This slate was very driven by the community, more-so than the past few slates. While you guys changed my mind a lot in stats and typing, the number of times my mind changed in abilities is an insurmountable figure. I walked into this stage thinking to myself that the slate would obviously be Technician, CompoundEyes, and some other potent stuff. However, as you'll see below, not a single one of those abilities made it to the slate. You all did a number on my logic, both competitively and otherwise, and I'd like to thank you for it. Cheers! That said, you'll find that the slate is much more mellow than I originally thought it'd be, and includes a slated option that we have never considered before on any CAP: No Competitive Ability. See a bit further down for my competitive logic as to why the slate is how it is.
Recall that this poll operates on IRV voting, the details of which are outlined here. This means that you can upvote your favorite typing and downvote your least favorite. Be aware that order does matter in your votes! The first line is your favorite, the last line is your least favorite. Make sure you vote properly. Make sure that you bold your votes and nothing else! A typical vote might look like the following:
This poll will be open for 24 hours.
When voting, use only the ability's name! The list of possible votes, in order of mention in the topic, are:
First I want to address why Technician and CompoundEyes aren't slated. These abilities do what I originally wanted; they open up swaths of new moves to be Sketched by CAP 2 competitively. That said, I realized that the stats were carefully balanced against the defenses and offenses of the eventual counters and checks list for CAP 2. Boosting the power of its coverage attacks or STABs is something CAP 2 doesn't want. That explains why Technician is gone. I didn't slate CompoundEyes mostly because near the end of the thread, I suddenly realized that it was a fairly useless ability! Indeed, there are only a handful of actually useful moves that CAP 2 would ever Sketch or learn naturally that need accuracy boosts, and among them you would have used all of the moves anyway. That said, Will-O-Wisp would've definitely not been allowed for the naturally learned list had CompoundEyes been voted in, and in reality that means that CompoundEyes is actually limiting CAP 2. For those reasons, I decided against slating it.
Limber captivated me once reachzero mentioned it. It's a strong ability that doesn't change a lot of the way that CAP 2 is traditionally handled by the threats we deemed critical. The only member of that Steel group that might have tried Thunder Wave is Jirachi, and Jirachi would much rather punch CAP 2 in the face and kill it than paralyze it and sacrifice itself. That said, this makes CAP 2 a much better switch-in to the Thunders and Thunderbolts it will inevitably be taking to get in, and makes it that much more reliable to use against Ferrothorn, one of its key switch-ins both offensively and defensively. This legitimizes the ability beyond a doubt without, I feel, breaking CAP 2's potential. That's key.
Suction Cups is a really cool ability that was presented toward the middle of the thread. It's not the most competitive, but it gives CAP 2 one really nifty trick to use against something that would otherwise completely ruin physical sets: Skarmory. Now while having a solid set of checks is important, physical CAP 2 is practically unusable because of Skarmory. Firstly, physical sets lack a physical Hidden Power, and within STABs are walled by all Steel-types. Even at +6, neither of CAP 2's eventual (and most powerful) STABs can 3HKO Skarmory, leaving it fodder to be Whirlwinded away for all eternity. Suction Cups gives those sets a fighting chance, as now Skarmory must Brave Bird for the victory. Even then, if using a physical Defense booster, this means that CAP 2 might not be immediately shut down. Suction Cups also makes CAP 2 an interestng anchor for Baton Pass teams, which while most of Smogon hates them, I enjoy as a competitive strategy. Don't worry, CAP 2 pretty much can't get naturally-learned Baton Pass without murdering OU, so this really only makes CAP 2 the target of the chain. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE ABILITY CAN BE RENAMED TO BETTER SUIT WHATEVER FLAVOR THE ART ENDS UP PRESENTING. DO NOT CHANGE YOUR VOTE FOR REASONS FOUNDED IN THE ABILITY'S NAME.
And now, Immunity. Now while a lot of competitive players say that this is rather useless for CAP 2, I disagree. Almost all of CAP 2's sets that will succeed are offensive, true, but I do not think that we will have done the concept justice if even a few support sets cannot win matches. Support sets with a powerful STAB attack constitute their own brand of bulky offense, and I think should be able to exist. These support sets fear poison from the likes of defensive Pokemon more than paralysis, and indeed can be ruined by it. Furthermore, bulky sets featuring Coil and similar boosters will also rather be immune to poison than paralysis, and this ability helps legitimize them a lot.
Lastly, let's talk about No Competitive Ability. I just don't think CAP 2 needs one, quite frankly. This may be the first time in forever that a TL has been ambitious enough to say that, but I definitely think of all CAPs, it is most applicable to CAP 2. CAP 2 is a very powerful Pokemon, and will end up succeeding at its job with or without a competitive ability to support it. For that reason, we may take the route of having none and choosing flavor abilities instead. What this will do to the process is basically skip the competitive ability stage entirely. We will then decide art, and after art has been decided, vote for one or two flavor abilities. A flavor ability is one, like Illuminate or Honey Gather, that has absolutely no or negligible competitive value whatsoever. The competitive value of an ability is to be determined by the TL. (This means an ability that has competitive value, but for CAP 2 is particularly useless, could be constituted a flavor ability)
Good luck, and may the best ability (or lack of ability) win!
CAP 2 thus far:
Typing: Grass / Ghost
Stats: 64 HP / 120 Atk / 100 Def / 85 SpA / 120 SpD / 81 Spe
tl;dr: Quack! (Vote for abilities!)
Recall that this poll operates on IRV voting, the details of which are outlined here. This means that you can upvote your favorite typing and downvote your least favorite. Be aware that order does matter in your votes! The first line is your favorite, the last line is your least favorite. Make sure you vote properly. Make sure that you bold your votes and nothing else! A typical vote might look like the following:
Please post only your votes in this thread. Do not respond to other posts, or your posts will be moderated and you warned. If you feel compelled to say something in your own vote, you may still do so, but don't try to incite a discussion. Keep discussion to #cap.
This poll will be open for 24 hours.
When voting, use only the ability's name! The list of possible votes, in order of mention in the topic, are:
Limber
Suction Cups
Immunity
No Competitive Ability
Below is the logic for my slate.Suction Cups
Immunity
No Competitive Ability
First I want to address why Technician and CompoundEyes aren't slated. These abilities do what I originally wanted; they open up swaths of new moves to be Sketched by CAP 2 competitively. That said, I realized that the stats were carefully balanced against the defenses and offenses of the eventual counters and checks list for CAP 2. Boosting the power of its coverage attacks or STABs is something CAP 2 doesn't want. That explains why Technician is gone. I didn't slate CompoundEyes mostly because near the end of the thread, I suddenly realized that it was a fairly useless ability! Indeed, there are only a handful of actually useful moves that CAP 2 would ever Sketch or learn naturally that need accuracy boosts, and among them you would have used all of the moves anyway. That said, Will-O-Wisp would've definitely not been allowed for the naturally learned list had CompoundEyes been voted in, and in reality that means that CompoundEyes is actually limiting CAP 2. For those reasons, I decided against slating it.
Limber captivated me once reachzero mentioned it. It's a strong ability that doesn't change a lot of the way that CAP 2 is traditionally handled by the threats we deemed critical. The only member of that Steel group that might have tried Thunder Wave is Jirachi, and Jirachi would much rather punch CAP 2 in the face and kill it than paralyze it and sacrifice itself. That said, this makes CAP 2 a much better switch-in to the Thunders and Thunderbolts it will inevitably be taking to get in, and makes it that much more reliable to use against Ferrothorn, one of its key switch-ins both offensively and defensively. This legitimizes the ability beyond a doubt without, I feel, breaking CAP 2's potential. That's key.
Suction Cups is a really cool ability that was presented toward the middle of the thread. It's not the most competitive, but it gives CAP 2 one really nifty trick to use against something that would otherwise completely ruin physical sets: Skarmory. Now while having a solid set of checks is important, physical CAP 2 is practically unusable because of Skarmory. Firstly, physical sets lack a physical Hidden Power, and within STABs are walled by all Steel-types. Even at +6, neither of CAP 2's eventual (and most powerful) STABs can 3HKO Skarmory, leaving it fodder to be Whirlwinded away for all eternity. Suction Cups gives those sets a fighting chance, as now Skarmory must Brave Bird for the victory. Even then, if using a physical Defense booster, this means that CAP 2 might not be immediately shut down. Suction Cups also makes CAP 2 an interestng anchor for Baton Pass teams, which while most of Smogon hates them, I enjoy as a competitive strategy. Don't worry, CAP 2 pretty much can't get naturally-learned Baton Pass without murdering OU, so this really only makes CAP 2 the target of the chain. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE ABILITY CAN BE RENAMED TO BETTER SUIT WHATEVER FLAVOR THE ART ENDS UP PRESENTING. DO NOT CHANGE YOUR VOTE FOR REASONS FOUNDED IN THE ABILITY'S NAME.
And now, Immunity. Now while a lot of competitive players say that this is rather useless for CAP 2, I disagree. Almost all of CAP 2's sets that will succeed are offensive, true, but I do not think that we will have done the concept justice if even a few support sets cannot win matches. Support sets with a powerful STAB attack constitute their own brand of bulky offense, and I think should be able to exist. These support sets fear poison from the likes of defensive Pokemon more than paralysis, and indeed can be ruined by it. Furthermore, bulky sets featuring Coil and similar boosters will also rather be immune to poison than paralysis, and this ability helps legitimize them a lot.
Lastly, let's talk about No Competitive Ability. I just don't think CAP 2 needs one, quite frankly. This may be the first time in forever that a TL has been ambitious enough to say that, but I definitely think of all CAPs, it is most applicable to CAP 2. CAP 2 is a very powerful Pokemon, and will end up succeeding at its job with or without a competitive ability to support it. For that reason, we may take the route of having none and choosing flavor abilities instead. What this will do to the process is basically skip the competitive ability stage entirely. We will then decide art, and after art has been decided, vote for one or two flavor abilities. A flavor ability is one, like Illuminate or Honey Gather, that has absolutely no or negligible competitive value whatsoever. The competitive value of an ability is to be determined by the TL. (This means an ability that has competitive value, but for CAP 2 is particularly useless, could be constituted a flavor ability)
Good luck, and may the best ability (or lack of ability) win!
CAP 2 thus far:
Focus: Bulky Offense
Typing: Grass / Ghost
Stats: 64 HP / 120 Atk / 100 Def / 85 SpA / 120 SpD / 81 Spe
tl;dr: Quack! (Vote for abilities!)
