When talking about anything, you first have to define the rules. Without a guiding direction, we might as well be speaking different languages. The people who speak English and the people who speak Tagalog have to come together and decide what language to speak in. If the English speakers win, the Tagalog speakers have to live with that. We have to define "right" and "wrong" so that we're not just saying random stuff with no meaning.
CAP is the same way. Without a defining concept, what are we doing? Random popular whim is exactly the right way to get what nobody wants. That is why we must make a stand, right here, right now. We must define our first, all-encompassing rule, which will shape everything we do with this CAP project. In essence, we are voting on the "language" that the project will use. Choose carefully.
This poll operates on instant-runoff voting. This means that order matters in your votes, but you may vote for any number of choices that you like. A typical vote might look like this:
IMPORTANT: When voting, use only the name of the author! The list of possible votes include:
Rising_Dusk
capefeather
SubwayJ
toshimelonhead
Birkal
phoopes
Theorymon
This poll will be open for 24 hours. The concept submissions are quoted below in order of submission.
CAP is the same way. Without a defining concept, what are we doing? Random popular whim is exactly the right way to get what nobody wants. That is why we must make a stand, right here, right now. We must define our first, all-encompassing rule, which will shape everything we do with this CAP project. In essence, we are voting on the "language" that the project will use. Choose carefully.
This poll operates on instant-runoff voting. This means that order matters in your votes, but you may vote for any number of choices that you like. A typical vote might look like this:
Note that any posts that do not contain a vote will be moderated and the poster warned. If you feel compelled to say something in your own vote, you may do so, but please don't try to incite a discussion here. Keep discussion to the IRC channel, #cap.Most Preferred
Second Most Preferred
Least Preferred
If the voter wishes, she may post comments on his vote below the actual vote. Only the vote itself should be bold and none of the supplementary text should be bold.
IMPORTANT: When voting, use only the name of the author! The list of possible votes include:
Rising_Dusk
capefeather
SubwayJ
toshimelonhead
Birkal
phoopes
Theorymon
This poll will be open for 24 hours. The concept submissions are quoted below in order of submission.
Rising Dusk said:Concept: The Deceiver
Description: A Pokemon that is built around concealing information from the opponent or misinforming the opponent in a generation where information is more readily available than ever.
Justification: Information became very difficult to hide from your opponent in the generation shift for many reasons. The most eminent reason of the lot is team preview. Now you get to see your opponent's pinch sweeper Lucario, or the Electivire to your opponent's Gyarados, or whether they're running stall or offense, or which weather they're running. These things were all concealed from us prior to BW. Additionally, with being able to choose a lead, the concept of a no-lead metagame has made BW even more about team synergy and less about concealing information.
I'm not convinced, however. There are still many ways to hide information, just nothing serious in the metagame that takes advantage of it. I think exploring the idea of information as a concept driver would result in a very unique, diverse, and productive experience for a BW CAP both in the process and in the result.
Questions To Be Answered:
Explanation: CAP is where we explore concepts that don't get much or any gametime in real Pokemon. This concept came to me as soon as BW was introduced and the changes were made that included team preview and choosing a lead. I immediately asked myself: "But wait, what if you could still hide all of this information from your opponent? Would that put the fear back into the players?" Hiding information was something so pivotal for DPP OU, and I think being able to bring it back to BW OU would change the way we look at an otherwise predictable metagame.
- Can information be concealed effectively from your opponent to give you the upper hand when you finally "reveal your hand" as it were?
- What sort of information is the most feasible to conceal from your opponent? The least feasible?
- What methods best facilitate the obfuscation of information?
- Which is more viable, misleading your opponent or simply leaving them guessing entirely?
- Which items and styles of play best suit a Pokemon that focuses on concealing information? Would defensive, offensive, or balanced be more appropriate?
- Does the threat of a lack of information require a diverse movepool, or can it be achieved through other means?
There are many obvious ways to hide information. We employ a few of these strategies still, such as Expert Belt to hide under the guise of being choice-locked. This is based in misdirection, not obfuscation. The difference between these two types of information will need to be discussed at length by the community, but forms the basic principle of the flow of information to and from players. Obfuscation is something like having a diverse movepool such that an opponent cannot predict your set. Perhaps having diverse coverage, or diverse support options. Perhaps, even, having a diverse typing through the use of Multitype. On the other hand, the epitome of misdirection might be Illusion; your opponent thinks you're a completely different Pokemon altogether! What then if you have both Zoroark and CAP 3 on your team? Complete anarchy! As you can see, there are a wide variety of ways that we can handle a CAP based on deception and hiding information. I hope that this has piqued your all's interest as much as it has captivated me for countless months as I waited for the opportunity to present this concept to you.
Enter the deceiver.
capefeather said:Name: Break the Mold 2
Description: This Pokémon uses one or more moves or abilities in unconventional ways.
Justification: Many moves and abilities are good for one function and one function only (e.g. Swords Dance, Huge Power). However, some moves and abilities are more ambiguous, either because of subtle mechanical quirks (e.g. Nature Power bypassing Sucker Punch), or because of multiple effects (e.g. Drizzle being used for stall), or because the main effect of a move or ability does not entirely favor one tactical style (e.g. Agility on defensive Pokémon). This concept aims to explore alternate, neglected roles of moves and abilities, in order to gain a deeper understanding of how move and ability effects interact, as well as perhaps a greater appreciation for subtle game mechanics. It is also a throwback to the original Break the Mold (Stratagem), which aimed to break flavor stereotypes of Pokémon typings. It is important to keep in mind that this concept is about rethinking moves and abilities themselves, NOT about rethinking the kinds of Pokémon that can use certain moves or abilities.
Questions To Be Answered:
Explanation:
- Will "breaking the mold" create a new niche in the metagame, or will it force us to rethink an existing one?
- How will using a move or ability in a different way change the way we look at existing Pokémon that also use said move or ability?
- Is it easier to use a primarily offensive effect in a defensive manner, or vice versa?
- How can a move or ability be used in a role that is not outclassed by a different move or ability that seems more tailored for said role?
- How do moves/abilities that seem one-dimensional differ from moves/abilities that actually are one-dimensional?
- Could certain move/ability combinations be exploited to "break the mold" with multiple possible sets?
- Is there really more to certain move or ability effects than what we think of them?
- Can conventional niches for moves and abilities "coexist" with unconventional ones?
New ways of looking at moves and abilities change the metagame, and we have ample proof of this in the development of OU and other metagames. People once found "rain stall" a baffling concept. Now it's commonplace. Speed was once considered entirely an offensive trait. Now we have "quickstall" (okay, Ubers, but still) and even individual defensive Pokémon using Speed to their advantage (Deoxys-D even uses Agility sometimes).
One occurrence that gave me this idea was the inclusion of Nature Power in Tomohawk's movepool. At the time of its development, I was just amused by the weird properties of Nature Power. But what if Prankster Nature Power as a combo were put onto a Pokémon more able to use it highly effectively? This is just one example of several possibilities. Defensive Speed Boost? Sure! Offensive Prankster with Bulk Up / Calm Mind? Why not? Defensive Serene Grace? Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you! What about a defensive user of Arena Trap or Shadow Tag? Contrary could be a really fun ability to use for this, since it's often seen as a power sweeper's dream and yet there are lots of defensive options as well.
What I do not envision here is an ability that has a single role but is useful for both offense and defense. Something like Multiscale or Poison Heal, which are characterized as "defensive", would not be very good for this concept, because all they really do is reduce the overall damage the user has. An offensive Pokémon with such an ability (e.g. Dragon Dance Dragonite) is not really using it offensively, but rather, the ability is more of a "helper" that allows the Pokémon to do its "real" job more easily. What we want here is a re-imagining of the move or ability itself, NOT a focus on the Pokémon using it.
I've added a question to highlight this: "How do moves/abilities that seem one-dimensional differ from moves/abilities that actually are one-dimensional?" It's easy to see why Swords Dance and Shell Smash are one-dimensional. They boost offensive stats, and the latter even cuts defensive stats. It might be harder to see why moves/abilities like Prankster, Serene Grace, and Agility may not be one-dimensional. That is why I listed three avenues for fulfilling this concept in the justification, and all of them are important:
It is a disservice to look at one and judge the concept on it. If it looks like this concept will lead to picking moves and abilities traditionally considered "broken", well, there's really nothing wrong with that in the end. In fact, it may be MORE insightful to work with traditionally "broken" effects. Honestly, I don't see how anyone can claim to be "ambitious" and then not see the merit in this concept on account of the possibility of legitimately bringing up really crazy abilities. People on IRC routinely come up with variations on this theme spontaneously. I think it's about time we acted on them.
- Subtle mechanics
- Multiple effects
- Tactic-independent effects (e.g. Speed alteration)
Finally, I urge you to consider the reactions of people seeing a CAP like this for the first time, and getting completely baffled. Say, they thought it would be an offensive Pokémon by quickly looking at its ability or movepool, only to find that it's actually a mean stall Pokémon. Would that not be hilarious? Come on, I dare you not to laugh. (It would also be rather impeccable timing considering we're waiting for an actual sequel to shake up the OU metagame.)
SubwayJ said:Name: Double Team (not the move)
Description:
In tandem, we create a NFE, and a FE mon, both competitively designed, but for different roles and release both upon the metagame.
Justification: Two Pokemon, same (or similar) typing, but two completely different roles. If we release two Pokemon, one Defensive (eviolite) and the other offensive, we can truly test how effective a certain type (combination) can be. Also we can test how Offensively viable and Defensively viable a certain type is. We can also see how mons with the same movepool choose different moves based on their stats or orientation (offensive/defensive)
Questions to be answered:
•Will these Pokemon effectively teach us how effective a Type is?
•Despite being the same type, will these Pokemon be effective on the same team?
•Which of the Pokemon will prove more useful, or will they be used equally?
•Will releasing two Pokemon on the metagame shake it up more than one would
•Will the same Pokemon counter both CAP's or will they be different?
Explenation: Many people when they look at my concept may think, "We'd pretty much have 2 of the same Pokemon," or, "Won't the 2 CaP's be Identical?" (Or in Wyverii's case "Kill Deck Knight!") however there are many cases of pokemon with the same types having VERY different roles. Take Landorus and Gliscor for example, both are OU, both are Flying/Ground, however they are VERY different Pokemon! One is clearly offensively based, and the other defensively. Both are the same type, but they both have their OWN impact on the metagame!
If we release 2 different Pokemon with the same type, we can see how effective a "Double Team" is on the metagame. Something never previously done. We have no idea where this could go, but it gives us two competitively viable Pokemon, the only restriction being 1 offense, 1 defense.
In conclusion, we could have much to gain releasing 2 different CAP's on the metagame, also it allows more Create-A-Pokemon goodness! (and who doesn't love that???)
toshimelonhead said:Name: Checkmate
General Description: A pokemon that has plenty of counters, but once these are removed the game is effectively over.
Justification: When building teams in BW OU compared to DPP OU, I find it easier to look at pokemon that can sweep at the end and find pokemon that can eliminate these counters. With Team Preview, it is easier than ever to find these counters and eliminate them.
Questions To Be Answered:
Explanation: Although anything can be an end game sweeper, I have found my best teams have something designated for ending a game. In Eternal's Ark, for instance, I used a Scarf Moxie Gyarados that could end games just by using Waterfall and gaining attack boosts. On my recent Sun team, Sawsbuck swept most of the time once priority users like Scizor had been taken out. Strategies like Baton Pass focus exclusively on the endgame, not attacking for the whole battle just so that they can get a perfect sweep at the end. The challenge here, though, is to not make this pokemon completely broken. Even though Lucario in DPP, for instance, can sweep at +2 with Close Combat and Extremespeed, I wouldn't call it broken because it is so frail. That's what I'm looking for in this CAP. Volcarona is an example on the special side because it can sweep once hazards are gone and it can get a few Quiver Dances up. To use a chess analogy, I want Cap 3 to be a Rook, not a Queen. I think this concept gives us a good chance to discuss something that does not hinge on a single ability, but a greater overall idea of how to win battles.
- How has team preview changed the endgame of Pokemon?
- What makes a good end game sweeper? Is it better, for instance, to have something like Choice Scarf Moxie Salamence which needs no setup, or something like Volcarona, which can sustain a sweep longer but needs Stealth Rock removed and a Quiver Dance or two to win?
- How do weather and entry hazards impact endgame?
- Is there even such a thing as a "endgame"?
- What is the difference between a middle game and an end game sweeper?
Birkal said:Name: Boot to the Head
Previously titled Decentralizer Revisited.
General Description: A Pokemon that is constructed to perform only moderately well against the majority of the Pokemon with the OU tier, but designed specifically to beat the top 6 used Pokemon (and their playstyles) within the OU tier superbly.
Justification: If you have played on Smogon’s OU tier within the past three months, you must have noticed at there are certain Pokemon that seem to pop up continually and persistently. These Pokemon are the most used Pokemon in OU and they are often selected during teambuilding processes over other underused Pokemon within the OU tier. These include threats like Scizor and Rotom-W, which abuse switching tactics to decimate the tier; these two Pokemon are both statistically found in at least one out of every five OU teams. Weather starters like Tyranitar and Politoed are also widely prevalent, converting the majority of OU battles into a massive weather war.
It is unfortunate that the OU tier is so fixated on six specific Pokemon. There are many other OU Pokemon that have the potential to perform exceedingly well, but for less than obvious reasons, fall to the wayside when compared to the Top 6. The Boot to the Head would teach us vast amounts how the top threats in OU consistently rank so high in the usage statistics. Throughout the creation of this concept, we’d identify the weaknesses displayed by the Top 6 and discover how to exploit them. This would, concurrently, reveal to us how well other OU Pokemon can perform within the tier once the Top 6 aren't so pervasive.
Questions To Be Answered:
- Why are the top six threats in OU consistently seated in the top seats of the OU tier? What makes them stand out from other OU Pokemon?
- What kind of weaknesses do the Top 6 exhibit? How can we capitalize upon them?
- What common weaknesses do the top six threats in OU share? How can they be exploited? Inversely, which weaknesses are different and individualized per each of these six overused Pokemon?
- Which attacking types will prove to be suitable in an offensive combination against the Top 6? Furthermore, which defensive types hold their own against the top seated Pokemon in OU?
- Which non-attacking moves can be utilized to stop the top OU threats and their playstyles? Similarly, which abilities are useful in stopping the Top 6?
- Which Pokemon can now find success in OU when the previously biggest threats are now thwarted? What specifically was holding them back previously from achieving bountiful success within the OU tier?
- Does the Boot to the Head end up having an overall effect of decentralizing the tier or centralizing it even more? If the tier is more centralized due to its presence, then which Pokemon stole the spotlight? Why?
Explanation:
The Inspiration for Creating the Boot to the HeadTo begin, let me provide some statistics from the OU tier, graciously pulled off of the Smogon server on Pokemon Online by user Antar:
[/code]Code:[code] + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | RealUse| RealPct | + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- + [b]| 1 | Scizor | 66225 | 27.549% | 54445 | 27.258% | | 2 | Dragonite | 53436 | 22.229% | 42631 | 21.343% | | 3 | Heatran | 49829 | 20.728% | 42157 | 21.106% | | 4 | Rotom-W | 48683 | 20.252% | 44024 | 22.040% | | 5 | Tyranitar | 43734 | 18.193% | 39153 | 19.602% | | 6 | Politoed | 42146 | 17.532% | 39056 | 19.553% | [/b]
Code:[code] + ---- + --------------- + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ------- + [b] | 1 | Scizor | 27.950% | | 2 | Dragonite | 22.435% | | 3 | Heatran | 20.530% | | 4 | Rotom-W | 20.501% | | 5 | Tyranitar | 18.212% | | 6 | Politoed | 17.440% |[/b][/code]Code:[code] + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | RealUse| RealPct | + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------- + [b]| 1 | Tyranitar | 4394 | 43.271% | 4070 | 46.376% | | 2 | Scizor | 2827 | 27.840% | 2399 | 27.336% | | 3 | Politoed | 2803 | 27.604% | 2546 | 29.011% | | 4 | Rotom-W | 2441 | 24.039% | 2227 | 25.376% | | 5 | Dragonite | 2397 | 23.605% | 1898 | 21.627% | | 6 | Heatran | 2342 | 23.064% | 2083 | 23.735% |[/b]
As you can clearly see, OU has a massive problem with centralization. Within the past month of March, the top six ranked Pokemon in OU ruled the tier with incredibly high usage percents. Furthermore, this focus on six specific Pokemon has been active for the past three months. That's right, all six of these Pokemon were also the top six Pokemon used within the long span of three months. Even more shocking is that the 1337 statistics for March are identical, except for those battlers use the Top 6 even more (1337 stats refer to battles that were fought by two users with a ranking over 1337)! These six Pokemon have absolutely defined the metagame for the last several months.
Meanwhile, with all of this centralization going on, there are many fantastic Pokemon that are falling to the wayside. Threats like Gengar, Gyarados, and Salamence have fallen under a 10% usage, with other Pokemon like Reuniclus, Volcarona, Conkeldurr, and countless others falling even lower. Furthermore, non-mainstream play styles like Stall and Rain Dance Offense have completely fallen to the wayside (even Ferrothorn is losing its touch). The OU tier's focus has been so glued to the Top 6 that we have almost completely neglected to study these Pokemon and give them a chance to shine. Their overshadowing is tragic, really. Adding the Boot to the Head will give us a chance to look at these "fallen stars" in OU thoroughly.
Clarification on the Concept's PurposeWhen I say that we need to focus on defeating the Top 6 and their playstyles, I am referring to the "niches" that they bring to an OU team. For example, Politoed and Tyranitar both provide weather support to a team, while Scizor and Rotom-W provide momentum support. Perhaps in order to decentralize the OU tier of the Top 6, we need to focus on stopping these playstyles alongside of stopping the Pokemon. We will need to be plenty creative, but I am sure it would be a lot of fun!
Furthermore, please not that Decentralizer and the Boot to the Head have different goals and are not the same concept. The Decentralizer aimed to decentralize the current metagame completely. The Boot to the Head, however, is merely focused on removing the Top 6 from their lofty rank and noting the consequential changes in the tier. This concept is much more interested in seeing which Pokemon can thrive and survive when the Top 6 are deterred. With this concept, we're not trying to completely decentralize the OU tier, but rather, we're simply working on a) discussing tactics that can be used to defeat the top six biggest threats and their playstyles in OU, and b) discovering which other Pokemon do exceptionally well when the Top 6 are threatened by the Boot to the Head.
Flexibility of the ConceptLet me just make a quick note: how we "beat" the Top 6 is totally up for grabs. I think part of the fun would be incorporating its dominance over these six Pokemon at different parts in the process! For example, its typing could give it a solid advantage over two threats, while its ability lets it beat out two more, one is defeated by its stats, and the final falls prey to movepool. The term "beat" is also subjective. It could mean checking a Pokemon, countering a Pokemon, or removing the "playstyle" that the threat envokes (e.g. allowing the Boot to the Head to change the weather to beat Politoed). The concept is really quite flexible in these regards. Thinking "we're going to counter all 6 Pokemon in Ability Discussion" is a poor way of going about this. Variance and clever planning would be our best friends in taking down the Top 6!
However, we must be careful with this concept. We have to make sure that we create a Pokemon that is meant to stop the Top 6 and their playstyles specifically and little else. We'll need to have many discussions on the weaknesses of the top six threats and how to attack them without making CAP 3 too powerful. It certainly is possible; we just need to be aware of all of the Pokemon within the OU tier in order for this to work properly. Furthermore, we can glean information from the concept that inspired this one: the Decentralizer (Arghonaut) by viewing the brand new CAP Process Archive subforum. Although Arghonaut's concept was made with the CAP metagame in mind, we can still draw inspiration from the discussion on 4th Generation CAP 6 process when balancing this Pokemon.
As a final note, I must stress that if we're going to choose this concept, it is now or never. Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 are on the horizon for release this summer. If we're ever going to test the BW OU tier that we have played for the last year and a few months (with a few bans) to see which Pokemon do well when the Top 6 are scattered, it must be now. The move tutors and other factors presented within B2W2, plus the new added threats of Keldeo and possibly Genesect, will shake up the metagame too much for us to get accurate data on the first wave of competitive BW OU battling. The BW OU tier has settled, more or less, so now is the perfect time to run with such a concept as this.
Thanks for your time!
phoopes said:Name: Hyper Offense Revival
General Description: Many say that stall is dead. However, another style of play has been dying recently too: Hyper Offense. This CAPmon would attempt to bring back the playability that Hyper Offense once had before the ban of key players in the Hyper Offense playstyle.
Justification: By making a CAPmon that supports Hyper Offense, we would be bringing a style of play back into the fold. Rather than seeing weather on every other team, more variety would be introduced to the OU metagame. As someone previous said, the Top 6 Pokemon used rarely change, and all of the Top 6 are consistently used on weather teams, with two even being weather starters. With the reintroduction of a playstlye, this could again add variety to the OU metagame, by changing the types of Pokemon that you would see on a regular basis.
Questions to be Answered:
Explanation: Ever since the ban of key Hyper Offense Pokemon such as Deoxys-S and Thundurrus, there has been a decline in the use of that playstyle, while other playstyles like weather and VolTurn have gained even more popularity. The goal of this CAPmon would be to create a Pokemon that can effectively bring this style of play back into the fold.
- Can the Hyper Offense playstyle become viable again?
- Can the dominance of the weather and VolTurn playstyles be usurped?
- Can the roles of banned Pokemon be played just as well by a new Pokemon?
- Will there be more variety in the Pokemon that one would see in the OU metagame if Hyper Offense regains popularity?
- Will other playstyles become more popular as well to act as a counter to Hyper Offense?
- Which lesser-used Pokemon can benefit from the new buffer to Hyper Offense?
- Which OU Pokemon can most effectively take advantage of the Hyper Offense playstyle?
What makes this concept even more intriguing is that it the created Pokemon could become multiple things. The new Pokemon could be similar to the great double screens lead that Deoxys-S used to be, or it could be created as the fearsome set-up sweeper that Thundurrus was. As a double screens lead, the CAP could benefit the set-up sweepers that Hyper Offense was renowned for, such as Terrakion or Dragonite. As a set-up sweeper, it could fulfill the roll as a must-have on a Hyper Offense team that Thundurrus was, which nothing has truly replaced since.
If Hyper Offense would return to its former glory, how would that effect the usage of the current most popular playstyles, weather and VolTurn? This is yet another reason why the reintroduction of Hyper Offense could be intriguing. It would create a wider variety in what Pokemon you would normally see, and shake things up in the playstyle department, because other playstyles might see use to try and counter Hyper Offense.
Seeing which OU Pokemon can take advantage most, and what lesser-used Pokemon could benefit the most from the Hyper Offense CAP would also be interesting. If the CAP would be a double screens lead, which would benefit more, Infernape or Lucario? And would Shell Smash Omastar suddenly become viable? If the CAP were a set-up sweeper, would Espeon or Alakazam see more use as a double screen lead? Or would Uxie have its time to shine?
In conclusion, reviving the Hyper Offense playstyle could teach us so much about the OU metagame. Instead of this CAP being a Pokemon that fulfills a certain role in the current metagame, it could expand the metagame into a larger playing field, where more Pokemon could see consistent use. The very OU metagame itself could be shaken up by the introduction of a Hyper Offense-related CAP. Thank you for the consideration.
Theorymon said:Name: Extreme Makeover: Typing Edition
General Description: The idea here is to create a Pokemon who's typing, while normally considered poor defensively and/or offensively, becomes a strong selling point of the Pokemon itself via help from an ability, stats, and/or movepool.
Justification: There are a lot of typings we scoff at on a daily basis because of their serious flaws, often forgetting about their strong points. For example, Poison is a really terrible offensive typing, but a decent defensive typing, while the Ice typing is good offensively, but awful defensively. Instead of just accepting that some typings will just ruin a Pokemon, this CAP concept aims to take that "terrible typing", and find ways to fix it (usually via ability, movepool, or stats) to the point where the formerly terrible typing becomes the CAP's strong point! The reason this CAP could benefit OU is because a Pokemon who makes a "bad typing" into a great one could find many unique offensive and/or defensive niches that aren't currently found!
Questions To Be Answered
-What does it take for a Pokemon to overcome its "bad typing" so much that its typing becomes good? Are the stats the biggest contributer, is the ability the thing that saves it, does movepool make it a force, or is it a combination of the above?
-How does the typing makeover effect the Pokemon's playstyle? Does the Pokemon become a unique wall that uses its makeover to overcome its typing's normally fatal flaws, does the make over make a terrible offensive typing into a fearsome sweeper, does the makeover make it into a formidible combination of deffense and offense to a typing that brings it neither, or does the makeover bring forth something none of us see coming from the typing?
-Which resistances and immunities are the most relevant to the metagame? Sure, this concept is aiming to have a "bad typing" become good, but part of that will require the bad typing to have some key resistances and/or immunties to certain typings to defend against or set up on, while still having a very unorthodox competitive typing. This works the other way around too, what are the typings most relevant to hit super effectively or at least neutral?
-How will the rest of the OU metagame react to this extreme type makeover? Will Pokemon start carrying moves they normally wouldn't carry to break through a new defensive threat, will some Pokemon take on new defensive roles due to resisting the unorthodox STABs CAP 3 may carry? Or will This Pokemon, despite being a very real threat, not have many "custom made sets" to beat it, being more of a Pokemon that is a reaction to the metagame than causing a metagame reaction?
-Finally, how will this effect the teams CAP3 is on? Will this be the kind of Pokemon who needs a lot of support to become a threat, will this Pokemon be more of key team member to execute another strategy, or will this be the kind of Pokemon that's part of the glue that holds the team together?
Explanation:
Alright first let me get something out of the way: I don't exactly envision us making something like "another Volcarona", or "another Ho-Oh". Those two are more examples of Pokemon who succeed despite the problems their typing give them. While we could go that way, I envision this concept as more of a way to make a normally terrible typing good, not just a good Pokemon with a bad typing! Now some of you make think this concept could get a bit restrictive, but there are actually a LOT of ways this concept can go! I'll divide the rest of this Explanation into Defensive and Offensive examples, and also examples of Pokemon in existing metagames that illustrate what I'm talking about. Just one thing to note, these aren't the only possible ways a CAP under this concept can go! The below are just merely examples of how we could form this CAP, there are plenty of other avenues this CAP could go and explore that I don't mention!
Defensive
-The first thing that will probably come to mind when it comes to giving a bad defensive typing a make over is giving it an ability that gives it an immunity to a 4x weakness, abilities like Levitate, Sap Sipper, Flash Fire, Water Absorb, Lighting Rod, etc. This is certainly a direction this CAP can go, because there are plenty of typings that are considered terrible on a Pokemon just because its stats don't gel with a nasty 4x weakness!
-When it comes to abilities, there are others that can aid the quest of turning a bad typing into a good one! The most obvious example is Magic Guard on a Pokemon that has the often ruining 4x Stealth Rock weakness, but this isn't the only way! Another solid example that isn't seen at all in OU is Solid Rock, which could be perfect for a Pokemon who has a lot of nasty 2x weaknesses.
-Simply having stats in the right places can do wonders here in making a bad typing on paper become a good typing in practice! For example, lets look at Blissey and Chansey in OU. Normal is a pretty bleh typing, in fact these two are the only Normal types in OU! However, that massive SpD is what shows the strength of Normal being neutral to almost everything and having only one weakness!
-Solstice brought up a pretty good point on IRC that I forgot to mention! Having resists in the right places can be a huge help! The great example he brought up was Celebi. Celebi has 7 weakneses, including a nasty 4x weak to Bug. What made Celebi OU (and makes it work in Ubers hehehehehehe) is that it brings along aweome resistances to common attacking types like Water, Ground, and Fighting, and it certainly has the movepool to take advantage of these kinds of resistances!
-There is also one great example of a Pokemon in OU and Ubers, who's typing, while normally pretty bad defensively, works wonders because of its ability: Tyranitar! Dark / Rock has a normally devastating 6 weaknesses, including weakneses to common types like Water, Fighting, and Ground. What really saves Tyranitar here is of course, the SpD boost it gets from Sandstream. This, in combination with its great defensive stats, makes Tyranitar FAR more difficult to take down than it seems! Combine that with great offensive stats, and being one of the best Pursuiters around, and you have a great example of a Pokemon turning a normally terrible typing into one hell of an asset!
Offensive
This concept may seem like it would be very biased defensively, but thats not the case, there are plenty of ways to make this CAP focused on offense!
-Sometimes, a great move is what can turn a bad typing on a Pokemon into a good one! I'm guessing a lot of you are thinking "Like Quiver Dance on Volcarona?", and while that is an example in some ways, I have another example that some of you might not expect: the classic god of Pokemon, Mewtwo! Last generation in Ubers, Mewtwo's typing actually really sucked, it had a terrible stab plenty of Pokemon resisted, to the point where it didnt even bother using a STAB, AND it also had a pretty meh defensive typing too! That all changed this generation when Mewtwo got Psystrike, the 100 BP Psyshock clone. Because of Psystrike, Mewtwo has become one of the most fearsome mixed sweepers in Pokemon history, suffering none of the consequences most mixed attackers do, and in the process, making a Psychic resistance extremely important and a Psychic weakness a very big flaw unlike last generation! So TL;DR, giving a Pokemon the right offensive movepool can go a long way twords making its bad typing become good!
-We could go with a Pokemon that has a great defensive typing, but a terrible offensive typing. The catch here is that this would actually be an offensive Pokemon, that uses its defensive typing to either launch off powerful attacks or set up. A great example of an already existing Pokemon that does this is none other than Steel Arceus in Ubers! While Mono Steel is still a great defensive type, its a pretty sucky offensive typing. Steel Arceus gets away with being offensive anyways as an awesome Calm Minder, it uses its great defensive typing to set up, and takes advantage of the fact that Steel effects every type to use Judgement as its only attack, and use a nice support move like Roar in the last slot!
-Offensive Abilities can also go a long way twords making a bad typing into a good typing! A great example that user Deck Knight has mentioned a couple times is a Rock / Fire type with Rock Head. Normally, Rock / Fire reminds us of how much Magcargo really sucks, but imagine if Magcargo had Flare Blitz and Head Smash? Sure it'd still have an SR weakness and a 4x weakness to water and ground, but it'd sure be able to hit hard!
-To expand on the point made above, having stats in the right places can go a long way twords making a Pokemon with a bad typing appealing, ESPECIALLY SPEED! Lets bring up that hypothetical Rock / Fire Pokemon again. If we want to make this thing offensive, why not give it lots of speed to make it so it can hit stuff before getting nuked by a Surf? Making the Pokemon super fast isn't guaranteed either. For example, we could make something like a bulky Dark / Psychic Pokemon with just enough speed so it could reasonably out speed most Scizor, and then Fire Blast its ass!
