CAP 38 So Far
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After a great discussion led by our Ability Leader, Guingil , we will be deciding on CAP 38's ability through two series of polls. If you haven't taken the chance to read through the thread, please refer to the Ability Discussion thread here to make an informed decision when submitting your ballot! Lastly, here are the descriptions for each ability slated, pulled from Guingil's final post here (final one is from my +1 post immediately following).
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Seed Sower
This ability replicates the "don't hit me" aspect of Pressure on Eternatus while threatening to proc the useful Grassy Terrain, providing an offensive boost to Grass STAB and a defensive boost through free Leftovers. Our value floor perhaps isn't impacted too much against certain matchups, but our value ceiling definitely is. It was chosen over the more reliable Surge because of the less defining aspect, but Life Orb interactions as well as the possibility for annoying 2A + utility sets nevertheless make this ability a worthwhile consideration.
Flower Veil
A comfy ability that gives us immunity to status and stat drops, so long as we do not exit out of our Grass typing with Terastallization. Eternatus has a niche in absorbing the deadly Toxic and Toxic Spikes in Ubers, so this ability helps expand this to CAP, where burn and paralysis are the more common statuses. Solidifying a few matchups, preventing Parting Shot and Intimidate, and possibly enabling physical bias are other benefits. The ability itself is pretty defining, but translating Eternatus' functioning is where it finds its justification on the slate.
Mold Breaker
This one replicates the less-defining aspect of Pressure on Eternatus. Enabling Ground coverage, especially on Equilibra; proccing status moves on Garganacl, Gholdengo, and Hatterene; keeping the impact of stat boosts against Unaware Pokemon; and bypassing Multiscale on Cresceidon (and Dragonite) have been brought up as the extent of its impact. But that is the point: it is a low-key ability that nevertheless provides some value in select interactions.
Corrosion
By upgrading Toxic (or regular poison) to be closer in strength to how it functions in Ubers, with Ubers' lack of relevant absorbers, this ability crucially helps 2A + utility sets get to a much higher value floor in CAP. On 3A sets, this helps the Poison STAB move of choice inflict the condition through attacks as well on Poison-type Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking. While the balancing of 3A and 2A sets will require some effort, I believe this ability uniquely translates a core aspect of Eternatus' strength.
Tinted Lens
"What if it was Dragon instead?" is hilarious in how well it works. Replicating the power of neutral coverage that Eternatus has helps 2A + utility and 3A sets function much better. There is some contention that this diminishes the value of coverage, but super effective hits are still desirable, especially with the offensive profile of Grass and Poison that still thuds into some Pokemon in the meta even with the ability. It is not low-impact, but it is always active and a baked-in part of the kit that makes us feel more Eternatus-like by raising our value floor.
Sharpness
This ability gives a flat boost to certain STAB options as well as enables wider flexibility in choosing a coverage move, perhaps even in a way to enact a "third STAB". This is also one of the few ways to enact a physical bias with an ability, which can help out in certain matchups, with CAP being more generally bulky on the special side. There is some concern over the balance of sets, but this ability provides enough power to get closer to Eternatus while opening up some interesting possibilities to merit a position on the slate.
Neutralizing Gas
This ability is the nuclear option for brute-forcing viability for 3a and 2a + Toxic sets alike. This ability simultaneously addresses Regenerator pivots that threaten to stonewall us like Slowking-G, and common Toxic absorbers like Gliscor and Snaelstrom. In a sense, it replicates the much less ability-focused environment of Ubers at a local level. This option is definitely a bit extreme, but should answer the problem of viability completely.
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This is a ranked pairs poll. The order of your preferences DOES matter. You may rank as many or as few options as you like, but we encourage you to rank as many options as possible. A typical ballot might look like the following:
All ballots will be revealed at the end of the poll and votes will be counted via automated scripts. If you do not compose a legal ballot, your post will be subject to moderation.
The voting options are:
Seed Sower
Flower Veil
Mold Breaker
Corrosion
Tinted Lens
Sharpness
Neutralizing Gas
This poll will be open for 24 hours.
-----
After a great discussion led by our Ability Leader, Guingil , we will be deciding on CAP 38's ability through two series of polls. If you haven't taken the chance to read through the thread, please refer to the Ability Discussion thread here to make an informed decision when submitting your ballot! Lastly, here are the descriptions for each ability slated, pulled from Guingil's final post here (final one is from my +1 post immediately following).
-----
Seed Sower
This ability replicates the "don't hit me" aspect of Pressure on Eternatus while threatening to proc the useful Grassy Terrain, providing an offensive boost to Grass STAB and a defensive boost through free Leftovers. Our value floor perhaps isn't impacted too much against certain matchups, but our value ceiling definitely is. It was chosen over the more reliable Surge because of the less defining aspect, but Life Orb interactions as well as the possibility for annoying 2A + utility sets nevertheless make this ability a worthwhile consideration.
Flower Veil
A comfy ability that gives us immunity to status and stat drops, so long as we do not exit out of our Grass typing with Terastallization. Eternatus has a niche in absorbing the deadly Toxic and Toxic Spikes in Ubers, so this ability helps expand this to CAP, where burn and paralysis are the more common statuses. Solidifying a few matchups, preventing Parting Shot and Intimidate, and possibly enabling physical bias are other benefits. The ability itself is pretty defining, but translating Eternatus' functioning is where it finds its justification on the slate.
Mold Breaker
This one replicates the less-defining aspect of Pressure on Eternatus. Enabling Ground coverage, especially on Equilibra; proccing status moves on Garganacl, Gholdengo, and Hatterene; keeping the impact of stat boosts against Unaware Pokemon; and bypassing Multiscale on Cresceidon (and Dragonite) have been brought up as the extent of its impact. But that is the point: it is a low-key ability that nevertheless provides some value in select interactions.
Corrosion
By upgrading Toxic (or regular poison) to be closer in strength to how it functions in Ubers, with Ubers' lack of relevant absorbers, this ability crucially helps 2A + utility sets get to a much higher value floor in CAP. On 3A sets, this helps the Poison STAB move of choice inflict the condition through attacks as well on Poison-type Pokemon such as Galarian Slowking. While the balancing of 3A and 2A sets will require some effort, I believe this ability uniquely translates a core aspect of Eternatus' strength.
Tinted Lens
"What if it was Dragon instead?" is hilarious in how well it works. Replicating the power of neutral coverage that Eternatus has helps 2A + utility and 3A sets function much better. There is some contention that this diminishes the value of coverage, but super effective hits are still desirable, especially with the offensive profile of Grass and Poison that still thuds into some Pokemon in the meta even with the ability. It is not low-impact, but it is always active and a baked-in part of the kit that makes us feel more Eternatus-like by raising our value floor.
Sharpness
This ability gives a flat boost to certain STAB options as well as enables wider flexibility in choosing a coverage move, perhaps even in a way to enact a "third STAB". This is also one of the few ways to enact a physical bias with an ability, which can help out in certain matchups, with CAP being more generally bulky on the special side. There is some concern over the balance of sets, but this ability provides enough power to get closer to Eternatus while opening up some interesting possibilities to merit a position on the slate.
Neutralizing Gas
This ability is the nuclear option for brute-forcing viability for 3a and 2a + Toxic sets alike. This ability simultaneously addresses Regenerator pivots that threaten to stonewall us like Slowking-G, and common Toxic absorbers like Gliscor and Snaelstrom. In a sense, it replicates the much less ability-focused environment of Ubers at a local level. This option is definitely a bit extreme, but should answer the problem of viability completely.
-----
This is a ranked pairs poll. The order of your preferences DOES matter. You may rank as many or as few options as you like, but we encourage you to rank as many options as possible. A typical ballot might look like the following:
All ballots will be revealed at the end of the poll and votes will be counted via automated scripts. If you do not compose a legal ballot, your post will be subject to moderation.
- Do NOT bold anything other than the options you are voting for.
- Do NOT put any formatting other than bold in your post.
- Only one option per line.
- Spellings must match EXACTLY the options listed below.
- Capitalization and spaces are ignored by the counting scripts, but you probably should not depend on it.
The voting options are:
Seed Sower
Flower Veil
Mold Breaker
Corrosion
Tinted Lens
Sharpness
Neutralizing Gas
This poll will be open for 24 hours.
