CAP 18 CAP 18 - Final Product

DetroitLolcat

DetroitLolcat

Maize and Blue Badge Set 2014-2017
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
This is it: the official end of CAP 18's process. We've come a long way since Concept Submissions, and now we have a full-fledged Pokemon to show for our efforts.

Well, we almost have a full-fledged Pokemon. We need a height and weight! By imperial decree, Volkraken will be 4'03'' (1.3 m) and weigh 98.1 lbs (44.5 kg). The vampire squid is about a foot long, but that felt far too small for CAP18. I felt like making Volkraken four times longer than the actual squid, so that left me to choose between 3'11 and 4'03, as all Pokemon lengths are rounded to the nearest tenth of a meter. For weight, I based it off of Tentacruel's weight and linearly scaled it down by Volkraken's height divided by Tentacruel's and rounded to the nearest tenth of a kilogram. This makes Volkraken about as long as Seaking and about as heavy as Magmar.

When I was elected TL for this project, I had one simple goal in mind: help this community have a fun time making a Pokemon. "It's about the journey, not the destination" might be the most cliched phrase in CAP, but that's only because there is not a single phrase that summarizes our mission statement better. Months and years from now, Volkraken will be judged by the 81 days that it took to make, not the 14 days it spent on the ladder. I absolutely loved guiding the discussions, debating with the community, collaborating with the TLT, and watching the polls unfold. All of your efforts have made this CAP a wonderful project to lead, and I hope you all enjoyed participating in this project as much as I enjoyed leading it.

Thank you to everyone who helped make CAP18 as enjoyable a process as I could imagine. During Volkraken's process I've had the pleasure to discuss and debate with hundreds of enthusiastic CAP participants in the forums and on IRC. All of you have taught me countless lessons about both competitive Pokemon and interacting with one of the most enjoyable communities on Smogon. Although not everyone got everything they wanted during this CAP, I hope everyone got to see at least one of their ideas realized. And I hope everyone here has had their mind changed

To all of you who won polls, congratulations for presenting the best ideas this community had to offer. To all of you who made slates, congratulations for distinguishing yourselves amongst your peers. And to all of who who made even one post, wrote one line on IRC, or even voted in just one poll, thank you for participating in CAP18. Volkraken belongs to all of you more than it belongs to me or any other single user.

Finally, I would like to extend special thanks to jas61292, srk1214, ginganinja, and PttP, the TLT for this project. All four of you greatly exceeded the already high expectations of the TLT and it was a pleasure working with and collaborating with you all. This project would not be the same without the four of you.

But enough about that! Here's CAP18, the first Gen VI CAP, Volkraken!

Name: Volkraken

Art:
volkraken_dex.jpg


Sprites:
7OpoICw.png


Concept:
Concept: Major Third

General Description: A Pokemon that forms an effective offensive or defensive core with two lesser-used OU Pokemon.

Justification: Cores have always been an integral part of the metagame, whether you're running Talonflame/Staraptor to brute force everything, Slowbro/Amoonguss/Heatran for Regenerator-Leftovers stalling, or a whole team of Dragons + Magnezone. We've previously explored what it takes to make a successful partnership in CAP11 (Voodoom), but the metagame (and the simulator!) has changed dramatically since Voodoom's creation. I would also like to up the ante a little bit: Instead of just one, can we now take TWO Pokemon and find their missing piece? Whether we opt to build on an established two-Pokemon partnership or choose two previously unrelated Pokemon and put them together, I think that we can certainly find a Voodoom for a more offensive time.

Questions to Be Answered:
How do effective cores in the current metagame differ fundamentally from the cores of previous metagames, if at all?
Is synergy as important (relative to power) in the current metagame as it previously has been? (That is, has power creep rendered synergy unnecessary?)
What differences are there between tailoring a Pokemon to two others and tailoring it to one? What else must be considered besides weaknesses and resistances?
How does the addition of a Pokemon to a core change what other Pokemon can be effectively run alongside the core?
Does Team Preview make running cores more difficult?
Is it possible to create a core uncounterable by a single Pokemon? (For example, Celebi/Heatran/Jellicent was a very effective BW core that got slaughtered by Tyranitar. Can a core force opponents to counter it with another core?)
Tagging onto the above, what is required to "counter-core" a core? What combination of offensive and defensive characteristics among "counter-core" members achieves this?
Click to expand...

Typing: Water/Fire
Abilities: Analytic / Infiltrator / Pressure
Stats: 100 HP / 45 Atk / 80 Def / 135 SpA / 100 SpD / 95 Spe
Movepool:
0 - Constrict
0 - Flash
0 - Bite
0 - Leech Life
0 - Reflect
0 - Water Gun
4 - Reflect
9 - Water Gun
14 - Whirlpool
18 - Fire Spin
23 - Flame Burst
28 - Scald
32 - Destiny Bond
37 - Dive
42 - Power Gem
46 - Aqua Ring
51 - Heat Wave
56 - Hydro Pump
66 - Memento
(Water 1 / Water 2)

Aqua Jet
Assurance
Captivate
Scary Face
Tickle
Water Pulse
TM06 - Toxic
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM27 - Return
TM32 - Double Team
TM33 - Reflect
TM35 - Flamethrower
TM38 - Fire Blast
TM41 - Torment
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM46 - Thief
TM48 - Round
TM50 - Overheat
TM54 - False Swipe
TM55 - Scald
TM56 - Fling
TM59 - Incinerate
TM60 - Quash
TM61 - Will-o-Wisp
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM70 - Flash
TM87 -Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM89 - U-turn
TM90 - Substitute
TM91 - Flash Cannon
TM100 - Confide
HM03 - Surf
HM05 - Waterfall
Click to expand...
Dex Entries:
Volkraken, the Hadal Pokémon

X: It ignites the chemicals it consumes from hydrothermal vents as a means of jet propulsion.

Y: This Pokémon is highly intelligent. It will quickly learn from and solve even human-engineered puzzles.
Click to expand...
 
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This was a really fun concept and a really fun process as well! Super Big Thanks to the TL and TLT for an amazing job! Each of you controlled discussions and led us to a really nice ending.
For my own personal involvement, I'm glad that my core became such an integral part of this CAP, but I am overall disappointed with my lack of activity, especially during the movepool stage which I consider to be one of my favorites.

Volkraken will be fun to use in the playtest and can't wait for the playtest tourney afterwards! Once again, another really fun CAP everyone, see you next time! n_n
 
This concept was quite fun to lurk and vote in, as usual. I would like to participate in the Playtest this time around, but only if I get to it on time. Pokedex entries are fun to write as well.

I kinda wish Volkraken had a base HP of 99 tho.
 
This was an excellent first CAP to participate in. Though I've been a lurker since Mollux, being able to have the opportunity to make significant contributions has satisfied me immensely. Being not very good at OU teambuilding, I feel the concept taught me a lot about cores and how they should interact with each other. While it wasn't my first choice of the concepts initially, it seems like this concept was one that was very widely open to interpretation, giving us many potential routes to take, so it was a good choice in the end. The core of Latias and Lucario seemed like an odd route to take, and I still feel uncertain about how Volkraken will interact with our intended core, especially since Lucario was a difficult Pokemon to work with because it's very niche in OU. I feel like a lot of my "second choices" were what made Volkraken what it is now. I preferred Poison/Dark over Fire/Water, Bulletproof over Analytic, and even my favorite art design, Magistrum's flask homunculus, lost by a very slight margin to Golurkyouself's vampire squid. Perhaps my proudest moment, and simultaneously my biggest letdown, was getting second in the Movepool stage. My movepool received a lot support and had everything I thought the CAP needed, but Korski took the win anyways. Congrats to him, and also congrats to everyone else who won in polls. I definitely plan on participating in future CAPs to the extent that I have in this one, but now, all we have is the playtest to see what Volkraken can really do!

rip poison/dark
rip bulletproof
rip subpass
 
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I'm really glad that I was able to participate in this CAP; like others, I have been a long time lurker. I decided to try things out here on the forums during the Cawmodore Prevo, and thanks to that opportunity I was able to feel comfortable enough to come in and join the CAP18 fun. Looking back, a lot of the competitive suggestions that I made may not have had much merit, but I think DLC is right by saying that it is a good thing to have your ideas challenged and changed. Overall, I think the choices ultimately decided upon are all pretty great, and I'm very excited to participate in the upcoming playtest. I also find it interesting that I came into this CAP with a competitive mindset, and yet got involved with the CAP sprite submissions. There were so many kind people that gave me helpful suggestions on my sprite and I sincerely thank them all!

I look forward to participating even more in the next CAP, and I hope to see many of you when it starts. Concerning more present matters, good luck to everyone who plans on laddering on the Volkraken Playtest and I hope to be able to chat with you guys in Showdown's very own CAP room!
 
This was my first cap project that I participated in and Im really glad I did get to. I did not win any poll but participating felt great too. Congrats to everyone whose idea won!
 
This was the first CAP project I ever participated in, and it certainly won't be the last. It introduced me to the inner workings of CAP project in a great way, and I really enjoyed being involved in the creation of this monstrous thing. The fist half of the project was pretty bumpy and didn't exactly go entirely as planned, so I'm amazed the rest of it went so smoothly. Ultimately, I think we can be proud of this CAP, and I can't wait to see what the playtests will reveal about this Pokemon. My only regret is not getting as involved with this CAP at the very beginning of the project, next CAP, I'll make sure to be active as soon as possible. I'll see you at CAP 19!
 
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Yo, Detroit, I'm really happy for you; I'm-a let you finish, but Inferno No Guard was the best idea of this whole CAP.

This was fun, even if I wasn't able to contribute more thanks to the end of my college studies and life in general catching up to me. Considering how rocky the road was early on, I'm pleased with how the project ultimately turned out.

So, is there any idea of when the playtest will begin? I can't wait to play around with Volkraken now that I'll actually have free time to do so.
 
As with quite a few others, this CAP was the first one I participated in. And despite not winning, it was really fun! I'm looking forward to the playtest and even the next CAP. Volkraken turned out awesome and I hope future ones do too.
 
DLC you did an excellent job running this CAP, as did the rest of the TLT. Thanks for reiterating "it's about the journey, not the destination" for me, because as a whole, I don't know if Volkraken will be that great of a Pokemon. Its coverage moves are weak and its abilities are (kinda) situational. But in building it like we did, we learned a lot about what goes into a viable core, and who knows- Lucario-Latias-Volkraken could wipe the floor with OU! It's a pleasure to have participated for the first time and even finish 2nd to Alexwolf in a poll. I've played CAP for a long time, and now I got to play a part in it firsthand.
 
This CAP was the first CAP I participated in.
I lurked at the end of Malaconda, but fully understood the project's goals whilst lurking in the Cawmodore project.
While I was posting for this CAP, I was glad to get input (and even to get corrected) on my posts so I could make better contributions next time.

As for Volkraken, the community did a great job with this. Although this may have similar attributes to Voodoom (partnerships, cores and teamwork strategies), this CAP has unique qualities just the same. This CAP has also helped me consider using Analytic pokemon on teams (even though Natural Cure on Starmie is pretty difficult to set down).

All in all, this actually felt enjoyable and really simple for a starter like me. I wish the best for those who contribute to the next CAP!
 
Like many of you, this was my first CAP, and although I disappeared toward the end, I still had a great time helping everone else who partisipated create Volkraken. Now on to the playtest!
 
I remember the first time I ever came to Smogon, the front page showed the news item about Cawmodore being finished, and I thought CAP looked pretty cool. It turns out CAP is a lot more amazing than I actually thought. The journey taught me a lot about cores, and it also taught me how hard it can be to make a 'mon that beats a threatlist whilst not being OP (although we still don't know if we succeeded yet, do we?) One of my favorite moments was when Analytic won the poll for Primary Ability despite being talked about for only about the last tenth of the discussion. I also learned to evaluate my ideas a bit more closely before trumpeting for them. How I actually thought Inferno + No Guard would be okay, I do not know. :P I am also really glad I entered my design into the art submissions. I have never had more fun drawing than drawing for CAP!
Anyway, let's give a round of applause to the TLT! They did great keeping things moving and on topic. We also need to applaud the community; they really generated some excellent discussion.
I am looking forward to CAP19, see you there! :)
 
Volkraken was the first CAP I've been involved with. I've lurked without an account for a while, but I finally decided to join the forums, because CAP 18 was starting. I look forward to the playtest, and I hope to help more in future CAP projects. Thank you everyone that submitted something, I enjoyed this experience and learned a lot. I hope to see you all when CAP 19 starts.
 
Like countless others, this is the first CAP i've had the privilege of being a part of, and i've got to say I enjoyed every step of the way. I have a distinct lack of past experience with this project but I think the TL and the TLT did a great job with guiding this CAP. I guess all that's left to do now is see how Volkraken works with Lucario and Latias!
 
Well done to DLC and the team leaders for guiding us through. It's been a pleasure to be involved. I'm already looking forward to CAP19 now :)
 
Props to DLC for writing one of the best Final Product OP's in CAP history! You really hit the nail on the head about how Volkraken has been a great journey.

I don't know if Volkraken will be a good pokemon or not, and I have serious doubts as to whether Latias/Luke/Volkraken will be a viable core or not -- and I really don't care how that turns out! Yes, I'll be interested to see the playtest results, just to see how it performs compared to our intentions. But this project was chock full of great discussions about team cores and how they operate in the XY metagame. I learned a boatload about the current big threats in the OU metagame, and about the "new toys" introduced with Gen 6 that are competitively useful or not. I wasn't a discussion participant in most of the competitive threads this time around, but I read them all intently and enjoyed every one of them. That's what I look forward to on every CAP, and this project delivered the goods in that respect.

Thanks to everyone who jumped in for the first time on this CAP and enjoyed being part of it. CAP only works if it is a community effort, so we love seeing quality participation, whether it is from long-time CAP veterans or first-time newcomers.

Big props to the TL and TLT, who worked together wonderfully on this CAP. You all did a masterful job of leading the community through this creation from start to finish!
 
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yes
bioluminescence
gg
krakula

very powerful cap, and im very excited to use it. We've come so far. Through the type stage we got fire/water while expecting bullet proof. We got analytic and we thought CAP 18 wouldn't work as planned, but now it looks as though it works better (probably a lil bit too much, but w/e). I guesss now it's time to see if it fits the concept :)
 
As Doug already said, this is a wonderful final product post. Yet, I can't help but feel that there is a story here that is missing. So, let me take a moment to tell it:

Once upon a time, there was a CAP moderator. He was going about his own business one day, when he received a message from someone. This someone was a Topic Leader, and a contributor that the moderator highly respected for their contrbutions to the CAP project. The TL asked the moderator if he could look over his final product post before he posted it, and the moderator was happy to oblige. So, the moderator looked over the post and it was very good. However, one of the last paragraphs was not something he was expecting. In it, the TL announced that he would be retiring from CAP and Smogon. It was a heartfelt paragraph, and the moderator was sad to find out that we would be losing such a good contributor. While he wished the best for the TL, he was kind of depressed about the whole thing for the next half hour. Then, the TL finally posted the final product, and the moderator noticed that where there once was a paragraph about retirement, was instead just one thanking the TLT. Maybe, the moderator thought, the TL changed his mind. Or maybe he just figured that it would be more appropriate to announce it in a different way. The moderator wasn't sure, but was still kind of sad, because he knew what was not yet public. Then the TL sent the moderator another message:

<DetroitLolcat> also notice that the paragraph about retiring is not there
<DetroitLolcat> That is because...
<DetroitLolcat> I included it just to fuck with you
<DetroitLolcat> Hooray!
<DetroitLolcat> hehe can't get rid of me that easily
​
Funny story, isn't it? Seriously, once I got over the initial surprise, it was freaking hilarious. You totally got me there. I take my hat off to you for that one.

But not just for that one. I take my hat off to you for your entire time as TL. While the project is certainly not perfect or anything, above all else, I highly respect the way that you worked with the TLT on this project. One of the concerns we had when we created the TLT system was that we might end up with disjoint projects that didn't feel like they had a consistent leadership through out. While I do not believe that this has actually been an issue in any of our last 3 projects, I do think that this project, the work that you did as TL to be constantly involved with the TLT members was fantastic. The TL has the power to make changes to slates and whatnot, but the way that you interacted with the TLT members to make sure that you were on the same page, and to minimize the necessity of using those powers was absolutely wonderful. Every TL will have their own style, but this is one element that I think can be beneficial to any project for any TL that is able to do it.

As for the project and Pokemon itself, I want to withhold judgment for now. While I, as much as any one else, am a huge proponent of the whole "about the journey, not the destination" thing, as far as I am concerned, the playtest, or at the very least, the playtest discussion thread is a huge part of that journey. The success or failure of a project is never about the playtest, but making sure we have the whole picture is important for making such analyses. Regardless though, I have learned a good amount so far, and have very much enjoyed this project. We took a loot of unexpected turns, and rarely took the obvious route, but I think that by this point, we have set ourselves up as best we can, and I'm excited to see how everything will turn out.

And of course, as always, a big thanks to everyone in the community who participated, old and new. You all are what make this project what it is.
 
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This was my first CAP (as it was for many people, it seems), and I feel that it was well-led and a great process. I've been lurking for a while by now, and while admittedly I didn't have a lot to contribute (I did vote on most rounds, though), I certainly hope to learn the ins and outs of CAP and contribute more in the future.
 
jas61292 said:
I take my hat off to you for your entire time as TL. While the project is certainly not perfect or anything, above all else, I highly respect the way that you worked with the TLT on this project. One of the concerns we had when we created the TLT system was that we might end up with disjoint projects that didn't feel like they had a consistent leadership through out. While I do not believe that this has actually been an issue in any of our last 3 projects, I do think that this project, the work that you did as TL to be constantly involved with the TLT members. The TL has the power to make changes to slates and whatnot, but the way that you interacted with the TLT members to make sure that you were on the same page, and to minimize the necessity of using those powers was absolutely wonderful. Every TL will have their own style, but this is one element that I think can be beneficial to any project for any TL that is able to do it.
Click to expand...
This is everything I wanted to say about DLC too. I think he did a fantastic job working with the TLT to keep it cohesive, while still retaining multiple opinions. It was the best of both worlds. I look forward to the playtest. Thanks for making leading stats an enjoyable process for me, and the CAP as a whole enjoyable for everyone.
 
Ballotproof or bust!
No Justice No Peace!

/sarc

This CAP project had a lot more #cap drama and shirt-rending than I've seen in a while, but I think it turned out very well. The discussions surrounding how to deal with Aegislash came out better probably because of the typing that won than they would have otherwise, so that was well worth it. I also think that as this was the second test of the TL + TLT system that it is working as intended, working quite well generally, and has thus far had very few nits to pick (not that I'm sure I won't find a few for the sake of argument, heh.)

Well done team. Glad I racked up a 4th Name win! Looking forward to the playtest. RELEASE THE VOLKRAKEN!
 
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