Clangorous Soul should be required. It is so influential on the rest of the process that if it isn't required, it should be banned. This is not a move to hedge on being optional. We wouldn't hedge on moves No Retreat or Belly Drum as optional moves either; powerful and unique boosting options are focal to the Pokemon's identity.
Agreeing with above that Fire/Water/Fighting is the most intuitive coverage for CAP34. Flamethrower/Fire Blast, Surf/Hydro Pump, and Aura Sphere/Focus Blast. I am okay with Body Press as well depending on the stat spread, as Clangorous Soul's Defense boost could accommodate a "mixed" booster that uses highDefense to find set up opportunity, thus benefitting Body Press.
I disagree with the notion that the choices we made imply that our choices are an "honest expression" of a non-Clangorous Soul set. To that end, every winning choice we made since Throat Spray was selected pushes us more towards Clangorous Soul than anything else.
We voted in a typing that is overwhelmingly neutral into much of the metagame, with Poison hitting a small but notable list of defensive threats while Dragon is defined by being neutral into most Pokemon. We don't have SE STABs for breaking through most common bulkier Pokemon; the Pokemon that share this trait almost always rely on strong boosting options to pressure defensive Pokemon and sweep through offensive ones. Throat Spray is not strong, and we shouldn't pretend like it is. You get one shot with it, and you only get the benefit off of the second hit. While you have flexibility to switch moves afterwards, this isn't like Choice Specs or Booster Energy that can pressure the mon in front of you or what is switching in with a boosted hit. This isn't as much bundling boosting and attacking, the opportunity cost is different. You are sacrificing an item for effectively a one time weaker Serperior Leaf Storm. That really isn't an amazing trade deal by Gen 9 standards.
Secondly, we could have had abilities that made Throat Spray alone a better boosting option. Unburden, Speed Boost, and Simple were all capable of thus. Dazzling does not benefit Throat Spray specifically at all. It's a decent ability all-around for a sweeper, don't get me wrong. But it isn't giving Throat Spray more boosts from activating it.
I did not favor Clangorous Soul for this process stages ago. But that was then, and this is now. With the tools laid out in front of us, with the typing and ability that one, and the fact we came out of concept assessment with a singular focus on Throat Spray as THE item we want CAP34 to succeed with, it is plain and clear that Clangorous Soul is the most intuitive and viable path forward. I would entertain non-Clangorous Soul builds with the caveat of fully admitting we are purposefully taking a worse and more dubious route for the sake of exploring a less-obvious direction, even it fails to actualize its concept.
It is not "extremely powerful" relatively speaking to other boosting options. CAP34 does not exist in a vacuum. In a metagame with Booster Energy Pokemon, niche and dedicated sweepers like Miasmaw, late-game cleaners like Hemogoblin with the most cracked priority in the game, does a Pokemon that commits an entire item slot for a +1 single-use Serperior-lite effect really seem extremely powerful?
I do agree that at bare minimum, this Pokemon probably wants some degree of Speed boosting. Even if that is something like Flame Charge or Rapid Spin, this is a fast format and as it stands, this Pokemon doesn't have immediate tools for handling a lot of the Unaware or really fat stall/balance staples, so it probably wants +Speed to at least roll over offense.
Agreeing with above that Fire/Water/Fighting is the most intuitive coverage for CAP34. Flamethrower/Fire Blast, Surf/Hydro Pump, and Aura Sphere/Focus Blast. I am okay with Body Press as well depending on the stat spread, as Clangorous Soul's Defense boost could accommodate a "mixed" booster that uses highDefense to find set up opportunity, thus benefitting Body Press.
Make it optional. Dropping Clangorous allows us to make a frail, attacking-move-as-setup, priority immune, balls to the wall offensive monster, which is a way more honest expression of the choices we've made thus far than Clangorous Soul would ever allow in my opinion. At least give people the option. I understand Clangorous is a safer route, but I don't think sacrificing depth for a bit more safety is worth it. Genuinely, which route is a more interesting expression of the item we based this project around?
I disagree with the notion that the choices we made imply that our choices are an "honest expression" of a non-Clangorous Soul set. To that end, every winning choice we made since Throat Spray was selected pushes us more towards Clangorous Soul than anything else.
We voted in a typing that is overwhelmingly neutral into much of the metagame, with Poison hitting a small but notable list of defensive threats while Dragon is defined by being neutral into most Pokemon. We don't have SE STABs for breaking through most common bulkier Pokemon; the Pokemon that share this trait almost always rely on strong boosting options to pressure defensive Pokemon and sweep through offensive ones. Throat Spray is not strong, and we shouldn't pretend like it is. You get one shot with it, and you only get the benefit off of the second hit. While you have flexibility to switch moves afterwards, this isn't like Choice Specs or Booster Energy that can pressure the mon in front of you or what is switching in with a boosted hit. This isn't as much bundling boosting and attacking, the opportunity cost is different. You are sacrificing an item for effectively a one time weaker Serperior Leaf Storm. That really isn't an amazing trade deal by Gen 9 standards.
Secondly, we could have had abilities that made Throat Spray alone a better boosting option. Unburden, Speed Boost, and Simple were all capable of thus. Dazzling does not benefit Throat Spray specifically at all. It's a decent ability all-around for a sweeper, don't get me wrong. But it isn't giving Throat Spray more boosts from activating it.
I did not favor Clangorous Soul for this process stages ago. But that was then, and this is now. With the tools laid out in front of us, with the typing and ability that one, and the fact we came out of concept assessment with a singular focus on Throat Spray as THE item we want CAP34 to succeed with, it is plain and clear that Clangorous Soul is the most intuitive and viable path forward. I would entertain non-Clangorous Soul builds with the caveat of fully admitting we are purposefully taking a worse and more dubious route for the sake of exploring a less-obvious direction, even it fails to actualize its concept.
If by "balanced builds" you mean something more suited for balance teams, I encourage you to consider our typing and ability, and what exactly that would bring to a balance team. This Pokemon seems like an overwhelming bizarre choice for a balance team, given that it shares weaknesses with critically important balance pieces like Venomicon. All its ability really does is allow it to plow through priority revenge killers, which is a trait that would benefit the HO archetype more than anything other. And in that case, removing omniboosting would be more limiting to the team structures CAP34 fits on than what you are implying.Clangorous Soul shouldn't be required at all lol, shoehorning 34 into an omniboost sweeper is drastically limiting and completely ignores more balanced builds that should otherwise be on the table.
It's strange to write off boosting moves (especially Speed) when they don't disincentivise Throat Spray at all. Hell, Toxtricity loves running Shift Gear Throat Spray, which gets me to my last point that boosting status moves boosting damaging moves are apples and oranges. Being able to boost and then next turn firmly establish your win condition while attacking is extremely powerful, and Throat Spray functionally does that as a consumable. Usually boosting on offense means something may have to be sacrificed, in this case the sacrifice boosts SpAtt .
It is not "extremely powerful" relatively speaking to other boosting options. CAP34 does not exist in a vacuum. In a metagame with Booster Energy Pokemon, niche and dedicated sweepers like Miasmaw, late-game cleaners like Hemogoblin with the most cracked priority in the game, does a Pokemon that commits an entire item slot for a +1 single-use Serperior-lite effect really seem extremely powerful?
I do agree that at bare minimum, this Pokemon probably wants some degree of Speed boosting. Even if that is something like Flame Charge or Rapid Spin, this is a fast format and as it stands, this Pokemon doesn't have immediate tools for handling a lot of the Unaware or really fat stall/balance staples, so it probably wants +Speed to at least roll over offense.