CAP 24 CAP 24 - Part 1 - Concept Submissions

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jas61292

used substitute
is a Community Contributoris a Top CAP Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello everyone and welcome to twenty-fourth iteration of the Create-A-Pokemon Project. As always our first step is to decide on a concept that will direct the course of the project, and right here is where you get to submit your ideas. Like the past few projects, CAP 24 is being made for the CAP metagame, so be sure to keep that in mind when making your submissions. And, as always, please read all of the rules before making your post.

This thread will be temporarily locked until our Topic Leader Drapionswing has an opportunity to make an statement.

The concept will be a guiding force throughout the ensuing project, to ensure the the final result is a cohesive competitive Pokemon. Any discussions, suggestions, or submissions in later topics that do not support the spirit of the Concept will be moderated by the Topic Leader. Concepts must be presented as high-level descriptions of a general idea. They cannot be detailed Pokemon designs. Since we have polls to determine each aspect of the Pokemon, we cannot allow any specific features of the Pokemon to be determined by the details of the Concept. We intentionally have many rules regarding Concept Submissions. If you are not prepared to read and understand all the rules, then don't bother making a submission. These rules are made to help narrow the field of concepts down to those that have been carefully designed. This is not meant to be easy for everyone -- a good, legal Concept requires a lot of thought and careful wording. The following rules must be followed when submitting a Concept:

  • Concepts must work with the mechanics laid out in Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon. A concept that requires a custom ability, move, or other element that cannot be found on a Pokemon from Sun or Moon is not allowed. A concept must be feasible with the gameplay mechanics that are currently available. A concept MAY reference Pokemon unique to the CAP metagame, but the concept must be able to be fulfilled by a creation with access to only GameFreak created abilities, moves, etc. In short, "no customs." We are using GameFreak's toolbox.
  • One submission per person. You may edit your Concept, but you may not change the fundamental premise after it has been posted. If editing your concept, please edit the original post instead of posting a new revision. Do not bump your Concept after you have posted it. If people do not comment on it, so be it.
  • Do not duplicate or closely-resemble Concepts already posted by others. It is your responsibility to read through all previous submissions in this thread to ensure you are complying with this rule. Ignorance or laziness is not an excuse.
  • Specific Pokemon types or type combos cannot be included or excluded in a Concept. Nor can other characteristics of the Concept specifically result in in the inclusion or exclusion of Types. For example, the following phrases would be illegal:
"This is a Dragon Pokemon with..." "The Pokemon should be immune to Ghost attacks..." "The Pokemon should have at least 7 resistances..." "The Pokemon should get STAB on Thunderbolt.."​
  • Specific Abilities are not allowed. This applies to existing abilities and new abilities. Do not attempt to circumvent this rule by mentioning specific battle effects that can only be achieved by the implementation of an ability. For example, the following phrases would be illegal:
"This Pokemon should have a defensive ability like Intimidate or Marvel Scale..." "This Pokemon has an ability that steals the opponent's held item..." "When this Pokemon is switched in, all weather conditions are nullified..."​
  • Movepools or lists of moves are not allowed. A specific move can be mentioned if it is the basis for the entire concept. For example, the Concept "Rapid Spinner" would obviously mention the move Rapid Spin.
  • Specific stat bias, base stats, or base stat ratings are not allowed. It is acceptable to use descriptive phrases like "fast", "bulky", "strong attacker", etc -- since there are a variety of ways a Pokemon can fit those descriptions without specifically requiring certain stats. But, do not use overly-specific descriptions that would narrowly constrain the Pokemon's base stat spread.
  • Indications of Physical/Special bias are discouraged, but acceptable if it is essential to the Concept.
  • Do not refer to any part of the Pokemon's artistic design. For example, the following phrases would be illegal:
"This is a bright blue Pokemon..." "The Pokemon looks like a..." "The Pokemon uses its long tail to..."​
  • A Concept Submission must be submitted in the proper format. The format is described below. If the proper format is not used, the moderators will not evaluate the submission, regardless of content.

Concept Submission Format Use this format for all concept submissions: Here is the format with tags. Just copy/paste this into your post, and fill it out:
  • Name - Don't get too clever with the name. If the essence of the concept is not intuitively obvious in the name, then you are hurting your chances of people understanding it. If the essence of your concept cannot be expressed in a few words, then you need to seriously re-evaluate your concept.
  • Description - This is the official description of the concept, and must follow ALL the content rules listed above. Do not make this a long description. Long descriptions are invariably too specific or too convoluted. Keep it short. Any more than a sentence or two is TOO MUCH. Do NOT include your Explanation of the concept in the Description. See "Explanation" below.
  • Justification - Utilizing the CAP Concept Toolkit, craft a concept that can fit into at least one of the following categories: Actualization, Archetype, or Target. Please explicitly state the category names as applicable to your specific justification and explain.
    • Actualization: What is the feeling your Concept Pokemon INSPIRES when used properly in the metagame, do existing Pokemon come close to that, and why or why not?
    • Archetype: What does your Concept Pokemon DO - functionally - in the metagame, and why does the metagame need something with that role? Use Smogon's Pokemon Dictionary to assist with role definitions.
    • Target: What does your Concept Pokemon ADDRESS in the metagame, and why is addressing that target important?

If you cannot justify your concept utilizing one (or more) of the three tools above, then your concept is illegal for the CAP project. (More at the end of the OP)​
  • Questions To Be Answered - The purpose of the CAP project is to learn new things about the metagame, and each concept submission is a proposed "experiment". Each tool has its own specific set of questions, but good concepts often can explain other facets of competitive Pokemon. Use this section to pose those additional questions. Note that this is different from Justification where you are answering tool-related questions, in this section you are proposing questions.
  • Explanation - This can contain just about anything. This is where you can explain your concept without restraint. You may make suggestions, even specific suggestions, regarding the possible implementation of the Concept. This explanation should help facilitate discussion of the Concept -- but the Explanation is NOT part of the Concept and will be omitted from the polls and any future use of the Concept. Since your explanation is non-binding, regarding future polls and threads, it will not be evaluated for purposes of determining if your concept is legal or illegal. Although it is tempting, refrain from making too long of an explanation; it will deter readers from fully considering your concept.
It is the submitter's responsibility to figure out how to make a legal submission within the rules listed above. Do not complain about the difficulty of making a submission in this thread. There are many, many legal concepts that can be presented within the rules. Here are few examples of good and bad Concepts from previous projects:

Good Concepts from Past Projects
"Pure Utility Pokemon"
"Anti-Ghost Rapid Spinner"
"True Garchomp Counter"
"Ultimate Weather Abuser"
"Status Counter"
"Momentum"

Bad Concepts from Past Projects
"Ice-Resisting Dragon"
"Super Luck User"
"STAB Explosion Glass Cannon"
"Auto-Stealth Rock Remover"
"A Pokemon with Special Intimidate"
"Pyrokinetic Pokemon (Fire/Psychic)"
"Special Guts"
"Typing Means Nothing"

Note that all good concepts do not specifically dictate anything in later polls. Please try to remember that we are simply pointing the project in a general direction, we are not trying to decide anything right now. We have several weeks of polls ahead of us where EVERYTHING about this Pokemon will be dissected, discussed, voted, and decided. The concept is a very basic guide for the creation process. It is hard to provide solid concept descriptions without basically designing the entire Pokemon right off the bat. Submissions should be written and chosen very carefully to avoid these problems.

Past Projects and Concept Toolbox:

Stratagem (Break The Mold), Tomohawk (Momentum) and Kitsunoh (Ultimate Scout) were great examples of an Actualization concept. Most of the "teammate" concepts (Voodoom and Volkraken) also broadly fell under this, actualizing a core that would change the metagame. The lion's share of CAP Concepts in the past have been Actualization concepts.

Fidgit (Pure Utility Pokemon) and Naviathan (Use the Boost to Get Through!) are examples of successful Archetype projects. We didn't have concepts at the time of Revenankh, but "Ultimate Bulk Up Sweeper" fits the definition of an Archetype concept.

Arghonaut (Decentralizer) and Colossoil (Stop the Secondary) are the best examples of previous successful Target projects, Arghonaut's was literally based around re-centering the metagame, while Colossoil's purpose was to target the most common users of status and secondary effects. Malaconda's concept (Type Equalizer) was also at its base a Target project.

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CAP 24 so far:

Topic Leader: Drapionswing

Topic Leadership Team: reachzero, SHSP, Drew, mxmts
 

Drapionswing

Eating it up, YUMMY!
is a CAP Contributor Alumnus
Hey guys, DrapionSwing here!

First off I'd like to begin by saying I believe generation 7 has a very big pool of possibilities thanks to the new mechanic brought to us through Z Moves, terrains, abilities and moves. With all these things considered, a Concept's interaction with the metagame can be affected by a lot of these mechanics so it's imperative you think on how they work together. How Cap24 utilises and reacts to these mechanics is heavily decided by concepts in my opinion and will create an explicit goal for us to meet as the TLT.

Gen 7 has had an interesting effect on CAP, mechanics such as Z moves have proven to speed up the pace of metagame which simultaneously has weakened slower tactics from being as effective, slow-paced sweepers like Slowbro or playstyles such as stall have definitely dropped in viability in comparison to ORAS(Pre Mega Sableye ban). However, it's also enabled movesets that were considered unviable in earlier generations such as Fly Landorus, while also being able to still nurture slower paced tactics as seen through Shift Gear CM Magearna or Double Dance Landorus.

This leads me to believe an appealing concept, for Generation 7 especially, is a concept with a lot of breathing room. Such a concept should allow the potential use of many mechanics and metagame trends. This would then allow for quality discussion, to root our preferred option and build on it from there. Therefore, some prior CAP metagame knowledge is highly recommended to help achieve this.

While submitting your concepts, I will try my utmost best to review concepts in as much detail as possible, as well as this the Cap Process Archive is a lovely place to get help and gain a good understanding of concepts. I also recommend you all comment on each others posts, so everyone can get as much feedback as possible.

I have no doubt that we will see come great concepts and in turn create an amazing CAP for our 24th project!
 
  • Name – Junk Lover
  • Description – A Pokemon which is able to viably use an item which is unpopular in the metagame.
  • Justification – This concept is mostly a Target-based concept.
  • Target: The Target of this project would be an unpopular item.. The fact is that not all items are created equal, so certain items fill the metagame, while others are avoided. Pokemon are attracted to different items based on their mechanical makeup and resulting role in the metagame. Some items that are usually considered negative become attractive to certain pokemon, such as Toxic Orb being a good item for a Poison Heal user. Building a pokemon to take advantage of an unviable item allows us to diversify item usage and provide an unusual role in the metagame. The difficulty in building a pokemon designed to take advantage of a normally negative, or at least, normally inferior, item provides us with challenges which give us opportunities to learn about optimising in a constrained role and how that affects viability in a metagame.
  • Questions To Be Answered: - What makes one item more appealing than another?

- How do the traits of a pokemon adjust which items they would be better off using?

- What advantages do unpopular items provide that are not provided by more popular items?

- What are the advantages of using a normally negative item?

- What prevents the advantages mentioned in the latter two questions from becoming among the best strategies?

- In what situations is it worth using a niche item over a popular one?

- What prevents the best items from overshadowing niche items in their unusual niches?

- How does one create a scenario where a niche item can truly shine in comparison to a more popular item?

- When is it best to use an item, not to equip oneself for a power-up, but to inflict upon an opponent through an attack or forced equip and how does one choose which items are best to do this?

  • Explanation – I really enjoy it when CAP creates a pokemon that plays with an unusual style o takes advantage of something otherwise ignored in the metagame. I decided to tackle items with a negative effect, or at least, ones that are not used much in the metagame. Can we challenge ourselves to make such an item actually appealing so people actually start using it? Could we optimise a pokemon in such a way that it gains more benefit from a niche item than a popular one? You could also try looking at optimising Fling, Trick or Switcheroo. This is a big challenge, but with a lot of learning opportunities and options for paths ahead.
 
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reachzero

the pastor of disaster
is a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
  • Name - The Gambit
  • Description - This Pokemon excels at exchanging its life for that of a chosen enemy Pokemon.
  • Justification - This is an Archetype Concept, because it invokes a type of Pokemon, suicide attacker, that used to be common in the competitive metagame, but no longer is.
    • Archetype: This Pokemon is fundamentally a suicide attacker--it seeks to trade its life for that of an opponent, through means to be determined, at a pivotal point in the match. Pokemon that have filled this role in the past have included Gengar, Azelf and Heatran. This would be useful for the metagame because it allows us to explore elements of risk and the relationship between team composition and win conditions.
  • Questions To Be Answered
    • What metagame elements could be utilized to make suicide attackers useful again?
    • Which team types benefit the most from a suicide attacker? Offense for removing walls, or stall for removing stallbreakers?
    • What counterplay is available to prevent the various suicide strategies? By what means can a suicide attacker ensure that it hits the correct target?
    • Which Pokemon make the best targets for attaining a win condition?
    • Which Pokemon benefit the most from the elimination of one target?
    • What advantages do powerful suicide attacks have over ordinary attacks, particularly Z moves?
  • Explanation - A gambit is a tactic in which a player intentionally sacrifices a unit for the purpose of working toward a greater win condition. This concept would do exactly that--explore the tools that are available in USUM CAP for working toward a win condition by sacrificing a Pokemon. Explosion was the preferred way of doing this from Generations 2-4, until the Generation 5 Explosion nerf made it much less appealing. Final Gambit was introduced as an alternative, but it never really gained traction. Innards Out is a bizarre ability that could constitute a suicide attack on the right build, but is currently only available to Pyukumuku, which has a painfully limited movepool. Finally, this concept would allows us to explore tools like Soak and the -ate abilities which have never gotten a real opportunity to help a suicide attacker shine. Note that this is fundamentally different from Plasmanta, which was not about directly attacking the opponent by dying, but by setting up the following Pokemon. In fact, Plasmanta as currently constituted uses none of the tactics that we would likely be discussing.
 

S. Court

[Takes hits in Spanish]
is a Contributor to Smogonis a Smogon Media Contributor
Name - Focus in the DPS
Description - A Pokemon is able to pressure and dismantle most common offensive cores in CAP metagame.
Justification - This concept is Target-based and Archetype-based.
  • Archetype: This concept in theory would create an archetype, but I think it’d be more precise to say this project would help us to observe what kind of actual roles would help to fulfill this concept. In my opinion, this metagame needs something puts pressure to the offensive presence of this metagame due to a) how said offensive presence has constrained the viability of some Pokemon due to not being able to keep this metagame pace, which could potentially create more diversity in this metagame and b) potentially create more diversity in different playstyles, due to the presence of those offensive cores shifting this metagame to a faster pace which arguably creates a lack of balance in playstyles' viability.
  • Target: The target (or targets) of this concept are the offensive cores (as mentioned) and also the Pokemon who has seen its viablity affected by the presence of those cores. As mentioned before, this could potentially balance the actual power standard and increase the viability of certain Pokemon and archetypes.
Questions To Be Answered
  • What common characteristics share offensive cores?
  • What of those features can be exploited by certain Pokemon to break offensive cores?
  • Do we have actual examples of Pokemon can take advantage of those characteristics to break offensive cores?
  • Which is the most efficient way to pressure those offensive cores?
  • Realistically talking, how many offensive cores can be targeted by a Pokemon without creating overcentralization or invalidating offensive archetypes by itself?
  • Should this Pokemon have another role different from being a dedicated answer to offensive cores?
  • What kind of archetypes or playstyels can benefit from a Pokemon fulfills with this concept?
  • What makes an archetype relevant enough to have dedicated answers to them (like stallbreakers or wallbreakers)?
Explanation – We have seen in this metagame we have Pokemon which main role is act as a dedicated answer to break certain teams (like stallbreakers or wallbreakers) but we don't hear about Pokemon have a role as a dedicated answer to break more offensive based cores. Does that mean this metagame doesn't need an answer to those cores? At least in my opinion, not exactly. This generation's has created a new power standard level which has made certain Pokemon that were useful in previous generation not so useful right now, and that's specially true when we talk about defensive based Pokemon. To give an example we have Slowbro which was a great defensive answer in ORAS metagame but now it's a NU Pokemon thanks to this generation's offensive threats (Tapu Koko being the main trouble in this aspect)

And what would we learn about the metagame with this concept? In my opinion we'd learn two things: 1)This concept would be useful to learn about what makes a playstyle relevant enough to have Pokemon to act as dedicated answers to certain archetypes. 2) We could learn about how the metagame would change if we have under control the power standards in this generation, would that help to make certain Pokemon are now in oblivion to be more useful? Would that increase the viability of certain playstyles?
 
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Removed Concept; I feel it too heavily overlaps with Granny Pie's below, who has been able to better sell it and have a less narrow focus. I shall promote another instead.
 
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Name - These Shackles Make Me Mortal

Description - A Pokemon whose god-like strengths are intentionally held down through well-placed, overwhelming weaknesses.

Justification - Archetype: There are many well-used Pokemon in the CAP metagame that end up having notable, unique weaknesses to justify what would be their massive strengths, between Ash-Greninja as an intensely powerful sweeper capable of tearing teams apart (if it can get a kill while being a boring old non-protean Greninja), Landorus-T as a nigh-unwallable role compressor capable of a dozen different sets (all of which drops dead to any offensive ice move), and Kyurem-Black, a literal double-god that can smash through walls with a massive 170 base attack (except there's no real physical move for one of its two STABs to do that with). These are all Pokemon that should be so powerful that they'd never be allowed in a truly competitive metagame, but thanks to major flaws in their gameplan, they end up creating interesting enough counterplay for them to be more than welcome.

On the flipside, however, there's a lot of Pokemon with such a design philosophy that, thanks to the weaknesses being far worse than anticipated, just end up being really, really bad. Pokemon like Vespiquen and Avalugg were supposed to use notoriously bad defensive types to justify massive walling potential, but they just ended up being really bad at walling. Archeops and Wishiwashi were supposed to be offense with a twist, able to potentially take more than one hit at the cost of attacking presence, but it ended up being so easy to force them weaker that they were just bad at offense. It's not that these weaknesses couldn't be offset, it's that their strengths don't come even close to matching it... so what would happen if they did?

This concept aims to carefully merge the god-tier potential strengths with the lowest of the low--a Pokemon with problems so obvious it would make the Slakings of the world feel pity, but perfectly augmented in tandem with power so strong that Arceus would be shaking in its boots, to create a potent Pokemon with completely unique ways of dealing with it.

Questions to be Answered -

- How do massive strengths with key weaknesses interact with each other? How well can one lead into the other to create a Pokemon with unique downsides to its great potential?

- How far could we go with such massive power before it becomes unhealthy? Would it be better for the Pokemon to do one thing incredibly well, or could it be given a wealth of different strengths all at once?

- Subsequently, what massive weaknesses could be attached to those strengths to make key flaws in their playstyle? Could these weaknesses be so well-integrated that we could even justify throwing in the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel?

- Could entirely new playstyles to the CAP metagame come about through this concept? Can the Uber-tier levels of strength required to potentially create those playstyles be healthily balanced out by these weaknesses?

Explanation - this is just a re-write of what i threw out last time there was submissions, just way more comprehensible.

i view this concept as a fundamentally evolved version of the kind of submissions new posters make that end up just being something like "[pokemon with bad weakness], But Good This Time"; all of those submissions could have something interesting going for them, but because they decided on having a specific weakness before anything else, it's severely limited in scope. the intent behind this concept, then, is to weave any extreme strength and weakness together with far more nuance, allowing for a lot of potential unique designs.
 
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Fun Fact: I came up with this a loooooong time before Marshadow even existed.
Name: The Super Stat Boost Thief

Description: A Pokemon that is defined by its ability to steal, copy, lower, or negate an opponent's stat changes, through means such as Heart Swap, Psych Up, Strength Sap, Haze, Topsy-Turvy, or other means.

Justification: For as long as I've been in CAP, I find that a lot of Offensive Pokemon that do great in the tier become wincons upon one or two stat boosts: Aurumoth's Quiver Dance and Tail Glow, Crucibelle's Coil, Revenankh's Bulk Up, Landorus's Rock Polish and Swords Dance, Clefable's Calm Mind, Zygarde's Coil, Naviathan's Calm Mind, anything with Beast Boost, etc. And there's two high-tier Defensive Pokemon that fight all of these by destroying their stat boosts: Haze Tomohawk and Haze Toxapex, with Haze Tomohawk being the much more common and powerful one. The question is: is stat boost destruction really all that a team can do to halt a setup wincon?

This concept falls under all three categories of Actualization, Archetype, and Target.
My concept could actualize by teaching us more about our metagame's setup tendencies. How often does our metagame setup, and how many of our top-tier players and Pokemon rely on setting up offensive or defensive stat boosts either in HO or Stall? It also questions one of Tomohawk's base purposes: Is stat-boost destruction really the only way to counter a setup-heavy metagame? This concept also asks if it is possible to copy, steal, reverse, or lower an opponent's stat boosts without having to resort to walling them. Could this Pokemon get a revenge switch-in on a boosted sweeper, steal their offensive boosts, and proceed to attack? Could this Pokemon instead lower or reverse those stat boosts, forcing the opposing sweeper out with debilitating stat debuffs? Or could this Pokemon switch into a defensive wall to "outwall" it or force it out by stealing or lowering the said opponent's defensive boosts?
This concept could create a new archetype, one that builds on Tomohawk's Hazing abilities, but takes it a step further to become either a setup wall, setup sweeper, or boost-reversing utility instead of just checking setup. This CAP could become an offensive sweeper while negating the opponent's sweeping, a defensive wall that the opponent helped build, or a utility Pokemon that could reverse stat boosts, thus transforming those boosts into debuffs lowering stats.
This concept easily targets three things: Tomohawk's everpresent stat-boost-destroying utility, offensive wincon setup, and defensive wall setup.

Questions To Be Answered:
  • How would this Concept set itself apart from the boost destroying abilities of Tomohawk?
  • What would affect the metagame most without being broken: Boost destruction, boost lowering, boost stealing, boost copying, or boost reversing?
  • How big of a role should this concept play in taking advantage of offensive setup Pokemon?
  • How big of a role should this concept play in taking advantage of defensive setup Pokemon?
  • In what ways would this concept take advantage of both offensive and defensive setup?
  • How much change will this concept bring to the CAP Metagame?
  • What can we learn from the short-lived, but immediate and overwhelming success of Marshadow in the OU and CAP metagames a year ago?
  • Will this CAP be a viable option on offensive teams, defensive teams, or both?
  • Will this CAP be a viable counter or check to offensive teams, defensive teams, or both?

Explanation: This concept hopes to strike at Tomohawk's amazing utility, while also opening his archetype up to new playstyles instead of the overused (for a good reason) HazeHawk. This concept could also give many of our top wincons a chance to explore new offensive and defensive routes, instead of just "Wipe out Tomohawk, and then setup and sweep/stall," such as with Z-Fly Landorus or Cosmic Power Clefable. Finally, this concept would give us a chance to explore the abilities that Marshadow holds in stat-boost stealing, a concept that I believe has been written off as "too powerful" due to Marshadow's immediate, overwhelming success, and subsequent banishment to the Ubers tier, the abilities that Shiinotic holds in stat-boost lowering in order to heal, a concept that has been underexplored due to Shiinotic's faults, the abilities Malamar holds in stat-boost reversing, a concept that has been underexplored due to the much more successful abilities of Contrary Sweeper Malamar, and the abilities that Manaphy holds in stat-boost exchanging or stealing, a concept that has once more been underexplored due to Manaphy's lack of presence in many metas.
It'd be a lot of fun to analyze our own metagame in this way, to find something that could fight top-tier setup by either stealing that setup, reversing it, or by making it think twice about setting up in the first place.
 
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Final Submission
Name: Fuerza Terrenal


Description: Is a Pokemon with the capacity of abuse nature power with terrains and objects that they act and help the pokemon such as the seeds

Justification: There is not a Pokemon that can exploit this concept of use the flexibility that nature power have with the different 4 moves that can do with terrains this concept is an Actualization: The most certain Pokemon of this concept is LO tomohawk with nature power but still not that great due can't use psychic for the priority of prankster

questions To Be Answered:
  • How useful will be nature power and which terrain will work better?
  • Have the capacity of abuse correctly the seeds?
  • What impact will affect the metagame?
  • In what situations will be better using the z-move of nature power?
  • In what situation is better to use what seed?
  • How will be the impact to building?
  • How hard will be read the set?
  • How will affect a offensive team?
  • Which style will be glass canon or a bulky sweeper?
  • Will this capmon increase the usage of terrains?
  • How adaptable will be?
  • How can this pokemon compete with Tomohawk as a terrain abuser?
  • How this pokemon can be used without terrain?
  • How good will be without terrain?

Explanation: Nature power is a great move with allow to adapt the Pokemon in different situations and have a ton of flexibility which can surprise to your opponent of what move can use for example your opponent switch you into a Pokemon which is weak to electric and the electric terrain is on and you hit with nature power which can help you to keep momentum. also, this would help to make easy to build because you have a move that can use 5 different moves so you don't have worries about terrains. And will help a lot to versatile to play and help fun to use and in the past of years nature power was always a bad move but with LO tomohawk we have seen how good and versatile it is. One small problem of this concept is how will be without terrain but there is pokemon who can work without terrain such as hawlucha but tri attack is not a bad attack which is still a good spameable move and for abilitty depends more in what people want.
 
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Name: Down the Drain - Strength Sap User

Description: A Pokemon that is defined by its use of the move Strength Sap.

Justification: This concept falls into the categories of Archetype and Target. Under Archetype we have the clear piece, what this concept does is use Strength Sap very well, to the degree that it is defined by the effectiveness of that use. Strength Sap is currently usable by very out of meta Pokemon, Shiinotic being the clear example. It’s a powerful move in terms of resetting opponent momentum. It can halt physically offensive enemies in their tracks and prevent sweeps from some of our more notable offensive threats in CAP, enemies like Cawmodore and Colossoil come to mind. This is where the Target piece comes to mind.

As Drapionswing mentioned, we’re in a fast meta. Stall and other slower styles of teams have fallen to the wayside as offensive threats and the power of Z-Moves have turned the game into an offensive slugfest. With a concept that effectively targets some of these oppressive and snowballing offensive sweepers, we can start to reestablish slower play as a viable option. We can Target these Pokemon in a effort to broaden play options.

Questions to be Answered:
- What other Pokemon have become more viable based on the introduction of CAP 24?
- Is effective use of Strength Sap overwhelming when trying to play an offensive set-up?
- What are the different interactions CAP 24 has between set up sweepers and wall breakers? Is Strength Sap more effective against a specific subset.
- Has play slowed down significantly?
- Do Z-Moves invalidate the concept of Strength Sap due to sheer damage output?

Explanation: Looking back at the CAP concepts that have stood out to me, ones like Necturna, Cawmodore and Kerfluffle that focus on a specific move have stood out. I think the added focus around move interactions really create an awesome end result that fits into a great spot. Strength Sap is a great move for us to focus on for a few reasons. The dynamic of healing your opponents attack is very unique, alongside the 1 attack lower. The key differences between Strength Sap and another option like Haze for shutting down sweepers are the physical targeting and the healing. Both are great ways for us to dive into the concept a little more.
 
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david0895

Mercy Main Btw
  • Name - Save me from the darkness
  • Description - A Pokemon that define its usage by one ability that is very strong but is currently unseen
  • Justification - This concept falls under the category Actualization
    • Actualization: At the moment there are some abilities that are very powerful (like Simple, No Guard or Tinted Lens) but they have not a good users. This will help us to know which abilities have a good potential and which are simply too powerful
  • Questions To Be Answered
    • How can we recognize if an ability is strong?
    • What make these abilities so strong?
    • Why have these abilities currently no usage? What can we do to show them the of lights of the meta?
    • Which roles/playstyles will benefit the most from these abilities?
    • How can these abilities be useful to the CAP metagame? How can the meta answer to them?
    • How much support can they provide to their user or to the team?
  • Explanation - While, during the past generations, some abilities like Mold Breaker or Flash Fire gained some good users in Excadrill or Heatran, other abilities like Coumpound Eyes or Stamina hadn't the same luck being locked into unviable users.
    Also some of these abilities users, like Speed Boost or Parental Bond, have been badly balanced, making them overpower or have an user that can't use it due to their different nature (for example, Toxapex can't use Merciless because is not enough offensive).
 
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Name: Lower Stat Booster

Description: A Pokémon that is able to viably run both instant-attacking sets and boosting sets, with each coming off its other attacking stat. The boosting set also uses the initially lower attacking stat.

Justification: This would best fit under Archetype in my opinion. Basically, this Pokémon is defined by being able to use both its attacking stats in different ways. We don't really have a Pokémon yet that acts like this one--Mew and Naviathan can use both their attacking stats, but can also boost both of them. Some people use Swords Dance (Mega) Venusaur, but that is too gimmicky, and arguably unviable, to fit this role, on top of the fact that its non-boosting Special sets aren't even considered attacking sets. Using a Pokémon like this, and seeing how it will fare in the meta, can be an interesting terrain to explore.

Questions to be answered:
-How high does an attacking stat have to be to be unappealing to use for anything but obscure coverage moves, but still rises to dangerous levels once boosted?
-If a Pokémon like this were to exist, which of its sets would be used more, the instant attacking one or the boosting one? And why would one set be used over the other?
-Is it possible to give the boosting set enough power with "regular" stat boosting options, or will we have to make use of more powerful moves like Tail Glow, or even abilities like Simple?
-How can we make the boosting set stand out from other boosters of the same stats, so that it isn't strictly outclassed at everything but unpredictability?


Explanation: As mentioned before in Justification, this Pokémon basically does things that no other Pokémon in the meta does at the moment (although some come close). I think it would be interesting to see a Pokémon like this thrive in the meta. Particularly QTBA 2 is interesting: which of its two sets would be used the most? Will one set become worse thanks to being outclassed, not being able to deal with the Unawarers (for the boosting set) or something else? This Pokémon would have different checks for both sets and mispredicting the set would come at some cost, but not so far that it will cost you the entire match.
 
Name: Berserker

Description: A pokemon that trades its HP to become stronger and/or gains power the less HP it has.

Justification: This concept falls into the categories of Archetype and Actualization. Archetype in the sense that the archetype focuses strongly on abilities/moves that trigger or strengthen on low HP, and/or attacks that reduce it. The latter of these were previously seen in the metagame through the role of "recoil attackers" but have since fallen out of favor. It also fits into Actualization since many of the abilities or other options that would strengthen upon losing HP are not present in the metagame due to the lack of effective users.

In more general terms, such a concept would allow us to better understand the role and comparative value of HP in contrast to other boosts in power, within the metagame.

Questions to be Answered:
- Is it worth trading away HP, and thus forfeiting defensive pressure, to obtain offensive pressure?
- Can a Pokemon be considered more threatening when injured? Can a Pokemon have counters that force it out at full HP yet fall flat at lower HP?
- In what kinds of situations is it a better idea to conserve HP even though it reduces overall power?
- What weaknesses caused similar archetypes to slow down and fall out of favor? Can they be mitigated?
- Can such a blatantly self-flagellating CAP have any value in slower, more defensive teams?
- What are the best partners for a such a Pokemon?
- Are abilities or moves that rely on HP thresholds simply too weak or inconsistent for competitive use?
- Metagame-wise, can a pokemon with such open drawbacks compete for a slot with offensive pokemon like Volkraken?
- What pokemon or items in the metagame caused the slow decline of recoil/life orb? Can Berserker address such problems to remain a viable metagame participant?
- Would the presence of such a Pokemon increase the importance of revenge-killing and priority?
- Since most of the abilities that work on HP thresholds give stat boosts, would a Pokemon utilizing them be able to survive a metagame where Haze Tomohawk and many phazers exist?
- Due to the high-octane offense of many threats in the CAP metagame, is it more viable to attempt a slower, more defensive Berserker?

Explanation: I came up with this concept when I was browsing the Ability page in Bulbapedia and noticed there's a lot of abilities that require either a HP threshold or a HP tradeoff to function. HP is one of the major components of defensive pressure, since due to the sheer power of most offensive 'mon seeing 1HKO's and 2HKOs is not unusual. Furthermore, due to the advent of Z-Moves the presence of Life Orb has been reduced significantly and recoil attackers are extremely rare in the current meta (Ignoring those that do not suffer from recoil, such as Crucibelle-Mega).

As such, I believe there is much to learn from attempting to make a Pokemon that relies on its HP to fuel its power be it through recoil or benchmarks that strengthen it, that also manages to maintain enough pressure while injured to survive and even thrive in the current CAP meta.

Edit: Added some more questions as per TL feedback.
 
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  • Name- The Flat Earther
  • Description - A Pokémon designed to abuse the move Gravity and all its benefits/disadvantages.
  • Justification - Because this concept is focused on one very specific move, this falls under the Archetype category. As the move Gravity is very rarely used in singles, this would ideally create the new archetype of "viable Gravity abuser". Gravity is usually considered a gimmick while Trick Room has carved itself a niché. So this concept would explore what could turn Gravity into a viable strategy and against which teams it would thrive the most. The most noteworthy aspect of Gravity is probably that all Pokémon become susceptible to Ground-type moves, so this also fits the Target archetype.
  • Questions To Be Answered
    • Which of Gravity's effects (exposure to Ground-type attacks; exposure to all grounded entry hazards; exposure to terrains; increased accuracy; canceling High Jump Kick, Splash, Bounce, Fly, Magnet Rise etc.) would have the biggest effects on the metagame if Gravity was more commonly used?
    • Should this Pokémon focus on abusing one particular of the aforementioned Gravity effects?
    • How would Pokémon that rely on the ability Levitate or the Flying type to check Ground types be affected if Gravity was more commonly used?
    • Would it be more useful to have a defensive Pokémon that can set Gravity multiple times during a match for its teammates or an offensive Pokémon that sets Gravity usually just once for sweeping/wall-breaking?
    • Which kind of teams and cores (offensive/defensive) would benefit the most from utilizing Gravity?
    • Which kind of teams and cores (offensive/defensive) would have the largest disadvantages against a team utilizing Gravity?
    • How would a dedicated Gravity pokémon/team fare while Gravity is not in effect?
    • Would a dedicated Gravity abuser become too predictable and easy to counter?
  • Explanation - Trick Room is a niché archetype that excels by robbing offensive teams of their speed advantage, but is useless against stall teams that do not care much about the turn order. While Trick Room gets new staples with every generation (the latest additions are Magearna, Stakataka and the occasional Mimikyu), Gravity has been left in the dust ever since its introduction. Because it is so underexplored Gravity might not turn out to be as matchup-dependent as Trick Room. Both offensive and defensive teams can have Pokémon that gain a Ground weakness under Gravity (e. g. Charizard Mega Y, Rotom-W, Skarmory, Celesteela). The increased accuracy affects not just high-power offensive moves (Hydro Pump, Zap Cannon, Blizzard, Stone Edge etc.), but also annoying status moves (Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Leech Seed, Hypnosis etc.). Making Flying and Levitating Pokémon susceptible to grounded entry hazards can be utilized both by offensive teams (Sticky Web) and by defensive teams (Spikes, Toxic Spikes). Being affected by the passive effects of terrains may also open up new partners/targets for the Tapus.
 
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I usually only show up for the art, but I want to try and get more involved with this. Please let me know if anything is horribly wrong about this!
  • Name - Inverse Battler
  • Description - A Pokemon that is powerful in Type Matchups where it would normally be weak.
  • Justification - This concept falls under Actualization. Type Matchups are an integral part of the strategy in Pokemon. The Inverse Battler will aim to work around this and come out on top where it would normally be weak. This concept would explore how type matchups work, and could lead to new avenues of strategic thought wherein Type Matchups are less important than before.
Questions to be Answered:
-What moves would this Pokemon need to learn in order to be viable?
-What abilities work to make this Pokemon viable?
-What roles could this Pokemon take on on a team? What teams would it fit into?
-What typing should this Pokemon be? How would that affect matchups?
-Would this work better as an offensive Pokemon or defensive one?

Explanation:
-I like the idea of a Pokemon that does not adhere to the most traditional concepts found in Pokemon. Type Matchups have been omnipresent in the series, and provide the basis for much of the strategy in battling. Creating a Pokemon that is not held back by these limitations, or gets around them in some way would provide a lot of insight into the most basic strategies, and could create potential paradigm shifts in gameplay. Immunity abilities would be one theoretical way to do perform this. This would be somewhat difficult to pull off, but I think it would result in a lot of conversation and discussion.
-As some examples, Sereg brought up Fire/Rock/Ground typing with Dry Skin, or Fairy with Steelworker. Deciding on the role this Pokemon would take, how aggressive or defensive it would be, and what moves this Pokemon would have are all points of discussion.
 
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  • Name - Decentralizer V2
  • Description - A pokemon that can check a majority of the current top 5/10 pokemon.
  • Justification - Like the original concept that Arghonaut is based on, this concept is a Target Concept. CAP24 will target the current top pokemon in the meta, in order to balance the metagame out. Like Arghonaut, CAP24 will be molded to best check as many of the top Pokemon as possible, without being too overbearing. According to the Smogon definition of a check, if one pokemon can freely switch into another, and that pokemon can win every time after switching in, it is a check. CAP24 could be built to check common pokemon by overloading them offensively, tanking nearly every hit defensively, and many other options. Offensively, CAP24 can have lots of powerful coverage in order to beat common pokemon, and defensively good utility could be used in order to force common offensive pokemon out.
  • Questions to be answered:
- How can CAP24 achieve the goal of it's concept without being too overcentralizing?
- How can CAP24 achieve the goal of it's concept without being too similar to Arghonaut (in the case of one completely outclassing the other)?
- What would be the best option for determining what pokemon CAP24 should check? Should we use Usage Stats, Viability Rankings, or another option?
- How would the metagame adapt to CAP24's arrival? Would certain archetypes in team building change heavily due to CAP24's inclusion?
- How can we make sure that the Pokemon that CAP24 is designed to check do not become completely outclassed/unviable?

Explanation: Tomohawk is extremely dominant in both Viability and Usage. I was originally going to submit just a "Counter Tomohawk" concept, but I realized that 1. It would be boring, and 2. There were also several pokemon that topped the Viability Rankings and Usage Stats alongside Tomohawk. The meta needs a second Decentralizer because it will help rebalance the entire metagame, in order to add more creative thinking. (also if someone says that there cant be the same concept as a previous CAP, look at Stratagem, Mollux, and Crucibelle)
  • Top 10 1630 Usage Stats: Tomohawk, Cawmodore, Colossoil, Landorus-Therian, Syclant, Pajantom, Crucibelle-Mega, Stratagem, Magearna, Kerfluffle
  • Top 10 1760 Usage Stats: Tomohawk, Landorus-Therian, Colossoil, Pajantom, Ferrothorn, Syclant, Magearna, Cyclohm, Volkraken, Greninja-Ash
  • S and A+ Rankings on the Viability Rankings: Tomohawk, Landorus-Therian, Greninja-Ash, Celesteela, Magearna, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Volkraken, Zygarde
 
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LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
*Was my submission for CAP 23, but reposting it because it still works nicely

Name: Hunker Down

Description: A Pokemon that becomes gradually becomes stronger defensively over the course of the battle.

Justification: There are a number of Pokemon who can get offensively stronger over the course of the match. Soul-Heart and Moxie immediately come to mind as gradual offensive boosts, but abilities such as Contrary, Defiant, and even general stat boosts shows how incredibly dominant the offensive strength boosting is in CAP and OU. This Pokemon takes the opposite route, and focuses on the more defensive aspects of strength gain. This concept specifically falls under the Actualization category, as it focuses on the exploration of the defensive side of strength gain. The only two Pokemon who come close to this are Mudsdale/Mudbray, which follow this idea but don’t full have the tools to utilize it, and Celesteela and Stakataka, who use it more as a nice perk instead of a strong ideology.

Questions To Be Answered:
- Which forms of defensive growth should be highlighted over the creation of this CAP?
- What benefits can defensive growth provide for the user and the team in general?
- Why is defensive growth usually seen as inferior and unviable compared to its offensive brother?
- What factors naturally cause problems for defensive growth and cause it to be harder to fully exploit?
- Should the CAP be able to combat/remedy issues that defensive growth usually suffer from entirely, cover only a few, or not address these problems at all?
- What archetypes should the CAP be able to boost is defensive capabilities effectively?
- What methods of defensive growth should be avoided due to offensive implications?

Explanation: While this seems very limited to abilities such as Stamina, Beast Boost and Water Compaction, there are a number of routes that can actually be taken. Someone mentioned (thanks cbrevan) to me that passive recovery can also be seen as getting stronger defensively, as it means you become much harder to KO. This means that abilities such as Poison Heal can become strong contenders. General stat boosts from the likes of Stockpile and Acid Armor are also another possible route, although they have a quicker growth due to their availability of use. There are also some more interesting routes that could be taken using stat boosts via Contrary, such as Shell Smash and Close Combat, which can increase defenses to stupid levels.

Probably the biggest challenge for this concept is riding the line between having enough tools to be a viable Pokemon, but also not giving it tools to promote a more offensive play style. For example, moves like Calm Mind and Coil can be seen as being used for their defensive benefits for gradual defensive growth. However, it also grows the attack stat for the respective bias to be used for offensive purposes as well, causing it to stray away from the original concept. However, giving it too few tools in the endeavor to not give it any anti-concept options has the chance of seriously hurting its viability. We have to find that fine line for this concept to be executed correctly.
 
Name: Multi-Attack User

Description: A Pokémon that can use the move Multi-Attack and the respective memory items to their full effect.

Justification: Coverage options are always sought after for each set, filling out what a set can damage or target. Giving a Pokémon a powerful coverage option that can be tailored by type would be something unique to the CAP metagame, as the only other user of this move is the unviable Silvally.
This concept is an Actualization concept because we are creating a Pokémon that can utilize the move Multi-Attack and the memory items to its advantage. We would be creating a Pokémon with a powerful coverage move of its choosing.

Questions to be Answered:
  • When is using something like Multi-Attack as super effective coverage important? When is it important as neutral coverage?
  • How would we discourage other items on this Pokémon so that it can fulfill its concept?
  • How will this Pokémon be effective when only using memory items?
  • Would there be a scenario when this Pokémon would run something other than the memory items?
  • Is it possible to create a Pokémon that could use different memories and sets each to a similar effect?
Explanation:
A Pokémon with Multi-Attack would have access to a powerful physical move with a type of its choosing for use as STAB or a coverage move. Think about it like the move Hidden Power. It’s a move that can be any type and give you the coverage you want. Now imagine that the base power isn’t 60 and is instead 90 and is a physical move.

As an example, imagine if Tapu-Bulu had the option of a fire type Multi-Attack to hit Skarmory of Scizor. Or even imagine if Tapu-Bulu had access to rock type Multi-Attack instead of the unreliable Stone Edge. Or even if Tapu-Bulu had the option of a fairy type Multi-Attack to use as a STAB move. This CAP will most likely see something pretty similar to this scenario, just possibly with another typing.

Limited move pool as far as coverage goes to encourage the use of Multi-Attack as a coverage option.

Although it is implied, just to make sure I would like to state that the ability won’t be RKS System. We are not here to make a Silvally clone and instead we would make a Pokemon with its own type that and access to Multi-Attack as a customizable coverage option.
 
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Deck Knight

Blast Off At The Speed Of Light! That's Right!
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Final Submission

Name: This Isn't Normal! / Unconventional Warfare
Description - A Pokemon that utilizes moves and/or abilities that significantly alter battle scenarios to create a unique and unconventional threat.
Justification - This is an Actualization Concept that would allow CAP to explore a threat that operates differently from most of the ones that exist in the metagame. When used properly, our CAP should make opponents want to scout the CAP before engagement in order to address it properly.

Questions To Be Answered -
  • What tactics would unbalance an opponent enough to force them into scouting a threat before switching to their most reliable answer?
  • Why are these one or two-move (or move-ability combo) tactics not often seen viably? Is it because of distribution, inability to capitalize, or some other reason?
  • Is the mere forcing an opponent to scout a stong or weak factor in a Pokemon's viability?
  • How useful is initial unpredictability in making a threat viable?
  • What role would be most useful to be effective for this pressure-causing CAP Pokemon?
  • What other traits would a Pokemon that forces an opponent to scout first have to enhance unpredictability or its overall effectiveness?
Explanation -
What initially got me thinking about this concept was the new buff to Normalize in combination with Z-Moves. Obviously Abilities are not something you can build a CAP around in a legal concept, but it was mechanically intriguing because the chief drawback of Normalize is erased (just switch in Ghosts) when you use it with Z-Moves. It also drastically changes the type interactions with most effects, and in Balanced Hackmons Normalize along with Skill Swap on a Ghost is used to blunt the opponent's momentum.

Obviously the concept does not limit itself to Normalize, but it's been a while since CAP has had one of those concepts that makes you think deeply about mechanical interactions in the game itself. There are now a large number of two-move combinations like Toxic Thread followed by Hex or Venoshock that speed control while putting on offensive pressure or combinations of punishing defensive moves like Shell Trap / Focus Punch or Mirror Coat to heavily punish mispredictions in the moment.
 
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G-Luke

Sugar, Spice and One For All
is a Community Contributoris a CAP Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Posted my submission for CAP23, but with fitting adjustments to make it a more successful concept.

Name - New Toy Syndrome

Description - Pokémon that is defined by the utilization of the unseen Gen 7 mechanics in CAP.

Justification - This concept aims to use one or more combinations of the many new Gen 7 mechanics that are unseen in CAP to its full potential, whether they be moves, abilities or even items. It identifies as Actualization, as it brings the idea of these new moves, items and/or abilities being used successfully by a Pokémon in the CAP metagame to fruition. It can also be seen as an Archetype concept, as the successful use of these said mechanics will no doubt bring new unseen roles to the metagame.

Questions to be Answered -
  • Why are these mechanics currently unseen in the CAP?
  • To follow the pre ious question, what can be done, along the areas of stats, typing and movepool, to prevent our CAP from falling into obscurity as the original users of these mechanics have?
  • How does the use of mechanics define a Pokémon's role and existence in a metagame?
  • How can we design the CAP in such a way, as to make it choose to utilize these new mechanics as opposed to using more traditional ones?
  • What new roles in the metagame can be established from the creation of this CAP?
  • To furthur the point above, how beneficial will these new roles be to the CAP metagame?
Explanation - Generation 7 brought with it a plentiful amount of new moves, abilities, items and mechanics overall; such as Queenly Majesty/Dazzling, Fluffy, Z-Moves, Terrain Seeds and First Impression. Unfortunately, most of these are not utilized in the USM CAP metagame, due to the users either having much better options or have no place in the metagame. This Pokémon would not only feature any combination of these new mechanics, but will be designed to utilize them to its full potential in the USM CAP metagame, playing on both its strengths and weaknesses. Fluffy allows a Pokémon to be a great physical tank, at the cost of a Fire type weakness. Stamina turns mons into great defensive tanks over the course of a match. First Impression is a powerful means of revengekilling. And terrain seeds provide useful stat buffs and have interesting interactions with a number of abilities. All of these mechanics provide extremely useful effects, but are not used due to the owner's having supbar to terrible performance in USM for a variety of reasons or no existing Pokemon not quite having the proper means to utilize it. This CAP aims to change that. The prospects of this CAP are as limitless as the mechanics chosen for it.
 
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LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Name: Judgement User

Description: A Pokémon that can use the move Judgement and the respective plate items to their full effect.

Justification: Coverage options are always sought after for each set, filling out what a set can damage or target. Giving a Pokémon a powerful coverage option that can be tailored by type would be something unique to the CAP metagame.
This concept is an Actualization concept because we are creating a Pokémon that can utilize the move Judgement and the elemental plates to its advantage. We would be creating a Pokémon with a powerful coverage move of its choosing or the possibility of a very powerful STAB move.

Questions to be Answered:
  • When is using something like Judgement as super effective coverage important? When is it important as neutral coverage? When would it be important as a powerful STAB move?
  • How would we discourage other items on this Pokémon so that it can fulfill its concept?
  • How will this Pokémon be effective when only using plate items?
  • Would there be a scenario when this Pokémon would run something other than the plate items?
  • Is it possible to create a Pokémon that could use different plates and sets each to a similar effect?
Explanation:
A Pokémon with judgement would have access to a powerful special move with a type of its choosing for use as STAB or a coverage move. Think about it like the move Hidden Power. It’s a move that can be any type and give you the coverage you want. Now imagine that the base power isn’t 60 and is instead 100 (120 after the plate boost).

As an example, imagine if Tornadus-T had the option of using earth plate (ground type) judgement to take on Heatran, Crucibelle and Mollux. Or even fist plate (fighting type) judgement for an accurate special fighting move instead of relying on focus blast. Or even imagine sky (flying type) plate judgement for a powerful STAB move instead of the unreliable hurricane. This CAP will most likely see something pretty similar to this scenario, just possibly with another typing.

Limited move pool as far as coverage goes to encourage the use of Judgement as a coverage option. Would have the option to run Judgement as a high powered STAB move. This Pokémon could be able to use both Judgement and Hidden Power if it desires to have access to two type tailorable moves, although Hidden Power would be very weak.

Although it is implied, just to make sure I would like to state that the ability won’t be Multitype. We are not here to make an Arceus clone (that’s Silvally’s role) and instead we would make a Pokemon with its own type that and access to Judgement as either a STAB move or as a coverage option.

Judgement is not only an exclusive move to a mythical Pokemon, but its interactions with Plates are locked behind Multitype, a banned ability. Same kinda idea for Memories and RKS System. Judgement is also banned for CAP.
 
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Judgement is not only an exclusive move to a mythical Pokemon, but its interactions with Plates are locked behind Multitype, a banned ability. Same kinda idea for Memories and RKS System. Judgement is also banned for CAP.
I changed the concept to Multi-Attack since yes Judgement is banned since it is a move exclusive to a legendary. I don't see anything that says Mulit-Attack is locked behind RKS System and that Multi-Attack is banned, and will leave my concept until proven otherwise.
 

Dogfish44

You can call me Jiggly
is a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a CAP Contributor
Moderator
  • Name - The Future is Bright!
  • Description - A Pokemon that can use the delayed-attack moves - that is, Future Sight or Doom Desire - to great effect.
  • Justification - As with pretty much any "Use Moves of Category X!" concept, you can make an argument for Actualisation and Archetype, but in practice Actualisation is the most applicable in my mind.
    • Actualisation: Creating a Pokemon to use a move(s) which is currently never used is pretty much the definition of Actualisation. When using CAP24, you should get the feeling of backing opponents into corners, and being able to break through threats.
  • Questions To Be Answered -
    • What allows Slowking to succeed with Future Sight?
    • What causes Jirachi to fail to viably use Doom Desire, and other Psychic-Types to not use Future Sight?
    • What is the most effective way to use the action that FS/DD strikes - that is, the turn in which two hits can occur?
    • What is the most effective way to use the action in-between using FS/DD, and the action in which FS/DD strikes?
    • Should FS/DD primarily help the user of the move, or should they primarily be used to help teammates? If the latter, what type of teammates?
    • Does the existence of Z-Doom Desire and Z-Future Sight make these moves more viable?
  • Explanation - We've actually been fairly close to a Doom Desire CAP before, although Cawmodore was ultimately built as a Belly Drum user. Because CAP has never since touched on the move, last discussed in Generation V, there is a lot of design space left to use a move which a hybrid of pure damage and a utility move.

    We know that since Cawmodore, we have seen instances of FS/DD being viable. Assault Vest Slowking in NU runs Future Sight/Scald/Fire Blast/Dragon Tail. And if we move over to Other Metas, then Balanced Hackmons also had Doom Desire Dialga as a threat. But we've still yet to see these moves break through into OU or CAP, in spite of these moves being able to hit like a truck. This is likely a matter of distribution, where the Pokemon which currently have access to these moves need to hit an opponent more immediately for their sets to work, or simply that the current users lack the sheer stats to be viable. The fact that this role has yet to have been filled in the CAP metagame means that we can learn a lot from attempting to have the moves see usage.

    Taking Doom Desire or Future Sight can lead a concept in a wide number of directions, each of which allowing us to explore an aspect of the metagame. Do we use Future Sight to push out Haze users like Tomohawk and Toxapex, allowing an ally to set up? Or do you use Doom Desire, then be guaranteed a KO when you get two very strong attacks on the same turn? Or do you immediately pivot out, using the pressure of FS/DD to build momentum? There is more to Future Sight and Doom Desire than 'slow attack', and it's something I reckon is worthwhile to explore.
 
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Reiga

im dying squirtle
is a Top Artist
Name - King of Bluffing

Description - A Pokemon that can extensively use the ambiguity of which set it's using to trick and manipulate its foes.

Justification - This is an Actualization concept that brings a Pokemon with wildly different sets, something already seen in the metagame, but with the extensive ability to easily do so and threaten the foe with the confusion it brings. At the same time though, most of its success comes from this, so it is extremely weakened by having its bluff uncovered.

Questions To Be Answered -
  • What impact would the foe's uncertainty bring to the battle?
  • How have other uncertain Pokemon acted in the past and what can we learn from them for this CAP?
  • Why should CAP24 be bluffing? What sort of flaws it could have that can be mitigated by this ability, so it can actually want to go with the playstyle?
  • Should CAP24 just proceed with a self-contained bluff or impact the whole team's mindgame dynamics?
  • Which kinds of Pokemon would find the most difficulty in dealing with CAP24's uncertainty?
  • On the other hand, which kinds of Pokemon would still be able to keep their cool around CAP24?
  • How easily should CAP24 be able to hold onto its bluff? Is it just a one time trick at the end of the game or something it clings onto from the very start of the game?
  • Would the present metagame favor a more defensive, offensive or mixed take on the concept?
  • Should CAP24 be more effective at its objective by utilizing a vast array of sets, or a single set with various options to it? What are the perks of each of those options?
Explanation - We've all ran into some sort of Pokemon which we had trouble with because we didn't know what it was running, and this "King of Bluffing" takes that a step further by coming in with the entire foundation of it being working under confusion. The moment the masquerade is off, one can see this CAP for what it really is, but until then it would have a mighty ability to influence how the foe treads. While differences between an offensive one and a defensive one are easy to clear from how they take hits alone, until the CAP is brought out it's still up in the air, and while by the turn it has come out the bluff may be gone, until then CAP can still influence the foe by it being in your team alone. The differences between for example a mixed set and a special set, meanwhile, wouldn't impact the battle much when it's off field, but cause an uproar once it starts attacking and the foe doesn't know what kinds of coverage or the like CAP24 is carrying. Because of how this CAP works, abilities that say what they are at the beginning of the fight like Intimidate and Mold Breaker would be discouraged as to not tip foes over, but more subtle ability options would still be able to aid CAP while still staying incognito, and moves that can be used in all kinds of sets are also enjoyed.
 
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