Thanks to its great bulk and expansive movepool, Aurumoth has positioned itself as the best wincon in the entire metagame. Its bulky Quiver Dance set is capable of setting up very easily against foes like Arghonaut, possibly multiple times if the opponent doesn't immediately switch to a Pokemon capable of forcing it out. With the help of coverage in the form of Focus Blast and Thunder, Aurumoth can easily blow past most common checks to Psychic-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Celesteela after a boost and sweep through virtually any team.
Unpredictability is another major factor that contributes to Aurumoth's dominance. While bulky Quiver Dance is its most common set, Aurumoth has a wide array of options that can surprise the opponent, making it incredibly versatile. Z-Move variants can use the extra power to muscle past threats like Heatran and Magearna more easily. Bug Buzz, Blizzard, and Overheat are other coverage options that can easily bypass checks like Mega Latias, Reuniclus, and Magearna. Tail Glow is an alternative boosting option that can pose a much more immediate threat to bulkier teams. While none of these options are problematic by themselves, they only exacerbate how difficult it is to play around Aurumoth, as assuming the wrong set can prove to be deadly.
Choice Scarf users: It is not particularly hard to outspeed Aurumoth at +1 Speed, so many common Choice Scarf users such as Kitsunoh, Greninja, and Volkraken are capable of revenge killing it. However, because of its incredible bulk, not even Volkraken is capable of always OHKOing a boosted Aurumoth, so all of them require prior damage. Choice Scarf Weavile has seen use precisely because it's able to OHKO a boosted Aurumoth using Punishment. It is also important to note that Kitsunoh is the only one of these that can switch in relatively safely, but even then, it takes significant damage from Thunder. Furthermore, because of its low damage output, Kitsunoh needs to resort to using Trick to cripple a healthy Aurumoth with its Choice Scarf, as otherwise Kitsunoh risks putting Aurumoth in range for its Berry, and doing so sacrifices most of its utility against faster threats and fails completely against sets with a Z-Crystal.
Steel-types: Magearna is usually one of the safest checks to Aurumoth, but its lack of reliable recovery means that it is quickly worn down, Z-Moves can overwhelm it with relative ease, and it needs to watch out for the rare Overheat. Other Steel-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela can pressure Aurumoth, but Focus Blast and Thunder make them very unreliable checks.
Priority: This method can be used to pick off a weakened Aurumoth, but it is rather unreliable, as Aurumoth's great bulk means that even strong super effective moves like Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch fail to KO from full HP, and because Aurumoth usually runs pinch Berries, it's also hard to put it into range of weaker ones like Syclant's Ice Shard.
Chansey: The blob is always the most obvious blanket check to special attackers, and it can tank most of Aurumoth moves. However, after a few boosts, Focus Blast can 2HKO it, so it tends to lose 1v1 unless it carries Toxic, an uncommon move on modern sets.
Other generically bulky Pokemon: Clefable, Mega Latias, and Reuniclus are capable of tanking Aurumoth's most common moves and can use Calm Mind to prevent a boosted Aurumoth from overwhelming them, although a well-timed Z-Move can overwhelm them, and the latter two fear Bug Buzz. Tangrowth and Jumbao don't take too much damage, but unless Aurumoth has been already weakened, it can boost past them.
As can be observed from this list, Aurumoth has the ability to trump any of its supposed checks. For this reason, many teams need to pack multiple checks to stop it, and even in these cases, Aurumoth might still find a way to break past them, especially with proper team support. This makes Aurumoth a very oppressive presence in the metagame, capable of winning games by itself if given just a single free turn, and immensely restrictive to teambuilding, forcing teams to run one of the few select Pokemon capable of preventing it from sweeping.
Steel-types: Magearna is usually one of the safest checks to Aurumoth, but its lack of reliable recovery means that it is quickly worn down, Z-Moves can overwhelm it with relative ease, and it needs to watch out for the rare Overheat. Other Steel-types like Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela can pressure Aurumoth, but Focus Blast and Thunder make them very unreliable checks.
Priority: This method can be used to pick off a weakened Aurumoth, but it is rather unreliable, as Aurumoth's great bulk means that even strong super effective moves like Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch fail to KO from full HP, and because Aurumoth usually runs pinch Berries, it's also hard to put it into range of weaker ones like Syclant's Ice Shard.
Chansey: The blob is always the most obvious blanket check to special attackers, and it can tank most of Aurumoth moves. However, after a few boosts, Focus Blast can 2HKO it, so it tends to lose 1v1 unless it carries Toxic, an uncommon move on modern sets.
Other generically bulky Pokemon: Clefable, Mega Latias, and Reuniclus are capable of tanking Aurumoth's most common moves and can use Calm Mind to prevent a boosted Aurumoth from overwhelming them, although a well-timed Z-Move can overwhelm them, and the latter two fear Bug Buzz. Tangrowth and Jumbao don't take too much damage, but unless Aurumoth has been already weakened, it can boost past them.
As can be observed from this list, Aurumoth has the ability to trump any of its supposed checks. For this reason, many teams need to pack multiple checks to stop it, and even in these cases, Aurumoth might still find a way to break past them, especially with proper team support. This makes Aurumoth a very oppressive presence in the metagame, capable of winning games by itself if given just a single free turn, and immensely restrictive to teambuilding, forcing teams to run one of the few select Pokemon capable of preventing it from sweeping.
Here's a replay showcasing Aurumoth in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-880742922
In this game, Aurumoth comes in late-game once Jordy's team has been weakened and tanks a Hurricane from Tornadus-T in order to set up a sweep. This perfectly showcases how Aurumoth's bulk lets it easily find setup opportunities to turn the tide of the game in its favor, even on seemingly unfavorable matchups.
Process:
======snake_rattler said:1. The CAP Metagame Council identifies a broken/unhealthy threat. Input from the metagame discussion thread, Discord, high-level tournament replays, etc. are ways the community can voice their concerns to the CAP Metagame council.
2. The CAP Metagame Council begins a thread. The OP, written by the CAP Metagame Council, summarizes why the Pokemon is broken. Metagame shifts, game mechanics changing, or OU bans can be potential points. The CAP Metagame council will also include a checks and counters list. Hard-counters to soft-checks, hazard damage, relative ability to switch-in, etc. should be considered. Keep in mind that with the broken Pokemon in the metagame, we can continue to understand why it is broken.
3. In the thread, the community discusses the simplest solution(s) to making the CAP not broken. Here, we can well-define a new list of checks and counters. Some solutions may be changing its ability to one that's similar but not as good, reducing its speed tier, removing some of its bulk or attack, or removing a certain move or two from its movepool. The community will play a huge role in identifying what solutions are available, but CAP Metagame Council will have the final say on what nerf is implemented. Keep in mind that the nerf(s) that is(are) implemented MUST preserve the identity of the CAP (i.e. Necturna uses Sketch, Pajantom uses its powerful trapping move, etc.).
/!\Rules for posting in this thread/!\
Do not post one liners, nor uninformed posts;
Do not hold discussion on other potential nerfing processes;
Do not hold discussion on the nerfing process;
You are required to make respectful posts.
If you fail to follow these rules, your post will be deleted and you will be infracted.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask Jordy, SHSP, snake_rattler, Jho, and/or Mx.