Metagame USUM CAP Metagame Discussion

cbrevan

spin, spin, spin
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USUM CAP Metagame Discussion

Use this thread to discuss anything relating to the USUM CAP metagame, from potential cores you want to try to team builds you think will be effective. If its related to the USUM CAP Metagame, chances are this is a good place to post it. Keep in mind that this thread is solely for USUM CAP metagame discussion, and should not be used to discuss any other format, even if they're CAP related.

The 28 existing CAP Pokemon are what separate the CAP Metagame from any other metagame available, so here is a quick list of the CAP pokemon for reference, listed by order of creation.

Syclant
Ice / Bug
Compound Eyes / Mountaineer / Ice Body
HP 70 / Atk 116 / Def 70 / SpA 114 / SpD 64 / Spe 121 / BST 555

Revenankh Otherwise known as the best CAP mon
Ghost / Fighting
Shed Skin / Air Lock / Triage
HP 90 / Atk 105 / Def 90 / SpA 65 / SpD 110 / Spe 65 / BST 525

Pyroak
Fire / Grass
Rock Head / Battle Armor / White Smoke
HP 120 / Atk 70 / Def 105 / SpA 95 / SpD 90 / Spe 60 / BST 540

Fidgit
Poison / Ground
Persistent / Vital Spirit / Frisk
HP 95 / Atk 76 / Def 109 / SpA 90 / SpD 80 / Spe 105 / BST 555

Stratagem
Rock
Levitate / Technician / Sniper
HP 90 / Atk 60 / Def 65 / SpA 120 / SpD 70 / Spe 130 / BST 535

Arghonaut
Water / Fighting
Unaware / Technician
HP 105 / Atk 110 / Def 95 / SpA 70 / SpD 100 /Spe 75 / BST 555

Kitsunoh
Steel / Ghost
Frisk / Limber / Iron Fist
HP 80 / Atk 103 / Def 85 / SpA 55 / SpD 80 / Spe 110 / BST 513

Cyclohm
Electric / Dragon
Shield Dust / Static / Damp
HP 108 / Atk 60 / Def 118 / SpA 112 / SpD 70 / Spe 80 / BST 548

Colossoil
Dark / Ground
Rebound / Guts / Unnerve
HP 133 / Atk 122 / Def 72 / SpA 71 / SpD 72 / Spe 95 / BST 565

Krilowatt
Electric / Water
Trace / Magic Guard / Minus
HP 151 / Atk 84 / Def 73 / SpA 83 / SpD 74 / Spe 105 / BST 570

Voodoom
Fighting / Dark
Volt Absorb / Lightning Rod / Cursed Body
HP 90 / Atk 85 / Def 80 / SpA 105 / SpD 80 / Spe 110 / BST 550

Tomohawk
Flying / Fighting
Intimidate / Prankster / Justified
HP 105 / Atk 60 / Def 90 / SpA 115 / SpD 80 / Spe 85 / BST 535

Necturna
Grass / Ghost
Forewarn / Telepathy
HP 64 / Atk 120 / Def 100 / SpA 85 / SpD 120 / Spe 58 / BST 547

Mollux
Fire / Poison
Dry Skin / Illuminate
HP 95 / Atk 45 / Def 83 / SpA 131 / SpD 105 / Spe 76 / BST 535

Aurumoth
Bug / Psychic
Weak Armor / No Guard / Light Metal
HP 110 / Atk 120 / Def 99 / SpA 117 / SpD 60 / Spe 94 / BST 600

Malaconda
Dark / Grass
Harvest / Infiltrator / Drought
HP 115 / Atk 100 / Def 60 / SpA 40 / SpD 130 / Spe 55 / BST 500

Cawmodore
Steel / Flying
Intimidate / Volt Absorb / Big Pecks
HP 50 / Atk 92 / Def 130 / SpA 65 / SpD 75 / Spe 118 / BST 530

Volkraken
Water / Fire
Analytic / Infiltrator / Pressure
HP 100 / Atk 45 / Def 80 / SpA 135 / SpD 100 / Spe 95 / BST 555

Plasmanta
Electric / Poison
Storm Drain / Vital Spirit / Telepathy
HP 60 / Atk 57 / Def 119 / SpA 131 / SpD 98 / Spe 100 / BST 565

Naviathan
Water / Steel
Guts / Heatproof / Light Metal
HP 103 / Atk 110 / Def 90 / SpA 95 / SpD 65 / Spe 97 / BST 560

Crucibelle
Rock / Poison
Regenerator / Mold Breaker / Liquid Ooze
HP 106 / Atk 105 / Def 65 / Spa 75 / SpD 85 / Spe 104 / BST 540

Crucibelle-Mega
Rock / Poison
Magic Guard
HP 106 / Atk 135 / Def 75 / Spa 85 / SpD 125 / Spe 108 / BST 640

Kerfluffle
Fairy / Fighting
Natural Cure / Aroma Veil / Friend Guard
HP 84 / Atk 78 / Def 86 / Spa 115 / SpD 88 / Spe 119 / BST 570

Pajantom
Dragon / Ghost
Comatose
HP 84 / Atk 133 / Def 71 / SpA 51 / SpD 111 / Spe 101 / BST 551

Jumbao
Grass / Fairy
Drought / Trace / Overcoat
HP 92 / Atk 63 / Def 97 / SpA 124 / SpD 104 / Spe 96 / BST 576

Caribolt
Grass / Electric
Overgrow / Galvanize
HP 84 / Atk 106 / Def 82 / SpA 77 / SpD 80 / Spe 106 / BST 535

Smokomodo
Fire / Ground
Blaze / Technician
HP 88 / Atk 116 / Def 67 / SpA 88 / SpD 78 / Spe 97 / BST 534

Snaelstrom
Water / Bug
Torrent / Poison Heal
HP 91 / Atk 94 / Def 110 / SpA 80 / SpD 97 / Spe 63 / BST 535

Equilibra
Steel / Ground
Levitate / Bulletproof / Justified
HP 102 / Atk 60 / Def 96 / Spa 133 / Spd 118 / Spe 60
 
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G-Luke

Sugar, Spice and One For All
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The 22 existing CAP Pokemon are what separate the CAP Metagame from any other metagame available, so here is a quick list of the CAP pokemon for reference, listed by order of creation.
Syclant
Ice / Bug
Compound Eyes / Mountaineer
HP 70 / Atk 116 / Def 70 / SpA 114 / SpD 64 / Spe 121 / BST 555

Revenankh Otherwise known as the best CAP mon
Ghost / Fighting
Shed Skin / Air Lock
HP 90 / Atk 105 / Def 90 / SpA 65 / SpD 110 / Spe 65 / BST 525

Pyroak
Fire / Grass
Rock Head / Battle Armor
HP 120 / Atk 70 / Def 105 / SpA 95 / SpD 90 / Spe 60 / BST 540

Fidgit
Poison / Ground
Persistent / Vital Spirit
HP 95 / Atk 76 / Def 109 / SpA 90 / SpD 80 / Spe 105 / BST 555

Stratagem
Rock
Levitate / Technician
HP 90 / Atk 60 / Def 65 / SpA 120 / SpD 70 / Spe 130 / BST 535

Arghonaut
Water / Fighting
Unaware
HP 105 / Atk 110 / Def 95 / SpA 70 / SpD 100 /Spe 75 / BST 555

Kitsunoh
Steel / Ghost
Frisk / Limber
HP 80 / Atk 103 / Def 85 / SpA 55 / SpD 80 / Spe 110 / BST 513

Cyclohm
Electric / Dragon
Shield Dust / Static
HP 108 / Atk 60 / Def 118 / SpA 112 / SpD 70 / Spe 80 / BST 548

Colossoil
Dark / Ground
Rebound / Guts
HP 133 / Atk 122 / Def 72 / SpA 71 / SpD 72 / Spe 95 / BST 565

Krilowatt
Electric / Water
Trace / Magic Guard
HP 151 / Atk 84 / Def 73 / SpA 83 / SpD 74 / Spe 105 / BST 570

Voodoom
Fighting / Dark
Volt Absorb / Lightning Rod
HP 90 / Atk 85 / Def 80 / SpA 105 / SpD 80 / Spe 110 / BST 550

Tomohawk
Flying / Fighting
Intimidate / Prankster / Justified
HP 105 / Atk 60 / Def 90 / SpA 115 / SpD 80 / Spe 85 / BST 535

Necturna
Grass / Ghost
Forewarn / Telepathy
HP 64 / Atk 120 / Def 100 / SpA 85 / SpD 120 / Spe 81 / BST 570

Mollux
Fire / Poison
Dry Skin / Illuminate
HP 95 / Atk 45 / Def 83 / SpA 131 / SpD 105 / Spe 76 / BST 535

Aurumoth
Bug / Psychic
Weak Armor / No Guard / Illusiom
HP 110 / Atk 120 / Def 99 / SpA 117 / SpD 60 / Spe 94 / BST 600

Malaconda
Dark / Grass
Harvest / Infiltrator
HP 115 / Atk 100 / Def 60 / SpA 40 / SpD 130 / Spe 55 / BST 500

Cawmodore
Steel / Flying
Intimidate / Volt Absorb / Big Pecks
HP 50 / Atk 92 / Def 130 / SpA 65 / SpD 75 / Spe 118 / BST 530

Volkraken
Water / Fire
Analytic / Infiltrator / Pressure
HP 100 / Atk 45 / Def 80 / SpA 135 / SpD 100 / Spe 95 / BST 555

Plasmanta
Electric / Poison
Storm Drain / Vital Spirit / Telepathy
HP 60 / Atk 57 / Def 119 / SpA 131 / SpD 98 / Spe 100 / BST 565

Naviathan
Water / Steel
Water Veil / Heatproof / Light Metal
HP 103 / Atk 110 / Def 90 / SpA 95 / SpD 65 / Spe 97 / BST 560

Crucibelle
Rock / Poison
Regenerator / Mold Breaker / Liquid Ooze
HP 106 / Atk 105 / Def 65 / Spa 75 / SpD 85 / Spe 104 / BST 540

Crucibelle-Mega
Rock / Poison
Magic Guard
HP 106 / Atk 135 / Def 75 / Spa 85 / SpD 125 / Spe 114 / BST 640

Kerfluffle
Fairy / Fighting
Natural Cure / Aroma Veil / Friend Guard
HP 84 / Atk 78 / Def 86 / Spa 115 / SpD 88 / Spe 119 / BST 570
You used the pre update layout, it should be

Syclant
Ice / Bug
Compound Eyes / Mountaineer / Ice Body
HP 70 / Atk 116 / Def 70 / SpA 114 / SpD 64 / Spe 121 / BST 555

Revenankh Otherwise known as the best CAP mon
Ghost / Fighting
Shed Skin / Air Lock / Triage
HP 90 / Atk 105 / Def 90 / SpA 65 / SpD 110 / Spe 65 / BST 525

Pyroak
Fire / Grass
Rock Head / Battle Armor / White Smoke
HP 120 / Atk 70 / Def 105 / SpA 95 / SpD 90 / Spe 60 / BST 540

Fidgit
Poison / Ground
Persistent / Vital Spirit / Frisk
HP 95 / Atk 76 / Def 109 / SpA 90 / SpD 80 / Spe 105 / BST 555

Stratagem
Rock
Levitate / Technician / Sniper
HP 90 / Atk 60 / Def 65 / SpA 120 / SpD 70 / Spe 130 / BST 535

Arghonaut
Water / Fighting
Unaware / Technician
HP 105 / Atk 110 / Def 95 / SpA 70 / SpD 100 /Spe 75 / BST 555

Kitsunoh
Steel / Ghost
Frisk / Limber / Iron Fist
HP 80 / Atk 103 / Def 85 / SpA 55 / SpD 80 / Spe 110 / BST 513

Cyclohm
Electric / Dragon
Shield Dust / Static / Damp
HP 108 / Atk 60 / Def 118 / SpA 112 / SpD 70 / Spe 80 / BST 548

Colossoil
Dark / Ground
Rebound / Guts / Unnerve
HP 133 / Atk 122 / Def 72 / SpA 71 / SpD 72 / Spe 95 / BST 565

Krilowatt
Electric / Water
Trace / Magic Guard / Minus
HP 151 / Atk 84 / Def 73 / SpA 83 / SpD 74 / Spe 105 / BST 570

Voodoom
Fighting / Dark
Volt Absorb / Lightning Rod / Cursed Body
HP 90 / Atk 85 / Def 80 / SpA 105 / SpD 80 / Spe 110 / BST 550

Tomohawk
Flying / Fighting
Intimidate / Prankster / Justified
HP 105 / Atk 60 / Def 90 / SpA 115 / SpD 80 / Spe 85 / BST 535

Necturna
Grass / Ghost
Forewarn / Telepathy
HP 64 / Atk 120 / Def 100 / SpA 85 / SpD 120 / Spe 81 / BST 570

Mollux
Fire / Poison
Dry Skin / Illuminate
HP 95 / Atk 45 / Def 83 / SpA 131 / SpD 105 / Spe 76 / BST 535

Aurumoth
Bug / Psychic
Weak Armor / No Guard / Light Armour
HP 110 / Atk 120 / Def 99 / SpA 117 / SpD 60 / Spe 94 / BST 600

Malaconda
Dark / Grass
Harvest / Infiltrator / Drought
HP 115 / Atk 100 / Def 60 / SpA 40 / SpD 130 / Spe 55 / BST 500

Cawmodore
Steel / Flying
Intimidate / Volt Absorb / Big Pecks
HP 50 / Atk 92 / Def 130 / SpA 65 / SpD 75 / Spe 118 / BST 530

Volkraken
Water / Fire
Analytic / Infiltrator / Pressure
HP 100 / Atk 45 / Def 80 / SpA 135 / SpD 100 / Spe 95 / BST 555

Plasmanta
Electric / Poison
Storm Drain / Vital Spirit / Telepathy
HP 60 / Atk 57 / Def 119 / SpA 131 / SpD 98 / Spe 100 / BST 565

Naviathan
Water / Steel
Guts / Heatproof / Light Metal
HP 103 / Atk 110 / Def 90 / SpA 95 / SpD 65 / Spe 97 / BST 560

Crucibelle
Rock / Poison
Regenerator / Mold Breaker / Liquid Ooze
HP 106 / Atk 105 / Def 65 / Spa 75 / SpD 85 / Spe 104 / BST 540

Crucibelle-Mega
Rock / Poison
Magic Guard
HP 106 / Atk 135 / Def 75 / Spa 85 / SpD 125 / Spe 114 / BST 640

Kerfluffle
Fairy / Fighting
Natural Cure / Aroma Veil / Friend Guard
HP 84 / Atk 78 / Def 86 / Spa 115 / SpD 88 / Spe 119 / BST 570


That's better
 
Just a correction: Aurumoth's HA is called Light Metal, not Armor.

To make this post relevant, a lot of Alola Pokémon now have access to several useful Tutor Moves that Pokémon available in ORAS were already able to use. That being said, Naganadel and a few others exist now. How broken is Naganadel with excellent Poison, Dragon, and Fire coverage? Blacephalon is a glass cannon that lacks in coverage, while Stakataka has that crappy Rock/Steel typing, even though it has a dank meme set.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Pajantom's focus on trapping opponents when its movepool becomes officially available on Showdown. How well do you guys think Pajantom will fare against these new Ultra Beasts and Zeraora?
 
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LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Hey, just some initial thoughts based on just theorymoning

Blacephalon: I'm honestly not sure how this Pokemon will fair. It does have a ton going for it, like an incredible 151 Special Attack and a decent speed tier, while also being one of the best options against Celesteela and most Steel types in the tier. However, I feel that it won't stay in OU for long simply because there are better options for what it can do, and it is seriously lacking in the coverage department, even with tutors. Like seriously, no Focus Blast hurts quite badly and the best option it has is HP Ground, which is really saying something.

Naganadel: While I haven't personally experienced the massive sweeps that Naga can apparently pull off, I have absolutely seen how this can get out of hand very quickly. While Choice Specs sets can very easily pull in the hurt, the key contributor to this mon's strength is definetely NP. One setup opportunity along with a Z-Draco Meteor can easily setup for an easy sweep with Beast Boost and its incredible Coverage. And besides Sucker Punch, very little can actually outspeed it once it has reached +1. I doubt it will be staying in OU for very long because of these things, but its fun to play nonetheless.

Stakataka: Serious case of Aggron Syndrome. It has a ton going for, like its stats, movepool, and a cool design. BUT THAT TYPING! SERIOUSLY GF? At least Trick Room + Gyro Ball is hilarious.
 

snake

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CAP Co-Leader
Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Scared Sword
- Knock Off
- Psycho Cut

Kartana's newfound access to Knock Off lends it a very nice place in the CAP Metagame. Its Swords Dance sets (Sub + SD, SD + 3 Attacks), while potent, have trouble standing up to CAP's bulkier threats with unique resistances. However, with Knock Off, Choice Band skyrockets in viability.

First, Knock Off gives Kartana some valuable utility. Knocking off items from Tomohawk, Pyroak, Arghonaut, Toxapex, etc. is just so useful for CB Kartana's offensive teammates. It's a really great move to spam early-game for this reason.

Second, Knock Off almost acts as a pseudo-STAB move for Kartana. Smart Strike, while a little more powerful than Knock Off, isn't the most useful move. At least, not compared to Psycho Cut. Now, why Psycho Cut?
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Psycho Cut vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tomohawk: 226-268 (54.5 - 64.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
That's right, defensive Tomohawk can't swap into Psycho Cut or even reliably Roost-stall it off. Knocking off Leftovers early-game is useful, but if you aren't able to Knock Off Rocky Helmet, it's ok...because Psycho Cut doesn't make contact.

Dropping Smart Strike doesn't mean much when Leaf Blade hits most Fairy-types really hard. Smart Strike is usually run to patch up Kartana's Grass- and Fighting-type coverage, against threats like Aurumoth, Tapu Bulu, Clefable, Mega Crucibelle, Magearna, and Tapu Lele, but the sheer supplemental power gained from Choice Band (and Knock Off for Aurumoth) makes all the difference:
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 24 HP / 0 Def Aurumoth: 410-484 (111.7 - 131.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tapu Bulu in Grassy Terrain: 187-221 (66.5 - 78.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Psycho Cut vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tapu Bulu: 130-154 (46.2 - 54.8%) -- 10.2% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Crucibelle-Mega: 358-423 (101.1 - 119.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 249-294 (63.1 - 74.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(Wish + 2 rounds of Leftovers recovery doesn't save you, as you will be doing that much minimum every turn)

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 168-198 (46.1 - 54.3%) -- 59% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 358-423 (127.4 - 150.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 216+ Def Landorus-Therian: 151-178 (39.5 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery - this thing can't swap in too many times

-1 252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 205-243 (64.2 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO - or this one

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 132+ Def Celesteela: 147-174 (36.9 - 43.7%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 240-283 (67 - 79%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 157-186 (51.6 - 61.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Psycho Cut does a smidge more if you're locked into that)

And don't forget about Beast Boost. Yeah this thing can clean up bulky teams late-game if whatever's left of the opponent's team is weakened and doesn't resist one of its moves. Things that can live Kartana's moves suddenly just don't. Even Pyroak has to be careful of being too worn down late-game:
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pyroak: 142-168 (32 - 37.9%) -- 0.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pyroak: 213-251 (48 - 56.6%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pyroak: 132-156 (29.7 - 35.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pyroak: 198-233 (44.6 - 52.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
The set isn't perfect, as locking yourself into a move requires you to think on your feet and probably make some thoughtful switches. A smart Tomohawk player would, after seeing the Psycho Cut, swap to one of the common Dark-types in the Naganadel metgame, but swapping Kartana on that turn would be prudent to not lose all of your momentum. Against offensive teams, Choice Scarfers and faster Pokemon can be a pain, but Sticky Web can fix this issue. Overall, CB Kartana is probably one of Kartana's better sets in the CAP Metagame due to its ability to take on the super bulky threats in the metagame.
 
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I know this is not the right place to ask and I dont know where to ask this; can someone send me the link to the CAP Discord room?
 

Gross Sweep

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Jumbao Discussion


So this thread has been dead for 2 months now, and I’d like to change that. Recently I got involved in CAP, and have been loving the newly finished CAP 24 Jumbao. That said Jumbao has proven to be extremely versatile in the meta. The aim of this post stems from my desire to discuss all of this mons possibilities, and possibly see what others have been enjoying when it comes to set preference.

I’ll start of by addressing the 3 main type of sets I’ve been seeing for everyone’s favorite tree: Bulky, Scarf, or some sort of offensive set like Specs, Life Orb, or Z move. From what I have seen bulkier sets have been preferred just skimming through replays, but other options have also proven competent. The rest of this post will consist of a brief breakdown of each set type, and other thoughts I might have on the mon while writing.

Offensive:

This is probably my least favorite set to be completely honest. I’ve seen a few Z sets in use, one specs, and a couple instances of Life Orb. Every time I feel like this set it’s usually having a rough time facing multiple steels (and people also seem to have trouble utilizing Flame Burst / Focus Blast / Hp Ground on their sets). On top of this I watched several ReachZero games, and he really has been digging his Chansey which gives Jumbao fits. While this set has been my least favorite so far, I still have a lot of confidence in its ability to perform as it gets more time in the tier. I’ll just be waiting for someone to build a really good Jumbao + Magnezone bulky offensive team, where I believe this type of set can really shine.


The replay for this style shows Snake_Rattler using a LO set to apply pressure. Solar Beam does 59% to Toxapex forcing out what is usually thought of as a pretty solid switch in, which is followed up by a Focus Blast miss that would of KO’d a Magearna (but that’s the game we play). This probably isn’t the best replay, but like I mentioned I feel this option is a bit unexplored. This replay does however show a flash of what offensive Jumbao can do given the situation.

Scarf:

I won’t lie, the first time I saw this set G-Luke really caught me off guard in a friendly, and got a surprise KO off me. With a base speed of 96 Jumbao can already outpace some strong threats like Zygarde and Tapu Lele, however, throw on that Choice Scarf and Jumbao becomes an extremely strong revenge killer/late game cleaner. Especially when you factor in the option of running drought allowing Jumbao to run the nuke of a move that is Solarbeam as its main grass stab. Aside from being fast and strong, this set also can be a little bit sneaky as Scarf isn’t the most common set. Meaning if you bluff bulky/offensive for a few turns you may be able to surprisingly nab one later on in the game changing the tide in your favor.


I really like this replay, as I feel it’s a high quality game that showcases scarf Jumbao pretty well. Heaven Jay uses Jumbao as an electric resist early on letting it take a couple hits from Koko, followed up with leaving it in vs Kartana giving the impression it’s probably some pivot set like 3 attacks + Synthesis. However, in the late game it snags a KO against Koko when Reachzero more than likely thought his Koko would out speed based on the way the end game was played. That KO on Koko sealed the deal, and really shows the essence of the set.

Bulky:

This style has probably been the most used set so far. With recovery options such as Wish, Shore Up, and Synthesis in the sun Jumbao was blessed with recovery options unlike any other mon I’ve ever seen. Especially when you factor in the bulk and SpA this mon possess you get a tank straight out of a military man's dream. The mon can also use Trace to reliably check Heatran which is just crazy for a Grass type to be able to do. I am thankful for no one giving this thing something like Flamethrower or Earth Power since this mon would honestly be borderline broken upon inception otherwise. Jumbao also is one of the first mons to be able to power up fire type teammates in a reliable manner. Torkoal and Ninetales have always been a little meh setting sun, and Zard-y sets sun for itself. However, Jumbao manages to effectively set sun so that partners such as Heatran can take advantage. Honestly this set has a bunch of other characteristics that I could go on and on about, but I’d like to keep the sections for each set about the same size.


Decided to go with 2 replays for this one since I liked them both. The DoW game probably wasn’t the best, but it does a good job of showing the bulk of Jumbao. The other game shows Jumbao being a grass type that beats/pressures Heatran early on which was cool to see. There are a lot more replays I could have added for this section, but I get the feeling a lot of people have seen this type of set a lot at this point so I decided to go light.


That’s pretty much all I wanted to talk about for this post. Hopefully this energizes the thread a bit, and sparks some discussion on using Jumbao to its full potential. I’m a bit newer to CAP, so everything here might not be absolutely perfect. I just got a little sad seeing the CAP 25 framework suggestion thread has been open for a day or two, and already has more posts than this thread. I get making new mons is definitely the main draw of CAP, just as someone who loves competitive pokemon I wanted to discuss the meta we have now instead of putting full focus into the next big thing right away.
 

reachzero

the pastor of disaster
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Since Gross Sweep has given us a really thoughtful and panoramic view of what Jumbao can do, I thought I'd piggy back off of his post and share some thoughts on each of those sets I've used. I confess to having not used Scarf Jumbao yet, mostly because it can't check Cawmodore, so I'll leave that to others. I have used two different offensive sets and four different bulky sets, to varying degrees of success.

Offensive:
Both of the offensive sets I've tried have used Drought, and were designed to use Drought. Moonblast/Flame Burst/HP Ground/Shore Up is the common set, and it is, as advertised, hard to switch into unless you have Pyroak or Toxapex (which is overrated in CAP, as you know if you've ever faced a team with Mollux or Plasmanta or Pajantom). HP Ground is kind of the opposite of spammable though, so the set still depends a lot on prediction to be effective, which is a minus. I'd put this set somewhere around A-/A in viability because its defensive ability is definitely compromised by running 252 SpA/252 Speed. The other offensive set I've run is Moonblast/Z Focus Blast/Solar Beam/Shore Up, which has slightly worse coverage in exchange for being harder for Crucibelle and Toxapex to effectively check. I'd say it's about the same as the other set in viability, maybe a little worse because Mollux and Plasmanta seem to be a little up in issue at the moment.

Bulky:
This is the role that lets Jumbao really shine, in my opinion. SpD Jumbao in particular lets you check important stuff like Koko and Krilowatt, but the real value lies in Wish. Wish on such a splashable Pokemon is incredible--Clefable is envious at how good a team player Jumbao can be. The best partners to Jumbao have good bulk but lack recovery--Zygarde, Heatran, Krilowatt, etc. Wish lets you extend their lives insanely long. The opponent has Crucibelle and Tornadus-T? No problem. Click Wish, and go to Zygarde or Krilowatt over and over. Jumbao is such a godsend to CAP bulky offense that I'd say A+ is the viability floor, and S isn't out of the question. Light Screen, on the other hand, I had high hopes for, but has shown to be inferior to Wish in practice. I've used fully SpD Jumbao, 248 HP/48+ SpA/216 Speed Jumbao and max HP/max SpA, and I definitely think that more bulk and outspeeding Heatran are the first and second priorities respectively.

For those who are still struggling to get the hang of Jumbao, try the bulky set alongside Krilowatt and Zygarde. The amount of defensive pressure you exert is great.
 

Gross Sweep

Plan Ahead
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Two weeks ago I posted here about Jumbao. I appreciate the one response I got, reachzero you’re amazing. However, my goal was to make this thread active again, and I am in a word persistent. Today I would like to discuss Fidgit. Fidgit is a pretty cool mon as it can serve as a fun lead for a couple of more niche styles being Tailwind and Trick Room. The goal of this post is to highlight some of the more niche styles that as an OU player making the transition to CAP I enjoy seeing in the meta, and the one mon that holds them together.

I will start off with Tailwind. This is a playstyle that usually sees little usage in 6v6 single tiers, but the elongation of Tailwind’s length due to Fidgit gives the style a fighting chance. On top of this Fidgit can set up Stealth Rock and Spikes aiding the sweepers the style demands. It’s not all rainbows though. Fidgit lacks the game ending move it needs to truly set up a competent sweep. With a lack of Explosion/Memento Fidgit is forced to hard switch/U-turn out of battle meaning one of your sweepers’ risks big damage. Otherwise you risk staying in and your opponent stalling out your Tailwind as Fidgit can’t do anything in return offensively besides get hazards, which can be managed with hazard removal/taunt. Enough of the bad stuff though. If you manage to avoid Tomahawk, and cleanly get in sweepers the style turns deadly. +2 speed on all your mons is really game changing. Given you successfully get everything set up the concept turns into an unstoppable freight train.


The replay shows Airwind using some fun Tailwind offense to beat rain. All the conditions for Tailwind to be effective are met, and the pressure it applies is evident even against opposing offense. Replay isn’t amazing, but it showcases Fidgit getting up rocks, Tailwind, and Kartana taking advantage of said Tailwind vs Kingdra so it gets the point across well enough.

--------------------​

Next let’s jump over to Trick Room. More common than Tailwind in OU, but still used much less than in CAP – with Fidgit being a major contributor to that fact. Setting up a 7 turn Trick Room is absolutely outstanding, those extra turns are amazing allowing people to make slightly less risky plays, apply pressure breaking down the opposing team longer, and provides more freedom to mons like Alolan Marowak and Crawdaunt to set up SD not worrying about the fleeting TR as much. Fidgit can also make use of U-turn better with this style since Fidgit has a relatively slow U-turn under Trick Room allowing you to get in threats without them taking a chunk upon switch in. Though my mind still comes back to Explosion/Memento being something this mon really wishes it had it’s still fantastic.


This replay shows Snake_Rattler using a pretty cool Trick Room team. While I prefer 3 setters on Trick Room (just a personal thing), this replay does do a good job showing what Fidgit can do. Fidgit sets Trick Room on turn 1, and Alolan Marowak is taking full advantage as far into the game as Turn 6 and 7. Unless you’re using stall or some fat balance with a mon or two running protect it’s hard to hold mons like Alolan Marowak at bay for more than a few turns as they’ll eventually force you to sack something.

------------------​

Replays for this one weren’t of the best quality game wise, but at the very least they were efficient. Hopefully this post sparks some more debate. Some options for a follow up post to get us kicked off are (this is my form of a cheat sheet): what team style you most prefer Fidgit on, an overview of a different niche style you enjoy, or how can offense, like Tailwind, get around Tomahawk in a more efficient manner. Hopefully this post fulfilled my goal of showcasing some niche styles, even if in a brief manner. I’ll end this by saying if you enjoy using offense and haven’t tried out Tailwind/Trick Room in CAP yet you definitely should.

 

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader

Two weeks ago I posted here about Jumbao. I appreciate the one response I got, reachzero you’re amazing. However, my goal was to make this thread active again, and I am in a word persistent. Today I would like to discuss Fidgit. Fidgit is a pretty cool mon as it can serve as a fun lead for a couple of more niche styles being Tailwind and Trick Room. The goal of this post is to highlight some of the more niche styles that as an OU player making the transition to CAP I enjoy seeing in the meta, and the one mon that holds them together.

I will start off with Tailwind. This is a playstyle that usually sees little usage in 6v6 single tiers, but the elongation of Tailwind’s length due to Fidgit gives the style a fighting chance. On top of this Fidgit can set up Stealth Rock and Spikes aiding the sweepers the style demands. It’s not all rainbows though. Fidgit lacks the game ending move it needs to truly set up a competent sweep. With a lack of Explosion/Memento Fidgit is forced to hard switch/U-turn out of battle meaning one of your sweepers’ risks big damage. Otherwise you risk staying in and your opponent stalling out your Tailwind as Fidgit can’t do anything in return offensively besides get hazards, which can be managed with hazard removal/taunt. Enough of the bad stuff though. If you manage to avoid Tomahawk, and cleanly get in sweepers the style turns deadly. +2 speed on all your mons is really game changing. Given you successfully get everything set up the concept turns into an unstoppable freight train.


The replay shows Airwind using some fun Tailwind offense to beat rain. All the conditions for Tailwind to be effective are met, and the pressure it applies is evident even against opposing offense. Replay isn’t amazing, but it showcases Fidgit getting up rocks, Tailwind, and Kartana taking advantage of said Tailwind vs Kingdra so it gets the point across well enough.

--------------------​

Next let’s jump over to Trick Room. More common than Tailwind in OU, but still used much less than in CAP – with Fidgit being a major contributor to that fact. Setting up a 7 turn Trick Room is absolutely outstanding, those extra turns are amazing allowing people to make slightly less risky plays, apply pressure breaking down the opposing team longer, and provides more freedom to mons like Alolan Marowak and Crawdaunt to set up SD not worrying about the fleeting TR as much. Fidgit can also make use of U-turn better with this style since Fidgit has a relatively slow U-turn under Trick Room allowing you to get in threats without them taking a chunk upon switch in. Though my mind still comes back to Explosion/Memento being something this mon really wishes it had it’s still fantastic.


This replay shows Snake_Rattler using a pretty cool Trick Room team. While I prefer 3 setters on Trick Room (just a personal thing), this replay does do a good job showing what Fidgit can do. Fidgit sets Trick Room on turn 1, and Alolan Marowak is taking full advantage as far into the game as Turn 6 and 7. Unless you’re using stall or some fat balance with a mon or two running protect it’s hard to hold mons like Alolan Marowak at bay for more than a few turns as they’ll eventually force you to sack something.

------------------​

Replays for this one weren’t of the best quality game wise, but at the very least they were efficient. Hopefully this post sparks some more debate. Some options for a follow up post to get us kicked off are (this is my form of a cheat sheet): what team style you most prefer Fidgit on, an overview of a different niche style you enjoy, or how can offense, like Tailwind, get around Tomahawk in a more efficient manner. Hopefully this post fulfilled my goal of showcasing some niche styles, even if in a brief manner. I’ll end this by saying if you enjoy using offense and haven’t tried out Tailwind/Trick Room in CAP yet you definitely should.

Nice post on Fidgit! The thing is that a bulkier Fidgit spread of 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpD Bold with an Iapapa Berry can usually set up Trick Room twice in a game. Since it can usually survive even certain super effective hits into Iapapa Berry range pretty easily on turn 1, leaving Fidgit with about 60%, which is usually enough to set up another Trick Room later. For that reason, I generally don't like to slow U-turn with it - preserving Fidgit for another batch of Trick Room turns makes the match up even easier. Also, this way I can fit both Rocks and Rapid Spin, as well as Earth Power. I probably click Stealth Rock the most out of the three, but it's nice to chip down a Heatran, Volkraken, Magearna, or Crucibelle, or other hazards when needed.

More full Trick Room teams run 3 setters, as you mentioned in your post. I run 2 most of the time, with a scarfer instead. While that might seem counter-intuitive, Scarf Kartana can get some mean set up opportunities after Mega Mawile and Marowak-A do their job. It's also good because the opponent's main goal against a Trick Room team is to get rid of the setters; after all, after those are down, the rest of the team falls apart, right? Not exactly. The replay you provided shows how Kartana can come in and still clean up weakened threats. It's a really interesting teamstyle to play - 2 TR setters, 2 TR abusers, Tapu Bulu or Jumbao (depending on what type of support you want), and a Scarfer.

As for getting around Tomohawk more easily, that replay showed off Future Sight Slowking pretty well. With a Trick Room team already straining your switches, extra Future Sight damage can become too much to handle. It nails Gastrodon on turn 7, preventing Jumbao's Wish. It massively damages Tapu Koko into easy picking range for Kartana. It was the consequence of staying in to KO Fidgit, but if it had switched out, Fidgit would have gotten another Trick Room up. The last time it comes into play is turn 17, where it did the same thing with Heatran and Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch. I haven't had the situation for Tomohawk to get sniped by Future Sight, but if you put Kartana or Tapu Bulu in front of Tomohawk, and Future Sight's about to hit, then the opponent has a pretty tricky situation on their hands.

Or, just Drought-boosted Flare Blitz. That works too.

252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tomohawk in Sun: 360-424 (86.9 - 102.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Also, don't sleep on Crawdaunt because you think Tomohawk will wall it. Waterium Z Crawdaunt is fantastic.

252+ Atk Adaptability Crawdaunt Hydro Vortex (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tomohawk: 314-370 (75.8 - 89.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
 

Gross Sweep

Plan Ahead
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Nice post on Fidgit! The thing is that a bulkier Fidgit spread of 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 SpD Bold with an Iapapa Berry can usually set up Trick Room twice in a game. Since it can usually survive even certain super effective hits into Iapapa Berry range pretty easily on turn 1, leaving Fidgit with about 60%, which is usually enough to set up another Trick Room later. For that reason, I generally don't like to slow U-turn with it - preserving Fidgit for another batch of Trick Room turns makes the match up even easier. Also, this way I can fit both Rocks and Rapid Spin, as well as Earth Power. I probably click Stealth Rock the most out of the three, but it's nice to chip down a Heatran, Volkraken, Magearna, or Crucibelle, or other hazards when needed.

More full Trick Room teams run 3 setters, as you mentioned in your post. I run 2 most of the time, with a scarfer instead. While that might seem counter-intuitive, Scarf Kartana can get some mean set up opportunities after Mega Mawile and Marowak-A do their job. It's also good because the opponent's main goal against a Trick Room team is to get rid of the setters; after all, after those are down, the rest of the team falls apart, right? Not exactly. The replay you provided shows how Kartana can come in and still clean up weakened threats. It's a really interesting teamstyle to play - 2 TR setters, 2 TR abusers, Tapu Bulu or Jumbao (depending on what type of support you want), and a Scarfer.

As for getting around Tomohawk more easily, that replay showed off Future Sight Slowking pretty well. With a Trick Room team already straining your switches, extra Future Sight damage can become too much to handle. It nails Gastrodon on turn 7, preventing Jumbao's Wish. It massively damages Tapu Koko into easy picking range for Kartana. It was the consequence of staying in to KO Fidgit, but if it had switched out, Fidgit would have gotten another Trick Room up. The last time it comes into play is turn 17, where it did the same thing with Heatran and Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch. I haven't had the situation for Tomohawk to get sniped by Future Sight, but if you put Kartana or Tapu Bulu in front of Tomohawk, and Future Sight's about to hit, then the opponent has a pretty tricky situation on their hands.

Or, just Drought-boosted Flare Blitz. That works too.

252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tomohawk in Sun: 360-424 (86.9 - 102.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Also, don't sleep on Crawdaunt because you think Tomohawk will wall it. Waterium Z Crawdaunt is fantastic.

252+ Atk Adaptability Crawdaunt Hydro Vortex (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tomohawk: 314-370 (75.8 - 89.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Thanks for replying! Love to see actual discussion! I will say that your Fidgit set is definitely solid and serviceable in the metagame. I mentioned U-turn as a generality since most Trick Room loves focusing on momentum, which hard switching around taking chip can slow down. However, with the extra turns provided Fidgit can afford to not take advantage of any momentum grabbing move.

I will say I am familiar with your more archaic style of Trick Room, as pretty much all Trick Room of ORAS OU and even early SM OU consisted of some 6th mon scarfer or something fast with steamroll potential like Sharpedo. I will agree that this style can work in the current CAP metagame, but not due to the extra turns Fidgit supplies. CAP has introduced several offensive threats over the years, which has lead to a major difference in the seventh generation CAP meta as compared to OU. Styles such as bulky offense and standard offense still find themselves prevalent in the meta. While OU has been taken over by fat balance (or some cheese HO from time to time match up fishing), making it extremely hard for a Trick Room team to plow through a team as it has the bulk to withstand 2 abusers unless they both have a solid match up.


This replay showcases a bit of what I'm talking about. The defensive core of Celesteela, Heatran, and Jumbao with a naturally bulky ground type in Zygarde gave your Trick Room trouble as it had a tougher time breaking (Funbot still brought a pretty offensive team, but I didn't want to spend a ton of time looking for a replay). Overall I will say your Trick Room team is fine for the current meta we find ourselves in, I just wanted to clear up that I feel it is workable due to meta trends favoring offense not the two extra turns. I still believe a 3 setter approach is better due to momentum, presence vs fatter teams, and consistency with multiple breakers giving you a better chance to draw into a good match up which is key for Trick Room. Though I would still use Fidgit on CAP Trick Room, something like Fidgit, Cresselia, and an offensive setter be it Slowbro or something a tad more traditional in Magearna.

I do appreciate the reply on Tomahawk. I do feel Trick Room easily has the best match up vs it when comparing offensive archetypes. I think I said something along the lines of "like Tailwind" as that's where I've had the biggest issue with it. Since even tho something like Fly-Z Gyara eliminates Toma all momentum is stopped, and with Tailwind relying on a sole setter and lots of set up that can be detrimental. I will agree with you that Trick Room does definitely have the fire power to break through Toma though. Apologies to readers if I rambled at all, just wanted to clear some stuff up.
 

SHSP

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Moderator
heyo folks, CAPTT stats guy here to talk about some of the interesting metagame development from the 4 weeks of this CAPTT:

Jumbao: Jumbao has shown up HUGE in the first four weeks of the season: for three of them it tied with Lando-T for the #1 usage mon with a higher winrate. It currently sits tied for second in usage with 29% usage and 54% winrate. It's performed amazingly well in a lot of different games, predominantly running Trace.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-782706150: Trace helps shut down the whole stall team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-784900441 bulky Jumb eats toxic and still stops Gren and some others

Drought has definitely been a lot rarer to see, but it's seen some usage yet: I used a scarf Drought Jumb vs Heaven Jay week 3 in a bad MU, and Snake's Super Camerupt uses it to set sun on TR for Camel. Overall, it's cemented itself as a top tier threat in the metagame really quickly, with still a lot of experimentation to go, if you ask me: Offensive sets have mainly been left behind to go with the standard fare defensive Shore Up/Wish set, and I think they still have a lot of strength to be discovered.

Necturna: To keep with the Grass types, Necturna came into week one strong: the SS Z-Phantom Force set was discovered not long prior, and the results showed: it went 5-0 in Week One. Since, however, it has died down; it saw 2 games in each of weeks two and three, and ticked back up in week four with 4 games. It's winrate in each successive week has been 50%, which drops it to a 69% winrate: still solid, but cracks exist in it's armor.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-791493605 From this last week: it doesn't take much to click SS and win the game alone, Offler needed one of Tran or Jumbao to die in order to beat the rest of the team with Z-Phantom
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-791694035: Sub beats a Sucker 50/50
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-792519594 Sets up and dies; can't play too aggro with it

All in all, Nect seems about as advertised: in a lot of the games where it loses, it still manages to take one or two mons on its own as well as threaten and warp play. Special shoutout to Deku Prince for a unique set that ran Dragons Ascent to hit/lure Tomo (iirc did about 78% at neutral, dunno the rest of the set)

Colossoil: Back from the dead, a titan of gen 6 cap has reemerged with force in CAPTT 4. The first two weeks were rough for its winrate despite high usage, but weeks three and four have brought it up significantly, and it resides exactly equal with Jumbao at #2. Assault Vest seems to have carved out a niche as a ground type that threatens Latis and doesn't lose to errant ice attacks like other ground types like Lando-T and Zyg.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-782116702: despite the ending AV colo puts in work, trapping Lati
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-785580009: Flame Orb weakens/breaks a team


a few other misc trends that don't really need replays/detailed write ups:
Tomo 4th most used, under 50% winrate
Mega Medi most used mega, solid winrate at 68%; Latios not far behind
Kitsunoh climbing in usage (8 games, 6 in the last two weeks; 50% winrate)
 
Uh im not sure if its right place to ask but mind anyone telling me what can beat ss ghostium necturna? Its absurdly hard to handle and i have no idea what to run beside mons like hydreigon

Edit: besides obvious tomohawk
 

LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Uh im not sure if its right place to ask but mind anyone telling me what can beat ss ghostium necturna? Its absurdly hard to handle and i have no idea what to run beside mons like hydreigon

Edit: besides obvious tomohawk
A lot of it comes down to mostly good play and making sure it can't easily get the Substitute up, but there are a few Choice Scarf users that outspeed it even with +2 speed, those being Scarf Kitsunoh and Scarf Greninja. Pretty much if there is a Choice Scarf user that has a base speed faster than Kartana (who speed ties with it) you will be able to revenge kill it. Priority users are also able to revenge it due to its lower defenses. But once again a key part is getting rid of that Substitute before it gets boosted.
 
Uh im not sure if its right place to ask but mind anyone telling me what can beat ss ghostium necturna? Its absurdly hard to handle and i have no idea what to run beside mons like hydreigon

Edit: besides obvious tomohawk
There aren’t many necturna counters but there are checks. Unaware Clefable is a very good check to necturna but will get 2hkoed by nect if a power whip crits. Scarf Gren is also another check. Another way to beat nect is to win a 50/50 on the z-move. You want to waste the z move on a mon that you don’t need. You can also play aroundthe phantom forces since it takes 2 turns. Like I said, necturna has very few answers.
 

Drapionswing

Eating it up, YUMMY!
is a CAP Contributor Alumnus

1536849429529.png


Now that CapTT has ended, the meta has really begun to form a much more solidified metagame. A few pokemon in particular are standing out to me right now. First off Weaville is currently great in the metagame, although Arghonaut is popular right now, Weaville takes full control of even "decent" matchups through its great power and speed. With trap victims like Pajantom, Necturna, Latios-Mega and even Slowking picking up in usage Weaville is great for dismantling teams, and removing threats(which is especially nice against Slowking TR). Ice Shard let's you pick off many weakened threats, however I think the main selling point is checking Necturna as it guarantees to kill at -1. Powerful Ice-STAB is also very valuable as it pressures teams using Jumbao, or Tornadus and needless to say it pressures the common quad weak Ground Types like Landorus-T, Zygarde and Gliscor. In this replay, you can see SHSP's Weaville pressuring Stresh's team picking up 2 (albeit one was a flinch) kills and asserting its presence. Here you can see Weaville being quite the dominant threat, as it clicks Icicle Crash repeatedly due thanks to me winning a 50/50 on Blacephalon.

(Pluffle Set)
It's about time this CAP gets some proper recognition. While on first look Pluffle may look like a meme, Pluffle is actually pretty decent as a Fairy-Type right now in the CAP Metagame. Thanks to Eviolite, Pluffle becomes a bulky special pivot capable of switching in on a plethora of Special Attackers in the metagame like Mega Latios, No Knock Off Torn-T, Offensive Jumbao, Mega Alakazam, Scarf Volkraken, Krilowatt, And Greninja and can then safely pass wishes to teammates thanks to Parting Shot. Of course Pluffle has flaws compared to other Fairies such as taking damage to rocks unlike clef or a beneficial Secondary Typing like Jumbao, however its role is so unique I think its definitely worth some recognition. This is also because Pluffle has pseudo status immunity allowing it to pivot out consistently and grab a lot of momentum at times. As you can see in this replay, Pluffle pivots in on Toxapex and Mega Latios a number of times, passing wishes to the rest of the team to keep them as healthy as possible. Pluffle is wishes up Landorus and keep it healthy to take on Pajantom or Mawille in this replay. This next replay was an intense game versus Jordy , Pluffle in combination with Jumbao put up a really long fight and honestly made my respect for Pluffle increase by quite a bit, if I were to recommend I replay I'd recommend that one.


I have always seen malaconda as a bad unusable CAP, until recently with a lot of trap targets such as Mega Latios, Mega Alakazam, Pajantom and Necturna especially, I think this CAP is actually pretty decent. Malacondas typing and bulk lets it take on Necturna and is actually a pretty decent check naturally walling both its stabs and potentially going through any substitutes with Infiltrator. Drought paired with U-Turn Volkraken allows you to catch Mega Latios or Pajantom and make wallbreaking a much easier task, which is a great niche over the more dominant option Jumbao. Glare is great as speed control, being able to offset its passivity as little bit making it much more punishing to switch into. Here malaconda is just a nuisance to my opponent, weakening Pajantom and glaring Skarmory. Malaconda resets the rain a bunch and is overall incredibly bulky and annoying for my opponent. When matched up against multiple trap victims, Malaconda proves to be incredibly useful at keeping them low while simultaneously setting up sun support for volkraken.


 

Tomohawk @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Haze
- Roost


I'd like to start this post by saying that defensive Tomohawk simply sucks right now. It's a very big momentum sap that provides free switch ins for Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Mega Latios, and Heatran because it just doesn't have any offensive presence. Defensive sets aren't that good at keeping off hazards because its match up against a majority of the tier's hazard setters is unfavorable, and it's also a bad Stealth Rock setter because it is unable to consistently keep it up against Defoggers. Lastly, and I think this is the most important part, all sweepers have adapted to beat Tomohawk, if we look at sweepers ranging from S to A-, there's Landorus-T, Necturna, Magearna, Tapu Lele, Clefable, Mega Pinsir, Hawlucha, Mega Mawile, and Aurumoth, all of these Pokemon have ways to beat Tomohawk, making its Hazing abilities quite redundant really.

I think offensive Tomohawk is actually the best set right now, and I really want people to try it out more. I prefer this set because it has an actual offensive presence thanks to high Base-Power STAB moves which are unresisted by most Pokemon, backed up by its solid Special Attack stat, making it quite hard to switch into. To add onto that, the set is still a nice emergency check against sweepers, obviously not as durable, but it is capable of stopping something like Magearna from easily snowballing.
 
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snaelstrom.png
kitsunoh.png
latias-mega.png


The CAP25 are finally live in PS and a bunch of sets have been running around for Caribolt, Smokomodo and Snaelstrom (my personal favourite). I decided to pick the Swords Dance set and create a team around it. While building, this core came into my mind naturally and I wanted to showcase it.

snaelstrom.png

Snaelstrom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Def / 188 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spiky Shield
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance

The given EV spread allows Snaelstrom to act as a great secondary check to potent special attackers such as Choice Scarf Jumbao, Alakazam-mega and Greninja-Ash prior to Battle Bond, while also mantaining it's ability to check physical attackers like Colossoil, Landorus-Therian and Zygarde very effectively as well.
Spiky Shield allows Snaelstrom to scout movesets and Z-moves as well as get passive recovery from Poison Heal. It also synergizes beautifully with the Kitsunoh's moveset (more on that later).
Leech Life is the main STAB for Snaelstrom. This move allows it to hit the whole metagame for good neutral damage while getting good recovery from attacks like Alakazam-mega's Psychic and Tapu Lele's Psyshock or Pajantom's Spirit Shackle. Facade isn't needed, in my opinion, because Leech Life provides a neutral STAB that hit the majority of the metagame for good damage (except the rare Plasmanta and Mollux).
Aqua Jet is good for priority, picking up KOs on weakened foes such as Crucibelle-mega and Landorus-Therian after a boost. Note that Snaelstrom has low attacking power even after a boost, so you'll need to weaken the opponent's team first. This is specially effective in conjunction with hazard setters such as Pajantom and Ferrothorn.
Swords Dance allows Snaelstrom's mediocre Attack get decent levels and pick up KOs on foes with it's STAB Leech Life (that also provides recovery for the attacks it'll tank before attacking).

kitsunoh.png


Kitsunoh @ Leftovers / Colbur Berry
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shadow Strike
- Wish
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp

The next member of the core is defensive Kitsunoh. It's a very underrated threat in the metagame, capable of checking potent wallbreakers such as Crucibelle-mega and Medicham-mega as well as setup sweepers like Hawlucha with ease. It can also work as a secondary Psychic-type check, although you have to be careful not to wear it down too much and make sure you have another Psychic check. The given EV spread allows it to hit as much Defense as possible while outspeeding max Speed, Adamant Zygarde - potentially burning it for teammates to better check it.
Oh, I almost forgot. It also spin blocks and checks Tomohawk and some Tornadus-Therian variants, too!

252+ Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Thunder Punch vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 135-159 (37.1 - 43.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 107-126 (29.4 - 34.7%) -- 80.5% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Alakazam-Mega Psychic vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Kitsunoh: 122-144 (33.6 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Alakazam-Mega Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Kitsunoh: 290-342 (79.8 - 94.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 140-165 (38.5 - 45.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
+6 252+ Atk burned Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 139-164 (38.2 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Crucibelle-Mega Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 113-133 (31.1 - 36.6%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
+3 252 Atk burned Crucibelle-Mega Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 141-166 (38.8 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
+6 252 Atk burned Crucibelle-Mega Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 225-265 (61.9 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk burned Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 121-144 (33.3 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Kitsunoh in Psychic Terrain: 133-157 (36.6 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

0 SpA Tomohawk Air Slash vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Kitsunoh: 54-65 (14.8 - 17.9%) -- possible 6HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Tomohawk Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Kitsunoh: 80-95 (22 - 26.1%) -- 83.6% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Tornadus-Therian Hidden Power Ground vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Kitsunoh: 142-168 (39.1 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
0- Atk Tornadus-Therian Knock Off vs. 248 HP / 228 Def Kitsunoh: 78-92 (21.4 - 25.3%) -- 32.4% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock

The calculations were used without Leftovers or Colbur Berry to show Kitsunoh's raw defensive capabilities. With Leftovers, it becomes much more effective at taking hits, while Colbur berry is an option to take Dark-type attacks (like Pursuit from Weavile - who has been gaining popularity, specially with CAP25's introduction) better.

Shadow Strike is Kitsunoh's main form of STAB. It provides a potent option to break through pokémon like Hawlucha after the terrain seed boost thanks to its 50% chance to drop the defense of the opponent. It is also helpful to lower the defense of opposing walls for teammates.
Wish + Protect provides reliable recovery as well as potential for scouting movesets and Z-moves.
Will-o-Wisp cripples physical attackers like Crucibelle-mega, Hawlucha and Zygarde, helping Kitsunoh check them or weaken them for teammates.
Thanks to Kitsunoh's extremely diverse movepool, you can customize the set to help your team as much as possible. Options like Defog, U-Turn, Knock Off, Toxic and Earthquake are all welcome - it all depends on the needs of your team.

latias-mega.png



Latias @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Roost
- Defog
- Earthquake

The last member of the core is Latias-mega. Thanks to the introduction of Caribolt and Smokomodo and these pokémon being extremely popular right now, Latias-mega can truly shiny. It's an amazing check to Fire-type pokémon such as Volkraken as well as Water-type attackers like Krillowatt.
This set is a bit unorthodox, but I'll get to the details soon.
The given EV spread allows Latias to outspeed as many pokémon as possible while maximizing her bulk. She is an excelent check to the likes of Volkraken, Smokomodo and Mollux (although uncommon, it can be troublesome for this core).

Ice Beam is here for a good neutral hit against Ground-, Grass- and Flying-types such as Colossoil, Jumbao and Tornadus-Therian on the switch. It is also fantastic against the likes of Landorus-Therian and Zygarde.
Roost provides reliable recovery, allowing Latias-mega to take hits repeatedly, while Defog supports Snaelstrom getting rid of hazards against the likes of Heatran.
Earthquake is unorthodox, but helps this core a lot, dealing crucial damage to the likes of Mollux (which this core can't really deal with well) and Heatran. I originally had Surf, but Earthquake has proven to be more effective overall.


Threats to the core:

Guts Colossoil - when teambuilding, you have to be careful about this pokémon. It's potent STAB Knock Off and coverage in Facade can obliterate unprepared bulkier teams, and this core is no exception - although Snaelstrom can decently check it.

Greninja-Ash - Snaelstrom is a good check prior Battle Bond, but if you let this core get too weakened, Greninja will thrive against it.

Strong Psychic-types - as I said before, this core only has secondary Psychic checks. You'll generally need a strong Steel-type to deal with the likes of Tapu Lele or Alakazam.

Bulky Steel-types - mainly Celesteela, you'll need to chip away at it with burns and Knock Off or add a great Steel-type counter.

Naviathan - well, it's a potent wallbreaker after all.

Fire-type coverage Aurumoth - although Aurumoth usually can't really touch this Kitsunoh, sets with Fire-type coverage can be a pain to this core. Be careful.

Here's a replay showing off the core in action: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-828647758
Edit: new replay showing off Kitsunoh more! http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-828720381
Edit 2: new replay showcasing Kitsunoh's defensive capabilities and Snaelstrom's ability to pressure with Swords Dance! http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-828896070
Hope to hear you guys's feedback on it! :) I'll answer any questions about the core!
 
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I'd like to talk about a few trends that I have been noticing while playing and building lately.


Weavile

Ever since Necturna's nerf, Weavile just hasn't felt the same. While the ability to Pursuit trap Pokemon like Tornadus-T, Pajantom, Mega Latios, and Choice-locked Tapu Lele is still really nice, Weavile doesn't actually get a lot of opportunities to click Pursuit against these Pokemon like it wants to. This is because of one major reason, being the significant rise in Magearna. Magearna is really good at punishing Pursuit from Weavile, because it's a completely free turn to fire off an attack or even set up, ultimately allowing Magearna to make progress in one way or another. Additionally, Pajantom and Mega Latios have taken a bit of a step back from the metagame, while being an offensive check to Shell Smash Necturna just isn't as important anymore, leaving Weavile a lot less desirable in general.

Now, I'd also like to talk a bit about Choice Scarf Weavile, which is definitely my favorite Weavile right now for its ability to deal with Aurumoth and Mega Alakazam on a consistent basis, which are definitely some of the most threatening Pokemon right now. While it's notably weaker than Choice Band sets, and definitely not a direct replacement, the utility that it brings is just so much better for a lot of teams.

From a Pursuit trapping standpoint, I believe that Mega Tyranitar is definitely more reliable as a whole right now. It requires much less prediction thanks to its massively improved bulk over Weavile and the ability to actually switch up moves. Generally, it achieves a lot of the same things as a Pursuit trapper when compared to Weavile, but it can also set Stealth Rock, compressing multiple roles into one, which is incredibly valuable for many teams.


Magearna

Now that I've talked about Weavile, I'd like to take the opportunity to talk about Magearna too. I am very convinced that Magearna is the most consistent Pokemon in the current metagame because it just provides so much for a team. It's very self sufficient in the sense that it can set its own sweep up very comfortably thanks to its amazing typing and bulk which grant it a lot of switch in opportunities to throw off attacks and wear down checks. Its ability to wear down checks is greatly amplified by the significance of Spikes in the current metagame, with Spikes fitting on practically any team. Bulkier Calm Mind + Pain Split and Heart Swap sets make teambuilding so much easier with it combining the roles of a wallbreaker, specially defensive Steel-type, and a pivot. It's especially useful because of the oversaturation of Psychic-types in the metagame as well as Pokemon like Arghonaut and Tornadus-T. Also, just as a little side note, but the Assault Vest set really sucks right now because it's worn down too easily by too many common Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, and Protean Greninja, all of which it really wants to check. Add to this the sheer prominence of Spikes on almost every build, and you have a practically dead pivot.


Spikes

Throughout this post so far, I've made a massive deal about Spikes. Spikes in this metagame are simply put, amazing. Considering the amount of relevant threatening breakers in the metagame that can force many switches, like Magearna, Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele, and Garchomp, Spikes are VERY punishing. This doesn't even take into consideration the Spikes setters themselves, which are really diverse and are capable of filling a variety of roles, meaning that Spikes will fit on practically any build. Let me explain the role of each of these Spikes setters and what makes them so great. Greninja is a really versatile offensive threat that can force many switches thanks to its movepool alone, on which it can capitalize by setting Spikes rather than attacking. It pairs particularly well with offensive Psychic-types and other similar Pokemon that appreciate forced damage on Steel-types. Unfortunately, Greninja can often be a bit of a liability because of the presence of Mega Alakazam, which can punish Greninja by tracing Protean and is very threatening to the type of teams that Greninja fits on. Then there's Ash-Greninja, which I believe is notably worse, but it still can provide quite a lot for offensive teams. Most notably, the pressure of transforming really gives it a lot of opportunities to force switches and set Spikes, similarly to Protean Greninja. It also provides Water Shuriken, which can be really useful for certain offensive teams. It can often be hard to justify over Protean Greninja, though. Ferrothorn differs itself from both Greninja formes by focusing more on its defensive capabilities to set Spikes. Most notably, Ferrothorn is a really solid check to Electric- and Rock-types like Tapu Koko, Krilowatt, Rockium Z Necturna, and Mega Tyranitar, which are all pretty significant in the metagame, meaning that Ferrothorn will get ample opportunities to switch into play, force the foe out, and set Spikes. Ferrothorn really falls flat in the long term, however, because it's quickly worn down considering that Leech Seed and Leftovers are really its only form of recovery. It's also not that great of a check to Psychic-types, meaning that you will often have to stack multiple Steel-types with Ferrothorn. Lastly, there's Arghonaut, which is also a defensive Spikes setter. Arghonaut targets a different group of Pokemon. Notably, it's an amazing check to Pokemon such as Heatran, Volkraken, Garchomp, and Mega Tyranitar. However, Arghonaut kind of struggles to keep up with the pressure of many Psychic-types and Tornadus-T.


Kommo-o @ Kommonium Z
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 224 Atk / 32 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
- Stealth Rock

Kommo-o

Lastly, I'd like to talk about Kommo-o. Kommo-o is something that I wanted to try after using it in OU, where it's honestly, quite a solid Pokemon. Kommo-o is one of the best offensive checks to Heatran. Additionally, it's one of the very few Volkraken checks that is not easily Pursuit trapped by Mega Tyranitar or Weavile. It's also really good at taking advantage of other prominent Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Mega Tyranitar, which is really useful in a metagame like this. Ofcourse, Kommo-o does not come with no downsides. Kommo-o is particularly susceptible to the wide array of prominent Fairy- and Psychic-types like Magearna, Mega Alakazam, and Tapu Lele, often leaving it in awkward spots. However, it can also use this to its advantage, allowing it to wear down Pokemon like Magearna into range of your own offensive Psychic-type. To add onto that, its weakness to Flying doesn't help it either, with Tornadus-T being one of the absolute best Pokemon in the metagame. Lastly, there's the fact that it gives free Spikes to Arghonaut, though this can be abused with Pokemon like Tapu Koko and Mega Alakazam. While not the perfect Pokemon, Kommo-o has a very valid niche in the metagame and is a fun Pokemon to play around with - I'd like to encourage everyone to try it out.
 
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xavgb

:xavgb:
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World Defender
Since we're in a very different metagame than what we had prior to the cruci and nect nerfs, I have a bunch of things to cover here. I'd like to start with a couple mons that have returned from obscurity recently:



Tapu Koko @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 32 HP / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Although Tapu Koko as a whole hasn't really fallen out of the metagame at any point due to its place on screens, offensive koko sets had been mostly out of the picture until recently. This set aims to gain momentum via Volt Switch whilst 1v1ing Ground types that get in its way and chipping down offensive checks that aren't Grass types. Offensive Tapu Koko in general benefits from a shortage of Ground types that aren't 4 times weak to hp ice, but I've highlighted the Shuca Berry set because it can Roost off chip damage more freely and is also less prediction reliant than Choice Specs when going up against a team with a Ground type. Tapu Koko is actually fairly desirable right now due to its ability to check Torn-T over a sustained period of time, and unlike other Tornadus-T checks it is very difficult to take advantage of following a U-turn, as its best checks are Grass types that serve defensive roles on teams as opposed to wallbreaking ones. This allows the koko user to shift momentum in their favour by volt switching out to a wallbreaker that can abuse Grass types, such as Aurumoth or Heatran.

It is imperative that Tapu Koko is paired with mons that can abuse Grass types well; without these threats koko's abilities are wasted as it barely damages these mons on their own. Heatran, Tornadus-T, Volcarona, and Aurumoth carrying Blizzard or Bug Buzz are particularly good at taking advantage of grasses, but other breakers such as Mega Mawile, Mega Pinsir and Kartana can work with the right team support. It is worth noting that since Ferrothorn, Tangrowth and Jumbao have different typings and coverage, teams featuring koko appreciate having more than one of the aforementioned breakers, ideally having methods to take advantage of all three of these mons between them. Tapu Koko also appreciates support that can take advantage of faster threats, mainly Mega Alakazam and Choice Scarf Kitsunoh/Volkraken. These often fit in well with the build anyway, with the likes of Rocky Helmet Torn-T being able to punish Kitsunoh along with the support it provides against grass types, whilst Arghonaut gives the team Spikes, which is very helpful for any momentum-based build.




Kartana @ Steelium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Leaf Blade

Swords Dance Kartana lost its relevance a while ago, back when it struggled to break balance due to the omnipresent Defensive Tomohawk, but nowadays with a lot of the more reliable answers to Steelium Kartana on a downwards trend in favour of using Tornadus-T as a general check to Kartana, I think this set can rise again. I've chosen Corkscrew Crash over Breakneck Blitz since Cyclohm, Zapdos and Pyroak aren't particularly relevant in the meta, and Z-Smart Strike is capable of hitting Kitsunoh and Magearna much harder whilst allowing it to check Pajantom and Mega Crucibelle more effectively. On top of this, Smart Strike is much more spammable after burning the Z-Move. The most notable feature of Swords Dance Kartana in the current metagame is that it's able to OHKO its most common check, Tornadus-T, on the switch using its Z-Move; this forces the opponent into very awkward scenarios where they are forced to predict correctly between resists to the Z-Move such as Heatran, and simply going to Torn-T anyway hoping to catch a Sacred Sword. It is worth noting that the reward for the Kartana user predicting correctly is huge, as these mindgames almost always target Steel types and Tornadus-T, which are both integral parts of teams that feature them. Additionally, since some teams opt out of solid Steel resists by having Magearna or Kitsunoh as their own Steels, Kartana can sometimes freely use Corkscrew Crash to claim heavy damage on anything that could come in.

Kartana pairs very well with Pursuit users such as Choice Scarf Weavile and Mega Tyranitar, with the former being able to remove Mega Alakazam (one of the few fast threats that can take advantage of Kartana if it finds a free switchin) and the latter notably setting Stealth Rock and trapping Tornadus-T. Once Tornadus-T is taken care of, Kartana may even be able to clean some teams due to the fact that other speed control options such as Kitsunoh can't damage it very well. Kartana also appreciates pivots such as Tapu Koko and Tornadus-T to get in safely, and it is capable of benefitting either of these mons in return by forcing out Ferrothorn for Tapu Koko and Mega Tyranitar/Mega Crucibelle for Torn-T. In particular, Tapu Koko makes for a great partner as it can steal momentum from Tornadus-T, which most teams are running to check Kartana at the moment. Lastly, Kartana can pair well with Mega Alakazam, as they are both solid breakers that can put pressure on Celesteela and other Steel types.



Now that I have those sets out in the open, I would like to talk about something that is a big deal when building in the current metagame, namely our usage of steels. After following along with a bunch of discussions during CAP26's Concept Assessment, I noticed a bunch of references to the prevalence of running two Steel types on a team, as a counter to Psyspam. Whilst this is technically true, I think that it misrepresents the point of having two steels on a team in the first place; Psyspam is a particular playstyle that generally refers to running Lele+Zam on the same team, and not only is it fairly uncommon, it's also far from the only reason that a team would need two Steels. In order to illustrate what I mean by this, I am going to go through the roles that our top 5 Steel types perform due to their typings:

- Heatran is a top wallbreaker in the meta, but in terms of its Steel type roles it doesn't actually do much. Tornadus-T can annoy it with Knock Off or even hp ground, whilst Aurumoth and Tapu Lele are both able to chunk it with Focus Blast. Additionally, Heatran variants not running Steelium Z are actually checked by Mega Alakazam, leaving it free to start wallbreaking. Heatran's most notable asset as a bulky Steel is its ability to take on Magearna and Mega Mawile, but even in this case, it often makes sense to treat Heatran as a Fire type and a wallbreaker primarily, with the weaknesses to Torn-T and Psychic types often being patched up by a "secondary" Steel type.

- Celesteela may be the best individual performer when it comes to checking mons that steels are expected to check over the course of longer games, as it can come in on Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam and Shift Gear Magearna more reliably than the other steels on this list. However, Celesteela really needs its Leftovers in order to fulfil this role effectively, meaning that it cannot act as an effective Tornadus-T switchin, since nearly all variants of Torn-T carry Knock Off.

- Ferrothorn, as the other Steel on this list that is weak to Fighting, also struggles to check Tapu Lele and Alakazam, and once again it would like to keep its Leftovers recovery so can't switch into Torn-T very well. Similarly to Heatran, Ferrothorn's place on a team is largely based on its other typing, and the Water and Electric resists that come with it, as well as its role as a hazard setter. However, Ferrothorn can notably deal with some of the more fringe threats that warrant steel types, such as Mega Crucibelle, Mega Diancie, and certain variants of Jumbao.

- Magearna is the only Steel type on this list that can do a decent job of taking all of the bigger threats (Tornadus-T, Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam), and as a result it is the defining Steel type in the metagame. Magearna also has the added bonus of being a better check to Aurumoth than the rest of these steels, as Overheat is a less common filler than Focus Blast or Thunder. Unfortunately, since non spdef Magearna sets struggle to check psychics in the long term, it needs to be paired either with good offensive pressure or a secondary steel type to handle these mons in the long run.

- Kitsunoh provides a fantastic typing with a valuable resistance to Psychic and immunity to Fighting, and it can use this to support other steels, whilst also being a nice speed control option that can claim momentum with U-turn. Kitsunoh can soft-check Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam and Mega Crucibelle as well as other offensive threats such as Mega Diancie if it can avoid catching an Earth Power on the switchin. However, unlike the other mons on this list, Kitsunoh can actually let in Tornadus-T whilst getting punished by Rocky Helmet chip, so it needs support to take advantage of Torn-T.

The important thing to note with all of this is that the 5 Steel types listed here all perform different roles for a team whilst actually being a poor pick to deal with some of the mons that they technically resist. This is why I believe that it's not necessarily the threat of Lele+Zam that drives a lot of teams to run two Steels, and it would make much more sense to attribute this trend to those two mons' individual abilities, as well as the prevalence of Tornadus-T.


Although I've made it seem like double steel is the optimal method of building, there are some nice ways of getting around the pressure put on steel types in the meta that don't involve stacking them. To give some examples:

+
- This is a fairly generic idea that can be found on a lot of balance teams. As I mentioned earlier, Celesteela struggles to act as a reliable Torn-T resist, and therefore it appreciates the support from these more reliable checks. Mega Tyranitar is listed first here because it is generally the easiest to fit out of these 4 due to its bulk, with Mega Diancie being the next most efficient fit since it is able to significantly improve stall matchup. The last two are generally placed on more offensive teams so they don't always make sense to pair with Celesteela, but depending on the build they can actually fit in nicely; I've placed Koko higher than Mcruci here due to the threat of Hidden Power Ground from Torn-T.

(Choice Scarf) - Scarf Weavile has the ability to check Aurumoth and Pursuit trap Mega Alakazam, providing nice insurance against these threats that can sometimes get out of hand against offense. It is important to accept that Scarf Weavile has very little bearing on the Tapu Lele and Tornadus-T matchups, so it should be paired with a soft check to those mons (like Magearna), and a generally offensive team that can take advantage of Tapu Lele's average Speed stat. There's not much else to say here, but I will also add that when the above conditions are met, this option probably brings the least need for bulky steels; despite this fact, as Weavile is a scarfer that helps the matchup against Psychic types, it competes with Kitsunoh, meaning that any team planning to use it needs to weigh up the benefits of Pursuit and being a better moth check against having an extra switchin to Tapu Lele.

(Payapa Berry) - Okay I admit it's really weird to put Toxapex on a list whilst talking about Psychics, so I'm going to justify myself a bit here. Tapu Lele is the main breaker to deal with on bulkier teams, and it generally sources its free switchins from bulky waters such as Arghonaut and Toxapex. Depending on what other entry points the rest of the team allows, Payapa Berry Toxapex can shut out Lele by stopping it from coming in, weakening its threat against the team as a result. This also pairs very well with Magearna since Mage can absorb Knock Off from Torn-T and Weavile, and pex must hold onto its item in order to keep out Psychic types.


There's one more thing that I'd like to talk about, which is somewhat on topic with Psychic types in the metagame. I call him Bob.



Aurumoth @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 40 HP / 172 SpA / 124 SpD / 172 Spe
Modest Nature / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Psyshock / Blizzard
- Thunder
- Focus Blast / Blizzard

This thing is really becoming a strain on building and playing. Aurumoth's ridiculous coverage means that finding a working set of answers is incredibly difficult, and it has the ability to straight up bypass nearly everything i've mentioned about checking Psychic types; Celesteela is hit by Thunder and Kitsunoh can't even check it because Shadow Strike doesn't do nearly enough. This lack of defensive checking leaves a couple options:

1) Trying to revenge kill Aurumoth - The spread and item given here take care of this. As long as Aurumoth's hp is preserved, it is able to beat every relevant scarfer in the meta (other than Weavile) at +1, even surviving Volkraken's Fire Blast. From there it can get to +2 and then outspeed and remove all of those scarfers, likely taking the rest of the team with it. Alternatively, if the opponent tries to chip Aurumoth into a range where the scarfers can get to it, they can still allow Aurumoth to get to +2 Speed. The best bets come down to Tricking it with Kitsunoh (still a straight loss vs any Z-Move variant, as well as just giving up the scarfer against what is probably an offensive build), and the combination of scarfer+priority (which still normally loses due to Iapapa Berry unless they're running the uncommon Mega Pinsir).

2) Trying to avoid letting Aurumoth set up - Aurumoth's wide coverage and great bulk make this nigh impossible to achieve, because of the implications that come along with this. It's unreasonable for teams to never let Aurumoth set up, especially with the pinch berry helping out; this mon already sets up freely on most Grass types and bulkier mons such as Arghonaut whilst being able to set up in a more awkward fashion on most of the meta (as an example it even lives Hurricane from Rocky Helmet Tornadus-T). The other problem with this method of beating Aurumoth is that it requires you to actually stay in. Naganadel is an example of a mon that proved too much to handle despite being frail, due to the fact that it could come in on important win conditions, leaving the opponent in a scenario where they don't have a good play - they either stay in and lose an important mon, or they switch out and lose to setup. Aurumoth is a very different mon overall to Naganadel, since it has bulk over speed, but similarities can be drawn in the way it can force these scenarios - it doesn't outspeed revenge killers after one set up, but if it is left at full it will simply beat its revenge killers 1v1 and get +2/+2/+2 in the process.


I should also point out that any team relying on these methods of counterplay against Aurumoth will just lose to screens+Aurumoth - which is yet another problem with exclusively using offensive checks to mons. Additionally, this is just one Aurumoth set; any time that people bring defensive counterplay to one moth set it's likely that they still run into issues when they face the appropriate adaptation. The most common example of this would be running Overheat in order to hit Magearna, not only blowing its own answer out of the water but also clearing it for teammates in the process. That being said, I tend to stick to the above Aurumoth set to take advantage of the lack of offensive counterplay, since it can play well with support to wear down Magearna (not too difficult given how much Magearna beats). Aurumoth isn't exactly unbeatable - rocks chip might wear it down, maybe the setup baits don't need to come out for this particular game, maybe scarfer+priority does actually take care of it, or maybe there is a convenient answer to the particular coverage in there; however, all of this counterplay is fairly unreliable and out of the control of the person building or playing against it, and even when the answers can prevent Aurumoth from sweeping, they can't prevent it from making progress, as it still breaks or heavily chips its answers.

Customary lol Aurumoth replays to go with the lol Aurumoth post:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-880742922 - Remember when I said this lived Torn-T? This is an example of me getting rewarded for finding one of the worst setup opportunities available on the opposing team.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-848442063 - lol moth #2
 

snake

is a Community Leaderis a Top CAP Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
CAP Co-Leader
Over the past month and a half, the CAP Metagame Council has been monitoring the PS! room and Discord, and we've seen discussion on how Equilibra is "overtuned" or "unhealthy." The Council agrees that Equilibra's effect on the metagame, seen in tournaments like CAPTT and the CAP 26 Playtest, could warrant a nerfing process, but we wanted to gauge full community consensus before we take any further action.

The Council wants to ask a few questions for discussion:

1) How has the metagame changed since Equilibra was released?

2) How do you think Equilibra has affected the metagame? Positively? Negatively?

3) Should Equilibra undergo a nerfing process?
 
1) How has the metagame changed since Equilibra was released?
a) Two-steel teams are much less common, and three-steel teams are virtually non-existent. I'd chalk this up to Equi's excellent moveslot compression, and its ability definitively check strong psychics.
b) Hazards are rather less prevalent than before. This is probably partly due to Equi's status as a reliable spinner, partly due to Rotom-W working as a counter to it, and partly due to Equi fucking over almost ever stealth rocker.
c) The meta is generally fatter, with balance and balanced-offense largely replacing hyper-offense. I don't really understand this, but there was an explanation offered by Stresh in the discord.
d) Certain pokemon (such as kommo-o) are way, way better and others (such as mzam) are significantly worse.

2) How do you think Equilibra has affected the metagame? Positively? Negatively?
I can't really answer any questions about balance or diversity, but I do think that the post-equi meta is more fun to play and more fun to watch. It seems higher skill, and many single choices have higher stakes. Is that better?

3) Should Equilibra undergo a nerfing process?
I don't think it's as broken as cruci, nect, or auru were. But I also think it could withstand significant nerfs and still be good. At the risk of making it clear that I have very little to say on this matter: If we like the changes it's caused then no, but if we don't, then yes.
 
I'd like to pre-face this post by saying that I'm speaking for myself here, and not the council as a whole.

Since Equilibra has dropped, the meta has changed a ton. The metagame is much more centralized around fat balance teams than the bulky offensive teams that were very common prior to Equilibra.

- Because of Equilibra, Magearna has become very awkward to use. Its defensive sets are very overshadowed by Equilibra, while its offensive sets significantly struggle because of Bulletproof Equilibra, as they have to rely on Fightinium Z to hit Equilibra. The guessing game for that is often not in favor of the Magearna user, since Equilibra commonly runs Protect.
- Other former metagame staples, most notably Mega Alakazam and Garchomp are honestly not that great right now. This is majorly thanks to Equilibra; it can easily use them as complete bait thanks to its abilities, and considering how punishing Equilibra is, this really is not something you ever want. Some people have tried justifying this as a positive change because it's "A new breathe of air," but in my opinion that doesn't really justify invalidating 2 of the formerly biggest Pokemon in the metagame almost completely.
- Equilibra has also had a massive effect on the pool of Stealth Rock setters. Prior to this, Stealth Rock setters such as Garchomp and Mega Diancie were consistently being used as Stealth Rock setters; we had a pretty diverse pool of Stealth Rock setters to pick from. However, because of the way Equilibra has affected the viability of the Pokemon I mentioned, and the way teams are structured in general because of it, we are now limited to very few Stealth Rock setters.
- I also feel like it's worth to point out that Spikes are also much less prevalent now. This is mostly because the primary Spikes setter prior to Equilibra's release, Arghonaut, is genuinely not that good right now in my opinion. From my experience, Arghonaut is really hard to use in the current metagame. While it's a decent Equilibra check in a vacuum, it often just gets crippled by Equilibra with Toxic and then proceeds to be taken advantage of and eventually overwhelmed by Equilibra's team.

I mention that I don't find any of this healthy a lot, which I really don't. However, this doesn't mean that I think that Equilibra is unbeatable or anything, or that it can't be adapted to. Below this I'll also highlight some common ways that have been found to combat Equilibra.

- In the current metagame, Tapu Koko + a breaker such as Mega Gallade, Mega Medicham, and Victini just to give a few examples, is a very common build that people picked up to take advantage of Equilibra. Many of the builds with Equilibra, at least early on, relied on Equilibra to check Electric-types such as Tapu Koko because of its significant overlap with defensive Grass-types like Jumbao and Tangrowth.
- Other Pokemon, like Gyarados for example have also seen a significant rise in usage to combat Equilibra, which is possible thanks to its typing.
- With Equilibra commonly taking the slot as a check to Flying-types if Tapu Koko is not run, we have also seen a significant rise in All-Out Pummeling / Superpower Tornadus-T, to punish it even more.
- There's also SmokoZone. This is a set that Terracotta invented to trap Equilibra with Magnezone. This set is very useful alongside certain Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp, but having to run Magnezone to overcome Equilibra for these Pokemon doesn't necessarily mean it's a healthy adaptation.

Equilibra has had a negative effect on the metagame in my opinion. It's definitely not broken like Mega Crucibelle or Necturna were, but rather than that, I believe that the grip that it holds on the metagame is unhealthy. The sheer amount of Pokemon that are invalidated by it is ridiculous; no single Pokemon should be able to do that to such a pool of otherwise good Pokemon. People have also brought up doom shuffling as something that is unhealthy, but it really isn't that good from my experience playing with and against it if you just switch to your check immediately. Of course, this all changes if you guess its ability wrong; I don't really think being able to phaze with Doom Desire is the unhealthy part here.

I personally believe that Equilibra is very much due for a nerfing process. It's not comparable to any of the other Pokemon that have been nerfed so far, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't address something that is unhealthy.
 

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