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Def: I don't really see much value on physical defenses, not being too frail might have its advantages, but there aren't any physical attacker that we'd switch in reliably so these benefits are circumstantial at best.
is a common offensive pivot mon whose STAB CAP28 happens to 4x resist. I think a lower limit for Def should be CAP28 avoiding a 2HKO from banded Adament Wood Hammer. This would suggest a minimum PT of 110. For example, an HP stat of 90 would require a Def stat of 70 to reach this benchmark. I think this is not only incredibly helpful for CAP28's ability to punish pivots, but also very obtainable without taking too much away from other stats.
HP: I really think people are overthinking this one. High HP might sounds good on paper, as 101 HP Substitutes could help a lot with the Blissey matchup and that move was considered one of our main tools back in Assessment. However, our typing mean that using Substitute on practice pretty much impossible in my opinion, as I'd be nigh impossible to fit into a set alongside coverage and other moves we'd want. Low HP on the other hand has some interesting implications like having a higher gain from Leech Life and Pain Split, but the first one is unlikely to work well on practice, as our best switch ins resist Bug so even with incredibly low base HP the actual recovery is likely going to be pretty low as long as the opponent has a good check (for reference: 252 Atk [Dragon/Bug with 145 Atk and 15 HP] Leech Life vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kerfluffle: 40-47 | 12.9 - 15.2% damage / 11.6 - 14% recovered). Pain Split could be an interesting option, but given that we already have a janky typing and a ability that is hard to predict how it'll perform, I really don't like the idea of adding yet another element that we can't predict how it will work out in practice.
I think you undervalue substitute. There is quite a fair bit of value in just having a substitute up. Even with out defensive concerns, having a sub up can really work in our favor, even if it breaks in one hit. Against faster switch ins, it turns previously unfavorable matchups into favorable ones due to us essentially getting the first hit. Against our targets, it all but renders them worthless, as they loose access to status effects, knock off, etc, and we’re gaining the health back with Leech Life. Combined with our ability hurting more the more we can stay in, and it’s a solid strat.
I think it’s a lot more interesting than the other style of builds, which are just NGas sweepers with weird STAB coverage. Our only real anti-pivot tool is NGas, right now. I’d much rather add to our toolkit whereever possible, especially because our typing is so bizarre. We need all the help we can get, and substitute is versatile at the very least.
I think you undervalue substitute. There is quite a fair bit of value in just having a substitute up. Even with out defensive concerns, having a sub up can really work in our favor, even if it breaks in one hit. Against faster switch ins, it turns previously unfavorable matchups into favorable ones due to us essentially getting the first hit. Against our targets, it all but renders them worthless, as they loose access to status effects, knock off, etc, and we’re gaining the health back with Leech Life. Combined with our ability hurting more the more we can stay in, and it’s a solid strat.
I think it’s a lot more interesting than the other style of builds, which are just NGas sweepers with weird STAB coverage. Our only real anti-pivot tool is NGas, right now. I’d much rather add to our toolkit whereever possible, especially because our typing is so bizarre. We need all the help we can get, and substitute is versatile at the very least.
I think the concern with Substitute is how it eats up a moveslot. Most of your reasoning for why Substitute would be good on CAP28 is basically explaining what Substitute does in general. Substitute blocks status effects and Knock Off, yes, but your only point list above that was specific to CAP28 was running it alongside Leech Life. Seeing how you want to see Substitute + Leech Life, here are two basic movesets that could be run:
1. Substitute / physical boosting move / Leech Life / coverage
2. Substitute / Leech Life / coverage / coverage
The issue with moveset 1 is that Bug + one other coverage move is generally pretty...lacking coverage, and the issue with moveset 2 is that by sacrificing boosting for extra coverage, Leech Life and CAP28's other moves could have lacking power. Granted, this analysis is rather rough (to avoid polljumping) and makes a good few assumptions (namely, our physical attack will be high enough to use Leech Life and that we could potentially have physical boosting), but I think the main concern behind running Substitute sets is trying to fit enough coverage onto a set while also being strong enough to use that coverage. The moveslot is just that valuable. I'm not saying Substitute is an unviable option on CAP28 - I disagree with Mx on how Substitute would be nearly impossible to use - because I think there could be some sets that use it decently. However, I think there are some issues once you try to make movesets with Substitute.
I'd just like to thank everyone for their submissions so far, as well as Mx, Amamama and the others who have given feedback and provided some solid offensive and defensive benchmarks for us to ponder.
While I can't comment on every individual spread so far, I do want to make a general reminder about the lack of tolerance towards BSR abuse. I have observed the presence of a few extreme stat spreads that lack in serious competitive justification for the choices, particularly around individual stats such as HP, as well as Atk and Sp. Atk values.
When it comes to Sweepiness and Tankiness calculations, although there aren't any specific set rules in regards to how stats should be allocated, because HP and Speed have an impact on both Physical and Special stat values, I think it is important that these values, at the very least, are explained seriously and with as much competitive reasoning possible given towards their selection when other approaches can reach similar levels.
Another point of feedback about calculations that I would like to make is to, rather than to just simply list every move that CAP 28 can survive, or each move that it can use to score 2HKOs and OHKOs, is to explain why these calculations are important. Are these attacks from Pressures? Switch-ins? Are we damaging our checks and counters too significantly? These justifications will be vitally important in defining and selecting the slate.
Separately to the previous points, I would also like to mention that there has been a bit more Polljumping than I am comfortable with, due to a few calculations being made that factor in more than our assumed Stab moves and universal TM/TRs, for example Close Combat, Body Press and Pain Split, that can in no way be assumed and as such are not valid to reference. While it can occasionally be helpful to broadly suggest that certain spreads can open up certain moves, these moves should in no way be the basis for the stat selection themselves, especially when considering that other moves could allow us to achieve similar outcomes without resorting to such extreme stat choices.
With this in mind, I would also like to inform everyone that due to our tighter schedule this CAP, I will be closing this thread in a few days. I will give further warning closer to when I plan on closing the thread after discussion dwindles down and spreads begin to be finalised. As such, I would strongly encourage everyone to start finalising spreads, thinking deeply about their justifications for individual stat choices and whether or not similar outcomes can be reached with less extreme stat lines and values.
Bit of a late submission but here we go. I chose to make a strong mixed attacker with a moderate bias in special attack because I strongly believe that will be our most successful route, due to the inherent flexibility that mixed attackers have and, crucially, guarding against scald burns from Slowking - a Pokemon that we will almost never not want to switch directly into. Mx summarized excellently the importance of a good Special Attack stat, a sentiment I fully share, and I believe this spread accomplishes many of the things laid out in his post. Additionally, I think this spread offers a variety of routes and does not obviously deny any coverage, utility, or boosting options in the moveset stage. Our chosen typing, ability, and the bulk + strong mixed attacking stats of this spread offer enough differentiation from other powerful Dragon type breakers and I think that we can differentiate ourselves even further in movesets. Of course we cannot know for sure until we arrive there, but I see this spread as capable of accomplishing a number of different routes with great efficacy while maintaining a prominent niche in the metagame. Ultimately I am just a big advocate for a specially biased mixed attacker though, and I think any spread fulfilling that role will be excellent, but here is my personal take on it.
Offensive Reasoning
The chosen Special Attack hits three main benchmarks: firstly, it is able to 2hko Tomohawk with Draco Meteor after Stealth Rock. This is important because of Tomohawk's status as the best physically defensive pivot in the metagame, and I believe that we should be able to apply reasonable pressure to Tomohawk if we want to succeed in this concept. Secondly, it can 2hko all standard Slowking spreads with Bug Buzz, and has an 89.5% to 2hko a Slowking running maximum SpD investment. Lastly, while boosting isn't guaranteed by any means, I thought it was valuable to be able to OHKO Toxapex with Draco Meteor at +2 after Stealth Rock damage. Pex will be able to wall us just fine if we aren't boosted, but being able to OHKO at +2 is important, otherwise Toxapex can easily threaten to shut down a sweep. There are a couple other interesting calcs I listed below too but they aren't as important.
252 SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tomohawk: 364-430 (87.9 - 103.8%) -- guaranteed KO in 2 turns after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Slowking: 204-242 (51.7 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 188-224 (47.7 - 56.8%) -- 89.5% chance to 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 297-351 (97.6 - 115.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 374-444 (109.6 - 130.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 267-315 (84.2 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO (after 1 round of helmet damage)
The Physical Attack stat was recently edited from 117 to 112 to sit comfortably below the BSR limit and require EV investment to 2hko Blissey, the main Pokemon I looked at when choosing a benchmark to hit. 112 Attack requires a small EV investment of 40 points in order to score the 2hko with Close Combat - this is, of course, not a guaranteed move, but 112 Attack also hits other notable benchmarks such as 2hkoing most standard Slowking spreads with 0-investment Leech Life, and OHKOing Hydreigon after Rocks with First Impression. A theoretical EV spread with these attacking stats may look something like 40 Atk/228 Spa/240+ Speed, which allows the 2hko on Blissey, an OHKO on Toxapex after Rocks with +2 Draco Meteor, and still manages to outspeed all Rotom formes.
I originally wanted to have 93 speed to be able to use a neutral nature and still outrun base-80's running a positive nature such as Togekiss and outrun Zeraora at +1, but it didn't work out so I settled on 88 speed to outrun the Rotoms. This is a pretty common speed tier so far and I think it's very effective. Not too much else to explain here, but I chose 88 over 87 because it's functionally the same and it makes my BST look a lot nicer.
40 Atk Yanmega Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 358-422 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Slowking: 200-236 (50.7 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega First Impression vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 290-344 (89.2 - 105.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Defensive Reasoning
I knew that I wanted to be able to take on Krilowatt in certain situations and to be able to deal with Equilibra running max Special Attack, and 86/105 on the Specially Defensive end lets me accomplish these two primary goals. With this spread, CAP28 survives a Thunderbolt + Ice Beam combo from Krilowatt with 16 HP left over, and survives the 2hko from max SpA Equilibra's Flash Cannon. It also survives two Future Sights from Slowking and is not OHKO'd by Tomohawk's Hurricane. What this all means is that we're not ever going to be a pure counter to any of the mons listed (except for Slowking) but that we can apply reasonable pressure to them, beat them in a 1v1 situation, or beat them with predictions. It was important to me to give this spread a decent defensive presence so we do not simply become one of the many other Dragon type wallbreakers, and I think these are all very healthy benchmarks that accomplish what we want without going overboard.
252+ SpA Equilibra Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 132-156 (42.1 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 68-81 (21.7 - 25.8%) -- 1.3% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 182-216 (58.1 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
313-81-216 = survives with 16 HP
0 SpA Slowking Future Sight vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 124-147 (39.6 - 46.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
28 SpA Tomohawk Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 264-312 (84.3 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
On the Physical side, this was much less important to me, but 86/58 stats allow us to not be OHKO'd by CB Rillaboom's Knock Off, and to not be 2hko'd by the combination of Zeraora's Knock Off + Plasma Fists. We will likely be running a -Def nature such as Hasty on this stat spread, so these calculations might not even end up mattering, but Defense is by and large the most irrelevant stat for CAP28 so I didn't consider it important to give out great physical bulk.
For the HP stat specifically, I thought 86 just looked nice and it gave me a good BST. I could have gone with 95 (or any other) HP and altered my defensive stats accordingly to achieve the same benchmarks but it doesn't really matter one way or another. I just knew that I wanted to go over 80 HP to survive three Seismic Tosses from Blissey, and beyond that benchmark, the specific HP number is largely arbitrary.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 262-309 (83.7 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 114-135 (36.4 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Zeraora Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 148-175 (47.2 - 55.9%) -- 80.1% chance to 2HKO
313-135-175 = survives with 3 HP
Disclaimer: the views in this post are mine and are not representative of the TLT as a whole. There's nothing binding here at all, just my thoughts on the matter.
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Issues with Offenses
It worries me a lot to see a lot of borderline BSR abusive spreads here. The BSR was set relatively high to allow for fast mixed attacking spreads and there's a load of stuff here that seems to take that as "160 attack / 60 speed is fine". Ya gotta keep in mind that if you go slow then Modest / Adamant natures start being very effective and that leads to stuff like this:
252+ Atk Choice Band 150 Attack-CAP28 Outrage vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Tomohawk: 355-418 (85.7 - 100.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
I do see merit in high attack stats, but when we're OHKOing anything but Bold Tomohawk with a neutral move I get very worried. Yes, we are circumventing Intimidate, which is a major contributor to its bulk, but like, that;s not a 2hko, that's an OHKO.
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Issues with Defenses
This is compounded with some borderline BSR-abusive bulk spreads throughout the submissions. 180 Special Bulk was seemingly chosen because it meant that we could take on several special attackers like Rotom-Heat, but doing so would require investing a load of our BSR in that. When you have 5/255 Special bulk not only is taking on Rotom-Heat easy, but you can actively tank SE hits from stuff like Krilowatt:
5/255: 252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 83-99 (38.7 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
While only needing to invest in HP, not even needing to go into Spdef. This is really taking the BSR calculator and choosing an edge spread that allows for the mon to get way more bulk than it otherwise could, especially when at a speed stat that allows for easy HP investment. On the other end I've seen a number of borderline BSR-abusive HP stats, eg 182 HP or to some extent 132 HP (more justifiable). This allows for similar shenanigans to be performed with very EV efficient bulky attacking spreads:
182/60: 252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Heracross: 205-242 (40.5 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
I worry a lot by these very borderline spreads that are going around the normal assumptions of the BSR calculator, and how the PT/ST/SS/PS limits were set for this process.
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Substitute is bad here
On substitute; I don't really think there's any way substitute is relevant to this concept. We have frankly horrid 2 move coverage, our 3 move coverage is only ok, and we're unable to hold Leftovers to heal ourselves up after using sub. The only mons I can think of that use sub and are rocks weak atm are Kyurem, which abuses the shit out of sub, roost, and pressure, as well as amazing offensive typing, and Togekiss, which has amazing 2 move Flying/Fire coverage, and is able to threaten game if it gets a boost and speed, as well as forcing easy switches thanks to SG.
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A final note, we don't have to ride the BSR limit unless you have a compelling reason to do so (eg mixed attackers struggle), and the more space you give the more freedom we have in moves. Try to think of what specific sets you can run, and tailor your strengths and weaknesses to your vision for the CAP.
Final Submission
70 HP / 100 Atk / 85 Def / 123 SpA / 88 SpD / 99 Spe
565 BST
PT
ST
PS
SS
BSR
115.078
122.28390
163.52649
217.73963
345.13032
Reasoning
The overall benchmarks for this spread are fairly simple so I won't go over them too too much, but instead cover why I think they are good for this CAP with regards to our Checks & Counters list and trends that have popped up over the course of this process. At first glance this spread comes off as much frailer than others presented in this thread and that is kind of the point - I don't believe this CAP has to be absurdly bulky or even that strong in order to accomplish our given role. Being able to take a handful of common hits while dissuading pivoting around by being just strong enough to threaten the Pokemon we've listed as our main targets is to me how we accomplish this concept in the most realistic fashion.
Defense
Overall defense is easily this CAP's least valuable Stat as Pokemon it would look to check such as Zeraora really don't care how much CAP takes from its hits, as it will just Knock Off and Volt Switch on us until we're in range. For this reason I dont think using Zeraora calcs as benchmarks are relevant at all for what we are going for. Instead I decided to make sure our defense lets us live 2 +2 Grassy Glides from Rillaboom. This will also rarely ever be relevant as 28 will only ever really have to take 1 boosted Glide at a time, it could make a difference if 28 is forced to come in on Rillaboom more than once. This level of physical bulkiness will also always take 1 Banded Pajantom Spirit Shackle from full, while also comfortably taking an Ice Shard from Banded Syclant and a Flare Blitz from Smokomodo to list a few from our threat list.
Special Defense
I've opted for a somewhat conservative Special Defense. From reading the posts with larger Special Defense stats, they seem to mainly be aimed at taking 2 Future Sights from Slowking which is something i really do not see as necessary. The reason for this is that our concept is to dissuade pivoting by preventing Slowking from teleporting out freely to gain momentum (using Slowking as an example, read as :any Pivot). This means in a practical application if we switch into Slowking and it Future Sights it now has to hard switch, generating risk for the opposing team as 28 gets to throw out a strong attack , OR they can Teleport still but take that permanent 50-60ish %. In either case, we are never tanking the Future Sight as its within our interest to switch into Slowking directly with a Special Attack inclined spread such as this one - making Future Sight calcs kind of redundant.
This Special Defense is instead designed to take 1 Doom Desire from Modest Equilibra always (which we obviously aren't designed to pivot directly into as much so it matters slightly more), as well as a Life Orb Psychic from Alakazam.
Attacking Stats
There isnt as much to say about these so I will bundle them together - the attack stat here is mostly an allocation of leftover stats while maintaining the possibility of running a Mixed Set with potential coverage options or interesting Physical Bug-type moves that allow us to beat out different Pokemon on our checks and counters list. The Special Attacking stat allows us to always OHKO Colossoil after 1 layer of spikes while also 2hkoing offensive Jumbao after any hazard chip, as well as just 2HKOing regular Slowking always (using 252 SpA EVs).
Speed
The Speed is really simple, it just creeps Hydreigon. This allows 28 to outpace Urshifu, Jumbao, Smokomodo, and Hydreigon which are all farily valuable targets.
PHYSICAL OFFENSE:
I believe physically offensive is the way we want to go here- The best tools for the job are all on the physical end, and the lack of a (widely distributed) physical Dragon-type STAB that is nearly as good as Draco Meteor keeps the Bug-type relevant, because who wants to lock into Outrage unless it OHKOes? Regardless, the huge attack stat ensures that Heavy Duty Boots sets can (98% of the time) 2HKO Slowbro with a 80 BP Bug attack and reliably 2HKO Equilibra with whatever anti-Libra coverage this ends up getting. However, thanks to the low BP/heavy downsides of this CAP's STABs (sans the potential Megahorn/good Dragon STAB), CAP 28 is still soundly walled by Toxapex unless locking into a nuclear STAB like Choice Band Outrage, which has clear downsides, and can only demolish Offense with priority like First Impression if equipped with a Choice Band. And, once again, pretty clear downsides there. Lastly, Choice Banded Adamant Outrage cannot OHKO Tomohawk from full. Mostly irrelevant considering a banded set on something so coverage-dependent sounds pretty bad. Sure, scary on paper, but less scary when you remember its basically a slower Choice Band Haxorus with an intimidate immunity. And Haxorus isn't really a world-ender at the moment.
SPECIAL OFFENSE:
Not really significant compared to Attack, but has a few potential uses. Given we can 2HKO Slowbro physically, special sets become a lot less appealing anyways. 96 Special Attack does, however, afford CAP 28 the ability to 2HKO Skarmory with Flamethrower/Thunderbolt off of just 4 evs, given that's a tech we want to allow this CAP. Eats up an essential moveslot and really hurts the Libra matchup, but its relevant nonetheless. Specs Draco Meteor off of this Special Attack can also KO Pex over 2 turns, and grievously wound it regardless thanks to Neutralizing Gas.
DEFENSE:
Has the dubious honor of barely living 2 Plasma Fists from Zeraora, but loses to Knock+Plasma anyways. Lives any hit from unboosted LO Rillaboom, and eats a +2 Grassy Glide, which is relevant if CAP 28 is running Jolly. Otherwise dies to anything reasonably strong, which is fine on such a strong Pokemon. Sometimes you gotta acknowledge your flaws.
SPECIAL DEFENSE:
Also pretty worthless, but it (barely) dodges the OHKO from Krilowatt's Ice Beam. Mostly notable for being enough for CAP 28 to sit on the Slowtwins and Blissey given it has Leech Life or some other form of recovery. Lives a Scald+Future Sight combo from the Slowtwins and Leech Life outheals Blissey's Seismic Toss. Even if some tech like Ice Beam Slowbro becomes popular, CAP 28 should still be able to offset the damage long enough to KO. This is all given it gets Leech Life and/or some other form of recovery, of course. If it doesn't, this bulk is much shakier but still consistent in these pivot matchups.
SPEED:
76 Speed is slow, and for good reason- Look at that Attack! Regardless, it does have a few perks. Jolly CAP 28 outspeeds Adamant base 85s, most notably Rillaboom and Tomohawk creeping Jolly Bisharp. Soundly outspeeds the defensive staples, too, but that's a low bar to clear. Otherwise it is a pretty awful speed stat, ensuring offense should soundly deal with CAP 28. Scarf variants are still outsped by +Spe Dragapult and Zeraora, but otherwise outspeed everything else if you're weird and want to run a Scarf Bug/Dragon type.
FINAL WORDS:
First time I've ever submitted a CAP spread, but I'm pretty proud of this spread and its clear strengths and weaknesses. It's also a very realistic stat spread for a Gamefreak-made Pokemon at 530 BST, if anyone cares about optics for one reason or another. I very much believe that a large attacking stat will be needed to make this mon offensively consistent and attractive- There are a plethora of faster dragons with attacking stats around 120 (and much, much better STAB combos), and given our anti-defensive pivot angle, leaning into sheer power to break them and differentiate this dragon from others feels like the way to go. It will make CAP 28 a niche pick, but better unique with a niche rather than good but outclassed, in my opinion.
I can see that there have already been some edits based on my last post which is great. While I don't want to stipulate an exact definition of what an 'extreme' stat is, because that is somewhat subjective, I want to stress that you should use your best judgment. If you're worried about your stat spread being extreme, it's because it probably is. My advice would be to compare your spread against existing Pokemon with a particular extreme stat to get a feel for how they're overall spread looks like, for example Darmanitan, Haxorus, Chandelure, Blissey. An individual high stat value isn't going to be a problem, so long as its legitimately justified, and not part of a broader issue of an overtuned spread that is abusing the BSR limit.
On this note. The BSR Limit is not a target. It is a maximum. It was specifically chosen to allow for some wiggle room for mixed spreads. This is why a mask was also used, to mitigate the efficiency of single offense spreads. It should not be your job to make every stat limit get as close to its maximum as possible.
With that reiterated, I would like to inform everyone that this a 44 Hour Warning for the thread closing. I apologise for it not being an even 48 Hours, but I was stuck back at work and couldn't get this typed up and posted in time. As such, you will need to finalise your spreads, as well as make sure that your reasoning and explanations are typed up and included in your submission post.
Not meaning to contribute to this being a move discussion, but it needs to be said since it is directly relevant to the design of our HP stat: Substitute absolutely has potential for this pokemon. As many have said, Substitute blocks Blissey's Toxic and weak Knock Offs, and is a general prediction buffer. But the biggest service by far is to allow us to truly sit in on the Slows with impunity once we're in burn-free. It allows us to block Future Sight and most importantly, blocks Slowking from fishing for burns. Burn-fishing will happen. Our entire design is built around trying to create lose-lose situations with the Slows not wanting to switch or stay in, and in this ideal situation, there will be desperate Slowkings that try to burn us on a predicted set-up move or on a 2HKO move like Leech Life. Substitute is therefore our safest "setup move" against the Slows, and greatly improves our ability to run tankier sets built around Leech Life healing (probably Sub + Leech Life + DragonMove + Coverage). No, these sets will not be able to reach the same power level or coverage potential as those that don't run Substitute, but that doesn't mean sub sets can't be enticing. Therefore, stat submissions that give 101 HP Subs should certainly be considered, rather than brushed away, for making the ultimate anti-Slowking sets viable against a wider range of pokemon.
I said I wasn't gonna try making a stat spread, but there is no harm in making one and then learning where I went wrong and how to improve in the future. My main idea here was to make a moveset that was more physically offensive rather than mixed, especially considering the rather disappointing Special Movepool provided by Bug/Dragon (There are few options outside Bug Buzz, Draco Meteor, and coverage)
Speed:
The main benchmark I was using here was Dragons. I decided to find something of a middle ground, allowing us to outspeed Hydreigon/Pajantom but not outspeed Astrolotl/Dragapult. 106 specifically came from me trying to see if I could get away with taking some Speed EVs out and replacing them with Defensive EVs to patch up the low Defense stat. Its also worth mentioning that with this 216 Speed EV spread, we will still outspeed Blissey while paralyzed (151 vs 146), and that is without a speed boosting nature.
HP:
Nothing much to say here. 80 hp with 0 investment gives us exactly 301 health, which means Blissey needs to spend that extra 4th turn trying to kill us from full, or spends 3 turns with prior damage from SR/Weather/Burn. This gives us just enough time to demolish the Egg and gives me a nice number to use when looking at what to do with defense and special defense.
Def:
The biggest thread that we have defensively that I feel we can reasonable afford to deal with given our limits would be non-STAB Knock Off from Zeraora/Rillaboom/Tangrowth. It is impossible for these 3 to kill us on switch in with Knock Off. I tried to see how close I could get to being 100% immune to Choice Band Rillaboom's Knock Off + SR, but there was no way to do it without either devoting way too many EVs or breaking our PT limit. Instead, I settled for one that leaves us with 1/3 to 1/5 of our health left, luck depending.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Heracross: 204-240 (67.7 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
SpD:
This was the stat where most of our threats come into play. However, rather than try to optimize it for every interaction, I wanted to try and make our switch in against delayed moves a little safer. To that end, 106 keeps us from being scared out by Future Sight. If we want to transfer those 40 defensive EVs to our special bulk instead, we are able to survive the Doom Desire.
EDIT: I've also added some calcs for other matchups where I think we should be surviving, such as against non-STAB Ice Beams. Also with this stat, defensive Jumbao can't OHKO us:
0 SpA Slowbro Future Sight vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 126-148 (41.8 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 198-234 (65.7 - 77.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Slowking Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 124-146 (41.1 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Equilibra Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 139-165 (46.1 - 54.8%) -- 60.5% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Jumbao Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 236-278 (78.4 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
With 40SpD EVs:
0 SpA Tomohawk Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 40 SpD Heracross: 246-290 (81.7 - 96.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Equilibra Doom Desire vs. 0 HP / 40 SpD Heracross: 234-276 (77.7 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Atk:
116 lets us do a lot of things. With max investment we can scare off our biggest threats with moves like Close Combat or Megahorn, and we can also put on a lot of pressure to Dragons via either Dragon Claw or Dragon Hammer (depending on where we go in the movepool stage)
252+ Atk Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 482-568 (67.5 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Heracross Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 270-318 (68.5 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Heracross Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 332-392 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Heracross Dragon Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 326-386 (100.3 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Heracross Dragon Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 384-452 (107.5 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Heracross Dragon Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pajantom: 354-416 (114.5 - 134.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
We don't need to be OHKOing the Slows. If we are, why did we take NGas? Crippling them and forcing them out without any health left to spare will put an end to their pivoting. The same goes for Blissey, especially if we give her some form of status ailment.
SpA:
Dump stat. I really don't think mixed is the way to go. The only way we are beating Blissey mixed is by having 2 inflated attack stats. Likewise, we are limited to just Draco Meteor/Bug Buzz for STAB options since the rest of our choices... Kinda suck. Our biggest targets are all specially defensive so we do need a physical attack stat either way.
Not meaning to contribute to this being a move discussion, but it needs to be said since it is directly relevant to the design of our HP stat: Substitute absolutely has potential for this pokemon. As many have said, Substitute blocks Blissey's Toxic and weak Knock Offs, and is a general prediction buffer. But the biggest service by far is to allow us to truly sit in on the Slows with impunity once we're in burn-free. It allows us to block Future Sight and most importantly, blocks Slowking from fishing for burns. Burn-fishing will happen. Our entire design is built around trying to create lose-lose situations with the Slows not wanting to switch or stay in, and in this ideal situation, there will be desperate Slowkings that try to burn us on a predicted set-up move or on a 2HKO move like Leech Life. Substitute is therefore our safest "setup move" against the Slows, and greatly improves our ability to run tankier sets built around Leech Life healing (probably Sub + Leech Life + DragonMove + Coverage). No, these sets will not be able to reach the same power level or coverage potential as those that don't run Substitute, but that doesn't mean sub sets can't be enticing. Therefore, stat submissions that give 101 HP Subs should certainly be considered, rather than brushed away, for making the ultimate anti-Slowking sets viable against a wider range of pokemon.
I would challenge you to find me a sub user that doesn't have a "great" stab, that is, find me a sub user that doesn't have a STAB as good as Ice, Flying, Dark, or Fairy in the current meta. The limitations that substitute places upon your moveslots cannot be overstated, and although there are real and present advantages due to it easing prediction and providing status immunity, we are a frankly horrid sub user. We do not have a good stab from a wide coverage standpoint, we cannot run any single other move and bandage it, we do not have the ability to run leftovers, and we don't have pressure. To repeat, the inability to easily run leftovers is huge and cannot be overstated.
Lacking any of the attributes that makes current pokemon run Substitute makes me feel that it is a tech option at best, and not something we need to center our stat spread around. I think the possibility of Leech Life is a far more compelling reason to run a low HP stat than Substitute is to run a high HP stat. I would encourage anyone running a super high HP stat to justify it based on taking less from Blissey's Seismic Toss than any remote chance that we have of running Substitute.
I would challenge you to find me a sub user that doesn't have a "great" stab, that is, find me a sub user that doesn't have a STAB as good as Ice, Flying, Dark, or Fairy in the current meta.
We did see sub+nasty plot Rotom-W used in CAPPL and there has been a decent rise in usage of sub+salac Kommo-o with the budget tour. Both mons two move coverage is rather lacking but they have still seen their fair share of success. Rotom-W has worse two move coverage than what CAP28 has with just its STABs. In the case of Kommo-o, CAP28's best possible 2 move coverage would be on par with the Kommo-o's fighting STAB+electric coverage. Kommo-o also relies purely on healing through drain punch since its item slot is occupied with salac berry. Conveniently enough, we stand a good chance of gaining access to leech life given 28's STAB. While it might not be the outright best set CAP28 can have, it isn't a terrible approach either. We can still maintain desirable traits to be a competent 3 move attacker. Its not like it has to be one or the other.
We did see sub+nasty plot Rotom-W used in CAPPL and there has been a decent rise in usage of sub+salac Kommo-o with the budget tour. Both mons two move coverage is rather lacking but they have still seen their fair share of success. Rotom-W has worse two move coverage than what CAP28 has with just its STABs. In the case of Kommo-o, CAP28's best possible 2 move coverage would be on par with the Kommo-o's fighting STAB+electric coverage. Kommo-o also relies purely on healing through drain punch since its item slot is occupied with salac berry. Conveniently enough, we stand a good chance of gaining access to leech life given 28's STAB. While it might not be the outright best set CAP28 can have, it isn't a terrible approach either. We can still maintain desirable traits to be a competent 3 move attacker. Its not like it has to be one or the other.
In what world is water+electric STAB worse than bug+dragon? Electric/Water is stopped by grasses and dragons, sure, but that's about it, and many popular grasses are usually physically defensive anyways so it is possible to eventually bust through. Bug/Dragon, on the other hand, has STABs resisted by the 2 best defensive typings in the game (steel, fairy), and one of those two types will be a hard wall no matter what coverage move we choose. I'd argue its a strictly worse STAB combo than Kommo-o too, given both CAP 28 and Kommo-o's STABs are stopped by Fairy-types, but at least Kommo-o has a STAB to nail Steel-types. Bug-type STAB hits nothing that resists Dragon. There's minimal synergy, which makes Substitute a really hard sell when virtually every defensive team has a Fairy-type and a Steel-type. I guess we could ignore 1 of our STABs, but then those chosen 2 coverage moves will be significantly weaker than a STAB from another sub user.
252 Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Slowking: 278-330 (70.5 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 252 HP / 120 Def Slowking: 230-272 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 360-426 (91.3 - 108.1%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
0 SpA Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 300-354 (76.1 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 363-427 (50.8 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hippowdon: 285-336 (67.8 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Hippowdon: 237-279 (56.4 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Outrage vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 189-223 (62.3 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
The main sets I'm envisioning here are physical, special, and physically biased mixed, although with the right coverage I suppose a specially biased mixed set could work too. Even uninvested, CAP28 (represented here by a modified Yanmega) still deals enough damage with its high power STAB to by pass walls that would usually stuff it, such as Hippowdon and Slowbro for physically biased sets and Slowking for specially biased sets. We still don't quite have enough power to threaten Blissey with uninvested physical attacks, though.
Offensive benchmarks - checks and counters
252 SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 123-145 (40.4 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Yanmega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 133-157 (43.7 - 51.6%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 108-127 (35.5 - 41.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Jumbao: 126-148 (32.4 - 38.1%) -- 1.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 168+ SpD Jumbao: 114-135 (29.3 - 34.7%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Yanmega Outrage vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Tomohawk: 196-232 (47.3 - 56%) -- 80.9% chance to 2HKO
Boosting items fuck with this list a bit and the Pex matchup is a bit prediction reliant (Max SpA Draco 2HKOs Pex, for example), but overall I feel these are solid calcs. We may end up forcing Tomo to run more physical bulk in order to not get 2HKO'd though. Jumbao is the only Fairy on our C&C list I felt like doing calcs against, the rest should check us on typing alone lol.
Defensive benchmarks - targets
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Yanmega in Grassy Terrain: 95-112 (41.4 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Yanmega in Grassy Terrain: 163-192 (71.1 - 83.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
0 SpA Slowking Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 48-57 (20.9 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
0 SpA Slowking Future Sight vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 144-171 (62.8 - 74.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Okay, on the surface it may seem like this CAP is frail as piss, but we can still switch in to a few weaker attacks. Banded Rillaboom lets us come in for free if it locks itself into a Grass move, even if we run Hasty. And we live a Scald from Slowking as well as the follow-up Future Sight, so that's good.
Defensive benchmarks - checks and counters
252+ SpA Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 432-510 (188.6 - 222.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Syclant U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 238-282 (103.9 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 846-996 (369.4 - 434.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
But yeah, we're still frail as piss lol.
Not much else to say other than the Speed is specifically to outpace Rillaboom and Rotom-H, and our HP is purposefully low to gain more recovery from Leech Life. I could have added more bulk, but I didn't want the BST to be too high.
We did see sub+nasty plot Rotom-W used in CAPPL and there has been a decent rise in usage of sub+salac Kommo-o with the budget tour. Both mons two move coverage is rather lacking but they have still seen their fair share of success. Rotom-W has worse two move coverage than what CAP28 has with just its STABs. In the case of Kommo-o, CAP28's best possible 2 move coverage would be on par with the Kommo-o's fighting STAB+electric coverage. Kommo-o also relies purely on healing through drain punch since its item slot is occupied with salac berry. Conveniently enough, we stand a good chance of gaining access to leech life given 28's STAB. While it might not be the outright best set CAP28 can have, it isn't a terrible approach either. We can still maintain desirable traits to be a competent 3 move attacker. Its not like it has to be one or the other.
Ig this is more of a tangent to my original point, but unlike Rotom-W we won't be able to easily run Leftovers, and unlike Kommo-O we may not have access to the BDrum move, I would also argue that both of these have access to more broadly spammable moves than we do; Water is known for its expansive neutral coverage, and Fighting, while not as expansive has a truly amazing range of SE hits. If I were to compare us to any other Sub Wallbreaker, I'd argue Volcanion is the best mapping; its also SR weak, it also is spikes weak, but it differs by having well, Hyper Scald (aka difficult to switch into), a noted immunity ability, and great STAB coverage (only misses waters and dragons, one of which gets worn down quickly, the other of which it Epowers the Pex).
It is likely that any set running Substitute may end up being physical, which means that we likely will already force Blissey out, reducing the need for 101 Hp subs to "Blissey getting risky" and will furthermore likely love the move Leech Life which argues for 50 HP subs rather than 100 HP subs to increase the percentage recovery that is gained. High HP stats are far more relevant for just reducing Seismic Toss damage, and in my opinion are tangential or conflict with the existence of Substitute sets, which I do not view as guaranteed in any way.
Note: Originally had this in my stat spread submission but since this is another topic, it deserves its own post.
Plus this made stat submission spread post way to long.
An individual high stat value isn't going to be a problem, so long as its legitimately justified, and not part of a broader issue of an overtuned spread that is abusing the BSR limit.
On this note. The BSR Limit is not a target. It is a maximum. It was specifically chosen to allow for some wiggle room for mixed spreads. This is why a mask was also used, to mitigate the efficiency of single offense spreads. It should not be your job to make every stat limit get as close to its maximum as possible.
There has been a lot of discussion lately about BSR Abuse and hitting stat limits lately. And while I do agree with everything Mr.DollSteak said in his post, after the discussion Ive had about this topic last night on Discord and having the highest BSR out of all submitted stat spreads, I want to give my stance on this topic. If your hitting the stat limits because you can, thats not good. It shouldn't be a goal to hit every stat limit. But high stats shouldn't be looked down upon if the submitter clearly explains and provides proof of why the stats were selected. Hitting the BSR limit is a little different to me and its weird to explain. So below is a more fleshed out explanation of what I posted on discord last night:
I feel as a stat spread creator that if I am not making absolute full use of the constraints given to me, the stat spread comes off as me being extremely neglectful and the stat spread itself is of poor quality. When I see some stat spreads that have low BSR (even spreads I really really like) theres this feeling of, "this is great but I think there is still room to improve". Whenever I see my BSR is less than the limit, its constantly reminding me there is still room to innovate and improve. So I keep calcing and tinkering until I hit that limit. Which is when I finally stop because there is nothing more to do. Hitting the BSR limit is never a deliberate goal. I could easily crank out a BSR >349.99 if I wanted to (for this CAP, I actually have a spread that has BSR 349.997). But I see hitting the BSR limit as not a target but an indicator that I have made the most out of what I was given and I exhausted every possible option to find a stat spread I can be satisfied with.
Your more than welcome to disagree with me on this, but I don't think this will ever change for me. If there is room for improvement and modification to the stats, Im going to keep doing it until I can't anymore.
In what world is water+electric STAB worse than bug+dragon? Electric/Water is stopped by grasses and dragons, sure, but that's about it, and many popular grasses are usually physically defensive anyways so it is possible to eventually bust through. Bug/Dragon, on the other hand, has STABs resisted by the 2 best defensive typings in the game (steel, fairy), and one of those two types will be a hard wall no matter what coverage move we choose.
In the context of the CAP meta, water+electric is worse simply because there are more relevant mons that resist that two move coverage. Between S and A- rank in the VR, there are 7 mons that resist water+eletric coverage compared to the 2 that resist bug+dragon. I wont begin to dive into the nuances of the low spdef argument because many of the mons that suffer from that still beat Rotom-W. I could understand the concern of our 2 STAB coverage being an issue when it comes to our matchups versus steel-types and fairy-types, but there would have to be more meta relevant pokemon with those typing to truly be concerned. I have seen significantly less use of mons B+ and lower that mentioning them as potential problems feels disingenuous, and Clefable is still banned.
Ig this is more of a tangent to my original point, but unlike Rotom-W we won't be able to easily run Leftovers, and unlike Kommo-O we may not have access to the BDrum move, I would also argue that both of these have access to more broadly spammable moves than we do; Water is known for its expansive neutral coverage, and Fighting, while not as expansive has a truly amazing range of SE hits. If I were to compare us to any other Sub Wallbreaker, I'd argue Volcanion is the best mapping; its also SR weak, it also is spikes weak, but it differs by having well, Hyper Scald (aka difficult to switch into), a noted immunity ability, and great STAB coverage (only misses waters and dragons, one of which gets worn down quickly, the other of which it Epowers the Pex).
It is likely that any set running Substitute may end up being physical, which means that we likely will already force Blissey out, reducing the need for 101 Hp subs to "Blissey getting risky" and will furthermore likely love the move Leech Life which argues for 50 HP subs rather than 100 HP subs to increase the percentage recovery that is gained. High HP stats are far more relevant for just reducing Seismic Toss damage, and in my opinion are tangential or conflict with the existence of Substitute sets, which I do not view as guaranteed in any way.
I need to start by dismissing the mention of Volcanion. It does fall into a similar category that CAP28 would with this specific exploration, but I don't think we can't adequately compare the two. Volcanion existed in a meta of a significantly higher power level compared to the environment CAP28 will exist. Volcanion necessitated greater power for that reason. I can, however, agree with you points about Rotom-W and leftovers and the situation of Kommo-o.
"It is likely that any set running Substitute may end up being physical, which means that we likely will already force Blissey out"
That is sort of a main point of 101 substitute, at least from my perspective. 101 sub removes Blissey battle entirely. Obviously, 101 prevents Blissey from breaking with seismic toss and being able to inflict status. This makes Blissey a liability in this matchup. Blissey can't afford to stay in at all since CAP28 can capitalize on the situation. 101 subs means you always know what Blissey's play is. Blissey cant spam seismic toss and use itself as a sack to keep you from setting up. Blissey has to fear the sub regardless of if substitute is ran.
In the context of the CAP meta, water+electric is worse simply because there are more relevant mons that resist that two move coverage. Between S and A- rank in the VR, there are 7 mons that resist water+eletric coverage compared to the 2 that resist bug+dragon. I wont begin to dive into the nuances of the low spdef argument because many of the mons that suffer from that still beat Rotom-W. I could understand the concern of our 2 STAB coverage being an issue when it comes to our matchups versus steel-types and fairy-types, but there would have to be more meta relevant pokemon with those typing to truly be concerned. I have seen significantly less use of mons B+ and lower that mentioning them as potential problems feels disingenuous, and Clefable is still banned.
This is just blatantly false. Krilowatt is an extremely successful Pokémon in the metagame because of its dual STAB hitting a wide range of targets super efecctively, and the sole thing that it can't hit with its STABs (Grass and Dragon types) it hits with Ice Beam. While Rotom W is a less successful example, it rising up in viability over its Heat competition is proof enough of the usefulness of Water + Electric coverage. You may say that more Pokémon in those ranks technically wall their STABs, but most of the Pokemon you mentioned aren't exactly defensive pariahs, while Steel and Fairy are quite literally THE best defensive typings in the game, and also unlike Water + Electric, it can't be patched up with 1 coverage move (Ice in the latter's case). If Rotom did have ICe Beam, Sub 3 Attacks, Sub + NP + 2 Attacks (Ice Beam And Discharge) and NP + 3 Attacks all provide perfect coverage. That is something you will never get with 1 coverage move + CAP 28's dual STAB. Hence, its an objectively worse offensive typing.
I can't believe I made it in time, but I'm sacking the old spread. Its to good for its own good and I can't let all the time I put in go to waste.
Decided to stop trying to go for versatility. I have a clear vision and I tried to make this spread have a clear vision of what it wants to be and make its weaknesses more pronounced (even if it requires a touch of poll jumping).
I know this spread could be better, I have the calcs to prove it. Certain benchmarks the old spread had aren't can't be made anymore. But if it won't get slated regardless of how much I explain it (even writing a 20 page pdf), then it is utter trash. Plain and simple. Lets see if this spread is seen as an improvement over the previous one.
General Overview:
Heavily inspired by , this spread aims to be a relatively slow but hard hitting special biased mixed attack that can run set up moves (mainly Dragon Dance). I had a clear spread in mind of 80 atk/176 spa/252 speed with a Hasty or Naive nature (more on that latter) but did look at other values.
As a road block, our job is to prevent pivots from getting their game going via hard hitting offensive pressure. Either scaring pivots out or making them afraid to pivot in and start setting up their team mates. We need just enough bulk to come in on the switch ins and some of our pressures outlined in the Threatlist, while having the fire power to scare pivots and put pressure on the opponent.
Thought Process Behind Stats:
Hit Points: While many people have stated that running substitute is a terrible idea on this Pokémon, I still want it to be a potential option that can be ran. Base stat of 100 was way to much of a commitment, requiring 252 HP evs. A base stat of 133 does allow for 101 HP subs without committing any EVs but I felt that would be considered BSR Abuse. Decided on 120 which was an effective compromise requiring only 92 HP EVs to hit a HP stat of 404. Also, with 0 Hp Evs, our HP is 381 which gives CAP 28 the ability to switch into Stealth Rocks 4 times.
Physical Defense: While this CAP is not meant to take physical attacks, there were a couple of benchmarks I wanted to achieve even with 0 EVs in hp and def and a neutral nature but doesn't achieve with a negative nature. Examples include CB Rillaboom Grassy Glide being a 3hko, living a plasma fists and Knock Off and Zeraora, and some other calcs which lead to a stat of 48.
Special Defense: While I did my calculations assuming the standard Slowking set of Scald/Future Sight/Teleport/Slack Off, there is a chance Slows could adapt by running Ice Beam. So, I decided that my special defense needed to be high enough to make to make 0 SpA Slows Ice Beam a guaranteed 3HKO against CAP 28 running no EVs in its special bulk and a neutral nature but a chance of 2HKO with a neutral nature among other calculations. 84 achieved these benchmarks pretty nicely.
Overall: Bulk benchmarks are achieved with 0hp/0def (or Spd) investment but a lot are missed if a -nature is used. This forces the player to choose when running a mixed set. Which bulk benchmarks do I want achieved? Or do I cut into atk power to try and achieve both? I like stat spreads that force players to make choices like this.
Speed: Originally, I thought the minimum speed for CAP 28 should be =>87 and that seems to be the general consensus. The ability to out speed Rotoms is quite desirable which Mx’s post cleared stressed. But I began to question that idea and experiment with speed stats <87. After getting some inspiration from , I decided to use its speed stat of 75 which produces solid results. But after remaking the spread, 75 is on the slow side of things both without boosts and at +1 misses out on outspeeding Jolly . A base speed of 80 was picked for both its values both without a boost and with a boost.
Without a boost, can out speed but needs 216 speed EVs and a timid nature which forces its physical bulk to take a big hit. We out speed Adamant which means we can threaten it even if we switch in on a Wood Hammer. At +1, with 252 speed EVs and a positive nature, speed is 426 which outspeeds 252 speed EV Jolly nature but still means we get revenge killed by choice scarf .
Physical Attack: Most spreads I have seen so far, focus on physical attack stat which makes sense because 3 of our main targets in , , and which are all weak to physical attacks, and there are better physical Bug Attacks to choose in Megahorn and Leech Life. However, there is a risk of burn from Scalds or WoW from Astro which is why physical attack is my secondary attacking stat. Decided on an attack stat of 107 because with 80 atk EVs, you get a guarenteed 2HKO on 252/252+ Blissey with Close Combat and a guaranteed OHKO on 248/0 Rotom-Heat with Earthquake (NGas allows for cool interactions like this). Im sorry this is poll jumping, but everyone else has been doing it. And without coverage options like these, you need pretty high attack stats to achieve this benchmark with STABs which takes away from this spreads concept of being a special biased mixed attacker.
Special Attack: While primarily being a special attacking provides worse option in Bug STAB, going down the path of special attacker is still appealing to me. Not worrying nearly as much about burn status from Scald while hitting threats like , , and , on their weaker defense stat. I decided to keep 136 from the old spread because with 176 special attack EVs and a neutral nature, CAP 28 has a guaranteed 2HKO on 252/252+ HDB because of how important of a target is. I am well aware of this stat being very high, but its important to note three key reasons why this is the case:
Bug Buzz isn’t Megahorn. With a difference of 30 Base Power before STAB (45 after STAB), Bug Buzz does not nearly hit as hard as Megahorn does. To compensate for this, a higher special attack is needed to guarantee the 2HKO on Slowking
Slowking is one of the main targets CAP 28 is meant to beat. Slowking has 30 more Special Defense than physical defense so Bug Buzz is hitting Slowking on its larger defense stat. Which again, requires a high special attack stat if we want a guarenteed 2HKO on it.
I have to give up atk EVs to ensure 2HKO on Blissey but still want to 2HKO 252/252+ this was the lowest possible stat that achieved the benchmark.
Physical Attack Calculations:
80 Atk Astrolotl Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 358-422 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Proof of CC 2HKO Bliss with 80 Atk EVs.
80 Atk Astrolotl Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 312-368 (102.9 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Proof of being able to OHKO Rotom-Heat with EQ using similar investment used to 2HKO Bliss with CC
+1 0 Atk Astrolotl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Equilibra: 218-258 (53.4 - 63.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 152 Atk Astrolotl Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 358-422 (50.1 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tox running Drain Punch on its Shift Gear set made me want try it in some calcs
Special Attack Calculations:
176 SpA Astrolotl Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 198-234 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Proof of 176 SpA Bug Buzz 2HKO max special bulk slowking.
176 SpA Astrolotl Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 198-234 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
176 SpA Astrolotl Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tomohawk: 379-447 (91.5 - 107.9%) -- 50% chance to 2HKO
176 SpA Astrolotl Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 390-458 (114.3 - 134.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
176 SpA Astrolotl Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 230-274 (75.6 - 90.1%) -- not a KO
176 SpA Astrolotl Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tangrowth: 498-588 (123.2 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
176 SpA Astrolotl Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 252-297 (79.4 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Considering the cost and risk of coming in on Zera, pretty solid rewards. This becomes guaranteed if you come in on Close Combat.
176 SpA Astrolotl Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Heat: 295-349 (97.3 - 115.1%) -- 81.3% chance to 2HKO
176 SpA Astrolotl Draco Meteor vs. 56 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem: 456-536 (112.5 - 132.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Im pretty sure that if I can OHKO Kyurem, I can OHKO the other Dragons on our pressure list.
Physical Bulk Calculations:
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 147-173 (38.5 - 45.4%)
252 Atk Zeraora Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 191-225 (50.1 - 59%)
45.4+59=104.4% which means there is a chance this spread will die to Plasma Fists and Knock Off if running a Hasty nature
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 131-155 (34.3 - 40.6%)
252 Atk Zeraora Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 170-201 (44.6 - 52.7%)
40.6+52.7=93.3% which means we will live if running a Naive nature.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 338-398 (88.7 - 104.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 302-356 (79.2 - 93.4%)
While this something I don't think CAP 28 never wants to do, it can tank a hit and threaten to kill in return but takes a lot of dmg and loses HDB.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl in Grassy Terrain: 118-139 (30.9 - 36.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
Ok this calc the nature doesn't matter.
8 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 119-141 (31.2 - 37%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage
8 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 106-126 (27.8 - 33%) -- 89.3% chance to 3HKO after sandstorm damage
148+ Def Kommo-o Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 129-153 (33.8 - 40.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
148+ Def Kommo-o Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 115-136 (30.1 - 35.6%) -- 37.2% chance to 3HKO
+2 0 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 322-381 (84.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 0 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 289-342 (75.8 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 322-381 (84.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Astrolotl: 288-340 (75.5 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Okay, should be a check/counter to CAP 28. Resist both STABs, can threaten with Bullet Punch
+6 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 317-373 (83.2 - 97.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Astrolotl: 293-345 (76.9 - 90.5%)
Special Bulk Calculations:
0 SpA Slowking Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 168-198 (44 - 51.9%) -- 14.1% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Slowking Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 150-178 (39.3 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
The main reason behind Spd becoming 84. A neutral nature ensures Ice Beam 3HKO, a negative nature means there is a chance Ice Beam 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Surf/Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 91-108 (23.8 - 28.3%)
252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 244-289 (64 - 75.8%)
28.3+75.8=104.1% so there is a chance CAP 28 will die if it runs a Naive nature.
252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Surf/Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 82-97 (21.5 - 25.4%)
252 SpA Life Orb Krilowatt Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 221-260 (58 - 68.2%)
25.4+68.2=93.6% ensuring CAP 28 will live a Surf and a Thunderbolt if running a Hasty nature.
28 SpA Tomohawk Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 354-416 (92.9 - 109.1%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
28 SpA Tomohawk Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 318-374 (83.4 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower/Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 195-231 (51.1 - 60.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower/Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 175-207 (45.9 - 54.3%) -- 51.6% chance to 2HKO
132+ SpA Equilibra Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 174-205 (45.6 - 53.8%) -- 43.4% chance to 2HKO
132+ SpA Equilibra Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 156-184 (40.9 - 48.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
8 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat over 2 turns vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 283-335 (74.2 - 87.9%) -- not a KO
+2 8 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Astrolotl: 378-445 (99.2 - 116.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
+2 8 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Astrolotl: 339-400 (88.9 - 104.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Ok your kind of screwed either way.
The pattern for special bulk follows physical bulk. CAP 28 has gaurenteed switch ins against a number of threats, but if a Naive nature is ran, those switch ins are no longer guaranteed. This forces a choice to be made in team building. Hasty or Naive? Which threats do I want guaranteed switch in on, and which ones do I not want?
I’m brand new at this so any feedback at all would be massively appreciated 100 HP / 125 ATK / 65 DEF / 81 (does it matter that much)SPATK / 80 SPDF / 99 SPE
BST: 550
PT:111.917
ST:140.053
PS: 209.874
SS: 140 (139.155)
BSR: 333.989
I’m going to go through this in the order I picked the stats so that anyone reading this can hopefully follow my reasoning
HP
From what I’ve seen in other people's posts there seems to be a pretty healthy debate on the merits of using substitute. Because I like the idea of a flexible stat spread, I opted for 100 base hp so that you have the option to invest into a 101 hp subs if you want to but retain the benefits of surviving 3 seismic tosses that you would get at 80 base hp.
I also favored high base hp to avoid accidentally creating a pokemon that has great synergy with the wish passing teams that CAP 28 is trying to counter. I know that blissey can still heal this spread for 88-100% but blissey does that for literally everything. DEF
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega in Grassy Terrain: 144-170 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 174-205 (51 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Yanmega: 84-100 (20.7 - 24.7%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
The primary physical attacker pivoter we seem to be targeting is rillaboom so I selected 65 def to bring the PT index over 110 to make it safe(ish) to switch into rillaboom with no defensive investment and to also block rillaboom from attempting to switch in. We still have a bad time against urshifu-dark but I’ll come back to that in speed tiers.
I also checked bulky hippowdon and with max hp investment it can’t kill our substitutes.
SPDF
0 SpA Slowbro/Slowking Future Sight vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 142-168 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 160-189 (46.9 - 55.4%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 216-255 (63.3 - 74.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Tomohawk Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 290-344 (85 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
0 SpA Slowking Future Sight vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 142-168 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Slowking Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 47-56 (13.7 - 16.4%) -- possible 7HKO
Against the slow-twins 80 special defence is more than enough and we can live a hurricane from tomahawk about 50 percent of the time factoring in accuracy. Switching into alakazam may be difficult but alakazam cannot switch into us either (damage calc later).
SPE
252 Atk Choice Band Urshifu Wicked Blow vs. 252 HP / 24 Def Yanmega on a critical hit: 405-477 (100.2 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Yanmega: 588-694 (172.4 - 203.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
If CAP 28 is to have any pressure against hydreigon or urshifu-dark then it has to have the ability to outspeed them otherwise they will regularly one-shot it. So for the speed tier I went with 99 base speed also puts us ahead of many of the pivots we are trying to check.
ATK
Most of our targets are vulnerable to physical attackers. CAP 28 needs to pressure many pivots and disuade switch-ins from some sweepers.
252 Atk Yanmega Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 416-492 (121.9 - 144.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 306-360 (89.7 - 105.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Yanmega Dragon Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 278-330 (85.5 - 101.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Yanmega Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu: 190-225 (55.7 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 346-408 (48.4 - 57.1%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 174-206 (44.1 - 52.2%) -- 16% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 258-306 (65.4 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Leech Life vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 212-252 (53.8 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Megahorn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 318-374 (80.7 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Yanmega Dragon Claw vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dragapult: 320-380 (100.9 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Yanmega Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu: 190-225 (55.7 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
SPATK I have no idea what the special attack stat should be. 80 lets CAP 28 use special moves effectively as a mixed option.
0 SpA Yanmega Strange Steam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu: 328-388 (96.1 - 113.7%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
Thank you to everyone that has participated! There was a lot of high quality discussion and debate throughout the thread, as well as a range of excellent submissions with sound reasoning that has made it difficult to narrow it down to just the spreads you will see here on the Final Slate. If your spread wasn't slated, please do not take it personally or think that it was a bad spread by any means. What I was looking for in this slate was diversity, and in the case where there were two or more spreads that were similar, I had to unfortunately narrow it down to the one that I think had the most sound explanations and clearly defined strengths and weaknesses. Below you will be able to find the slated spreads in chronological order of when they were submitted, as well as a brief summary of what they each aim to achieve.
Dogfish44
130 HP / 55 Atk / 55 Def / 150 SpA / 85 SpD / 60 Spe
Dogfish44's spread prioritises breaking through our targeted defensive pivots by ignoring burns through its high special attack. It is able to consistently 2HKO Slowking as well as Rotom Appliances, and with Choice Specs equipped to threaten OHKOs. It favours a defensive approach, being able to tank a range of attacks from physical and special pivots such as Krilowatt, the Rotom appliances and Zeraora, as well as being able to set up 101 HP Substitutes against Blissey without investment, and having just enough Speed to take on Blissey.
Pipotchi
80 HP / 144 Atk / 65 Def / 45 SpA / 95 SpD / 87 Spe
Pipotchi has elected to focus on pure physical wallbreaking potential. With an Attack of 144, Pip's spread is able to score some impressive OHKOs and 2HKOs against the most common spreads of Slowking, even when burned. With a Choice Band, STABs alone are able to handle some other common defensive walls such as Blissey, Tomohawk and Amoonguss. Defensively, this spread is very specialised, being able to take on a few common attacks from common offensive pivots such as Krilowatt, Rillaboom and Zeraora. It also has just enough speed to outpace Tomohawk and Rotom appliances.
jas61292
60 HP / 131 Atk / 50 Def / 101 SpA / 115 SpD / 88 Spe
jas61292's spread is similarly physically inclined, but has mixed potential with a usable special attack stat to take advantage of the high base power of Draco Meteor to KO some of the Dragon-type pivots in the meta such as Astrolotl, Dragapult and Cyclohm. Defensively, this spread maintains a level of special tankiness to take on Krilowatt and the Rotom appliances as well as one off nukes from Alakazam and Equilibra, and has just enough physical defense to survive a few attacks from Rillaboom and Hippowdon.
Yay61
46 HP / 131 Atk / 57 Def / 140 SpA / 110 SpD / 86 Spe
Yay61's mixed spread emphasises hitting a range of significant offensive benchmarks on both sides of the spectrum, while foregoing the ability to guarantee outspeeding fast Rotom appliances. A low HP stat was chosen to maximise potential healing from Leech Life or Wish Support, while still avoiding the 2HKO from Rillaboom's Grassy Glide and being able to take a Scald and Future Sight from Slowking.
Amamama
85 HP / 135 Atk / 60 Def / 115 SpA / 85 SpD / 89 Spe
Amamama's spread takes quite a similar approach to jas61292's spread, although with slightly different defensive benchmarks and higher offenses across the board. Amamama prioritises physical tankiness over special tankiness, being able to take a few more Plasma Fists from Zeraora, Earthquakes from Excadrill and avoiding the OHKO from Azumarill, Alakazam's Psyshock and Smokomodo's Flare Blitz with some slight investment in exchange for a reasonable chance to be KOd by Doom Desire.
quziel
84 HP / 108 Atk / 78 Def / 127 SpA / 101 SpD / 82 Spe
quziel's mixed spread on the other hand, is specially oriented. It is consistently able to take on Slowking, and has a reasonable chance to beat physical walls such as Tomohawk and Toxapex with entry hazards up. It also has more physical and special tankiness than other spreads to be able to reliably mitigate Knock Off from Rillaboom and Zeraora as well as having a strong chance to survive a Hurricane from Tomohawk. In exchange, quz sits at a lower speed tier, still being able to take on Bold Tomohawk spreads but being outpaced by the Rotom appliances.
Jho
70 HP / 100 Atk / 85 Def / 123 SpA / 88 SpD / 99 Spe
Jho also opts for a specially biased mixed spread, that reaches some similar offensive benchmarks to quziel's spread, consistently 2HKOing Slowking with Bug Buzz. That's where the similarities end, however. Jho's spread high speed allows it to be able to take on Hydreigon, Urshifu, Jumbao and Smokomodo and as a result is more frail, particularly in regards to its special tankiness, foregoing its ability to survive to survive 2 Future Sights, but to instead tank a Doom Desire from Equilibra or Psychic from Alakazam.
I'll be using my -1 on Dogfish spread, as I don't think that level of SpA is appropiate for CAP 28 even with the reduced Speed. Other than that, this is an excellent slate. I'm very excited to see what our stats will look like, so let's see what awaits us on the polls!
is a common offensive pivot mon whose STAB CAP28 happens to 4x resist. I think a lower limit for Def should be CAP28 avoiding a 2HKO from banded Adament 
, this spread aims to be a relatively slow but hard hitting special biased mixed attack that can run set up moves (mainly Dragon Dance). I had a clear spread in mind of 80 atk/176 spa/252 speed with a Hasty or Naive nature (more on that latter) but did look at other values.
. A base speed of 80 was picked for both its values both without a boost and with a boost.
can out speed but needs 216 speed EVs and a timid nature which forces its physical bulk to take a big hit. We out speed Adamant 
.
, 
, and 
which are all weak to physical attacks, and there are better physical Bug Attacks to choose in Megahorn and Leech Life. However, there is a risk of burn from Scalds or WoW from Astro which is why physical attack is my secondary attacking stat. Decided on an attack stat of 107 because with 80 atk EVs, you get a guarenteed 2HKO on 252/252+ Blissey with Close Combat and a guaranteed OHKO on 248/0 Rotom-Heat with Earthquake (NGas allows for cool interactions like this). Im sorry this is poll jumping, but everyone else has been doing it. And without coverage options like these, you need pretty high attack stats to achieve this benchmark with STABs which takes away from this spreads concept of being a special biased mixed attacker.
, and 
, on their weaker defense stat. I decided to keep 136 from the old spread because with 176 special attack EVs and a neutral nature, CAP 28 has a guaranteed 2HKO on 252/252+ HDB 
should be a check/counter to CAP 28. Resist both STABs, can threaten with Bullet Punch
