CAP 35 - Part 1 - Concept Submissions

[kenn]

Feedback time!

Name: By Your Powers Combined

I really like this one a lot. I always loved how Zapdos played last gen in SS and this gen there have been similar applications of this idea, but nothing as drastic as it or the others you mentioned like Gholdengo and Jumbao in SM. Not much to advise on here as it looks extremely well thought out and you're asking the right questions so kudos!

Name: Schrödinger's CAP: Hypothesis

I'm gonna be honest, I feel like it has lost its luster as time goes on and the more it is submitted, the more it feels like the changes are just to try and "keep the spark alive". I mean this concept has been around longer than I have lol. Despite that, it is a fun idea to explore how exactly its abilities would affect one's choices when it comes to putting it on a team.

Name: Hazardous Material

You said it yourself that it is hard to see how this one would play out. I feel like we as players/users don't have that many tools to "abuse" entry hazards on our side, so that is definitely a huge question into the viability of a concept such as this one.

Name: Hoist By His Own Petard

I mentioned in CAPcord how this screams Opportunist and while it does do that, there are many facets to abusing your opponent's stat boosts such as past shenanigans of Swagger + Foul Play (moreso focus on the latter nowadays tho lol). Definitely wanna see this one fleshed out a bit more and see what examples there may be currently that could be a potential guideline to how to make this concept shine.

Name: The Green Green Grass of Home

I think this could be a fun concept (similar to Jumbao's) because as you mentioned most Terrain setters abuse the power boost they get from said terrain rather utilizing the "secondary" effects those terrains provide. Definitely excited to see this fleshed out a bit more.

Name; No in between

I think this could be interesting to force us to use weaker moves that may have a great secondary effect or have those high powered moves but have to combat those detrimental effects, but not too sure how much more room there is to explore here as quite a few mons do this already so I'm excited to see how you can flesh this out to help differentiate this.

Name: The Chosen One

I think this could be an intriguing approach to how moves interact the higher their BP with a mon's ability, item, and/or typing, but also curious to see how this can "stand out".

Name: Unexpected Forecast

I do like the idea of repeating a Jumbao-esque process, but I also know that we definitely know how weathers as a whole work and this may just be to make "another weather mon" when we have so many prevalent ones already (tbf most are for sun LOL). Therefore, the design space seems limited albeit potentially interesting if the right approach is taken.

Name - Typecast

I think this could be SUPER interesting and has a lot of potential to figure out how to showcase types that aren't typically seen within the CAP metagame or at all (Fire/Ice anyone? :eyes:) but for real I think a type-based concept can be a fun one as I don't think we have done one in a hot minute.

Name - Controlled Chaos

I def wanna see more of this but I can see this be an interesting idea that it is only broken if it can get RNG to work on its side, but I personally am not a fan of inconsistency when I play just because a crucial miss can cost you the game sometimes and so it would have to be approached with the idea that those inconsistencies are offset by the fsct that it can pop off hard.

Name - BackSTABbed

I am not terribly keen on the idea of making a CAP that doesn't utilize STAB moves as while you do mention not pigeonholing ourselves into a defensive stallier route, I don't see the path personally of being able to make a successful mon that doesn't use STABs. However, I will say that there can be some hope for this if we look at this with the lens of things that utilize coverage moreso than it's STABs or to complement its lackluster STABs so if you pivot to that, I can see this working a lot better as a concept.

Name: Keep it a Stack

I am not gonna beat around the bush with this, but this is by far my favorite concept submitted so far. I think the examples you provided and the design space that comes with this concept would not only make for a fun process, but a super fun end product of a CAP. Not much else to say here honestly.

Name - Field Janitor

I do like this idea, but I am having a hard time formulating exactly how we can bring the field to a "neutral" playing field without the use of super niche things like Steel Roller or Cloud Nine or Screen Cleaner so it would be interesting to see this elaborated on a bit more.

Name: Berry Aggressive

I would love to consider this as an option if we didn't just get through doing an item-based concept that was centered around underused items (and berries were in amongst that discussion) so I am not thrilled about this concept for this particular process, but it is an intriguing idea nonetheless.

Name - The Debuffer

I think my biggest concern for this is how do you keep the opponent from just switching out to get rid of the stat debuffs so maybe a shift in focus to also be inclusive of things like Psychic Noise or Infestation (which could force the opponent to stay in and deal with the debuffs) is the right approach for a concept like this.

Name - The Outlier

I definitely like this idea and want to see it fleshed out a bit more. Maybe ask questions like what types could utilize the examples you provided such as Spore on a non-Grass Pokémon or Freeze Dry on a non-Ice type (this is probably my favorite interaction) or a question about what would make a type better having a potential option to circumvent a weakness said type has with access to another types "exclusive".

Name: Create-A-Parasite

I kinda feel this is in the same boat as Schrödinger's CAP where it has been consistently submitted for the past few processes and just barely misses the mark. I do think it is a great idea, but I worry the general public may be tired of seeing it :(

Name: Untouched

I like this idea. Using Protect clones as your main schtick may be hard for the CAP to effectively utilize as the opponent can play around that but if this CAP were to either be able to stop those plays or at least interrupt them that could be a neat approach to this concept. I also like the mentions in CAPcord of things like Bulwark/Baneful + Hex or Baneful + Merciless. Fun design space for sure.

Name: Invasive Species

I have seen talk of this in CAPcord and I think this could be inchresting, but you'll have to actually finish the sub and not forget about it sir >:( lol

Whew! That was a lot. If I didn't respond to you, I felt the concept wasn't really where I could give some feedback on it so I will check back in on those with my next round of feedback probably at the end of the week/this weekend. Love what I am seeing so far though!

 

[mayonnaise. mayo.]

WIP

Name: Homie's 'Mon

Description: The Pokémon is not good in Singles, but is amazing in Doubles, whether it be offensive, defensive, or just supporting it's allies.

Justification: There's already a good portion of CAP Pokémon that are really good in Doubles. A prime example is Fidgit, the Pure Utility CAPmon quziel mentioned in the thread. The silly little dude gets so many moves it's insane. Trick Room, Tailwind, Wide Guard, Follow Me, you name it, Fidgit probably gets it. Here's the catch: Fidgit is still quite decent in Singles. I want this CAPmon to basically only be used in Doubles.

Questions to be answered: How can we make this Pokémon useless in Singles, but amazing in Doubles?

Explanation: We give it moves and abilities that only really show usage in Doubles (e.g. Friend Guard).

 

[Iron Crusher]

WIP

• Name - Do-Nothing
  
  
• Description - This pokemon thrives in spite of its passivity or is able to turn its passivity into an advantage.
  
  
• Justification - I believe a pokemon built around passivity could occupy a very unique defensive space in the metagame, since it comes with an inherent momentum cost, it has a lot of potential for utility.
  I believe looking at the limits of how passive a pokemon can be while still being viable and what a passive pokemon would need to succeed in the current state of the metagame are worthwile topics to explore throughout every stage of the process.
  
  
• Questions To Be Answered -
  What does it mean for a pokemon to be passive?
  What sort of impact would a passive pokemon want to have on a battle?
  How much pressure does a passive pokemon need to apply to an opponent to still be worth using?
  Can passivity itself be turned into an advantage?
  How can a passive pokemon succeed in the current metagame?
  Does a passive pokemon need to be defensive in nature?
  
  
• Explanation - A pokemon that immediately comes to mind as an example is Blissey, which altough passive, has done alright throughout the gens, even if it's fallen a bit on though times. Looking at what type of tools a pokemon similar to Blissey would need to regain relevancy and hold its own better in the meta, or make it worth using regardless would be something that could be explored with this concept. I'm interested in seeing the limits of how passive a pokemon can be while still being worth using, how much pressure would it need to apply before it stops being usable. The more gimmicky Pyukumuku and Wobbufett also serve to exemplify this concept, both of which could show how a concept like this could thrive (to the point of banworthiness) or struggle and fail to accomplish much of anything. Altough I understand this concept might not seem too exciting at first glance, I believe it could lead to interesting discussion at every stage of the process and i'd be interested in seeing how the potential problems with a concept like this could be solved.
  
  I greatly appreciate all the feedback i've gotten. Any additional feedback would always be much appreciated, ty for reading.

 

[quziel]

• Name - Fixed Income Pension
  
  
• Description - At least one move on this Pokemon's moveset does damage that is independent of its Attack, Defense, and Special Attack stats.
  
  
• Justification - We've seen a few of these Pokemon around as of late. Ting Lu, Tapu Fini, Tapu Lele, Yveltal, and Kangaskhan-Mega all use moves that deal very significant damage to the opponent based on either the opponent's HP, the opponent's attack stat, or their own level. These moves are all very interesting as they can bypass resistances, high defense stats, or in some cases low offensive stats to still chunk opponents for a significant amount. I also suspect that this kind of concept is going to be well suited to the current gen as the amount of recovery going around is at an all-time minimum.
  
  
• Questions To Be Answered-
  • These moves all ignore your own attack stat; what does this say about the stat distributions a user of these moves may want.
  • Some of these moves ignore the opponent's defense and type matchups, how does this affect your own need for coverage?
  • What archetypes do direct damage (or well non-attack based) attacking moves fit best on; pivots, stallbreakers, walls, wallbreakers?
  • Which direct damage moves are best for us?
• Explanation-
  • Tapu Koko's Nature's Madness set last gen is one of the most interesting mons I've ever put on a team. I'll start off by listing all the answers to standard Koko and spell out the theme. Equilibra, Ferrothorn, Landorus-Therian, Melmetal, Saharaja, Slowking-Galar, Magneton. You may notice that of these Pokemon, a single one has reliable recovery, and the rest are generally reliant on Leftovers, or in some cases Pain Split. This means that Nature's Madness can very rapidly chip them into range for either Volt Switch, hazards, or Dazzling Gleam.
  • Tapu Fini shows how potent a fixed damage move can be in the context of a Stallbreaker; you trap the opponent with Whirlpool, prevent recovery with Taunt, and just rapidly force them into KO range with repeated uses of Nature's Madness. Even outside of the dedicated trapping sets, having the ability to just chunk Ferrothorn for 50% is huge for a mon that could otherwise be accused of being passive.
  • Finally, we have Kangaskhan-Mega, which I heavily doubt we can replicate, but just used its ability Parental Bond in conjunction with Seismic Toss to 2HKO essentially everything. While I think this combo is probably out of the window, and absolutely should be, it does speak to the potential for some limited ability-based augmentation for direct damage moves.

 

[Brambane]

WIP

Name: Wholesome Necromancy

Description: This Pokemon expertly utilizes the move Revival Blessing.

Justification: An extremely hyped move at the start of the generation, Revival Blessing is mechanically unique and nuanced. Similar to past projects examine Parting Shot and Doom Desire, this process would make us put our creativity to the test to make a Pokemon that can get the most out of the move for its team. We have seen the Pawmot and Rabsca ineffectively use the move and are in general non-viable options in CAP and OU. This concept explores the unique mechanics of these moves with the established knowledge of those two examples that the move itself does not break the game; it is simply another tool for us to put in the teambuilder's hand.

Questions:
1. Is Revival Blessing itself an inherently weak move, and/or are Rabsca and Pawmot just not designed for it?
2. How does Revival Blessing influence teambuilding and decision-making during a match?
3. Which Pokemon smells the best after being brought back as a shambling corpse?
4. How does a Pokemon find the space to use Revival Blessing in a high-pace metagame?
5. Can Revival Blessing ever be set-up on a Pokemon to generate momentum for a team?

Explanation:

 

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

You Knocked On The Wrong Door, Fool!
(WIP)

Description: A Pokemon that specializes in mitigating the impact that Knock Off has on its team, and/or even outright punishing Knock Off's use
Justification: Knock Off has become a staple move for forcing progress in competitive Pokemon, ever since it got a major power buff from an abysmal 20 base power to an infinitely more acceptable 65 in Generation XI, as well as receiving an additional power boost that triggers when the attacked Pokemon has an item to... well, knock off. This has gotten even more true the more potent items that had been released since then. For example, the Assault Vest has been handy for slow but powerful Pokemon to take special hits better and retaliate, and Heavy-Duty Boots was a great boon to the many Stealth Rock weak Pokemon that see competitive play despite that fact, as well as dedicated pivots since that meant they wouldn't have to worry about the ever-growing list of hazards in general. However, it's precisely because of how these and many other items can save a battle that Knock Off is one of, if not the most annoying attack in the entire game to try and switch into. This concept aims to ease that burden for the team... and sometimes punishment is the best way to discourage the use of Knock Off and encourage the use of something else.
Questions To Be Answered:

1. What would exactly happen to a Pokemon's functionality should the item it holds at the time of battle be removed from the equation? Is that something we can work around to maintain viability?
2. Can one single Pokemon truly deter the use of such a key move as Knock Off all on its lonesome? Can this specific CAP cover for all the Knock Off users that can adapt to its presence, and furthermore, should we let it?
3. How can we use what we know about Knock Off to our advantage?
4. Which combination, out of all the items, abilities and stats we could possibly juggle, would be the most optimally suited for the task at hand?
5. Do we really need a hyper-aggressive countermeasure to Knock Off itself, or should we focus CAP35 more on reliably tanking those hits for the team?

Explanation:

 

[V-Creating Victory]

WIP

Name: Switching Advantage

Description: This Pokemon is built around gaining an advantage by switching without dealing damage- but not necessarily just with boring old regenerator

Justification: I feel like most CAP Pokemon are all about doing one thing and doing it well, but I want to see a Pokemon that has two completely different ways of gaining some sort of "battle advantage." I think that Regenerator does this very well, but I think we can come up with something more interesting than just "gain back some hp." Given switching is a huge part of battles, I think it is the best way we could justifiably create something that gains advantages by more than just clicking moves.

Questions To Be Answered:

1. What combination of abilities would it have? Obviously, intimidate and regenerator are two that come to mind immediately, but are there others that could work?
2. Does this Pokemon help the team by you switching into it or out of it? Something like a super fast trapper that could encore an opponent in could gain advantage without use of intimidate or regenerator when you switch it in, while parting shot is a good example of an advantage gained by switching it out without dealing damage.
3. Should this Pokemon be offensive or defensive? How would the advantage it gains from switching help its team?
4. Switching can be very risky with a hyper offensive team. How can we mitigate that while not making it overbearing for a bulky team?
5. What would the stats even look like for a Pokemon that you want to switch in and out while still applying pressure?
6. Would Wish be used at all in this design? Could something funny like Wish plus Emergency Exit be used?

Explanation: I think I answered a little of this earlier, but I'll expand on it here. The only ability that reasonably gives you an advantage when you switch out is Regenerator, and the main ones that help when you switch in are immunity abilities (especially storm drain/lightning rod) and intimidate. I think it would be interesting to make a CAP mon that relies less on one of these abilities and more on something else; that other thing can still be an ability (I gave the example of wish and emergency exit earlier) but really could be anything, as long as it helps the team out without dealing damage (and preferably with something more interesting than parting shot). Also, looking through the list of CAPs, especially recent ones, even the utility Pokemon seem to have a set "role." Chuggalong clicks Clangorous Soul and tries to sweep. Hemoglobin clicks extreme speed. Cresceidon sits on the field and clicks thunder wave/recover. Most of the slightly older CAPs do the same thing: Cawmodore clicks Belly Drum and Bullet Punch. Venomicon clicks stealth rocks and then body press. Even some of the oldest CAPs, like Colossoil, really just do one thing and do it in one specific method. There's not an inherent problem with this; doing one thing and doing it well is what makes a lot of really solid Pokemon shine, like Great Tusk or Kingambit. But in the history of CAP, I don't see a Pokemon that you can't predict whether it switches or stays because both are solid advantages. Sure, any Pokemon could reasonably do that, but when in a battle, you sort of know that "oh, Malaconda will switch out here because the opponent doesn't want to lose their sun setter" or "I see chuggalong, it will almost certainly setup here." Because of this, I think it could be really interesting if we had a Pokemon that could serve at least one role in more than one way.
I first came up with this idea because I made a team a long time ago where my goal was to win a game with only switching. It used regenerator and and used something with Jaboca berry I believe (although I don't remember exactly). This CAP mon isn't supposed to just be able to win by switching only, but that team was the first inspiration for it (and yes, I did eventually win with that team). Then, I thought about Super Staff Bros 4, where the Pokemon Robb576 basically powered up every time you switched it in as long as you had a certain number of Pokemon left. Both of these are built around giving your team some advantage when they switch in or out, and so thus the idea was born for a Pokemon that gives your team an interesting advantage while switching.

 

[vuldark234]

WIP

Name - Seaking 2 Electric Boogaloo

Description - This CAP uses its unconventional combination of typing, ability, stats, and movepool to counter common meta threats

Justification - As some of you might be aware Seaking used a unique combination of abilities, meh stats and movepool to carve out a momentary use case in BDSP OU. While some CAP contributors and GameFreak game designers might enjoy creating the most busted mons allowable, a far more interesting task is to create a Pokémon that on first glance doesn't seem to be good, but on further reflection uses its odd combination of traits to be a formidable force in the CAP meta.

Additionally, and more importantly, this CAP design requires in-depth knowledge of both the current meta but also the game mechanics. For example had this gen/meta had a big issue with trapping, creating a ghost type CAP because of its often forgotten immunity to trapping move and abilities might warrant some thought.

Finally, because each piece of the CAP can serve as a tool to strengthen the CAP's matchup against either current meta/gen problems (e.g: large amounts of setup sweepers) or general meta/gen problems (think hazards, a consistent threat gen to gen), each round of design will require thoughtful engagement that is not necessarily shoehorned or limited by the stage before it.

Note: Someone posted this idea in the last CAP process but I forgot who....this is not an original idea I just loved it so much!

Questions To Be Answered -
1. Does the pokemon need all four pieces of its design (typing, ability, stats, and movepool) to successfully fulfill its purpose or does each piece give the relatively innocuous looking CAP a niche in and of its own right.
2. Should we heavily concentrate on traits that allow this CAP to handle this meta or should we take special care to make it "future proof" by having special tools for meta/generations to come?
3. One could argue that generally the above concept could be easily abused to create a "god CAP". Worried about hazard or status chip? Give the Pokemon magic guard. Worried about a plethora of ground types? Make the Pokémon flying type. Should TLs put restrictions at each stage or should we allow the creativity of the community run wild?
4. To this end should each stage proposal be an answer to a question (e.g: provide a typing or type combo that is historically bad but has a niche use based on the current meta, Conceptseption (a concept within a concept) if you will)?

Explanation:
I believe there are several niche abilities and typing that we can explore with this Concept.

On typing:
Combining almost any type with the Normal type for example will give us a unique typing that both A. Is immune to the ghost spam we see in the current meta but also B. Allows the layering a of secondary typing with the potential to not have much interaction with the first so that its capability stands alone, allowing almost two design decisions in one stage.

On abilities:
The first that came to mind for me was Earth Eater and Water Compaction, two abilities that have niche uses and could be used to give a relatively unassuming CAP a real niche. These abilities could either be combined with the typing to create a real threat or added almost completely ignoring the typing to serve a completely different purpose.

On Stats:
I think assuming we pick typing first we should consider limited the max BST of this mon or at a minimum capping certain stats.

 

[uppa]

Final Submission

• Name - Adopt-a-Signature
• Description - This Pokemon utilizes a signature move, ability, or both to its greatest effect, where the original user of the move/ability could not.
• Justification - Plenty of Pokemon introduced in modern gens come with their own signature moves and/or abilities. Sometimes these unique assets get completely ignored by their owners in favor of better options, see Espathra, while others simply don't have the stats or movepool to synergize with their signature assets, see Toxapex's Merciless or Grapploct's Octolock. The goal of this Pokemon would be squeezing as much potential out of a signature move or ability where the original mon failed, and develop a niche in the CAP metagame along the way.
• Questions To Be Answered-
  • Which signature moves are worth building around, and which could potentially set this Pokemon up for failure?
  • Should all signature moves be considered, or only those that aren't already showcased by their original owners to full effect? (Torch Song, Rage Fist, Glaive Rush may not be as interesting.)
  • Should revitalizing a signature ability be a goal for this Pokemon, or should all tools be devoted to synergizing with its move of choice?
  • Should some signature moves/abilities be off the table, either for not making sense flavor-wise (Malignant Chain) or being creatively limiting on the Pokemon's visual design (Spicy Extract, Fillet Away)?
• Explanation - I'd like to give a tentative list of moves so you can get an idea for what I'm trying to lay out. The goal of this would be making the mon dynamic and fun to use, rather than just giving it big STAB moves like Blood Moon or Make It Rain. Below is a list of what I'd consider prime candidates for this concept, followed by a few lists of less-than-ideal options. Hopefully this communicates the gist of it, please take a look:

Good ones

Jaw Lock - Largely unused by both Pokemon that learn it, can exert a lot of pressure in theory. The allure of a permanent trapping move is interesting, and would probably need to be kept in check by not giving the mon a pivoting option.
Jungle Healing - This move ended up being pretty niche on Zarude, and could contirbute to a bulky setup mon that demands it be dealt with in unique ways
Thunder Cage - Another trapping move, compressing an electric STAB option with some valuable utility, unfortunatley not suited for its original knower. Like Magma Storm but less oppressive due to the more available immunities.
Lumina Crash - While it's viable on some Espathra sets, it was neglected in favor of Stored Power. While not impossible to balance, this move could exert a lot of pressure in the builder if the user is fast enough. This is one I considered putting in the overpowered category, but I still believe it has merit.
Octolock - An insanely cool trapping move (noticing a pattern?) that was given to one of the most underwhelming mons in recent memory. Could be tricky to balance, and is slightly restrictive on the resulting mon's visual design.
Grav Apple / Apple Acid - Similar to lumina crash, but less oppressive overall. I can see the single stage drop and worse offensive typing allowing the resulting mon to have better traits elsewhere and still be balanced.
Burning Bulwark - Theres many protect clones to be discussed, but I believe Burning Bulwark combines a perfect mix of being neglected by its original owner and having a huge amount of potential on the right mon. The best one for the job, I would think.

Likely overpowered

Blood Moon
Gigaton Hammer
Fickle Beam
Glaive Rush
Last Respects

Underpowered and/or Uninteresting

Purify
False Surrender
Obstruct
Tar Shot
Doodle
Spicy Extract
Triple Dive
Spin Out
Order Up
Twin Beam
Hyper Drill
Syrup Bomb

Showcased to its full extent already

Overdrive
Court Change
Ceaseless Edge
Stone Axe
Mortal Spin
Salt Cure
Flower Trick
Torch Song
Aqua Step
Make it Rain
Electro Shot
Population Bomb
Armor Cannon
Bitter Blade
Jet Punch
Kowtow Cleave
Thunderclap

For completeness' sake, here's a list of abilities that follow a similar theme.

Good ones (abilities)

Screen Cleaner - A super interesting ability unfortunately relegated to a horrible mon. This is certainly an interesting way of dealing with screens ho offensively, and would help broaden that dynamic past "just run Dragapult or Arghonaut"
Merciless - Could be very interesting to build around! It obviously synergies well with Barb Barrage, which I didn't mention in the moves section because it would only really work here! Still, an interesting pairing, and it would be interesting to see how the mon would make progress or deny that from the obvious poison-immune matchups like Gholdengo, Garg, Venomicon and Chuggalong.
Wandering Spirit - A super duper interesting ability that's seen a bit more use in AAA for good reason. Plenty of mons in this meta rely on their abilities heavily, like Equillibra, Hemogoblin, and Mollux, and being able to suppress that without committing a moveslot is a really interesting option to have.
Long Reach - An really cool ability on paper! This isn't utilized fully, simply because physical Decidueye's best options don't make contact. In theory, this could apply to a physical attacker trying to make use of contact moves while fearing the likes of rough skin Cres and Zapdos. It could allow a mon to have an unpunishable U-turn, but theres plenty of more healthy directions to take it.
Water Compaction - This is one I'm not as sure on, but it's so cool anyway that I had to mention it. Punishing Cres, Samurott, Ogerpon, and SD Snaelstrom is really cool in theory. None of the above are the most pressing issues in the meta, though, which leads me into my next choice, and perhaps my favorite of the bunch.
Opportunist - When I mentioned earlier that Screen Cleaner was an interesting way of dealing with ho, this one convinced me as a much more viable and fun option to do so. So many setup sweepers like Chuggalong, Roaring Moon, and Gholdengo (three of the hardest mons to account for in the builder atm) rely on their boosts and either walling or outpacing the opponent. While Chuggalong has proven difficult to balance, a step in the right direction could be made by having an Opportunist mon to make it and many others think twice before setting up. My personal favorite of the bunch!
Rocky Payload - Last but not least (the least is Water Compaction) is Rocky Payload. It unfortunately proves useless for bombirdier since it would rather run two of rocks, roost, sucker punch, or uturn over a third stab type. This would be really fun to consider for a more offensively leaning mon, and perhaps running two less oppressive stab types to balance it out. I'm a fan of how Necturna functions in randbats, that being rock as a supplement to an otherwise neutral stab combo.

 

[Thing Maker]

Final Submission.

Name - Death by a thousand papercuts.

Description - This Pokémon can optimally accrue chip damage against foes in order to enable its allies.

Justification- Though somewhat of a dubious role to have in the first place, I still think there is an undiscussed niche for that sort of Pokémon that could be rather intriguing to extrapolate upon and explore. Albeit somewhat analogous with the role of a pivot, a Pokémon that is able to deal chip damage isn't necessarily relying on switching moves, but rather a series of low damaging options that can wear down the opponent via direct means in order to open up cleaners in the back. Creating a Pokémon that excels at "chipping" rather than simply pivoting has the potential to spark interesting discussions on what it means to weaken an opponent's team throughout a match.

Questions To Be Answered -
1. What's the difference between chipping and pivoting? This is a critical question to explore given the overlap between the two roles.
2. Could one call the role of "chipping" a real niche all of its own to begin with? Is it more of a secondary characteristic that any Pokémon has, or something that could truly be maximized to its fullest potential? After all, any amount of small damage dealt by any Pokémon can be considered "chip".
3. What makes a good "chipper"? What set of attributes would best suit a Pokémon that focuses on wearing down opponents rather than taking them down directly?
4. Given that chip damage is meant to wear down rather than OHKO, should the Pokémon be on the weaker side of the spectrum? The general idea does seem to guide a build like that, but that's not necessarily the case. There's multiple ways of incentivizing chip over raw damage, such as movepool diversity or lack-there-of. I would say there's plenty of wiggle room in terms of spreads.
5. What are the best "chip" moves available? And, of those that generally are not, could they be made better on the right set of conditions?

Explanation -Exploring the concept of chipping and distilling it into a single, fully optimized Pokémon offers an exciting thought experiment. The challenge lies in finding the ideal combination of typing, abilities, and moves that would best fulfill this niche role. The possibilities are vast, whether the Pokémon excels at entering and exiting the field with minimal damage(Perhaps no damage at all!), or it thrives in prolonged skirmishes, enduring hits and gradually wearing down opponents without relying on indirect damage like status and hazards. This approach would distinguish it from typical defensive walls, making the idea even more compelling.

It's amusing to admit that this idea was inspired by the frequent use of the term "chip" in various humorous contexts by several YouTubers (And, by "youtubers" I mean Pokeaim). There's just something really comical and simultaneously eye-opening about the optimism of bad match ups spawning from the idea that at least you will get "some good chip" from the exchange. Ultimately, this is my first ever entry in the forum, and I wanted to dip my feet in the water ! I think this will be a fun process.

 

[a fairy]

Final Submission

Name - Keep It Simple, Smogon
Description - This Pokemon keeps away from risky or complicated moves and strategies, instead preferring to rely on consistent, non-complex approaches to accomplish its goal in battle.

Justification- Your concept must answer the following questions to be eligible:

• What new territory will your Concept Pokemon explore, why do you believe it’s interesting, and how would it interact with the metagame?

When we make Pokemon, we often explore the margins of the design space, the far reaches and the fringes of what is possible and what makes sense. In doing so, we leave a lot of the design space behind us, seemingly well-trodden ground inhabited by dozens if not hundreds of early gen Pokemon. However, as we push the design space to its logical limits, it is worth to explore the leftover space, somewhat overlooked by CAP or Nintendo when creating The Next Cool Thing.

It's no secret that in recent generations, we've seen Pokemon like Falinks, Pawmot/Rabsca, and Kommo-O break expectations of what a move, feature, ability, or mechanic could do. Pokemon is running very far away from the Surfs and the Dragon Claws and Bulk Ups nowadays, it feels like. What does a Pokemon need if they're relying on the "bridesmaid, never the bride" options to go up against the Greninjas and the Kingambits?

• How does your concept motivate in-depth discussion at each stage of the process, and why do you believe the CAP Project community should discuss these topics?

What is simple, even, at this point? I remember a time where Bug Bite on Scizor was a complex move, the nature of eating an opponent's berry something unique and worth discussing. In the time since, we have seen design choices balloon in complexity. Once, we had Shadow Punch and Shadow Ball, the complexities of which were a move that bypassed accuracy checks and a move that dropped an opponent's stat. In Gen 9, we received a Ghost-type move that increases in base power to unreasonable amounts - wrong, we received two! Bonkers.

What is the value of Surf, if Hydro Pump exists? What is the value of Focus Energy, if Dragon Cheer exists? Why does Matcha Gotcha have 3 different effects, counting the multi-targeting? Is Glaive Rush better designed than Outrage because of its limited distribution?

I would love to see what a fantastic community can do to find what inheret value is in the moves that get overlooked nowadays due to Nintendo's willingness to explore the far reaches of logical game design. Sure, X-Scissor is flat out outclassed by Lunge in the arena of theory, nowadays - it does nothing Lunge doesn't do, and Lunge drops the target's Attack stat. But there's plenty of moves out there that are seen as lesser options when given the opportunity to access a move stuffed full of variables and side effects and the high base power low accuracy tradeoff.

Questions To Be Answered -
- What increases a move's complexity? Is it just side effects, or is there more that goes into complexity?
- What increases a move's risk other than a reduced accuracy?
- Where is the line between a non-complex, non-risky move, and moves that are risky and/or complex?
- What chance of failure, be that by missing a move or some other aspect of a move's attributes, justifies an increase in power?
- Does distribution of a move play into how complex a move can justify being?
- In what circumstances do Pokemon run a simpler move when a more complex/riskier one is available?

Explanation -

In the time since DPP and the creation of CAP, we have seen the variance in Pokemon increase. As power grows, the need to grab Draco Meteor and Hydro Pump over Dragon Pulse and Surf has been a more common occurrence. We see additions like Unseen Fist, terrains, and Glaive Rush increase the range of what is possible for a mechanic in Pokemon. While moves like Bubblebeam and Flame Wheel, or even Bubble and Ember, are outright designed for a design space of an early RPG environment (can't have Firaga without Fire!), plenty other moves have historically been top of their class, but the world has passed them by now.

Not all of these moves are gone. Plenty have become coverage options, but some others are the only options that exist for a Pokemon - Breloom still runs Seed Bomb if it's not using Loaded Dice for Bullet Seed, for example. But for Pokemon that have access to Dragon Claw and Outrage, to Aura Sphere and Focus Blast, et cetra... Why? Why use these less powerful, simpler moves compared to these complex powerful risky moves? What benefits does it bring to use these consistent moves for those that do?

Maybe there's a bit of dream vision of, wanting to be rid of Supreme Overlord and Battle Bond and Flower Trick and Glaive Rush, but there's so many other cool things in the game - things that were are powerful and were are consistent tools to rely on. Those just get washed away to powerful terrains and unique side effects of moves and stuff. What value do these 'old reliable' moves bring to our game? What can make a 'mon use them well in an environment of demigods and superheroes?

 

[InfiStudios]

Final Submission

• Name: The Chameleon
• Description: A Pokémon that experiences a form change based on environmental circumstances - terrains, weather, Trick Room, et cetera.
• Justification: While the ability to change form based on changes in the environment is ripe for interesting strategies (and just happens to be cool as a bonus), it’s often been paired with either Pokémon whose subpar stats make them unpopular choices (Castform) or Pokémon whose form change seems mostly aesthetic (Cherrim). Depending on the effects of the form change, this project could investigate 1) how a Pokémon with the ability to drastically change its team role mid-battle would impact the metagame or 2) to what extent a change of type would impact team role.
• Questions:
  • How are effective Pokémon with type- or stat-changing abilities (for example, Galarian Darmanitan) able to leverage that to their advantage?
  • What moves/what kind of moveset would allow for the flexibility this concept revolves around?
  • How would the stat or typing changes interact with the effects of the environmental circumstance?
  • How might users of this Pokémon adapt to an opponent who uses a weather/terrain/Trick Room/etc team?
  • Would there be any interaction between this form change mechanic and Terastallization? If so, what would that look like?
  • How much of a Pokémon's role comes from its moveset? Can certain movesets lend themselves to multiple team roles, and are there any moves whose effects might change drastically based on stat and/or type changes?
  • What aspect of the Pokémon would provoke the form change? Castform changes based on its ability, and...no offense at all to Cherrim (it's a perfect baby that needs to be protected), but the mechanics behind its form change are rather unclear - it seems to be a part of the Pokémon and nothing beyond that.
• Explanation: I read through this thread while I finished writing this and ended up taking inspiration from Dex's extremely cool concept By Your Powers Combined! I find the concept of archetype fluidity really, really fascinating, and I'm so curious to see how players would use that while in the midst of battle. Moreover (as mentioned above), CAP as a project has already explored one type of form change through Venomicon (item-based changes to ability), and so investigating that concept through a totally different angle would make for such an interesting process.

 

[Faux Focalors Furina]

CANCELLED

Name - "A superpowers post but comments make side effects" (ASPCMSE for short)

Description - It's a Pokemon that has that has the best defensive/offensive typing, but it's moves either have low power/low pp, or stats are one of the worst. (The former is better imo)

Justification - My concept explores the possibility on how even with the best typing a Pokemon can ever have, will still be balanced depending on it's movepool, while you may doubt that it's interesting due to existing examples like electivire, I must note that's a monotype pokemon, and those arguing about klefki. Klefki still has a great niche in the Gen 6 OU metagame as a hazard/screens stacker. And before y'all can even argue with Tinkaton- (I doubt anyone will actually argue to me with her lol). She is currently seeing viability in OU due to her typing and the variety of things she can run like how there is innovation for things like balloon pickpocket and encore wall.

Questions To Be Answered -
How do we really know if it's the best typing in game? Will it really handle the meta's big offensive types like fairy and dark on paper?

How sure are we that it's movepools aren't great on it? How low should the BP be before it's too low?

How do we make this mon work with weak moves to make it strong at the same time?

How passive or aggressive should the CAP really be to be considered meta?

Explanation - I may suggest that if this concept was made in the future or soon these are a list of abilities that should not be used on this pokemon due to it potentially being overpowered (with explanations included):
- Technician (due to me expecting it to have low bp moves so sure it may be a leverage but I still believe it to be OP)
- Regenerator (due to it potentially being bulky defensively and scaringly be another gen 7-8 toxapex)
- Multiscale and var. (Because set-up + bulk)
- Intimidate (Being a wall like landorus-t)
- Solid Rock and var. (Same reason as multiscale)
- Neutralising Gas (This ability is broken in general + we already have a CAP user of that ability)

Out of the ring

I am here unfortunately announce my forfeit in this concept submissions thread for CAP 35 due to me having no courage or time to improve on this topic + me accidentally stealing the concept from UwU1v1 (sorry again!) due to my fuzzy memory. I will allow someone to take this concept in the future and improve on it as I don't feel worthy to participate in this thread anymore. See you all on CAP 35's completion! ^^ /

 

[ausma]

Final Submission

Name: Under Siege

Description: This CAP utilizes bulk and resource depletion to, itself, become a win condition.

Justification: When one thinks of a win condition or a sweeper, it's common for people to turn to the run of the mill offense. While this has shown to be tried and true, many offensively-inclined CAP processes have centered around optimizing sweeping routes through using raw might and powerful setup. However, a win condition by nature is not exactly dictated by offense; just as much as it means sweeping, it can also mean winning the war of attrition, and sticking around long enough to secure the game. This concept explores just how far the concept of a win condition can lean in the opposite direction, where defensive prowess and resource depletion become the key to victory as an indirect means of offense.

Questions To Be Answered:

1: What is the definition of a "win condition" in the context of Pokemon? In general, what makes a Pokemon a "win condition"?
2: What qualities are necessary in making a win condition consistently applicable? How much of a role does defense play in poising a winning position, and leveraging a positive game state into something more commanding?
3: At what point does positioning a Pokemon for a secure win become committal? Are win conditions best recognized as tools to be used throughout the game, or outright sweeping? Alternatively, can these qualities work in tandem?
4: What forms of resource depletion are most relevant in creating a winning situation? Are these more matchup oriented, or constant factors?
5: Furthermore, do these mechanisms best excel at certain stages of the game? Or, are they able to always be a factor, even in the late game?

Explanation:

I think there is a lot that can be learned from this concept, especially as it takes an avenue that explores an extremely uncommon archetype that is difficult to execute effectively. We can learn more about the role defense plays in sweeping and set-up, as well as the relevance the game state has upon getting to that end-game finish line.

In this section, I thought it would be important to explain what makes this concept feasible, and not just a pipe dream, since on paper things are relatively abstract. So as such, here are some examples of avenues to take to help realize this concept:

routes

SubTect + Pressure
Probably the quintessential example of a resource-draining win-condition. Suicune and Kyurem are both the poster children of this archetype, using a combination of bulk and generating empty turns to wear away at things that could get in the way of a potential sweep or being broken through in general.

Status & Progress
Winning the war of attrition is made far more feasible if you can debuff the opponent and make it difficult for them to stay healthy in comparison to you. Toxic siphons recovery PP and health in general like candy, while utilizing something like Burn means moves need to be used more often to pressure recovery, making it far easier for the wielder to outlast the opponent. Disruptive, incremental moves like Knock Off and Leech Seed can aid in this too.

Stallbreakers
I feel like Stallbreakers lean into this archetype pretty well, especially those that utilize moves like Encore to force away PP from moves like Close Combat or Sucker Punch while making it easier to chip away at the opponent and stay healthy. Taunt can accomplish this to a lesser extent but focuses more on limitation than depletion. I think of Pokemon like Gliscor when it comes to this archetype, using a blend of insane resilience and a good defensive profile to become impossible to kill.

Positive Status Matchups
Being resilient into Toxic and Thunder Wave for example makes it far more difficult to beat the target Pokemon, meaning that you can’t as easily force them into using their resources more than you. You can do things like Poison Heal, Comatose, and Purifying Salt here for instance, but also use this as a justification for certain typings with innate defensive qualities.

Focusing on Moveslot Compression
This can mean focusing on having a decent STAB combination, or having decent offensive moves with potent secondary effects, to enhance its ability to drain resources. Moves like Eerie Spell or Freeze-Dry do well in this department, or defensive setup in Cosmic Power.

 

[Amamama]

Final Submission

Name: After You

Description: This CAP uses one or several negative priority moves to its advantage.

Justification: Moving before your opponent is almost always an advantage in competitive Pokémon, which is interesting when you compare it to other battle sim games, where parrying and riposting - so basically waiting for the opponent to make a move to act accordingly - is a great way to gain an advantage.
We’ve seen recently with all of Hemogoblin, Cresceidon and Chuggalong, how being faster or Moving before your opponent is advantageous for very different mons - be it a wall, a drain tank using priority or a speed boosting sweeper.
The moves I’d like to explore with this concept forfeit that advantage.
I am interested if giving up a good position of moving before your opponent can be worth it with the right move in the right situation or if the negative priority is a disadvantage you have to build around to mitigate it.

Questions:
1. What can existing examples of negative priority tell us about how negative priority is/was used successfully. Was negative priority ever an advantage or is it something you accept to get access to other benefits.
2. Moving lower in the priority bracket requires you to risk taking a hit or giving the opponent room to execute their gameplan. How can typing, coverage, ability and stats mitigate this issue.
3. Are negative priority moves generally more suited to a defensive build or do they benefit from offensive pressure. Or is it a good mix of both that enables lower priority.
4. How does speed relate to being forced to move slower?
If a Pokémon is usually slower than their opponent does negative priority even have an effect?
5. If The user of the low priority moves has a higher speedstat than its opponent, the use of negative priority moves constitutes a literal change of pace. Can this change in gamepace be used to gain momentum or is the user always forced to forfeit momentum in order to use a low priority moves.
6. There are negative priority attacking and status moves. Is there a difference in how you can approach an offensive build with these moves compared to a defensive build? Can an offensive build work with all or some negative priority Status and a defensive with all or some low priority attacking?
7. Is it feasible to center this CAPs gameplan entirely or mostly on a low priority move. Which Pokémon have used low priority as a main strategy as opposed to a lure or side option.

Explanation: Some of the low priority moves that exist in SV have seen use previously or even in this metagame.
Countercoat (Counter and Mirror Coat) is a strategy which exists longer than I have played competitively, and while it has fallen off in recent years, it still has had some very successful users.
Focus Punch was mostly used with Substitute and was equally used in high tier play.
Teleport became infamous last gen with Clefable and the Slowtwins abusing it to great success.
Dragon Tail, Circle Throw and Roar/Whirlwind all see play in SV to counter set up as well as opponents attempts at phasing.
Other examples such as Avalanche, Revenge or Shell Trap however haven’t really seen play, mostly because they are entirely outclassed by better moves and have really awkward conditions for triggering compared to other moves.
Beak Blast on the other hand has been used by its only user, which sadly is competitively irrelevant.

 

[Golden009]

Final Submission

Name: Sleeper Pick

Description: A Pokemon that relies on Rest as its primary way to have longevity, and is encouraged to use it on most sets.

Justification: As the only universally-accessible recovery move, Rest has always been in a strange spot; it's generally used by defensive mons that have no other options, and gets discarded like an old toy whenever a Pokemon gets "real" recovery. Despite this, it's practically the most important move in Gens 1 and 2 of Pokemon, and even all the way up in SV Dondozo has seen limited success as a RestTalker. It's also very interesting as a move mechanically, as the self-status causes interactions with other moves, abilities, and items that have their own intracacies. This concept aims to explore both the (many) weaknesses and the (few) strengths of Rest as a move, and also what a defensive Pokemon might need to make up for being healing-deficient.

Questions to be Answered:
1. Just how much power is needed in the rest (heh) of the Pokemon's kit for the lack of single-turn healing to not be a total deal-breaker? How do we balance between giving the Pokemon that power while also not giving it so much power that it stops needing Rest altogether?

2. What kind of team support is most useful for a Rest-reliant mon? How much of it is needed? Hazard removal? Heal Bell?

3. When and against what team styles is the two-turn loss of control from Rest most limiting? Conversely, are there positions where the status healing and full recovery from Rest actually provides a benefit compared to single-turn healing?

4. Many of the Rest users of the past have also served as win conditions, with Curse Snorlax and Calm Mind Suicune being the most famous ones. Is it necessary for a Rest user to also have some amount of sweeping ability to avoid total passivity, or can that weakness be mitigated in other ways?

5. Is it possible to forego Sleep Talk on Rest sets, or is it a necessary evil? How much of a drawback is the randomness of Sleep Talk turns and the additional loss of a move slot?

6. Where does Chesto Berry fit into all of this? When is turning Rest into a single-use "silver bullet" worth giving up your item slot for?

Explanation:
Rest is very clearly worse than Recover, but it's worse in an interesting way; it's strange, it's clunky, but it is a full restore, and sometimes that's all a Pokemon needs. This is a more specific version of the "Pokemon with bad movepool" type of concept; I think it would be fairly challenging, but not impossible, and I'm be interested in seeing what the community could come up with.

 

[Sawyer.]

WIP

Name: Draining Tank

Description: A powerful, defensively-oriented Pokemon that makes potent use of HP-draining attacks, thereby forcing opponents to find ways to limit its recovery over the course of a match.

Justification:

What new territory will your Concept Pokemon explore, why do you believe it’s interesting, and how would it interact with the metagame?

This is an extremely innovative design space. While HP-draining attacks have long been recognised as a valuable asset for boosting sweepers, they are yet to be explored as a way of sustaining a bulky tank build.

This concept appeals to me because it would create clear and novel gameplans. The Draining Tank's ability to KO threats while simultaneously healing off damage received would make it challenging to overcome through brute force. When playing against the Draining Tank, therefore, teams would need to intelligently wear it down by limiting its opportunities to restore HP. One such strategy could involve carefully preserving Pokemon on low HP to act as sacrifices.

The impact that a Draining Tank would have on the metagame would be intriguing. Would this CAP lead to a rise in certain types of teams to limit its influence (e.g. Screens, stall)? Or conversely, would teams rely on having a single Pokemon that resists its draining attack(s) to prevent it from recovering effectively? And what kind of innovative techs might be developed? Off the top of my head, the use of self-KO and recoil moves on certain offensive Pokemon to deny recovery could be an interesting consequence.

How does your concept motivate in-depth discussion at each stage of the process, and why do you believe the CAP Project community should discuss these topics?

The novelty of this concept would inherently provoke rich discussions. Fulfilling the concept would mean designing a Pokemon that is sufficiently dominant in certain situations to provoke specific forms of counterplay, yet avoids being over-centralising. To achieve this, the CAP community would need to understand exactly how counterplay to the Draining Tank would work in practice, which would be a fascinating learning process.

While the concept would provide some direction to the movepool and stats stages, it is not constraining and I can imagine a huge diversity of successful CAPs being born from this concept. Typing and ability would be particularly fascinating discussions, and I am already excited at the prospect of taking part.

Questions To Be Answered

• What are the most effective forms of counterplay to a Draining Tank build?
• How would a Draining Tank function effectively in this metagame? Would it primarily function as a non-passive wall, or a late-game win condition?
• If a Pokemon encourages a unique form of counterplay, how centralising does that Pokemon need to become in order for the counterplay to become widespread? In other words, what is the "elasticity" of the current metagame? (The uptake of Covert Cloak to deal with Garganacl is another interesting case study for this).
• What are the most important forms of team support for a Draining Tank? What types of team composition is it best suited to?

Explanation

Some clarifications:

• "HP draining attacks" refers to damage-dealing moves only, and does not include Pain Split and Leech Seed.
• A "tank" means a bulky Pokemon that primarily makes progress through direct damage output rather than utility moves.

 

[Gekokeso]

WIP:

• Name: Counter Terarist Unit
• Description: This pokémon is able to perform its role in battle regardless of the opponent's tera type being there to stop it.
• Justification: Tera is the main gimmick introduced in Scarlet and Violet. Some people hate it to death, some really love it, but regardless of your opinion it is a fact that every team needs to carefully consider which tera types to bring into battle, as one tera type can completely flip a pokémon's weaknesses on its head. This mon would aim to ignore such game-changing effects of tera, or aim to have a role where the opponent can't tera out of stopping it from doing so.
• Questions:
  • In what ways does terastalization alter the course of a battle? Why do some Pokémon tend to rely on terastalization more than others?
  • Which Pokémon tend to be disrupted the most when the opponent terastalizes? Which don't?
  • Should this Pokémon be more offensively oriented or defensively oriented? If so, why?
  • This Pokémon can use Tera itself. Should this have a mayor impact in the way that it ensures how it gets past the opponent's terastalization?
  • Tera will most likely be gone the next generation. How then, will we be able to ensure this pokémon is futureproofed to still be viable should tera be removed?
• Explanation: Given that a lot of ideas in this thread had been best implented by other people in the thread I decided to go with a Tera concept, since nobody has done one yet. Idea here is making a CAP whose's role can't be interrupted by the opponent terastalizing. This can tackle multiple options such as an offensive Pokémon with tools to bypass tera via good neutral coverage, a tanky Pokémon with ways to mitigate terastalized mons from taking advantage of its weaknesses, or simply a Pokémon with a role as a spinner / hazard setter.

 

[Rysachi]

WIP

Name - Rolling The Dice

Description - Previously we have had multiple Pokémon created with mixed results that abuse multi-hit moves within it's movepool and with the addition of Loaded Dice being added to Scarlet and Violet, having a Pokémon with a new signature move or previously existing multi-hit moves to carve out a niche as an offensive Pokémon.

Justification-Whilst some Pokémon in recent times can sometimes use Loaded Dice Multi-Hit moves on setup sets, there isn't typically a Pokémon that directly relies on these Multi-Hit moves without alternatives. Whilst there are some that do, they typically lean away from Loaded Dice and have Technician or Skill Link or have large drawbacks from having some inaccuracy or countered to the likes of Rocky Helmet. Hopefully having one being created that can have a balance of having a niche in the meta without too many drawbacks could be a unique concept that we haven't yet seen.

Questions To Be Answered - What stats can this type of Pokémon have without it feeling underwhelming or something we've seen similar to other Pokémon. What coverage multi-hit moves do you allow without the Pokémon feeling like there aren't any checks. How can you make this Pokémon viable within the current meta that we currently see? What ability can you give this Pokémon that doesn't directly make the Pokémon a one trick pony but still makes the Pokémon centred around the gimmick it is inspired by?

Explanation - Whilst not completely in touch with the ladder side of CAP, having something that can encourage defensive Pokémon to lean away from Leftovers or Focus Sash and moreso could possibly encourage other items such as Rocky Helmet seems like it could be an interesting change.

 

[sneakyjeans]

Final Submission

Name: Poster Child

Description: A Pokemon that fully embodies the archetypes and traits for their typing.

Justification: This concept focuses on typing, and how typing ties into gameplay archetypes and what we could consider typical for that type. This means looking at patterns we see in Pokemon of a certain type, what are the common consistencies, and where other Pokemon are outliers. By creating a "Poster Child" for a typing, we look to identify those consistent traits and heighten them to make a representative for that typing archetype.

Questions to be Answered:

• How does a Pokemon carve out a niche while relying on sharing a pattern with those of the same type?
• Do certain types fall into roles more consistently?
• Are there examples where a typing succeeds more often when it goes against the pattern typical for Pokemon of that type?
• Outside of a shared typing, what are typical patterns Pokemon share? Does this make them more or less viable?
• Do some types have more of a shared identity than others?
• Can a Pokemon with two types work with this concept of representing an archetype?

Explanation: This concept was inspired by a few previous submissions. This idea is effectively a reverse Stratagem, instead of making a Pokemon that goes against their typing archetype (fast, squishy, special Rock type) we make the ideal example of a Pokemon who fits their typing archetype. To use Rock as an example, what do we consider typical traits of Rock as a typing and how do we amplify them? What is the most "Rock" Rock type?

I've mentioned archetype a fair amount, and I am drawing inspiration from how LucarioOfLegends wrote Not All Dragons Are Dragon Type in this so credit there. Stratagem's concept was about going against the "stereotype" of the typing, so when I use archetype I am meaning the typical or initial perception of the typing. Some examples could include:

• Dragon types having an above average stats and high base power options
• Electric types having high speed and pivoting options
• Fighting types having strong offenses with large trade offs

Now these examples are not always true of course, but they represent a general attitude or pattern around the typing. I think it would be a unique and challenging experience to create a Pokemon that leans into these perceptions rather than away from them. How do we create a Pokemon that really embodies the spirit and history of their typing to the fullest?

 

[SunshineFuture]

Final Submission

Name - Uphill Battle

Description - This Pokémon succeeds in its role despite a severe contradiction in one of its key components (type, ability, stats, or moves) which would typically hold its role back.

Justification - CAP has a general tendency to shy away from contradictions in its designs; why undermine a concept/role by picking something that actively seems detrimental for it? While this impulse is understandable, it also leaves a great deal of design space unexplored. This CAP shall explore how a Pokémon can succeed despite its apparent contradictions by building around them to fill a cohesive niche in the metagame.

Questions To Be Answered:

• Are certain roles more capable of working with an individual Pokémon’s counterproductive elements than others? For example, would it be easier to build a viable sweeper with a bad offensive typing than a viable wall with a bad defensive typing?
• For each component of a Pokémon’s kit, what makes it “counterproductive”? Do the components have different thresholds depending on what the role is, and if so, how?
• Are certain contradictions in a Pokémon’s kit more easily managed by the rest of its kit than others? For example, is a counterproductive typing easier to work with than counterproductive stats?
• How “counterproductive” can the chosen aspect of this Pokémon’s kit be for its role to prevent it from being unsalvageable while still remaining on-concept?
• With one aspect of the Pokémon working against its role, how strong should the other elements be to compensate without making this aspect trivial to how the Pokémon plays?
• How can the Pokémon be designed such that it thrives in the metagame beyond acting as a check against current powerhouses, as certain Pokémon of this nature have previously done?

Explanation:
Before jumping into examples of Pokémon succeeding despite having bad type, ability, stats, and moves, there are two things that need to be made clear.

Firstly, "bad" and "counterproductive" are two similar but separate ideas. The former refers to a component which is low quality outright or otherwise missing something. "Counterproductive", meanwhile, can be good on Pokémon with certain roles but unhelpful or detrimental with other roles. Using abilities as an example, Color Change is a bad ability regardless of role whereas Tinted Lens would be counterproductive on a defensive Pokémon that is not trying to break through foes. As a general rule, "counterproductive" is more role-specific than "bad". For example, Electric/Ice is a fantastic typing offensively, but if our chosen role is that of a defensive pivot, then Electric/Ice would be a counterproductive typing. These categories are not mutually exclusive; for example, a Bug/Grass wall would both have a bad typing and a counterproductive typing. This concept focuses on counterproductive elements, not bad elements.

Secondly, whatever aspect is chosen as the contradiction should be actually noticeable in how the Pokémon functions in battle. This first means anything like useless/flavor abilities (like Justified on Keldeo) don't count for this concept; the only "detriment" is the lack of an actually functioning ability and it simply isn't interesting to explore that. Largely neutral type combinations, such as mono-Normal, also don't count. More importantly, this means the process should not be about outright evading the contradiction; it will necessarily need to be shored up in some fashion, but the methods of doing so should not be so direct as to minimize the contradiction’s impact on the Pokémon. For example, a wall working around/shoring up a poor defensive typing can look like giving access to tools which increase its defensive stats or longevity others may not have, but giving an ability that directly mitigates type weaknesses (such as Flash Fire or Thick Fat on a Bug/Grass type) to a poor defensive typing is evading the deficiency and is anti-concept. There is no getting around it: something about this Pokémon will suck for one of its role.

Below are some examples of what a counterproductive component has looked like and could be for typing, ability, stats, and moves.

Typing

The classic example is AV Tyranitar, which in past gens was a key defensive 'mon despite a defensive typing with immense weaknesses. More recently, Kartana has been a devastating offensive threat despite a quite weak STAB type combination. Many types which usually are seen as ill-fitting for specific roles have potential synergy which can make them work much better than expected. One hypothetical example would be a defensive Ice-type with Snow Warning and a move to boost its Defense, turning it into a massive physical wall. Another possibility could be a monotyped offensive 'mon, as two STABs tend to be better than one.

Ability

Chromera's process was an extreme example of building around a counterproductive ability, but Tapu Fini's Misty Surge is another case; while in past gens it appreciated a status immunity, it would ideally like to be able to status opponents (especially if/when it enters a generation without universal Toxic). Potential examples for a contradictory ability would be a wall with Weak Armor or a defensive pivot with Speed Boost.

Stats

As Spoo pointed out in the original version of this concept, Galarian Moltres in Gen 8 had more defense than offense, and yet was used as a setup sweeper. Another example is Poison Heal Breloom, which served a key defensive role despite pitiful bulk. Either of these examples can serve as templates for this concept.

Movepool

Lastly, there are a number of ways in which a counterproductive movepool can be wielded in interesting ways. For some extreme examples, look no further than Gen 8 Spectrier. It had absolutely no coverage whatsoever, but even with that caveat it proved to be so explosive that it got banned from OU. Busted Uber 'mons are not the only path forward, though. Serperior, for example, has historically had success with Contrary Leaf Storm despite having mostly a utility-focused movepool and its only useful coverage being HP Fire/Tera Blast (though this gen it's in UU). Likewise, despite having a number of offensive tools, Tinkaton runs mostly a utility set due to its stat spread. Another example, however mild a case, actually is in Dragapult; it would absolutely love to reliably run physical Dragon Dance sets, but with no access to physical Ghost moves better than Astonish, it's forced to run special sets. Any of the above scenarios could be quite interesting to build around.

This concept was inspired by an old concept from spoo, and so I want to thank him for allowing me to use it as a base for my concept!

 

[SDK03]

EDIT: Outright New Concept after some suggestions from the Discord.

Edit 2: Final Submission

• Name: Colourblind
• Description: This is a Pokémon that excels in dealing with opponents despite possessing mostly neutral type matchups.
• Justification: This concept aims to create an offensive or defensive mon that uses its lack of offensive or defensive type advantages/weaknesses to its benefit.

Questions To Be Answered:

1. What would be a more successful path for this Pokémon: Offensive neutrality, or Defensive neutrality?

2. To what extent should we compensate for the neutral typing in other aspects (ability, stats, moves) of the Pokémon’s design?

3. With the introduction of Terastal, how does it interact with this concept depending on the Pokémon’s role?

4. If offensive, how much should we allow this Pokémon to hit super-effectively or be resisted by?

5. If defensive, how much should we allow this Pokémon to resist or be hit super-effectively by?


Explanation:

After discussing with some CAP Discord members about typing-related concepts mainly finding benefits in bad typings, we came around to the idea of making an advantage out of neutral typings (whether defensive with little weaknesses or resists, offensive with little weak to it or resisting it). I thought it sounded like a pretty unique idea that has a clearer direction than my original, so I decided to overhaul this post to feature this new concept.

On the offensive side of things, Zoroark-Hisui and Porygon-Z are alright examples to mention even if they aren’t that viable in an OU-adjacent meta. Zoroark-Hisui’s type combo of Normal/Ghost is nearly unresisted (aside from itself, Steel/Dark, Rock/Dark and Garganacl) and Porygon’s got 135 SpA + Adaptability to make its STAB hit hard and its own Shadow Ball hard to eat, despite the frailty and underwhelming speed both possess along with the fact that there’s not much those types are hitting super-effectively. Dragon types are also a nice example offensively since even with the Fairy typing existing, that’s still only 2 types that can stand up to the extremely strong STAB Dragon tends to get in Draco Meteor, Outrage, Scale Shot and more.

Defensively, Blissey is universally the best example of this concept in action. Mono-Normal is only immune to Ghost, weak to Fighting but otherwise resists nothing. However, since most Fighting moves are Physical and Blissey has a massive HP and Special Defense stat, it excels at eating Special attacks like nothing else thanks to the lack of Special moves capable of actually hitting it hard. Dondozo is also a solid example of this through being extremely hard to take down physically and only really being weak to Electric or Grass on the physical side. Yes, Water has quite a few valuable resists, but Dondozo still abuses its ability to take Physical neutral hits very well.

Because this is a typing-centric concept, I would prefer that a Pokémon created using it doesn’t end up relying on Tera to function in any sort of way. Offensively I don’t see this being too much of a worry since if something hits hard, it’ll hit hard. Defensively though, the moment people see something with solid bulk, one of the first things they’re gonna be thinking is “what if I used Tera Water / Fairy on this lol”.

Overall a concept I’ve found to be pretty interesting and fairly unique for CAP considering most of the offensive Pokémon created mainly rely on hitting stuff Super-Effectively with STAB or with coverage. While defensively they tend to abuse strong defensive typings (Water/Fairy, pure Ground, Flying/Poison, Water/Fighting, etc.) to just refuse to die.

 

[ToaCody]

Final Submission

Name: Class Specing

Description: A multi-facet Pokémon that could realistically fill 3 distinct roles depending on kit: all three viable for competitive play, but one that specifically appeals to casual play.

Justification: Most competitively viable Pokemon (official and CAP) tend to fill one role exceptionally well, maybe two at best. This looks to transcend the trend.

Questions to be Answered:

• What Stats and Abilities could allow a single Pokémon to fulfill more than two roles?
• How extensively must a Pokémon’s kit be altered in order to fit each role?
• What would lead one role being picked over others for casual play?
• How might such a flexible Pokémon affect team building (for and against)?
• How effective could a single movepool facilitate the bearer to fill three roles?
• Incidentally most of the Qs for dex's entry can also apply to this one.

Explanation: This idea was drawn from my tenure playing WoW way back when. For those not aware, outside of overt leveling the way each player Class is strengthened is through the allocation of Talent points to Talent trees, of which most Classes had three. Each tree is considered a Specialization (Spec) and emphasizes one play style of the Class. For an example I will use the Class I soloed during my time, the Shaman. The Shaman is a mixed Class that boasted good physical prowess, strong spellcasting, and good support options. The three Specs emphasized each of these aspects: Elemental focused on ranged DPS; Enhancement focused on melee; and Restoration focused on healing and support. What I always found interesting what that players were always encouraged to choose one Spec for solo leveling (for Shaman it was Enhancement) and to later re-spec into one of the others if they wished to fill different roles during endgame play. As Pokémon possesses its own form of re-specing via Move Relearning, Stat manipulation, and Ability Capsule, this concept feels that much more viable.

 

[UwU1v1]

Name: (I'm working on it)

Description: This Pokemon has access to a plethora of status moves and decent offensive capabilities, to try and put pressure on bulkier Pokemon, whether they like setting up hazards or boosting their stats.
Justification: A lot of CAP teams are based around bulky mons, where some can hit hard and some are for support, making Cap a fairly bulky meta, that may lack some offense. Is this a problem? No! Not at all! But it would be cool to see more Hyper Offensive teams. This Pokemon isn't aiming to get rid of Balance and Bulky Offense teams, it's just trying to strengthen hyper offense teams. I believe that this pokemon will not have to belong to a hyper offense teams, and that it could be very flexible.

Questions To Be Answered:
-Gholdengo is a Pokemon that has great stats, a great moveset, but mainly, a great ability. The ability practically makes it immune to status moves that could normally do well against it, like encore, taunt, and others, while it can click nasty plot and have some insane sweep potential. If this pokemon is hard to status and make your opponent lose momentum, how could we get around good as gold?
(Still a work in progress, just wanted to get the idea out here :> )

 

[Snak]

Name - Egoist
Description - A pokemon that excels at picking off the cream of the crop but struggles with the lower ranked pokemon
Justification-
What new territory will your Concept Pokemon explore, why do you believe it’s interesting, and how would it interact with the metagame?
It would make people consider weaker pokemon on their team while balancing out the strongest in this tier in a sense.

How does your concept motivate in-depth discussion at each stage of the process, and why do you believe the CAP Project community should discuss these topics?
It can help elevate the status of pokemon that wouldn't be considered due to some options being slightly better, but weaker in matchups with this pokemon.

Questions To Be Answered
How can this be achieved with the current VR?
Will this pokemon be mainly a attacker? a tank? or maybe a support?
How will this pokemon work out as the VR shifts with new pokemon coming in the future?
Will this pokemon have good stats, or maybe an ability and typing that works in the favor of the lower ranked pokemon and disadvantage to the best?

Explanation - I got this idea when thinking of how a pokemon can help the pokemon that aren't good right now, to be honest, I also think it would be hard to implement it, but a pokemon that can break the traditional food chain and be in a way that would put light on the other pokemon would be cool.