I’m going to go ahead and submit
Fire/Fairy. I feel that this type combination has a variety of good qualities that make it a very good choice for our typing.
What are the broad strengths and weaknesses of this typing?
Fire/Fairy as a combo is a very potent combo for tackling various threats that other Fire-type and Fairy-type Pokémon in the metagame struggle to, but does come at the cost of lacking utility options from Fairy and being weak to Stealth Rock.
What does this typing broadly offer defensively?
The first major boon to discuss is that Fire/Fairy
hard counters Weavile, who is one of the best Pokémon in the metagame and a premiere Knock Off spammer. While I do not believe that being resistant to Knock Off is essential, being able to walk all over the premiere clicker of the move in the tier is an immediate benefit to this type combo. Additionally, this type combination simultaneously hard walls Jumbao, at least on paper. Due to its sheer power, calculations may be somewhat dicey [252 SpA Life Orb Jumbao Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Victini: 97-114 (28.4 - 33.4%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO (This is with 100/100 bulk)], but we should at least in theory be able to act as an emergency check to it so long as we don’t let it trace our Tinted Lens. Being able to simultaneously check Jumbao and counter Weavile is something very few, if any, Pokémon in the tier can claim. Additionally, being quad-resistant towards Bug allows us to be an extremely safe switch-in on U-turn. Our resistance to Fighting-type moves also lets us nab some switches into Zeraora as well, and also lets us wall Buzzwole outside of the somewhat weak Thunder Punch. Lastly, an immunity to Dragon-type moves allows Fire/Fairy to safely switch into the likes of Dragapult’s Dracos, which while requiring prediction, is a solid bonus to have regardless.
Which important Pokemon can this typing threaten via SE hits?
By nature of being a Fire-type Pokémon, CAP30 would be able to hit Skarmory, Corviknight, Weavile, Jumbao, Scizor, Buzzwole, and Melmetal super effectively. Being a Fairy-type Pokémon adds Dragapult, Arghonaut, Weavile, Garchomp, and Kyurem to the list of Pokémon we hit super effectively. While some Pokémon we can check better than others, hitting the metal birds and Arghonaut for double damage is rather valuable, especially considering how Fire-type Pokémon tend to struggle against the likes of Arghonaut, while other Fairies very much struggle against Corviknight and Skarmory. The list of Pokémon also contains several offensive threats in the metagame, which very much discourages them from trying to switch in or (assuming correct prediction) staying in on us, which can give us an opportunity to use utility moves.
How much does this typing abuse or benefit from tinted lens?
The biggest immediate benefit comes in the form of being a Fire and Fairy-type Pokémon that can do a significant amount of damage to Toxapex.
252+ SpA Pixie Plate Tinted Lens Sylveon Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 134-158 (44 - 51.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Base 110 SpA)
While we do not strictly cripple Toxapex with Moonblast, we are able to force it to either switch out or recover, which is something few to no other Fire or Fairy-type Pokémon can accomplish. This allows us to get off the utility moves we so desire to click. Similar situations play out for other bulky Water-type Pokémon when we click our Fire-type moves, such a Slowking. A smaller yet important to mention benefit is the easing of prediction. If you are in a situation where you are facing a Pokémon weak to Fire and think Arghonaut might come in, but you are not entirely sure, you can very safely click a Fire-type move, as it will be doing neutral damage to Arghonaut, and so even if the prediction backfires, you still are able to deal decent damage. This creates a scenario where you can click attacking moves and get more consistent results. Fire-type moves in general have a good variety of utility options, so Fire in particular really benefits from this, as you can click something like Lava Plume to try and fish for burns or Mystical Fire to lower Special Attack. A similar story plays out against the Dragon-type Pokémon of the tier such as Dragapult. You can also safely click Fairy-type moves even if you think a Steel-type may switch in, but Fairy-type moves do not have the same utility, and thus cannot take advantage of Tinted Lens in the same way. Overall, Tinted Lens makes a Fire-type Pokémon that is not a sitting duck for bulky Water-type Pokémon to switch in while easing prediction for the Pokémon overall. While Fire resists both itself and Fairy, and thus is broken through by Tinted Lens, Heatran and Astrolotl are the only current relevant Fire-type Pokémon. Due to being immune to and 4x resisting Fire as is, and 4x resisting and being neutral to Fairy as is, does not change much in terms of matchups, even with Tinted Lens.
Are there any other cool side effects this typing has, such as immunity to status, resistance to hazards, or otherwise?
The main upside in this category is being the wildest Knock Off absorber known to man. We also have an immunity to being burned, which limits the amount to which Toxapex can scare us with Scald, despite us being weak to it. Moreover, while absolutely not being required, we could go physical and run Spirit Break as a utility move alongside Flare Blitz to take advantage of being immune to burns.
In terms of weaknesses, while Ground is a rather common typing, Urshifu’s Surging Strikes scare us and Stealth Rock makes us want to scream, I do feel that our defensive strengths outweigh these downsides, and if nothing else give us some breathing room in terms of balancing CAP30 should we go with this type combination.
Overall, Fire/Fairy has a very relevant set of resistances to take advantage of, is super effective against multiple notable walls, can abuse Tinted Lens with others, and has a good variety of utility moves to play with to create a distinct niche both among Pokémon of its component types and among the metagame as a whole. As such,
I believe CAP30 should be a Fire/Fairy type.
Before I go, I would like to briefly highlight some type combinations I would also be on board with seeing being chosen for CAP30, as well as some I personally have reservations towards.
Fire/Fighting: This one I feel pretty positive about, although it does not gel with me as well as Fire/Fairy. The combination, like Fire/Fairy, is very solid defensively and takes advantage of Tinted Lens, perhaps moreso than Fire/Fairy. It also has the added bonus of being neutral to Stealth Rock. However, I perhaps feel this combination in comparison to Fire/Fairy goes a bit more on the offensive side, which I personally do not prefer next to the somewhat more balanced approach Fire/Fairy takes. Fire/Fighting being weak to Psychic and Flying is a somewhat difficult pill to swallow, considering the likes of Glowking and Tornadus-Therian are running around. Being neutral to fighting also is somewhat of a trade off too, considering the abundance of Fighting-type moves like Zeraora’s Close Combat. This type combination is overall still solid, though, and if Fire/Fairy is not slated, Fire/Fighting works very well as well.
Fighting/Psychic: This type combination is one I find serviceable, considering the two types really appreciating Tinted Lens, but my main concern comes from a lack of resistances. Being resistant to rocks is nice, but is not a very common attacking type nowadays. The Fighting resist is nice, but while the type has plenty of Pokémon that use its moves, I feel it being the only practical resistance outside of Stealth Rock is slightly concerning. Also, while Psychic loves Tinted Lens, lacking utility moves is a bit of a downside, albeit the same can be said for Fairy.
Steel/Fairy: I’m gonna be honest, I feel somewhat mixed about this one. It is by far the best defensive typing of the entire lot, but I am admittedly somewhat scared of this one. Moreover, Steel lacks a consistent special attack to deal damage, while Fairy’s best physical attack is 90 BP with 90% accuracy. I admit that this typing can absolutely work and absolutely loves Tinted Lens, but I feel that we should only choose this knowing it takes a very large bite out of our power budget, and we should thus keep that in mind.
Bug/Steel: This is admittedly my favorite type combination outside of Fire/Fairy. I normally despise Bug being brought up, but Bug/Steel is very solid. It will take a big chunk of our power budget should we choose it, but I feel Bug’s worse SE coverage to Fairy makes it somewhat more manageable in that sense. Moreover, Bug has so many utility attacks it isn’t even funny. Being neutral to rock is likely what saves this combo for me. Either way, I like this combo a lot.
Normal/Fairy: My second favorite Fairy combo. Trades some defensive utility for a better usage of Tinted Lens and a different set of utility attacks. Overall very solid all around!
Ice/Fighting: Gonna be real, this type feels too much like a glass cannon to work for a utility Wallbreaker role. Ice also is not a type needing Tinted Lens and lacks utility attacks. I’m getting really tired, so just gonna say I think this one needs to back to the drawing board. Alright goodnight y’all lmaooooooo