I am happy to take comments and/or concerns to make this concept the best it can be. Hopefully I answered all the categories correctly and thoroughly to everyone's liking. Thank you.
- Name – Throwing Weight Around
- Description – A Pokemon that primarily takes advantage of weight mechanics to carve itself a niche
- Justification – This concept falls under Actualization, as it seeks to explore the underutilized weight mechanics. While weight is typically just a flavor stat, but there a few Pokemon who rely on weight to function in the metagame. They do this by either taking advantage exclusive of the opponent’s weight, such as Weavile using Low Kick as a coverage move, or considering the user’s own weight as well, such as Celesteela using Heavy Slam as a main STAB. However, there is currently no Pokemon who’s niche or strategy is based solely/primarily around weight mechanics.
- Questions To Be Answered
- What qualities do Pokemon that currently exist in the metagame possess that allows them to successful utilize weight mechanics?
- How are weight mechanic currently the most prevalently seen in the metagame?
- Under what conditions does weight become a consideration in team building? If not at all, why not?
- Is there an ideal weight range for Pokemon that leaves them the least vulnerable to weight mechanics? Conversely, is there a weight range (or ranges) that Pokemon are the most vulnerable to weight mechanics?
- What “weight moves” are the most effectively/commonly seen in the metagame and why?
- Is there any competitive value to manipulating a Pokemon’s weight (through moves, abilities, etc.)
- Explanation – Ever since the change of in Low Kick’s mechanic in Gen III, a Pokemon’s weight moved from a flavor stat to an actual stat that has an impact on battle. As the generations have moved on, more moves, items, and abilities have been introduced to manipulate weight and take advantage of the weight of Pokemon. However, weight is not a largely considered stat like Speed or Attack in defining a Pokemon’s role in the metagame. This concept gives us the opportunity to explore a Pokemon stat that is largely ignored outside of few Pokemon (Celesteela, Mega Aggron, etc). Furthermore, it would be interesting to see if weight manipulation can be effectively implemented as a competitive niche, since no other Pokemon that currently exist do this. It also adds a new dimension to team building where the weight distribution of your team matters. For example, if you have all heavy Pokemon (greater than 200 kg), a Pokemon that uses primarily a move like Low Kick can deal maximum damage (150 base power) to all the Pokemon on your team.