Approved by Fuzznip.
Hi, CAP. This article needs a lot of work with the new Movepool PR having been concluded. Furthermore, I feel that for a newcomer to creating a movepool, this guide isn't sufficient at all. In lieu of that, instead of just updating that article, I will be writing a completely new article for the job. This article will be written straight-to-HTML so that I can properly format the tables I'll be making for it. I will update this thread with my progress as it is made.
Hi, CAP. This article needs a lot of work with the new Movepool PR having been concluded. Furthermore, I feel that for a newcomer to creating a movepool, this guide isn't sufficient at all. In lieu of that, instead of just updating that article, I will be writing a completely new article for the job. This article will be written straight-to-HTML so that I can properly format the tables I'll be making for it. I will update this thread with my progress as it is made.
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<ol class="toc">
<li><a href="#intro">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="#restrict">Movepool Restrictions</a></li>
<li><a href="#require">Movepool Requirements </a></li>
<li><a href="#tm">TM Moves</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#tmlist">TM Move List</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#levelup">Level-Up Moves</a></li>
<li><a href="#egg">Egg Moves</a></li>
<li><a href="#tutor">Move Tutor Moves</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#tutorlist">Move Tutor Move List</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#example">Example</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#gengar">Gengar's Movepool</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><a name="intro">Introduction</a></h2>
<p>Movepools are largely considered the single most important competitive aspect of a Pokémon. The reasoning for this is that a movepool defines a Pokémon's diversity, what he can and cannot beat, and what functionality he can provide for his team. Many Pokémon, such as Breloom with Spore, are defined by their specific, yet incredible movepools. Some movepools, such as those of Tyranitar and Blissey, are enormous and provide nearly limitless options, while others, like that of Hippowdon, are just big enough to make the Pokémon worth using. Both of these types of movepools have their respective places with different CAPs, but there's a lot to movepools that might not be apparent at first glance. This article's focus is to bring those tricks and traps to the forefront and address them so that you might not make the same mistakes that many others have in the past when creating your CAP movepool.</p>
<h2><a name="restrict">Movepool Restrictions</a></h2>
<p>In the past, many CAP movepools have tended to creep in power toward being obscene. In order to address these issues, as well as bring CAP Pokémon movepools back in line with the movepools of common OU Pokémon, some limitations and restrictions were placed upon the movepool stage of the CAP process. As listed in <a href="/cap/process/events/stat_and_movepool_limits">this</a> process guide article, the Stat and Movepool Limits stage imposes restrictions on the number of Very Good Moves that a CAP Pokémon may have in its movepool. To learn more about what a Very Good Move is and to find the list of them, refer to <a href="/cap/process/events/movepool_submissions#restrictions">this</a> process guide article. Once these restrictions are set by the Topic Leader, you as a movepool creator must adhere to them strictly.</p>
<h2><a name="require">Movepool Requirements </a></h2>
<p>In addition to having a raw limit placed on the number of Very Good Moves that may be in your CAP Pokémon's movepool, there exist some requirements that must be in all movepools. The first of these requirements is the Type-Move Requirement list. The Type-Move Requirements are moves that must be on your CAP movepool somewhere based upon the typing of the CAP Pokémon. A list of these Type-Move Requirements can be found <a href="/cap/process/events/movepool_submissions#type-move">here</a>. So, for instance, if the given CAP that you are creating a movepool for is a Fire/Ghost Pokémon, he would be required to have Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Dream Eater, Sucker Punch, and Trick, among other moves. This limits the diversity and overall power of movepools by forcing there to exist many potentially competitively similar moves on a Pokémon.</p>
<p>The other requirement placed upon CAP movepools is the Move-Move Requirement list. The list of Move-Move Requirements is given <a href="/cap/process/events/movepool_submissions#move-move">here</a>. In essence, the Move-Move Requirements make it so that in order to put one Very Good Move on a movepool, you must also put in all other required moves as listed in the above linked table. For instance, if you wanted your Rock-type Pokémon to get Flamethrower, you would also have to give him Fire Blast. Similarly, if you wanted a Pokémon to have Ice Beam, he would also have to learn Blizzard. This further limits movepools by forcing like moves to be present in a group on movepools, preventing too many stray Very Good Moves from being added into that movepool, given the Very Good Move limit imposed by the Stat and Movepool Limits stage of the CAP process.</p>
<h2><a name="tm">TM Moves</a></h2>
<p>There are 100 TM moves available to all Pokémon. Some of these moves have to be chosen depending on certain aspects of the CAP Pokémon, but many of them can fit into basically any movepool, with the following exceptions: Fire- and Grass-type Pokémon do not learn any Ice-type moves, while Ice- and Grass-type Pokémon do not learn any Fire-type moves.</p>
<h3><a name ="tmlist">TM Move List</a></h3>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="4" style="text-align: center;">TM Moves</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr> <td> TM01 Focus Punch </td> <td> TM26 Earthquake </td> <td> TM51 Roost </td> <td> TM76 Stealth Rock </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM02 Dragon Claw </td> <td> <strong>TM27 Return</strong> </td> <td> TM52 Focus Blast </td> <td> TM77 Psych Up </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM03 Water Pulse </td> <td> TM28 Dig </td> <td> TM53 Energy Ball </td> <td> <strong>TM78 Captivate ***</strong> </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM04 Calm Mind </td> <td> TM29 Psychic </td> <td> TM54 False Swipe </td> <td> TM79 Dark Pulse </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM05 Roar </td> <td> TM30 Shadow Ball </td> <td> TM55 Brine </td> <td> TM80 Rock Slide </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> <strong>TM06 Toxic</strong> </td> <td> TM31 Brick Break </td> <td> TM56 Fling </td> <td> TM81 X-scissor </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM07 Hail </td> <td> <strong>TM32 Double Team</strong> </td> <td> TM57 Charge Beam </td> <td> <strong>TM82 Sleep Talk</strong> </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM08 Bulk Up </td> <td> TM33 Reflect </td> <td> <strong>TM58 Endure</strong> </td> <td> <strong>TM83 Natural Gift</strong> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM09 Bullet Seed </td> <td> TM34 Shock Wave </td> <td> TM59 Dragon Pulse </td> <td> TM84 Poison Jab </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> <strong>TM10 Hidden Power</strong> </td> <td> TM35 Flamethrower </td> <td> TM60 Drain Punch </td> <td> TM85 Dream Eater </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <strong>TM11 Sunny Day *</strong> </td> <td> TM36 Sludge Bomb </td> <td> TM61 Will-o-wisp </td> <td> TM86 Grass Knot </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM12 Taunt </td> <td> TM37 Sandstorm </td> <td> TM62 Silver Wind </td> <td> TM87 Swagger </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM13 Ice Beam </td> <td> TM38 Fire Blast </td> <td> TM63 Embargo </td> <td> TM88 Pluck </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM14 Blizzard </td> <td> TM39 Rock Tomb </td> <td> TM64 Explosion </td> <td> TM89 U-turn </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <strong>TM15 Hyper Beam</strong> </td> <td> TM40 Aerial Ace </td> <td> TM65 Shadow Claw </td> <td> <strong>TM90 Substitute</strong> </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM16 Light Screen </td> <td> TM41 Torment </td> <td> TM66 Payback </td> <td> TM91 Flash Cannon </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <strong>TM17 Protect</strong> </td> <td> <strong>TM42 Facade</strong> </td> <td> TM67 Recycle </td> <td> TM92 Trick Room </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> <strong>TM18 Rain Dance **</strong> </td> <td> <strong>TM43 Secret Power</strong> </td> <td> <strong>TM68 Giga Impact</strong> </td> <td> HM01 Cut </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM19 Giga Drain </td> <td> <strong>TM44 Rest</strong> </td> <td> TM69 Rock Polish </td> <td> HM02 Fly </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM20 Safeguard </td> <td> <strong>TM45 Attract ***</strong> </td> <td> TM70 Flash </td> <td> HM03 Surf </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <strong>TM21 Frustration</strong> </td> <td> TM46 Thief </td> <td> TM71 Stone Edge </td> <td> HM04 Strength </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM22 SolarBeam </td> <td> TM47 Steel Wing </td> <td> TM72 Avalanche </td> <td> HM05 Defog / Whirlpool </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM23 Iron Tail </td> <td> TM48 Skill Swap </td> <td> TM73 Thunder Wave </td> <td> HM06 Rock Smash </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> TM24 Thunderbolt </td> <td> TM49 Snatch </td> <td> TM74 Gyro Ball </td> <td> HM07 Waterfall </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> TM25 Thunder </td> <td> TM50 Overheat </td> <td> TM75 Swords Dance </td> <td> HM08 Rock Climb </td> </tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<dl>
<dt>Bolded entries indicate moves that every Pokémon must have.</dt>
<dt>* Except most Water- and Ice-type Pokémon</dt>
<dt>** Except most Grass- and Fire-type Pokémon</dt>
<dt>*** Except genderless Pokémon</dt>
</dl>
<h2><a name ="levelup">Level-Up Moves</a></h2>
<p>A level-up move list contains anywhere between 13 and 16 moves. Up to three of these moves may be Heart Scale moves, meaning that they are relearned and aren't known at Level 1 and aren't learned at any higher level. As a Pokémon levels up, the moves tend to get more powerful. This means that a move such as Crunch or Earthquake would always be learned later than Bite or Mud-Slap. Furthermore, if the Pokémon has a pre-evolution, such as Arcanine or Ampharos, one of the following two things will happen.</p>
<ul>
<li>Up to three Level 1 moves may be repeated in further levels. These moves are learned by the Pokémon's pre-evolution as well. For example, Ampharos learns Growl, ThunderShock, and Thunder Wave at Level 1, and learns them again at Level 5, 10, and 14, respectively.</li>
<li>The Pokémon has a few Level 1 moves, and then an extremely short or non-existent movepool. For example, Arcanine only learns one move at Level 39 (ExtremeSpeed), and the other moves he learns by Level-up are all Level 1 or Heart Scale moves. In this case, the Pokémon would use his pre-evolution's movepool.</li>
</ul>
<h2><a name ="egg">Egg Moves</a></h2>
<p>Egg moves are those moves learned through breeding. In order to have egg moves, a CAP must have its egg groups defined. The movepool designer will have to decide on egg groups that achieve the moves that are desired, and it is preferred that they make sense on the Pokémon. A Pokémon may have as few as 4 egg moves and at most 12 egg moves. Pokémon that are genderless or do not breed cannot have any egg moves.</p>
<h2><a name ="movetutor">Move Tutor Moves</a></h2>
<p>Move Tutors are people in the Pokémon world that teach Pokémon moves for a price. In competitive terms, this is where a movepool can be filled out in order to obtain all of the necessary options, given that they're available. Be mindful of the Very Good Move limit for a given CAP when adding moves to it from the Move Tutors, but otherwise this is the move list where many competitive moves in a Pokémon's final movepool will come from.</p>
<h3><a name ="tutorlist">Move Tutor Move List</a></h3>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="6" style="text-align: center;">Move Tutor Moves</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr> <td> Air Cutter </td> <td> ThunderPunch </td> <td> Uproar </td> <td> Iron Head </td> <td> Blast Burn </td> <td> Magic Coat </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> Dive </td> <td> Vacuum Wave </td> <td> AncientPower </td> <td> Mud-Slap </td> <td> Hydro Cannon </td> <td> String Shot </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Fire Punch </td> <td> Zen Headbutt </td> <td> Aqua Tail </td> <td> Outrage </td> <td> Headbutt </td> <td> Worry Seed </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> Fury Cutter </td> <td> Helping Hand </td> <td> Bounce </td> <td> Rollout </td> <td> Low Kick </td> <td> Heal Bell </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Ice Punch </td> <td> Last Resort </td> <td> Earth Power </td> <td> Seed Bomb </td> <td> Super Fang </td> <td> Role Play </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> Icy Wind </td> <td> Magnet Rise </td> <td> Endeavor </td> <td> Signal Beam </td> <td> Pain Split </td> <td> Tailwind </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Knock Off </td> <td> Snore </td> <td> Gastro Acid </td> <td> Superpower </td> <td> Sky Attack </td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> Ominous Wind </td> <td> Spite </td> <td> Gunk Shot </td> <td> Twister </td> <td> Bug Bite </td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> Sucker Punch </td> <td> Swift </td> <td> Heat Wave </td> <td> Draco Meteor </td> <td> Block </td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> Trick </td> <td> Synthesis </td> <td> Iron Defense </td> <td> Frenzy Plant </td> <td> Gravity </td> <td> </td> </tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><a name ="example">Example</a></h2>
<p>Below is an example movepool for Gengar. It shows how each of his moves fit into his movepool.</p>
<h3><a name ="gengar">Gengar's Movepool</a></h3>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="6" style="text-align: center;">Gengar's Movepool</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><th style="text-align: center;">Level-Up List</th><th colspan="3" style="text-align: center;">TM List</th><th style="text-align: center;">Egg Moves</th><th style="text-align: center;">Move Tutor Moves</th></tr>
<tr> <td> 1. Hypnosis </td> <td> TM01 Focus Punch </td> <td> TM36 Sludge Bomb </td> <td> TM65 Shadow Claw </td> <td> Psywave </td> <td> Fire Punch </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 1. Lick </td> <td> TM06 Toxic </td> <td> TM41 Torment </td> <td> TM66 Payback </td> <td> Perish Song </td> <td> Ice Punch </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 1. Spite </td> <td> TM10 Hidden Power </td> <td> TM42 Facade </td> <td> TM68 Giga Impact </td> <td> Haze </td> <td> Icy Wind </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 5. Spite </td> <td> TM11 Sunny Day </td> <td> TM43 Secret Power </td> <td> TM77 Psych Up </td> <td> Astonish </td> <td> Knock Off </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 8. Mean Look </td> <td> TM12 Taunt </td> <td> TM44 Rest </td> <td> TM78 Captivate </td> <td> Will-O-Wisp </td> <td> Ominous Wind </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 12. Curse </td> <td> TM15 Hyper Beam </td> <td> TM45 Attract </td> <td> TM79 Dark Pulse </td> <td> Grudge </td> <td> Sucker Punch </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 15. Night Shade </td> <td> TM17 Protect </td> <td> TM46 Thief </td> <td> TM82 Sleep Talk </td> <td> Explosion </td> <td> Trick </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 19. Confuse Ray </td> <td> TM18 Rain Dance </td> <td> TM48 Skill Swap </td> <td> TM83 Natural Gift </td> <td> Fire Punch </td> <td> ThunderPunch </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 22. Sucker Punch </td> <td> TM19 Giga Drain </td> <td> TM49 Snatch </td> <td> TM84 Poison Jab </td> <td> Ice Punch </td> <td> Snore </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 25. Shadow Punch </td> <td> TM21 Frustration </td> <td> TM52 Focus Blast </td> <td> TM85 Dream Eater </td> <td> ThunderPunch </td> <td> Spite </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 28. Payback </td> <td> TM24 Thunderbolt </td> <td> TM53 Energy Ball </td> <td> TM87 Swagger </td> <td> Disable </td> <td> Uproar </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 33. Shadow Ball </td> <td> TM25 Thunder </td> <td> TM56 Fling </td> <td> TM90 Substitute </td> <td> </td> <td> Pain Split </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 39. Dream Eater </td> <td> TM27 Return </td> <td> TM58 Endure </td> <td> TM92 Trick Room </td> <td> </td> <td> Magic Coat </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 44. Dark Pulse </td> <td> TM29 Psychic </td> <td> TM60 Drain Punch </td> <td> HM04 Strength </td> <td> </td> <td> Role Play </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> 50. Destiny Bond </td> <td> TM30 Shadow Ball </td> <td> TM61 Will-o-wisp </td> <td> HM06 Rock Smash </td> <td> </td> <td> Headbutt </td> </tr>
<tr class="a"> <td> 55. Nightmare </td> <td> TM31 Brick Break </td> <td> TM63 Embargo </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td> TM32 Double Team </td> <td> TM64 Explosion </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<dl>
<dt>Gengar has 84 total moves in its movepool, 47 of which are Very Good Moves.
</dl>
<p>It is clearly noted from the above lists that the reason Gengar is said to have an enormous movepool is because of his TM move list. Very few of Gengar's moves from his level-up list or egg moves list are viable. Only Pain Split and Trick of the move tutor list are really useful, and Explosion is about the only remotely useful move from the egg move list. As you can see, Gengar's movepool is not overwhelmingly powerful. He actually had very limited options, but just enough diversity to be useful and varied in the standard metagame. This is what CAP Pokémon are looking to be like.</p>
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