After reviewing all of the submitted concepts thoroughly, there were several concepts that I believe will make a great CAP. Even though many of the other concepts were perfectly legal, they didn't really interest me and weren't worth exploring.
This is a BOLD VOTE poll. You will post the names of the concepts you are most interested in in bold. You must vote for only two concepts. For instance, if I voted for the Smelly Dan and Dan Smells concepts, I would bold it in my post like so:
Smelly Dan
Dan Smells
Remember, the winning concept is what this CAP will be based on, so think hard about your decisions of what you want to see.
Please, only post your votes and nothing else. I don't want any discussion in this thread. However, if you want to discuss these concepts, feel free to do so on the official CAP IRC channel, #cap on irc.synirc.net, or on our Shoddy Battle Server: Doug's Create-a-Pokemon Server.
Here are the concepts in the order they were submitted:
This is a BOLD VOTE poll. You will post the names of the concepts you are most interested in in bold. You must vote for only two concepts. For instance, if I voted for the Smelly Dan and Dan Smells concepts, I would bold it in my post like so:
Smelly Dan
Dan Smells
Remember, the winning concept is what this CAP will be based on, so think hard about your decisions of what you want to see.
Please, only post your votes and nothing else. I don't want any discussion in this thread. However, if you want to discuss these concepts, feel free to do so on the official CAP IRC channel, #cap on irc.synirc.net, or on our Shoddy Battle Server: Doug's Create-a-Pokemon Server.
Here are the concepts in the order they were submitted:
Yllnath said:Name: Fast offensive non-attacking decentralizer (A.K.A. The Mischief Maker)
General Description: This Pokemon is specialized in taking advantage of most or every non-attacking offensive oriented move and using it to severely cripple any opponents team that is not shaped to handle any and all kinds of disruptive strategies.
Justification: Heavy offense, Stall, Semi-stall, bulky offense, balanced teams. There are many directions in which you can go when building a team. However, teams like heavy offence and full stall share a big weakness in that they are very reliant on one single strategy to be able to win, one relies on sheer power, the other relies on, obviously enough, stalling out. If a pokemon would be able to completely mess with any teams strategy with non-attacking moves, will these two extremes in teambuilding terms become less viable than a more balanced team, who might be able to cope better with such a disruptive pokemon?
Questions To Be Answered:
-How will the metagame react to a fast thread that can literally always harm your precious sweeper's viability, or shut down your tank?
-Will balanced teams therefor become more attractive options to use?
-With the plethora of non-attacking moves in the game, how far can you go making this a versatile thread, capable of actually decentralizing the extremes of the metagame, without being broken?
-Should this pokemon only focus non-attacking moves, or are there attacking moves that have side effects that are very beneficial to this pokemons strategy?
-Will the metagame become more overrun with taunters, priority users and status absorbers/abusers when this pokemon runs rampant?
Explanation: I see this pokemon as a fast pokemon that can literally shut down any team that is too much focused on one single strategy, through means of (but not limited to), status abuse, item switching or removal, lightning fast taunts or encores, etc. If an opponents team lacks members who do not mind taking a status, or having their items replaced, this pokemon could cause serious troubles to the opponents team.
Zystral said:Name: Cardboard Wrecking Ball
General Description: Something with sheer amounts of power, able to sweep nearly whole teams, but has horrific type coverage and is frail enough/bad coverage to be stopped easily. However, when used right, can still be extremely dangerous.
Justification: A lot of the metagame depends either on inflicting Super Effective damage to KO your foes, or just hitting them with a strong attack to weaken them. This Pokemon would attempt to break the mould by having enough power to easily KO most walls, although by being easily walled or revenge killed, it isn't too broken. That, and its poor type coverage means that unless it gets some support or is left until late game, means that it is very hard to use for sweeping. It would definitely introduce a new niche into OU at least (in that nothing else has that much power for that poor coverage), and could possibly allow us to explore more about offensive tactics, most particularly the difference between bulky offense and hyper offense.
Questions To Be Answered:
- Is the raw power worth the loss of type coverage?
- Is it possible to sweep on sheer power alone?
- How would OU stand up to a Pokemon with such high power?
- Would it be able to stand up to a Pokemon with such power?
- Is it worth using something so powerful but so easily stopped?
- Is there an equilibrium in terms of Power:Efficiency?
Explanation: Obviously it will need extremely high base attack/special attack. Only one, however, since it needs to be wallable. It would also need a severely restricted movepool so it isn't hitting too much super effectively. Its own STAB even should be ineffective to the point where it is relying on its high power to carry it through. We would also need either low bulk or low speed, but not both. Low bulk makes it easy to revenge kill, while low speed makes it easy to just force out. A hindering ability (like Slow Start) would be a bit excessive, we want this to be usable and viable, just difficult to pull off.
Rising_Dusk said:Name - Winter Wonderland
Description - A Pokemon that can take advantage of Hail in some form.
Justification - Face it, Hail sucks in the current metagame. When you look at the auto-weather starter being 4x weak to Fire, the entire lot of Pokemon that abuse it being weak to Stealth Rock, and the utter lack of very effective sweepers under Hail, you can immediately see why its usage is practically nonexistent and it's primary mode of use is "Hail Stall." Hail in itself, though, is not much worse off compared to other weather effects; it is primarily limited in the Pokemon that can take advantage of it successfully. This concept attempts to explore the depth to which Hail could become successful in the OU metagame through creating a Pokemon that interacts with it on some fundamental level and fixes - or helps to fix - many of the problems Hail-themed teams run into in the current OU metagame.
Questions To Be Answered -
Explanation - 4th generation is marked by much excitement for the "auto Hail-inducing" Pokemon. When it came, it wasn't all that people were hoping for. Furthermore, all of the Pokemon that appeared in the metagame to assist Abomasnow in its job did nothing to negate the severe weaknesses that come with Ice-typing with Stealth Rock around or the general lack of type diversity allowed on Hail teams. Lastly, in terms of weather, Hail is the only other one besides Sandstorm available permanently in the OU metagame, so this doesn't make it unfamiliar or bizarre to the common player.
- Can Hail become a legitimate, non-gimmick strategy in OU with better Pokemon to take advantage of it?
- Can Hail effectively function in a manner other than HailStall?
- Will a greater prevalence of Hail decentralize the weather metagame from around Sandstream users?
- In what interesting ways can we develop a Hail-based Pokemon other than what we've already seen?
This Pokemon could be any number of things. It could use either Snow Warning itself to be a starter of Hail, serving a different role than Abomasnow, or it could run Snow Cloak / Ice Body without having the Ice-typing of the other users. It could still be Ice-typing, but could otherwise be anything. It doesn't even really need any of the obvious abilities or typing, though, as a Pokemon could simply be designed to function effectively as another Pokemon in Hail. Heatran comes to mind as a common Hail supporter for its ability to take Fire-type attacks with ease and set up Stealth Rock for the Hail team. Furthermore, the concept could either make a sweeper or a defensive Pokemon, although I feel that a bulky attacker on the order of Tyranitar might help Hail the absolute most. The ability for this Pokemon to go toe-to-toe with Tyranitar and fare well would alone provide an interesting point of study for the OU metagame. What happens when Tyranitar isn't the baddest weather-user on the block anymore? I'd like to find out.
Vader said:Name: Clean-Up Kid
General Description: A Pokemon capable of cleaning up lategame, but incapable of outright sweeping.
Justification: In the current OU Metagame, Pokemon can largely be lumped into three broad categories: Sweeper, Wall and Supporter. However, no Pokemon exists solely for the purpose of cleaning up lategame or revenge-killing Pokemon. They all have some means of sweeping. Scizor can use a SD set, and Choiced Pokemon have poor type coverage, leading to their ultimate downfall.
Questions To Be Answered:
-Is it possible to create a Pokemon who can clean without sweeping?
-How much of an effect does movepool have on a Pokemon's ability to clean-up compared to stats and ability?
-Which OU Pokemon are the most likely targets that need cleaning?
-How much does speed affect a Pokemon's ability to clean up?
-How will teams that don't rely on residual damage adapt to a cleaner?
Explanation: Ever since Deoxys-Speed left OU due to its insane set-up capabilities, there has been a sort of gulf in the metagame. No Pokemon is as capable of outspeeding and finishing off weak Pokemon. I envision mediocre stats beyond Speed as well as a fairly large movepool to allow it to clean up. I don’t have any typings in mind, but I’d probably go with a good defensive typing to allow it some longevity. I would also expect no stat-up or set-up moves in the movepool, because that just turns it into a sweeper. I also don’t have an ability in mind.
shrang said:Okay, since no-one has actually posted this yet this round, I'm going to post this (I got infracted last time because someone already came up with it):
- How can stall teams benefit from such a CAP (How can they stall more efficiently)??
- Name - QuickStaller
- Description - A CAP with high Speed and decent defenses (Doesn't have to be an extremely bulky Pokemon, just so long as it isn't extremely frail), with a movepool and ability fit for stalling (Moves that can allow it to cripple attackers or bolster its own defenses)
- Justification - QuickStall is usually a playstyle associated with Ubers, a prime example being stalling Mewtwo. However, the style doesn't get enough love in OU due to the lack of viable Pokemon to fit such a role, which is why stall in OU is more balanced. It could find a great new niche of a "Fast staller" in OU, as well as teaching us more about the QuickStall style.
- Questions To Be Answered:
- How does the metagame adapt to this QuickStall??
- What strategies are effective and ineffective against QuickStall??
- How much team support will such a style and CAP require??
- Explanation - A QuickStaller would be fun to use in OU. While Stall teams are seen as "boring" and "tedious", it is a very reliable style. One problem that Stall bumps into is the fact that its abusers are often bulky and slow, therefore susceptible to Taunt, Trick, and possibly status. A QuickStaller would hope to minimise this as much as possible, with the expense of some of its defenses. A good ability for this CAP would be stuff like Intimidate, Pressure or even Magic Guard, while it should have very high Speed (Base Speed should be over 110) with reasonable defenses (Around 80/90/90). Good movepool ideas can be stuff like Taunt, Agility, Toxic, Dual Screens, Substitute, etc.
Defyin said:Name: The Ultimate Trapper
General Description: Pursuit, Arena Trap, Magnet Pull, all forms of trapping the enemy, but there is no pokemon that really trap wells, we have Dugtrio, but his stats a terribly low and his movepool is limited. What if we could create a Pokemon that with means of ability, moves, stats could become a great trapper?
Justification: A trapper Pokemon can easily change the tides of a battle to be positive to you. This pokemon can easily pick off weak enemies and they have no chance to switch out.
Questions To Be Answered:
Does this Pokemon need to be overcentralized on either Magnet Pull or Arena Trap?
Would this Pokemon potentially become overused if it's stats are too good?
What kind of counters could it have if it could trap and pick off anything that comes along atleast once?
Explanation: Trappers are able to shake up the game enough to change the tides to you, say you have a Rotom-h out and your opponent switches in Tyranitar, the tides have suddenly turned to him, you must either face switching out and hoping you survive the pursuit, or stay in and try to dish out as much damage as you can before you die. A Pokemon like this could change how the metagame is played because you must always be prepared for if this thing comes along, and it would help give you the flow of the battle.
kd24 said:Name - Slowing Down the Game
Description - A Pokemon that punishes / revenges others who raise their Speed / faster teams
Justification - The biggest threat in the metagame remains to be Pokemon who hit too fast and the game constantly revolves around Speed. Speed numbers/Choice Scarf/Dragon Dance/Agility, whatever the case may be, you can be sure teams will be using Speed to their advantage. A Pokemon that can make the opponent readjust and give more chances of strategic play rather than that of "who can bring in the right Pokemon first" would have a very postitive effect on the metagame. This Pokemon would ideally bring a rise back to slower Pokemon who simply aren't used because their Speed is too low to compete with those faster. This fills both the 1st and 2nd category for justification.
Questions To Be Answered -
~ What are the biggest speed threats are and how we can force Speed down?
~ Should this Pokemon employ revenge killing with priority and what other attacks / abilities can it use to capitalize on teams that rely on quickness?
~ Should this Pokemon be offensively minded to kill the opponent's fast Pokemon or should it be defensively minded to support your own?
Explanation - I think a lot of people are tired of metagames that are simply dominated by Speed. People always remininsce about old gens and how it requires more strategy and I think a Pokemon that invokes that strategy again would do wonders for the metagame. CAP has previously created Pokemon who could slow down DDers / Speed quite a bit with stuff like Scylant, Arghonaut, and Krilowatt but it never was the intended purpose and unfortunately, these Pokemon just couldn't help with this "problem" in the end. Again, my major thinking is a metagame based more on strategy than team building matchups / lucky when getting the right pokemon in is a better metagame.
This poll will close in 24 hours. Start voting!DougJustDoug said:Name: Perfect Mate
General Description: Pick a good-but-not-great OU pokemon, and design the perfect teammate for it, similar to the way Celebi & Heatran, or Blissey & Skarmory complement each other so well on competitive teams.
Justification:
This would allow us to explore in detail how synergy between two pokemon can be achieved, because currently there are only a few perfect teammates in OU. And depending on the base pokemon we choose to give a "perfect mate", we can open a new niche in the metagame based around the efficient pairing.
The niche we create will be inherently tied to an existing pokemon in the metagame, which should provide a natural limitation to prevent this concept from being broken or "too different" from standard OU.
Questions To Be Answered:
- Is the base pokemon's usefulness (and usage) in the metagame increased as a result of having a "perfect mate"?
- What strategies are more effective for the base pokemon, as a result of having a perfect teammate?
- What are the most effective aspects of the new pokemon, for purposes of making a great teammate with the base pokemon?
- Is the new pokemon viable in the metagame without the base pokemon as a teammate?
Explanation:
This concept is very similar to the "Partner in Crime" concept proposed back in CAP 7. But, with all the changes in the CAP process, and stagnation in the metagame, I think this is a good time for the CAP community to focus on the competitive factors of synergy between pokemon.
I envision we will pick a base pokemon during the Concept Assessment. We will make a case to the TL for a good-but-not-great OU pokemon and the characteristics of that pokemon's "perfect mate". The Topic Leader would then select their favorite. We could even rename the concept to "<Pokemon>'s Perfect Mate" from that point forward.
It think we could have some fantastic discussions every step of the way, dissecting the base pokemon in exacting detail to figure out the best way to make an ideal teammate. If we choose the right base pokemon, we might even breathe some new life into a sentimental favorite, that isn't quite up to top-OU standards on its own.
