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Welcome to the DPP CAP Hub! This thread will contain all information and discussion relating to DPP CAP, including viability rankings, speed tiers, and sample teams. Due to the development of DPP OU combined with DPP CAP's dormant state for the past decade, all old resources have unfortunately been rendered useless aside from archival purposes. Any metagame discussion is strongly encouraged, as modern DPP CAP has yet to develop past its alpha stage. In this post you will find a list of important mechanics that differ from modern generations and an index of the resources in this thread. Happy posting!
Burns will deal 1/8 of your HP every turn instead of 1/16.
Drain Punch has 60 BP instead of 75 BP.
Drain Punch has 8 PP instead of 16 PP
Knock Off has 25 BP instead of 65 BP, and will not increase in damage if hitting a Pokemon holding an item.
Arghonaut cannot learn Spikes.
Arghonaut cannot use both Bulk Up and Recover.
Arghonaut cannot use both Cross Chop and Recover
Kitsunoh cannot learn Close Combat.
Pyroak cannot learn Dragon Dance.
Revenankh cannot learn Will-o-Wisp.
Voodoom cannot learn Nasty Plot.
will keep descriptions short for sets that i feel are obvious/self explanatory.
Revenankh @ Leftovers
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Shadow Sneak
- Hammer Arm
- Rest
rev is quite frankly the best mon in dpp, by far. To keep it short , its great spdef , great defensive typing, above average attack , and great healing make it very hard to stop once the ball gets rolling. Due to its great bulk , it gets many opportunities throughout the game. Here are some mons it can setup v/s consistently : non cm rachi , clefable , defensive colossoil, non-encore fidgit, non ww hippo, non taunt gliscor, swampert , pyroak , stratagem , non psychic starmie, magnezone , cyclohm , suicune, machamp, locked in rotom , ttar , non bulk up breloom etc. After just 1 or two bulk ups , would be answers like flygon , latias , infernape , gengar , azelf , rotom-appliance lose the 1v1 either because of the defense boost or because of the boosted shadow sneak. its only real consistent defensive answers ( as of now ) are Hp flying / whirlwind zapdos , and kitsunoh -- the former being forced to roost / hit by sandstorm , and the latter not really having any recovery barring leftovers. Some other less popular options include : togekiss , haze crobat , and haze dnite , the latter two offering next to nothing other than the sole purpose of checking rev. All its answers are crippled immensely by hazards and are easily chipped ( rev also aids this by being a good spinblocker ) , resulting in most games boiling down to getting rev in vs something it can setup on.
theres also the secondary full utility set of toxic / knock / hammer arm / rest (mainly on weather stall teams) , that can be very annoying to make progress against.
Kitsunoh @ Leftovers
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Superpower
- Shadow Strike
Kitsunoh's wide array of positive traits perfectly compliment its surroundings, allowing it to play the role of an absolutely phenomenal disruptor. Its great speed tier and unresisted Ghost + Fighting coverage leaves little to no offensive counterplay once the opponent's team is sufficiently chipped. Fortunately for Kitsunoh, its typing and support movepool are near perfect for racking up huge amounts of chip damage. The combination Will-o-Wisp and Taunt invalidates all defensive counterplay, often forcing the opponent into throwing out a Pokemon just so it can absorb a burn, rendering it near useless in its defensive role. Kitsunoh's Stealth Rocks resistance and immunity to Sandstorm and Toxic ensure that it will almost never be overwhelmed by passive damage when it gets on the field, giving it ample time to wreak havoc upon the opponent's team as they are forced to dance around a combination of Kitsunoh's own tools and its teammate's hazards.
Choice sets seem inviting on paper , though it is yet to establish itself as relevant , because it usually fails to offer any game to game mileage in comparison to the aforementioned set.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Wish
- U-turn
- Body Slam / Stealth Rock
- Iron Head / Stealth Rock
rachi is often the best "glue" for most teams , due to the sheer amount of things it can do. Defensive sets are great at wishpassing / spreading paralysis , and keeping momentum up with rocks/uturn. Offensive sets are great as well, again because of its great coverage , however special rachi is a bit better than full physical / mixed rachi in general because it can really nail rev, and wish cm sets do better in a meta which is generally faster ( kril , kit , stratagem , fidgit all force you to run a +speed nature rather than a +attack/spa nature on your breakers). nothing much else , its a great steel type and it will always find a place on most teams.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Brave Bird
the steel bird is great in this tier because of obvious reasons , reliable bulk + recovery , immunity to sand, and its access to spikes. It shuts down every physical attacker in the tier , and forces a lot of progress while doing so , with spikes+ww or chipping the opponent with brave bird. Pretty self explanatory set otherwise , its weaknesses are just non resisted special attacks , and taunt/encore users that it cannot make progress v/s , namely kitsunoh and fidgit.
Colossoil @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn / Crunch / Rapid Spin
- Facade / Rapid Spin
boasting a great offensive typing , good base hp , and great coverage , colo is one of the best mons in dpp. The key role that only colo can offer is , being a spinner that can threaten ghosts ( barring rev ) -- which cannot be overstated , given how much of this tier in particular revolves around hazards. More offensive sets , with guts , have very few switchins ( namely skarm / gliscor ), and can nab ohkos vs a majority of the tier if its hits are not resisted. Defensive sets are better on teams which need it to come in and spin / pursuit multiple times, because its good natural bulk and typing allows it to stick around with lefties , inspite of not having recovery.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave
( set lets it live two eqs from flygon and a superpower from non boosted ttar )
Similar to its role in dpp ou , clef acts as an excellent sponge on most teams. its powerful ability, Magic Guard, makes it an incredibly attractive option, rendering it immune to entry hazards, any residual damage, and even paralysis. Although Blissey , a similar Pokemon, has greater bulk, Clefable still has very good Special Defense, which is high enough to check almost all special attackers in the tier like Empoleon, Heatran, Choice Scarf Rotom-A, Starmie, Suicune, Zapdos, Kril , Stratagem etc. It also has an excellent tool that helps it force progress like no other wall : Knock off. Paired with its immunity to all forms of passive damage , knock off + permaweather + hazards ( in a tier with a good spinblocker ) really has no drawbacks. It really helps vs kitsunoh and rev , two mons which would otherwise sit on clef for days. Boltbeam / cm sets as of now , offer next to nothing over its defensive set owing due to the more offensive meta and its inability to sweep in general. Sticky barb is also an option to permanently cripple its would be checks ( tricking a rev / kit / defensive mon is usually amazing ).
Heatran @ Resist berry ( chople > passho > shuca usually )
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
- Dragon Pulse
Heatran is the definition of anti meta , capable of being a good revenge killer when its equipped with a scarf , as well as being a good lead with rocks + boom. Both sets find many opportunities throughout the game to come in and get to work , each forcing progress in its own way. Hp grass is also a good option on the rocks set , to help vs pert and starmie. The meta has not developed enough to see more of its other sets like spdef / specs.
Latias @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse / Psychic
- Hidden Power Fire
- Recover
Lati is the only dragon/psychic in the tier ,which means that it's an answer to Fighting-, Fire-, Water-, Grass-, Electric-, and Psychic-types. It has a great spdef stat , and above average bulk , which help it in being a good answer to Infernape , Breloom and Arghonaut with no defensive investment. Furthermore, it's completely immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes thanks to Levitate, neutrality to rocks means that it is more resistant to all entry hazards than most Pokemon. Its offensive sets are generally more potent in this tier due to two reasons :
1) decreased viability of ttar , in general due to the more offensive meta and the tier revolving around rev
2) Double spookies in kit and lati being able to take advantage of defensive sets very easily.
Boasting one of the best speed tiers and great offensive typing , syclant is one of the best breakers in the tier. It also is blessed with the optimal amount of coverage for both attacking stats , in Earthquake , Earth power and focus blast. Tail glow sets can steamroll through unprepared / chipped teams once it finds an oppurtunity to set up. However due to its frail defensive stats and weakness to common fire / rock / flying moves , it does not get many opportunities to do so. Another option is running LO + 3 attacks , which poses more of an immediate threat than tail glow , because it requires less positioning but achieves more or less the same end result. In addition to these sets , a sash lead is also an option on hyper offense teams , because of its access to spikes + taunt and good speed tier.
Running a physical sweeping set is also an option , but it usually is stopped easier than its special counterpart , atleast on paper as of now.
Fidgit @ Leftovers
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- U-turn
-
-
options for last slots include ( but are not limited to ) : encore , rapid spin , knock off , wish , earth power , tailwind, taunt, tspikes, trick room etc
Though on paper its typing + good natural bulk doesnt catch the eye as easily as other top tier threats, dont be fooled , since fidgit is one of the best mons in the tier. All of its traits when looked at individually might seem random , but they come together to form a perfect end product that is second to none when it comes to utility. As established untill now , hazards play an undeniably big role in this tier , and fidgit aids the user in both setting them up , and removing them with spin. Vital spirit allows it to come in on spore freely and threaten the breloom back with an encore. It can also pass wishes to its teammates in need. Encore also makes sweepers hesitate to set up in its face ( like rev for instance ). Knock off further helps in widdling down the opponent. Taunt when paired with its good speed tier can prevent opposing wishes / hazards/ status from going up. Earth power can turn the tables in situations where the opponent thinks that they can wall you with their kitsunoh / heatran because of how naturally passive fidgit is.
Trick room / Tailwind as a playstyle has not yet established itself , again due to the tier being undeveloped , but if it ever does , fidgit will be an irreplaceable member on every good team that uses this style.
Lastly , fidgit can also be used a suicide lead due to its access to all 3 hazards , and a fast taunt/uturn to support this.
With its unique typing , a large movepool and well-distributed stats , Gliscor has risen to become a behemoth in the tier. It is the second best taunt user after kitsunoh , for similar reasons , immunity to sand and good speed tier ( though it loses out on the innate poison immunity). What it does better than kit is its ability to constantly prevent Rev from setting up throughout the game because of its access to both taunt and recovery whereas kit usually is able to do it twice at max, and as mentioned in the rev description , a rev that gets going is unstoppable. U-turn helps to keep up momentum once it gets its taunt off. Knock off helps further in crippling the opponent due to perma weather. It can be used as a lead slot as well with rocks because of its good mu vs some other leads like skarm , metagross , pyroak and heatran for example ( though it is scared out by swampert / machamp / empoleon ).
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
-
-
options include : U-turn , whirlwind , sub, hp ice , hp flying
Zapdos has an excellent typing , both offensively and defensively , helping it vs a majority of the fighting and steel types present in the tier. Stab thunderbolt is amazing , and it has options for the remaining slots both offensively and defensively. One of hp flying / whirlwind is mandatory on the defensive sets , as it is one of the most splashable softchecks to rev in the tier ( also helps vs breloom , and there is usually no incentive to running hp ice on sets without spa investment unless you really want to prevent the dnite/gliscor from setting up). U-turn is a great option to help it keep up momentum whenever and wherever required , especially on the offensive set. Sub is an option on balance that can help disrupt opposing offense , but it struggles a lot vs more bulky teams where it cannot break through. Lastly niche sets like agility sound threatening on paper , but have not been used much in this undeveloped meta.
on paper , kril seems to be a dream. An electric type that can basically beat every ground type (no quagsire doesnt count) seems too good to be true. So far, it lives up to the expectation , as it is one the best late game cleaners / mid game wallbreakers in the tier. Immunity to both LO recoil and hazards cannot be overstated and a good stab + coverage options help it to hit a lot of things as hard as possible. Ice beam usually is a mandate on most sets simply because it is otherwise hard walled by grass types like breloom , roserade and celebi. Earth power usually is a filler move , with some use as it can hit rachi a bit harder.
After scavenging the old dpp threads , i have come across the second heart swap set that helps turn the tables vs rev , as usually kril is free setup fodder. After a few boosts , it can heart swap and essentially salvage an otherwise lost game heavily in the users favour. However this set lacks a bit of firepower due to the lack of maximum investment , which it can make up with the help of its teammates. Waterfall also helps it vs otherwise would be stonewalls in spdef clef / blissey.
Its biggest weaknesses include item removal (mainly knock off), reliance on hazards to make progress , and common super effective moves like earthquake.
Breloom primarily takes up a more defensive role and functions as a softcheck to a lot of the tier , due to its good priority and reliable recovery in pheal. Spore and sleep in general is used much lesser than in dpp ou because of the omnipotence of rev ( and vital spirit fidgit) , but otherwise it is still a good option. ProLeech is the more common and usually more useful set because it allows loom to stick around for longer. Mach punch is one of the best forms of priority in the tier ( other than than sucker punch on colo and sneak on rev ). Acts as an emergency check to kril / colo / dd tar / dd gyara ( if you have protect ) and in general offers value to every team its on in someway or the other. SD sets sound good on paper but dont get a lot of chances to click it in practice. SubPunch also falls into the same category.
Cyclohm @ Life Orb/Leftovers/Shuca Berry
Ability: Shield Dust/Static
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Slack Off
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam/Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor / Fire coverage
Cyclohm @ Leftovers
Ability: Static/Shield Dust
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Discharge/Thunderbolt
- Slack Off
-
-
options include : fire coverage , ice beam, toxic , heal bell etc
cyclohm has its own unique role in dpp cap. It is one of the best phys def walls in the tier , boasting a good base 108 hp & 118 def. The existence of static makes opponents think twice before they decide to click u-turn with flygon/rachi/gliscor/infernape etc. Fire coverage helps vs steels like scizor and bronzong/rachi/metagross, ice beam/surf helps vs ground types like colo/hippo/nidoqueen , and toxic helps on crippling defensive checks like zapdos. In general , you would get by quite nicely by running the offensive set with minimal defensive investment , because its natural typing + bulk lets it perform its defensive roles most of the time with no further assistance. Choice scarf / specs are also options , but its middling speed tier hinders it from running these items consistently ( specs is still p good though ).
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SpA / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
hits hard + better vs rev midgame. Works as a good lead in practice.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Roar / Protect
ol' reliable , is used when pert is needed as part of the defensive backbone of a team ( particularly helps vs kril ). Roar is to stop sweepers from setting up , protect is used to get back lefties + scout choiced users. Also a good lead.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 112 HP / 216 Atk / 100 SpA / 80 Spe
Brave Nature
- Earthquake
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Superpower
Midgame/endgame pert that goes AoA to break as many holes as possible ( Superpower helps vs Clefable ). very very good practice , only real downsides is that you miss out on a lot of the defensive reliability that pert offers you most of the time.
Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Energy Ball
- Protect
- Leech Seed
other options include : Fitting on ice shard , wood hammer > energy ball to hit bliss/clef/ttar harder , hp fire for sciz/forry etc
perma weather that no mon is immune to ( because ice types in general are so scarce ) makes aboma more viable than it isn ou. Nothing in the tier that is not named clefable likes to switchin to the combo of blizzard + leech , and protect helps in accumulating hail chip + scouting choiced users. When paired with multiple knock users / spikes , aboma turns from a fringe pick into something of relevance.
Not on the vr yet but a great mon in practice, togekiss is one of the few things that can switch in multiple times and threaten kitsunoh throughout a game. If rocks are managed to be kept off , teams that rely on kit / rev for breaking through will make next to little progress. Nasty plot is an option on paraspam teams. Togekiss also acts as a pseudo rev check if you manage to get it in safely ( i recommend going to a ghost on a hammer arm/bulk up and then doubling to togekiss on the expected sneak ). Very solid mon. Count this as my nom to A-/B+
some other descriptions given the tl;dr treatment: : Great dd sweeper , bounce is given preference to stone edge as the fourth slot ( in addition to waterfall+eq) because hitting Rev/Loom is more worthwhile than Zap/Gyara most of the time. Defensive sets with Rest + Roar can work as a makeshift kit/rev/offensive colo check. : SD luke is nowhere as potent as it is in ou as a sweeper due to the better speed tiers , and prevalence of more ghosts. On paper , AgiliLuke with LO seems decent as a late game option , but is yet to be tested. Unironically Scarf ( with copycat ) can also be used because of the existence of many more phazing moves than in ou. Similar to luke , gengar is also not as good as it is in ou. It is outclassed offensively by kit , and defensively as a spinblocker by rev. Losing 1v1 vs rev usually is enough for it to never be used over kitsunoh, though LO explosion + shadow ball for ghosts does seem pretty damn nice : Does exactly the same things that it does in ou , scarf being one of the best revenge killers ( also faster than other scarfers like tran) , and band being a good wallbreaker. Mixed LO is untested but seems good. : no longer the most viable spinner. Nevertheless its still good , offensive sets are better so they can really hit the ghosts (Switching in to spinblock) hard. Also appreciates the decreased usage of ttar. Psychic is usually its second mandatory coverage along side Water coverage, otherwise it would be complete setup fodder for rev : good ol' hippo shines more than in ou as the better sand setter. Great physical wall , Roar is usually the fourth move of choice over toxic / ice fang to stop setup sweepers ( cough cough rev cough ) : One of the best leads imo , it has a good mu vs almost everything not named machamp. Midgame , the mystic water set that has popped up in ou can make waves ( get it?????) and Agili Emp is arguably an even better endgame sweeper than it is in ou. Very good mon.
s/o to bink for helping me with some of these , will update more sets as and when i am free to do so
Someone posting in the DPP CAP hub ?!?!???????!!!!!!
Here’s my personal VR Changes
Rises:
Krilowatt -> S1
I personally believe Kril is the best Pokémon in the Meta. Rev is great, but it’s very inconsistent and hard to setup, because it’d rather be bulky than a sweeper. On the other hand, Kril can just spam and watch opponents fall to their inevitable deaths
Kitsunoh -> S2
Kitsunoh is the best form of utility in the tier. With access to Wisp, U-Turn, Knock Off, Superpower, and the best physical ghost move in the meta, Kitsunoh is REALLY good.
Clefable -> S-4
Clef is an amazing defensive mons, one of the most used in CAPCL. Magic Guard is amazing with the prevalence of sandstorm. It’s normal typing prevents prevelant Ghost moves from being used, and can set rocks really easily.
Tyranitar -> A+6
Pursuit TTar is very good in a tier than very U-Turn heavy. Banded TTar is also very good with EdgeQuake + Crunch is great as well
-> A14
Magnezone is wayyyy better than placed, its premier bulk and solid typing make it a strong threat, trapping Kitsunoh into a less than ideal move is VERY valuable. It’s (and Magneton’s???) usage shows that’s it better than this VR shows it to be. Also, it’s DEFINITELY better than Tran, Gyara and Starmie.
Flygon -> A15
Scarf Flygon might be the next best late game cleaner other than Kril.
Cyclohm-> A-22
Cycolhm deserves to be top of A-, Slack Off and it’s coverage are very valuable to the defensive teams.
Stratagem-> A18
Strata has had a great CAPCL showing, leading me to believe that Stratagem should be raised to low A tier.
Drops:
Revenankh -> S3
Revenankh, is very, very good, and very, very centralizing, however, it’s not as consistent as it’s other two S Tier mons, so I believe it should be at the bottom.
Colossoil -> A+5
Why is this 3rd in the VR? Kitsunoh and Clef are way better than this.
Skarmory -> A+6
Like Colo, it should not be this high
-> A
I don’t think they can compete with the other A+ mons
-> A-
Same as Rachi and Fidgit
Gyarados -> A19
A 4x electric weakness is kinda awful in this meta, especially against a teamslot with Kril
Dragonite -> B+28
Why? Sure it checks Revenankh, but it’s not that valuable?
S Tier
S- Tier
A+ Tier
A Tier
A- Tier
B+ Tier
this point on is the same
Anyways, another thing I wanna address…
I think there should be tiering action against Rev. It makes the tier sorta unfun, this might be controversial, but I think it’s necessary for a healthy tier. I’d love to see some discussion, because some of the main blacklash against the tier was cause of the CAPs. I believe a Rev ban would help the tier more than hurt it, as it overcentralizes the meta.
My CAPCL team is out so time to post my teams ( click on sprites ). But just before getting into it I just wanted to thank Concept Everything for the help and ofc Maxouille and Brigtel for having me ( I'm still shocked that some caps pmed me to say that they wanted me in their team, did you know that I had 0 CAP experience before this lmao ? ). I enjoyed a lot building in this tier even with 0 knowledge about CAP, it was very fun.
Week 1 :
Well, the broken 6. Semi-stall spikes with Krilo as Spikes abuser. Skarm / Clef / Rev / Krilo, simple, efficient and very simple to use. You need Brave Bird on Skarm to really scare out things like Colo in order to have less pressure on the Rev. Encore Clef is stupidly good to force out opposite Clef, you just have to lock it on Stoss for ex when it's low health then it can't switch anymore on Kril. Fidgit is very good against opposite Rev and being able to force it out with Encore = free spin and Kit doesn't really want to come on Fidgit because of Knock Off / Earth Power. I didn't even mention that how oppressive is Encore with Spikes up. If you face another ghost type than Rev or Kit just trap it with TTar. Kril last move is w/e you want, I didn't like Copycat so I went for HP Grass but ig Epower / Twave / Mirror Coat / Counter etc can also work.
The team is not perfect I agree; it's a bit slow and having only one rocker is sometimes terrible but you can win without rocks so dw ( lol ). There is also a lot of pressure on Clef and Mag is scary too ( Shed Skarm is prob better here ). I won my game but that was a haxx fest lmao, weird debut but we take it. Nicks are from AW, Black Hole COs.
Week 2 :
Prob the weirdest team I have ever build in this tour ( not true you will see at the end ). I wanted to use Stratagem because its speed is way to good to sleep on it but it's hard walled by Clef and Rev so I needed to find solutions. First I added Spikes because ... it's broken ? ( Fidgit is perfect here with SR + Spikes + Taunt, better suicide lead Skarm ). Yh probably and it helps vs Rev too. Then I went for Explosion on Starta because it can remove Clef for incoming abusers like Krilo or Togekiss. Syclant also came in my head because it's an Infernape but better stats lmao, its movepool is incredible, you can use physical / special or ... Mixed !. Ofc I needed an antispin ... say hello to Kit ! Limber ( immu to Twave !! ) + Taunt + U-Turn is very cool to stallbreak easily. I used Low Kick because I didn't like the drops from Superpower and with Taunt you win vs Clef anyway. Shuca for Colo ( 120 BP on Colo with Low Kick btw ) and the spread ? Uh iirc Low Kick + U-Turn always kill Colo ( without HP invest and even if you don't kill you can just go on Strata ) and rest in HP / SpD for Starmie ( 42,7 % max on 0 SpA Surf + you live LO HPump ( 86,6% max )). Toge outspeeds Modest Tran. I did many many versions of this team : you can replace Syclant with Agility Petaya Empoleon, Scarf Scizor, Mixed Jirachi, SD Shadow Claw Lucario etc; feel free to explore !
The team is surely weak to Rev but it's my favorite because the speed control overall is so high that opp can never reverse pressure with a +1 DDer for ex cause Strata deals with Gyara and Dnite and Syclant deals with DD Tar. Items and movesets can prob be optimized if not already. The game was a roller coaster, the crit on Starmie finished the game but I think I was winning anyway, I just needed to keep my Spikes up. Nicks are from a french meme and this meme reflects very well the stupidity of the team :tractor: .
Week 3 :
I wanted to use Syclant again but this time a physical one. CB U-Turn / Ice Punch seems very dumb especially with a trapper in the back; EQ for Jirachi. Magneton with it is just perfect because it covers DDers while also doing Zone job ( that also means that you can use Specs Lati instead of Scarf woohoo ! ); modern DPP OU tech guys. Then you want a rocker and a water aswell that benefits well of Magneton ( hi Swampert ), you take HP Grass from Modest Heatran from full ( spread that I use on almost all my Physical Off Pert ngl ). And then I just put 3 rdm mag abusers together LOL. Latias for speed control, to soft check Kril / Loom and HWish ( you can use Stalk > HWish if you want ). Offensive Rev to have another priority and to check things like Strata / Voodoom / Nape / Def Mie etc; I used Ice Punch for Zapdos / Fitgit / Loom / Glisc / Toge. And last is Agility Metagross with Lum and ZenH to destroy Rev, Rotom, Gengar, Fidgit and Argh.
A pretty cool team honestly. Just don't panic vs Gengar, just force damage on it. And anyway it's not very common in this tier and because of Colo they don't use WoW so you're "safe". Game was free thx to a very lucky start and endgame but I still think that Meta had great chances to win. Nicks are from AWBW.
Week 4 :
I was bored of CAP mons so ... what about the broken DPP OU mon 3 Atk Tect Jirachi ? Well it's very strong honestly, same as in DPP OU lol. And also wanted to test TSpikes in this tier so who else for this role ? FIDGIT !!!. Fidgit and Jirachi have pretty much the same checks / counters aka Waters / Loom and above all Kit. If you Knock them Jirachi will go crazy. With this Rachi set, Spikes is mandatory to make progress against steel types. I used Counter Skarm because as you can see the team is weak to DDers ( that's why the spread is weird, the SpD also help against Latias ). Then you want Sand to make Jirachi even more oppressive, Hippo this time because it has Roar to deal with other Revs. Clefable is used with Wish here to heal the Fidgit : you wish on the incomming Rev for ex then you go on Fidgit. I didn't feel that I needed Encore with all those SR Clef being around and being way too passive to be threatening. Last is ofc the best antispin and pokemon of the tier aka Rev. Rachi takes +1 EQ from DD Tar iirc, OU spread.
Idk what to think about TSpikes tbh. They weren't useful as I expected to sooooo ig you can just do Wish > TSpikes and then Encore / Twave > Wish and you're good to go ... Game was like as week 1, very messy on both sides. I lost Hippo and Clef due to double crit very early in the game so I needed to get lucky with my Jirachi and my Rev ( Shed Skin + no crit etc ) and I got everything I needed to comeback. Nicks are from AWBW again ( and I forgot again to put them on the good team for the game ).
Week 5 :
I was in 4-0 but my team we weren't qualified so bring fun stuff wasn't an option. I didn't bring any pursuiter three weeks in row and I didn't use Colossoil once so it was the perfect time to bring it ! I have many problems with Colo : it needs a lot of Atk to deal with Rev, it needs Chople Berry to not lose against Gengar and imo it also needs Mag support cause if not you just lose to Brave Bird Skarm ... But it has U-Turn, Pursuit, Knock Off, Spin, Sucker, good stats etc. So well, I wasn't convinced at all but I was probably too much low on it so I decided to build around it. With that spread you outspeed Cyclohm and Surf from full from Specs Lati after rocks. I paired it with a HP Ground Magneton in order to trap Heatran ( as always lol ) and with again a Wish Clef to keep it healthy. Def Pert was also a good addition to the team because same as Hippodown it has Rocks and Roar so you can deal with Rev. Jirachi was added because with ZenH it is excellent vs Loom / Rev / Argh and my team has some problems against them without it; the spread allows you to outspeed Ada Colo. A water resist, fighting resist and breaker is needed so Specs Latias is needed.
But I have the impression that I messed up somewhere. Movesets / spreads are prob suboptimal, Rachi shouldn't be Ada, I prob greeded. Tbolt is also prob not the way to go on Lati, Dpulse seems better ( I can't go for Trick because I have a Knock user in my team + I can't go for HWish because I have Sleep Talk ........... ). You can change U-Turn for Knock on Colo if you think that Shed Skarm is a problem ( imo it's not, Rachi beats it and Tbolt Lati can remove it ). Twave > Knock on Clef seems interesting to support Jirachi but not sure about that. And I finally lost a game ! I played it poorly, I made too many mistakes and my team choice was not optimal. I was prob unintentionally too much confident. Disappointing finish but I'm still happy with my perf. Nicks from an AW hackrom named Mangsvance Wars; Jo'on best CO theme ever.
A few more teams that I couldn't test :
Syclant team revamp, ZenH Zong does pretty well against Rev lol.
Argh hard stall with Hbell Clef to not get 6-0 by stuff like WoW + Taunt Kit. Knock on Fidgit is essential for Leftovers Colo which otherwise gets a free spin on it.
Yes I tried to make Pyroak work lmao. My biggest pbs were Clef and Heatran so I experimented two cores : Physical Krilo + Epower Pyroak and Toxic Krilo + Worry Seed Pyroak. The first one is simple to understand : Krilo acts as a Clef lure and can also spread para to bs teams with Waterfall. The second is more complicated but trust me it's very fun : you Toxic the Clef and then you force it come on your Pyroak, you wait a few turns etc and once it's in range of Toxic you just click Worry Seed ( it also works for Heatran ). It's bad yes because you don't have a good recovery move outside of Synthesis and Leech Seed so you can't really spam Sub to make the time pass if Sand is up. Roar is also an option. The spread allows you to outspeed non invested Heatran and Lava Plume doesn't break the Sub.
The teams aren't optimal, I built them in like 20 mins ( no joke ) so maybe they're very bad. Just remember that Skarm is the glue of the team. I also tried to make Voodoom work with a set like Twave 3 Atk or Twave Taunt 2 Atk but this thing is soooooooooooo bad. Its stats are terrible, it is too weak, too frail, its terrible movepool doesn't help either; only its speed is good. So yh don't use it.
My personal DPP CAP Ranking :
Broken, stupid, dumb ... Very very good but Imo you need Spikes support and heavy pressure on Clef to really get the most out of its power. Legit the best spinner in the tier, its movepool is so fucking good and the ability of forcing out Rev / Skarm with Encore is insane; fuck Colo. Why do want to use it when Rev exists ? Well I'm joking, this mon is very good; a recovery move would be very appreciated. Stop sleeping on it guys pls, ok its typing is awful BUT it is very fast, IMMU TO ROCKS, powerful and versatile. What else do you need ? I hate you, Fidgit does everything better than you except pursuiting ghost / psychic types. You don't even have a recovery move bro. It's good but very hard to fit somewhere because you can't really pair it with Rev because they mostly check the same things. Too bad. 4 moves syndrom but its speed makes it good. Just use Krilo if you want a special attacker. But I agree it is very strong and Static is pretty cool. Maybe I'm sleeping on it but with Krilo around ... It's very bad but I still think that it's better than Pyroak. Twave / Taunt / Knock Off makes quite interesting. It also has Purusit and an ok Atk stat. Nothing is good on you lmao.
And that's all, I probably forgot words and did mistakes here and there ( sry lol ) but I really need to sleep. I'm gonna ask my Rev to knock me out with its big Hammer Arm. So ty for reading and see you next time !
Revenankh has lost access to Shed Skin, and Krilowatt has lost access to Ice Beam, Ice Punch, and Blizzard!
To those that have played the tier, a nerf to Krilowatt was expected. It had the bulk, coverage, and speed tier to cover or outlast essentially everything in the meta directly, barring Clefable.As such, Kril has taken a massive hit to its coverage in losing Ice Beam, Ice Punch, and Blizzard. The intent of this nerf is to make Krilowatt easier to check by a larger pool of mons, hopefully resulting in more offensive team structures that can't afford a Clefable not hopeless into it. Furthermore, Krilowatt can no longer choose to simply freeze past Clefable in longer games.
Long considered the best Pokemon in the format, Revenankh was the subject of the most discussion among the problematic CAPs. The set that garnered the most negative attention was Bulk Up, being able to function as an effective spinblocker as the standard sets did, but also being able to use its special bulk and great type neutralities to set up and defeat most teams in the late game, unless they had a specific counter to it like Togekiss. To combat this particular set, we've elected to remove Shed Skin. This allows Bulk Up to still exist, but it will no longer have a natural resistance to status or access to Rest's healing. Tagging Marty and Kris to implement.
The DPP CAP Viability Rankings have also been updated to reflect recent developments. We hope that you continue to enjoy the tier.
Never thought that I would make a post about DPP CAP and even be kinda dissapointed that I don't get to play more games, but after my great experience in CAPPL I liked the idea of posting here. This post will include the DPP teams I built and used throughout the tournament with building process, and finally my personal VR of the CAP mons + a personal opinion for each of them in a few words. Before I Neymar (dive) into it, I would like to thank SHSP (especially this goat cause damn he was always there when I needed games lol), Wulfanator, and Lasen for helping me testing / improving all these teams, because without their support I wouldn't have this undefeated season (= I am way better than adem).
Weeks are numbered starting from the week I came out of bench (week one = cappl week three and so on) Week One vs Laurel:
Literally the first time I build anything in this tier, so I had to check the cap mons first and learn about them. For some reason, I was really amazed by the fact that an Ice / Bug type got an ability that basically ignores Stealth Rock while also being an indredible attacking force. Choice Band lead pressures opposing leads such as Fidgit and it works great as an early pivot cause banded U-Turn goes crazy. When thinking about the U-Turn, Magneton felt like an easy choice for second mon thanks to its ability to trap mons like Skarmory that are a pain for our thug bug. I also added Specs Latias to form a breaking duo with Syclant (basically helping each other with their walls). I didn't think Magneton is enough for my Steel-type, so I added Agilygross to handle opposing Latias, Gengar, and Stratagem. Bulk Up Revenankh is super busted and its priority would help here against mons like Infernape. For last member, I wanted a rocker that could pivot into threats like Scizor, so I added Hippo. I feel that this team is pretty decent given the fact that it was my first time building around cap mons as mentioned.
Week Two vs TyCarter:
Well, I am not extremely proud of this one because the thought process was "I will try to be as annoying as possible I guess". Starting with the cap mon of choice being Krilowatt (idk it looked cool and broken) holding LO and running sub + copycat cause it felt funny catching Latias off guard with a Draco. Then I just added the paraflinch duo of Twave rachi + Twave Gyara. The plan was straighforward: spread para, flinch, click Sub with Krilo vs paralyzed mons, and then click Surf / Tbolt. Machamp was my first option as the fighting to deal with Clefable due to the dpunch confusion which would make the opponent rage quit dealing with all that, but I settled with loom cause I wanted that Spore to give chances for either Krilo or Gyara to come in + it handles Swampert better. Latias is there because it is Latias and at this point I won't hide the fact that I always use it. The lead is Fidgit because its access to SR + tspikes / spikes helps Krilo clean later on.
Week Three vs metagross does architectu:
Another Choice-locked lead, since I found Colossoil an interesting hard-hitting mon that could trap the likes of Gengar with Pursuit and with scarf it outspeeds threats like Krilo. I chose the defensive core of Clef + Zapdos and added Argho as well for the purpose of not getting swept by broken offensive Rev (Zapdos deals with it anyway but it's still scary af with Ice Punch). Choice Scarf Latias is there for more speed control and Kitsunoh to form a pivoting core with Colossoil and generally being the Steel that reists dragons. This team's purpose is to play the long game by keep pivoting into the right mons and trying to find oppurtonities for Colossoil to deal damage. It didn't really work out the way I wanted with Colossoil since it kinda died on turn 1 to a crit lol, but the long game part was done well and I can tell that this team has no significant weakness.
Week Four vs Binnacle Pinnacle:
This week I was expecting to face a fat / stall team but that wasn't 100% certain, so I had to build something solid all around that could also face fat teams without any issue. The original idea, however, was to form a good Water core with Suicune. At first I tried Gyarados but I didn't like our odds vs threats like special Syclant mostly, so I changed to Argho. Supercune and Bulk Up Argho felt like a great duo that could break through common defensive cores like Skar + Clef. Added Taunt Kitsunoh and Trick Specs Latias in order to ruin the plans of hazards stack fat cores. For my own hazards I chose Fidgit to act as a lead, and try to set Tspikes for mons like Argho or Rev + the Taunt helps us with our matchup as well. Obviously with double water I was weak to electric attacks from the likes of Krilo. Latias might be enough to check those threats, but I wanted to be as safe as possible and started thinking of a Ground-type that could also threaten Krilo. Therefore, the last member is Choice Scarf Colossoil with Rapid Spin (which came very handy in game). It threatens Krilo with eq and it is able to even chip it with Pursuit, something that Water core would appreciate.
Week Five vs Concept Everything:
Last week in regular season, and from the looks of it, it seemed that it could be the last week of the tour for me. For that reason, I wanted to try a fun CAP mon that haven't tried yet. At first, I was thinking about Voodoom and Pyroak, but after deep thinking and valid opinions from Lasen, I came to the conclusion that they are bad (especially Pyroak, wtf). Stratagem, on the other hand, looked cool af and hits hard + great speed. I wanted to spam Weather Ball so I formed an offensive duo with Tyranitar to start off the building. Naturally, this core is pretty weak to Ground-types (sure Levitate + Energy Ball helps, but not against the likes of Flygon) so I quickly added Loom + Latias. During the first tests I had ttar as the lead, but I noticed that I have to keep it safe because threats like Gengar could be a pain for the rest of the team. I added chople because I got super annoyed when SHSP had 100% Focus Blast accuracy (like wtf). Obviously, like every normal cap player I believe, I was still scared of Rev and Syclant, so I added Superachi and Argho to deal with those. All around a solid team that support Stratagem well.
I will keep this in a spoiler because it is unrelated to DPP and don't want to ruin the purpose of this thread. I wanted to find the opportunity to thank the people that made this experience and this post possible.
1) SHSP and Wulfanator - thanks for drafting me and believing in me to run things in dpp
2) The whole Rajas team for being such a great team (I am too lazy to ping everyone, you know who you are)
3) Thought this would be funny but this is the reason I even signed up for the tour
Now I will try to help the metagame by sharing my personal VR and a few words about the CAP mons.
S Rank:
S Rank
This thing is very good, dare to say even broken, and pretty much it is a menace. It can turn around the tables in a game pretty easily if you find a chance to setup. I believe there is a replay that a single Rev actually reverse swept, and I am pretty sure this wasn't the only time that it happened. S tier at the very least.
S- Rank
The movepool of this mon is insane. By far it is the best support mon in this tier, because pretty much it can do everything you need. Set hazards, Taunt, Encore, spin etc. Unless it gets nerfed somehow, I don't see it dropping from S range.
A Rank
A+ Rank
I can see people not agreeing with this one being that high, but honestly this mon is so valuable that it doesn't make sense to place it below. Whenever I had issues in the builder, and needed a strong Water to deal with threats such as Syclant, this thing was always the easiest choice. The mon is Davy Jones on steroids.
Very good mon with great speed and atk and access to U-Turn, making it a great offensive pivot. Let's not forget also its access to moves such as wisp, Taunt, Knock off. Great utility all around.
Who the hell cares if Ice / Bug is one of the worst type combination ever. This thing is REALLY GOOD. Insane offensive stats, good stab moves, and it's IMMUNE TO ROCKS. Basically it is a threat that can't be ignored during building.
Ngl I was really close to place the shrimp in A rank below. I wasn't around when it had access to the Ice moves, but I can tell that it was super broken back then and maybe one of the best mons in the tier, if not the best. This nerf made it possible for mons like Latias to come in comfortably vs it. However, I couldn't ignore the fact that it probably is the best special attacking threat in the tier right now (maybe Latias is slightly better tbf) even without the Ice coverage. I think this place is just fine for it.
A Rank
I might be biased here, but I really enjoyed using Colossoil during test games and even in the tour games (ignore the turn 1 crit). If you want it to act as a spinner / support mon then yeah there are way better choices for this role. However, Flame Orb set is a powerful attacker and Choice Scarf removes annoying Gengar easily. At the very least, you have to be careful in game against it.
A- Rank
I really really wanted to place you higher than this due to the fact that your stats makes you a great offensive threat. However, the limited movepool makes it run the same 4-5 moves every time. Still good tho, can't really sleep on it.
B Rank
B+ Rank
Honestly, I don't really know why the hell I would ever use you instead of Latias and Krilo. Still, I can't really ignore the fact that it's pretty damn strong with that spa stat, bulk + Slack Off, great STAB, and acess to Static which is a fun way to annoy your opponent I guess.
C Rank
Uh, change your abilities and then we talk. In all seriousness, I guess it got some useful stuff tho like Knock Off, Taunt, Bulk Up. Of course, there are way better choices for each of these moves, but this mon is still usable at the very least. Still, I can't force myself to place this thing higher, I am sorry.
Hell no Rank
You are really bad. I would much rather use Cranidos and Marowak ngl.
That's pretty much it. Thanks for reading, and my apologies if I made grammar mistakes or mistakes in general. Hopefully, I can get more into this tier because it's pretty damn fun!
Literally the first time I build anything in this tier, so I had to check the cap mons first and learn about them. For some reason, I was really amazed by the fact that an Ice / Bug type got an ability that basically ignores Stealth Rock while also being an indredible attacking force. Choice Band lead pressures opposing leads such as Fidgit and it works great as an early pivot cause banded U-Turn goes crazy. When thinking about the U-Turn, Magneton felt like an easy choice for second mon thanks to its ability to trap mons like Skarmory that are a pain for our thug bug. I also added Specs Latias to form a breaking duo with Syclant (basically helping each other with their walls). I didn't think Magneton is enough for my Steel-type, so I added Agilygross to handle opposing Latias, Gengar, and Stratagem. Bulk Up Revenankh is super busted and its priority would help here against mons like Infernape. For last member, I wanted a rocker that could pivot into threats like Scizor, so I added Hippo. I feel that this team is pretty decent given the fact that it was my first time building around cap mons as mentioned.
Shrimp is giga broken and easily S. It's best checks are just trapped and killed by Tyranitar. It can beat Clefable in the 1v1 with copycat.
Thank goodness Ice Beam was taken away. This meta is incredibly centralized and makes room for stuff like DD Sub Gyara, CM Wish Rachi, and 100% SD Breloom.
Pyroak is good. Great coverage and only consistent check is Latias really. CAP mons can easily overload Latias since it's needed to check so much... like Pyroak weakens Lati and then Shrimp can go crazy. Don't think Thunder Wave Shrimp was used much but it's a decent option too.
With so many ghosts it's hard to spin consistently. Best spinner is gonna be Fidgit and then Offensive Starmie.
Anyways, clefable + friends is everywhere. These cores are insanely weak to mixnite, CM+Wish or CM+Sub Rachi, etc. as mentioned above. Right now tier feels in a stale mate where the building isn't super creative but as a whole, I'd say this meta is decently healthy. Rev is pretty easy to expose honestly, just make sure u have a random ass toxic on your team or like Jira/Zong/Metagross.. all can rub tox tect, psychic etc.
It's definitely essential on all teams to know your counterplay vs Shrimp and Rev. Also need a consistent way to kill clef, of course.
With CAPPL X over, I'd like to share some thoughts about the development of the tier since last year.
First I want to say, PL was a big success for DPP! The people I've talked to have said they really enjoyed playing the tier, the games were competitive, the teams interesting, some new sets popped up, and all things considered there wasn't too much hax jank. Even if some games had decisive luck, that's a thing in every generation. I was honestly not expecting it to go so well, I was worried before the tournament that we just would have a player drought and thought it should maybe not be included. However, many good players turned up and so it went well. Looking forward to seeing this tier in future PLs.
With that said, lets talk about some notable mons
With this tournament, Rev has decisively taken back its spot as the #1 pokemon in tier, it is very centralizing (maybe too much?) but also has very clear counterplay, it feels healthy now. The bulk up set is still super strong, but I think this mon will reach its full potential by better using the diversity of sets it has. The defensive utility set is obviously good and I hope we see more of it, I think there needs to be some more experimenting with 3 attack sets, either BU or Moonlight, and the Sub-Punch set needs some kind of innovation to make it more consistent.
I think Pyroak has definitively proven its place in the DPP CAP meta. I first used the physical lead set all the way back during the Money Tour, where it did wonders, and I'm glad it has caught the attention of others since. I initially used it with Sub to be as damaging as possible, and because otherwise you lose to t-wave clef which was very common, however setting rocks with it really is the way to use it most of the time. The other innovations on the lead set have been really nice to see too, like Will-o-Wisp which is very annoying for most common switch ins like Latios and Zapdos, or Synthesis to severely punish sandless teams. Of course that requires you to drop EQ or Wood Hammer, but that's often a reasonable trade. Not a top tier mon or anything, but it is definitely better than Voodoom, I think I'd give it a B or B+.
Fidgit is really benefitting from the standarization of its sets, usually Earth Power+Rapid Spin+Toxic/Encore+ some other utility move. The spinning and Rev-checking role feels more consistent now. I wonder if we will see sets that use the same moves but with hazards over spin, could be good though maybe harder to fit.
Arghonaut usage is up once again, and for good reason. It just feels really nice as an answer to a lot of the top threats, including Rev, and while in the past many sets used the offensive potential of Fighting/Water, this time the sets usually felt more defensive with things like Knock Off and Toxic being more common. Its a top 6 usage mon now, a staple of the tier.
I'm honestly not sure what to think about Krilowatt at this point, it definitely feels reasonable to prepare for, and I don't think it's as strong as Laurel says, but it does feel underrated in terms of usage, maybe it should be higher on the VR I don't know. I especially liked Laurel deciding to use Modest on it, that feels very interesting even if it can backfire. Sub+Copycat has not proven itself at all, even if in theory it seems nice.
The nerfs we made back in October of last year seem to have really worked and helped establish a much healthier, more fun meta. Both mons are still strong threats but they don't completely choke the meta like they used to. I think we can now have a verdict, we did a good job with the nerfs!
Now, here are some usage stats from after those nerfs:
Now what do these stats mean? Well as always with tournament usage stats we have to take them with a grain of salt. However, there are some things which I think are remarkable despite this:
Colossoil being so high in both usage and winrate is very surprising to me, maybe I've been sleeping on this mon just because of its skarm weakness and difficulty spinning on Rev. It was also used with a Flame Orb only twice, I think that makes sense that is probably the least good set.
The top pokemon in usage having a somewhat consistent >50% winrate is also very interesting, the top 6 in PL are all above 50%, though if we add CL stats Syclant drops and fidgit goes as high as Argh in usage. Still, 5 of the top 7 having a >56% winrate is interesting, it may show some of what Laurel was talking about, that the meta is very centralized, but these aren't big sample sizes.
I hope to continue contributing to this tier, and one way I'd like to do that is making some more resources available to players. First, I have compiled every valid DPP CAP replay on the forums since the revival tour into this paste: https://pastebin.com/aHiiBABq I hope this can be useful and save some time to people looking to do broad analysis of a lot of replays and teams. I would also like to make an importable set box to make building easier for everyone, as the compendium can't be imported since it has multiple options for moves and items. And if anyone wants to request DPP teams, the teambuilding lab is currently open and has 3 DPP builders.
Edit 04/03/2025 updated the pastebin with CL replays
Ongoing internal discussion has brought the idea of a second Krilowatt nerf to light. Those that have played the tier since before the first nerf will remember the dominance of Ice Beam Krilowatt, the move giving in an incredibly safe option that was neutral at worst into some otherwise unfavorable matchups. Its most common checks in Clefable and Bulky Revenankh variants risked taking a freeze, making them far less reliable as Krilowatt checks in longer matches. Since Ice Beam’s removal, Krilowatt has become a less egregious presence given the wider pool of Pokémon that can more reliably check it, but it’s far from being totally uncontroversial. Those for a second nerf argue that the longevity provided by Magic Guard alongside Krilowatt’s great speed tier and movepool (even in spite of the loss of Ice Beam) is still problematic. It is still a very prominent threat in the tier, possibly the most prominent thanks to its ability to thrive in the current balance-centered metagame, while possessing myriad options for a fourth moveslot in Toxic, Thunder Wave, and most importantly Copycat, which all serve to punish separate common Krilowatt checks either directly or by exploiting a switch to gain momentum in the case of the latter. This ability to circumvent its checks in an environment where it already thrives makes Krilowatt worthy of further investigation in the eyes of some of our council. Even among those of us that want a second nerf process, there is disagreement on how it should be done, with ideas ranging from targeting Krilowatt’s movepool to outright removing Magic Guard. We seek to spark community discussion to gather the public’s opinion before committing to any of these options, let alone nerfing Krilowatt at all. This discussion will likely span into CAPPL, so we encourage our players to become more accustomed to the metagame through the tour if they haven’t already come to a decision. We hope to hear some of your thoughts on the matter soon!
I've already shared my thoughts on this in council chat, but I wanted to put them here as well to contribute to the public discussion.
I personally don’t think Krilowatt is currently in a place where it needs another nerf, but I do understand the point of this discussion. I am still fairly new to the tier, as I have only played in 2 tournaments (CAPPL and CAPCL), so I wasn't around when Krilo had access to Ice Beam. However, it's clear to me that even without Ice Beam, Krilowatt is one of the biggest threats in the tier thanks to its combination of high Speed, insane special bulk, and Magic Guard, which is clearly the main reason Krilo is being considered for action right now. The core issue is the combination of Magic Guard with a hard-hitting offensive presence, which means that Krilowatt can wear down the opposing team without ever having to worry about hazards, sandstorm, or Toxic wearing it down in return, giving it a level of durability that other strong attackers like Latias simply don’t have.
While I recognize the problems that come with Krilowatt’s access to Magic Guard, I don’t think it lacks viable checks. Copycat and status options like Toxic or Thunder Wave are troublesome, sure, but they feel more like clever techs than inherently broken tools. The fact that different sets punish different checks speaks more to Krilowatt’s versatility than it being unmanageable, at least to me. That's why I think you can play around all that with Pokemon like Clefable and Latias. You do need to bring one or two reliable checks to handle Krilowatt’s different sets, sure, but I feel the same applies to other CAP mons like Syclant and Revenankh. In both of the tournaments I’ve played in, I was honestly much more concerned about whether my team would get overwhelmed by Revenankh rather than anything else. In that sense, it feels “natural” to have to prep for strong threats in a tier like DPP CAP.
Again, this is coming from the perspective of a relatively new player to the tier, so while I’m not strongly in favor of nerfing Krilowatt again, I do think it’s worth discussing just how much influence it has on teambuilding and gameplay, especially during CAPPL. Therefore, I need to play / watch more tournament games in order to be convinced. If the metagame starts to warp around it once more, during CAPPL, I’d be more open to targeted action, likely starting with Magic Guard if possible, rather than banning Krilowatt entirely.
Against nerfing Krilowatt again. Even though I didn't play DPP CAP during the Ice Beam Krilo meta, and even knowing that Krilo is one of the best mons in the tier, I think that without Ice Beam it still has viable checks and that it's also good for checking other threats.
Obviously, Magic Guard with strong offensive presence is very good, but I think it's manageable and not harmful to the tier
Viability Rankings
Set Compendium
Sample Teams
Clefable
Latias
Kitsunoh
Arghonaut
Krilowatt
Jirachi
Tyranitar
Zapdos
Skarmory
Flygon
Gyarados 
Starmie 
Colossoil
Breloom
Heatran
Cyclohm
Scizor
Rotom-A
Stratagem
Dragonite 
Bronzong
Infernape
Gengar
Metagross
Gliscor
Hippowdon
Magneton
Magnezone
Suicune
Swampert
Empoleon 
Lucario 
Togekiss
Machamp
Blissey
Celebi
Azelf
Abomasnow
Voodoom
Kingdra
Aerodactyl
Roserade
Quagsire 
Mamoswine 
Forretress`
Slowking
Milotic
Pyroak
Shaymin
Cresselia
Rhyperior
?!?!???????!!!!!!
