CAP 17 CAP 6 - Playtest

[Birkal]

The CAP 6 Cawmodore Playtest has officially begun!


​

After over 100 days, we've finally reached the conclusion of the sixth and final CAP Project for the fifth generation of competitive Pokemon. With the leadership of capefeather and the Topic Leadership Team, we're pleased to present Cawmodore, our brand new creation. Say hello to our powerful Belly Drum abuser that can sweep unprepared teams. For our inaugural playtest match, capefeather chose resident contributor and artist Yilx as his opponent. capefeather brought a standard VoltTurn team, with powerhouses in Choice Scarf Keldeo and Belly Drum Cawmodore. Yilx, on the other hand, went for a less run-of-the mill team. His strategy centered around using Psych Up Babiri to steal Cawmodore's boost, while surviving the incoming Bullet Punch with a Babiri Berry. The incoming Bullet Punch received a high damage roll, however, which enabled it to breeze through Weavile and win the match. You can watch the match for yourself here.

And now, Cawmodore is available for public use on Pokemon Showdown.

Once you're there, hop onto the Teambuilder to make a team for the CAP 6 Cawmodore Playtest ladder. Remember, you don't need to use Cawmodore on your team; any Gen5 BW2 Overused team will do just fine. Once you're ready, get on the Playtest ladder and try out your team. Throughout the next two weeks, you'll face plenty of opponents who are testing the new metagame that features the offensive terror that is Cawmodore.

The Cawmodore Playtest Ladder will only be available for two weeks, meaning that its time will be over on November 29th. The user who is seated at the number one spot on the ladder at that time will receive voiced status on Pokemon Showdown (+), and consideration towards the brand new CAP Contributor badge. Use this thread to post your impressions and thoughts on the new metagame. Share whatever tidbits of advice you may have. Best of luck on the playtest ladder!

Want to learn more about the Create-A-Pokemon Project? Check out the CAP Site for more information.

 

[Yilx]

"The incoming Bullet Punch received a high damage roll, however, which enabled it to breeze through Weavile and win the match."

RIP WEAVILE

YOU WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBER AS A HERO...

 

[ArkWelder]

His strategy centered around using Psych Up Babiri to steal Cawmodore's boost, while surviving the incoming Bullet Punch with a Babiri Berry.​

​

If he actually pulled this off I think the server would've crashed due to INTENSE HYPE

 

[DarkBlazeR]

Cawmodore too strong xd

Anyway, this guy is a pretty solid sweeper that gets a number of opportunities to come in thanks to its excellent defensive typing, natural physical bulk + Intimidate. Best saved to the late game though, when things that can take a +6 Bullet Punch have been weakened or removed. You're unlikely to get a quick 6-0 sweep as I did in that replay. Pair it with some good teammates that can lure in some of its checks (like EBelt Jirachi for example) and you should do well.

Here's the set I've been using for reference:

Cawmodore @ Sitrus Berry / Iron Plate / Steel Gem
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Bullet Punch
- Drill Peck / Acrobatics
- Drain Punch

Despite the advantages of having extra speed from Jolly nature, I prefer Adamant because Cawmodore needs all the power it can get - its damage output can occasionally be disappointing, even at +6 when using a 40 BP move coming from only a base 92 Attack stat. Nonetheless, it can still be brutal in the late game. It still sits on an excellent speed tier with Adamant: it hits 335 Speed with full investment, outspeeding everything up to Jolly Garchomp. Missing out on the jump over Keldeo with Jolly isn't a big deal, considering how at least 80% of Keldeo run Choice Scarf anyway, but Jolly is still a solid option. You can tinker with the moveset in a number of ways (by throwing in moves like Substitute and Rest), but I've personally found you need the coverage from 3 attacks for the best results. There's also a number of good item choices: Sitrus Berry helps immensely with setting up, but Iron Plate gives Bullet Punch that extra oomph. I think Steel Gem could also be worth testing - I haven't tried it myself yet, but it could help with getting a crucial kill. As for Drill Peck vs. Acrobatics - you need Acrobatics if you want to OHKO physically defensive Hippowdon at +6, but it requires you to have already used your item up (unless you use Flying Gem). Drill Peck still has a lot of power when boosted though, so both are good options when it comes to breaking through the bulky stuff that can take a Bullet Punch.

 

[Sir Johnson Lebaws]

http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/gen5capcawmodoreplaytest-62707379
this thing is awesome I wish it was a real poke so I could use it in a "real" Team xD

I really like it as a lategame sweeper since it is pretty safe to use (for a bellydrum user) the worst thing that could happen is becoming paralyzed or burned after having used bellydrum, that pretty much renders him useless.. but thats for the player to work around not for the poke.

The set I've been using:
Cawmodore (I really like the name btw!) @Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate (Volt absorb could be the better choice in some team though)
EV's: 252HP / 200Atk / 16Def / 36SDef / 4Speed
Jolly Nature

• Belly Drum
• Bullet Punch
• Acrobatics
• Drain Punch

I didn't feel like I'd ever need max Attack nor Max Speed so that's why my stats are kinda weird and until now they worked out really well. (I'm a little confused, how do you shorten Special Defence and Speed? I've seen both as Spd so that's a little confusing..)

(Yay my first post o/)

 

[Soul Fly]

^Use Spe for Speed, and SpD for Spc Def

 

[alexwolf]

Here is the set i have been using:

Cawmodore @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 52 Spd / 204 HP
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drill Peck
- Drain Punch
- Bullet Punch

Leftovers + HP investment makes Cawmodore really helpful in the early and mid-game, especially when coupled with Drain Punch, meaning that it can switch in quite a bit of times and act as a pivot before setting up. Enough Speed to outrun Adamant Lucario, Timid Heatran, Modest Rotom-W, and Jolly Mamoswine (Ice Shard). The power boost that comes from Adamant is amazing really, allowing Bullet Punch to always OHKO Latios and Drain Punch to always OHKO 252 HP Rotom-W, both after Stealth Rock. One could use enough Speed to outrun Timid Rotom-W, but my team really doesn't mind Rotom-W so i prefer the extra bulk. At late-game, if scarfers and the faster Pokemon that can take a Bullet Punch have been weakened a bit, it's very easy to set up and go to town. But really, what makes this set great is that it doesn't limit you to using Cawmodore only as a sweeper, giving it much more versatility and allowing it to actually contribute to the defensive backbone of the team. I am using it with entry hazards + spinblocker to wear down its faster checks. Roserade sets up Spikes and handles Rotom-W, Jolteon, and Thundurus-T to an extend, while SpD Jellicent takes care of Choice Scarf Heatran, Starmie, and Keldeo while protecting the hazards.

 

[Vryheid]

I feel like Cawmodore would be a lot more useful if the people on the ladder actually tried to support it with other Pokemon instead of sticking 4 mutilated checks to it on every frigging team. No, Cawmodore isn't going to be sweeping when I have to deal with checks like Choice Scarf Magneton with HP Fire (yes, a guy seriously is using this). Even with my one check (which isn't even some brain-dead counter like Wash-Rotom) nobody has EVER managed to pull off a sweep with Cawmodore against me (or make any coherent attempt to keep it alive, for that matter). I feel like I'm the only person near the top of the ladder who makes any attempt to support it in battle by trying to Knock Off the usual Choice Scarf counters or using an offensive core to give it easy switchins and support its weaknesses/resistances in battle. If people weren't using their own Cawmodore as deadweight and being so hell bent on keeping my Cawmodore off the field at any cost then maybe I could actually enjoy seeing it get used in battle.

Complaints aside, Cawmodore is still insanely powerful if you manage to set up with a decent chunk of health (usually through the assistance of a suicide Trick on a move it resists). It has fantastic coverage and is very hard to take down once it starts getting Drain Punch regeneration. So far it seems horribly overpowered because of how ridiculously overcentralized it's made the entire metagame, but maybe things will begin to even out once people get better at dealing with it.

 

[Shiruba]

snip

Well, it's a playtest, so naturally it'll have centralized the metagame behind it - that's the idea! Still, perhaps it is too powerful - it really is far too soon to tell. From the matches I've seen, however, while it does well, maybe people aren't using it well or something, but it doesn't seem particularly amazing. Again, though, like you said, people aren't supporting it worth shit, so that's something to consider.

 

[Bughouse]

checks like Choice Scarf Magneton with HP Fire (yes, a guy seriously is using this).

That would be me. It's a very good counter/check outside of Rain or Light Screen, even against Volt Absorb Cawmodore. Why wouldn't I use it? Scarf Magneton is actually pretty decent in general. You're just a hater.

 

[Meta-Knight]

First time posting, but...
When I first saw Cawmadore's stat spread, I thought it would be similar to Skarmory. I tried a Belly Drum set, with Sitrus. I never got a decent battle using it though, just because it's pretty situational. I use it mainly as a late-game sweeper, but people usually forfeit by that time.

Usually when running Sitrus, I'll use Acrobatics, just to take advantage of the Sitrus Berry, though it really needs the recovery from Drain Punch.

Also, it has a few weaknesses, so I use it in a defensive core to alleviate them. Volt Absorb Cawmadore and Tentacruel work VERY nicely together.

As I said, this is my first post, so I don't know if this is informative enough, but this is just my experience.

 

[Meta-Knight]

The team I use is this:
Nasty Plot Lucario
Skarmory
Technician Breloom
Tentacruel
Cawmadore (252Att., 252Spe, 4HP Jolly)
LO Alakazam

It works pretty well, though Sableye scares it a lot.

 

[Bughouse]

OK so because I am currently sitting at #1 until a few people still provisional pass me, I thought I'd post my mega counterteam:

importable

Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Quick Attack

Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- U-turn

Tyranitar (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Flamethrower

Magneton @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Jirachi @ Expert Belt
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 148 Spd / 152 Atk / 208 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Volt Switch
- Trick

Enjoy trolling the Cawmodore ladder with a team mega overly prepared for it. I may make a second effort to peak the ladder for real with a team that actually uses Cawmodore, but I'm not sure.

 

[Meta-Knight]

Wouldn't Unnerve on T-tar work better, to prevent Sitrus healing?

 

[MQJinx]

Just tried Cawmodore with dual screens + Memento Latios, and it always manages to wipe out at least one mon from my foe's team. I use a fast AcroModore set to inflict as much damage as possible, and the foe can't do anything other than the subpar Jolteon because of lowered attacking power and screens. I added Tyranitar to deal with special Fire- and Electric-types, Skarmory for hazards, Gengar to spinblock, and Starmie to spin.

Hide

Cawmodore @ Flying Gem
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Acrobatics
- Drain Punch
- Iron Head

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Brave Bird

Latios (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Dragon Pulse
- Memento

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Disable
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

 

[PttP]

After playing around 40+ games and having a pretty good W-L ratio, here's my impression on the metagame so far.

Cawmodore is a solid Pokemon. Coming into the playtest, I thought it would either be horrible or broken, but it has surprisingly met a balance between the two. It has solid checks that aren't other competitively unviable such as Scarf Keldeo which greatly diminishes its sweeping ability. At the same point, if you are good enough to weaken the other opponent's checks just a slight amount, it can sweep house and wreck.

I've played against mostly the Sitrus Berry set and used Flying Gem myself, and I can't help but feel that Sitrus is a waste. For me personally, I never sent Cawmodore in against an opponent that does 50+ percent, obtaining the setup opportunity mostly via double switching. Sitrus Berry is in my opinion, a handicapping item because it prevents Cawmodore from having any earlier-mid game utility. It can only use a 55 base power Acrobatics, a 70 bp Drain Punch, or a 40 bp Bullet Punch off an unboosted 92 (?) Attack. This pretty much means you're playing 5-6 until late game. I know the common saying is that it is a sweeper and you don't send in a sweeper until end-game, but that just isn't right. Any sweeper must have early-mid game viability to be an efficient Pokemon and I feel that Sitrus Berry doesn't allow for that. Many times early-mid game I would have Cawmodore in against a Celebi that would stay in fearing a set up opportunity, and with Sitrus Berry you can't automatically press Acrobatics in order to help the rest of your team.

In terms of Intimidate vs. Volt Absorb, I tended to use Volt Absorb more because I never felt the urge to try setting up on some really strong physical attackers. I don't remember properly but when Intimidate was brought up, ridiculous calculations were brought up showing how certain Choice Banded Pokemon couldn't do 50-75% on Cawmodore after Intimidate. I just think setting up on those types of Pokemon is silly and I would rather pick my spots better than that, so I went with Volt Absorb. Now I could set up on Celebi (I used rain) and Ferrothorn with relative ease because I didn't fear a Thunder Wave.

I saw a few different types of teams out there. Most were just aimless weatherless teams so that was a bit disappointing. No one used sand because I presume sand gives Cawmodore quite a few setup opportunities. That or people just don't like using sand. Sun was used by like one person so I can't really say much to that effectiveness. I used rain and had the upper hand on most players although I'm not sure what other successful battlers used. Scarf Keldeo was probably the best Pokemon in the metagame because people only had like one Keldeo check for some reason and often times it was also their Cawmodore check (Rotom-W) or Celebi (not that hard to beat...) so yeah if you wanna be cheap just use Scarf Keldeo in the rain.

In response to the dual screens stuff posted earlier and talked about on IRC, I think it's just a waste. I had no problem with setting up Cawmodore without screens and really that extra Pokemon spot can be used more efficiently.

Wouldn't Unnerve on T-tar work better, to prevent Sitrus healing?

Yes but then it wouldn't matter as Cawmodore would heal that health up regardless with a +6 Drain Punch.

lol first serious post in decades

 

[Sir Johnson Lebaws]

Since I've been using a Sitrus Berry set I'm just gonna say something about that.

and I can't help but feel that Sitrus is a waste. For me personally, I never sent Cawmodore in against an opponent that does 50+ percent, obtaining the setup opportunity mostly via double switching. Sitrus Berry is in my opinion, a handicapping item because it prevents Cawmodore from having any earlier-mid game utility

And later on you said you wouldn't use Intimidate to switch into Physical attacks, so now here is what I've been doing:
Switch in on any obvious weak/neutral physical move (most of them do like nothing after Intimidate, the worst hit I took once was a Stone Edge from a T-tar (not Choiced though)) then, depending on how much that hit did, Belly Drum -> Sitrus Recovery and I'm ready to sweep (given the checks have been weakened before) or in a better case the opponent didn't attack but switched out so I only loose like 1/4 HP instead of 1/2 for Belly Drum (I have Max HP on my Cawmodore)
But I agree offensively Sitrus isn't the very best choice for my Team though I figured a Sitrus set would be more fitting.

About the weather, Sun would be somewhat dumb would you want your Cawmodore to die to a unexpected HP Fire? Rain is the most fitting.

Most were just aimless weatherless teams

I wouldn't go as far as calling weatherless Teams aimless :O not only because mine is weatherless too but you don't have to build a Team around weather when you can also build a team that can abuse the opponents weather or a Team that just doesn't care about weather (wich is kinda easy with Cawmodore I think)

(those are just my thoughts, I didn't play that much and I'm still learning :) )

EDIT: Also how do I do the quotes with name and everything?

 

[MQJinx]

Anyone tested SubSalac Cawmodore?

Cawmodore @ Salac Berry
Ability: Intimidate/Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant/Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Belly Drum
- Substitute
- Drain Punch
- Acrobatics/Iron Head

This set can turn some of its normal checks dead weight. Scarf Keldeo gets outsped and stomped by an Acrobatics (Jolly must be used for that), while Scarf Rotom-W eats a Drain Punch to the face. This set works well under dual screens + Memento support, or can set up on a choice-locked move or a mon that can't break its sub. Heatran becomes a great partner as it can take any Fire-type attack and apply more offensive pressure (Dugtrio is setup bait for dual screens Latios, which gives Cawmodore a free sub and Belly Drum).

 

[Bughouse]

Yes I've used that set some. It's quite good, but a few tips. First, I have my doubts that Iron Head is gonna cut it. The set is perfectly capable of getting down to Salac if you play your cards right, so Acrobatics is fine. Second, no Adamant. You will be outsped by things like Terrakion/Keldeo, which are common scarfers. Jolly is pretty necessary. However, the fastest scarfer you would possibly need to beat is Starmie, so take 20 EVs out of speed and put in some bulk.

 

[nyttyn]

Cawmodore is fucking impossible to use atm. Every team and their mother after like 1300 has way too many anti-cawmodore options to make it worth using. srk1214's team alone shows how disgustingly overprepared people are for cawmodore, and how abusive people are being of it.

I honestly have no clue how well Cawmodore is doing, because people are abusing counter-teaming it for wins since the number one spot gets considerable perks, so all the people trying to win just go anti-cawmodore.

It is incredibly dumb.

 

[Garchompi]

Considering the current metagame is cenetered around countering Cawmodore, I find this set to be better than the standard Belly Drum set:

Cawmodore@Life Orb
Trait: Volt Absorb
Jolly nature
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
-Screech
-Drain Punch
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit

This set aims to surprise scarfers/priority users who resist Bullet Punch, only to fail to be met by a Screech on the switch, fail to deal enough damage to a Cawmodore with full HP and either take a +2, LO-boosted attack or switch out. Screech's 85% accuracy can be a letdown, but other than that it can seriously screw up common checks.

 

[Birkal]

Remember that the playtest ladder has under a week left to go! Use this time to up your ranking. Cawmodore will only be available for one more week in the BW2 OU Metagame. Thanks to everyone that has participated thus far.

 

[Bramblestein]

So this is my first official post on a forum here, and I'm sitting at about mid 1700s for the CAP Playtest, and the set that I've been using on Cawmodore is:

Cawmodore@Flying Gem
Ability: Volt Absorb
Jolly Nature
252 Atk/252 Spe
Acrobatics
Drain Punch
Bullet Punch
Belly Drum

It's a pretty standard set, and once it gets set up it can sweep an entire team with little to no problems. Anyway, the real reason my team has been having so much success I think, is that I've been running it in conjunction with Prankster Liepard, who is a great partner that can use priority to completely disable an enemy Pokemon, and let CAP switch in, set up, and run a sweep. It's especially useful for taking out counters such as Scarf Keldo, thanks to paralysis.

 

[Vryheid]

snip

Have fun as your entire team of "checks" is obliterated by Sub Salac Cawmodore, who can set up for free on a trapped Volt Switch or Tricked electric type move and proceed to OHKO every single one of your Pokemon (except Jirachi, who loses to Drain Punch anyways). There are no guaranteed checks for Cawmodore, let alone anything resembling a counter. Frankly I'm surprised people are still using these mediocre Sitrus Berry sets, because Salac Berry allows it to obliterate Scarf Wash Rotom, Scarf Heatran, Scarf Keldeo, and pretty much everything else that could possibly claim to threaten it as it sets up.

Did I mention this Pokemon is horribly overpowered, and most people are just using it wrong?

 

[Birkal]

And just like that, our CAP6 playtest is officially over! It always surprises me how quickly this time goes by. Thanks to everyone who participated. Below, I've listed everyone who participated on the ladder with enough battles to get out of the provisional rating. Let's see who ranked where:

Click here.​

Our Playtest Champion this time around was none other than our previous champion: PttP! He's also known commonly as ballabrown24, and dodrio on IRC. We don't have a prize in mind for him, since we did recently switch to Xenforo, making custom titles kind of obsolete. We'll try to think something up; note that this win will count towards him earning a CAP Contributor badge. Congrats!

Although the playtest is over, we'd still love to hear your thoughts and impressions about it in this thread. Please share any logs, teams, or ideas that you have at this time. See you all next playtest! Thanks again for participating.