The concept for CAP 2, as voted on by the community, is as follows:
There have been numerous discussions since the concept poll stages about what might happen if and when Sketch Artist was chosen as the concept. The biggest of these discussions was the plausibility of the ability Multitype for use with the concept. Multitype would have extreme ramifications on the process of the CAP, and as such needs to be discussed now before we delve into stats or typing or other things. It would need to be decided on by the community prior to the advent of the other stages.
Anyway, Multitype. First, let me say that there is no such thing as polljumping in this thread, since this thread addresses all of the future of the CAP. Don't say ridiculous notions like "If it has Multitype it needs 110 Speed!", as that is still totally disallowed, but discussing the movepool ramifications of something like Multitype is perfectly okay.
Let me explain why I think Multitype merits serious consideration for CAP 2:
Hopefully this has given you all somewhere to begin your discussion of Multitype. All of these advantages combine to make Multitype a seriously advantageous proposition. There are some disadvantages too, such as the possibility of too much versatility, but that's why this thread exists. I am not sold one way or the other yet, and if I think it's a good idea after this discussion, at the end of this discussion thread I will be holding a special poll for whether we should pursue Multitype or not. If we pursue Multitype, we will have to adjust the process around it, and if we don't then we will continue as normal. In your discussions here, please try to focus on the concept and not worry too much about the logistics of the resulting process; that's my job to make sure it works. Also note that Multitype doesn't preclude CAP 2 having a not-Normal-type typing. It can still have a unique typing, it would just change when influenced by a plate.
tl;dr: Quack! (Multitype!)
I decided from the past concept assessment thread through much discussion that we would be following the bulky offensive mold for CAP 2. What that entails specifically will be determined in the individual stages down the road. Right now, we are going to discuss something else.Concept: Sketch Artist
Description: A Pokemon that learns Sketch, once, and everything that goes along with that.
Justification:
In terms of uniqueness, I think that few existing Pokemon can match DPP Smeargle, an otherwise laughably worthless Pokemon trolling OU with access to every trick in the book (or at least 4 of them) but also affecting the metagame greatly by becoming a top threat in the lead metagame. This Pokemon will borrow some of that uniqueness by learning the move Sketch and thus having access to ONE surprise/strategic/gutshot bonus move to supplement its pre-existing movepool. Being otherwise competently built (read: usable stats), this Poke could be a top threat or specialist for reasons we can't even predict yet.
Questions To Be Answered:
Explanation: The key here is that we have a lot of freedom to construct a unique Pokemon while staying within the confines of the concept. Typing, stats, abilities, and even most of the movepool are completely fair game so long as the Poke learns Sketch only once along the way and that we keep that in mind during previous steps. Now, this doesn't mean the CAP process will be directionless; Rising Dusk is pretty well organized and good at keeping discussions focused, and the concept itself has firm grounding in Smeargle's precedent. What's really being studied with this concept is movepool diversity and effectiveness, so it should have the most effect on the movepool process, where movepool creators will have to carefully balance their Sketchmon's actual movepool with the possibility of adding any one other move to the list. In terms of the metagame, there is no doubt in my mind that throwing a wildcard like this into the mix will strongly affect the metagame.
- How will a Poke that has access to any one move out of all the moves in the game affect common battling tactics, namely prediction, scouting, and switching?
- Which Sketch moves will become most common on this Poke's best sets? Does Sketchmon's success rely on hiding that secret Sketch move until just the right moment or can it succeed with predictably powerful moves like Spore, Spikes, Hurricane, Shell Smash, etc.?
- Does this unique and powerful access to moves need to be counterbalanced elsewhere in the Pokemon's design? If so, then to what degree?
- What kind of impact can Sketchmon have on teambuilding in terms of being able to patch holes with common utility moves like Rapid Spin or Toxic Spikes?
There have been numerous discussions since the concept poll stages about what might happen if and when Sketch Artist was chosen as the concept. The biggest of these discussions was the plausibility of the ability Multitype for use with the concept. Multitype would have extreme ramifications on the process of the CAP, and as such needs to be discussed now before we delve into stats or typing or other things. It would need to be decided on by the community prior to the advent of the other stages.
Anyway, Multitype. First, let me say that there is no such thing as polljumping in this thread, since this thread addresses all of the future of the CAP. Don't say ridiculous notions like "If it has Multitype it needs 110 Speed!", as that is still totally disallowed, but discussing the movepool ramifications of something like Multitype is perfectly okay.
Let me explain why I think Multitype merits serious consideration for CAP 2:
Multitype enables Judgment as a serious possibility for naturally learned move, giving CAP 2 reliable STAB regardless of the Sketch move.
This is a valuable asset to CAP 2, and may factor into it adequately being an offensive threat while freeing up Sketch for coverage or support moves.
The existence of Multitype + Judgment on CAP 2 removes the need for a bunch of coverage moves in the CAP's eventual movepool.
This is one of the biggest advantages, as it prevents CAP 2 from having unnecessary coverage in its eventual movepool. This will allow us to better focus CAP 2's movepool so that it gets two-move coverage instead of a plethora of things outside of its Sketch move. This is especially important because it means that Multitype actually has one other main benefit: it allows us to better study the effects of Sketch on the CAP because it enables us to better condense the eventual movepool around Sketch.
Multitype enables the use of even more Sketch moves, as it opens up STAB on an assortment of other moves that might not be useful without it.
This is the most important part of Multitype, and the primary driver for my considering it at all. Multitype really allows CAP 2 to take advantage of Sketch in an offensive manner and use an assortment of different moves with STAB where desired.
Hopefully this has given you all somewhere to begin your discussion of Multitype. All of these advantages combine to make Multitype a seriously advantageous proposition. There are some disadvantages too, such as the possibility of too much versatility, but that's why this thread exists. I am not sold one way or the other yet, and if I think it's a good idea after this discussion, at the end of this discussion thread I will be holding a special poll for whether we should pursue Multitype or not. If we pursue Multitype, we will have to adjust the process around it, and if we don't then we will continue as normal. In your discussions here, please try to focus on the concept and not worry too much about the logistics of the resulting process; that's my job to make sure it works. Also note that Multitype doesn't preclude CAP 2 having a not-Normal-type typing. It can still have a unique typing, it would just change when influenced by a plate.
tl;dr: Quack! (Multitype!)