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CAP 36 - Final Product (2.0 Release)

SHSP

SHSP

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I'm beyond excited to show the final product of one of the most interesting CAP processes that I've ever been a part of! From the very beginning once we knew this was our framework I knew this was going to be a fascinating run, and a very unique final product- our first form changing CAP since Crucibelle, a pair of very interesting typings, a move-ability combo I can't say I ever would have expected to see us create, a crazy cool set of stat spreads, and an unbelievably cool design to top it all off. I want to thank the TLT around me who did amazing work, especially as I tried to take more of a back seat in public participation and had moments of very limited timing. I also want to thank anyone who participated or anyone that has really participated in a CAP process before. CAP's been an incredibly special part of my life for close to ten years now, and I wouldn't be who I am today without you guys.

With that being said, let me present to yall CAP 36: Ramnarok, with its forms Ramnarok-Dormant and Ramnarok-Radiant!

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Framework:
Scepticskep said:
Final Submission

Name: Meloetta-Style Forms

Description: This CAP can transform in battle after the use of a specific signature move, altering its typing and stats. The CAP will start in an "Original" form and revert to said form upon switching out.

Explanation:
Meloetta has, in my opinion, the most unique form change of any existing Pokemon with such a gimmick. Rather than dedicating an ability or item slot to the form, the form is locked onto a move, enabling a choice for the player to use either form without locking either out of a useful ability or item.

In concept, this is really interesting, but Meloetta fails in execution. Due to the sheer difference in playstyle, Meloetta-Pirouette is stuck with a dead move slot with Relic Song, and since the form reverts upon switching in, it requires a wasted turn of setup each time you want to bring in Meloetta-Pirouette, making it extremely difficult to invest in a physical set. Ultimately, this alternate form is rarely seen, with Meloetta-Aria being the main form used.

While Relic Song failed in practice, I don't believe the idea is an inherent failure. The ability to change typing and stats on the fly and keep space for both an item slot and ability is incredibly unique amongst every other form-changing mon, and as such would be incredibly interesting to see used on a viable CAP. To fit the new rules on custom elements, the move would likely have to be a clone of Relic Song that differs in typing, attack type, and/or secondary effect.
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Concept:
Pipotchi said:
Name - Help Yourself

Description - This defensive Pokémon sets the stage for its own cleaning later on.

Justification - We are exploring and trying to mesh two roles- defensive Pokémon and cleaner. "Cleaner" does not have a set definition on the Smogon Dictionary, but in this context we should consider it as an endgame Pokémon that can sweep a heavily weakened enemy team without using moveslots for boosting moves like Swords Dance. Examples include Iron Moth and Specs Dragapult. "Defensive" is a term that can cover a wider range of valid roles, as long as they work towards an advantageous endgame situation for the cleaner. Some examples include Ting-Lu and Moltres.

Questions to be answered -
  • How will this mon handle the various crippling tools of the tier that defensive Pokémon are supposed to take in place of offensive mons, knowing that it needs to transform into an offensive form later?
  • As a speedy mon, how will this Pokémon match up to dominant fast Pokémon like Dragapult and Hemogoblin? How will this matchup affect its viability?
  • What type of support do cleaners from different team archetypes (balance, weather, etc) value most and how does it differ between archetypes?
  • What are some mono-types that contain both strong offensive dual types and strong defensive dual types? Can we find a pair of typings (with a shared type) that both make the offensive version offensively strong and defensively weak, and the defensive version the opposite?
  • How does the speed of the Relic Song user affect its awkwardness? Is it better to Relic Song before or after the opponent moves?
This is a Pokémon that must share its moveslots between two forms, and for that reason:
  • What coverage moves would do best in the tier when it comes to cleaning with the fewest possible moves?
  • What defensive tasks can be performed in the fewest possible moves?
  • Are there attacks in the tier that could be used for both cleaning and incremental damage?
  • How can this mon find a strong EV middle-ground between being capable defensively and also powerful and fast enough offensively?
  • What abilities can help alleviate the lack of moveslots, acting as an additional move for the purpose of either defense or cleaning?
  • Can Relic Song be made into a useful attack for one or both forms, rather than just a transformation tool?
Explanation - One of the most frivolous roles in modern Pokémon has been the "cleaner"- a very fast Pokémon that simply takes out the trash once the enemy team has been weakened enough, usually by outspeeding the remaining Pokémon and ohkoing them from their remaining HP percentage. Nowadays, this is a trait which is tacked onto other mons with more solid purposes for being added to a team. Examples include Iron Valiant- which provides either sweeping with CM or extremely solid anti-sweep with Encore, or Hemogoblin who is very capable of sweeping.
Its rare, however, for a mon to be able to be both a cleaner and defensive Pokémon. These two roles tend to sit at the far opposite ends of the spectrum in all ways- cleaners of the past are more likely to be single-use and aim for big hits, while defensive mons want to switch in and out all game and lean towards incremental damage that can stack up despite lack of investment, or performing other tasks to give their team an advantage. It'll be interesting to combine the two halves of the same strategy inside of one mon: the defensive mon "sets the stage" for the cleaner by crippling and chipping down the opposing team. It could also make the cleaner's job easier by enabling teammates such as wallbreakers to break down the opponent.
In CAP, we rarely explore the upper tier of speed- Hemogoblin being a rare exception, so a true cleaner in the ranks of Iron Val, Deoxys-Speed and Dragapult would be a new frontier for us.
Now, we have had all-rounders in the past- Cresceidon and arguably Kitsunoh could be called defensive mons that can clean- but these mons offer a very different playstyle thanks to their ability to attack and defend at once- Meloetta forms can be much more extreme in their offensive/defensive capabilities and also separate them from each other, resulting in the player needing to be more strategic. It should be a great way to explore the unique framework we find ourselves with.
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Typing: Fire/Steel --> Fire/Ice

Ability: No Guard

Defining Moves:
spoo said:
Required: Inferno, Polar Flare, Universally Assumed Moves
Choose At Least One: Thunder, Freeze Dry
Optional: Knock Off, Taunt, Encore, Psychic Noise

Fire Fire Blast
Flare Blitz
Will-O-Wisp
Flamethrower
Overheat
Heat Wave Steel Flash Cannon
Iron Head
Steel Beam
Iron Defense Ice Ice Beam
Blizzard
Icicle Spear or Icicle Crash or Ice Punch
Avalanche
At least one of Icicle Crash or Ice Spinner Gen 9 Universal Moves Endure
Facade
Helping Hand
Protect
Rest
Sleep Talk
Substitute
Take Down
Tera Blast
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Custom Transformation Move: Polar Flare
Fire-type clone of Relic Song
  • Base Power: 75
  • Category: Special
  • Secondary Effect: 10% chance to freeze the target
  • Accuracy: 100%
  • PP: 10 (Max 16)
  • Target: All adjacent Pokemon

Stats:
110 HP / 63 Atk / 104 Def / 104 SpA / 134 SpD / 85 Spe (Dormant)
110 HP / 63 Atk / 85 Def / 134 SpA / 54 SpD / 154 Spe (Radiant)


V1.0 Movepool:
Polar Flare, Inferno, Thunder, Freeze Dry, and Universally Assumed Moves
Fire Blast
Flare Blitz
Fire Punch
Will-O-Wisp
Flamethrower
Lava Plume
Overheat
Heat Wave
Flash Cannon
Iron Head
Steel Beam
Iron Defense
Ice Beam
Blizzard
Icicle Spear
Avalanche
Icicle Crash
Endure
Facade
Helping Hand
Protect
Rest
Sleep Talk
Substitute
Take Down
Tera Blast
V2.0 Movepool:
Ayecrusher King said:
1 Flame Charge
1 Iron Defense
1 Ice Shard
1 Detect
Rem. Polar Flare
21 Ancient Power
26 Aurora Beam
31 Imprison
36 Freeze-Dry
43 Ice Spinner
50 Iron Head
57 Lava Plume
64 Phantom Force
71 Aurora Veil
80 Inferno
89 Metal Burst
Egg Group: Undiscovered
TM001: Take Down
TM006: Scary Face
TM007: Protect
TM012: Low Kick
TM023: Charge Beam
TM025: Facade
TM032: Swift
TM034: Icy Wind
TM038: Flame Charge
TM046: Avalanche
TM047: Endure
TM049: Sunny Day
TM051: Sandstorm
TM052: Snowscape
TM057: False Swipe
TM058: Brick Break
TM066: Body Slam
TM070: Sleep Talk
TM079: Dazzling Gleam
TM080: Metronome
TM081: Grass Knot
TM085: Rest
TM089: Body Press
TM092: Imprison
TM093: Flash Cannon
TM099: Iron Head
TM103: Substitute
TM104: Iron Defense
TM107: Will-O-Wisp
TM118: Heat Wave
TM121: Heavy Slam
TM124: Ice Spinner
TM125: Flamethrower
TM126: Thunderbolt
TM130: Helping Hand
TM135: Ice Beam
TM141: Fire Blast
TM143: Blizzard
TM147: Wild Charge
TM151: Phantom Force
TM152: Giga Impact
TM156: Outrage
TM157: Overheat
TM163: Hyper Beam
TM165: Flare Blitz
TM166: Thunder
TM168 Solar Beam
TM170: Steel Beam
TM171: Tera Blast
TM172: Roar
TM174: Haze
TM187: Icicle Spear
TM189: Heat Crash
TM190: Solar Blade
TM202: Pain Split
TM205: Endeavor
TM207: Temper Flare
TM221: Throat Chop
TM224: Curse
TM225: Hard Press
Ancient Power
Aurora Beam
Aurora Veil
Avalanche
Blizzard
Body Press
Body Slam
Brick Break
Charge Beam
Curse
Dazzling Gleam
Detect
Endeavor
Endure
Facade
False Swipe
Fire Blast
Flame Charge
Flamethrower
Flare Blitz
Flash Cannon
Freeze-Dry
Giga Impact
Grass Knot
Hard Press
Haze
Heat Crash
Heat Wave
Heavy Slam
Helping Hand
Hyper Beam
Ice Beam
Ice Shard
Ice Spinner
Icicle Spear
Icy Wind
Imprison
Inferno
Iron Defense
Iron Head
Lava Plume
Low Kick
Metal Burst
Outrage
Overheat
Pain Split
Phantom Force
Polar Flare
Protect
Rest
Roar
Sandstorm
Scary Face
Sleep Talk
Snowscape
Solar Beam
Solar Blade
Steel Beam
Substitute
Sunny Day
Swift
Take Down
Tera Blast
Temper Flare
Throat Chop
Thunder
Thunderbolt
Wild Charge
Will-O-Wisp
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Additional Data
  • Height: 2.2m
  • Weight: 250kg (base) / 182kg (transformed)
  • Egg Group: Undiscovered
  • Dex Color: Red (base) / White (transformed)
  • Gender Ratio: Genderless
  • Prevos: None

Post-Play Lookback Results:
+Grass Knot, +7 SPA -7 ATK to Both Forms

Enjoy watching my illiteracy in action as I load the wrong ice move and get blown up by Spoo and the battle chat in our inaugural battle! https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9cap-2401987475
 
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Scepticskep said:
Never would I have imagined the framework I made would have resulted in such a unique and crazy mon. I’m very happy to have been active in all stages of this CAP, and I have no qualms about being second to Ender’s amazing design.
View attachment 755204

Fly high until you get nerfed into oblivion, Ramnarok
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inb4 the CAP overlords make its Speed below 142
 
Ok. I have a lot of ideas and I want to check what ideas could possibly happen in the future and get answers to my questions
1. when do we start phase 2? like flavor abilities, shiny etc.
2. when does the next cap process (cap 37) begin?
3. could it be a possibility to instead of making a new cap we redesign previous caps that are now unviable? all of these aren't even on the viability ranking: Astrolotl, Aurumoth, Chromera, Crucibelle, Cyclohm, Jumbao, Kerfluffle, Naviathan, Pajantom, Plasmanta, Saharaja, Smokomodo, Volkraken, and Voodoom. and there are alot more that are viable but bad, in ou every ou pokemon is above b- in the vr (araquanid and dondozo are the lowest at B)
 
I'm not a member of staff so I can't really speak to your first two questions, but as for the third:
cat111ca said:
3. could it be a possibility to instead of making a new cap we redesign previous caps that are now unviable? all of these aren't even on the viability ranking: Astrolotl, Aurumoth, Chromera, Crucibelle, Cyclohm, Jumbao, Kerfluffle, Naviathan, Pajantom, Plasmanta, Saharaja, Smokomodo, Volkraken, and Voodoom. and there are alot more that are viable but bad, in ou every ou pokemon is above b- in the vr (araquanid and dondozo are the lowest at B)
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Most, if not all, CAPs don't really need a full redesign to be viable. While somewhat outdated, this article gives a fair bit of insight into how small buffs, or even just shifts in the metagame and surrounding environment, can bring mons from useless into metagame staples, or vice-versa. It wasn't that long ago that Kitsunoh was considered bad enough to need targeted buffs, and now that it got them, it's one of the best mons in the tier. That being said, it's quite likely that the tier leaders will wait and see how Ramnarok's introduction affects the metagame, as there is a significant chance that one or more of these mons will rise in viability as answers to Ramnarok, and/or partners alongside it.
 
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