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The movepool process has improved greatly over the past two CAP projects, but it still isn't as organized as it should be. It is still unclear as to how the move discussion threads should progress, and no one is really certain what has been agreed after it is done. Nothing seems to clear up until the Complete Movepool Submission thread. The earlier movepool threads are where the big decision-making should occur, but I don't think the process is encouraging that.
I propose the following changes to the Movepool discussion and voting process:
Moves will be discussed and voted in three distinct sections -- Attacking Moves, Non-Attacking Moves, and Complete Movepool
An "Attacking Move" is a move that deals significant damage to an opponent. All other moves are considered "Non-Attacking Moves". As a general rule, any move that can be used under Taunt, is considered to be an Attacking Move. However, there are a few exceptional moves that deal a small amount of damage, but their primary battle purpose is based on a secondary move effect, and Are therefore considered Non-Attacking moves. For example, Rapid Spin and Knock Off are considered to be Non-Attacking Moves, even though they can be used under Taunt. The Topic Leader has sole discretion for interpreting which moves are considered Attacking or Non-Attacking Moves for a given pokemon.
All moves will be categorized as Competitive, Non-Competitive, or Required.
Competitive moves are moves that are viable for use in battle on a given pokemon. This categorization is applicable depending on the pokemon. Sometimes a move will be competitive on one pokemon and non-competitive for another.
Required moves are moves that must be included in the final movepool, and are generally not up for discussion. A list of commonly Required moves can be found in X-Act's movepool guide.
The Topic Leader has sole discretion for determining whether a move is Competitive, Non-Competitive, or Required for the pokemon being created.
Move Discussions(Attacking and Non-Attacking)
The Topic Leader will post a list of moves in the OP of the thread. This list will serve as a single point-of-reference for the current state of the discussion.
The first list of moves should be compiled by the Topic Leader prior to opening the thread, and will serve as the initial list of moves to begin discussion.
The list of moves will be separated into three sections indicating the "status" of the move in the current discussion -- Allowed, Disallowed, Controversial, or Pending.
- Allowed - Moves that have been agreed through general community consensus to be allowed in the pokemon's final movepool
- Disallowed - Moves that have been agreed through general community consensus to not be allowed in the pokemon's final movepool
- Controversial - Moves that did not reach general community consensus, and will require a specific vote.
- Pending - Moves that have not received enough support or opposition to determine whether they are Allowed, Disallowed, or Controversial
The community should make posts arguing for moves to be Allowed or Disallowed. All posts should be presented with reasoning.
Posting lists of moves is strictly prohibited. Do not copy the TL's list, and then add "Yes/No" or a similarly worthless comment, beside each one. Posts that contain lists of moves will be deleted, even if the post contains additional reasoning and content.
The Topic Leader will update the list continuously throughout the discussion, using recent posts to determine changes to the move list. Moves may have a fluctuating status as the community debates for or against the move in response to changes in the OP.
Posts should be based on the current state of the list in the OP. It is the responsibility of each member to check the OP before making any post in the thread. Posts that demonstrate lack of familiarity with the current OP will be deleted.
The Topic Leader is the sole arbiter for determining "general community consensus". The TL may ignore arguments for or against certain moves, if they feel the argument is not presented with sufficient evidence or reasoning. Do not assume that the existence of a few dissenting posts will ensure that a move will be categorized as Controversial.
At the conclusion of the Movepool Discussion, the Topic Leader will make a final update to the OP move list and the thread will be locked.
Any Controversial Moves will proceed to be voted on in a Move Poll. Any Controversial moves that receive a sufficient majority of votes, will be added to the Allowed moves list.
Complete Movepool
Based on participation in the previous movepool threads, the TL should select several members to present a complete movepool submission.
Allowed moves are the ONLY Competitive moves that are allowed in a final movepool. All other Competitive moves, even those not mentioned in the Move discussion thread -- are NOT ALLOWED in a final movepool.
Any Non-Competitive move can be included in a complete movepool.
If anyone attempts to include additional Competitive moves, not agreed in the previous polls, it will be the TL's responsibility to see that the submitter removes them from the full movepool submission.
X-Act wrote a guide that describes the characteristics of an appropriate movepool. That guide is located here, and should be used as a reference for all movepool submitters.