Metagame Scarlet and Violet CAP Metagame Discussion

Concept · Feb 2, 2024

bruised said:
Could you put the Chromera being busted with a real ability into perspective for me? I hear you, I’m just not seeing the vision chief.

The main issue with Chromera outside of 4x weak to fighting and being weak to Hemogoblin is the fact you can’t reliably use your strong STAB moves without the aide of Tera. If Chromera was able to maintain its normal typing while taking attacks with its good bulk it becomes a very hard to kill breaker. Although the playerbase wasn’t the greatest when CAAAP was popular Chromera no longer had the downside of losing its primary source of damage STAB Boomburst which made it an incredible breaker. It’s viability really depends on the ability it would receive as that would change its set depending on what the ability was given, however switching color change enables Boomburst spam which effectively breaks any slower paced teams with ease.

Elvira · Feb 2, 2024

Concept Everything said:
The main issue with Chromera outside of 4x weak to fighting and being weak to Hemogoblin is the fact you can’t reliably use your strong STAB moves without the aide of Tera. If Chromera was able to maintain its normal typing while taking attacks with its good bulk it becomes a very hard to kill breaker. Although the playerbase wasn’t the greatest when CAAAP was popular Chromera no longer had the downside of losing its primary source of damage STAB Boomburst which made it an incredible breaker. It’s viability really depends on the ability it would receive as that would change its set depending on what the ability was given, however switching color change enables Boomburst spam which effectively breaks any slower paced teams with ease.

Thank you for putting things into perspective. For quite a while I was lost on how to viably make it work and run. You’ve been a great help!

Samirsin · Feb 2, 2024

I would like to add that even though "Defective Ability" was the concept, it's not the complete concept. The full concept and final product was "This Pokemon manages to work around an ability that is generally considered harmful, and is viable, or even better for it."

MC Squared · Feb 2, 2024

bruised said:
That’s why I addressed regenerator. It isn’t an overall buff that could take away its signature design, but at least something to give it a better niche that what it already has. Maybe recover, slack off, some hp regen if not.

Regenerator is a massive competitive addition. No one will use Colour Change again

Samirsin · Mar 9, 2024

CAP ladder usage stats of February and what they tell us about the ladder metagame
(also forgive me I forgot past months lol)

By using this stats (1500), here are some points:

Hemogoblin
Equilibra
Venomicon
Cresceidon
Miasmaw
Caribolt
Cawmodore
Snaelstrom
Stratagem
Revenankh

+----------------------------------------+
| Cresceidon :sv/cresceidon:

Hemogoblin
Equilibra
Venomicon
Cresceidon
Miasmaw
Caribolt
Cawmodore
Snaelstrom
Stratagem
Revenankh
Aurumoth
Plasmanta
Arghonaut
Malaconda
Krilowatt
Colossoil
Astrolotl
Tomohawk
Saharaja
Pajantom
Jumbao
Syclant
Smokomodo
Venomicon-Epilogue
Kitsunoh
Pyroak
Cyclohm
Chromera
Naviathan
Fidgit
Voodoom
Mollux
Crucibelle
Volkraken
Kerfluffle
Necturna

If we used the the 4.52% cutoff, these next CAPs would be UU by usage:

Kerfluffle
Necturna

Total leads: 4954
+ ---- + ------------------ + --------- + ------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Usage % | Raw | % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + --------- + ------ + ------- +
| 1 | Snaelstrom | 5.49551% | 304 | 6.136% |
| 2 | Venomicon | 4.54422% | 194 | 3.916% |
| 3 | Malaconda | 4.41088% | 194 | 3.916% |
| 4 | Krilowatt | 3.93005% | 154 | 3.109% |
| 5 | Fidgit | 3.16354% | 186 | 3.755% |
| 6 | Tomohawk | 2.99885% | 130 | 2.624% |
| 7 | Cresceidon | 2.75884% | 141 | 2.846% |
| 8 | Stratagem | 2.70106% | 152 | 3.068% |
| 9 | Hemogoblin | 2.26381% | 113 | 2.281% |
| 10 | Glimmora | 2.24634% | 97 | 1.958% |
| 11 | Astrolotl | 2.17512% | 126 | 2.543% |
| 12 | Equilibra | 2.16713% | 102 | 2.059% |
| 13 | Miasmaw | 2.11326% | 129 | 2.604% |
| 14 | Dragapult | 2.08155% | 82 | 1.655% |
| 15 | Venomicon-Epilogue | 1.93635% | 91 | 1.837% |
| 16 | Crucibelle | 1.85966% | 117 | 2.362% |
| 17 | Saharaja | 1.82286% | 97 | 1.958% |
| 18 | Jumbao | 1.79324% | 101 | 2.039% |
| 19 | Aurumoth | 1.64333% | 93 | 1.877% |
| 20 | Colossoil | 1.56340% | 92 | 1.857% |

weatherless...................81.25559%
offense.......................47.41197%
balance.......................33.42471%
sun...........................14.60212%
hyperoffense..................11.68265%
voltturn...................... 5.15996%
stall......................... 3.87345%
semistall..................... 3.60721%
rain.......................... 2.14713%
monotype...................... 1.68275%
hail.......................... 1.36407%
sand.......................... 0.68609%
trickroom..................... 0.54083%
monobug....................... 0.39088%
sunoffense.................... 0.33791%
choice........................ 0.25268%
monoghost..................... 0.22634%
hailoffense................... 0.21390%
monopoison.................... 0.18341%
monofire...................... 0.16267%
monowater..................... 0.15345%
sunstall...................... 0.15106%
monofairy..................... 0.10760%
monosteel..................... 0.08935%
monorock...................... 0.08885%
monofighting.................. 0.08027%
monodark...................... 0.07379%
sandstall..................... 0.07311%
monodragon.................... 0.07299%
monograss..................... 0.06625%
monoground.................... 0.06002%
multiweather.................. 0.05499%
sandoffense................... 0.05144%
monoelectric.................. 0.04107%
gravity....................... 0.03799%
rainoffense................... 0.03417%
monopsychic................... 0.02559%
tricksand..................... 0.02346%
tailwind...................... 0.01760%
tricksun...................... 0.01275%
mononormal.................... 0.01129%
monoflying.................... 0.01085%
monoice....................... 0.00388%

Stalliness (mean: -0.093)
-2.0|#
|
-1.5|####
|###########
-1.0|###############
|################
-0.5|###########################
|##############################
0.0|##########################
|#############################
+0.5|##############
|############
+1.0|######
|####
+1.5|#
|#
+2.0|#
|##
+2.5|##
|
more negative = more offensive, more positive = more stall
one # = 0.49%

CAP 34 is on its way!
Walking Wake, Kingambit, Slowking-Galar and Great Tusk are the most used non-CAP Pokémon.
Ababo learned how to make tacos.

shnowshner · Mar 17, 2024

Yo after having watched a lot of SV during CL and playing in Seasonal I want to spend some time talking about mons/sets I think are pretty hot right now regardless of if its anything cool or not.

NP Venom

Venomicon @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Poison / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hurricane
- Body Press
- Roost

Nasty Plot has seen a pretty significant resurgence since CAPCL (thanks team India), and looking at popular defensive mons right now it's a solid response. Notably, opposing Venom that run only Knock/Body Press/Sludge Bomb are complete setup fodder, especially if they trade Knock for Rocks and lack any meaningful way of making progress against you. Hurricane is a big fat damage button that chunks frail neutral targets or Flying-weaks, but the shaky accuracy requires you to play this mon slow and deliberately. NP Venom is a wincon that really wants to take its time and make sure problematic mons are statused/chipped and scouted fully. Thankfully, with a strong defensive profile and HDB, it's not hard to position Venom into winning matchups and find chances to stay healthy with Roost. A huge boon to this set is that Venom just by existing adds a ton of value to your team, and since Body Press + Roost are standard moves you can keep the opponent unaware of your true intentions. Yes, I find Body Press is your best secondary attack: it doesn't benefit from NP, but who cares when taking stray hits is setup as well? This move is critical for smacking Flying resists like Equilibra and Heatran without fear of missing boosted canes, or when you don't have time to boost. You could drop it in exchange for Sludge Bomb to have additional security against Hemogoblin, which Venom isn't a reliable check to when you have to rely on Hurricane, but you make your bad MUs significantly more awkward in doing so. Idk if SludgePress + NP is worth it, you sorta want Hurricane to pressure Arghonaut. I think Tera Ghost has potential as a means of further bullying Argh as you dodge Circle Throw, you are made more vulnerable to Knock but proper sequencing + Stamina means it's a worthwhile trade in the right situation: maybe you even tack on Shadow Ball to harass Gholdengo but the move kinda sucks without +2 or Tera, so you may just want to stick with the Tera.

Bad Venom

Venomicon-Epilogue @ Vile Vial
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Flying / Poison / [Cheeky Defensive Tera]
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Gunk Shot
- Coil
- Roost

I've noticed an uptick in Epilogue usage lately and it's rising feels quite similar as to why NP Venom saw a resurgence as well, takes advantage of specific defensive mons and blows holes in much of the meta after a Coil. With hazard control being sucky I can understand why people were less than thrilled to try EBook earlier, but the power of Offense right now and you sorta lacking solid defensive checks makes it a high value option if you think you can play it right. Webs/Tailwind structures seem quite good with it as you bypass the mediocre Speed tier, extra funny gamers can also pair with Thunder Wave spam to greed extra Coils or run the forbidden SubCoil set that reminds you how much of a dickhead Dragapult is. EBook is nice for these faster-paced Offense teams that want the defensive profile of a Knocked Venomicon with half the bulk but twice the rizz and it's cool to see it on such an upswing.

PA 3:57 AM Backroads Final Boss

Ting-Lu @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Poison / Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind / Stealth Rock
- Ruination / Stealth Rock

I'm a big proponent of Ting-Lu because it's this huge mountain of stats with fantastic utility and a useful typing to boot. IMO A lot of CAP users severely underrate this mon in the transition from OU: this set and slashes aren't innovating on anything, mon's just fantastic at gatekeeping Special Attackers, getting Hazards up, and harassing the opponent with Whirlwind. You can run 2x Hazards on Ting-Lu pretty comfortably as its mere presence alone can force the opponent out, so all you need to do is contribute to winning the hazard war and occasionally toss in EQ/Ruin/Whirl. You do need to play it carefully at times since Ting relies heavily on the item slot to function as a wall. There is still room for experimentation as well: I once got my Stratagem owned thinking it was safe into Ting-Lu, only to be met with an OHKO by Heavy Slam. Reminder that Gen 9 loves overtuned mons and you have base 110 Attack.

Azu if it was good v2

Primarina @ Assault Vest
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Tera Type: Steel
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Moonblast / Draining Kiss
- Flip Turn
- Psychic Noise

Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Tera Type: Steel / Poison
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Moonblast / Draining Kiss
- Substitute

Another popular OU mon that at first may seem like a weaker Cresceidon, but these two mons function quite differently. As good as Cresceidon is, it's a pretty big momentum sink and lacks meaningful damage output. Prim slots much better onto the Offense spectrum of teams with its high Special Attack, pivoting, setup, and funny move of Q1 SV Psychic Noise. I've seen a ton of it in Seasonal so far and I imagine usage will remain steady as Offense continues as the #1 style in the metagame. Water/Fairy is just such a strong typing to have and the two play nice in not encroaching on the other's niche.

Double Dance Mana :manaphy:

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
Tera Type: Poison / Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Take Heart
- Acid Armor
- Scald
- Stored Power

Anytime I hear SHSP talk about stupid mons Manaphy comes up and having used it once on a team whose gimmick was the letter M, I can confirm this feels like a win button if your opponent loads a bad MU or makes a singular misplay. Having the option to shutdown both Physical and Special attackers is already the demon special, but you add in free status removal via Take Heart and Manaphy can quickly become insurmountable outside of getting lucky turns. Add in your good typing, good bulk, random high Speed for the type of mon this is, plus Tera, and Manaphy is a terrifying late-game mon. Knockless CAPs like Libra, Mollux, and TWave Cresc really do not like seeing this Mana on the other team, and you benefit a ton from Dark-types like Hamurrot and Roaring Moon being less of an issue thanks to CAP introducing strong Fairy- and Fighting-types (Venom is an honorary Fighting STAB user). Tail Glow doesn't impress me as much with Argh being a problem and all the strong Priority you have to deal with, but it's still an option for immediate breaking potential.

CM Mollux :mollux:

Mollux @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dry Skin
Tera Type: Ground / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Lava Plume
- Sludge Bomb / Clear Smog
- Recover

I think this is a more recent innovation? Either way Mollux has been on the rise lately as Hemogoblin remains top threat in the meta. I EV'd this to always outspeed Adamant Hemo with the rest going into HP and Defense, with an extra point to beat 0 EV Great Tusk. You don't really need investment in Special Attack since Mollux has enough already. Slower spreads are definitely possible but dodging faster Tera Blasts + Kingambit felt pretty useful on setup. Clear Smog has been used over Sludge as well to deny opposing setup, which sounds strange given the 50 BP but tbh you still deal good damage to Hemo and preventing opposing setup in such a dangerous meta is always beneficial.

Also since CL is over and the floodgates are pretty much open I think it's imperative that action be taken against Hemogoblin. The mon is simply too constraining on the builder and is more than capable of beating checks with the right set bring, and we've honestly put it off far too long. It is a mon that gets murked by Tera pretty often given the linear gameplan, but it legit mandates such Teras for teams lacking a dedicated answer, which means the Tera is often predictable and thus asking to be anti-meta'd in due time. I'll keep the rest of my thoughts towards it for whenever discussion opens proper.

Waldinji · Mar 19, 2024

shnowshner said:
The mon is simply too constraining on the builder and is more than capable of beating checks with the right set bring, and we've honestly put it off far too long

As much of a big change to the format at large as a hemogoblin nerf / Ban (until a proper nerf is found , Idk exactly how that functions) is , I will agree with the massive contrains it puts both on the teambuilding and the battle itself for an entire year pretty much (We'll get to that later)

The obvious one , Pretty much every single team (from personal experience as a SV builder and player in general) has a fire type [Gouging fire not being included in that list because +1 Tera fairy exists] (or a veno) as a result of this thing , As good as many fire types are in the format Thanks to their ability to somewhat check / Prevent Pixiespeed from getting out of hand too quickly , that can lead to many exploitable results , Mainly Hemogoblin's Good pairing on the likes of Shrimp Spikes teams or Booster Speed Bulk up Tusk , both examples being able to overwhelm the hemogoblin Check or use set check as a way to gain momentum respectively , as many fire types (mainly Magma Storm-less Heatran or Mollux) are momentum sinks giving the opposing team the advantage on that front. And another teambuilder constraint is the movepool variety on the last slot. Sometimes , it just spikes on your fire type suspecting a raw pixilate extreme speed to revenge kill the likes of roaring Moon , Or it can just tera Ground your heatran , or it's the standard Moonlight as last slot , giving it set up opportunity where it otherwise shouldn't have them because of the lack of recovery on the other moveslots.

And in the battle itself , It's somehow even more contraining because you will usually only have 1 Hemogoblin counter (even that is doubtful sometimes) per team and it needs to be kept healthy , or alive at all unless it's the likes of defensive heatran or veno (who again , Loses to tera ground in the case of heatran) , and unlike most sweepers that are difficult to stop , Twave from cresceidon (who is also a momentum sink check) is useless into it because it's main move is +2 Priority , Also making it impossible to finish off without your own pixilate extreme speed or your own extreme speed in general. Hemogoblin is , maybe other than gouging fire , the worst mon to give even a single free turn without a check to it being alive , making it insanely opressive to play around in the battle itself , giving the hemogoblin user the advantage just on the basis to keep one of your mon healthy.

Just wanted to mention my experience both running , testing and battling Hemo for the past year. as much as I joke calling it "Balanced Hackmon but legit" , This mon is probably the single scariest (Not the best , just the one you have to play around the most carefully) in the entire format because of how easily it can get out of hand and how versatile it's last moveslot is

spoo · Apr 17, 2024

out of seasonal so will share what i used

vs shsp / vs vuldark

shared all of these before and 3 out of 4 are samples so wont say anything more about them

vs lasen

i think these teams are both pretty solid (also samples now). the kyurem one was ripped from a successful ou structure that had dozo > argh, it works pretty well and i would recommend both of these teams still

vs exithe

alt version

i forget what the idea behind prep was this week lmao i think i just wanted to load some quirky cteam-y offense, i remember running into kinda bad matchups but i somehow got like 3 meteor beam boosts with strata and won the set so that was pretty funny! i am fairly confident rev's gonna end up getting poltergeist removed because imo it was slept on even before the buff; it's a great spinblocker that can enable some interesting spikestack or glimm offenses, is a solid anti-offense tool in its own right, and is surprisingly good into a lot of venom balances. these are slightly jank teams so i wouldn't recommend them for must-win games but they're pretty fun and i think they play mostly fine

vs dpm

i wanted to switch things up a bit since i had mostly been loading ho or fatter stuff, so bo / semistall / normal-ish(ish) libra balance was what i settled on. the kril team is pretty fun altho tera stellar is probably not optimal lol. i think this was also when i started building a ton with alo - unfortunately a super exploitable mon (hello oger) but enables enough unique stuff to more than make up for it imo. sub pult, knock hamu, and knock barb clef are all assholes into fatter teams and alo lets you play the long game very easily. offense matchup is a bit harder w this team but not impossible at all. now this milotic squad ... LMAO okay i actually really like this 6 but it was totally untested before playing dpm and i think some of the set choices were a bit too ambitious however this team is gas nonetheless

vs entro

alt version

same team
knocked into losers nooo.... i couldnt be asked to build 6 teams for rr so reused one and edited another, but unfortunately i did not play super well esp in g3 and got goobed. i think this version of the milotic team is a lot better though; tera fighting is just generally better than fire on reu, barb helps force progress vs fat and makes reu trade pretty well into booster mons on offense, gastro acid mollux was mainly for gliscor but does some other fun stuff, and body slam zama was to force permanent progress vs its longterm checks like argh/cres/venom etc - though i think an ID set might be better anyways since it's really just an anti-offense mon here. was pretty happy with the bolt team as well tho it's a bit annoying if you can't surprise KO a venom/libra/ghost with mirror coat. i'd recommend all 3 of these teams with these changes to the milotic one

vs dpm again

choked on balls g1 but both of us forgot to save that replay thankfully. the veil is pretty interesting but i'll just shout out the caribolt set - lum is great since a lot of counterplay comes down to stuff like pult or dirge wisp / gliscor toxic / cres scald burn, and tera steel means you dont get nuked by draco, shard, espeed, etc making this mon pretty hard stop from claiming at least one KO or forcing a tera. got a second glimm + ghosts ho with a lot of tools to beat down standard balance and fat. the snael team is an edit of something i loaded a few months back that had pult > oger, but i think knock off + fast encore + pressuring bulky waters makes oger the better choice for that slot. not the best 3 teams in this post but they get the job done

vs mada

knocked out of the tour NOOO..... i could complain about luck but that's just mons and i don't think i played this series perfectly anyways, so there's not a lot i can really whine about. i don't typically build or load bos like this in sv which made prep this week a fun and interesting challenge, especially trying to make both teams solid into the hard stall and hos that i thought might be coming. there are some really cool techs on these teams and i'm very happy with how they both turned out. maybe some small changes like smack down > tomb on lando or different coverage on dirge would be optimal but it's hard to say. ggs mada and gl in finals, was a fun tour!

shoutout D2TheW and SHSP for bouncing ideas around with me the whole tour and Meta-Knight for doing a lot of testing/chatting/polishing during the last week or two. overall i'm confident in my building skills but i still have a long way to go as a player; some of the games this tour were definitely not ones i should have lost. looking forward to winning 34 playtest tho so i'll see y'all then

bonus stuff i never loaded, was either too unpolished or never felt good about the mu i'd run into

TheFurretStar · Apr 19, 2024

the meta will get very interesting once 34 com3s out, just you wait

Anchor9 · May 20, 2024

Chuggalong is here!!!
:sv/chuggalong:

:( doesn’t work

Here’s some stuff I’ve seen since it came out.
Sets:

Classic:
Chuggalong @ Throat Spray
Ability: Armor Tail
Tera Type: Dragon / Flying / Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales
- Surf / Flamethrower
- Clangorous Soul
- Sludge Wave / Stored Power / Taunt / Encore

This set has been very effective as expected. Runs through a bit and can use Tera for setup opportunities or to overpower opposition. Getting that turn of setup isn’t too hard unless the Mon can hit you super effectively, which is why Tera exists. The fourth moveslot is pretty flexible, between another STAB, breaking past :Arghonaut:

, or providing setup opportunities.

Sitrus Berry Draining Kiss:
Chuggalong @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Armor Tail
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales / ???
- Stored Power
- Clangorous Soul
- Draining Kiss

Interesting set SDK04 made that’s supposed to utilize Chuggalong’s decent bulk to setup multiple times under screen support from :Grimmsnarl:

or

. Thanks to its low HP stat, Draining Kiss gets it straight back up in health to spam Clangerous Soul.

Counterplay:

:Booster Energy:

Booster Energy Iron Valiant: Encores Clangerous Soul and walls Chuggalong if it doesn’t have Sludge Bomb.

:Arghonaut:

Arghonaut: Very consistent at forcing non-Stored Power Chuggalong out with Circle Throw, but Stored Power sets forces it to burn Tera.

:Dragapult:

Dragapult: Activate Draco Meteor!!! Oh wait, it’s Tera Fairy.

:Gliscor:

Gliscor: Near impossible to set up on with without burning Tera, and it can Toxic Chuggalong after Tera is burned. Protect can scout out the coverage, which determines if something like :Arghonaut:

,

,

or

walls it.

Slowking-Galar: It can tank a hit and pressure Chuggalong out with Future Sight.

:Equilibra:

Equilibra: Also hard to set up on and can wall the Draining Kiss set, while putting pressure with Doom Desire.

Just some first impressions and set diversity and counterplay will probably quickly grow. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Spammernoob · May 20, 2024

Anchor9 said:
Sitrus Berry Draining Kiss:
Chuggalong @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Armor Tail
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales / ???
- Stored Power
- Clangorous Soul
- Draining Kiss

Interesting set SDK04 made that’s supposed to utilize Chuggalong’s decent bulk to setup multiple times under screen support from or . Thanks to its low HP stat, Draining Kiss gets it straight back up in health to spam Clangerous Soul.

Just some first impressions and set diversity and counterplay will probably quickly grow. Hope you enjoyed reading!

First move here should be Flamethrower, though I think Tera Ghost with Taunt might be the sauce.

Anchor9 · May 26, 2024

Some more stuff I’ve been finding out about :Chuggalong:

on ladder.

Choice Set
:sv/chuggalong:

Chuggalong @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Armor Tail
Tera Type: Dragon / Poison
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales
- Flamethrower
- Surf
- Sludge Wave

Choice Specs Tera Dragon Clanging Scales hits like a train and makes Chuggalong an excellent endgame sweeper that can blow past previous checks such as Gliscor and Arghonaut once checks such as Equilibra, Heatran, and Cresceidon are removed. Since Chuggalong is immune to priority, the Def drop hardly matters and it’s fast enough to blow past slower paced teams. Tera Poison Sludge Wave also hits extremely hard and busts past Cresceidon and Primarina. Choice Scarf is some of the most insane speed control you can get, although it gets walled pretty quickly.

Setting up with Chuggalong:

Easy:

Here’s a list of Mons that are extremely easy for Chuggalong to setup on and end games on the spot.

:Snaelstrom:

Snaelstrom: This guy is a passive blue snail that hates Chuggalong’s Toxic immunity, meaning it can’t do much to prevent a Clangorous Soul or two.

:revenankh:

revenankh: Chuggalong is one of the new premier checks to the Poltergeist spammer. After a Clangorous Soul, Throat Spray Chuggalong is immune to the typical set. (Bulk Up / Poltergeist / Drain Punch / Shadow Sneak or Moonlight)

:Venomicon:

Venomicon: Pretty simple and was called out earlier in the process of making Chuggalong. Hurricane is too inaccurate and Body Press does nothing unboosted.

And this is why Tera exists:

:Gliscor:

Gliscor: Chuggalong can setup by burning Tera Flying and then smoking Gliscor next turn with Surf / Clanging Scales.

:Dragapult:

Dragapult: Beats this with Tera Fairy. Pretty simple.

:Equilibra:

Equilibra: Tera Flying allows Chuggalong to set up, while Flamethrower / Surf is around a 2HKO at +2 I believe while Flash Cannon is also a 2HKO after +1 SpDef and Clangorous Soul HP loss.

Depends on the set:

:Heatran:

Heatran: You only win this encounter with Surf.

:Mollux:

Mollux: This should be easy since it’s similarly a passive Mon like Snaelstrom, except if it carries Thunder Wave your sweep is done. Also hard to break past without Stored Power.

:Primarina:

Primarina: If you don’t have Sludge Wave this isn’t very easy to win, as it has Psychix Noise to shut down Draining Kiss sets and hit super-effectively.

Nope:

:Arghonaut:

Arghonaut: Circle Throws Chuggalong out every single time. At full it can tank Stored Power after one Clangorous Soul pretty comfortably. Don’t argue Tera Ghost Taunt. If so then I say this Argh is Tera Dark.

:Cresceidon:

Cresceidon: Lives Sludge Bomb comfortably with Multiscale. Thunder Waves Chuggalong and then Encores Clangorous Soul.

:Ting Lu:

Ting Lu: Whirlwinds Chuggalong out immediately. If Chugg has Taunt Ting-Lu can use Earthquake and Ruination to punish any setup attempt.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Da Pizza Man · May 31, 2024

Forgot to post this earlier, but here's the usage stats from Seasonals

CAP 2024 Winter Seasonals

Moves + Teammates | Combos

Code:

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Hemogoblin         |  101 |  32.17% |  57.43% |
| 2    | Venomicon          |   78 |  24.84% |  43.59% |
| 3    | Great Tusk         |   77 |  24.52% |  50.65% |
| 4    | Gliscor            |   68 |  21.66% |  54.41% |
| 5    | Dragapult          |   66 |  21.02% |  43.94% |
| 6    | Equilibra          |   62 |  19.75% |  41.94% |
| 7    | Slowking-Galar     |   51 |  16.24% |  49.02% |
| 8    | Cresceidon         |   48 |  15.29% |  47.92% |
| 9    | Kingambit          |   44 |  14.01% |  38.64% |
| 10   | Malaconda          |   41 |  13.06% |  56.10% |
| 11   | Raging Bolt        |   40 |  12.74% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Arghonaut          |   39 |  12.42% |  48.72% |
| 13   | Heatran            |   38 |  12.10% |  55.26% |
| 14   | Walking Wake       |   35 |  11.15% |  57.14% |
| 15   | Gouging Fire       |   34 |  10.83% |  58.82% |
| 16   | Gholdengo          |   32 |  10.19% |  62.50% |
| 16   | Miasmaw            |   32 |  10.19% |  53.12% |
| 16   | Landorus-Therian   |   32 |  10.19% |  43.75% |
| 19   | Rillaboom          |   31 |   9.87% |  80.65% |
| 20   | Roaring Moon       |   30 |   9.55% |  66.67% |
| 20   | Skarmory           |   30 |   9.55% |  56.67% |
| 20   | Mollux             |   30 |   9.55% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Iron Moth          |   29 |   9.24% |  55.17% |
| 24   | Caribolt           |   28 |   8.92% |  53.57% |
| 24   | Kyurem             |   28 |   8.92% |  46.43% |
| 24   | Garganacl          |   28 |   8.92% |  42.86% |
| 27   | Ogerpon-Wellspring |   25 |   7.96% |  40.00% |
| 28   | Iron Valiant       |   21 |   6.69% |  33.33% |
| 29   | Hawlucha           |   20 |   6.37% |  80.00% |
| 29   | Darkrai            |   20 |   6.37% |  60.00% |
| 31   | Zamazenta-*        |   19 |   6.05% |  52.63% |
| 31   | Deoxys-Speed       |   19 |   6.05% |  42.11% |
| 31   | Krilowatt          |   19 |   6.05% |  36.84% |
| 34   | Meowscarada        |   18 |   5.73% |  61.11% |
| 34   | Volcarona          |   18 |   5.73% |  55.56% |
| 36   | Ting-Lu            |   17 |   5.41% |  70.59% |
| 36   | Clefable           |   17 |   5.41% |  58.82% |
| 36   | Iron Boulder       |   17 |   5.41% |  41.18% |
| 39   | Stratagem          |   15 |   4.78% |  53.33% |
| 39   | Cawmodore          |   15 |   4.78% |  26.67% |
| 41   | Dondozo            |   14 |   4.46% |  64.29% |
| 41   | Saharaja           |   14 |   4.46% |  57.14% |
| 41   | Hatterene          |   14 |   4.46% |  50.00% |
| 41   | Cinderace          |   14 |   4.46% |  21.43% |
| 45   | Primarina          |   13 |   4.14% |  46.15% |
| 45   | Snaelstrom         |   13 |   4.14% |  38.46% |
| 47   | Blissey            |   12 |   3.82% |  66.67% |
| 48   | Hydrapple          |   11 |   3.50% |  63.64% |
| 48   | Weavile            |   11 |   3.50% |  54.55% |
| 48   | Pecharunt          |   11 |   3.50% |  54.55% |
| 48   | Venomicon-Epilogue |   11 |   3.50% |  36.36% |
| 48   | Revenankh          |   11 |   3.50% |  27.27% |
| 53   | Samurott-Hisui     |   10 |   3.18% |  50.00% |
| 53   | Glimmora           |   10 |   3.18% |  30.00% |
| 55   | Venusaur           |    9 |   2.87% |  66.67% |
| 55   | Alomomola          |    9 |   2.87% |  44.44% |
| 55   | Enamorus           |    9 |   2.87% |  33.33% |
| 58   | Iron Treads        |    8 |   2.55% |  62.50% |
| 58   | Corviknight        |    8 |   2.55% |  62.50% |
| 58   | Serperior          |    8 |   2.55% |  62.50% |
| 58   | Manaphy            |    8 |   2.55% |  62.50% |
| 58   | Zapdos             |    8 |   2.55% |  37.50% |
| 58   | Syclant            |    8 |   2.55% |  25.00% |
| 58   | Skeledirge         |    8 |   2.55% |  12.50% |
| 65   | Excadrill          |    7 |   2.23% |  42.86% |
| 65   | Dragonite          |    7 |   2.23% |  42.86% |
| 65   | Rotom-Wash         |    7 |   2.23% |  28.57% |
| 65   | Pajantom           |    7 |   2.23% |  28.57% |
| 69   | Ceruledge          |    6 |   1.91% |  83.33% |
| 69   | Latios             |    6 |   1.91% |  50.00% |
| 69   | Crucibelle         |    6 |   1.91% |  50.00% |
| 69   | Colossoil          |    6 |   1.91% |  50.00% |
| 69   | Naviathan          |    6 |   1.91% |  16.67% |
| 69   | Hoopa-Unbound      |    6 |   1.91% |  16.67% |
| 75   | Volcanion          |    5 |   1.59% |  80.00% |
| 75   | Indeedee           |    5 |   1.59% |  60.00% |
| 75   | Ogerpon            |    5 |   1.59% |  40.00% |
| 75   | Ursaluna           |    5 |   1.59% |   0.00% |
| 79   | Ogerpon-Cornerstone |    4 |   1.27% |  75.00% |
| 79   | Moltres            |    4 |   1.27% |  75.00% |
| 79   | Pelipper           |    4 |   1.27% |  50.00% |
| 79   | Barraskewda        |    4 |   1.27% |  50.00% |
| 79   | Latias             |    4 |   1.27% |  50.00% |
| 79   | Jumbao             |    4 |   1.27% |  50.00% |
| 79   | Magnezone          |    4 |   1.27% |  50.00% |
| 79   | Ninetales-Alola    |    4 |   1.27% |  50.00% |
| 79   | Tornadus-Therian   |    4 |   1.27% |  25.00% |
| 79   | Tomohawk           |    4 |   1.27% |  25.00% |
| 79   | Reuniclus          |    4 |   1.27% |  25.00% |
| 90   | Toxapex            |    3 |   0.96% | 100.00% |
| 90   | Swampert           |    3 |   0.96% |  66.67% |
| 90   | Volkraken          |    3 |   0.96% |  66.67% |
| 90   | Scovillain         |    3 |   0.96% |  66.67% |
| 90   | Kommo-o            |    3 |   0.96% |  66.67% |
| 90   | Garchomp           |    3 |   0.96% |  66.67% |
| 90   | Smokomodo          |    3 |   0.96% |  33.33% |
| 90   | Aurumoth           |    3 |   0.96% |  33.33% |
| 90   | Slowking           |    3 |   0.96% |  33.33% |
| 90   | Archaludon         |    3 |   0.96% |   0.00% |
| 90   | Fidgit             |    3 |   0.96% |   0.00% |
| 101  | Iron Leaves        |    2 |   0.64% | 100.00% |
| 101  | Ribombee           |    2 |   0.64% | 100.00% |
| 101  | Iron Crown         |    2 |   0.64% | 100.00% |
| 101  | Enamorus-Therian   |    2 |   0.64% | 100.00% |
| 101  | Keldeo             |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Astrolotl          |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Slither Wing       |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Plasmanta          |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Sinistcha          |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Amoonguss          |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Cyclohm            |    2 |   0.64% |  50.00% |
| 101  | Tyranitar          |    2 |   0.64% |   0.00% |
| 101  | Conkeldurr         |    2 |   0.64% |   0.00% |
| 101  | Empoleon           |    2 |   0.64% |   0.00% |
| 101  | Pyroak             |    2 |   0.64% |   0.00% |
| 101  | Chromera           |    2 |   0.64% |   0.00% |
| 101  | Milotic            |    2 |   0.64% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Deoxys-Defense     |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Clodsire           |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Moltres-Galar      |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Metagross          |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Munkidori          |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Gardevoir          |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Umbreon            |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Weezing-Galar      |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Revavroom          |    1 |   0.32% | 100.00% |
| 118  | Raikou             |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Comfey             |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Voodoom            |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Gastrodon          |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Crawdaunt          |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Thundurus-Therian  |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Armarouge          |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Typhlosion-Hisui   |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Kitsunoh           |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Scattervein        |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Pincurchin         |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Vikavolt           |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Pawmot             |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Kerfluffle         |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Bronzong           |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |
| 118  | Iron Hands         |    1 |   0.32% |   0.00% |

Da Pizza Man · Jul 3, 2024

CAP34 Playtest

Moves + Teammates | Combos

Code:

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Chuggalong         |   59 |  40.41% |  54.24% |
| 2    | Gholdengo          |   37 |  25.34% |  48.65% |
| 3    | Hemogoblin         |   32 |  21.92% |  50.00% |
| 4    | Dragapult          |   30 |  20.55% |  40.00% |
| 5    | Roaring Moon       |   27 |  18.49% |  59.26% |
| 6    | Raging Bolt        |   26 |  17.81% |  53.85% |
| 6    | Zamazenta-*        |   26 |  17.81% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Equilibra          |   25 |  17.12% |  44.00% |
| 9    | Ogerpon-Wellspring |   22 |  15.07% |  50.00% |
| 10   | Gliscor            |   20 |  13.70% |  40.00% |
| 11   | Ting-Lu            |   19 |  13.01% |  57.89% |
| 12   | Great Tusk         |   18 |  12.33% |  50.00% |
| 13   | Arghonaut          |   17 |  11.64% |  58.82% |
| 13   | Garganacl          |   17 |  11.64% |  58.82% |
| 13   | Kingambit          |   17 |  11.64% |  52.94% |
| 13   | Slowking-Galar     |   17 |  11.64% |  52.94% |
| 13   | Cresceidon         |   17 |  11.64% |  41.18% |
| 18   | Venomicon          |   16 |  10.96% |  50.00% |
| 19   | Deoxys-Speed       |   15 |  10.27% |  40.00% |
| 20   | Cinderace          |   14 |   9.59% |  64.29% |
| 20   | Caribolt           |   14 |   9.59% |  57.14% |
| 20   | Rillaboom          |   14 |   9.59% |  50.00% |
| 20   | Heatran            |   14 |   9.59% |  35.71% |
| 24   | Landorus-Therian   |   13 |   8.90% |  46.15% |
| 24   | Ribombee           |   13 |   8.90% |  46.15% |
| 26   | Iron Valiant       |   12 |   8.22% |  66.67% |
| 26   | Skarmory           |   12 |   8.22% |  58.33% |
| 26   | Hawlucha           |   12 |   8.22% |  50.00% |
| 26   | Miasmaw            |   12 |   8.22% |  41.67% |
| 26   | Krilowatt          |   12 |   8.22% |  16.67% |
| 31   | Malaconda          |   11 |   7.53% |  63.64% |
| 31   | Hatterene          |   11 |   7.53% |  63.64% |
| 31   | Mollux             |   11 |   7.53% |  54.55% |
| 34   | Darkrai            |   10 |   6.85% |  90.00% |
| 34   | Dragonite          |   10 |   6.85% |  80.00% |
| 34   | Gouging Fire       |   10 |   6.85% |  60.00% |
| 34   | Venomicon-Epilogue |   10 |   6.85% |  50.00% |
| 34   | Manaphy            |   10 |   6.85% |  50.00% |
| 39   | Primarina          |    9 |   6.16% |  33.33% |
| 40   | Walking Wake       |    8 |   5.48% |  62.50% |
| 40   | Samurott-Hisui     |    8 |   5.48% |  50.00% |
| 40   | Tomohawk           |    8 |   5.48% |  37.50% |
| 40   | Revenankh          |    8 |   5.48% |  25.00% |
| 44   | Clefable           |    7 |   4.79% |  57.14% |
| 44   | Blissey            |    7 |   4.79% |  57.14% |
| 44   | Iron Crown         |    7 |   4.79% |  57.14% |
| 44   | Alomomola          |    7 |   4.79% |  42.86% |
| 48   | Iron Moth          |    6 |   4.11% |  66.67% |
| 48   | Snaelstrom         |    6 |   4.11% |  33.33% |
| 48   | Glimmora           |    6 |   4.11% |  33.33% |
| 51   | Kyurem             |    5 |   3.42% |  80.00% |
| 51   | Weavile            |    5 |   3.42% |  60.00% |
| 51   | Dondozo            |    5 |   3.42% |  60.00% |
| 51   | Astrolotl          |    5 |   3.42% |   0.00% |
| 55   | Venusaur           |    4 |   2.74% | 100.00% |
| 55   | Ninetales-Alola    |    4 |   2.74% |  75.00% |
| 55   | Hydrapple          |    4 |   2.74% |  75.00% |
| 55   | Naviathan          |    4 |   2.74% |  50.00% |
| 55   | Skeledirge         |    4 |   2.74% |  25.00% |
| 60   | Ursaluna           |    3 |   2.05% |  66.67% |
| 60   | Colossoil          |    3 |   2.05% |  66.67% |
| 60   | Toxapex            |    3 |   2.05% |  66.67% |
| 60   | Greninja-*         |    3 |   2.05% |  33.33% |
| 60   | Corviknight        |    3 |   2.05% |  33.33% |
| 60   | Rotom-Wash         |    3 |   2.05% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Lilligant-Hisui    |    2 |   1.37% | 100.00% |
| 66   | Excadrill          |    2 |   1.37% |  50.00% |
| 66   | Clodsire           |    2 |   1.37% |  50.00% |
| 66   | Amoonguss          |    2 |   1.37% |  50.00% |
| 66   | Tornadus-Therian   |    2 |   1.37% |  50.00% |
| 66   | Fidgit             |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Pelipper           |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Iron Treads        |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Barraskewda        |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Pecharunt          |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Aurumoth           |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Jumbao             |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Plasmanta          |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 66   | Cawmodore          |    2 |   1.37% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Stratagem          |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Chromera           |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Kommo-o            |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Necrozma           |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Reuniclus          |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Milotic            |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Maushold-Four      |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Polteageist        |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Iron Hands         |    1 |   0.68% | 100.00% |
| 80   | Moltres            |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Tyranitar          |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Meowscarada        |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Keldeo             |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Iron Boulder       |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Scattervein        |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Kitsunoh           |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Saharaja           |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Syclant            |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Revavroom          |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Ogerpon            |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |
| 80   | Crucibelle         |    1 |   0.68% |   0.00% |

Samirsin · Jul 15, 2024

CAP ladder usage stats of June and what they tell us about the ladder metagame

By using this stats (1500), here are some points:

Chuggalong
Equilibra
Cresceidon
Arghonaut
Hemogoblin
Venomicon
Snaelstrom
Miasmaw
Stratagem
Cawmodore

+----------------------------------------+
| Chuggalong :sv/chuggalong:

Chuggalong
Equilibra
Cresceidon
Arghonaut
Hemogoblin
Venomicon
Snaelstrom
Miasmaw
Stratagem
Cawmodore
Mollux
Revenankh
Astrolotl
Caribolt
Colossoil
Tomohawk
Krilowatt
Malaconda
Syclant
Saharaja
Smokomodo
Plasmanta
Aurumoth
Cyclohm
Kitsunoh
Pajantom
Crucibelle
Naviathan
Fidgit
Jumbao
Pyroak
Necturna
Volkraken
Voodoom
Venomicon-Epilogue
Chromera
Kerfluffle
Scattervein ! (in 97th place)

If we used the the 4.52% cutoff, these next CAPs would be UU by usage:

Voodoom
Venomicon-Epilogue
Chromera
Kerfluffle
Scattervein

Total leads: 4388
+ ---- + ------------------ + --------- + ------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Usage % | Raw | % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + --------- + ------ + ------- +
| 1 | Snaelstrom | 6.28771% | 278 | 6.335% |
| 2 | Cresceidon | 4.13680% | 157 | 3.578% |
| 3 | Astrolotl | 3.86406% | 171 | 3.897% |
| 4 | Arghonaut | 3.57228% | 152 | 3.464% |
| 5 | Stratagem | 3.54492% | 161 | 3.669% |
| 6 | Fidgit | 3.48401% | 165 | 3.760% |
| 7 | Krilowatt | 3.43973% | 134 | 3.054% |
| 8 | Malaconda | 3.12093% | 132 | 3.008% |
| 9 | Chuggalong | 3.03232% | 155 | 3.532% |
| 10 | Crucibelle | 2.92052% | 116 | 2.644% |
| 11 | Equilibra | 2.66551% | 97 | 2.211% |
| 12 | Rillaboom | 2.38492% | 74 | 1.686% |
| 13 | Miasmaw | 2.23287% | 101 | 2.302% |
| 14 | Colossoil | 2.19198% | 96 | 2.188% |
| 15 | Dragapult | 2.17651% | 78 | 1.778% |
| 16 | Deoxys-Speed | 2.16984% | 73 | 1.664% |
| 17 | Saharaja | 2.16200% | 111 | 2.530% |
| 18 | Ribombee | 2.10540% | 88 | 2.005% |
| 19 | Mollux | 2.10277% | 86 | 1.960% |
| 20 | Landorus-Therian | 2.08112% | 75 | 1.709% |

weatherless...................85.49918%
offense.......................43.30033%
balance.......................33.08812%
sun...........................11.54436%
hyperoffense.................. 9.96640%
semistall..................... 8.95046%
voltturn...................... 4.79626%
stall......................... 4.69469%
monotype...................... 2.09868%
trickroom..................... 1.53646%
rain.......................... 1.41684%
hail.......................... 1.18162%
sand.......................... 0.37050%
monobug....................... 0.31030%
tricksun...................... 0.30888%
monoghost..................... 0.28015%
monograss..................... 0.27887%
monopoison.................... 0.25919%
sunoffense.................... 0.24103%
choice........................ 0.18313%
monoground.................... 0.17547%
monodragon.................... 0.17290%
monorock...................... 0.15351%
monofire...................... 0.13232%
monosteel..................... 0.12444%
monodark...................... 0.09675%
tailwind...................... 0.08378%
monofighting.................. 0.06351%
monofairy..................... 0.05824%
monoflying.................... 0.05676%
monowater..................... 0.04248%
monoelectric.................. 0.03811%
sandoffense................... 0.02488%
monoice....................... 0.01271%
multiweather.................. 0.01250%

Stalliness (mean: 0.029)
-2.0|
|#
-1.5|#####
|############
-1.0|################
|##############################
-0.5|##########################
|#############################
0.0|########################
|#####################
+0.5|###################
|######################
+1.0|################
|##########
+1.5|####
|##
+2.0|######
|#
more negative = more offensive, more positive = more stall
one # = 0.41%

Kingambit, Dragapult, Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Great Tusk are the most used non-CAP Pokémon.
Scatterveinis going up in usage by a lot (more usage than iron handsfor example)
CAP Random Battles is a format now!

Faux Focalors Furina · Jul 16, 2024

Samirsin said:
Kingambit, Dragapult, Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Great Tusk are the most used non-CAP Pokémon.

Scatterveinis going up in usage by a lot

CAP Random Battles is a format now!

Why is scattervein rising in usage? Is there some niche I haven't heard of?

Spammernoob · Jul 16, 2024

Faux Focalors Furina said:
Why is scattervein rising in usage? Is there some niche I haven't heard of?

Scattervein's niche is being a bulkier BU user than Hemo since it can use Eviolite. It loses too much offensive potential imo, and can be burned, so honestly I don't think it'll ever be seriously loaded over Hemo.

It went from 18 games in May to 19 games in June, when total battles went from 1814 to 2194, so I don't actually think usage went up much (13 "real" loads compared to 18, which is a decent increase but I have no clue what "real" means). There are definitely more loads than the last time Samirsin posted usage stats in Feb. (3 games, 2 real) but the number is so low it could easily just be 1 person messing around on ladder. I wouldn't put too much weight on CAP ladder usage either way.

https://www.smogon.com/stats/2024-05/gen9cap-1500.txt
https://www.smogon.com/stats/2024-06/gen9cap-1500.txt

Also, big fan of your pfp.

Faux Focalors Furina · Jul 16, 2024

Meta-Knight said:
Also, big fan of your pfp.

Thanks ^^

But now I'm wondering why can't Necturna "sketch" moves in Gen 9? Was she nerfed a lot or?

Spammernoob · Jul 16, 2024

Faux Focalors Furina said:
Thanks ^^

But now I'm wondering why can't Necturna "sketch" moves in Gen 9? Was she nerfed a lot or?

iirc Necturna lost Sketch due to the move not existing in-game.

Since Sketch is back, there are currently discussions on bringing it back.
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/necturna-in-gen-9-revisit.3746435/

spoo · Aug 18, 2024

Scattered thoughts about stuff from CAPPL that I was experimenting with but never got the chance to really see in action, click on minisprites to see sets

Stellar Cawm compresses a lot of what you'd want from tera Flying and Steel, being able to OHKO Pult and Darkrai with stellar BP and get much better rolls on Argh/Ghold/Skarm/Cresceidon etc with stellar Acro. Since Cawm usually just needs to break past a single defensive and/or offensive check before winning the game outright, it doesn't care that much about the tera boost disappearing after each move's first use. Argh being forced to sometimes run different teras to deal with Stored Power Chuggalong also means Cawm has an easier time dealing with it, like in this game. Cawm remains a huge matchup fish, but it's surprising how well it can perform. I think this current meta state is a little less hostile to it than earlier this gen.

We were theorizing boots 3atk + encore sets as a way to leverage Chugg's great coverage and defensive utility on less offensive structures - 120/115 offenses (soon to be 120/108...) really aren't bad at all, and being able to compress Hemogoblin counterplay as a wallbreaker can give your team a lot more freedom in what defensive backbones you're allowed to run. LO 4atk Chugg was not our idea, it's something the 1v1ers were running to punish greedy Mirror Herb hard switch-ins, but it's a pretty cool set if herb/red card on random stuff starts seeing more usage again. I'd also encourage people to keep experimenting with Throat Spray sets; during playoffs, both the Syclants and us Hemos were messing around with different Teras/EVs/coverage in conjunction with Stored Power.

With how important priority is in SV, not every team will prefer the utility of Spin over Quick Attack. Rapid Spin Cari is pretty inconsistent at clearing hazards anyways - the mon gets more use out of the Speed boost, but QA paired with Lum or Tera Fire lets it win the Dragapult matchup regardless, and investment in bulk means you're harder to revenge kill in general. HP investment, boots, checking the priority box, and Hyper Drill > Double Edge also lends to bulkier archetypes much better than the standard offensive set. I've seen a lot of people run random Caribolt on balance, and I don't usually agree with it, but I think it works better with a set like this.

Nothing fancy, just sub CM Enamorus. Most Libras are dropping Flash Cannon for recovery these days, turning it from a hard counter into an annoying nuisance at worst and setup fodder at best. Venom is still a problem, but has been slowly dropping off in usage / viability for a long time. Solid mon into a lot of the Gking / Argh / Gliscor fats and Lando BOs.

This set is also nothing new, but deserves shouting out since it's never really used anymore. I think RS + Helmet is a solid pick on some BO teams, doing a great job at speeding up progress vs defensive mons like Argh, Lando, Libra, and being uniquely capable of forcing chip on fast offensive pivots that could otherwise avoid taking much damage all match. I had this with DD Kyurem on one team for its ability to put Weavile/Hemo/Cinderace in range of EP/+1 Spear and chip down Argh/Libra. Taunt and Healing Wish are both better support for offense than for the balance teams that Multiscale Cres is usually seen on, so get creative with its last move.

We actually loaded the Fling set once, though it didn't end up hitting anything. Surprise paralyzing a Gliscor and to a lesser extent Libra/Lando is a ton of value - paralysis is great, and no one expects a Lando to paralyze anything. Fully dropping a Gliscor or Lando is obviously huge too. I think both of these sets have seen some OU tour/ladder play, but haven't seen use in CAP yet. Definitely niche, but not bad either.

NASCAR Libra... we actually ran variants of this set a lot, so I'm just here to hype it up. Libra's a great alternative (or supplement) to Lando-T on offense/BO, being one of the few checks to TWave Hex Ghold that offense can fit, generally being a great buffer against special breakers, providing reliable hazard removal, potentially Healing Wish support (also cool for setting up DD combos) or a Red Card out vs Chuggalong/booster mons, and something that can situationally switch into problematic mons for offense like Gambit/Hemo and force them out. EVs are pretty flexible, can run more speed or special bulk or whatever - just max HP, hit 200 speed minimum, the rest can go anywhere. I voted Libra S- on the most recent VR slate because of recent set adaptations like this allowing it to be way more versatile in the structures that it fits on.

Beats any team without a venomicon or garg on it

MC Squared · Aug 19, 2024

The Kitsunoh buff package finally concluded. Let's see what outspeeding all the base 125s, Encore and Trace do for it now

singaporygon · Aug 23, 2024

I saw in the teambuilding lab that double dance gliscor doesn't seem that viable ... but just thought to re-share the double dance TOTW here in case ppl forgot about it:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...ll-gliscor-and-cresselia.3712009/post-9965126

Screens is here and is probably necessary for DD.

But perhaps Volc was necessary glue to help out DD scor, and now Volc is gone, so ... *shrugs*

I could still see a CAP team being built around this Gliscor, except I would probably consider Crabhammer + Tera Water instead of Dual Wingbeat or even instead of Earthquake.

Brambane · Sep 19, 2024

I think Gen 9 has a couple CAPs that need significant or minor changes to improve the state of the metagame. CAP overall is in a decent place I think, but a couple CAPs have had some real dominance recently. This slightly in response to the Power Creep thread as well; if CAPs are too good, its not unreasonable to scale them back.

:chuggalong:

I don't think the Speed nerf is going to do that much to temper the mon; if anything, it just makes it worse into Ogerpon which checking was one of the main wholesome things Chuggalong did for the builder. It has tools to dismantle most counters, making Chuggalong a situation where you run check items like Red Card, offmeta picks like HazeHawk, Tera at the right time with the right mon, or postion yourself where it can't set up on your mon. The issue I have found is the former two options can be tough on your building, and the ladder two are made inconsistent by Chuggalong's diverse pool of Tera types. It has too many good moves that make it unpredictable and also I think make its Tera type options way more versatile than it needs to be. Chuggalong doesn't always need STAB, has good STABs anyways, and cheesy tech like Taunt and Encore. We should go back to where Chuggalong started: with basically 4 viable core moves in Clangorous Soul, Surf, Sludge Bomb, and Clanging Scales. I don't think it needs the extra tech when the mandatory Substitute and Tera Blast probably give the mon enough tools to get creative. I like Chuggalong's gameplan with the main four moves it has, I think that set actually adds a good Pokemon to the meta, but the other options ruin a good thing.

:cresceidon:

The ONLY thing that keeps this mon in check is that its awkward as shit to fit on teams sometimes. Cresceidon is amazing, this is the best status spreader bar none. It Scalds you, it Twaves you, it can lower your SpA, and then uses the Attack drop, SpA Drop, or full paralysis turns to reinstate its Multiscale. Its fantastically synergistic but it also makes Cresceidon feel like a dice-roll Pokemon, where when it rolls well you lose so much and it gains three times what you just lost. Personally, I think the Encore sets are kind of cool since they have more counterplay but it still gives Cresceidon a way to handle set-up sweepers. I would remove Thunder Wave, ultimately because para hax sucks but sucks even more on a Pokemon that gets extra value when it can heal back to 100% on a full paralysis. Also guessing between Encore and Thunder Wave is annoying!

:kitsunoh:

The buff overshot, but not by that much in my opinion. Kitsunoh does a lot of good and bad simultaneously. On the one hand, you have a reliable spinblocker into Levitate Libra! On the other hand, CAP's standout removal Pokemon that made spikestack more managable now has a new spinblocker to annoy it. This by itself I think would cancel itself out and Libra can tech into it with Bulletproof, but Kitsunoh is also really good at 1v1ing Pokemon with Encore and/or Strength Sap. Encore I was iffy about but didn't go with my gut and ban the move; we should fix that now and cut Encore. Strength Sap is just a good move when the Pokemon is good, but makes Kitsunoh dominant at shutting down any slower physical attacker, often by stacking burn. Moonlight would be a more fair replacement for the move while keeping Kitsunoh's supportive gameplan intact.

:necturna:

Giving Necturna Sketch back was the right call, but the early signs of Necturna show its a pretty terrifying Pokemon. It has a lot of better set-up options, some of its BP woes of the past from lacking good Ghost STAB can be alleviated somewhat from Tera, it has a new offensive tools like Rage Fist and even Salt Cure. Its probably too early to hit Necturna with the nerf bat, but its a Pokemon we should have a continued conversation about what that nerf could look like to make sure that Necturna can keep its fun Sketch gimmick without being a pain.

:arghonaut:

Of all the CAPs, Arghonaut is the one who does the most good for the metagame while being absolutely ridiculous. A reliable and consistent Unaware user is a beautiful thing, but Arghonaut does define the metagame in a way I think is slightly unhealthy. It's winrate has been climbing as balance has shaken out and much like in Gen 8 its now the Pokemon to beat. What you are facing an Arghonaut, your gameplan truly revolves around either luring the shit out of it or finding the way to beat it down while not letting it get up too many layers or Knock too many items. It's just so efficient at what it does with its perfect moveset for its role. I think the moveset perfection is a good thing for Arghonaut, so really if we ever change anything it would be stats.

I think Venomicon feels more manageable now even if Knock Off is annoying as ever, and before Kitsunoh/Necturna buffs Equilibra was definitely too good and consistent at what it does, but with better tools against it I suspect it will be in a perfect state and continue to bring its wholesome reliability to the builder.

MC Squared · Sep 20, 2024

Brambane said:
The buff overshot, but not by that much in my opinion. Kitsunoh does a lot of good and bad simultaneously. On the one hand, you have a reliable spinblocker into Levitate Libra! On the other hand, CAP's standout removal Pokemon that made spikestack more managable now has a new spinblocker to annoy it. This by itself I think would cancel itself out and Libra can tech into it with Bulletproof, but Kitsunoh is also really good at 1v1ing Pokemon with Encore and/or Strength Sap. Encore I was iffy about but didn't go with my gut and ban the move; we should fix that now and cut Encore. Strength Sap is just a good move when the Pokemon is good, but makes Kitsunoh dominant at shutting down any slower physical attacker, often by stacking burn. Moonlight would be a more fair replacement for the move while keeping Kitsunoh's supportive gameplan intact.

Do you think the Attack and Speed buffs were the perfect decisions or do you think its new Speed stat is too high?

Brambane · Sep 20, 2024

MC Squared said:
Do you think the Attack and Speed buffs were the perfect decisions or do you think its new Speed stat is too high?

I think the Speed would be fine without Encore and Strength Sap. I don't hate the fast Wisp and Defog. Arguably Kitsunoh doesn't even need Moonlight; now that it has real offensive presence, Kitsunoh with recovery is possibly gratuitous.

Metagame Scarlet and Violet CAP Metagame Discussion

Concept

Elvira

Deftones enthusiast

Samirsin

✧Rey de los Snom, padre de Ababo✧

MC Squared

Live well. It is the greatest revenge.

Samirsin

✧Rey de los Snom, padre de Ababo✧

shnowshner

but does he even stand a chance?

Waldinji

spoo

TheFurretStar

Anchor9

#ampharosforou

Spammernoob

Anchor9

#ampharosforou

Da Pizza Man

Pizza Time!

Da Pizza Man

Pizza Time!

Samirsin

✧Rey de los Snom, padre de Ababo✧

Faux Focalors Furina

Spammernoob

Faux Focalors Furina

Spammernoob

spoo

MC Squared

Live well. It is the greatest revenge.

singaporygon

Brambane

protect the wetlands

MC Squared

Live well. It is the greatest revenge.

Brambane

protect the wetlands