CAP 21 CAP 21 - Part 1 - Concept Poll 1

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jas61292

jas61292

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Through this series of polls, we'll be voting as a community on which concept we'd like to pursue for CAP 21. Make sure to read through each concept thoroughly; it is imperative that you understand what you're voting for here. Our slate of six concepts was chosen by our Topic Leader, me (pre-made OPs are great, btw), from the Concept Submissions thread.

This will be a Preferential Block Vote (PBV) (a form of Instant Runoff Voting which re-runs the counting, each time removing the previously top-ranked candidate in order to determine the 2nd most preferred, 3rd most preferred, etc.), the details of which are outlined here and here. This is a ranked vote: order does matter! You can upvote your favourites and downvote your least favourites. You may choose to rank as many or as few options as you like, but we encourage you to rank as many candidates as possible to ensure your preferences are taken into account.

Bold your votes and nothing else! A typical vote might look like the following:

Most Preferred
Second Most Preferred
Third Most Preferred
Fourth Most Preferred
Fifth Most Preferred
Sixth Most Preferred

Any comments that the voter has would go below the votes in non-bold text. Bold text is used to determine what the user's votes are, so none of the supplementary text should be in bold.
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Composing a proper ballot is easy. Enter BBCode Edit Mode (the wrench in the upper right corner). Copy/paste the options directly from the OP to your ballot as plain unbolded text. Delete and/or rearrange the options to suit your preference and the poll type. Bold your vote text using bold tags or re-enter rich text mode, highlight your vote and click B. Spelling or formatting errors may spoil your ballot, so be careful!

Please post only your votes in this thread. Do not respond to other posts, or your posts will be moderated and you may be warned. You are allowed to say whatever you like in relation to your vote at the bottom of your post, but please do not look to begin a discussion. Keep those comments to #cap on IRC.

IMPORTANT: When voting, use only the name of the author! The list of possible votes include:

WhiteDMist
Cretacerus
RishRaff
NumberCruncher
DetroitLolcat
Tsaeb XIII

This poll will be open for 24 hours. The concept submissions are quoted below in order of submission.

WhiteDMist said:
Name: Toxic Spike Supreme

General Description: This Pokemon would be a viable Toxic Spikes setter that can at least threaten some common Toxic Spikes removers and, by extension, make Toxic Spikes as a move more effective.

Justification: As OU is oriented towards offense and balance, the effects of just a single layer of Toxic Spikes will have a significant effect on the battle. The difference between Toxic Spikes versus Sticky Web, Spikes, and Stealth Rock is that Toxic Spikes will inflict the status on the opponent, which will stay with the opponent even if they remove hazards from the field. There are few viable grounded Poison-types in usage, so it is already unlikely that Toxic Spikes will be removed that way. It simply means that focusing on common Defoggers, namely the ones that hover over them, are the main priority; Pokemon that block Toxic Spikes, namely Magic Bounce Pokemon, are also high priority to deal with. While there are still Toxic Spikes setters in OU (Dragalge and Scolipede), they are more often used for their offensive prowess as they have few methods of deterring the removal of Toxic Spikes. A setter that does deter Toxic Spikes removal may prove to bring Toxic Spikes to the forefront.

Questions To Be Answered:
  • Can a single Pokemon defy the current metagame and bring Toxic Spikes to prominence?
  • How can a single Pokemon effectively deter the common methods of the removal of Toxic Spikes.
  • Very few Toxic Spikers lack a Poison-typing, which hinders many of them. With the freedom to choose, how will typing affect the ability of this CAP to set up Toxic Spikes reliably?
  • Can Toxic Spikes become a prominent aspect of the metagame if this CAP is successful?
  • What other nuances separate Toxic Spikes from the other entry hazards?
  • With Steel-types being prominent, can Toxic Spikes even be effective?
  • What is the fine line between creating a Pokemon that can deter common Toxic Spikes removal methods, and creating something that simply invalidates the aforementioned removal methods completely?
  • Unlike other hazards, Toxic Spikes has more difficulties due to grounded Poison-types, Steel-types, Flying-types, Levitators, and the other general forms of hazard removal/deterrents. How can this CAP deal with some of this effectively?
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Cretacerus said:
Name: Typing Underdog

General Description: A Pokémon which utilizes an undervalued typing to its full potential, by playing towards both its strengths and weaknesses.

Justification: Each typing possesses a unique set of characteristics, causing all of them to perform very differently in various aspects of battle. However, not every typing has been granted the opportunity to display this potential, being forced into suboptimal roles by virtue of stats, ability and movepool, and therefore often being labelled as “bad”.
This concept aims to do a detailed analysis on the primary function of such a typing along with its potentially unexplored capabilities, by creating a Pokémon that that emphasizes the typing’s most prominent traits and utilizes them effectively.
This approach will not only allow us to widen our understanding on the unique niche and preferred playstyle of the typing, but will also give us additional insight on the mechanics that lead to success and failure of the typing when comparing CAP to the wielders in the lower tiers.

Questions to be answered:
  • What are the most important traits the Pokémon gains from the chosen typing, both positive and negative?
  • Is quality or quantity of weaknesses/resistances/immunities more relevant to the chosen typing? What does this mean for the way it is played?
  • How significant is the niche provided by the typing in OU? Are there any striking flaws in the typing that can’t be played around and prevent the Pokémon from performing reliably?
  • How reliant is the typing on stats, ability and movepool in order to succeed in OU?
  • Are the unique characteristics granted by the typing enough to set the Pokemon apart, or does it face strong competition for its role from Pokémon of other types?
  • Is there any distinct playstyle that suits the chosen typing the best? Or can the same typing be utilized in an entirely different approach to similar success?
  • How important is a type’s versatility for its overall success?
  • Is a single Pokémon capable of portraying most relevant aspects of the entire type?
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RishRaff said:
Name: Switching it Up

General Description: A Pokemon with a specific niche of acting as a pseudo-hazer that specifically utilizes forced switching moves, such as Roar, to stop set up sweepers

Justification: The technique of pseudo-hazing employs a variety of moves, of which forced switching moves are one. However, there is no dedicated pseudo-hazer in OU who can take full advantage of forced switching moves. Sure, there’s Skarmory who occasionally cares Whirlwind, and Pokemon that use these moves can be found in lower tiers like Poliwrath and Throh, both of who can abuse STAB Circle Throw. The idea behind this concept would be to create a Pokemon whose main niche would be abusing these forced switching moves to their fullest extent and to great effect.

Questions to be Answered:

  • Which of the forced switching moves, or a combination of said moves, would be ideal for use?
  • What kind of team archetype would find this CAP the most useful? Likewise, on what type of team would this Pokemon serve more as a burden than asset?
  • How common are set-up sweepers in the metagame, and what are the weaknesses in their play styles this CAP can take advantage of?
  • What traits would a counter have to possess in order to stop the CAP from succeeding in its role ?
  • Would the CAP operate better independently, or with a partner, who could set up entry hazards for abuse?
  • What other unique/niche uses do forced switching moves, and pseudo-hazing in general, besides stopping set-up sweepers and entry hazard abuse?
  • Would this CAP be used as a win condition, or to as a defensive answer?
  • How would one go about accounting for the negative effects of forced switching moves?
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NumberCruncher said:
Name: The Generalizer

General Description: A viable, highly-specialized CAPmon whose mega sacrifices its ability to preform its specialty in exchange for more utility.

Justification: When you look at megas, there's a general trend wherein a Mega Evolution either improves the pokemon's ability to preform what it's good at (Mega Heracross), gives the pokemon a new niche (Mega Charizard Y), changes the pokemon's niche (Mega Diancie), or gives new utility to an already utility-oriented mon (Mega Tyranitar). This pokemon intentionally ruins its ability to shine in order to be more generally good.

Mega Evolution gives us a significant advantage with a play style like this because Mega Evolution can happen in the middle of a match. This means that the CAPmon can preform his duty up to the point where his expertise is no longer needed and turn himself into a more generically good monster. This gives the specialty even more powerful, since you only keep it until it grows stale.

Questions to be Answered:
  • What roles lose power as the game extends and would want to lose their forte in the middle of the match?
  • What team archetypes would a pokemon that changes into a utility mon partway through the match fit into that wouldn't rather have something that's always a utility mon?
  • How do we give the Mega form of a pokemon more utility than its base form when both inherently share a moveset?
  • How does the same move function differently when used in two different roles?
  • What typings and abilities are good, but only good in the earlier stages of the match?
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DetroitLolcat said:
Name: Support Comes First

General Description: A Pokemon whose primary role on a team is to control field hazards and/or use support, status, or utility moves.

Justification: Most Mega Pokemon are either fearsome sweepers, speedy revenge killers, or otherwise offensive powerhouses that serve as a team's most common "win condition". As a result, Mega Pokemon devoted to team support and field effects are few and far between. This is in part because Pokemon like Clefable, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory fulfill those roles well while most Mega Pokemon are fit for attacking rather than support. However, there's no reason why a Mega Pokemon has to be confined to the role of attacking; it would teach us a lot about how support Pokemon work if we were to introduce a Mega Pokemon that successfully uses the BST increase to provide team support. It could also cause non-Mega sweepers to rise in popularity, as they could benefit from the supportive role our CAP would take.

Questions to be Answered:
- How can we make a Mega Pokemon's primary role supportive rather than offensive?
- Will current utility Pokemon such as Ferrothorn decline in popularity if a better supportive Pokemon is introduced?
- What non-Mega sweepers and walls will be able to take advantage of the support our Utility Mega provides?
- How can we create a Pokemon whose role is distinct from other support Pokemon such as Mega Sableye?
- What Pokemon will pair well with a supportive presence?
- Which support moves will CAP21 actually be able to use?
- Is it possible to increase the viability of currently unseen utility moves?
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Tsaeb XIII said:
Name: Captain Boomerang

General Description: This Pokemon is designed to specialise in the early and late game phases of a battle.

Justification: There are Pokemon in the metagame that specialise in various phases of a battle. Suicide leads have been around for a long time, setting Screens and/or hazards. Late game sweepers and cleaners wait until their counters and checks are removed or weakened, and come to the fore in the late game. Pivots and clerics are typically most effective some time in between. This concept would allow us to investigate these roles in more detail, as we attempt to create a Pokemon that has an early game role and a late game role, but has limited utility during the middle phase of the game (thus avoiding making a Pokemon that is generically good all game). In light of the Mega CAP, it also allows us to investigate the differences in roles that can be established between the base form (fulfilling the early game aspect) and the Mega Evolution (most likely exclusively fulfilling the late game aspect), and the triggers within a battle that affect the best time to Mega Evolve.

Questions To Be Answered:
- How do the various roles on a team relate to the different stages that take place throughout a battle?
- Which team archetype/s benefit/s most from a single Pokemon that specialises in the beginning and end of battles, and which team archetypes depend more on consistent output throughout a battle?
- Which attributes make a Pokemon successful in the various stages of a battle, and which of these attributes must be included/excluded for a Pokemon to be a specialist at a particular stage?
- How can two distinctly different roles be fulfilled by a single moveset without 4MSS making it preferable to specialise in one?
- What makes it worth taking the risk of using a base form with utility in the early game rather than preserving it for its Mega being used in the late game?
- How much value does a late game role as a Mega Evolution have to add to outweigh the loss of an item for a base form that specialises in the early game and the opportunity cost of forgoing a different Mega?
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CAP 21 so far:

Leadership Team:
jas61292 - Topic Leader
imanalt - TLT
DetroitLolcat - TLT
sparktrain - TLT
HeaLnDeaL - TLT​
You guys need to figure out your roles so we can put them in here
 
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WhiteDMist
Cretacerus
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Tsaeb XIII
RishRaff
NumberCruncher
 
Cretacerus

Cretacerus

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Tsaeb XIII
 
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