Smogon Community - View Single Post - CAP 4 - Part 1

FlareBlitz · Sep 11th, 2012, 3:34:34 PM

Name: Higher Ground

General Description: A Pokemon which prevents or punishes the creation of field effects which disadvantage its user, while facilitating or preserving beneficial field effects.

Justification: Gen V's OU metagame heavily revolves around field modifications, primarily entry hazards and weather. By creating a Pokemon that specializes in control over the field at any given time, we can learn about what kind of threats are more / less viable if you / the opponent could "guarantee" that the field be clear of hazards. Similarly, we can learn about what kind of pokemon would be more / less viable if they had a teammate that could ensure that their weather of choice would always be present, or if they had an opponent that ensured it wouldn't be. Essentially, field effects affect the tiering and usage status of enough Pokemon that a Pokemon which could play with the entire concept in any direction could be a very valuable tool for learning.

Questions To Be Answered:

How will the metagame be shaped by the potentially greater control over the field this Pokemon would afford to players?
Will previously forgotten threats find a place in OU if their environment could be free of hazards or detrimental weather?
If teams are unable to use field effects to gain an advantage, what other tactics will they resort to? Will the metagame begin revolving around synergy-driven balance?
Would it be possible to for one Pokemon to simultaneously fill so many potential roles while not causing excessive centralization in the metagame?

Explanation: A few notes:

I consider Trick Room, Gravity, Tailwind, Reflect, Light Screen, and (maybe) Intimidate to also be "field effects".

This is different from an "anti-hazards" concept because that's not its entire job - it should also be able to preserve your own hazards through a variety of means.

And, this is different from weather support pokemon / anti-weather pokemon because, if we build it right, it should be able to preserve, or fight against, any form of weather. Additionally, it should be able to preserve Clear Skies for your team if you need it to.

There could be a variety of ways we could approach this Pokemon. Rapid Spin, Taunt, Magic Bounce, Air Lock, Trace, and Magic Guard are just a few of the obvious ways in which we could begin to fulfill this concept, but there are cleverer ways that I encourage the community to explore (for example, consider a tankish physical ghost type which severely threatens every weather starter and has regenerator as an ability).

The capacity to be either for or against contentious pillars of the metagame, like hazards and weather, is what will make this Pokemon so intriguing...while also being very challenging to create. But I am confident that we can do it!

Sep 11th, 2012, 3:34:34 PM	#48
FlareBlitz This was never a story that would have a happy ending. Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2,041 Somewhere on the edge of the bell curve	Name: Higher Ground General Description: A Pokemon which prevents or punishes the creation of field effects which disadvantage its user, while facilitating or preserving beneficial field effects. Justification: Gen V's OU metagame heavily revolves around field modifications, primarily entry hazards and weather. By creating a Pokemon that specializes in control over the field at any given time, we can learn about what kind of threats are more / less viable if you / the opponent could "guarantee" that the field be clear of hazards. Similarly, we can learn about what kind of pokemon would be more / less viable if they had a teammate that could ensure that their weather of choice would always be present, or if they had an opponent that ensured it wouldn't be. Essentially, field effects affect the tiering and usage status of enough Pokemon that a Pokemon which could play with the entire concept in any direction could be a very valuable tool for learning. Questions To Be Answered: How will the metagame be shaped by the potentially greater control over the field this Pokemon would afford to players? Will previously forgotten threats find a place in OU if their environment could be free of hazards or detrimental weather? If teams are unable to use field effects to gain an advantage, what other tactics will they resort to? Will the metagame begin revolving around synergy-driven balance? Would it be possible to for one Pokemon to simultaneously fill so many potential roles while not causing excessive centralization in the metagame? Explanation: A few notes: I consider Trick Room, Gravity, Tailwind, Reflect, Light Screen, and (maybe) Intimidate to also be "field effects". This is different from an "anti-hazards" concept because that's not its entire job - it should also be able to preserve your own hazards through a variety of means. And, this is different from weather support pokemon / anti-weather pokemon because, if we build it right, it should be able to preserve, or fight against, any form of weather. Additionally, it should be able to preserve Clear Skies for your team if you need it to. There could be a variety of ways we could approach this Pokemon. Rapid Spin, Taunt, Magic Bounce, Air Lock, Trace, and Magic Guard are just a few of the obvious ways in which we could begin to fulfill this concept, but there are cleverer ways that I encourage the community to explore (for example, consider a tankish physical ghost type which severely threatens every weather starter and has regenerator as an ability). The capacity to be either for or against contentious pillars of the metagame, like hazards and weather, is what will make this Pokemon so intriguing...while also being very challenging to create. But I am confident that we can do it! __________________ Everything was beautiful. Nothing hurt. I'm back, baby. Look for me in 5th gen UU!