CAP 22 CAP 22 - Part 1 - Concept Submissions

HeaLnDeaL · Jun 13, 2016

This is where we discuss the general goal of the next Create-A-Pokemon project -- CAP 22. Due to some changes regarding concept submissions, we'd like everyone, including CAP veterans, to read the rules in this OP carefully.

The Concept will be a guiding force throughout the ensuing project, to ensure the the final result is a cohesive competitive pokemon. Any discussions, suggestions, or submissions in later topics, that do not support the spirit of the Concept, will be moderated by the Topic Leader. Concepts must be presented as high-level descriptions of a general idea. They cannot be detailed Pokemon designs. Since we have polls to determine each aspect of the Pokemon, we cannot allow any specific features of the Pokemon to be determined by the details of the Concept. We intentionally have many rules regarding Concept Submissions. If you are not prepared to read and understand all the rules, then don't bother making a submission. These rules are made to help narrow the field of concepts down to those that have been carefully designed. This is not meant to be easy for everyone -- a good, legal Concept requires a lot of thought and careful wording. The following rules must be followed when submitting a Concept:

Concepts must work with the mechanics laid out in Pokemon XY/ORAS. A concept that requires a custom ability, move, or other element that cannot be found on a Pokemon from XY/ORAS is not allowed. A concept must be feasible with the gameplay mechanics that are currently available. A concept MAY reference Pokemon unique to the CAP metagame, but the concept must be able to be fulfilled by a creation with access to only GameFreak created abilities, moves, etc. In short, "no customs." We are using GameFreak's toolbox.
One submission per person. You may edit your Concept, but you may not change the fundamental premise after it has been posted. If editing your concept, please edit the original post instead of posting a new revision. Do not bump your Concept after you have posted it. If people do not comment on it, so be it.
Do not duplicate or closely-resemble Concepts already posted by others. It is your responsibility to read through all previous submissions in this thread to ensure you are complying with this rule. Ignorance or laziness is not an excuse.
Specific Pokemon types or type combos cannot be included or excluded in a Concept. Nor can other characteristics of the Concept specifically result in in the inclusion or exclusion of Types. For example, the following phrases would be illegal:
"This is a Dragon pokemon with..." "The pokemon should be immune to Ghost attacks..." "The pokemon should have at least 7 resistances..." "The pokemon should get STAB on Thunderbolt.."
Specific Abilities are not allowed. This applies to existing abilities and new abilities. Do not attempt to circumvent this rule by mentioning specific battle effects that can only be achieved by the implementation of an ability. For example, the following phrases would be illegal:
"This pokemon should have a defensive ability like Intimidate or Marvel Scale..." "This pokemon has an ability that steals the opponent's held item..." "When this pokemon is switched in, all weather conditions are nullified..."
Movepools or lists of moves are not allowed. A specific move can be mentioned if it is the basis for the entire concept. For example, the Concept "Rapid Spinner" would obviously mention the move Rapid Spin.
Specific stat bias, base stats, or base stat ratings are not allowed. It is acceptable to use descriptive phrases like "fast", "bulky", "strong attacker", etc -- since there are a variety of ways a pokemon can fit those descriptions without specifically requiring certain stats. But, do not use overly-specific descriptions that would narrowly constrain the pokemon's base stat spread.
Indications of Physical/Special bias are discouraged, but acceptable if it is essential to the Concept.
Do not refer to any part of the pokemon's artistic design. For example, the following phrases would be illegal:
"This is a bright blue pokemon..." "The pokemon looks like a..." "The pokemon uses its long tail to..."
A Concept Submission must be submitted in the proper format. The format is described below. If the proper format is not used, the moderators will not evaluate the submission, regardless of content.

Concept Submission Format Use this format for all concept submissions: Here is the format with tags. Just copy/paste this into your post, and fill it out:

Name - Don't get too clever with the name. If the essence of the concept is not intuitively obvious in the name, then you are hurting your chances of people understanding it. If the essence of your concept cannot be expressed in a few words, then you need to seriously re-evaluate your concept.
Description - This is the official description of the concept, and must follow ALL the content rules listed above. Do not make this a long description. Long descriptions are invariably too specific or too convoluted. Keep it short. Any more than a sentence or two is TOO MUCH. Do NOT include your Explanation of the concept in the Description. See "Explanation" below.
Justification Utilizing the CAP Concept Toolkit, craft a concept that can fit into at least one of the following categories: Actualization, Archetype, or Target. Please explicitly state the category names as applicable to your specific justification and explain.
- Actualization: What is the feeling your Concept Pokemon INSPIRES when used properly in the metagame, do existing Pokemon come close to that, and why or why not?
- Archetype: What does your Concept Pokemon DO - functionally - in the metagame, and why does the metagame need something with that role? Use Smogon's Pokemon Dictionary to assist with role definitions.
- Target: What does your Concept Pokemon ADDRESS in the metagame, and why is addressing that target important?
If you cannot justify your concept utilizing one (or more) of the three tools above, then your concept is illegal for the CAP project. (More at the end of the OP)
Questions To Be Answered - The purpose of the CAP project is to learn new things about the metagame, and each concept submission is a proposed "experiment". Each tool has its own specific set of questions, but good concepts often can explain other facets of competitive Pokemon. Use this section to pose those additional questions. Note that this is different from Justification where you are answering tool-related questions, in this section you are proposing questions.
Explanation - This can contain just about anything. This is where you can explain your concept without restraint. You may make suggestions, even specific suggestions, regarding the possible implementation of the Concept. This explanation should help facilitate discussion of the Concept -- but the Explanation is NOT part of the Concept and will be omitted from the polls and any future use of the Concept. Since your explanation is non-binding, regarding future polls and threads, it will not be evaluated for purposes of determining if your concept is legal or illegal. Although it is tempting, refrain from making too long of an explanation; it will deter readers from fully considering your concept.

It is the submitter's responsibility to figure out how to make a legal submission within the rules listed above. Do not complain about the difficulty of making a submission in this thread. There are many, many legal concepts that can be presented within the rules. Here are few examples of good and bad Concepts from previous projects:
Good Concepts from Past Projects
"Pure Utility Pokemon"
"Anti-Ghost Rapid Spinner"
"True Garchomp Counter"
"Ultimate Weather Abuser"
"Status Counter" "Momentum"

Bad Concepts from Past Projects
"Ice-Resisting Dragon"
"Super Luck User"
"STAB Explosion Glass Cannon"
"Auto-Stealth Rock Remover"
"A Pokemon with Special Intimidate"
"Pyrokinetic Pokemon (Fire/Psychic)"
"Special Guts"
"Typing Means Nothing"

Note that all good concepts do not specifically dictate anything in later polls. Please try to remember that we are simply pointing the project in a general direction, we are not trying to decide anything right now. We have several weeks of polls ahead of us where EVERYTHING about this Pokemon will be dissected, discussed, voted, and decided. The concept is a very basic guide for the creation process. It is hard to provide solid concept descriptions without basically designing the entire Pokemon right off the bat. Submissions should be written and chosen very carefully to avoid these problems.

Past Projects and Concept Toolbox:
Stratagem (Break The Mold), Tomohawk (Momentum) and Kitsunoh (Ultimate Scout) were great examples of an Actualization concept. Most of the "teammate" concepts (Voodoom and Volkraken) also broadly fell under this, actualizing a core that would change the metagame. The lion's share of CAP Concepts in the past have been Actualization concepts.

Fidgit (Pure Utility Pokemon) and Naviathan (Use the Boost to Get Through!) are examples of successful Archetype projects. We didn't have concepts at the time of Revenankh, but "Ultimate Bulk Up Sweeper" fits the definition of an Archetype concept.

Arghonaut (Decentralizer) and Colossoil (Stop the Secondary) are the best examples of previous successful Target projects, Arghonaut's was literally based around re-centering the metagame, while Colossoil's purpose was to target the most common users of status and secondary effects. Malaconda's concept (Type Equalizer) was also at its base a Target project.

---

CAP 22 so far:

Topic Leader: sparktrain
Typing Leader:Elite Lord Sigma
Ability Leader: snake_rattler
Stats Leader: Deck KnightMoves Leader: cbrevan

Alchemister · Jun 13, 2016

Name - Rare options
Description - A Pokémon that utilizes moves and/or abilities not commonly seen due to them being generally sticked on Pokémon either of lackluster capabilities, completely unfitting for the effect or just outclassed by different, more generic options.
Justification
- Actualization: There are lots of options given out by GameFreak in a manner so that they never get used despite their competitive merits because of their spread. The most typical are signature moves of generally lackluster 'mons, but this concept is certainly not restricted to those ones.
  This concept's intention is to introduce those "cinderella options" to the game on such built Pokémon that they get their chance to shine. This aim therefore allows to find out the limits of those options, as well as to find out whether they actually are competitively viable or the hype is fake and generated by novelty and rarity.
  This would also mean removal of multiple (not all, or it's unplayable) generic options to pseudo-force the rare ones and avoid them being outclassed hard.
  There's a lot to learn about the game as a whole when searching for a utility not commonly seen due and determining its usability in comparison to more generic (and therefore better grasped) possibilities.
Questions To Be Answered -
- What moves and abilities aren't seen despite their merits?
- Which of the rarely seen moves are actually usable? Are the others bad or just outclassed?
- Will there be actual, non-forced niche for a rare idea? Will it be capable of outclassing the generic possibilities? How many of them have to be removed?
- How far, high and wide can a concept reach deprived of most of the typical options and given others instead?
- Can a utilizer of rare options fit together with more typical teammates? Will it end left alone, or will it force rest of the team to be built around the options?
- How many uncommon techniques are too much?
- How the inclusion of rare options affect the general play? How will it affect specifically counterplay?
- Is it possible to couter the rare options with the more common ones, or will it force some specific workaround?
- Is it the other characteristics (like, say, stats of the users) that hinder the use of such options? Can those characteristics be tailored to make such options work?
Explanation - Topsy-Turvy. Parting Shot. Soak. Powder. Electrify. Shield moves. Terrain moves. Among the more common, but still unpopulated, there is Sticky Web. From the offensive side, Flying Press is a typical example. Electroweb as the often outshined. On the side of abilities, Competitive or Rattled pretty much follow this scenario. How often have you seen those in an actual battle? And have you wodered, that there has to be some use (or even abuse) for them? When speaking moves, those are the ones we currently can run somewhat effectively only one way - the one that stops your Necturna from doing anything else meaninful as well. With Abilities, we don't have even that and using Trace still requires someone to run the unused 'mon or option anyway. With so many cool moves and abilities flying under the radar just because they don't have any user that would be played and actually use them, we might be missing some options to actually make the meta richer without breaking it. With the breadth of this concept, it also leaves us a whole lot to be decided throughout the CAP process, possibly allowing for rich and enriching discussions.
Also, there's another "what happens if..." here: Can a Pokémon be viable with multiple less-used options, but without many of the generic ones?
From the later concepts, I was remembered about Sigilyph, being somewhat a role-model here as well, being known for using three of the less common moves in synergy (Psycho Shift, Cosmic Power and Stored Power).

EDIT: added the part with deprivation of generic options, removed some underrepresented, yet boring attacks (like Attack Order or Drill Peck) from Explanation.

Empress · Jun 13, 2016

Cool I can repost this.

Name: Last Act of Defiance

General Description: A Pokemon that is defined by its use of the move Parting Shot.

Justification: Parting Shot is another move that's pretty amazing on paper, but its true usage has yet to be fully explored because it's only available to Pangoro. Pangoro is not the most viable Pokemon OU and is nearly unusable in CAP due to its 4x weakness to Fairy. Moreover, when I've used it in RU (prior it to being banned) and UU, I found myself clicking an attacking move more often than not. With the optimal Parting Shot user in the CAP metagame, we may be able to tap into this move's potential and figure out how it is best utilized. Maybe Last Act of Defiance will be a fast Pokemon that aims to keep up offensive momentum. Maybe it'll use the move like it would use Memento to help a teammate use a boosting move. Maybe it'll be a slow, bulky pivot intended to discourage switching. Maybe it'll do something completely different.

This falls under both actualization and archetype in terms of being a concept. In terms of actualization, it will teach us how to use Parting Shot "properly." Clearly, no other Pokemon, not even Pangoro, comes close to it. Well, users of U-turn, Volt Switch, and Memento come somewhat close, but even then, we'll be able to see what makes Parting Shot different from (and possibly better than) them. In terms of archetype, Last Act of Defiance will give not just the CAP metagame, but also the whole game of Pokemon, a utility Pokemon that we've never seen before, as Parting Shot was not (and still isn't) one of Pangoro's most important assets. Because Parting Shot has so many potential uses, a utility Pokemon such as this can be the ultimate team player for offensive and defensive archetypes alike.

Questions To Be Answered:
- Whether it's pivoting, offensive momentum, Memento-esque support, or something else, what is the "ideal" way to use Parting Shot? Why?
- Considering Pangoro rarely finds the time to use the move, how much should a Pokemon be willing to sacrifice another offensive option for Parting Shot?
- What makes Parting Shot different or similar from Volt Switch, U-turn, and Memento?
- Pangoro is definitely not the ideal Parting Shot user, so what does the ideal user look like?
- What strategies, whether they be certain Pokemon, playstyles, or other factors, will rise to prominence to combat a Parting Shot user?

Explanation: Not a whole lot to say here. Parting Shot is relatively unseen, yet it still ostensibly has a variety of uses. We could make this Pokemon a fast offensive momentum builder that fits on VoltTurn teams. We can make it a supporter that can use Parting Shot to safely bring in your team's wincon. There are many, many ways to go about this concept using just this one move. It would teach us a lot about Parting Shot and introduce a brand new niche in the metagame, which are two things that the CAP Project strives for.

Take Azelfie · Jun 13, 2016

Name: Achilles Heel
Description: A Pokemon who takes advantage of mixed coverage to hit certain types harder through there more common weaker defense stat.
Justification: Archetype: There aren't very many mixed sweepers in the current metagame just because it is hard to utilize physical and special coverage without being able to dedicate yourself to one offensive stat. But this CAP should aim to effectively use this role to support itself and / or others by removing certain types using mixed coverage. Such a Pokemon could be useful for cores that have trouble breaking 1 or more types that CAP22 aims to beat.
Questions to be Answered:

What types would this Pokemon try to bypass.
How big of a role does this Pokemon's type play when targeting down certain types.
Should it support itself to freely use stronger moves or support another type that typically hates a certain type.
If the second option then what type would most benefit from the removal of said targets.
How effective would hitting a Pokemon's weaker defense actually be as oppose to just dealing super effective damage with either of you're higher attack stat.

Explanation: So first of all you would need to figure out what side of offensive power should be used in order to be x type. Ground and Water types tend to be more physically bulky so hitting those pokemon on the special would be the easiest way to bypass there good physical defense.

Alfalfa · Jun 13, 2016

{NOTE: Submission was merged with Trox's)
Name: Hurdle / Anti-Top Tier

General Description: A Pokemon that reduces the viability of one or two dominant threats in the CAP metagame through making their roles more difficult to perform, but not by enough for the threat(s) to be unable to maintain a strong presence in the CAP metagame.

Justification: We have always wondered what would happen if a top threat like Clefable or Tomohawk had a Pokemon that could effectively counter it through being able effectively make whatever it does to be so dominant more difficult to execute. This concept essentially serves to create a Pokemon that would make one or two metagame-defining threat(s) noticeably more difficult to use through its advantageous match-ups against them.

Questions To Be Answered:
- How would a metagame-defining threat(s) adapt to a check that can make it noticeably more difficult to use?
- What strategies that are difficult to execute because of the targeted threat(s) would suddenly become more viable?
- How would a metagame change as a result of a dominant threat (or threats) becoming more difficult to use?
- Would players consider other options over the targeted Pokemon as a means of getting past the CAP, or would the Pokemon still be a strong enough of a threat to avoid having lesser viable Pokemon be considered over them?
- How would the targeted threat(s) adapt to CAP 22? Would they make minor adjustments to their most dominant sets, run entirely different sets, or rely on different teammates?

Explanation: Much of what needs to be explained has already been stated. This concept essentially follows the concept of Target through creating a hard check to a dominant threat (or two) that would make such threat(s) more difficult to use. In terms of the CAP metagame, something like Clefable, Tomohawk, or another dominant threat should be our main targets to create a hard check / counter to. I think this is necessary because discussion during CAP concepts often directs towards having an advantage towards top threats, yet we never discuss how to create a CAP that would go beyond checking a Pokemon to making it noticeably more difficult to use. While the CAP will naturally have an advantage against a top threat or two, this CAP concept aims to make a Pokemon that makes a top threat more difficult to use through making its strengths more difficult to draw from consistently throughout a match. In addition, this CAP does not specifically a vast array of top threats; it only targets two at most. However, we should not aim to hard counter everything the targets can do, for such has the potential to render a Pokemon utterly useless; the idea is to simply create a CAP that can make a metagame-defining threat (or two) noticeably more difficult to use, but not difficult enough to keep them from being maintaining consistent presences in the metagame.

P3DS · Jun 13, 2016

Name - Chimera

Description - A Pokemon who has the traits of different archetypes, but it lacks the main components to function well as an individual role usually. However, by using these mixed traits, it can create unique and unusual sets that set it apart from others in the format.

Justification - The concept is of the Actualization category.
The concept is more about exploring. By having lots of traits, yes, there will be the "go-to" set, but with many tools, and combinations it maybe have that are unique to it, it would get people out looking into other Pokemon, and finding that diamond in the rough. The other good thing is that it can break up traditional archetypes into ones that feel completely alien to most, but one that the CAP could potentially pull off.

Questions To Be Answered -

What different traits do we want the CAP to have?
How can we break the individual traits down so that they are fairly equal, and single ones don't overpower the rest? Or do we break some up more than others, to make them merge better? Where do we draw the line?
How can aspects of different traits get mixed together to form a more unusual and potent set?
Where do we draw the line on the CAP, to prevent uniqueness turning into gimmicks?
How careful would we need to manage the distribution of its given archetypes?
How many archetypes should this Pokemon cover?
How will we make it so that we can merge different traits together? Through Moves/Abilities?

Explanation -

An example Pokemon like this is LC Riolu. It has a weird mix of traits: Prankster and a nice support set could make it a decent supporter, but it lacks a lot of tools that make it a supporter, but also has a decent sweeper movepool, similar to Lucario's, but would be outdone by Mienfoo in its format... However, bring the 2 together, and adding in copycat, we end up with a really unique setup priority sweeper, which let it carve out its own path. The 2 traits were merged with a single move in this instance: Copycat. Its pitfalls were lack of decent recovery and support in its moves, and as a sweeper, it got outshone by other Pokemon in its tier, like Mienfoo, who had a better stats/moves/ability mix than riolu on its own.

Then look at Serperior. It is built like a fast supporter, however, getting contrary turned it into a really solid set up sweeper as well, outperforming a lot of grass types to get there. It does have a shallow movepool, and there are some sets that merge the offensive builds with more stally builds, allowing it to get around some unique threats. The 2 traits for it got merged with an ability+move (Contrary+leaf storm). Its drawbacks offensively were poor offensive stats, and a poor movepool, and as a supporter, although it had a pretty nice movepool, had really odd stats, and fairly loe bulk, and its typing really didn't help it out a lot. It also lacked recovery, outside of the gradual leech seed+lefties, and giga drain.

Earth Traveler · Jun 13, 2016

Name: Assassin

Description: A Pokemon that can be "customized" to perfectly counter ("assassinate") any specific threat to your team... but not all (or even most) threats to your team, just the most troublesome.

Justification: Actualization: The Assassin would inspire a feeling of power in the user, as it would ideally enable to user to win via their preferred win condition to get around some troublesome Pokemon giving the rest of their team fits, be it through direct or indirect damage. For instance, there may be some Pokemon that trouble teams that have counters that don't fit a team's archetype or have good synergy with the team (for example, Stratagem's hard counters are all outside my team's general premise of hyper offense), but Assassin may be able to handle it where other Pokemon can't and after doing its job, pivot out to keep momentum.

Questions to be Answered:
- What type of role should Assassin fill? Offensive, defensive, or supportive?
~~- How should Assassin best "assassinate" its target of choice? Trapping, Luring, hitting like a truck, supporting, or something completely different?~~
- How will Assassin not be completely broken? By which I mean: How can it be made to have enough strengths to do its job yet enough weaknesses to not "assassinate" every Pokemon on the other team?
- How many Pokemon/moves/team and Pokemon archetypes should Assassin still be left unable to generally handle, in spite of its tools?

Explanation: My concept was actually kind of inspired by Ignus' post about "fantasies" in the PR thread, so I came up with this concept. Originally, I had it conceived as a strictly offensive concept (as the name would seem to lend itself to), but it could easily be a supporter for, say, a stall team, using a myriad of support moves to neutralize wallbreaking threats to the team. I really don't feel there are any Pokemon around right now that the versatility to deal with any threat to your team, except maybe something like Aurumoth. Of course, that is impractical, as something needs to be able to counter it, but still.

In any case, it needs to suffer heavily from 4MSS and ideally be able to pivot out/keep momentum for the team.

Kyubics · Jun 13, 2016

Name: Close But No Cigar

Description: This Pokémon would have uninvested stats close to, but not quite meeting certain benchmarks in bulk, power and speed (e.g. avoiding certain 2HKOs/OKHOs, OHKOing certain Pokémon or outspeeding a common speed tier). However, through investing in certain stats, it would be able to achieve said benchmarks in EITHER bulk, power or speed.

Justification: This concept is an actualization concept, as it fulfills an idea that has not yet been explored. The choice between bulk, power and speed is one that many Pokémon face, but I do not know of any that can potentially reach significant benchmarks that help them conduct their role in any of the three. Pokémon like Landorus-T have sets that focus on each of these things, such as defensive, offensive and scarf sets, but they do not have specific and significant benchmarks attached to them that make them vastly different from each other. When this Pokémon is used properly in the metagame, it creates diversity, as well as testing the skill of the opposing player in deducing which set it is running by looking at the surrounding team, its moves, the damage it deals and takes and any clues to its item. This also creates potential for bluffing and lures, such as using Expert Belt on an offensive set to avoid revealing Life Orb through recoil damage. During the creation of this concept, the CAP community would have to decide on the benchmarks used. This would let us discuss and learn about the metagame, possibly helping in future CAP projects - especially if we continue building for the CAP metagame.

Questions To Be Answered:

What are some important benchmarks in the CAP metagame that this Pokémon would try to reach?
Would the benchmark be enough incentive to use either the bulky, fast or powerful set over other Pokémon that traditionally fill only one of the roles?
To what extent would this Pokémon affect scouting? How significant would the benchmarks need to be in order to make scouting the set worthwhile?
Will a set that does not fully invest in any stat surface, one that perhaps reaches certain benchmarks but not others?
How can we create a Pokémon that is able to be bulky, fast or powerful and is still balanced?
How can we make the sets investing in bulk, power or speed as equally viable as possible? How can abilities, typing and movepool help with this?
Would this Pokémon perform one role in different ways or multiple roles depending on its set?
Would bluffing sets become common and expected or stay relatively rare?
Is versatility in a Pokémon important? Why?
Would the sets be different enough from each other? How can we make it so that they are?
Would this Pokémon effect the viability of the threats it is designed to OHKO, outspeed or take a hit from? How would these Pokémon change to react to it?

Explanation: In my opinion, the stats stage is often the make-or-break part of the CAP Project. It's easy to go too high and make the CAP broken or fall short and make the CAP unviable. I know the other stages are essential as well, but I feel that the stats stage is one we as the CAP community can really work on. I appreciate that it is difficult, but I think that this concept will allow us to improve and investigate it, helping in future projects. I also think that the stats stage is relatively unexplored in terms of concepts, and my concept is an opportunity to do that.

This concept may seem a little difficult to wrap your head around so I'll try to give an example of a current Pokémon that partially (but not completely) fulfils it: Thundurus in Doubles OU. For those who don't know, Thundurus runs two main sets - Bulky and Fast. Bulky Thundurus has a couple of very slightly different EV spreads, but they all aim to live some common attacks in the tier, such as avoiding the OHKO from Mega Kangaskhan's Return with a Sitrus Berry and living LO Latios' Draco Meteor, while still outspeeding base 70s like Breloom. Fast Thundurus runs full speed investment and a Timid nature so it can take full advantage of its good speed tier, outspeeding threats such as Keldeo and Mega Diancie which it can KO with Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon, respectively. Thundurus sees high usage, and players often have to work out its set or be surprised when their Mega Diancie takes a Flash Cannon to the face. This is often done by scouting with Protect, revealing Life Orb recoil or by noting the damage it takes or inflicts.

One problem that I can foresee for this concept is the use of Choice items to boost one stat while investing in another. Using a Choice Scarf while investing in power isn't so much of an issue because an item such as a Life Orb or Expert Belt may be needed to achieve the benchmark. However using a Choice Band or Choice Specs while investing in speed is more of a problem because it allows the Pokémon to reach two of the benchmarks. Perhaps we could mitigate this be making it undesirable to be locked into a certain move, giving free turns to a common threat which may allow it to switch in or set up.

Pokémon can perform a variety of different roles based on their EV spreads and nature - examples of this can be seen across tiers: Landorus-T and Garchomp in OU, Salamence in UU, Thundurus in Doubles, the list goes on. It would be fascinating to see how a Pokémon can change based on the stats it invests in. It would also be really useful, especially to players less familiar to the CAP Metagame like myself, to learn about some of the most influential Pokémon in the tier by deciding on the benchmarks used. In conclusion, I think that this would be a very challenging and educational concept that, I hope, gives the CAP Project a general direction without influencing too heavily on the polls that are to come. Thank you for reading this and for considering my (long) concept.

Tmi489 · Jun 13, 2016

Sorry if I'm new, but I'm going to put this out here.

Name - Item Charger

Description - A Pokémon that can change its roles drastically with an item, and prevent losing it in some way. It's stats aren't good but can adapt to multiple roles.

Justification - ~~Archetype~~ (EDIT: Actualization, sorry new as I said). All of the metagame uses items, but only a select few. Life Orb/Choice Items/Lum for sweepers, sash for frail sweepers, and Vest/Leftovers/Sitrus for defensive, not seen much else. More and more people will focus on different items, instead of "oh a Life Orb? I can just stall or KO with making sure it's not sashed." That's what I see on Ubers in 'mons like Deo-A, and Syclant as well. But that's only two items, and there are so many more than can be used. They might change in game play but not by too much. Mainly, I want to introduce lesser used items for not only this CAP, but mainly.
Target - Trying to make lesser use of more common items in more unique ones. AND, trying to empower non-mega Cruci/other megas even if they won't always work.
Questions to be Answered -
• How can it survive Knock Off, Trick, or losing its item overall? Will/Should it?
• Can it be justified to use a different Pokemon for the same item, or will it? How can it use an item better than another Poke, or will it?
• Which sets would be the best? How would we balance those sets?
• How will the metagame react - can it sheerly overpower the others? If so how can we nerf it so that others can perform quite as well?
• What other moves/strategies can be used to bluff, trick, or nullify an item?
• How/Can it promote lesser used items?
• Should it be able to use Evolite/Mega Stones? A mega that can use other items just as well could be nice, as well as a way to be bulky, but not both combined (No pre-evo megas yet). Or neither since Cruci's Mega.
• How much would it change with different items or items like it (Example: 2 Choice Items).
• Can it change the flow of the battle (Red Card, Eject Button)?
• Which items should be targeted to be used?

Explanation - While items are used in every single 'mon, I don't think any are actually based on items themselves. Sure, different Pokémon can change roles with certain items (Choice Specs v Scarf, example), but not to a great extent. Maybe one or two, but not the whole bunch! For this CAP, I plan to use less commonly used items - stuff like Pinch Berries(Haven't seen much anymore) , switching items, Shell Bell, +Crits, etc. Also, it should be able to use lesser used items to a great extend. Many Pokes have abilities or stats that make certain items unviable, maybe for good reason. A check would be harder as you'd need to adapt to the many different items it can wield, and what it can do to use them to their maximum potential. They might only have 2 effects, but can be used for so much more.

EDITS:in Italics.

SHSP · Jun 13, 2016

Name - Signal Disruptor

Description - A pokemon that can fit on multiple team archetypes and change how players play against the archetype used.

Justification - This concept fits best as an Actualization concept as it creates a role that other pokemon can play, but none are built completely around. Often times adding an unexpected pokemon to a standard sort of team in any archetype can catch your opponent off guard, but often times doing so can hamper the team in different matchups. This pokemon would fit better onto an archetype than a generally unexpected pokemon mentioned above, hampering the team less.

Questions To Be Answered -
How does this pokemon change how players play against a team's archetype?
What is the price this pokemon has to pay in exchange for its versatility, while still being able to accomplish its concept?
Will this pokemon create more diverse teambuilding?
Will this pokemon be able to have diverse uses on a single archetype or built team?
Will alternate strategies be created around use of, or dealing with, this pokemon?

Explanation - This concept arose from seeing a conversation in the CAP room on showdown, where someone mentioned the use of a more agressive mon on a stall team (I believe it was a set up Talonflame, not quite sure). Normally, a team playing against stall would look to break the core of the team with a stallbreaker or similar mon, and win from that hole opened in the team. However, with this agressive set up mon on the team, an unprepared player can be set up on and swept after being worn down by the stall team if they did not play differently and keep their check or counter in proper health. This concept attempts to do the same thing for multiple archetypes. For example, using the pokemon dictionary linked, balance teams often are built around a specific threat, and play to allow that threat to sweep. This concept would be able to allow an offensive team to handle that threat by eliminating it, or help a stall team counter or check that threat, causing the balance team to play differently because of this mon being a factor. The mon would be able to play variants of a role in different teams, more than just having one role that would be able to fit onto multiple teams. For example, on a stall team it could be an agressive sweeper or a mon built to help against other stall depending on how the team deals with different styles.
(Also woo first time making a cap submission for anything)

Edits in italics.

JDragon6299 · Jun 13, 2016

Name - The Admiral
Description - Being a higher rank than a commodore, it's designed to eliminate threats such as Cawmodore within the CAP metagame.
Justification

Target: What this concept addresses is the very real threat of CAP pokemon such as Cawmodore, who with a steel/fighting type spread combined with Belly Drum, a leeching move and priority moves, has the ability to devastate most any team if not dealt with quickly and effectively. It should offer a chance to make the CAP playing field more even for CAP pokemon without creating another nuisance in the game like some other CAP Pokemon have been in recent times.

Questions To Be Answered:

Will it be used as simply a one pokemon counter, or will that simply be one feature/perk?
will it follow in the footsteps of Crucibelle and have a mega-evolution?
Where will the line be drawn between achieving the concepts goal and creation of a CAP "super-threat"?
How can this Pokemon remain necessary for future generations of CAP and mainstream pokemon?
How will it compare to pokemon in the roles of walls and sweepers respectively being somewhere in the middle?
- One jack of all trades but master of none VS Two specialized pokemon. Which is better?

Explanation -
Okay, so here's the rundown of my concept as I see it. The main purpose of this pokemon is to take out Cawm thus far but I want to see it maintain use throughout following generations of CAPmons What I have pictured is a pokemon with a rare/new type configuration within the CAP meta and the game as a whole. I really want to see this happen because I think it will make the meta more self-dependent and will cause a reasonable shuffle in the strategies of current players that will reinvigorate the meta. Additionally, this CAPmon is something of a little goal of mine as it is one type combination which isn't seen in the current pokedex, but as I have heard, would be very much appreciated within the CAP metagame. Additionally, it's functionality as a counter for Cawmodore is something that not only myself, but many other CAP players are looking for.

Galvantula Tank · Jun 13, 2016

Name - The Stranger

Description - A mysterious Pokemon with multiple tricks up its sleeve.

Justification
- Actualization: The Concept inspires a sort of different thought process in the opponent. Your opponent decides and eliminates possible sets all the while you smugly smile because you know what set you are running. During battle this Pokemon is either the most annoying thing in the world or a walk in the park to counter. Mainly mind games and that's why it's the stranger.

Questions To Be Answered -

How will it work with tricks?
How many hard counters would be there for it and how can its set get around some walls and not others?
Would it be used on stall, offense, balance, bulky offense, or semi-stall?
Will a status detriment this Pokemon or will a status benefit this Pokemon?
How will ability make the play style of this Pokemon change?
How will the investment of ev's change the play style of the Pokemon?

Explanation - This idea came from the Billy Joel "Stranger" song. For the most part it just shows how a Pokemon could look like one thing such as an offensive sweeper and truly be a defensive wall for the team. I thought mainly of the silk and leather how it could hit hard and be thin, or steel and be sturdy. This is again mainly just to play mind games with the opponent and possibly sweep if it is prepared to do so, or just wall things.

Thanks to anyone who took time to read this and cbrevan, you should appreciate the name and thought. (If I need to add or change anything let me know and I'll edit this post to make it up to the standards of the concept submission)

boxofkangaroos · Jun 13, 2016

Name: There's No Turning Back

Description: This Pokemon discourages the opponent's use of U-Turn and Volt Switch.

Justification: This Pokemon would target the use of Volt-Turn. Currently, Volt-Turn is an effective playstyle that is often incorporated into Bulky Offense, Hyper Offense, and Balance archetypes. In the CAP metagame, Pokemon like Colossoil, Rotom-Wash, Landorus-T, Syclant, and Scizor take advantage of the reliable momentum that Volt Switch and U-Turn bring to any team. While Volt-Turn is not overpowered in any way, this Pokemon would certainly teach us a great amount about these two ubiquitous moves.

Questions To Be Answered:

What are the most common situations in which a player uses U-Turn or Volt Switch?
How can this Pokemon pressure the opponent in these situations?
What impact does typing have on the opponent's use of U-Turn or Volt Switch?
How can this Pokemon target Volt-Turn without a resistance or immunity to Electric?
What impact does speed have on the opponent's use of U-Turn or Volt Switch?
How can this Pokemon effectively counter opposing supportive teammates who aim to remove Volt-Turn counters from this Pokemon's side?
Would this Pokemon itself work well on Volt-Turn teams?

Explanation: There isn't much more to say about the concept itself. Since the ultimate goal of the CAP Project is to teach us more about the metagame, I figured it would be fascinating to explore the depths of Volt-Turn. Either U-Turn or Volt Switch is found on nearly every team at this point, so Volt-Turn is obviously an important part of the metagame. It will be interesting to determine the importance of resistances or immunities to Bug and Electric for this Pokemon as as well.

TheHungrySage · Jun 13, 2016

Name - Absolute Nuke

Description - A Pokemon that possesses phenomenal power, but would only receive minimal opportunities to utilize this.

Justification:

Archetype- This Pokemon would essentially be taking the archetype Glass Cannon role of a Pokemon and taking it to the next level. Whether it be due to frailty of the Pokemon, like a typical Glass Cannon, or due to massive opportunity cost associated with it's most valuable move, like Xerneas's Geomancy, or even due to a lackluster speed stat, this Pokemon would possess massive offensive potential that is only hindered by massive opportunity costs behind the associated move or set.

Questions to be answered

To what degree can a lackluster stat, ability or movepool be countered by a singular exemplary stat?
Is there a point at which an awful ability, stat, movepool or other factor is detrimental to an extent at which positive factors, no matter how large, cannot redeem a Pokemon?
Is there a definable point at which a certain move, stat or ability becomes broken? How is this point affected by detrimental aspects of a Pokemon?
How can a Pokemon be created to be incredibly offensive and weak at the same time without letting the Pokemon become broken or useless?
How will the metagame, in lieu of losing Hoopa-U, react to the creation of another Offensive/Hyper Offensive threat?
Is it possible to unbreak a Pokemon through the introduction of nerfing factors to a stellar stat/movepool/ability?

Explanation-In case it hasn't already been made clear, this Pokemon would essentially make use of an incredible typing, ability, stat or movepool to be a ridiculously powerful offensive threat at the same time as remaining unbroken through the introduction of sub-par stats, typing, movepool, ability or other factors. This strikes me as a really original concept for a Pokemon, since while every Pokemon has it's strengths and weaknesses not one Pokemon takes this to an extreme, possessing simultaneously Uber-worthy aspects in addition to PU-worthy aspects.
Edit: It has been pointed out that this CAP does appear to begin to pigeonhole into the stats stage. While this is a possible method of making a Pokemon strong, it isn't the only alternative. Take Kangaskhan-Mega. Through the introduction of the ability Parental Bond Kangaskhan becomes an Uber-worthy Pokemon. While it is entirely possible that the addition of massive attack stats could be the foundation of this concept's power it is not close to being the only route.

Edit II: It has been said that this concept is yet another Glass Cannon, which it is not. I believe that this concept would be most comparable to a Pokemon such as Kangaskhan-Mega for purposes of explanation. Kangaskhan-Mega takes a Pokemon with mediocre stats and lacking movepool and grants it an exceptional ability which serves to balance out the Pokemon's negative traits to a point at which the Pokemon is considered good enough for Ubers. What this concept would aim to do is attempt to investigate how positive and negative traits of a Pokemon work to create a balanced Pokemon and try to reproduce this. This may result in a Glass Cannon, but could be any type of Pokemon, as I think the rest of the CAP community would agree with me in saying that something a bit fresher than a glass cannon would be better.

sparktrain · Jun 14, 2016

Hey all, I'm sparktrain and I'm the Topic Leader for CAP 22. I'm just gonna go ahead and dive right in with some responses!

Rare Options by Alchemister - After reading through this concept, my opinion is that narrowing it down a bit could be beneficial for streamlining discussion, as it seems rather broad in its current state, and not all the moves listed seem like ideal examples. So, I'd consider focusing in on a certain move or subset of moves. If you look at several of the moves listed as examples, some are just inherently poor moves in general, and making a really good user of them wouldn't really showcase the moves, as the Pokemon would likely opt to just run a better set with more viable options. That, and I'm not really sure how much there is to learn from some of the more straightforward attacks that purely suffer from low distribution, like Attack Order and Drill Peck, as they don't actually offer any interesting points of discussion. We all understand what the moves do and how they'd work on a Pokemon, they just have terrible distribution and thus never see the light of day in the CAP metagame as a result. You just stick those moves on a viable Pokemon, probably give it STAB and the attacking stats to utilize them effectively, and that's that. Not much to discuss. So I guess my best advice at this point would be to choose a subset of lesser-used moves with truly untapped potential, or perhaps even a single one, to focus discussion towards, as the concept just seems a bit too unfocused to me at the moment.

Last Act of Defiance by Snobalt - I was a fan of this one last time around, as the concept itself pretty straightforward in nature but still allows for plenty of interesting discussion about what constitutes the optimal Parting Shot user in the CAP metagame. There are multiple references to the OU metagame throughout the description (was this copy-pasted from last time?), so my only real suggestion at this point would be to frame it around the CAP metagame more clearly.

Anti-Top-Tier by Trox - In a way, this concept somewhat reminds me of Arghonaut's, as ultimately the goal of targeting top threats would technically be re-centering the metagame in a sense. This may be a somewhat difficult task to pull off properly, as it's not easy to make a mon match up well against several top threats and have it be balanced itself. Either way, if it fares well against top threats, it becomes a top threat, and if it makes the previous top threats significantly worse, it becomes the top threat. Wouldn't be an easy one for us to tackle given that it'd be a delicate balancing act, and our track record as a community hasn't been terribly great when it comes to these sorts of balancing acts. That isn't to say we shouldn't consider it -- I think it'd be a worthwhile challenge to take on; we'll just really need our experienced players to chip in as much as possible throughout the process.

Achilles Heel by Take Azelfie - I have two main things I'd like to bring up here. Firstly, I feel like this concept is kinda limiting in in terms of how much there is to actually discuss. Stats-wise, it's probably gonna need good mixed attacking stats, and types/moves will be largely determined by the concept discussion early on. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I feel like this concept is already accomplished in the metagame. Not just by some niche mons either; it's exemplified by some extremely common and viable attackers. The most notable example would be AOA Aurumoth, which utilizes its high mixed attacking stats + huge variety of coverage moves, STAB Megahorn to hit AV Colossoil's weaker Defense, and STAB Psychic to hit Tomohawk's weaker SpD stat. I'd need some convincing to slate the concept in its current state, because Aurumoth among others kinda fit the bill for this concept already.

Hurdle by Alfalfa - The second question is a bit confusing to me at the moment, so it may help to clarify that. This concept naturally draws many similarities to "Anti-Top-Tier" in a sense, so my main suggestion would be to consider what parts could be reworked to help differentiate itself.

Chimera by P3DS - So, the main idea I'm getting from this concept at the moment is that the Pokemon should have multiple unique traits to allow it to fit into a unique, unseen role. It seems intriguing, and I definitely like the comparison to LC Riolu. The main issue I can see at this point are balancing multiple roles (it's no easy task looking back at some of our past projects), but given that having multiple unique traits is pretty integral to the idea of the concept, I can't say that there's much advice I have to fix that point.

Assassin by Earth Traveler - In the concept's current state, it seems incredibly broad and I'd highly recommend narrowing it for use in a project. I might not be interpreting this correctly, but I can't quite tell if you're intending for it to selectively target a large variety of Pokemon to benefit multiple archetypes, or just to handle everything by being a general goodstuff mon. Almost like an offensive utility counter in a sense, although if a mon offensively checks a ton of Pokemon and handles/fits on multiple archetypes, it's really just a great offensive Pokemon isn't it?

Close But No Cigar by Kyubics - I won't lie; I'm a sucker for the stats stage of the CAP process and always have been, so I like the idea of having a stats-centric concept; we've had a fair share of concepts that are based around typing (such as our most recent project). I really don't have much advice to offer at the moment; your explanation is really well thought-out, so props.

Item Charger by Tmi489 - I'm still a bit confused having read over this concept, as I'm not quite sure exactly what this concept wants the Pokemon to do with the item. Are we making a mon dependent on its item use? We pretty much already know what happens when a Pokemon uses an item to change its role (Choice Band vs. Choice Scarf vs. Leftovers, etc). Are we making a mon to promote lesser-used items? If so, it might help to focus the concept more towards that.

Signal Disruptor by SHSP - I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this concept yet, but part of it seems inherently flawed, because the CAP mon would be expected no matter what simply due to it being a CAP mon; it's incredibly difficult to add in that layer of surprise when we as a community design the mon every step of the way. I think the main potential for surprise comes from the fact that it can fit on multiple archetypes, as you mentioned, as stall teams could theoretically be built with 5 traditional stall mons + an offensive CAP 22, or offensive teams could be built with 5 HO mons and a bulky CAP 22. This does raise some questions about efficiency of said playstyle, as common stall builds would have to sacrifice part of their defensive backbones to preserve an offensive surprise mon, and likewise a surprise wall on an otherwise offensive team risks sacrificing offensive synergy and the ability to pressure and break past certain defensive threats and cores. Efficiency of said builds to preserve a surprise mon would be something I'm interested about, and would certainly consider as a topic or question for discussion.

The Admiral by JDragon6299 - I feel like this concept possesses some very strong similarities to some of the previous "let's beat top threats!" concepts in this thread; this one is just geared towards Cawmodore. I don't think broadening the concept to potentially include other top threats would help in that sense, because then it becomes a near carbon copy of some other submissions. Anticipating its type as Fairy/Ghost isn't allowed at this point (polljumping), and references to artistic design should not be included, as CAP concepts are intended to be purely competitive in nature. I'd highly recommend taking a look through the OP as well as the CAP Process Archive if you'd like to see the kinds of concepts we're looking for.

The Stranger by Galvantula Tank - This concept seems incredibly broad to me. The questions section in particular is what I'm mainly concerned about, as most of the questions are incredibly basic and can applied to pretty much every concept in this thread. I kinda get the gist of the concept; it's supposed to be a mon with multiple tricks up its sleeve, but I'm not sure what this concept wants to learn about the CAP metagame.

There's No Turning Back by boxofkangaroos - I like that this concept is clear in its goal and addresses a powerful team archetype in the CAP metagame. Though some might argue otherwise, I feel like there are many ways we could go about creating an effective anti-VoltTurn mon and would promote plenty of in-depth discussion. While we do have some existing mons that can punish or block certain VoltTurn users, they tend to be severely hampered by otherwise. A notable example is Tank Garchomp, which generally does well at punishing various U-turn users with its item/ability and can block Volt Switch with its typing. However, its typing leaves it destroyed by Syclant, a Pokemon literally designed to make Garchomp cry, and is a near staple on CAP VoltTurn. The concept description is developed pretty well, I'd perhaps focus on the questions a bit more. Also, be careful with the typing reference in the explanation so it doesn't come across as poll-jumping.

Absolute Nuke by TheHungrySage - I am intrigued by this and am interested in how it would play out. My only real concern with it is that it sorta pigeonholes the stats stage right from the start (it's gonna need massive offenses, probably going to be extremely frail on one or more sides, etc). That being said, there's not really much I can suggest to change about it without reframing the entire concept, so take from that what you will.

Whew, that took a bit longer than I expected. I'll be on PS! in the CAP Project room quite a bit over the next few days if you ever want to talk concepts in real time (I suppose I'll be on IRC too...). And of course, I'll be following and analyzing this thread very closely as submissions keep rolling in.

That's all for now, keep it up guys!

Billy the Uncle · Jun 14, 2016

Name: Take two, pay one

Description: A Pokémon that combines two useful roles for a team in a unique way

Justification: in a metagame as vast and diverse as today's, covering every threat and every role with just 6 team slots is a very hard task. This Pokémon aims to achieve role compression for a team in a way never seen before: as such, this project is of the Archetype-class.

Questions to be Answered:
- What are two roles that would be useful to squeeze in a single Pokémon?
- What are the (existing) Pokémon that are the best at either role? What can we learn from them?
- To what extent can CAP22 fill both roles at once?
- Is role compression worth losing some degree of specialization in a team?
- How will this new role compression affect teambuilding?
- On which kind of team archetypes is the chosen role compression most useful?
- What are the teammates that benefit the most from having such a multi-purpose Pokémon on their side?
- Will CAP22 suffer from four-moveslot-syndrome?

Explanation: "role compression" is a buzzphrase that has gained a lot of traction in Generation 6, and it's not hard to see why. The number of threats that need to be accounted for is larger than ever, and teams find themselves strapped for slots to fill all the roles. Because of this, Pokémon that can fill multiple roles at the same time are very valuable. A good example of this is Nidoking in OU, which is "a strong special wallbreaker that can check Clefable and also carry Stealth Rock if needed". If this concept is selected, we will need to choose two role that no Pokémon can currently fill at the same time and start from there. Of course, squeezing two roles in a single monster means that neither role will be performed as well as when having one Pokémon dedicated to each. However, freeing up a slot for another teammate makes up for the loss of specialization. The purpose of this project will be to explore new ways role compression can be achieved and how it influences teambuilding. It will also help us gain more insight about the "tradeoff" between role compression and role specialization.

WhiteDMist · Jun 14, 2016

Going to try and throw this out there just this once because it's been on my mind since last CAP.

Name: Proactive VS Reactive

General Description: This Pokemon would rarely be reacting to your opponent's moves; rather, it would be actively be forcing them to respond to its moves.

Justification: You hear the phrases "react" and "reactive" a lot in competitive Pokemon, often in a negative connotation. Being forced to react to your opponent's moves will naturally put you at a disadvantage, as your opponent is basically controlling the battle for the moment. This is especially troubling for many defensive and support Pokemon, who mostly are brought in as a response to an opposing threat. What is the opposite? Proactive. This Concept would basically be a study on the definition of "Proactive". Note that, while similar, this isn't a study about momentum. You don't have to force switches, or have perfect prediction to be proactive. An common example is when you set up Stealth Rock against a team that has a decent number of Stealth Rock-weak Pokemon, and forcing them to react by removing the hazard as soon as possible, or by bringing in a Pokemon at a less than opportune time in order to actually make use of it before it takes irreparable damage. Basically, can we create a CAP that isn't a reactor, but a Pokemon that forces the opponent to play a certain way that allows you to pull the strings in battle? Let's think about it as a long-term battle strategy, not just short-term prediction tactics.

Actualization: There is a certain thrill that comes with knowing you are in control of a battle, whether you make a certain move or not, just by having a certain Pokemon on your team. Also, it is an in-depth study on what is normally considered a player-based skill.

Questions To Be Answered:

What is proactive? Reactive?
What actions fall under "proactive" and "reactive"? What about inactions?
Can a single Pokemon alter the opponent's long-term strategy from purely Team Preview?
Can moderate-to-low offensively-capable Pokemon still be proactive? How?
Is there a difference between "proactive" and "momentum"? Is momentum the building block of proactivity?
Is is possible to always be proactive, without poor performance and/or faulty teambuilding on your opponent's part being the deciding factors?

Explanation: Last CAP, and just in general around Smogon, I heard the phrase "reactive" thrown around a lot. At first, I thought it was just another way of saying "momentum", and often that is true. However, looking at entire battles, you can see how much strategy goes into controlling the game from Team Preview onwards. It may be impossible for a single Pokémon to be able to remove reactive plays entirely, and that's ok. However, how much influence can a Pokémon have on the moves your opponent makes if we create it with that purpose?

I'm hoping for this to be a broader application of what we learned from "Momentum", but with a focus on the long term strategy over individual turns. I also want to see if the community can avoid a plain set up sweeper, which is the easy answer. Outside of my hazard setter example, what about field effects, punishing abilities, and the major prediction factor?

Even if this doesn't get slated (it's highly theoretical after all), thinking more in depth about this is helpful for the rest of the CAP process.

snake · Jun 14, 2016

Name: Decentralizer: Stallbreaking Tank
Description: An effective stallbreaker that can tackle many of the stall threats with in the metagame, which can help a teammate set up.
Justification:

Archetype: As a stallbreaker, CAP22 should be able to take on the multitude of stall threats in the metagame, including Clefable, Cyclohm, Chansey, etc. As a tank, it can function against certain offensive Pokemon as well, but that is not its primary function.
Target: Stall threats are the target of CAP22. Clefable should be a prime target of CAP22, as Unaware hampers sweepers' ability to set up; whereas Thunder Wave can cripple their speed. Unaware Clefable severly hampers offense.

Questions To Be Answered

How will CAP22 differentiate itself from other stallbreakers in the metagame?
While Taunt is a staple on most stallbreakers, what else is necessary?
Will the presence of CAP22 discourage the use of stall? To what degree?
Will CAP22 be able effectively function as a tank as well?
Does stallbreaking necessarily imply wallbreaking as well as stallbreaking? Why or why not?

Explanation: Due to the CAP metagame's rule of following the OU banlist, effective stallbreakers like Gothitelle and Hoopa-U have also been banned as well. While OU has its own agenda, it does not have stall Pokemon like Pyroak, Cyclohm, and Tomohawk. As I've stated, Unaware Clefable is a hard stop to any sweeper, and with all of the stall threats in the meta, offensive teams struggle to break past them, even if the team runs one or two stallbreakers. Most stallbreakers have better sets to run, have trouble working outside of being a stallbreaker, or take up your Mega slot. Beyond that, some stallbreakers are quite unreliable. Gliscor is walled by Tomohawk, Talonflame is walled by Cyclohm, and Heatran's move Magma Storm has horrid accuracy and PP. Wallbreakers are also a solution to stall teams, yet even Tail Glow Aurumoth cannot break though these teams. CAP22 does not have to demolish every single stall threat, but it should be able to discourage the playstyle. Though this concept is a lot like the other decentralizer concepts, this one specifically targets stall threats.

TheArcaninePack · Jun 14, 2016

Name - Complete Utilization
Description - This Pokemon is one that has the ability to fit many archetypes. If tinkered around with stats, moves, etc. you can have an endless amount of usefull combonations to keep the opponet guessing at every turn.
Justification
- Actualization: This concept allows for confusion on the side of the oppponet. It causes the opponet the neccesity to ferret out different sets that are possible on this Pokemon. This could rather challenging as certain moves can be used on multiple sets that would be commonly ran on this Pokemon. There are a few Pokemon who fit this role currently, including Mew, Jirachi, and Arcanine. However, this conceptualization could have more of a variety than the current Utility Pokemon.
- Archetype: This Pokemon would be considered an utility Poekmon. It should be able to perfrom all roles very well. It can also confuse the opponet as you never know which set this Pokemon will be running.
- Target: This concept adresses the holes that can often be seen in many players teams. It provides a go-to Pokemon that will be known to perform well.
Questions To Be Answered

What will be the main Archetypes that CAP22 can be utilitized to?
Can we take inspiration from current Utility Pokemon and change it around to fit with CAP22?
Will CAP22 suffer from the limited amount of moves it can have at one time?
What will typing have to do with the utility of certain archetypes for CAP22?
How will the prescence of CAP22 impact the metagame and team structure?
Is it possible for CAP22 to fit two roles at once?
Are there any abilities that can significantly increase the usefullness of CAP22?

Explanation - To me, personally, it seems that some Pokemon are fit to play only a certain role. Sometimes, howver, this role is useless on a team you're competing against. For example, take Amoonguss. This Pokemon really only has one common set in OU, and is only really used to counter a few specific Pokemon. With 721 current playable Pokemon, and many more soon to come, more often then not the specific Pokemon you're trying to counter won't appear on the opponets team. This means Amoongus might not be used, and therefore is relatively unusable. I personally, don't like to take Pokemon just to prepare for one contingency. Thats why I love the idea of a Pokemon that can be utilitized an multiple ways. I'm basing the idea around Charizard. Looking only at the team previews it can be impossible to predict what set the Charizard is using until you're in the middle of the battle. I love this type of Pokemon because of the thought put into the set usage, and the care taken while battling it. With a variety of types, abilities, and moves availible, it only takes a little of thought to find the perfect combonation that can make CAP22 a well-rounded utility Pokemon.

Alfalfa · Jun 14, 2016

sparktrain said:
Hey all, I'm sparktrain and I'm the Topic Leader for CAP 22. I'm just gonna go ahead and dive right in with some responses!

Rare Options by Alchemister - After reading through this concept, my opinion is that narrowing it down a bit could be beneficial for streamlining discussion, as it seems rather broad in its current state, and not all the moves listed seem like ideal examples. So, I'd consider focusing in on a certain move or subset of moves. If you look at several of the moves listed as examples, some are just inherently poor moves in general, and making a really good user of them wouldn't really showcase the moves, as the Pokemon would likely opt to just run a better set with more viable options. That, and I'm not really sure how much there is to learn from some of the more straightforward attacks that purely suffer from low distribution, like Attack Order and Drill Peck, as they don't actually offer any interesting points of discussion. We all understand what the moves do and how they'd work on a Pokemon, they just have terrible distribution and thus never see the light of day in the CAP metagame as a result. You just stick those moves on a viable Pokemon, probably give it STAB and the attacking stats to utilize them effectively, and that's that. Not much to discuss. So I guess my best advice at this point would be to choose a subset of lesser-used moves with truly untapped potential, or perhaps even a single one, to focus discussion towards, as the concept just seems a bit too unfocused to me at the moment.

Last Act of Defiance by Snobalt - I was a fan of this one last time around, as the concept itself pretty straightforward in nature but still allows for plenty of interesting discussion about what constitutes the optimal Parting Shot user in the CAP metagame. There are multiple references to the OU metagame throughout the description (was this copy-pasted from last time?), so my only real suggestion at this point would be to frame it around the CAP metagame more clearly.

Anti-Top-Tier by Trox - In a way, this concept somewhat reminds me of Arghonaut's, as ultimately the goal of targeting top threats would technically be re-centering the metagame in a sense. This may be a somewhat difficult task to pull off properly, as it's not easy to make a mon match up well against several top threats and have it be balanced itself. Either way, if it fares well against top threats, it becomes a top threat, and if it makes the previous top threats significantly worse, it becomes the top threat. Wouldn't be an easy one for us to tackle given that it'd be a delicate balancing act, and our track record as a community hasn't been terribly great when it comes to these sorts of balancing acts. That isn't to say we shouldn't consider it -- I think it'd be a worthwhile challenge to take on; we'll just really need our experienced players to chip in as much as possible throughout the process.

Achilles Heel by Take Azelfie - I have two main things I'd like to bring up here. Firstly, I feel like this concept is kinda limiting in in terms of how much there is to actually discuss. Stats-wise, it's probably gonna need good mixed attacking stats, and types/moves will be largely determined by the concept discussion early on. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I feel like this concept is already accomplished in the metagame. Not just by some niche mons either; it's exemplified by some extremely common and viable attackers. The most notable example would be AOA Aurumoth, which utilizes its high mixed attacking stats + huge variety of coverage moves, STAB Megahorn to hit AV Colossoil's weaker Defense, and STAB Psychic to hit Tomohawk's weaker SpD stat. I'd need some convincing to slate the concept in its current state, because Aurumoth among others kinda fit the bill for this concept already.

Hurdle by Alfalfa - The second question is a bit confusing to me at the moment, so it may help to clarify that. This concept naturally draws many similarities to "Anti-Top-Tier" in a sense, so my main suggestion would be to consider what parts could be reworked to help differentiate itself.

Chimera by P3DS - So, the main idea I'm getting from this concept at the moment is that the Pokemon should have multiple unique traits to allow it to fit into a unique, unseen role. It seems intriguing, and I definitely like the comparison to LC Riolu. The main issue I can see at this point are balancing multiple roles (it's no easy task looking back at some of our past projects), but given that having multiple unique traits is pretty integral to the idea of the concept, I can't say that there's much advice I have to fix that point.

Assassin by Earth Traveler - In the concept's current state, it seems incredibly broad and I'd highly recommend narrowing it for use in a project. I might not be interpreting this correctly, but I can't quite tell if you're intending for it to selectively target a large variety of Pokemon to benefit multiple archetypes, or just to handle everything by being a general goodstuff mon. Almost like an offensive utility counter in a sense, although if a mon offensively checks a ton of Pokemon and handles/fits on multiple archetypes, it's really just a great offensive Pokemon isn't it?

Close But No Cigar by Kyubics - I won't lie; I'm a sucker for the stats stage of the CAP process and always have been, so I like the idea of having a stats-centric concept; we've had a fair share of concepts that are based around typing (such as our most recent project). I really don't have much advice to offer at the moment; your explanation is really well thought-out, so props.

Item Charger by Tmi489 - I'm still a bit confused having read over this concept, as I'm not quite sure exactly what this concept wants the Pokemon to do with the item. Are we making a mon dependent on its item use? We pretty much already know what happens when a Pokemon uses an item to change its role (Choice Band vs. Choice Scarf vs. Leftovers, etc). Are we making a mon to promote lesser-used items? If so, it might help to focus the concept more towards that.

Signal Disruptor by SHSP - I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this concept yet, but part of it seems inherently flawed, because the CAP mon would be expected no matter what simply due to it being a CAP mon; it's incredibly difficult to add in that layer of surprise when we as a community design the mon every step of the way. I think the main potential for surprise comes from the fact that it can fit on multiple archetypes, as you mentioned, as stall teams could theoretically be built with 5 traditional stall mons + an offensive CAP 22, or offensive teams could be built with 5 HO mons and a bulky CAP 22. This does raise some questions about efficiency of said playstyle, as common stall builds would have to sacrifice part of their defensive backbones to preserve an offensive surprise mon, and likewise a surprise wall on an otherwise offensive team risks sacrificing offensive synergy and the ability to pressure and break past certain defensive threats and cores. Efficiency of said builds to preserve a surprise mon would be something I'm interested about, and would certainly consider as a topic or question for discussion.

The Admiral by JDragon6299 - I feel like this concept possesses some very strong similarities to some of the previous "let's beat top threats!" concepts in this thread; this one is just geared towards Cawmodore. I don't think broadening the concept to potentially include other top threats would help in that sense, because then it becomes a near carbon copy of some other submissions. Anticipating its type as Fairy/Ghost isn't allowed at this point (polljumping), and references to artistic design should not be included, as CAP concepts are intended to be purely competitive in nature. I'd highly recommend taking a look through the OP as well as the CAP Process Archive if you'd like to see the kinds of concepts we're looking for.

The Stranger by Galvantula Tank - This concept seems incredibly broad to me. The questions section in particular is what I'm mainly concerned about, as most of the questions are incredibly basic and can applied to pretty much every concept in this thread. I kinda get the gist of the concept; it's supposed to be a mon with multiple tricks up its sleeve, but I'm not sure what this concept wants to learn about the CAP metagame.

There's No Turning Back by boxofkangaroos - I like that this concept is clear in its goal and addresses a powerful team archetype in the CAP metagame. Though some might argue otherwise, I feel like there are many ways we could go about creating an effective anti-VoltTurn mon and would promote plenty of in-depth discussion. While we do have some existing mons that can punish or block certain VoltTurn users, they tend to be severely hampered by otherwise. A notable example is Tank Garchomp, which generally does well at punishing various U-turn users with its item/ability and can block Volt Switch with its typing. However, its typing leaves it destroyed by Syclant, a Pokemon literally designed to make Garchomp cry, and is a near staple on CAP VoltTurn. The concept description is developed pretty well, I'd perhaps focus on the questions a bit more. Also, be careful with the typing reference in the explanation so it doesn't come across as poll-jumping.

Absolute Nuke by TheHungrySage - I am intrigued by this and am interested in how it would play out. My only real concern with it is that it sorta pigeonholes the stats stage right from the start (it's gonna need massive offenses, probably going to be extremely frail on one or more sides, etc). That being said, there's not really much I can suggest to change about it without reframing the entire concept, so take from that what you will.

Whew, that took a bit longer than I expected. I'll be on PS! in the CAP Project room quite a bit over the next few days if you ever want to talk concepts in real time (I suppose I'll be on IRC too...). And of course, I'll be following and analyzing this thread very closely as submissions keep rolling in.

That's all for now, keep it up guys!

I clarified what you were asking for, though I may add a little more. The main reason why this concept is not Anti-Top Tier has been explicitly stated in the explanation section, though I will probably add a little more.

Trox · Jun 14, 2016

Alfalfa said:
I clarified what you were asking for, though I may add a little more. The main reason why this concept is not Anti-Top Tier has been explicitly stated in the explanation section, though I will probably add a little more.

Even after your clarification, I think our concepts are pretty close to each other. I feel like we have the same goal, just the way we describe it is different.
(I don't really mind that though.)

Alfalfa · Jun 14, 2016

Trox said:
Even after your clarification, I think our concepts are pretty close to each other. I fell like we have the same goal, just the way we describe it is different.
(I don't really mind that though.)

Of course our concepts are naturally similar. They have the same general idea. I think that you should focus on targeting a number of Pokemon though so we can actually distinguish the differences between our concepts.

boxofkangaroos · Jun 14, 2016

sparktrain said:
There's No Turning Back by boxofkangaroos - I like that this concept is clear in its goal and addresses a powerful team archetype in the CAP metagame. Though some might argue otherwise, I feel like there are many ways we could go about creating an effective anti-VoltTurn mon and would promote plenty of in-depth discussion. While we do have some existing mons that can punish or block certain VoltTurn users, they tend to be severely hampered by otherwise. A notable example is Tank Garchomp, which generally does well at punishing various U-turn users with its item/ability and can block Volt Switch with its typing. However, its typing leaves it destroyed by Syclant, a Pokemon literally designed to make Garchomp cry, and is a near staple on CAP VoltTurn. The concept description is developed pretty well, I'd perhaps focus on the questions a bit more. Also, be careful with the typing reference in the explanation so it doesn't come across as poll-jumping.

Updated to avoid explicitly suggesting a typing. Thanks for the feedback!

Blackdrakon30 · Jun 14, 2016

Name - It's all going according to the plan...

Description - A Pokemon that can be played as planned, which means that it eliminates the small chances and possibilities of "hax" as much as possible. Make sure you read the "Target" section before judging this by what it sounds like.
Justification
- Actualization: The ideal purpose of this Pokemon is to inspire people to think more about strategic playing and teambuilding rather than small chances. If they cannot rely on low possibility events, it means they must outplay the opponent. Ideally, this will be a difficult CAP to use for newbies but in the hands of a strategic player it will have lots of potential.
- Archetype: This Concept could fill any team role, as it could be a Pivot, Glass Cannon, Stallbreaker, anything. The CAP metagame could use a CAP like this because it would entice players to put more thought into their teams and gameplay. Hopefully this would cause more entertaining battles for both players, as well as producing a more interesting metagame.
- Target: I feel like currently very little thought is put into many CAP teams and plays. By using this CAP, players could gradually learn how to make more strategic plays and teams. For those already experienced, it would be a refreshing Pokemon that does not easily succumb to small odds and that goes almost always according to plan. To be clear, this does not mean "I plan for it to 6-0, so now it will 6-0 this team." This is not a Pokemon that can play any role perfectly that the player wants. It is a CAP that ideally evokes strategic thought and intense thinking moreso than other Pokemon. Prediction would still trump it, as well as just matchups that it cannot win. So one aspect of the concept could be rephrased as "a CAP that requires intense planning and thought to work most effectively."
Questions To Be Answered - How would one create a Pokemon less influenced by chances and more influenced by strategy? Is it possible to isolate a Pokemon from small chances when the whole game is built upon odds? Would a Pokemon that works as intended in plans be too overpowered in the hands of a good strategist? How would we make it still entertaining for new people to utilize, without being just good for anyone? What place in the metagame would a Pokemon like this take?
Explanation - I think that we could use a little more strategic thinking in this metagame. This Pokemon could hopefully elicit more creative (yet reasonable) teambuilding with its sets, cause improvement in thinking of predictions and strategies in battle, and help us learn more about how the CAP metagame operates. By the last point, I mean that we could learn about how CAP strategies currently are, the playstyles of the metagame, and how this Pokemon would change those aspects. Perhaps this CAP would alter the metagame general playstyles in an unpredictable direction, and provide more variety. We won't know unless we try!

Note that this is still VERY vague and in the editing stage, so I would appreciate any and all feedback!

EDIT: Just count this one out, I think my concept is definitely too vague. If I edit this again to have an altered concept before the polls then count it in, otherwise not.

P3DS · Jun 14, 2016

sparktrain said:
Chimera by P3DS - So, the main idea I'm getting from this concept at the moment is that the Pokemon should have multiple unique traits to allow it to fit into a unique, unseen role. It seems intriguing, and I definitely like the comparison to LC Riolu. The main issue I can see at this point are balancing multiple roles (it's no easy task looking back at some of our past projects), but given that having multiple unique traits is pretty integral to the idea of the concept, I can't say that there's much advice I have to fix that point.

I can definitely agree with balancing being a hard task when looking back at older projects*cough*Aurumoth*cough*. However, I felt that Plasmanta and Naviathan were really well thought through and balanced, and so was Crucibelle, so I think that, although an arduous task, the previous few CAPs have shown the community could be ready again to tackle something as tough as this.

I'll be thinking about it, and hopefully, something will crop up. Thanks for the input.

CAP 22 CAP 22 - Part 1 - Concept Submissions

HeaLnDeaL

Let's Keep Fighting

Alchemister

Empress

Don't waffle or you'll get pancaked

Take Azelfie

More flags more fun

Alfalfa

P3DS

Earth Traveler

Kyubics

Tmi489

SHSP

JDragon6299

Galvantula Tank

boxofkangaroos

this is the day of the expanding man

TheHungrySage

sparktrain

Billy the Uncle

WhiteDMist

Path>Goal

snake

TheArcaninePack

Alfalfa

Trox

Alfalfa

boxofkangaroos

this is the day of the expanding man

Blackdrakon30

P3DS

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