CAP 13 CAP 2 - Part 5 - Flavor Ability Discussion

[Rising_Dusk]

Now that we have gotten an art concept, it's time to revisit the ability stage and finish up where we left off. We must now discuss what we consider the best suited flavor abilities for CAP 2 based on the art and what else we know of it by now. Note that any negligibly competitive ability counts as a flavor ability, which doesn't necessarily limit us to something like Honey Gather or Illuminate. If you have questions about what is considered competitive, post about it in the thread! Others and myself will discuss it over and see where we stand. If I agree that it's negligibly competitive and suited, I'll slate it and put it in the poll.

This thread will be open for roughly 24 hours. I may leave it open for longer if we have trouble getting anywhere with flavor abilities.

I went through every ability in the game and, using my current feelings, created a list of the negligibly competitive abilities that we could give to CAP 2 in this poll. Note that the entry with an asterisk (*) is not allowed for the first ability because it could theoretically soft ban CAP 2 in its own metagame.

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Anticipation
Big Pecks
Damp
Forewarn
Friend Guard
Gluttony
Healer
Heavy Metal
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Infiltrator
Keen Eye
Light Metal
Liquid Ooze
Magma Armor
Minus
Moody*
Oblivious
Own Tempo
Pickup
Plus
Pressure
Run Away
Soundproof
Sticky Hold
Swarm
Tangled Feet
Telepathy
Torrent
Unnerve

CAP 2 thus far:

Concept: Sketch Artist

Description: A Pokemon that learns Sketch, once, and everything that goes along with that.

Justification:

In terms of uniqueness, I think that few existing Pokemon can match DPP Smeargle, an otherwise laughably worthless Pokemon trolling OU with access to every trick in the book (or at least 4 of them) but also affecting the metagame greatly by becoming a top threat in the lead metagame. This Pokemon will borrow some of that uniqueness by learning the move Sketch and thus having access to ONE surprise/strategic/gutshot bonus move to supplement its pre-existing movepool. Being otherwise competently built (read: usable stats), this Poke could be a top threat or specialist for reasons we can't even predict yet.

Questions To Be Answered:

• How will a Poke that has access to any one move out of all the moves in the game affect common battling tactics, namely prediction, scouting, and switching?
• Which Sketch moves will become most common on this Poke's best sets? Does Sketchmon's success rely on hiding that secret Sketch move until just the right moment or can it succeed with predictably powerful moves like Spore, Spikes, Hurricane, Shell Smash, etc.?
• Does this unique and powerful access to moves need to be counterbalanced elsewhere in the Pokemon's design? If so, then to what degree?
• What kind of impact can Sketchmon have on teambuilding in terms of being able to patch holes with common utility moves like Rapid Spin or Toxic Spikes?

Explanation: The key here is that we have a lot of freedom to construct a unique Pokemon while staying within the confines of the concept. Typing, stats, abilities, and even most of the movepool are completely fair game so long as the Poke learns Sketch only once along the way and that we keep that in mind during previous steps. Now, this doesn't mean the CAP process will be directionless; Rising Dusk is pretty well organized and good at keeping discussions focused, and the concept itself has firm grounding in Smeargle's precedent. What's really being studied with this concept is movepool diversity and effectiveness, so it should have the most effect on the movepool process, where movepool creators will have to carefully balance their Sketchmon's actual movepool with the possibility of adding any one other move to the list. In terms of the metagame, there is no doubt in my mind that throwing a wildcard like this into the mix will strongly affect the metagame.

Focus: Bulky Offense
Typing: Grass / Ghost
Stats: 64 HP / 120 Atk / 100 Def / 85 SpA / 120 SpD / 81 Spe
Ability: No Competitive Ability
Primary Checks: Heatran, Jirachi, Skarmory, Hydreigon

tl;dr: Quack! (Do we really have to give CAP 2 an ability at all!?)

 

[Count Bleck]

I think Levitate would be appropriate for using, seeing that it can also flavoid most entry hazards with ease.

 

[Mos-Quitoxe]

Cute Charm since it's not as useful on something that we are assuming is monogender. Also gothic-lolita allure will infatuate mons just as much as it infatuated the voters!

 

[Rising_Dusk]

Yes, let me address that before we get much further. Moody cannot be the first ability chosen, if we choose it at all! That means that no matter what happens, I will not slate Moody for the first poll. This is because then we run the risk of soft-banning CAP 2 from its own metagame if we choose to not have a second flavor ability (and I don't want to force CAP 2 to have more than one). Any other ability that would result in CAP 2 being softbanned is also illegal as a first ability, so keep that in mind.

Also, the heck, Levitate is a far cry from negligibly competitive. Do not suggest blatantly competitive abilities in this thread; I will not slate them.

 

[bugmaniacbob]

Cute Charm is clearly the best

And by best I mean it makes the most sense

Er hang on let me post Yilx's lore thingy for comparison

Normal, human shrine maidens are a vessel between the gods and the people; just priestesses. Flytrap Miko offers the same services to her fellow pokemon; channeling the spirits of the deceased to talk to them. She dosen't ask for anything in return... most of the time. The eyes on her skirt and little bush on her head allow her to communicate with the spirits.

In the case that Flytrap Miko does ask for something in return, it's usually a small offering, but smaller Pokemon, especially Bug-types, have to think twice about approaching her during this state. Flytrap Miko are solitary and desire nothing but a single, good friend; she might end up a little too attached to her clients and/or spirits when she helps them.

Unfortunately for them and her, she gets a little crazy when she starts getting attached.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../nanacreep.jpg

Flytrap Miko might get a little too posessive at times and her six eyes might creep the more faint-hearted out, but all in all Flytrap Miko means well and just wishes to serve as a means of communication between the deceased and the living.

Well, um... they seem to be well-meaning sorts of chappies/chapettes... so I guess Cute Charm sort of works...

Meh. The design's both cute and charming. That's enough for me.

 

[verbatim]

I believe that we may wish to consider Cute Charm. It isn't the least competitive ability, but the fact that Sketchmona may possibly (At Dusk's discretion) be all-female means that anyone who wishes to avoid it has the power at their fingertips. Weather or not it fits into anyone else's view of "cute" in the pokemon world is debatable, but I think that it would make an interesting ability.


...And I get ninja'd
...Twice

 

[Tortferngatr]

I would personally suggest Unnerve, as was mentioned at some point on IRC.

seriously, it's an undead carnivorous plant.

 

[blastoiseboy19]

Normal, human shrine maidens are a vessel between the gods and the people; just priestesses. Flytrap Miko offers the same services to her fellow pokemon; channeling the spirits of the deceased to talk to them. She dosen't ask for anything in return... most of the time. The eyes on her skirt and little bush on her head allow her to communicate with the spirits.

In the case that Flytrap Miko does ask for something in return, it's usually a small offering, but smaller Pokemon, especially Bug-types, have to think twice about approaching her during this state. Flytrap Miko are solitary and desire nothing but a single, good friend; she might end up a little too attached to her clients and/or spirits when she helps them.

Unfortunately for them and her, she gets a little crazy when she starts getting attached.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../nanacreep.jpg

Flytrap Miko might get a little too posessive at times and her six eyes might creep the more faint-hearted out, but all in all Flytrap Miko means well and just wishes to serve as a means of communication between the deceased and the living.

gargh ninja'd

Yilx's own supporting material, just to be all helpful.

I think Levitate is a decent suggestion, as well as Cute Charm. I would also like to throw out Compound Eyes, although that's likely way to helpful to be a useless ability. Maybe Flower Gift? Although that'd make it a sun sweeper... Keen Eye? I don't really know, just throwing out abilites that seem like they fit Yilxmon.

 

[Spork]

Moody's banned, so yeah, as a secondary ability it could work.

One part of the supporting art that struck me was the 'yandere' art: one thing I could therefore see as an ability is Anger Point, since it basically the yandere ability of choice. I'll credit capefeather for the idea, but it does fit. Moody could also work here, but I think Anger Point is better.

I'd also recommend Cute Charm. If we're mono-gender (Can someone confirm this? Dusk? Yilx?) then Cute charm embodies the feminitity and 'kawaii-ness' of the art perfectly, whilst also avoiding being competitive. Think about it, if we're mono-gender, then everything that uses contact moves can simply switch to female to avoid our Cute Charm, removing all competitiveness entirely. It'd still make a good defensive ability, in case people forget - however, at high level play, it is of course going to be useless.

So yeah, I think Cute Charm / Anger Point as a primary and secondary ability fulfills the 'yandere-ness' of the artwork, and the femininity of the design. It also represents the duality of the artwork - its delicate feminity and its ghoulish violence.

After the two I've listed, I think Telepathy is best for a channeler.

I compiled a list of non-competitive abilities btw, check it out. It could be added to, admittedly.

 

[kingtrace]

Alright, time to attempt to participate.

What I really like for an ability right now is Cute Charm. Though my only justification is that CaP2 is both cute and charming, it's a mostly non-competitive ability that I could see CaP2 actually having. The only problem is that Defense is the weaker of the two defensive stats here, and now targetting it may result in a chance to be unable to move. It's hard to find an ability with no benefits that fits the concept.

EDIT: And without even reading the above posts, my joke got ninja'd by BMB. XD Anyway, seems like Cute Charm may be the way to go.

 

[capefeather]

Uh, moving on, then...

I'm going to propose Aftermath, Anger Point, Oblivious and Unnerve. These are supposed to be possible interpretations of the emotional aspects of the design concept (creepy/yandere/oblivious). Aftermath seems weird but I think it fits with the creepy/yandere theme. Also, I'm heavily against Cute Charm. I shudder at the thought...

Also Unnerve is not competitive. Its utility has been exaggerated a bit...

 

[Tortferngatr]

After realizing that Unnerve would let us bypass Lum Berry when using status (...including Sacred Fire?), Telepathy seems the best option.

 

[Oglemi]

I would personally suggest Unnerve, as was mentioned at some point on IRC.

seriously, it's an undead carnivorous plant.

lol this please

 

[Rising_Dusk]

For the record, CompoundEyes is an incredibly competitive ability. Remember that we're only discussing pure flavor abilities or NEGLIGIBLY COMPETITIVE ABILITIES. If it is not negligibly competitive, which neither Levitate or CompoundEyes are, then it is not suitable for discussion and should not be suggested even half-heartedly.

 

[Spork]

We learn Spore and Sacred Fire, and outspeed Dragonite. We aren't choosing Unnerve.

 

[kingtrace]

I'd like to address the Levitate support this thread is already getting. Avoiding spikes, toxic spikes, and getting a free switch into Ground moves is very competitively useful. The point here is to give an ability that doesn't really help CaP2 in anyway, just adds some 'fun' to the concept. On that note Friend Guard is something I didn't think of, mainly because I didn't know it existed, but it fits the very possesive side of CaP2 that Yilx's mentions.

 

[FlareBlitz]

I would like to suggest Forewarn. I think this fits within the "negligibly competitive" criteria, and the flavor text mentions being able to commune with spirits, which fits the nature of this ability quite well. Anticipation is also a good idea along these lines.

I also really like Infiltrator. It fits with the sleek, ghostly nature of this CAP, not to mention that the very concept of a Venus flytrap is one of disguise.

 

[steelguttey]

Aftermath seems like the best option to me

 

[Spenstar]

My suggestion is Infiltrator. For the uninitiated, it's an ability that allows a Pokemon to pass through screens and safeguard completely when attacking. There are two reasons why Infiltrator is the best flavor ability for CAP2:

One: Competitive. Dual Screens are a niche strategy, commonly seen on hyper offensive teams. They're fleeting, take up two moveslots and an item slot on a Pokemon, are destroyed by brick break, and one of their best users, Deo-S, was recently banned. You won't be seeing screens too much, and Safeguard is never used at all, so competitively, it's a safety net with negligible value. Kind of like Steadfast on Gallade or Rock Head on Marowak in that it will every so often be useful but will mostly simply be ignored.

Two: flavor. Think about it. Infiltrator allows a Pokemon to pass right through screens. Meanwhile, ghosts are known to be able to go intangible and pass right through walls and the like. Flavor-wise, Infiltrator is a PERFECT flavor ability for ghosts that makes perfect sense and hasn't really been tapped into. The only ghost to benefit from this logic is Spiritomb. Infiltrator needs more love and a ghost is just what it needs. Plus, since CAP2 is a physical attacker, intangibility works even better; imagine a Power Whip (for example) passing through a Reflect as if it were nothing and then whacking the opponent!

My second choice (for a secondary ability, preferably) would be either effect spore or pressure. They're stereotypically a grass or ghost commonly seen flavor ability, respectively, and would work rather well.

The dream world is another matter and one I'll go into greater detail on later, but my idea is to use a genuinely competitive ability for DW and then simply make it inaccessible.

 

[Bird]

I support telepathy.

Oblivious also seems to be very flavourful, given it's tendency to commit to only one friend (Yilx' explanation behind Sketch.)

 

[Bughouse]

I like Infiltrator as well.

Feel like I have to add how saddened I am by the results of the art poll. I like Yilx's design. But I was so looking forward to naming Mos-Quitoxe's design Eerigami...

 

[SgtWoodsy]

One: Competitive. Dual Screens are a niche strategy, commonly seen on hyper offensive teams. They're fleeting, take up two moveslots and an item slot on a Pokemon, are destroyed by brick break, and one of their best users, Deo-S, was recently banned.

Should point out that Deo-S will be allowed during the test as we started CAP 2 during the time it was unbanned, so we made the Pokémon under the assumption it was allowed.

 

[Count Bleck]

Well, Here are some I found after roaming around: Keen Eye, Healer(That only works in doubles and triples, right?) Own Tempo, Cute Charm, Telepathy, Friend Guard, Inner Focus(?) Shield Dust, and OVergrow.

 

[capefeather]

I would like to suggest Forewarn. I think this fits within the "negligibly competitive" criteria, and the flavor text mentions being able to commune with spirits, which fits the nature of this ability quite well.

I actually like this now that I think about it. It brings a mind-reading aspect to the CAP that doesn't need a Psychic typing to pull off.

 

[Bork]

I like the idea of Aftermath, but that might be a little too powerful, even though it seems to fit flavorfully. Hyper Cutter is sorta similar, in that it has one use (Intimidate) and it fits pretty well (thorns and stuff). Those would be my top two choices, but I'll leave it up to R_D to decide if their competitive or not.

Of the truly non-competitive abilities like Friend Guard, none of them seem to fit well. If Aftermath and Hyper Cutter are too competitive, than I'd say take the effect of Stench from DPP, when it didn't offer a flinch chance, and rename it something like Dark Aura or something else. If this is a flavor ability, than it should fit the art as good as possible, which I don't think any of the suggested abilities does so far.