Final Submission
Since as admitted Cyclohm's movepool is kind of all over the place (like several other CAPs') and there is precedent for pattern changes between generations (compare the gaps between e.g. Stunky's moves in G4 vs G7) I have decided to revamp it considering the existence of new moves and the new evolution move mechanic. Note that my considerations about pre-evolutions are not meant to be binding and serve mostly as an insight to my though process while designing the updated movepool.
- Tri Attack is now an evolution move (duplicated at level 1 as usual), like Magneton and Dodrio.
- Double Hit is also level 1, since I envision it as an evolution move for Duohm like Tri Attack. Evolution moves for pre-evolutions are always (?) learnt by later forms at level 1, if kept. Even if it ends up not being an evolution move, Zweilous has it at level 1.
- Some other moves, especially early ones, have been shuffled for consistency (Sonic Boom is a weak move and as such is usually learned very early, Whirlwind is unusual at level 1...). I have not bothered to mark every change, just the highest relative gaps.
- Electro Ball is a filler move shared by the Mareep line as well as several other Electric-types; due to Cyclohm's slow speed it shouldn't be overbearing.
- Ion Deluge = Ion Flood/Rain, which fits the electrified atmosphere during a thunderstorm.
- Weather Ball was actually present in Cyclohm's pre-revision movepool, and the reason it was removed (movepool limits) apparently is no longer binding. It should not be overbearing, as Cyclohm already has strong Fire/Water/Ice coverage and weather is no longer permanent. All evolved Pokémon which get it naturally (Roserade and Vanilluxe) do so at level 1.
- As a purely flavour addition, I really wanted to add Thunder as a level-up move for obvious reasons.
- Eerie Impulse, Magnetic Flux and Electric Terrain represent - like Ion Deluge - the electrified atmosphere of a thunderstorm, and all can be learned in some way by fellow Electric sheep Ampharos. I do not see Electric Terrain as unfitting, since Cyclohm is grounded (Magnet Rise is even banned on it) despite being a thundercloud.
- Twister is a G4 tutor, is vastly outclassed by every other Dragon move and is added as an egg move purely for flavour.
- Dragon Pulse is - again - a tutor move, but since it is a primary STAB I feel it should be easily available without needing previous games.
- Confide, Round and Swagger are universal.
- Volt Switch is required.
- Bulldoze is implied by Earthquake.
- Dragon Tail is common among dragons and tailed Pokémon, even Pokémon with small tails like Axew, Deino and Meganium. Note that Cyclohm already learns Whirlwind and Roar as shuffling moves.
- Echoed Voice has a wide distribution, including Hydreigon and Dodrio as multi-headed Pokémon. I guess Cyclohm's heads could use it together.
- Again, I can see Work Up as Cyclohm's heads cheering each other up or something. For comparison, the Hydreigon line also gets it; note that Cyclohm has already a way to raise its own special attack in Charge Beam.
- I feel a thunder cloud is enough of a force of nature to justify Nature Power, unless the moves it turns into under terrains are deemed too powerful. (By default it turns into Tri Attack, which Cyclohm already learns.)
- Wild Charge is almost universal among Electric-types.
- Snarl represents the rumbling of thunder, and its menacing connotations fit an incoming thunderstorm.
- Dragon Pulse, Shock Wave and Dragon Pulse are old TMs.
- Iron Tail and Zen Headbutt were part of Cyclohm's original winning movepool, and were removed due to movepool limits which, again, don't seem to be binding anymore. In particular, Iron Tail is pretty much universal among Pokémon with any sort of tail (including stuff like Psyduck), and Zen Headbutt is common in general. Both run off Cyclohm's lower Attack.
- Thunderstorms sure are noisy, so have Hyper Voice.
- I feel Electroweb is justified by the "webs of lightning" which cross the sky during actual thunderstorms, plus it is already widely distributed among Electric-types.
- Incinerate is the only addition: Cyclohm already has much stronger Fire coverage, and consider what happens to trees struck by lightning.
- Some old TMs became tutors (e.g. Dragon Pulse) or changed number (e.g. Sleep Talk, Work Up) and as such are not noted here.
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Other considered moves:
- Dual Chop, despite being a Dragon move and seeming similar to Double Hit, is not related to multiple heads; notably Zweilous does not get it.
- Soak. While it does fit a raincloud, it is strictly restricted to Water-types (plus Azurill); not even Thundurus gets it. Additionally, not only it would make opponents weak to Cyclohm's STAB, but it would also remove their own STAB; thus Cyclohm would be able to endure hits better while being capable of hitting everything super-effectively with careful enough prediction. No idea if this would actually be overpowered, but I don't want to take the risk without discussion involving someone with actual expertise.
- Tri Attack
- Double Hit
- Weather Ball
- Bide
- Tackle
- Growl
Evolution: Tri Attack
4 Charge
8 Thunder Shock
13 Sonic Boom
16 Dragon Rage
20 Rain Dance
25 Electro Ball
28 Whirlwind
33 Slack Off
39 Discharge
43 Thrash
50 Thunder
58 Ion Deluge
64 Lock On
64 Zap Cannon
- Double Hit
- Weather Ball
- Bide
- Tackle
- Growl
Evolution: Tri Attack
4 Charge
8 Thunder Shock
13 Sonic Boom
16 Dragon Rage
20 Rain Dance
25 Electro Ball
28 Whirlwind
33 Slack Off
39 Discharge
43 Thrash
50 Thunder
58 Ion Deluge
64 Lock On
64 Zap Cannon
I started by rebuilding Monohm's movepool by having moves learned at 3-4-5-level intervals, and added increasing delays after the supposed evolution levels like what happens with most Pokémon. Again, this is non-binding and could be disregarded when Monohm's and Duohm's movepools will be officially designed.
1 (Weather Ball), Bide, Tackle, Growl
4 Charge
8 Thunder Shock
13 Sonic Boom
16 Dragon Rage
20 Rain Dance
25 Electro Ball
28 Whirlwind
29-31: Monohm -> Duohm: Double Hit
(32)33 Slack Off
(37)39 Discharge
(40)43 Thrash
41-47: Duohm -> Cyclohm: Tri Attack
(44)(48)50 Thunder
(49)(54)58 Ion Deluge
(52)(58)64 Lock On, Zap Cannon
1 (Weather Ball), Bide, Tackle, Growl
4 Charge
8 Thunder Shock
13 Sonic Boom
16 Dragon Rage
20 Rain Dance
25 Electro Ball
28 Whirlwind
29-31: Monohm -> Duohm: Double Hit
(32)33 Slack Off
(37)39 Discharge
(40)43 Thrash
41-47: Duohm -> Cyclohm: Tri Attack
(44)(48)50 Thunder
(49)(54)58 Ion Deluge
(52)(58)64 Lock On, Zap Cannon
- Double Hit is also level 1, since I envision it as an evolution move for Duohm like Tri Attack. Evolution moves for pre-evolutions are always (?) learnt by later forms at level 1, if kept. Even if it ends up not being an evolution move, Zweilous has it at level 1.
- Some other moves, especially early ones, have been shuffled for consistency (Sonic Boom is a weak move and as such is usually learned very early, Whirlwind is unusual at level 1...). I have not bothered to mark every change, just the highest relative gaps.
- Electro Ball is a filler move shared by the Mareep line as well as several other Electric-types; due to Cyclohm's slow speed it shouldn't be overbearing.
- Ion Deluge = Ion Flood/Rain, which fits the electrified atmosphere during a thunderstorm.
- Weather Ball was actually present in Cyclohm's pre-revision movepool, and the reason it was removed (movepool limits) apparently is no longer binding. It should not be overbearing, as Cyclohm already has strong Fire/Water/Ice coverage and weather is no longer permanent. All evolved Pokémon which get it naturally (Roserade and Vanilluxe) do so at level 1.
- As a purely flavour addition, I really wanted to add Thunder as a level-up move for obvious reasons.
Dragon Breath
Dragon Pulse (from Horsea and others)
Eerie Impulse (from Heliolisk)
Electric Terrain (from Mareep <- Manectric)
Heal Bell
Hydro Pump
Magnetic Flux (from Ampharos)
Mud-Slap
Power Gem
Twister (from Horsea and others)
Dragon Pulse (from Horsea and others)
Eerie Impulse (from Heliolisk)
Electric Terrain (from Mareep <- Manectric)
Heal Bell
Hydro Pump
Magnetic Flux (from Ampharos)
Mud-Slap
Power Gem
Twister (from Horsea and others)
- Twister is a G4 tutor, is vastly outclassed by every other Dragon move and is added as an egg move purely for flavour.
- Dragon Pulse is - again - a tutor move, but since it is a primary STAB I feel it should be easily available without needing previous games.
TM01 Work Up
TM02 Dragon Claw
TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM07 Hail
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM13 Ice Beam
TM14 Blizzard
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM16 Light Screen
TM17 Protect
TM18 Rain Dance
TM21 Frustration
TM24 Thunderbolt
TM25 Thunder
TM26 Earthquake
TM27 Return
TM32 Double Team
TM35 Flamethrower
TM37 Sandstorm
TM38 Fire Blast
TM40 Aerial Ace
TM41 Torment
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM45 Attract
TM48 Round
TM49 Echoed Voice
TM57 Charge Beam
TM68 Giga Impact
Volt Switch
TM73 Thunder Wave
TM78 Bulldoze
TM82 Dragon Tail
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM90 Substitute
TM92 Trick Room
TM93 Wild Charge
TM94 Surf
TM95 Snarl
TM96 Nature Power
TM98 Waterfall
TM100 Confide
TM02 Dragon Claw
TM05 Roar
TM06 Toxic
TM07 Hail
TM10 Hidden Power
TM11 Sunny Day
TM13 Ice Beam
TM14 Blizzard
TM15 Hyper Beam
TM16 Light Screen
TM17 Protect
TM18 Rain Dance
TM21 Frustration
TM24 Thunderbolt
TM25 Thunder
TM26 Earthquake
TM27 Return
TM32 Double Team
TM35 Flamethrower
TM37 Sandstorm
TM38 Fire Blast
TM40 Aerial Ace
TM41 Torment
TM42 Facade
TM44 Rest
TM45 Attract
TM48 Round
TM49 Echoed Voice
TM57 Charge Beam
TM68 Giga Impact
Volt Switch
TM73 Thunder Wave
TM78 Bulldoze
TM82 Dragon Tail
TM87 Swagger
TM88 Sleep Talk
TM90 Substitute
TM92 Trick Room
TM93 Wild Charge
TM94 Surf
TM95 Snarl
TM96 Nature Power
TM98 Waterfall
TM100 Confide
- Volt Switch is required.
- Bulldoze is implied by Earthquake.
- Dragon Tail is common among dragons and tailed Pokémon, even Pokémon with small tails like Axew, Deino and Meganium. Note that Cyclohm already learns Whirlwind and Roar as shuffling moves.
- Echoed Voice has a wide distribution, including Hydreigon and Dodrio as multi-headed Pokémon. I guess Cyclohm's heads could use it together.
- Again, I can see Work Up as Cyclohm's heads cheering each other up or something. For comparison, the Hydreigon line also gets it; note that Cyclohm has already a way to raise its own special attack in Charge Beam.
- I feel a thunder cloud is enough of a force of nature to justify Nature Power, unless the moves it turns into under terrains are deemed too powerful. (By default it turns into Tri Attack, which Cyclohm already learns.)
- Wild Charge is almost universal among Electric-types.
- Snarl represents the rumbling of thunder, and its menacing connotations fit an incoming thunderstorm.
Draco Meteor
Dragon Pulse
Electroweb
Headbutt (G4)
Hyper Voice
Iron Tail
Mud-Slap (G4, also an egg move)
Outrage
Shock Wave
Signal Beam
Snore
Swift (G4)
Twister (G4, also a new egg move)
Water Pulse
Zen Headbutt
Dragon Pulse
Electroweb
Headbutt (G4)
Hyper Voice
Iron Tail
Mud-Slap (G4, also an egg move)
Outrage
Shock Wave
Signal Beam
Snore
Swift (G4)
Twister (G4, also a new egg move)
Water Pulse
Zen Headbutt
- Iron Tail and Zen Headbutt were part of Cyclohm's original winning movepool, and were removed due to movepool limits which, again, don't seem to be binding anymore. In particular, Iron Tail is pretty much universal among Pokémon with any sort of tail (including stuff like Psyduck), and Zen Headbutt is common in general. Both run off Cyclohm's lower Attack.
- Thunderstorms sure are noisy, so have Hyper Voice.
- I feel Electroweb is justified by the "webs of lightning" which cross the sky during actual thunderstorms, plus it is already widely distributed among Electric-types.
Captivate (G4 TM78)
Endure (G4 TM58)
Flash (G4/5/6 TM70)
Incinerate (G5/6 TM59)
Natural Gift (G4 TM83)
Secret Power (G4 TM43 / ORAS TM94)
Strength (HM04)
Endure (G4 TM58)
Flash (G4/5/6 TM70)
Incinerate (G5/6 TM59)
Natural Gift (G4 TM83)
Secret Power (G4 TM43 / ORAS TM94)
Strength (HM04)
- Some old TMs became tutors (e.g. Dragon Pulse) or changed number (e.g. Sleep Talk, Work Up) and as such are not noted here.
------------------------
Other considered moves:
- Dual Chop, despite being a Dragon move and seeming similar to Double Hit, is not related to multiple heads; notably Zweilous does not get it.
- Soak. While it does fit a raincloud, it is strictly restricted to Water-types (plus Azurill); not even Thundurus gets it. Additionally, not only it would make opponents weak to Cyclohm's STAB, but it would also remove their own STAB; thus Cyclohm would be able to endure hits better while being capable of hitting everything super-effectively with careful enough prediction. No idea if this would actually be overpowered, but I don't want to take the risk without discussion involving someone with actual expertise.
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