reachzero
the pastor of disaster
The concept for CAP 1 is Momentum, submitted by Admiral_Korski.
Finally, be aware that poll jumping will be taken very seriously in this thread. Don't do it. Try not to use comments like "this Pokemon has to have U-turn!" Instead, discuss how Pokemon gain or give up momentum, and how they do so.
This thread will likely remain open for 48 hours due to the sheer importance of this discussion, though it may close sooner if we reach consensus on the important issues.
This concept raises some extremely important questions for us to address in this thread. How we answer these questions will fundamentally set the stage for all the decisions we make in the later stages. Here are some of the major questions:Concept: Momentum
General Description: This will be a Pokemon that can be utilized to gain or regain momentum for a player's team at any point in the match as its primary function.
Justification: Gen. 5 is a very powerful metagame. As such, most battles are won by the smarter strategist who can best maneuver around his/her opponent's onslaught to gain even a single turn's advantage, potentially clinching them the match. This process of gaining and regaining momentum is most often the defining element that makes a winner and a loser out of a single Pokemon battle. Any top player in this metagame should agree that momentum is the most crucial element in any given match; however, "momentum" itself is a rather vaguely defined term that is never really explored in concrete terms. Is it keeping opposing teams on the defensive? Forcing switches? Good prediction? Spamming U-turn? These have all been approaches to achieving momentum, but they are also player-side and largely synonymous with "strategy," as opposed to Pokemon-side and regarding a Pokemon's role on the team. Certainly there are threats like Ferrothorn/Gliscor (defensive) and Scizor/Latios/Voltlos, etc., etc. (offensive) that can achieve momentum as we know it, but there is no current niche for a "momentum Pokemon" because the concept has been purely delegated to players and not to Pokemon.
Questions to be Answered:
-How do we define momentum in terms of competitive Pokemon? What factors make current Pokemon able to achieve momentum and how can we incorporate that information into a successful CAP?
-How do different styles of play (Weather-based offense, stall, bulky offense, etc.) use momentum to achieve their goals and how can our CAP play to those strategies in an effort to take their momentum away?
-What type of traditional role (sweeper, tank, wall, support) would a Pokemon like this most resemble? Would it have to be able to fit more than one of these roles to fit in a variety of teams?
-How will the different playstyles be affected by the addition of a Pokemon that can regain offensive/defensive momentum at any given point? Will offensive teams play more conservatively? Will defensive teams play more recklessly? Will everything simply adapt to a new threat and move on normally?
- What is momentum? How can we define it?
- How does a player gain or lose momentum over the course of a match?
- What sort of Pokemon tend to shift the momentum of a match? Which currently existing Pokemon do so the best?
Finally, be aware that poll jumping will be taken very seriously in this thread. Don't do it. Try not to use comments like "this Pokemon has to have U-turn!" Instead, discuss how Pokemon gain or give up momentum, and how they do so.
This thread will likely remain open for 48 hours due to the sheer importance of this discussion, though it may close sooner if we reach consensus on the important issues.