CAP 18 CAP18 - Part 9 - Complete Movepool Submissions

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WIP
Bold=RM
Italic=Outclassed/Reapeated

1 Scald
1 Ember
1 Constrict
1 Leer
4 Peck
9 Leech Life
14 Clear Smog
20 Swagger
26 Flame Burst
33 Flamethrower
39 Flatter
44 Toxic
49 Scald
55 Fire Blast
55 Hydro Pump
64 Memento

Mostly general Fire/Water type Pokemon, vampire, and squid design parts. I'm amazed that I fit so many RMs in it!

TM06 Toxic
TM09 Venoshock
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM17 Protect
TM18 Rain Dance
TM21 Frustration
TM27 Return
TM28 Dig
TM29 Psychic
TM32 Double Team
TM33 Reflect
TM34 Sludge Wave
TM35 Flamethrower
TM38 Fire Blast
TM40 Aerial Ace
The rest is WIP.

The rest is WIP.
 
Final Submission
Bold=RM
Italics=repeated/outclassed rm
0-overheatHS
0-Wrap
0-Bubble
0-Camouflage
0-Ember
7-Smokescreen
10-Leech life
14-Incinerate
19-Octozooka
25-Scary face
32-Water pulse
35-Will-o-wisp
39-Confuse ray
44-Lava plume
50-Scald
57-Whirlpool
60-Aqua ring
64-Memento
69-Hydro pump
18 moves
6 RM's


TM06 toxic
TM10 Hidden power
TM15 Hyper beam
TM17 Protect
TM21 Frustration
TM27 Return
TM32 Double team
TM33 Reflect
TM34 Sludge wave
TM35 Flamethrower
TM38 Fire blast
TM41 Torment
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM45 Attract
TM46 Thief
TM48 Round
TM50 Overheat
TM55 Scald
TM56 Fling
TM59 Incinerate
TM61 Will-o-wisp
TM63 Embargo
TM66 Payback
TM68 Giga Impact
TM70 Flash
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep talk
TM89 U-turn
TM90 Substitute
TM91 Flash cannon
TM100 Confide
HM03 Surf
HM05 Waterfall
26 moves
16 RM's


Psybeam: Mantine, Octillery, Masquerain, Seaking
Aqua jet: Blastoise, clawitzer, Golduck, Kabutops, Dragonite, Azumarrill, Crawdaunt, Empoleon, Floatzel, Carracosta, Alamomola, Basculin
Aura sphere: blastoise, clawitzer
Clear smog: Golduck, Kingdra, Gastrodon, Wailord
Power gem: Corsola
Sludge: Swampert, Gastrodon
Destiny Bond: Malamar, Qwilfish,Sharpedo

7 moves
5 RM's


Overheat is to give him a slightly more powerful stab to nuke the opponent, and encourages volkraken to switch to lucario to pick it off with priority. Will-o-wisp, scald, and lava plume are all ways of inflicting burn. Hydro pump and fire blast are obligatory hard hitting stab, while flamethrower and surf are more reliable. Reflect helps patch up his weaker defense, sludge wave and flash cannon help against fairies, and u-turn is pivoting. Clear smog helps deal with setup sweepers while aura sphere helps in extremely niche sets. Hidden power gives it a little extra coverage. Finally, destiny bond and memento are the ultimate sacrifice to kill a threat while memento helps lucario set up.


Camouflage, Octozooka, smokescreen and wrap emphasize the octopus element while ember, bubble, incinerate, water pulse, hydro pump, fire blast, flamethrower, surf, waterfall, and aqua ring are obligatory moves for his types. Scald is the most obvious move for his typing. I mean it is boiling water on a water and fire type! Aqua jet showcases squids' movement using just that while leech life is typical of vampires. Lava plume makes sense with underwater volcanoes. Flash, will-o-wisp(which are lights), confuse ray, and flash cannon play off the bioluminescence. Memento, embargo, thief, payback, fling, destiny bond, and torment make it evil like vampires are, kraken caused whirlpools, and its fake face is scary. Also, return, frustration, double team, protect, confide, substitute, rest, sleep talk, toxic, swagger, hyper beam, round, facade, attract, and giga impact are learned by nearly all pokèmon. Finally, aura sphere seems like something a vampire would channel, sludge, smokescreen, and sludge wave can be ink and Psybeam is on many cephalopod pokèmon.


Total
52 moves
28 RM's
 
Final Submission

Bold = RM
Italics = Outclassed RM/Repeated

  • ---: Power Gem
  • ---: Smokescreen
  • ---: Constrict
  • ---: Leer
  • ---: Peck
  • 4: Water Gun
  • 4: Ember
  • 8: Leech Life
  • 11: Wrap
  • 14: Whirlpool
  • 14: Fire Spin
  • 17: Confuse Ray
  • 21: Camouflage
  • 24: Aqua Jet
  • 24: Flame Burst
  • 28: Feint Attack
  • 32: Air Cutter
  • 34: Scald
  • 34: Lava Plume
  • 39: Scary Face
  • 42: Refresh
  • 44: Hydro Pump
  • 44: Fire Blast
  • 50: Memento
Moves: 24
RMs: 8 + 1 outclassed.


  • TM06: Toxic
  • TM10: Hidden Power
  • TM11: Sunny Day
  • TM15: Hyper Beam
  • TM17: Protect
  • TM18: Rain Dance
  • TM20: Safeguard
  • TM21: Frustration
  • TM27: Return
  • TM32: Double Team
  • TM34: Sludge Wave
  • TM35: Flamethrower
  • TM38: Fire Blast
  • TM42: Façade
  • TM44: Rest
  • TM45: Attract
  • TM48: Round
  • TM50: Overheat
  • TM55: Scald
  • TM61: Will-O-Wisp
  • TM68: Giga Impact
  • TM70: Flash
  • TM87: Swagger
  • TM88: Sleep Talk
  • TM89: U-Turn
  • TM90: Substitute
  • TM100: Confide
  • HM03: Surf
Total: 26 + 2 repeats
RMs: 16 + 3 repeats


Egg Groups: Amorphous & Water 2
  • Brine (Wailmer, Wailord, Frillish, Jellicent, Alomomola)
  • Dive (Wailmer, Wailord, Relicanth)
  • Spite (Misdreavus, Mismagius, Shuppet, Banette, Spiritomb)
  • Clear Smog (Koffing, Weezing)
  • Destiny Bond (Koffing, Weezing, Qwilfish)
  • Tickle (Wailmer, Wailord, Finneon, Lumineon, Alomomola) (Chain Breed)
Total: 6 (hopefully you can count that)
RMs: 2 (you'd better be able to count that ;) )


Total Moves: 56
Total RMs: 27
Total AMs: 32
Total NAMs: 24
  • Egg Groups: Amorphous because squids are completely gelatinous outside of their beak, eyes, and inner shell; Water 2 because that's where the other cephalopods are. Both of these Egg Groups also have members that are invaluable to passing on the Egg Moves I needed.
  • Paired-up level-up moves: I feel Volkraken should represent fire and water equally, and not showing mastery over one type earlier is a good way of doing that. It's also unique from other Pokemon and submissions.
  • Cramming the majority of the RMs into TMs: This is mostly because the moves didn't have other-STAB counterparts (like Flamethrower and WoW) or I needed the space for flavor moves.
  • Flavor moves:
    • Peck: Squids have beaks, man. It's also why the Inkay line gets it.
    • Leech Life, Air Cutter: These play off of the vampiric aspect. It does have wing-like fins on its head.
    • Brine: It lives in deep saltwater.
    • Tickle: It rapes tickles you with its tentacles, despite the Pokemon that it gets the move from all lacking it.
  • Also, I envision this Pokemon as being a standalone.
 
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Final Submission

Late submission is late. DetroitLolcat's post brought up some really good points that I don't think enough movepools represent. This, including a lot of my own requirements, is what this movepool is based on. Flavo(u)r wise, due to Volkrakens Fire/Warer typing, I wanted to create a very haphazardous and chaotic movepool.

Highlights: No substitute, No Scald/Lava Plume, No SR, No U-turn, Poison Coverage, Overheat, Pain Split, Aromatherapy.

Bold = RM
* = Outclassed/Repeated

Total RMs: 29
Total Moves: 56

Start Aura Sphere
Start Leech Life
Start Tail Slap
Start Water Gun
2 Leech Life*
7 Constrict
13 Psybeam
17 Camouflage
24 Wing Attack
26 Bubble Beam
33 Confuse Ray

38 Power Gem
41 Horn Leech

45 Eerie Impulse
52 Flash Cannon
59 Dream Eater
61 Hydro Pump
72 Inferno


06-Toxic
10-Hidden Power

11-Sunny Day
15-Hyper Beam

17-Protect
18-Rain Dance
21-Frustration
26-Earthquake

27-Return*
32-Double Team

34-Sludge Wave
35-Flamethrower
38-Fire Blast

41-Torment
42-Facade

44-Rest
45-Attract
46-Thief

50-Overheat
59-Incinerate
61-Will-O-Wisp
62-Acrobatics
63-Embargo

68-Giga Impact
70-Flash

84-Poison Jab
85-Dream Eater*
87-Swagger
88-Sleep Talk

91-Flash Cannon*
100-Confide
HM03-Surf


Aqua Ring
Aromatherapy
Clear Smog
Memento

Pain Split


STABs: Fire Blast/Flamethrower/Surf/Hydro Pump are all a given.

No Scald/Lava Plume: DetriotLolcat explained it perfectly - Volkraken best fits into our given core by being a wall breaking pivot while a bulky support spread is much more independent, being able to fit on many teams. By taking out the two main draws to such a spread, we make it slightly inferior to what we want Volraken to be doing, which is perfectly where we want such a spread to stand.

I know everyone and their pet dog is having a circle jerk over scald being mandatory flavor, but outside of typing, Volkraken has no correlation with hot/boiling water.

Coverage: Poison coverage is necessary to beat fairies 1 on 1. Fighting coverage and rock coverage don't exactly hit a whole lot, however, because they don't threaten anything we don't want it to, they do more good than harm.

Overheat: We need this to be able to reliably OHKO Aegislash. Tanking 2 shadow balls and a shadow sneak is a big no-no.

No U-Turn: The only things it does damage to are things we don't want it to, sacrifices nuking something to use, and the only thing we get out of it is momentum - something that could fit into any core.

Clear Smog: So CM/CP Clefable doesn't shit on us.

No substitute: Using it to alleviate prediction isn't viable as we lose out on analytic, so pretty much the only thing it's good for is annoying Chansey/Blissey and baton passing. Ignoring the "every Pokemon has it," I can't think of any logical argument as to how baton passing substitutes does enough for our core to warrant forgoing pain split and being more equip to deal with our counters.

Pain Split: If we expect to be able to switch into Aegislash multiple times, we're gonna need some way to recover HP.

No Stealth Rock: This will add Volkraken the list of SR setters, giving it more usage outside our core. While it does help lucario sweep, it also helps every sweeper sweep and ends up just making Volkraken better individually.

Aromatherapy: If lucario get's burned or latios gets paralyzed/toxic'd, it's over. The ability to save our core from one of it's biggest fears is a life send. Given, this is in a similar boat of SR as a "good overall" move, however, unlike SR, a cleric/status absorber is something our core needs to be successful.


Acrobatics/Constrict/Tail Slap/Bubble Beam/Camouflage: Various references to Volkraken's squid like features. Constrict and Tail Slap = Tentacles, Bubbble Beam = Propulsion, Camouflage = well... Camouflage, Acrobatics = Have you fucking seen these things on animal planet?

Eerie Impulse/Flash/Flash Cannon/Confuse Ray/Psybeam: Moves using bioluminescence.

Dream Eater/Horn Leech/Leech Life: Go Twilight or go home.

Inferno: Hell. Demons. Squid.

Thief/Torment: This thing looks evil to me, so I really wanted to bring that out.

Rain Dance/Sunny Day: This was simply a ying and yang aspect to the typing that really excited me.

Wing Attack: Those wings on its mantles outta be good for somethin'.
 
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I know I tagged mine as a final submission, but there's a few things I'm still unsure on.

I'm considering removing Lava Plume because of the points DLC mentioned. We're supposed to use Fire Blast as our main source of damage, and Will-o-Wisp as a source of burning things. In all honesty, I wouldn't ever choose the combination of Hydro Pump and Lava Plume over Fire Blast and Scald because the clean Aegislash OHKO is too important. Still, it's not like Aegislash will be easily salvaged from taking a Lava Plume, especially if it gets burned, and using Hydro Pump over Scald handles Heatran better.

Overheat is something else I'm torn on, and I've noticed people who have previously excluded it have decided to add it in. I still don't like Overheat because it's just unnecessary fluff in the movepool. It's noticeably stronger than Fire Blast and if Volkraken always switches out after the first attack, then the drawback is removed. The drawback of having Overheat in the movepool doesn't make too much of an impact when you think about it, and the main reason I may want to include it is simply because I might get shafted for flavor reasons in the polls if I get slated and Overheat doesn't really hurt the concept too much.

I agree with alexwolf on Stealth Rock and Heal Bell. It's best if the core is as self-sustained as possible. I'm under the assumption that the standard set will consist of Hydro Pump/Fire Blast/Will-o-Wisp/filler, so why not use that moveslot on Stealth Rock or Heal Bell? They're some of the best options to support our core, and if Volkraken has access to those moves, the rest of the team can more easily cover holes that the core can't cover.
 
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Final Submission

Felt like I've lurked enough and hopefully I've understood enough to make a sound/eligible post.

Bold = RM

1 Power Gem
1 Wrap
1 Smokescreen
1 Leech Life
1 Whirlpool
5 Fire Spin
9 Water Pulse
13 Fire Fang
17 Feint Attack
21 Confuse Ray
25 Aqua Jet
29 Will-o-wisp

33 Scary Face
37 Scald
41 Heat Wave

45 Dive
49 Hydro Pump
53 Haze
57 Inferno
61 Memento

20 Moves Total
8 Restricted Moves


* = required

TM06- Toxic*
TM10- Hidden Power*

TM15- Hyper Beam*
TM17- Protect*
TM18- Rain Dance
TM21- Frustration*
TM27- Return*

TM32- Double Team*
TM33- Reflect
TM35- Flamethrower
TM38- Fire Blast

TM41- Torment
TM42- Facade*
TM44- Rest*

TM45- Attract*
TM46- Thief
TM48- Round*
TM49- Echoed Voice
TM50- Overheat
TM55- Scald

TM59- Incinerate
TM60- Quash
TM61- Will-o-wisp
TM63- Embargo
TM66- Payback
TM68- Giga Impact*
TM70- Flash
TM85- Dream Eater
TM87- Swagger*
TM88- Sleep Talk*
TM90- Substitute*
TM91- Flash Cannon

TM100- Confide*
HM03- Surf

34 Total Moves
19 Restricted Moves (Return/Frustration as 1)


Octazooka
Clear Smog
Baton Pass
Destiny Bond
Sucker Punch


5 Total moves
4 Restricted Moves


Level-up

Level-up Movepool- It's early movepool consists of the usual cephalophod-related moves + trapping moves like Fire Spin/Whirlpool. I see it as more of a hunter that baits/dazzles/strikes fear in its prey with its eerie flames then attacks sneakily (explains moves like Confuse Ray/Scary Face). It has a pseudo-Dark typing with its design and way of hunting in my head so I also added moves like Feint Attack. Smokescreen is there not so much for the ink but more referencing the fire type in its typing, creating a dark cloud then using its eerie flames to confuse/intimidate enemies before striking. Power Gem is mostly for coverage against MegaCharizard-Y/Volcarona and the things on its head look similar enough to a gem so it's workable.

Water type moves in level-up movepool- Wanted to forgo the usual Bubble/Water Gun moves that seem too generic and decided to add moves that either support it's hunting methods (Whirlpool/Water Pulse as confusion/trapping behaviour) or the deep sea habitat such as Dive. Aqua Jet as priority is appreciated in a battle plus it again seems sound flavour-wise for a hunter in the deep ocean.

Fire type moves in level-up movepool- since the habitat is the deep sea I restricted the fire moves with ones that are more either heat-based (Heat Wave aka "Hot Wind"), referencing the dark/mysterious flames and design (Will-o-wisp goes with it's mysterious looking blue flames/Inferno for an abyssal hell image) or specific moves that relate to hunting methods (Fire Spin for trapping while Fire Fang to inflict burns when biting prey- also refers to the spikes in its tentacles/Vampire with a fire twist). That said I'm not really sure Fire Fang is a RM in this case since it's a very poor choice with Volkraken's attack stat and is mostly flavour.

Exclusions

No Lava Plume- Either choose with a good chance of burning through Will-o-wisp or firepower via Flamethrower/Fire Blast. Also flavour-wise I really can't see it produce Lava out of it's body, it's main flame source are the light-producing parts of it's body. Also, while not really relevant to single battles Lava Plume is a bit too superior in multi-battles since it hits everyone.

No Waterfall- it's a pokemon based on the very deep sea and it's also part-Fire type so rising up a waterfall seems like the very opposite of what it's nature is. Also I feel competitively it wouldn't use the move anyway especially with that Attack stat and since there's no reason for it I felt I could take it off and maybe make room for other RMs.

No U-turn- I feel it does too much damage to my liking to Lati@s and possibly the blobs, I feel Baton Pass would be the better option for a momentum move. That said, I've also removed Flame Charge to purely focus on passing Subs and as a result, have removed Pain Split as well so we can still be checked by blobs.

No Stealth Rock/Heal Bell- I feel it would be too distracting and SR would take the focus on Volkraken away from the specific core. Heal Bell is slightly the same and I had a hard time putting in- the alternate workaround could be the Substitute+Pass to prevent status for Lucario/Latias. It's not as ideal as healing teammate status but I feel the focus is more to get rid of core threats anyway and at least with Baton Pass, there is still momentum.

'Extras' movepool

Flavour TM choices- Flash is obvious because of bioluminescent flames. Dream Eater refers to vampiric nature while Dark moves like Torment/Embargo just reinforce the pseudo-Dark nature of the design and hunting methods of disabling/restricting prey's actions. No Sunny Day as I feel a deep-sea pokemon wouldn't really have access to summoning sunlight plus it helps discourage something like Sunny Day+Overheat which seems like a nuke damage-wise (seems like a bad idea anyway).

Competitive TM choices- Flash Cannon references its bioluminescence and gives needed coverage for Fairies. I felt Sludge Wave was not needed as the fairy it does hit (Azumarill) is crippled by burn anyway (and a chance of poison can ruin that). Substitute gives Lucario some 101 HP support and is the only thing I feel should be Baton Passed (hence no Flame Charge). Payback has slight synergy with Analytic although Volkraken has better moves to choose from with its poor Attack stat. Reflect to support the teammates (and again 'light') while Overheat allows a one turn nuke when desperately needed.

Egg moves- Octazooka for flavour and something unique as a water move compared to Jellicent/Tentacruel and backing up the confound-then-strike attack as a hunting method. Clear Smog as a way to reset stat boosts and go with the smokey/steamy nature of the Fire/Water type combo. Baton Pass to maintain momentum in a battle and to pass Subs to Latias/Lucario. Destiny Bond for a last ditch move to take down a problem counter. Sucker Punch extends the idea of its hunting methods as water types with bioluminescence can also learn it (Lanturn/Huntail) and can be used against Aegislash/Gengar- although it will be limited because of poor Attack/no STAB.


57 Total moves
29 Restricted Moves
 
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bugmaniacbob

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As a general note if you make changes to your movepools and you want me to add those changes to the giant spreadsheet then it helps to PM/VM since I'm not actually checking each and every movepool for changes

Some errors in recent movepools:

P2X7 and Hoping4megasceptile Toxic, Swagger, Sleep Talk, Facade, Rest etc are all RMs but you haven't marked them as such

FireArrow you are lacking Facade

Don't have time to go over all of the movepools posted since the last post but just want to quickly say that I disagree with DLC on Lava Plume; I had the impression that the objectionable quality of Volkraken at present was the absurd level of power, and I'm not certain what a "defensive" set has to offer that is preferable in this instance. Certainly if it doesn't have any form of HP recovery, which I'm currently opposed to in general. In short, then, that a move with flavour benefits is not cluttering, especially when most of the movepools already presented are nowhere near the limits suggested. Same deal with Overheat in that I'm not sure what situation would make it preferable to Fire Blast, or rather I haven't been able to come up with one.

Though in fairness it should be mentioned that Volcanion also lacks Lava Plume, so despite the Type-Move suggestion, its exclusion is not without precedent.

Good luck to all movepool submitters.
 
Final Submission :

Bold = RM
Italic=Doubles

Distinctive feature : No Lava Plume, No Overheat, No Sludge Wave, Heat Wave, Pin Missile, Baton Pass, Heal Bell, Refresh, No SR.

00-Heat wave
00-Clear Smog
01-Leech Life
01-Wrap
01-Bubble
04-Leer
08-Astonish
13-Smokescreen
17-Camouflage
21-Refresh (doubles with Aromatherapy)
25-Octazooka
25-Spike Cannon
30-Pin Missile
34-Flame Burst (doubles with Flamethrower)
38-Mud Bomb
42-Mean Look
46-Memento
50-Scary Face
55-Inferno
60-Hydro Pump

RMs : 5
Total moves : 20
Moves are learned by an usual order : first very weak moves such as leech life/wrap/bubble, then some support (but still useless) moves. I supposed the evolution took place on level 25, and gave it two caracteristic moves, namely Octazooka and Spike Cannon, both fitting well with its Art work. Flavor is based on several points : first, Volkraken has spikes on its tentacles, that's why I put Spike canon(amonistar also does), and pin missile. The design of the face made me choose moves such as Astonish, Leer, Mean look and Scary face. As it is an octopus, it obviously has Octazooka. An octopus creates ink, so it made me choose stuff like Clear Smog, Smokescreen and camouflage to a lesser extent. As a vampire, it had to learn Leech life, and some moves like Memento, Astonish or Mean Look fitted well too (reference to Golbat). Other moves are moves usually seen on water/fire-types, Mud Bomb is a personal (and unique) choice because I easily see it send a mud bomb, and inferno because I wanted it to be inkferno. Note that it starts and keeps learning in-game viable moves from level 42.
This movepool is largely inspired by Golbat, Tentacruel, Malamar, Omastar and Octillery's ones.

TM:
06-Toxic
09-Venoshock
10-Hidden Power
11-Sunny Day
15-Hyper Beam
17-Protect
18-Rain Dance
21-Frustration
27-Return (doubles with frustration)
32-Double Team
33-Reflect
35-Flamethrower
38-Fire Blast
42-Facade
44-Rest
45-Attract
46-Thief
48-Round
55-Scald
59-Incinerate
61-Will-o-Wisp
68-Giga Impact
70-Flash
87-Swagger
88-Sleep Talk
89-U-turn
90-Substitute
91-Flash Cannon
100-Confide

HM:
03-Surf
05-Waterfall

RMs : 19
Total Moves : 31
Apart from Required moves, there isn't much things there. I like Venoshock on it, Flash is classical, Incinerate because most Fire-types learn it and finally I added Thief because I realized it can make it with its tentacles.

-Power Gem
-Haze
-Dive
-Whirlpool
-Baton Pass
-Heal Bell

RMs : 3
Total Moves : 6
I chose here some generic moves, RM moves that didn't fit well with its Art work, and others Octopus-related moves such as Haze and Whirlpool. Tentacruel learns Haze in egg moves, and so does Octillery. Whirlpool is really a thing that Krakens should be able to do.

Total RMs : 27
Total Moves : 57

Physical ARM :
-U-turn
-Facade, Return/Frustration
-Pin Missile
-Waterfall

Special ARM :

-Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Surf, Flamethrower
-Hidden Power
-Heat Wave
-Scald
-Flash Cannon
-Power Gem
-Clear Smog

NARM :
-Toxic, Protect, Rest, Swagger, Sleep Talk
-Will-o-Wisp
-Memento
-Rain Dance
-Reflect
-Substitute
-Baton Pass
-Heal Bell


I chosed the strict necessary in term of attacking coverage : I think Power Gem and Flash Cannon are mandatory, while Sludge Wave is not and is way too powerfull with a too good coverage. I was convinced by DLC and removed Lava Plume from my movepool, however it would be a silly thing not giving it Scald. As DLC said, we will always be running Lava Plume+Hydro Pump or Scald+Fire Blast, or even Will-o-Wisp. And the best option here is surely Scald+Fire Blast, because it can OHKO Aegislash. I am basically against Overheat, it's a move that requires no mind and no prediction, you'll just have to spam it, then switch. Plus, you often lose mementum doing so, thus I find that we shouldn't allow it. I added both U-turn and Baton Pass, because I think gaining mementum is vital, moreover it allows some SubPass, and I really think Lati twin will be affected a lot by U-turn as they can just Roost. While I'm really fond of Heal Bell/Refresh on it (getting rid of toxic from aegi-like, burn for Lucario, making it a more self-reliant core), I was right from the start absolutely against SR. Obviously, we can OHKO many more things with it, but that's true with any kind of sweeper. Moreover, pokemon threaten by SR, namely Bug-, Fire- and Flying- types are also threaten by Volkraken, with the exception of the Flying one (as V4LOVER said), which can't handle easily Analytic-boosted attacks. Definitively, I think it would encourage the use of Volkraken outside of the core, because I really think it can be a great setter (don't tell me its role is not to set up rock but to sweep, or I'll talk you about Garchomp and Tyranitar).


Now, I want to explain a little bit what was the purpose of the stats I posted earlier. We can conclude some things with it : which RM are most common, and that way which submissions don't have it, what clearly distinguish themselves. But also which RM are in nearly no movepool, and thus which movepool have it, what again distinguish them. Finally, there are some moves that receives about half distribution. Those one will make the difference between "Classical" movepools.
Then, in the flavor moves, we can see that there are a lot of moves found on a unique movepool, so I don't think this will make the difference. On the contrary, we have a kind of "Top 9", composed with Flash, Incinerate, Leech Life, Scary Face, Camouflage, Constrict and Octazooka. I don't say I won't vote for the movepools that don't have it ( as I don't have Constrict nor Ember for instance), but it can make the difference, and the lack of Leech Life+Scary Face+Octazooka can be disqualificating. Yet, very common move don't already means good one to add, as I don't really like Ember or Bubble Beam for example, while Slam can be a cool option. Finally, I'll say that you really should add Inferno, that's so flavor wise ><

A little summary of all submission, with notable things :
Salt the Flesh : No Overheat, No U-turn, No Sludge Wave, No Reflect, Baton Pass, SR, Heal Bell, presence of 7/9 preferred flavor moves (no Camouflage/Ember), unique Supersonic (Your movepool and RM are really cool, surely my favorite one apart from mine of course)

V4LOVER : No Sludge Wave, U-turn, Unique Drill peck(if added), Baton Pass, Destiny Bond, No SR, presence of 8/9 preferred flavor moves (no Octazooka), no Inferno, unique Pluck and Needle Arm (some original choices in flavor, and good RM too)

jas61292
: No U-turn, No Sludge Wave, Poison Jab, No Baton Pass, No SR, presence of 5/9 preferred flavor moves (no Leech life/Scary face/Camouflage/Smokescreen), unique Endure and Focus Energy (I don't like this thing with Overheat, I'm not keen on your RMs and you lack many good flavor choices imo)

Deck Knight
: No U-turn, No Power Gem, Sludge Wave, SR, Baton Pass, presence of 5/9 preferred flavor moves (no Leech Life/ Scary Face/Constrict/Ember), unique Rock Blast and poison-based moves (I like the opposite of your movepool lol)

Dragonblaze052
: No Overheat, Aurasphere, Nature Power, No Reflect, No SR, No Baton Pass, No Sunny Day/Rain Dance, Heal Bell, presence of 8/9 preferred flavor moves (no Scary Face), No Inferno, really unique flavor movepool (You're not my favorite, but I like your initiative, and you have Heal Bell so that's cool)

Kappaten
: No Lava Plume, U-turn, No Flash Cannon, Sludge Wave, Gunk Shot, No Reflect, No SR, No Baton Pass, Destiny Bond, Haze, Refresh, 6/9 preferred flavor moves (no Flash/Leech Life/Ember), dark movepool (I don't really like your RM choices, and your flavor submission can appear as too basic)

Qwilphish
: Well, the Pain Split no Substitute man, with many weird choices like Healing wish (I'm not in favor of it because Latias can do that too) and no Power gem/Flash Cannon, I say Wynaut but I don't think you'll have many votes. I can be wrong though

Korski
: No Lava Plume, No Clear Smog, No Sludge Wave, U-turn, Heat Wave, Payback, No SR, No Baton Pass, Destiny Bond, 5/9 preferred flavor moves (no Camouflage/Octazooka/Ember/Smokescreen), dark movepool with unique Assurance (not against but not in favor of your movepool, it lacks some things but is still good)

Toebag
: No Lava Plume, No Sludge Wave, U-turn, Poison Jab, SR, Baton Pass, Haze, 3/9 preferred flavor moves (namely Flash, Scary Face and Constrict), unusual movepool including Spike Cannon, Mud-slap and Poison Fang (Your RM movepool is ok, you have good flavor moves but also lacks a lot of ones)

The Pizza Man
: Aurasphere, U-turn, Sludge Wave, No Baton Pass, SR, 8/9 preferred flavor moves (no Smokescreen), nothing in particular (Your submission is certainly the less controversial one, however it may be lacks some originality/personal choices. That's not really a drawback though)

The Reptile
: No Flash Cannon, No Power Gem, No Clear Smog, No Sludge Wave, Heat Wave, U-turn, No SR, No Baton Pass, 6/9 (no Constrict/Ember/Smokescreen), unique Pursuit (On the contrary, you made a lot of personal choices, giving our CAP nearly zero coverage. Why such a decision?)

escarlata
: No Overheat, No U-turn, No Sludge Wave, No Reflect, No SR, No Sunny Day, Destiny Bond, Baton Pass, Refresh, 5/9 (no Scary Face/Camouflage/Constrict/Ember), unique Screech (I'm not fan of RM decision taken with flavor arguments. However your flavor movepool looks good, and overall I like your submission)

Toa Tahu
: No U-turn, Sludge Wave, Rock Slide, Nature Power, No Reflect, No Sunny Day, SR, Baton Pass, 8/9 (no Constrict), nothing in particular (I don't really understand Rock Slide. I don't like your RM choices either, and your flavor movepool has nothing spectacular)

Hoping4megasceptile
: Aurasphere, U-turn, Sludge Wave, Payback, No SR, Destiny Bond, No Baton Pass, No Sunny Day/Rain Dance, 7/9 (no Flash/Constrict), nothing in particular (It looks like you just put all the attacking moves in your movepool and removed NA moves for obscure reasons)

P2X7
: Healing Wish, No Lava Plume, No U-turn, No Clear Smog, No Sludge Wave, Fire Fang, Sucker Punch, No SR, Baton Pass, No Sunny Day/Rain Dance, 6/9 (no Camouflage/Octazooka/Smokescreen), some unique moves (I am sceptic about you, because no Octazooka Healing Wish is not really a great idea, and I don't understand why Sucker Punch)

Yoshuriken
: No U-turn, No Clear Smog, Sludge Wave, Fire Fang, No SR, Baton Pass, 7/9 (no Camouflage/Constrict), nothing in particular (Your flavor movepool is actually ok, but I disagree with your RM choices)

Bull of heaven
: U-turn, Sludge Wave, Payback, No Baton Pass, No Sunny Day/Rain Dance, Destiny Bond, SR, Heal Bell, 4/9 (namely Flash, Incinerate, Scary Face and Ember), unique Night Shade and Psych up (The only RM choice I like is Heal bell, and Night Shade is in fact good for flavor, but that's all)

Dry Paratroopa
: No Flash Cannon, Sludge Wave, U-turn, No Reflect, No SR, No Baton Pass, Destiny Bond, Refresh, 7/9 (no Incinerate/Octazooka), unique Air Cutter (I prefer Flash Cannon over Sludge Wave, and Air Cutter is weird)

FireArrow
: Aurasphere, No Lava Plume, No Scald, U-turn, Sludge Wave, Horn Leech, Acrobatics, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Pain Split, No Substitute, No Reflect, No SR, No Baton Pass, Heal Bell, 3/9, unique Tail Slap and Wing Attack (You wanted to make the thing noone has made, and I don't think that's a success. Indeed, you didn't understand that DLC advised to put both Substitute and Pain Split, but without Scald. Moreover, I don't even know if your movepool is eligible, due to the lot of controversial RM you put, such as Horn Leech against Rotom-W, Acrobatics against Keldeo or Earthquake. I didn't make any calcs, but I definitively don't like your submission.)


Yeah, work finished :) I won't add further submissions, it was an enough hard work for me. Now I can rest in peace.
 
Last edited:
Alright, my 11th-hour Final submission.

I took people's feedback, thought about it, and made some changes:

-Sludge Wave and Rock Slide were removed
-Fury Attack, Punishment, Smack Down, and Payback were added
-Octazooka is now an egg move

So without further ado, here it is:


RMs in Bold

01-Ember
01-Wrap
01-Leech Life
07-Smokescreen
13-Bubblebeam
18-Fury Attack
22-Mist
25-Scary Face
29-Clear Smog
33-Flame Burst
37-Confuse Ray
41-Punishment
44-Scald
48-Lava Plume
52-Block
56-Power Gem
61-Hydro Pump
65-Overheat
70-Memento
RMs-7
Moves-19

TM06-Toxic
TM09-Venoshock
TM10-Hidden Power
TM15-Hyper Beam
TM17-Protect
TM18-Rain Dance
TM21-Frustration
TM23-Smack Down
TM27-Return
TM32-Double Team
TM33-Reflect
TM35-Flamethrower
TM38-Fire Blast
TM41-Torment
TM42-Facade
TM44-Rest
TM45-Attract
TM48-Round
TM50-Overheat
TM55-Scald
TM59-Incinerate
TM60-Quash
TM61-Will-O-Wisp
TM66-Payback
TM68-Giga Impact
TM70-Flash
TM87-Swagger
TM88-Sleep Talk
TM90-Substitute
TM91-Flash Cannon
TM96-Nature Power
TM100-Confide
HM03-Surf
HM05-Waterfall
RMs-22
Moves-34

Baton Pass
Tickle
Camouflage
Stealth Rock
Octazooka
RMs-2
Moves-5

Total moves-56
Total RMs-28

Some thoughts on flavor: I definitely feel an underlying Dark-type to Volkraken's design. Consequently, I added several Dark moves for flavor (and even some competitive ones!) I also tried to steer clear of flame-based Fire moves in the level-up movepool, since it's hard to make flames several miles underwater. This is also why I didn't include any physical Fire moves, since every physical Fire move is basically "cover body part X in flames and hit the opponent with it", and the only physical Fire TM, Flame Charge, is disallowed. I didn't include Heat Wave because its Japanese name is translated as "Hot Wind", which implies it is used in the air rather than water. Finally, I'd like to talk about the reasoning behind my more unique flavor choices, Punishment and Block. Volkraken clearly has some demonic elements to its design. In western mythology, demons are found in Hell, a place that serves as eternal punishment for sinners. Thus, Punishment makes perfect sense flavor-wise. As for Block, I envision Volkraken as a deep-sea predator that traps its foes in its tentacles and roasts them with its Fire attacks, so Block makes sense.

Once again, thank you all for reading this and for the feedback.
 
Last edited:
Final Submission

Bold = RM
* = Repeated
+ = Equivalent


00 Constrict
00 Leech Life
00 Leer
00 Water Gun
04 Peck
06 Camouflage
08 Ember
12 Bite
15 Flash *
17 Wrap
19 Feint Attack
23 Scary Face
26 Aqua Jet
24 Fire Fang
30 Scald
32 Charm
34 Fire Blast
38 Hydro Pump
41 Flatter
43 Will-O-Wisp
49 Dive
53 Heal Bell
57 Memento

I decided to embrace the vampire bit of Volkraken's design full-on, and have thus included a numerous amount of moves that fit flavor wise/moves that fit the underlying Dark-type in its design. Moves that represent the vampire's charisma— Charm and Flatter specifically— have been included for this reason, as have moves that represent the iconic vampire bite, such as Bite, Leech Life, and Fire Fang. Heal Bell also deserves a mention as a slight reference to the vampire's longevity. The level-up movepool also attempts to bring out the aforementioned Dark-type feel, with the inclusion of Dark-type attacks including Bite, Feint Attack, Flatter, and Memento. Aside from all this, basic moves that are fairly easy for a cephalopod to perform, such as Constrict, Peck, and Wrap have been added, and obligatory STAB moves ranging from Water Gun and Ember to Hydro Pump and Fire Blast are included as well, with Scald making a logical and almost mandatory appearance in the movepool. A viewer might notice that this submission has a distinct lack of ink-based moves, but this is because vampire squids do not actually utilize ink, instead relying on bioluminescence, and the simple light-based move Flash is a nice representation of this. The rest of the moves are present for varying reasons: Leer and Scary Face showcase Volkraken's false face; and Dive and Aqua Jet are examples of Volkraken's swimming abilities.


Quite a few of the moves Volkraken will likely be using are present here, such as Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Scald, and Will-O-Wisp. Memento is a viable option to weaken a foe in order to start a Lucario sweep once Volkraken's job is done. Heal Bell is an important support option, allowing Volkraken to cure its core members of crippling status conditions that would likely put them out of the game otherwise.


(Amorphous / Water 3 groups, 6 moves total, 5 RMs)

Baton Pass
Healing Wish
Power Gem
Reflect
Stealth Rock

Wide Guard

Power Gem and Reflect add to the selection of light-based moves available to Volkraken and represent advanced knowledge of Volkraken's innate bioluminescence, allowing it to use light as a weapon or as a method of protection. Wide Guard shouldn't technically be that hard for a squid to use given the length of its tentacles.


Baton Pass allows Volkraken to pivot out, granting it the ability to safely bring in Lucario or Latias, and can alternatively be used to pass 101 HP Substitutes, which either other member of the core would appreciate. Healing Wish allows Volkraken to give a sweeper (read: Lucario) a second chance once its job is done. Power Gem offers a valuable coverage option. Although the CAP process doesn't care about Doubles, seeing as both Lucario and Latias are weak to common spread moves, Wide Guard provides a way for Volkraken to support its fellow core members by blocking said spread moves. Stealth Rock allows Volkraken to support its core members by widening the amount of OHKOes/2HKOes Lucario can achieve, while its bulk and ability to force switches allows it to easily reset the hazard after Latias has cleared the field with Defog.


TM06 Toxic
TM10 Hidden Power
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM17 Protect
TM21 Frustration +
TM27 Return +
TM32 Double Team
TM35 Flamethrower
TM38 Fire Blast *
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM48 Round
TM50 Overheat
TM55 Scald *
TM59 Incinerate
TM60 Quash
TM61 Will-O-Wisp *
TM68 Giga Impact
TM70 Flash *
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM90 Substitute
TM91 Flash Cannon
TM100 Confide
HM03 Surf
HM05 Waterfall

A lot of commonly seen moves for Fire- and Water-types are included here, such as Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, Surf, Will-O-Wisp, Incinerate, and Waterfall. Flash Cannon is another way for Volkraken to weaponize its bioluminescence. Quash isn't too hard to imagine Volkraken using, as a being enveloped by a squid tends to slow things down.


The only things really of note here are Flamethrower and Overheat, which provide alternate Fire-type STAB options, Surf, which could be used as a Water STAB, Flash Cannon, which provides a way to beat Fairy-types, and Hidden Power.


51 moves total
28 RMs
 
I originally had facade but somehow I missed it while going over my final list - added. I'm unsure if the following paragraph pertains to me or is a general statement.

Ramplestilskin
While DLC may not have suggested no sub, it is my personal opinion that it shouldn't be on Volkraken. This isn't some kiss up submission based only around his logic (I mentioned him because it was his post that convinced me.) Additionally, to all the people not including lava plume but including scald - why bother? Scald is just a slightly better version of it (only water absorb Pokemon can switch in with impunity.)

As for controversial flavor moves I have, none of them have any competitive merit:
4 Atk Analytic Abomasnow Horn Leech vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 84-100 (26 - 30.9%) -- 5.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Analytic Abomasnow Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 56-66 (17.3 - 20.4%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Analytic Abomasnow Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 122-144 (37.7 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Analytic Abomasnow Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 144-169 (44.5 - 52.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Note that acrobatics cannot be used in conjunction with leftovers or a damage boosting item.
 

ginganinja

It's all coming back to me now
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Firstly, I really want to thank every single person that took the time to post, especially the ones that created a movepool submission. It was really wonderful to see the effort people put into justifying flavor / competitive moves, and it was really reflected in the quality of the submissions.

That said, making this particular slate was difficult due to similarities within movepools, which made picking a submission tough. Ideally, I would have liked to put through all of them, but after discussion with the TL, I have a final list of 8 submissions that are as follows:

V4 Lover
Korski
Deck Knight
Jas61292
Salt the Flesh
toebag
escarleta
Dragonblaze052


If you did not get slated, please don't be discouraged about submitting movepools in the future. As I said, it was a really tough decision to limit this movepool down, which unfortunately resulted in a few of you missing out.

Anyway, all that remains within this CAP process is the movepool poll, which will decide our final movepool for this cap. My humble apologies that it took a little longer than expected, but its here now. Thanks to everyone that posted anything during the creation of this CAP (especially the movepool stage since it helped me out tremendously), and its time to close things up. Lets get voting!
 

DetroitLolcat

Maize and Blue Badge Set 2014-2017
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
I've discussed the slate with the Movepool Leader for a while, and the slate in the post above this one is a consensus reached between the two of us. As such, I'm not going to modify this slate. I would like to extend sincere thanks to every movepool submitter, everyone who commented on the move pools in the forum and on IRC, and the Movepool leader for making this step in the process enjoyable and thought-provoking. Congratulations to the eight of you who will be duking it out in the polls over the next couple days.

And that's it on competitive discussions for CAP18. We're very close to the Final Product and what will hopefully be a great playtest! :)
 
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