords Dance variant, and that you shouldn't send Blissey in? Wouldn't you like to know whether that Lucario is Physical or Special? Or even choiced? Will sets like Bulk Up Tornadus become more popular in favor of Hurricane abuse, or will leftovers be a bog standard in items? There's no doubt that Versatility is a virtue, but is Mew really as effective when you know what set it is? Is Nectura more manageable once you know it's a defensive Rapid spin set over a Swords Dance set which could sweep your team? Does Versatility really justify increased usage over something more linear?

Could there potentially be a pokemon with a combination of moves and abilities that could determine sets as they come in?

 

[Stratos]

Skore, your suggestion will probably not fly as while it is implementable on PS!, CAP precedent lately has been to shy away from adding abilities. Furthermore making a concept to fulfill a part, instead of the other way around, is not what CAP typically does, and your idea is based on an ability (you could argue that that's what Sketch Artist was but I'm not getting into that now.)

However, I had a very similar idea which i would have pitched yesterday if I had the time so here it is:

Name: Switchmaster

General Description: A Pokemon whose very presence on the field discourages the opponent from switching.

Justification: Switching is like the First Amendment of Pokemon - when their right to switch is threatened, people will switch to their guns, often becoming quite angry. Wobb was autobanned in Gen IV due to Shadow Tag, despite probably not being broken. Chandelure is a hot suspect for its ability to stop switches in DW, and even bullshit like base 20 HP Duggy are OU solely because they can prevent most switching. Entire moves and playstyles see competitive use thanks to this mechanic - VolTurn, Entry Hazards, Rapid Spin, Pursuit. Ask anybody what makes competitive so much harder than in-game and the answer is simple - "the opponent can switch."

The early game is very often no more than a war over who can switch more freely, and many battles are won or lost over the exploitation of this right. A Pokemon that can hamper this right through a multitude of methods without outright obliterating it would teach us a lot behind the psychology of switching, damage control, and predictions.

Questions To Be Answered:

-How, exactly, does one best discourage switching a Pokemon?
-When is switching worth it despite the obvious disadvantages presented?
-How will the metagame and common sets that revolve around switching/switch control (spiker, rapid spinner, scout etc) be affected by a more "set"-style meta?
-Is switching such an integral part of the game that a team cannot be successful without it, or can one thrive by "playing within the rules" and using the opponent's switch discouragement to his own advantage?

Explanation:
I'm not gonna lie, this concept was brought on by the rise of Volturn in Gen V. It brought to mind something i'd never thought of before: "the winner is whoever can switch better." It sure seems to be true - the goal of our current BW OU meta is simple, and it's to take less damage when you switch and have a better mon out there.

There are, of course, many moves that one could run that can control switching. Pursuit comes to the obvious mind, as do hazards. A resistance to VolTurn is helpful as well - one thing I bandied about in my head last round was a Dragon/Poison typing to resist both Volt and Turn, something no mon currently does. But there are more creative ways to discourage switching as well. Does your mon have a myriad of exploitable weaknesses, but become deadly in one turn of setup? Hell, does it have VolTurn itself, so that your switching is rendered moot? Does it just have such a big fucking attacking movepool that you don't feel safe giving it a free turn to predict? These are but some of the ways that one can discourage switching in Pokemon, and I'm sure we could discover many more if we chose this concept. Furthermore, when is it not worth it? When do you need to damage control by saccing a mon to the pseudo-tagger? When would saccing the mon cause too much trouble, and switching really would still be your best choice? How do you know when the risk is manageable? These are but some questions I think that this concept would help answer.

 

[Pallas Athena]

Name: Fast and Frail
General Description: A Pokemon capable of performing well in the OU metagame that relies upon striking fast and hard due to its fraility.
Justification: At the start of the Generation, many players claimed that "stall is dead" due to the introduction of many new threats, most notably Shadow Tag Chandelure. While this turned out to be a false assumption, far less attention seems to go to the demise of another type of Pokemon: the fast, frail sweeper. With the introduction of Bullet Punch Scizor and Choice Scarfers in Generation Four, and the spread of priority and bulky threats in the subsequent generation, the popularity of fast, frail sweepers that relied upon priority being eliminated to sweep fell considerably. In the current generation, most OU Pokemon are bulky, artificially bulky (Focus Sash Alakazam, Sub Disable Gengar, Recover/Bulky Starmie), are used for some other purpose than sweeping (Dugtrio, Espeon), or at the least resist Bullet Punch. Many Pokemon that do not fit into these categories, such as Flygon, Weavile, and Azelf have fallen into UU. Most remaining fast and frail sweepers, such as Darkrai and Deoxys, were banned. This CaP3 concept is intended to see if fast, frail offense is dead.
Questions to be answered:

• Are fast, frail sweepers still viable in Black and White?
• Can a sweeper of this sort be dangerous, without being overpowering?
• Can a sweeper of this sort gain a niche over a bulkier, slower rival?
• Can a single Pokemon lead to a new rise in hyper-offense compared to bulky offense, balance, and stall?
• Is "bulk" necessary to function in B/W OU?

Explanation: There are multiple ways to achieve "fast" and "frail." Fast can be achieved through a high base speed, access to speed boost, or being extremely slow and requiring Trick Room support. I highly doubt that the last option is viable, but it is a possibility. Frail does not require low defensive stats at all. It could be accomplished through a poor defensive typing, a weakness to Stealth Rocks without healing moves; just about anything that lowers its staying power. Giving the Pokemon a niche to make it viable over a choice scarfer or a bulky priority user is basically a necessity. While the concept may seem broad and difficult, it would be interesting to see if the mold of a "fast, frail sweeper" is truly dead or completely redefined.

 

[Arcticblast]

Name: Boost Thief
General Description: A Pokemon that abuses moves such as Snatch and Heart Swap to counter boosting Pokemon and gain its own boosts in the process. This Pokemon, while being stellar in this category, would be less capable of succeeding but still able to hold its own in battle without these boosts.
Justification: Stat boosting Pokemon are perhaps the biggest offensive threat in the metagame, and a defensive to boot. Many analyses for common OU Pokemon claim that the Pokemon in question is "unstoppable" or "game-breaking" after a few boosts. This concept aims to challenge these claims. It would also allow us to learn more about how we deal with stat boosters and how we should do so, as well as introducing a new niche in the metagame.
Questions To Be Answered:

• Can a Pokemon that specializes in stealing boosted stats "counter" stat boosters?
• Would this Pokemon aid its user in countering boosting Pokemon?
• Would this Pokemon be able to successfully support its team in this way?
• Would this Pokemon still be able to hold its own in battle if denied access to boosts to steal?
• Will we be able to prevent this Pokemon from primarily using its other roles, or will it use the conceptual idea less and another role more, like Krilowatt before it?

Explanation: Snatch and Heart Swap are two moves with wasted potential in OU. The former has a decent distribution (being a TM prior to BW) but next to no real use (if any) despite its potential. The latter is exclusive to Manaphy, an Uber, who never even used it in its short tenure in OU. Heart Swap is really only common in... Balanced Hackmons. However, if there is one way BH relates to the OU metagame, it's through CAP. In BH, Heart Swap can be a gamebreaking move, bypassing Substitute and rendering the relatively common setup sweepers nearly powerless while stealing their boosts for the user. This concept is basically an experiment to see if either of these moves (or any other that would steal/trade boosts) could be effectively used in OU.

Possible moves for inclusion: Power Swap, Guard Swap, Heart Swap, Psych Up, Snatch

 

[Cretacerus]

Name: Overlooked Typing


Deskription: A pokemon who makes good use of a seemingly bad typing


Justification:
The metagame strongly focuses on certain types said to be simply superior to others. Many pokemon, while having good stats and movepool, arent used due to the disadvantages their typing brings along and end up in lower tiers.
This concept intents to explore the unique traits which this neglected typings can provide, and to create a niche, in which such a Pokemon can overcome its apperent weaknesses and play at the strenghts.


Questions to be answered:
- how can factors which plague that typing be outplayed?
- which playing style reflects the typing the best and gives it a niche over others?
- is a big base stats total / a strong movepool necessary to make the Pokemon competitively viable
- can this Pokemon stand on its own or does it require lots of team support and a strong core?


Explanation:
The typing of a Pokemon is one of its most decisive traits, and can easily define its role in the metagame. Usually alone by seeing a severe weakness to entry hazards (especially Stealth Rock) or common attacking types Pokemon are said to be uncompetitive and outclassed.
While this may be true in most cases, there are Pokemon who can withstand the aggressive OU metagame despite their crippling weaknesses, a prime example being the very treatening Vulcanora.
By giving CAP3 a stat distribution and movepool fully supporting its typing's strenght, we can create a useful and unique Pokemon, and help a previosly despised typing back to approval.

 

[doughboy]

Name: Priority

General Description: A Pokemon whose use is defined by its use of priority

Justification: While in the earlier Generations of Pokemon, priority took a step back from other more powerful moves, they have become a staple on every team in the current generation. The #1 position on the OU statistics by a large margin belongs to Scizor due to having one of the most powerful priority moves in the game. Before the advent of the current metagame Whimsicott had high expectations to be defining OU (or even banished to Uber) due to priority SubSeed and Encore. Fellow Prankster Pokemon Thunderus had been coveted in his use priority Thunder Wave against Scarfers, nearly unTauntable Nasty Plot, and his ability to dodge opposing priority with Substitute. However, Whimsicott now resides in RU whereas Thunderus resides in the powerhouse Uber tier. Priority is an aspect that is niche to many Pokemon; but its power has rarely been explored at this point in the metagame.

Questions To Be Answered:

• How does the metagame react when new forms or ways to transcend speed are introduced?
• What form of priority is most valued by players? Status, general support, set-up, or just a plain attacking move?
• Are there uses of priority that have not been explored yet?
• At what point does priority with the ability to transcend speed tiers become too much for the metagame to handle such as in Thunderus' case? In what circumstances does it become tolerable in the case of Whimsicott?

Explanation: The most obvious use of priority is being used as a revenge killer against boosted threats, such as been the case of Scizor for the past two generations. With a plethora of priority attacking moves CAP-mon can be used as a pretty much catch-all revenge killer. Priority can be used on a sweeper too and it can utilized by bulky or frail Pokemon such as SD Scizor and SD Lucario respectively. I shouldn't fail to mention Prankster either; it is what brought priority to a whole new level this generation. Outside of the known Whimsicott and Thundurus cases, the priority provided by Prankster can lead to some pretty interesting uses. For example, Acrobatics Tornadus can use Bulk Up to beef itself up in order to tank an opposing priority or Scarfed physical hit. Unbeknown to many, Riolu has priority phazing with Copycat+Roar. Overall lots of creative things can be done with priority and this CAP project is the opportunity to fully explore it.

 

[levren]

Name:Accepting Your Weakness

General Description: A pokemon that can hold its own against a type its normally weak against, and potentially be able to bring it down.

Questions to be Answered:

Would this pokemon be used as offensive or defensive?

In what way could a pokemon counter types its weak too, other than through a diverse movepool?

Should this pokemon hold its own against one type its weak to, or every type its weak to?

would it would it be more effective as a single or dual type?

How could a pokemon who can hold off and potentially type(s) its weak against affect the OU metagame?

Explanation:
Typing plays a huge role in the metagame. Most people will switch out to a type that is super effective against yours, or a type that your moves aren't super effective against it. So what if we throw that to the wind. what if we create a pokemon that doesn't have to switch out if your opponent switches out to a type that is super effective against it and can actually hold its own against it. Take Conkeldurr for example, here we have a fighting type that through its stats and movepool can hold its own against opposing psychic and flying types, with payback and stone edge respectively. Conkeldurr basically achieves this through movepool alone, but what if we incorporated stats and/or abilty(s) with it.

 

[Bughouse]

Name: Buck Furn!

General Description: A Pokemon that doesn't mind the effects of either Scald or Will-o-Wisp by virtue of typing, ability, and moveset.

Questions to Be Answered:

Can a Pokemon dedicated to countering Burn alone, but entirely, successfully replace the Natural Curers/Magic Guarders that somewhat counter the status already in the tier?

Would the introduction of such a Pokemon countering a specific status dramatically change the way that status is used (like Poison Heal Gliscor or Limber Kitsunoh)?

Is the only true way to fully counter the combination of Scald and Will-o-Wisp with something slightly ridiculous like a Fire type with Water Absorb? Or can this be accomplished with more reasonable typing/ability combination?

If CAP3 is successful in limiting the viability of Scald in the OU metagame, will Bulky Waters revert to Surf? And if so, do any relevant damage calculations change making other threats less viable?

Explanation: The metagame has long been full of status. However, Gen V brought a great new toy for status comparable to the introduction of Breloom's Spore in Gen III and Toxic Spikes in Gen IV - SCALD. In response to this flooding of status, there have been introductions of abilities that neuter all types of effects. Limber as well as Ground types have helped to neuter paralysis. Poison has been halted somewhat by other Poison types, Steel types, Immunity Snorlax and even Poison Heal Gliscor. Sleep has been tough to overcome although Vital Spirit Primeape and Insomnia Honchkrow have both seen some use in the past in various tiers to combat Breloom and Darkrai. The major status that has not been dealt with is Burn. Yes, Fire types are immune, but Gen V brought Scald which hits those Fire types Super-Effectively. Water Veil exists as an ability, but it has poor distribution. I believe in the ability of CAP to make Burn no more special than any other status. Equality for all status options!

 

[Quanyails]

(First try at this; bear with me. Sorry if it's not a good idea.)

Name: Two-Turn Trouble
General Description: A pokemon which takes advantage of moves that take more than one turn to execute.

Justification: Moves that require 'charging' turns are normally discouraged in competitive play, as they allow the opponent to switch in his/her pokemon to counter the charging pokemon. However, these moves can benefit compared to normal switches, as they are often more powerful and can still debilitate the counter. Additionally, even if the opponent has a pokemon that is resistant against the charging move, he/she would not rather switch out to another, more vulnerable pokemon. Such a move-user would make the opponent question the value of switching on a move that appears predictable.

Questions To Be Answered:

• Can multi-turn moves have value in a more immediate metagame?
• How will players construct teams using an extra, expected switch, to their advantage?
• How will attack 'stacking' (e.g, Future Sight followed by Focus Blast) affect counters?
• Will usual counters change beause of the raw force behind the charger's attack?
• Will opponents take the advantage of using moves to hit pokemon during a normally-invincible stage?

Explanation: In Black/White OU, there is one pokemon that makes use of a two-turn attack: Gyarados. It, with Intimidate, uses Bounce to force switches, gain Leftovers recovery, and possibly cripple its counter. Not many people take advantage of these switches to heal, gather hazard damage, weather damage, and status condition, or just have that turn to inflict (even if it's not very effective) damage. Future Sight and Doom Desire are unique moves that allow a person to 'stack' attacks. Even if multiple-turn moves seem like a waste of a turn, they provide a 100+ power move that hits later. An additional amount of damage can turn a 3HKO into a 2HKO on the switch, and possibly alter players' perceptions of counters.

 

[jtlek97]

Name: Disease-Ridden


General Description: This Pokemon functions as a status platform, stalling with great ease.


Justification: Status platforms often have a critical flaw (such as a terrible weakness, fail-safe counters, or no attacking presence). If we could create a Poke to transverse the stereotypes of status platform without becoming overpowered, it could make stall more useful as a whole.

Questions To Be Answered: *How would this Poke stay ahead of the competition?
*How can we avoid the pitfalls most status platforms have, without making it overpowered?

*What kind of effect could this Poke have on the CAP metagame?

Explanation: I love using stall when I play, but with a new, faster metagame, stall has been all but forgotten. I would like stall to be brought back to the metagame with a Poke destined to bring it to the top!

 

[mktheway]

Name: Anti-Priority/Prankster

General Description: A Pokemon with an ability or what not dealing with priority.

Justification: Priority is a major part of the BW metagame today. And how would the metagame fare with such a solid counter to Pokemon that rely on strong priority moves or Prankster-boosted moves such as Scizor and Sableye? We could learn how important priority is to certain Pokemon and new ways to counter it.

Questions To Be Answered:
* Can priority be countered reliably, and if so, how do we do that without it being too overpowered?
* How important is priority to certain Pokemon and how would it affect that Pokemon's usage and the metagame in general?
* Could Anti-Priority be a viable strategy in BW OU?
*Would Anti-Priority be better as an offensive, defensive, or support Pokemon?

Explanation: This Pokemon could be quite an addition to the metagame. The general idea of this Pokemon was to have a way to counter priority attacks without having to have a faster one or switch into a Pokemon that resists it but still takes a moderate amount of damage. Anti-Priority could come in the form of an ability or a Trick Room-esque field effect. Generally, Anti-Priority is supposed to give the opponent's priortiy moves either a neutral priority or a -1 priority, giving the Anti-Priority mon a chance to perhaps change the tide of the match, or the whole metagame for that matter. I personally think Anti-Priority should be a bulky attacker, or a tank of some sort, with at least decent attacking capabilites. It could excel as a support Pokemon though. Not only can it counter priority, but it can also fare well in the "weather wars", countering Tornadus' priority Rain Dances and the like.


Btw, this is my first ever post, so if I messed up or anything, please let me know. I'd appreciate it.

 

[fluffywings]

(First try at this; bear with me. Sorry if it's not a good idea.)

Name: Two-Turn Trouble
General Description: A pokemon which takes advantage of moves that take more than one turn to execute.

Justification: Moves that require 'charging' turns are normally discouraged in competitive play, as they allow the opponent to switch in his/her pokemon to counter the charging pokemon. However, these moves can benefit compared to normal switches, as they are often more powerful and can still debilitate the counter. Additionally, even if the opponent has a pokemon that is resistant against the charging move, he/she would not rather switch out to another, more vulnerable pokemon. Such a move-user would make the opponent question the value of switching on a move that appears predictable.

Questions To Be Answered:

• Can multi-turn moves have value in a more immediate metagame?
• How will players construct teams using an extra, expected switch, to their advantage?
• How will attack 'stacking' (e.g, Future Sight followed by Focus Blast) affect counters?
• Will usual counters change beause of the raw force behind the charger's attack?
• Will opponents take the advantage of using moves to hit pokemon during a normally-invincible stage?

Explanation: In Black/White OU, there is one pokemon that makes use of a two-turn attack: Gyarados. It, with Intimidate, uses Bounce to force switches, gain Leftovers recovery, and possibly cripple its counter. Not many people take advantage of these switches to heal, gather hazard damage, weather damage, and status condition, or just have that turn to inflict (even if it's not very effective) damage. Future Sight and Doom Desire are unique moves that allow a person to 'stack' attacks. Even if multiple-turn moves seem like a waste of a turn, they provide a 100+ power move that hits later. An additional amount of damage can turn a 3HKO into a 2HKO on the switch, and possibly alter players' perceptions of counters.

I really like this idea (especially with the future sight half.) I wonder if you could play a mind-game on top of the "future sight, focus blast" to future sight, but my opponent knows that I carry both a move to counter the future sight switch in and a move that counters the obvious predict. Or maybe a way to gain momentum such as a fly/dig type mechanic with a potential boost at the end. Or one that switches after damaging. I really love this idea!

 

[Orivexes]

Name: Sudden Speed

General Description:
A defensive-minded pokemon with lower speed. The low speed is manipulated, however, with access to most priority moves and moves that could benefit from a slower speed.

Justification:
Conkeldurr is a strange beast in the world of bulky offense--he proved that an offensive powerhouse doesn't necessarily need speed if it can Mach Punch. Scizor functions similarly--using his high attack stat, BP, and great typing to offset his speed. However, how would the metagame react to a slow, bulky monster with a healthy variety of priority and support but reasonably low power and few high-power moves? And how could priority play a role in fighting taunt users?

Questions To Be Answered:
-How would priority help a generally slow wall?
-Could manipulation of speed stay balanced?
-Would weak attacks that nudge out dangers before they act gain some momentum?
-How could taunt be countered by a low-powered wall?

Explanation:
Partially based on the idea of Sableye combined with a Conkeldurr, the Sudden Speed pokemon would be full of surprises. Extremespeed would be a fun (but ultimately useful) option, provided that the pokemon had a reasonably lower base power to offset the strength of the move. Bulk Up, Calm Mind or Curse could be options on certain sets that insist on having some power, but may alter the flavor of the pokemon dramatically (or make it too close to Conkeldurr).

Slow-turning would be interesting--imagine a pokemon that could launch a few priority moves to take out something close to death. When a stronger monster takes its place, you could use a late U-turn or Volt Switch to take a dangerous hit and keep up momentum. Baton pass could work too, enabling this Pokemon to safely set up and possibly even use its own boosts while planning a safe opening.

Abilities could vary--Analytic could provide an offensive take on controlling speed. Technician may be a little much, but something like Tinted Lens or Scrappy could provide new uses for old priorities. Speed Boost would be great for laughs, but not much else.

A weakness to stealth rock would be catastrophic.

 

[bugmaniacbob]

Name: Psychological Warfare MkII

General Description: A Pokemon whose strength in battle comes from its ability to force the opponent to make mistakes or to believe that they have no chance of winning - in short, by forcing the opponent to be defeated by their own stress.

Justification: The nerve and good judgement of a battler, as well as their capacity to handle stressful situations, is a well-documented factor in the outcome of a competitive Pokemon battle, but is relatively unexplored in terms of the assessment of Pokemon that currently exist and, in this case, for those that are created. Lord knows that a battle can be a stressful time, and a particular Pokemon can exacerbate this situation by itself. So, then, CAP offers us an excellent opportunity to investigate this ill-explored area of competitive Pokemon, by designing a CAP specifically for the purpose of forcing your opponent to make mistakes, bad judgements, or simply peculiar plays to alleviate the stress. This is, to my knowledge, something that has not been attempted before, and would no doubt be of great value both as a learning experience and a test for the CAP community.

Questions To Be Answered:

• To what extent will a Pokemon that relies primarily on the strength of the enemy controller be effective and viable in the BW metagame?
• Is the ability to manipulate the opponent to such an extent indeed a large factor in the outcome of a competitive Pokemon battle, as is currently thought?
• To what extent will this Pokemon's viability differ from battle to battle? Will it be more effective against different opponents? If so, which ones will it be more effective against?
• How strong and/or viable is "psychological warfare" as a strategy against more traditional, well-developed team strategies?

Explanation: Alright, I was pretty vague about it the last time, so I'll be blunt and to the point this time. Indicators of what might make a good stress-related Pokemon can be found in this guide by obi. The big point in this guide is that deceptiveness is key, and thus it is so for this Pokemon. Ideally this Pokemon would be able to suggest the illusion of invincibility, by being able to come into and switch out of his Pokemon for little to no consequence, and be able to continue this strategy until the opponent makes a mistake; and then, crucially, be able to capitalise on it. Recovery abilities such as Recover and Regenerator come to mind here, as well as typings that do not leave many exploitable weaknesses. In addition, it should be able to act in a convincingly predictable manner against certain opponents, and to act unpredictably against others, in order to encourage complacency and overprediction, respectively. Crucially, it should be able to switch between one and the other as the situation demands it. A wide movepool is thus important.

However, for my own part I do not want our CAP to take the easy way out. This is chiefly directed at people who last time said "give it Illusion and be done with it". Yes, this encourages stress to a great extent and would fulfil the concept admirably, I'm sure, but much like with Krilowatt and Multitype, I feel that this would be to take the easy way out. I'd rather see clever shenanigans with recovery and typing than make a CAP that is simply "unpredictable". Unpredictability is a large part of the concept, but it should not be the focus. Similarly, "theoretical threat" should play a part, but not the whole part. My ideal CAP for this purpose would be something along the lines of Ghost/Dark (ie. few weaknesses), with Regenerator or Poison Heal, a recovery move, and considerable bulk, below average offensive stats, and the potential to execute any number of strategies. But this is only what I have thought of on the spur of the moment. There are any number of ways this CAP could go if we wanted it to, so don't take this as gospel by any stretch.

---------------

The original, for posterity - may be some things here I've missed out this time around

Name: Psychological Warfare

General Description: A Pokemon which can turn the tide of battle in one's favour simply by breaking the opponent's willpower or train of thought, rather than breaking the opponent's team directly.

Justification: The nerve and good judgement of a battler, as well as their capacity to handle stressful situations, is a well-documented factor in the outcome of a competitive Pokemon battle, but is relatively unexplored in terms of the assessment of Pokemon that currently exist and, in this case, for those that are created. Mostly, these explorations are limited to "Whimsicott annoys the [insert word for faecal matter here] out of your opponent", which, while devilishly insightful as comments go, does not stem from any particular kind of strategy in mind. Lord knows that a battle can be a stressful time, and a particular Pokemon can exacerbate this situation by itself. So, then, CAP offers us an excellent opportunity to investigate this ill-explored area of competitive Pokemon, by designing a CAP specifically for the purpose of forcing your opponent to make mistakes, bad judgements, or simply peculiar plays to alleviate the stress. This is, to my knowledge, something that has not been attempted before, and would no doubt be of great value both as a learning experience and a test for the CAP community.

Questions To Be Answered:

• To what extent will a Pokemon that relies primarily on the strength of the enemy controller be effective and viable in the BW metagame?
• Is the ability to confuse the opponent to such an extent indeed a large factor in the outcome of a competitive Pokemon battle, as is currently thought?
• To what extent will this Pokemon's viability differ from battle to battle? Will it be more effective against different opponents? If so, which ones will it be more effective against?
• How strong and/or viable is "psychological warfare" as a strategy against more traditional, well-developed team strategies?

Explanation: You could have any number of different interpretations of this concept. To clarify, however, I am not here looking for something "unpredictable", such as DPP Salamence. While you had to play mind games against it for a while, it lost its confounding ability as soon as you figured out its set. On the other hand, this shouldn't be a pure "annoyer" like Whimsicott, which is easy enough to deal with, because it only really has one set. What I'd be envisioning this concept turning out to be is some kind of amalgamation of the two - something that forces the opponent to be extremely cautious when dealing with it, but which is also very frustrating to actually deal with. Such a combination will, under the stress of high-end competitive battlers, generally throw the opponent "off his game", as it were, and this is the effect we should be seeking to emulate.

In this way, the Pokemon should have some sort of capacity to play multiple roles; however, all of them should be in some way threatening, and also played in such a way as to make the opponent make careless mistakes in the hope of defeating it. This is NOT because of evasion/critical hits/anything else that makes the opponent scream "hax". That's not what the goal is. Part of the charm of this CAP concept is that because it is so very much unexplored, there is a lot of room for innovation and outside-the-box thinking - this is something that cannot really be compared to anything else at present.

Will edit with thoughts about others that I like in a wee while

 

[Deck Knight]

Alright, so this was busy. I won't respond to each concept, only to ones I think merit a serious response based on the questions asked. I'll start with he ones I think need improvement:

Speed Shifter:

Speed is one of those things where you either have enough of it or you don't. It really doesn't matter whether Tornadus outspeeds you by 3 or 300, it's faster so you'll have to take a hit, and two if you switch in. Speed is also only variable by 63 points (94 with IVs), give or take Nature Bonuses. The range is large, but it really only matters what your top speed is, and if your top speed is around 375, going down to 275 won't matter much.

Black Hole / Twisted Dimensions:

We tried this someone with Fidgit and Persistent and it didn't really work out that well. The problem with these particular effects is there's no way to extend them, and even if we were to revisit a buffed Persistent, there is still the issue of needing time to set up the effect. In the case of Twisted Dimensions, Reuniclus does that about as well as anything ever produced. Gravity doesn't have such a representative, but Gravity is a double-edged sword in a way Trick Room isn't. It's quite possible to stuff your team with Pokemon far slower than your opponent. It's impossible to stop your foe from abusing Hydro Pump and Fire Blast on your Gravity users.

Battle of the Sexes:

The problem with abusing Gender as a mechanic is it's simply too unreliable. The list of threatening Single Gender Pokemon is limited, and the list of threatening No Gender Pokemon is huge. The options to abuse it are also mediocre, with Captivate, Flatter, and Attract all being somewhat bad versions of Swagger.

Riser of a Lower Tier Threat:

Voodoom tried something like this with Perfect Partner. We chose Togekiss and ended up with Zapdos. This one doesn't work because there are already too many Pokemon vying for OU in BW, and the reason it will never work is by definition if a lower tier Pokemon perfectly countered a significant Pokemon higher in the tier, it would see more use. See: Gastrodon for making a mockery of Rotom-W without HP Grass.

The Psychologist:

Krilowatt was the case study in this, being built as absurdly as it looks (I should know, I submitted the stat spread) for the exact reason it made its Nature matter. Nature is 10%. It's significant, but not enough to devote a project to.

- - - - -

Here are the ones I like so far:

The Deceiver:

Information control is vitally important in Pokemon, and with the full team view keeping your sets secret can be difficult. This concept has a lot of potential because of the versatility of items and abilities it could use. Sketch Artist somewhat explored this as far as a single move goes, but I think this could be a more expansive study in how to build a team that can surprise opponents.

Break the Mold 2:

This needs a little bit more expansion and clarity I think., but the idea is there. The key concern I have with it is that the list of abilities this could apply to is quite small, and I imagine many of them are already properly used, as in the case of Rain Stall. The other problem is most of the abilities are very reliant on weather, and weather has been done to death in BW OU. Rain is ubiquitous in part because Rain abilities are so much more diverse than Sun, Sand, or Hail abilities. I still think it's worth exploring, but I'd like a little bit more clarity.

Anti-Meta Mon:

Reminds me a lot of Arghonaut, and this is 5th Gen, not 4th Gen, so another decentralizing concept would not be a bad idea. I think the questions could use more finesse, though.

Checkmate:

Exploring the ideal endgame Pokemon in BW, which reveals teams at the outset, is another interesting project we could take up. The question really rests on what characterstics would it have to have to make it the most viable at the end of the match rather than the beginning or the middle.

Boost Thief:

This is interesting as a juxtaposition to Arghonaut, who shut down stat boosters rather than reversing them. It does seem limited though because many stat boosters increase their speed, which makes them much more difficult to handle. It also shoehorns the Pokemon into a very small list of abilities, and I'm not sure if that would be the best course (especially as Arghonaut possesses one of them where Tomohawk has the other, if you get my meaning.)

I'll be looking for additional feedback on these.

Psychological Warfare MkII (Added):

This is much improved over the original, since it gives the direction of a Pokemon with options. In some ways it reminds me of Krillowatt and Tomohawk, as both of them by virtue of their stats and abilities can infuriate opponents outside of the way Jirachi and Togekiss popularized serene haxing. The question I'd propose on this is how do we make this particular Pokemon stand out from a generic Good Pokemon that can do some of these things, like Dragonite and Reuniclus, which both have a combination of recovery and offensive prowess combined with good abilities.

Double Team (Added):

This is very ambitious but I think the CAP Process could work around it. A lot of Pokemon vie for the same roles with similar typings, but very few have completely different roles in the same type. This would be a great CAP to see how we can develop a CAP with both offensive and defensive options, and see which attacks end up getting used.

 

[Flarephoenix332]

Otherwise, the only submitted concepts that I feel like I would be actively against would be anything weather-related. I think that weather has enough interesting mechanics and support that there's very little that we could learn from yet another Pokemon made to abuse or counter it. It just already takes up so much of the metagame that I don't think that there's enough ground left to cover that isn't incredibly narrow.

First and foremost, you mentioned Necturna--I hope you do realize CAP3 is OU-focused, right? We're not doing the CAP metagame this time around.

Secondly, basing your choice to not support anything weather-related because weather is a common occurrence is confusing. Why wouldn't we want to learn more about the thing that is so common? Would you look at the grass around you and not want to know why it's everywhere? What makes it tick, what makes it so successful? That's what I want to do with weather in CAP--I want to be know what, if any, key cogs are necessary for a weather to be successful. I want to be able to hold the metaphorical heart of weather in my metaphorical hands--and watch it beat. And I can't do that if people vote against weather because they're tired of weather. We can't study and learn the symbiotic of the parts of weather. Plus, what's the point of hating on weather concepts for a CAP? It's not like that CAP will thus forever be in the OU metagame. Everything goes back to normal when the process is done--you're getting weather anyway, why not explore it?

Some more concept comments:

Hide

Sharpteeth - Weather Stopper
Another Anti-weather concept. I'll keep saying this: I think we stand to learn more from improving a weather than we ever will stopping or destroying them.

toshimelonhead - Checkmate
This concept feels like every good OU threat--ever. Once you remove counters, almost any pokemon could sweep anymore. Remove Steels, Fightings, and Fires, Mamoswine stampedes things.

Treadshot A1 - Limit Stall
This is just another anti-Stall concept. The only difference is this one wants to destroy stall, the previous one wants to sucker punch it. Neither is interesting.

Tpyo - Psychologist
I don't see how this would work. Certain natures are favorites for a reason: they make the pokemon do want it does best, better. Trying to change that is confusing and doesn't seem probable.

ZhengTann - Unconventional Status Quo
I can see this would working, but I don't think it will. There might be something we could do to fix the problems you've listed: Magic Guard, Subs, and pokemon who are immune based on type. A status-based pokemon doesn't seem that viable.

Powergrid - Leech
A concept about absorbing HP from their opponent. There are only a few draining moves, all but Dream Eater and Drain Punch are Grass if I'm not mistaken. Big Root boosts the power, but Liquid Ooze shuts that down. I don't see this being effective at all. Too narrow.

AOPSUser - Universal Check
Krilowatt. NEXT!

Skore - Stand and Fight!
While I'm all for the shutting down of U-Turn and Volt Switch, this is just too narrow to be a CAP concept to me.

Pokethan - Twisted Dimensions
Trick Room. Outside of an ability that basically turns Trick Room into a pseudo-weather (continual), I don't see this being interesting.

Shouting - Moveset Sleuth
While I'm all for the increase in scouting, this doesn't excite me. :/

Pwnemon - Switchmaster
In-game trainers can and will switch, but they dislike to. Only the smartest trainers actually use it. The reason Competitive is harder is because the people are much smarter than the in-game trainers--and their pokemon are optimized, unlike the vast, vast majority of trainers. Resting U-Turn and VoltSwitch (outside of Ground stopping it completely) don't matter--it won't stop their use. Outside of Shadow Tag, you won't stop switching. Pursuit has been around for generations and entry hazards have to, which SR getting big in the last two.

Rediamond - Fast and Frail
Glass Cannons. You're going to need massive power to really be effective, plus likely resistants to priority. I honestly think the prowess of a Fast and Frail pokemon is more about its team than it is about the pokemon.

Arcticblast - Boost Thief
Seems rather narrow--if it needs to steal boosts, then it's kinda lame against non-boosting teams. You're also going to need great speed to catch up with those +Speed boosters. Or Prankster.

Cretacerus - Overlooked Typing
You suggest making good use of a bad typing, but being successful inspite of a bad type is probably a better wording in my eyes. I do like the idea of working on a pokemon to overcome a bad type (a fatal flaw, if you will), but the discussion of what's a bad enough typing will be weird.

ThePillsburyDoughBoy - Priority
I can think of one specific, very real threat, who abuses priority, and thus defined by it to me. I don't think we'll learn anything from this.

Levren - Accepting your Weakness
You want a pokemon who can blast pokemon of the type it'd usually be weak to? The use of the word "potentially" confuses me. If it COULDN'T defeat it's own type weakness, then it's just another pokemon. Nothing special, nothing learned. Even if it could, I don't know what we'd learn.

SubwayJ - Type-O
Almost all type-changes are situational. Kecleon doesn't even get to pick his type. Outside of Multi-type, you usually don't get much control of type-changing--unless you're Meloetta. We're basically talking an unique move or ability to really make this work outside of Multi-type (which isn't that situational).

Skr1214 - Buck Furn
Way, way too narrow. You're focusing on one status. There are only three ways to go with this, realistically. Guts--already well known. Magic Guard--same. Fire-types, self-explainitory. We even have a Guts Fire-type. Burn is covered.

Quanyails - Two-Turn Trouble
I like this idea, but I don't know if it's viable. I think attacks like Future Sight are great--they can be used strategically. Even the bounce example you used is great. But I don't know if being locked into a move like that, giving people another turn of switch or a free shot at you if you're not invincible, is viable.

jtlek97 - Disease-Ridden
Status Stall.

mktheway - Anti-Priority/Prankster
A custom ability is basically required with this. And when I say "basically", I mean "I don't see it working without one." There's really no other way to stop priority in-game currently, outside of maybe Protect (But that doesn't stop Prankster). I don't see this being a viable idea.

Orivexes - Sudden Speed
Honestly, you give the two perfect examples of this in Sableye and Conkeldurr. Both are slow, but get good use of Prankster and Priority respectively. Iunno what combining the two would teach us.

Bugmaniacbob - Psychological Warfare MkII
As a battler who oft makes dumb mistakes for no good reason, I can see the value in this concept. I like this concept and I'm glad you resubmitted it. I'd be chomping at the bit to discuss what even goes into a "psychological warfare" of the metagame. My only concern is just making a generally great pokemon and throwing it out there to scare people like Excadrill or Garchomp did. You even mention a fantastic typing, great abilities, and "considerable bulk"--knowing CAP, it'd get a great movepool. Going with your example, it'd just look like we spat out another powerful pokemon and hung a concept on it to make it seem like we're doing something important. From where I'm sitting, at least.

 

[Solstice]

Speed Shifter:

Speed is one of those things where you either have enough of it or you don't. It really doesn't matter whether Tornadus outspeeds you by 3 or 300, it's faster so you'll have to take a hit, and two if you switch in. Speed is also only variable by 63 points (94 with IVs), give or take Nature Bonuses. The range is large, but it really only matters what your top speed is, and if your top speed is around 375, going down to 275 won't matter much.

Well I would like to note that Stats are not the only way to change move priority, a Pokemon with base 150 speed can still go last if it has Stall as an optional ability. Or just Lagging Tail or Iron Ball even. Stats would not be the only way of achieving this concept if chosen.

On concepts that I like, the highest in my mind right now are Snow Warning, The Deceiver, and Boost Thief.

If Snow Warning is successful it could significantly alter the weather metagame. I feel like we could learn so much from this concept, in terms of how other weather teams react and how some Pokemon high in OU react to the new weather situation.

The Deceiver is great because it would help to remove my least favorite part of Gen V, Team Preview. I honestly hate Team Preview, half the time I just want to ignore the opponent's team and just play at a disadvantage. I love messing with people when I play, using very obscure Pokemon because the team can support them with a little suprise factor. However this whole aspect of the game is gone, prediction of the opponents team is no longer existant, scouting is a laughable practice in a lot of cases. I would really like to see this one slated.

Boost Thief I enjoy because I feel like it would honestly be fun to use. I've always wanted to try using Snatch but its never worked in my favor before. A Pokemon that was designed to be able to do it would be an incredible asset against offensive teams.

 

[Pikapwnd]

Concept: Cardboard equips

Description: A pokemon that can fufill many and highly varying roles depending upon the item.

Justification:

In a meta in which team preview defines playstyle. There are few pokemon that can cause a player to scrath their head, with a minute of thought a team can be figured out rather well. Players often make asumptions baseed upon what they see in preview, and a misjudgement will often lead to a painful loss. As aptly depeicted by necturna, an entire metagame was defined by scouting the set of necturna.

Also almost every pokemon in this meta is heavily defined by it's item, a premanent one that remains in effect for the duration of the match. Can a pokemon with a one time use item or an ability dedicated to it's item survive in a metagame that requires an incredible amount of bulk to survive an assualt.

Questions To Be Answered:

• Can a pokemon with a one use item, or an ability dedicated to it's item fuction in a metagame with incredibly rapid switching?
• Can scouting a pokemon's item honestly be possible, when it can simply switch in and out and never reveal it?
• Berries and single use items have a multitude of effects, from status immunities, heath regeneration, boosting stats, removing weaknesses, and boosting attack's power. Can a single pokemon abuse all of these effectively, or will one type of set emerge dominantly?
• Will it simply use the item once or will it perhaps later steal the other pokemon's with trick or perhaps pickpocket?
• Can a singular pokemon actually abuse the multitude of options that singular use items give.

Explanation:
Pokemon are truely defined by their items, from using a balloon to setup with impunity, choiced so it hits harder or revenges, leftovers for bulk. usually all pokemon run permanent items, with the rare exclusions using single use pokemon for a surprise factor. But those surprise factors are rare, and each pokemon can only run one or two surprises. A pokemon who can surprise with impunity is a pokemon who can get kills with impunity.

 

[Mono789]

Name: Focus on Typing
General Description: A Pokemon whose primary claim to fame is because of its typing.
Justification: Through five generations of Pokemon, there have been many different type combinations that have been explored. It's common knowledge that a bad typing, even on a Pokemon with good stats, can send a Pokemon plummeting into the lower tiers. "Focus on Typing" will allow us to explore an effective type combination that hasn't been used before or was previously used on a weaker Pokemon that never amounted to anything. This idea would present the CAP metagame with a type combination it's not used to dealing with and allow us to find out how the metagame responds to it.

Questions To Be Answered:

• How could an effective typing potentially allow a Pokemon the ability to switch in and out repeatedly without significant fear?
• How could one build a team to take advantage of a good typing?
• How could such a Pokemon be a threat to opposing Pokemon defensively? Offensively?
• Would less commonly used Pokemon rise up to become effective checks or counters to "Focus on Typing," or are there already Pokemon used often in the CAP metagame that stop it?

Explanation: "Focus on Typing" could additionally have an ability that essentially lends itself as an additional resistance or immunity, such as Levitate, Water Absorb, Thick Fat, etc. I personally am always excited to see a Pokemon with a cool typing turn out to be useful (although cool is admittedly subjective). Using typing as its main threat could be explored both offensively and defensively, but I'd personally rather see the defensive option explored, mainly because CAP has mainly been focused on offensive threats. A couple of type combos I'd like to see for this concept would be ghost combined with either normal or steel, which are both type combos that have several useful immunities/resistances.

Since this is my first shot at participating in a CAP project, I'd love to hear any feedback, criticism, what I did right/wrong, etc. I've followed the CAP process for a while before now and I look forward to contributing.