CAP 23 CAP 23 - Part 1 - Concept Assessment

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1. Pokemon using trapping moves seems to be a rare sight in the CAP Metagame. Why is it an underrepresented strategy?
The reasons I think trapping moves are underrepresented is because of the following:
-Moves that are able to trap the opponent while dealing damage have extremely base power and rather subpar accuracy. Any partial trapping move aside from Magma Storm has a base power of 35 or less, with base 85 accuracy. Magma Storm's accuracy is even shakier at 75, despite the raw base 100 power. In a meta where there is quite a bit of focus on applying pressure, moves with such low base power are unfavorable as they are only able to slowly chip the opponent down, rather than doing huge damage in one blow.
-The meta tends to be heavily reaction-based and it's easy for your opponent to switch out right when you are using a trapping move into a counter for the mon that used it, putting you in an unfavorable situation. This can be especially debilitating considering moves such as Block and Mean Look have only 8 PP, meaning that wasting PP on moves such as this are highly unfavorable.
-Very huge point: Pokemon that have access to U-Turn, Volt Switch or Parting Shot (and there are a lot of them) can switch out of any trapping move or ability. As a result of the popularity of moves of this type, trapping is basically pointless because all you're doing is chipping the enemy for a pretty negligible amount of damage if any at all.
-Pokemon that learn good trapping moves (such as Anchor Shot and Spirit Shackle) are generally not very capable in the CAP metagame. Dhelmise and Decidueye have multiple exploitable weaknesses, especially in CAP, and no other mons learn trapping moves that good. As a result, trapping moves are even less popular because there's no viable mon that can use the best of these.
-Lastly, Pokemon that can learn these moves generally would suffer from 4-moveslot syndrome if they did. Pokemon like the Zards and the Tapus for example would rather prefer a coverage move than a move that traps the opponent, and Pokemon such as Ferrothorn that are more defensive have to fulfill a role with every move they're given, such as Ferrothorn having to stack hazards, pressure opponents, stall, and not become Taunt bait by running an attacking move.


2. Trapping moves and trapping abilities function very differently. Why is this?
The reason trapping moves and trapping abilites function differently is that trapping abilities are always active against a mon that can be trapped, meaning that if a trapping ability mon switches in and the opponent doesn't switch, the opposing mon is already trapped by the trapper, putting your opponent into an unfavorable situation if the trapper can easily kill the other mon. Trapping abilities must actually land on an opponent in order to successfully trap them (if they even can considering their shaky accuracy) and can also be switched on to make the opponent create an unfavorable situation for the trapper. Also, like I mentioned before, trapping moves take up a precious moveslot that could better be used for something better.

3. What are the advantages of running trapping moves? What are the inherent disadvantages? Do all trapping moves share all of the same problems, or are there common problems between them?

The advantages of running trapping moves are that if you can successfully trap a target that the trapper can kill easily with another of its attacks, you basically have removed a major threat without worrying about your opponent switching to something else that can interrupt your kill. However, disadvantages are the fact that the opponent can easily switch out to a mon that can check or counter the trapper, and that using momentum moves such as VoltTurn and Parting Shot will always break the trapped mon out and let it escape. Trapping moves don't share all of the same problems; the problems that I mentioned just now are common problems, but depending on the move, they either are offensive attacks with lower power and accuracy that have a chip effect that can be overcome by most walls, or are a completely passive move with very low PP that makes a mon lose any offensive presence or blocks off the use of a move that would otherwise allow the mon to perform more effectively.

4. What kinds of moves pair well with trapping moves? What makes the trapping move worth running alongside those moves, rather than just not running said trapping move?
Definitely the best moves that pair well with trapping moves are moves that can choke away the trapped mon's health without worry. Toxic is the best example, as since the opponent is unable to switch out while trapped, Toxic's counter will not reset and the mon will keep taking damage until it's overwhelmed, not to mention the damage from the trapping move if it is a damaging trapping move. Another thing that could be run is a setup move; if you are able to trap a Pokemon that can barely harm you, you can basically use it for setup fodder, allowing you to prep yourself to run through the enemy team without fear of getting walled. However, this does depend on whether or not the opponent switches into a more favorable situation for themselves. It's also possible to run Taunt so you can chip down the health of a wall using a partial trapping move while preventing them from healing, taking them out. Healing moves would be necessary to ensure the wall can't eliminate you while you're burning it out.
 
Before I start answering questions, I'm just going to break down the list of Trapping moves and abilities really fast. This is mostly for organizing my thoughts so that I can just answer the questions better. We have four main categories, and then a separate category for Ingrain because it's weird.

All Trap Methods & Their Mechanics
Trap Abilities: Magnet Pull, Arena Trap, and Shadow Tag. I believe we're all familiar with the mechanics of these three abilities.
Multi-Turn Moves: Whirlpool, Sand Tomb, Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Infestation, Magma Storm, and Wrap. These all trap the enemy for 4 to 5 turns, while dealing small chip damage (hence the name of this category). The base damage and accuracy of the attack vary. The enemy is no longer trapped when the user of these moves switches out. Affected by Binding Band and Grip Claw.
High BP Moves: Anchor Shot, Spirit Shackle, and Thousand Waves. These moves have varying base power, but 100% accuracy. These moves deal damage to the opponent, and the enemy can no longer switch out. The trapping effect is removed when the user of the move switches out.
Status Moves: Block, Mean Look, Spider Web, and Fairy Lock. The first three all have the same effect: they are used on the opponent, and the enemy can no longer switch out. This trapping effect is removed when the user of the move switches out. Fairy Lock traps all Pokemon on the field for the next turn, and is released after.
Weird Moves*: Ingrain. It's really the only unusual one here. Ingrain prevents the user from switching out at all, except via the universal escape methods (see below).

*Note that Pursuit isn't technically a trapping move, hence not being categorized. It's actually a move that discourages switching. By the same logic, hazards, Analytic, and Stakeout all count as trapping effects.


Universal Exceptions: There are ways to escape being trapped that work regardless of the trap method. The items that can be used to escape being trapped are Shed Shell, Red Card, and Eject Button. The abilities that can be used to escape being trapped are Emergency Exit and Wimp Out. The moves that can be used to escape being trapped are pivot moves, also known as U-Turn, Volt Switch, and Parting Shot. Baton Pass works too, but has some weird mechanics and is also currently banned. Additionally, all Ghost types are completely immune to trapping, regardless the method.

Now that all the basic methods and mechanics are down, I can organize some thoughts.

- - - - - - - - - -
1. Pokemon using trapping moves seems to be a rare sight in the CAP Metagame. Why is it an underrepresented strategy?
Trap moves are uncommon for a variety of reasons. The Status trap moves just frankly aren't all that useful for one big reason that I'll discuss in my answer to the second question. The Multi-Turn moves aren't particularly useful for the same reason, in addition to having low base power and just generally being a waste of a moveslot. The one exception is Magma Storm, which I'll address momentarily. Ingrain is just dicey mechanically and not usually worth spending a moveset on, especially when Leech Seed is given to many Pokemon with Ingrain and is usually more helpful.

This leaves Magma Storm, and the higher Base Power trapping moves. The Higher Base Power trapping moves and Magma Storm are quite good, but face one problem: poor distribution. Anchor Shot and Spirit Shackle can't shine when they're stuck with only Dhelmise and Decidueye as their sole users. Magma Storm Heatran is quite good, but suffers from low accuracy and still is only on one Pokemon. Zygarde just has way better things to be doing than messing around with Thousand Waves, like spamming Choice Banded Thousand Arrows and causing widespread panic and chaos.

2. Trapping moves and trapping abilities function very differently. Why is this?
Well, I reviewed the mechanics in the spoiler tab above, and frankly, they aren't as different as one would think mechanically. So it's all in the metagame and mechanics of the game itself rather than the moves.

Earlier I mentioned that Status trap moves and Multi-Turn moves aren't that useful for one main reason. This big elephant in the room is called "priority". Switching out has a Priority level of +6. Trap moves have a base priority of 0, with the exception of Pursuit, which I won't discuss. Sure you could have Prankster and boost the priority of the Status trap moves to +1, but switching out would still occur first. Because switching out occurs first, the opponent can easily switch into a Pokemon that threatens the trapper before they are prevented from switching. Then you're at an awkward situation, because as soon as you switch out the trapper Pokemon, the enemy can once again switch. But if you don't switch out, you'll likely have the trapper take heavy damage because of an unfavorable matchup.

On the other hand, the trap Abilities have the advantage of not requiring a turn to take effect. You can switch the trapper into an attack, or bring them in via a slow pivot move, and then the ability will be in effect immediately. This means that next turn, because the Ability is already activated, the enemy will be unable to switch out. This instantaneous trapping makes it much more effective because it lets you choose the matchup that the trapper enters compared to the opponent choosing the matchup (like what happens with the trap moves).

The difference between trap moves and abilities is that with trap moves, the opponent can choose the matchup. With trapping abilities, you can choose the matchup.

3. What are the advantages of running trapping moves? What are the inherent disadvantages? Do all trapping moves share all of the same problems, or are there common problems between them?
I'm just going to say this: The status trap moves are trash. They should not ever be used. The same effect can be achieved by using the likes of Anchor Shot while actually dealing damage and not being vulnerable to Taunt. They don't have enough value to be worth putting in a moveslot.

Onto the Multi-Turn trap moves. Except for Magma Storm, all of these have extremely low base power, making them not very useful as an actual attack. With the exception of Infestation, all the Multi-Turn moves have accuracy of 90% or less, making them fairly unreliable. These moves have the benefit of reliable chip damage (assuming you can hit the initial move), punishing misplays, and keeping the enemy from switching out next turn, which at least eases prediction.

Ingrain gives reliable recovery, but trapping yourself is generally something you don't want to do. It'd work on a Ghost Type or Pokemon that carries a pivot move, or a Pokemon that constantly uses Shed Shell, but overall it's better to just use Leftovers or run Leech Seed.

Finally, the High BP moves. These are just improved Status Trap moves, and currently the most viable way to trap outside of Magma Storm. They have the benefits of being strong reliable attacks that can ease prediction for the next turn and punish misplays. In vacuum, they don't really have a disadvantage. They're great moves. But then the actual problem comes up from distribution. The Pokemon that have these moves don't use them or just aren't great Pokemon. If these moves had a better suited user, they would be outstanding.

In summary, the problems vary between trapping method. You can pick your poison: bad accuracy, low base power, or bad distribution.

4. What kinds of moves pair well with trapping moves? What makes the trapping move worth running alongside those moves, rather than just not running said trapping move?
Wow, and this is where the really tough question comes up. Let's see... Got a OHKO move? That'd pair real nicely.

Heh, just messing around. The three moves types that would pair with trapping moves are A.S.S.: Assassination, Setup, or Status. Acronym intended. You can couple high powered moves with it, so you can quickly eliminate whatever you trap. Dugtrio is a good example of this, with his Z-Earthquake set. Setup can be used with trap moves to put the opponent in an unfavorable matchup and then take advantage of it. Gothitelle did this in the past using Calm Mind and Shadow Tag, but you could use the time to set up a different stat-boosting move or to put out hazards like Spikes. Finally, Status condition moves that inflict toxic poison, burns, paralysis, and sleep partner well with trap moves. Sleep and paralysis go especially well with the Multi-Turn trapping moves. Leech Seed is another powerful option, for obvious reasons, and Destiny Bond is a little more niche of a pick that could be broken but frankly is often not that good.

If you want to be really wonky, you could play around with lowering the opponent's stats via moves like Feather Dance, or use multi-turn moves like Focus Punch and Solar Beam, but eh. Those seem like very gimmicky strategies to me that wouldn't actually be worth running.

Trap moves are worth running with the aforementioned moves because they let you actually have a reason to trap the enemy. If you trap them, and have none of these, then there frankly isn't any reason to trap the enemy in the first place. The whole reason for trapping is to force the opponent into an unfavorable matchup so that you can gain momentum via influential plays. I don't really think this needs more explanation.

Trap moves are best run with moves that are set up (stat boosting or hazards) or high-damage moves that can quickly eliminate the opponent's Pokemon.
 
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jas61292

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People have covered a lot of things already, but there is one specific thing that I have not seen anyone touch on that I want to bringwith regard to the second question:

2. Trapping moves and trapping abilities function very differently. Why is this?

Everyone who has commented on this has brought up the big advantages of trapping abilities: that they are active immediately and they do not require you to run any specific (generally weak) move. What I don't think anyone has really touched on in much detail is the advantage of trapping moves over trapping abilities, besides slightly higher unpredictability. And yes, there is one, and a big one at that. Trapping moves allow you to run other abilities. Yes, the same opportunity cost that applies to moves applies to abilities as well. Take Toxipex for example. It is one of the few Pokemon that reasonably can run a trapping move (infestation). Would Toxipex be better if it had Arena Trap as its powerful ability? It would certainly be different, and maybe better in specific situations, but I would be hard pressed to say that it would be better, because Regenerator is just such a fantastic ability that makes it incredibly hard to wear down.

But anyways, my point is that there are many strong and useful abilities, and abilities are often more defining than a single move on a 4 move set. Possessing the capability to trap while still having an ability that is powerful and useful in other situations is the advantage of trapping moves. Or, another way of thinking about it, trapping moves allow for a bit more flexibility of role than trapping abilities, as you can have a major defining element of the Pokemon be focused on something completely different while still having the ability to trap.
 
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I'm not really a good competitive player.

2. Trapping moves and trapping abilities function very differently. Why is this?

Once a Pokemon with a trapping ability comes in, it is able to trap the opponent. However, as many others have mentioned, a Pokemon with a trapping has to actually try to outspeed and trap it. It also may cause 4MSS, because then it becomes 3 moves + Trap move + Ability. It's basically the difference between priority and speed. You can get your speed up, but you will still be outsped by priority. For trapping moves, you can swap in all you want, but in the end it is just outspeeding. However, trapping moves have one cool trait, and that is that it can trap, then switch out, turning it into some what supportive. Abilities are generally easier to use. Trapping moves cause a switch, while trapping abilities cause limited switches.

3. What are the advantages of running trapping moves? What are the inherent disadvantages? Do all trapping moves share all of the same problems, or are there common problems between them?

The advantages are that, if you can trap an opposing pokemon with most trapping moves, you can setup on them, or, they will setup on you. However, this can be avoided by swapping out to a teammate that can deal with the trapped pokemon. Most trapping moves also deal damage constantly, stacking with other status, crippling the opponent. Other disadvantages include low accuracy, no damage.

4. What kinds of moves pair well with trapping moves? What makes the trapping move worth running alongside those moves, rather than just not running said trapping move?

Toxic is arguably the best, preventing Toxic counter reset and stuff. Generally status is really good e.g. preventing avoidance of Bad Poison, Sleep and others.

Setup moves could be cool, seting up on opposing trapped pokemon would be amazing.

Perish Song is nice, but very uncompetitive.

Pivoting moves are also cool, because you can swap out and the opposing pokemon will still be trapped.

Basically forcing your opponent to stay in has a lot of benefits, maybe even Bide + Taunt would work but its quite gimmicky
 
No Pursuit, no Magma Storm, no Thousand Waves. Gotcha. Personally, I'm also going to ignore referencing Trapping Moves in general, and instead direct this to Binding Moves, as these I feel provide more use; Trapping Moves are locked out by Taunt if Status, or are reasonably offensive moves (Anchor Shot/Spirit Shackle are BP80) with an additional Trapping effect; that either prededicates the stat array, or renders them similarly "useless".

1. Pokemon using trapping moves seems to be a rare sight in the CAP Metagame. Why is it an underrepresented strategy?

They're not just particularly rare in the CAP Metagame, they're rare full stop. Many others have spoken about how poor the moves are in general (low BP, random trapping times, relatively low accuracy, few rider effects outside of the trap, ease of access to a counter through Rapid Spin, Ghost Typing, etc, the fact that it takes up a valuable move slot to provide. There's also the fact that even non-viable Pokémon like Dugtrio is considered a viable option because of it's trapping ability, which makes it the go-to for trapping; i.e. if you want to trap something, why rely on something that's only got 85% accuracy, takes a move slot, is prevented by Protect, takes a turn to use, takes a move slot, and only really does damage?
2. Trapping moves and trapping abilities function very differently. Why is this?
4 Moves vs 3, Always "hits", always "goes first", bypasses protect... The Trapping/Binding moves ideal is to trap. If the trap is completed, what then? You want to use your moves, to what ever effect. Either that's a Set Up, Status, Attack with STAB/Coverage, or some other various utility. A trapping ability user has to be able to do it 33% better.​

3. What are the advantages of running trapping moves? What are the inherent disadvantages? Do all trapping moves share all of the same problems, or are there common problems between them?
Inherent disadvantages have already been well and truly discussed. The Advantages of trapping moves exists in the same way the advantages exist for Trapping abilities; just to a lesser extent. The Trapping move essentially has to provide the actual damage if you want to get the most out of the concept; IMHO. This is done by using something like a Grip Claw; this guarantees you to 7 turns of dealing 1/8th damage every turn; essentially, if it hits, this is a guaranteed OHKO - provided that there is nothing that can heal off that damage.

The disadvantage from a design point of view IMHO is how to keep the trapping move to be useful; at what stage is the sweet spot between the Trapping Move making the difference between making a mon OP, and just not worthwhile.​

4. What kinds of moves pair well with trapping moves? What makes the trapping move worth running alongside those moves, rather than just not running said trapping move?

Knock Off - If you're using a Binding Move, you're pretty much relegated to using that as a form of damage dealing while you do whatever it is you want to do around that trap; and unlike another theoretical move, which can deal 87.5% damage, this damage is deal overtime; over 7 turns with a Binding Band, this is deal as DoT; using this (apologies; don't currently have the time to test the end turn order); Leftovers/Black Sludge is the easiest counter to this type of damage. Knock Off not only does additional damage in this instance, but it means that its low, non-boosted BP is improved by the inclusion of the DoT effects from the Binding Moves. As an aside, it's notable that Knock Off is the same type of Pursuit. And that's all I'll say about that. In addition, You've also got to be careful about people using something like Weakness Policy in an attempt to switch into a trapping move that they are weak to. Knock Off will provide a useful counter to that, and also help in the event of a Mirror Match in an attempt to get "one over" on your opposite number. Alternatively, Heal Block; This provides a more clear cut defense against the "threat" of other resilient types who can heal the DoT's; although it may be more heavy handed in its approach; Heal Block provides an interesting set up ability in it's +2 Attack though.

Toxic/Will O Wisp; Also, to a lesser extent, Hail/Sandstorm; all of these provide additional chip damage/DoT's. Toxic gibs the enemy quicker - 4-5 Turns rather than the 7-8; see below nearly halving the Time To Kill (see even further below). Will O Wisp has the added benefit of providing additional bulk/resilience, while Hail and Sandstorm allow rider effects from abilities to trigger; for example Hail guarantees Blizzards 100% Accuracy, or Sandstorm to buff Rock types or additional ability triggered things like Sand Rush/Force. The combination of these means that it can be used to try and trap and kill weather mon's like Pelipper or Malaconda lacking U-Turn analogues, and provide their own weather. Hail and Sandstorm can also be used to deal 3 turns of damage in 2 turns, although that doesn't really impact time to kill overmuch in comparison to Toxic. Other weather can be used as well, but Rain and Sun don't provide additional Chip Damage.
upload_2017-8-10_22-9-26.png

Fury Cutter; This is one of my favourite options; basing itself around the philosophy of taking extra time to kill, this combintion not only traps an enemy, but provides the ability to continually generate additional momentum until it's rocking about with a BP160 base move. You could even make it better by throwing in Metronome (the item) here to generate a really rather ridiculous BP192, potentially STAB move after only 2 attacks, in a way that may have not been possible without the trap move.

Low Accuracy Moves+Gravity; Gravity makes any 60% accurate move hit with 100% accuracy; and there are abilities or items which can improve that accuracy. Not only does Gravity allow for 100% Binding moves, but it allows use of otherwise unviable low accuracy moves like Inferno/Dynamic Punch or Zap Cannon, which can compress both high levels of damage with status effects (using a Wide Lens getting 100% accuracy IIRC; (50+10%*5/3)), or make use of moves like Hypnosis to guarantee sleep and set up.

Flat Damage; Seismic Toss/Night Shade - both of these deal flat damage. Without an insistence on dealing high damage, this allows for further bulk investment, and supplementing any additional damage caused by CAP23's Binding attacks to be more worthwhile. 2 Turn Moves; The Binding move deals additional damage, and provides the ability to be invulnerable and generate additional healing or "over turn effects". True, in comparison to some other types of move, using a 2 Turn move is weak compared to something like Thunderbolt, and a 2 Turn Move could be considered to be "wasting" the Trap time, but having 2 Turn moves provide the more damaging effects would reinforce the use of the Trapping Move. A 1 time nuke could be provided in the form of a Power Herb if you wanted to provide

Others have mentioned about the turn efficiency; or in other games, what would otherwise be "Time To Kill". Use of a trapping move is a flat +100% to the amount of turns used. On a OHKO, it's a +100%, or 2 Turn TTK, but on a 2HKO, it's a +50% to the TTK, or 3HKO. The worst case scenario of a 7HKO is still an 8 turn +14% TTK. As the amount of time it takes to force another pokemon to faint increases, the less expensive it takes to ensure the trap goes off. Ergo, IMHO, the plan should be to ensure that you cause the opponent to faint after around 7 turns. That means keeping yourself alive for that time, but also being able to do something worthwhile with that.

Cleric; Wish, Aromatherapy, etc are all going to be viable options for making use of the time while trapped.

Haze/Pseudo Haze Z-moves; While trapped, you don't want your opponent to start boosting up with SD's, or try and start debuffing you. Haze can reset that, or you can make use of the Z-Moves which provide the ability to reset lost stats.

I do however disagree with any assertions that high power moves are the way to make Trapping moves worthwhile; Fire Spin hasn't been seen since Gen 2 removed its brokenness. I don't think that trapping moves are ever worthwhile - there are plenty of pokemon out there with both High Power moves and Trapping moves, so why do they not have any viable sets with that trapping/binding moves? Why would you take another high damaging move when you have Anchor Shot? Anchor Shot is your go-to. If you've got another high power move, why would you click the Anchor Shot in favour of the High power? With the existence of Z-Moves as well, you can get a pseudo Flamethrower/Waterfall etc 1/battle anyway. Good things come to those who wait, and if the existence of a Trapping Move is to guarantee a 2HKO or 3HKO at the expense of another turn, you've also got to question why you would even consider using CAP23 to guarantee the kill when you could instead take another pokemon which is going to do that damage?

There are also some trap ideas IMHO. Setting Up Offensively feels like a bit of a waste. There are plenty of Set Up Sweepers, and by trapping an opponent, you might be ensuring you have yourself a free set up, but then your opponent puts in a Check. If your opponent's not able to do that, then all we have is a Set Up Sweeper with a wasted move slot and ergo less coverage, or we have a Set Up Sweeper who doesn't have a reason to take the Trapping move. Access to typical High Power/High Accuracy moves; again, we've 7 generations of pokemon with access to Bolt/Beam/Thrower/Surf or their more powerful variants alongside trapping moves, and since Gen2, they're never seen on the same set. And if all you're doing is using Trapping Move+Set Up moves to create another Bolt/Beam stereotype, then you're wasting time.

TL:DR, Damage should come or be enabled entirely by the Trap or Binding Move to the extent that the Trap or Binding Move is essentially ubiquitous to do any damage. IMHO, the time you have while the opponent is trapped should let you do things with your team that you'd otherwise struggle to create the breathing space without your opponent regaining momentum.​
 
I hate to interject so early in discussion, but I really want to introduce two important trapping move mechanics I've seen incorrect so far.

1. The effect of trapping moves ends the turn after the trapper switches out, no matter the trapping move.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-615622956

This replay shows that Whirlpool's damaging effect does not persist after Tapu Fini switches out, nor does the trapping effect persist. The Clefable was Magic Guard, so the additional damaging effect did not affect it at first.

2. Rapid Spin only affects certain trapping moves - "binding moves" like Whirlpool, Fire Spin, Infestation, Wrap, Bind, and Clamp - the ones that do damage at the end of a turn and end after awhile. Rapid Spin does NOT affect full trapping moves like Block, Ingrain, and Spirit Shackle.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7cap-615624814

This replay shows that a binding move's effect (that of Whirlpool, Fire Spin, etc.) can be lifted by Rapid Spin. Scratchet (a CAP Prevo, which has the ability Scrappy) did not take additional damage from Whirlpool after using Rapid Spin. However, we can see that the effect of Spirit Shackle (which is grouped with moves like Block and Ingrain as well) was not lifted after using Rapid Spin (Rapid Spin was able to hit the Ghost-type Dhelmise because of Scrappy).

Please take note of these two important mechanics when posting. Do some research or ask questions in the CAP Project chatroom on Pokemon Showdown! on your own as well if you're not sure about a mechanic. Please do not assume mechanics.
Ok so after of custom games between me and snek, one of which was forfeited to save the life of an innocent Pluffle, I think we found a few answers to some questions. It originally started as me talking to him about making CAP 23 a sort of Dugtrio substitute, and by that I mean being able to trap in big threats and use a z move to KO them, however I suggested it being able to utilize a variety of z moves both STAB and coverage to surprise what would otherwise be checks. However, I felt this idea would be the exact same with or without a trap move, so I moved on. After thinking a bit more on the role of trap moves, I realized something: trap moves make perfect partners for set up sweepers. I was mainly thinking about lure in a passive Pokemon or another kind of set up fodder, and then switching into a set up sweeper. I feel that treating trap moves as support will do us better than treating them as offensive tools, as trapping moves' main problem is the fact that the Pokemon switching in doesn't care about being trapped in with a mon it presumably checks. We should be looking at the free turn a trap move provides, rather than treating it similarly to Dugtrio, since if it can lure in checks there's not much point in using trap moves anyway. I wanted to go into more, such as suggesting a typing or a general design, but I'm p sure I'm not allowed in this phase, and my ideas aren't fully fleshed out.
 

nyttyn

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Having used magma storm heatran a fair bit last gen...

The thing that really differentiates Magma Storm (and by extension, Spirit Shackle and Anchor Shot) from u-turn and volt switch is that the trapping allows you to punish a pokemon staying in, as opposed to u-turn or volt switch which force you to swap even if it would've been a better idea to stay in. This comes at the price of having to take a hit if they don't switch out, and whatever you switch in will have to take a hit if they do switch out and if you need to switch as well the turn after, though you DO get to choose what will take the hit or deal with the set-up.

Thusly, the advantage of a trapping move over a switch move is that you can really punish the hell out of the opponent if they decide to stay in, while still retaining some benefit if they choose to switch out by easing prediction for what you should switch to. Consequentially, a trapping move hypothetically favors a pokemon whom can take a hit in case the opponent decides to stay in, and is backed by a team with members who can take a hit - which is something that allowed (and still allows) Magma Storm heatran to work out somewhat, as he could very easily soak multiple hits from anything he'd want to trap, and was easily able to fit onto teams filled with bulkier mons who could take a few hits.

However, the users of the currently hypothetically usable trapping moves are neither bulky nor fit on teams who have bulkier members over-all, and that's why trapping moves currently go mostly un-used save for Heatran, whom is the cockroach of OU and still retains a viable trapping set to this day, and Tapu Fini, whom can technically run a trapping set i guess but i've never really seen it be done???

tl;dr gonna give another shoutout to Heatran he's the perfect example of what a trapping move needs to work.
 

Deck Knight

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Since I don't want to rehash what a lot of people have already said, just a few notes.

The best trapping moves are, in order:

Full Trapping:
Anchor Shot / Spirit Shackle (Anchor Shot has no immunities but a lot resists it, Spirit Shackle has an immunity in Normal but nukes Ghosts that otherwise ignore the trapping effect.)

- - -
Partial Trapping:
Infestation (No immunities, 100% Acc but pitiful Base Power)
Fire Spin (Hits common 4x weakness [Ferro, Kartana, Mega Scizor], only viable immunity is Heatran.)
Sand Tomb (hits common 4x weakness [Mollux, Plasmanta, Crucibelle, Heatran] immunity is common but it will effect anything trying to benefit from Terrain or anything cleaning up after a Zygarde Thousand Arrows.)
Everything Else.

Looking at this list, then, we can see the primary benefits from trapping moves come from chiefly from damage and chip opportunities. If you used a Z-Crystal with the partial trapping moves it results in a 100 Base power move, so while it may seem obtuse talking about 4x weakness potential on 35 BP moves, since your opponent can't switch out and also takes 12.5% fixed damage, getting in KO range in that scenario is not difficult.

Note I'm not suggesting any of these at this time, I just want to establish the mechanics we're dealing with, because trapping is probably more powerful this generation than it has ever been. Partial trapping moves actually last long enough to combo directly into Perish Song, and Z-Crystals allow partial trapping moves to have some Role Compression potential if they also serve in a lure strategy or as a coverage move.

Next, let's look at counterplay:
1. First turn switch.
Obviously the best way to stop trapping is to force the trapper itself out with a counter. That said, trapping gets short shrift as the threat because this is so common, but entire matches are spent playing around Dugtrio. Trapping can get out of hand very fast.
2. Shed Shell.
Item itself negates trapping.
3. Ghost Typing.
Can't trap these at all.
4. Pivot moves / Phazing moves.
These allow even trapped Pokemon to switch out (or force out the trapper) but require a move slot and the move to hit.
5. Rapid Spin.
Releases the foe from partial trapping moves.
6. Baton Pass
Banned Deucer

Finally, moves / strategies that support trapping.

Perish Song: Even partial trapping moves last 4 turns minimum now, meaning if CAP can actually last long enough to utilize the strategy it will work.
Knock Off: Removes Shed Shell.
Pursuit: Perhaps counterintuitively, Pursuit punishes Ghosts that can't be trapped a pivot moves to an extent.
Rocky Helmet: Punishes U-turn and Rapid Spin with residual damage.
Z-Crystals: As pointed out by others, ensuring your Z-Move can hit its intended target is very helpful.
Speed Control: Sticky Web and Trick Room are great supporters for your trapper as a trapper can either isolate an opponent's anti-hazard setter or prevent that Pokemon from switching in by ensnaring another Pokemon, and with higher speed can then threaten to pick them off.

You'll note I don't list Toxic or other additional forms of attack-based residual damage. This is because such strategies ate just too slow to pick up momentum, and rarely address the primary counterplay methods to trapping. If trapping + status were viable, Shuckle would be in a higher tier.
 
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My thoughts probably won't be that important of a contribution, but I believe the strongest benefit and weakness to a trap move is being a move. A trap move takes a turn to properly set up and later utilize, but being move allows for the running of a strong and potentially dangerous ability. For CAP 23 to take full advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of trap moves we have to build CAP 23 as a pokemon that could potentially have only three truely useful moves(that's if it only runs one trap move, but it will most likely be a combination of Anchor Shot for damage and Spirit Shackle to hit ghost types) and an ability that takes full advantage of the useful moves it can run, and we as a community should keep that in our minds going forward.
 
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reachzero

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1. Pokemon using trapping moves seems to be a rare sight in the CAP Metagame. Why is it an underrepresented strategy?

The issue with the lack of trapping moves in CAP is not one of access. At least three CAP-viable Pokemon (Heatran, Necturna, Toxapex) have access to trapping moves, and at least one (Heatran) regularly uses them. I actually have tried Spirit Shackle Necturna, and found it somewhat underwhelming. Yes, you can trap things, and yes, it's unexpected, but all too often Necturna could actually not do anything harmful enough to the Pokemon it trapped to make it worth it, and least not enough to just use some other lure set. Heatran is pretty great with Sub/Toxic/Magma Storm/Earth Power though, since you can do all sorts of fun things like trapping and killing Mollux, Toxapex, etc. The issues there are more just with fitting Heatran onto a team in a metagame where both Dugtrio and Rain are common.

2. Trapping moves and trapping abilities function very differently. Why is this?

As others have mentioned, the key differences are having to use a turn to set the trap, and the inability to directly control which Pokemon end up being trapped. The positive from the standpoint of trapping moves is that any Pokemon can be trapped, including Flying or Levitate Pokemon, as opposed to Arena Trap.

3. What are the advantages of running trapping moves? What are the inherent disadvantages? Do all trapping moves share all of the same problems, or are there common problems between them?

The greatest advantage of using a trapping move is that the opposing Pokemon is stuck with the trapper--all counterplay involving switching is suddenly out the window, which heavily screws over pivot Pokemon such as Tangrowth. Imagine, for instance, that Landorus-T had access to a trapping move. It would no longer have to worry about 50-50s to catch Tomohawk with Supersonic Skystrike, since it could trap it first, then click Z Fly. Similarly, Heatran doesn't have to play guessing games to hit Arghonaut with Bloom Doom if it has trapped it first with Magma Storm.

As others have mentioned, the trap moves fall into four categories (ignoring Magma Storm and Thousand Waves):

A. Spirit Shackle and Anchor Shot, by far the best trapping moves in that they are permanent and are actual attacks that would very be good as either STAB or coverage. No weaknesses, since at worst you have still attacked and happened to trap a counter.

B. Infestation, which does weak damage but hits and traps 100% of the time with no immunities. The best trapping move that isn't exclusive to one Pokemon normally. Has a duration, but on an offensive Pokemon that wouldn't be a real problem anyway.

C. Fire Spin, Bind, etc. Worse in every way than Infestation since they can miss and have some immunities.

D. Trapping as a pseudo-status, such as Mean Look or Block. Permanent, but functionally worse than the attacks because Taunt makes them unusable and they can't be used to trap Magic Bounce Pokemon (which are very desirable targets to trap).

4. What kinds of moves pair well with trapping moves? What makes the trapping move worth running alongside those moves, rather than just not running said trapping move?

Heatran has given us a great formula to work with here. The best moves to pair with trapping moves are strong coverage attacks (Heatran traps and kills Toxapex with Earth Power) and especially with high base power moves that can be made into nukes using a Z Crystal. This is especially effective if the Pokemon's main attacking type requires specific counters: Heatran works because it draws in so many slower Water and Fire types, just because few other things can really take a powerful Magma Storm. Another excellent move to pair with a trapping move would be Spikes: if the trapped Pokemon is a weak attacker, the trapper gets up multiple layers. If a Magic Bounce Pokemon tries to block the Spikes, it risks being trapped and nuked. The basic principle is that the more a Pokemon likes to switch, the shorter it normally stays in, the slower it is , the better a target it makes for trapper. Hidden Power bears a special asterisk as being great for trapping because of its customizability.

The really big question, in my opinion, is what Pokemon are the best to trap, and I strongly believe that pivots an other slow Pokemon make the best targets.
 
As far as nuke moves are concerned, the ones which most encourage trapping would actually be ones with of a type that has many pokemon resistant or immune to it. As such, that nuke has a high risk of ending up wasted if the opponent switches, meaning that preventing switching is more important if you want that move to count. As such, a pokemon would e more encouraged to trap if they don't have access to the best coverage moves, but rather high powered moves of what are normally considered less good attacking types.

Also, as said, a pokemon would be more encouraged to trap if it had ways to prevent/punish pivot moves and rapid spin (in the case of binding moves). They would also be more encouraged to trap if the opponent gains less from switching prior to the trap move landing. Spirit Shackle has an advantage here in that it hits ghosts super effectively. If would also help if the pokemon was resistant to common coverage/attacking types, so that the opponent is less able to switch into a mon that can easily deal with being trapped by nuking the trapper.

What Pokemon are the best to trap?

As said, pivots don't like being trapped and therefore are good to trap. This can be gereralised to applying to all pokemon with abilities that activate upon switch out or switch in (you can include Magic Bounce in this) as well as all pokemon with immunities as they can switch into a move to waste it. The more often the immunity applies, the better it is to trap the pokemon.

The next group would be clerics. This way you can prevent wish-passing and repeated Heal Bells etc. This can be generalised to any pokemon that repeatedly enter the field to deal with a specific problem such as hazard-clearers (spinners and defoggers).

The next group are pokemon who are choice locked or otherwise have their moves restricted as you can prevent recovery from this and can fully take advantage of their vulnerability.

Finally, we have any pokemon that can retreat and return later in a more favourable position. That's harder to specify exactly, but will mainly e things like late-game cleaners, wall-breakers with some exploitable vulnerability and specialised walls.
EDIT:

You can also greneralise to any pokemon that is a threat to the majority of the rest of the team.
 
Is there a 'best' way to utilize trapping moves? If so, what playstyle does it most align with?

Overall, the effectiveness of a trapping move on a team rather depends of how the method used by the "trapkiller" works: for instance, there are trappers which would like to kill their target as fast as possible and can rely on Z-moves to do so (i.e; Magma Storm Heatran), use them as a set up fodder for their own boost (i.e. Decidueye) or waiting for their opponent to be worn down (i.e GSC Perish Trap Misdreavus or some potential Toxic Stallers). In my opinion, the first kind cited would most likely fit better on HO than the other two, because such a frail team structure don't want to lose momentum because the trapper might lack of raw power and switching can prove to be difficult on HO, but something being able to deal enough damage to the opposing trapped Pokemon is very useful for some cleaners which will enjoy seeing their checks weakened (Heatran fulfills this task very well, at least with Z-moves). But bulkier teams like Bulky offenses and balance can consider every kind of trapper as long as they don't attract powerful wallbreakers too hard to handle. Stall might like some trapper as well, especially Perish Trapper which might help against some Stallbreakers (i.e. Calm Mind Clefable and Naviathan, as long as they don't get taunted first by the second one) and Stallbreak themselves since opposing passives Staller generally won't be able to kill the trapper before Perish Song turns end.


Most people have already answered most of the questions left and I don't think I could add anything. Nonetheless, when Infestation was brought during Necturna's updates (but ended up denied), I thought that Soak Necturna could become way more threatening due to the almost mandatory switch after being soaked being prevented, so I think Soak and Forest's Curse (which is a signature move currently and boosts every stat as a Z-Move, so I dont know if it should be considered) are options too as long as the said trapper has some coverage to abuse it (nonetheless, most Pokemon won't enjoy losing their STABs).
 
Is there a 'best' way to utilize trapping moves? If so, what playstyle does it most align with?

Overall, the effectiveness of a trapping move on a team rather depends of how the method used by the "trapkiller" works: for instance, there are trappers which would like to kill their target as fast as possible and can rely on Z-moves to do so (i.e; Magma Storm Heatran), use them as a set up fodder for their own boost (i.e. Decidueye) or waiting for their opponent to be worn down (i.e GSC Perish Trap Misdreavus or some potential Toxic Stallers). In my opinion, the first kind cited would most likely fit better on HO than the other two, because such a frail team structure don't want to lose momentum because the trapper might lack of raw power and switching can prove to be difficult on HO, but something being able to deal enough damage to the opposing trapped Pokemon is very useful for some cleaners which will enjoy seeing their checks weakened (Heatran fulfills this task very well, at least with Z-moves). But bulkier teams like Bulky offenses and balance can consider every kind of trapper as long as they don't attract powerful wallbreakers too hard to handle. Stall might like some trapper as well, especially Perish Trapper which might help against some Stallbreakers (i.e. Calm Mind Clefable and Naviathan, as long as they don't get taunted first by the second one) and Stallbreak themselves since opposing passives Staller generally won't be able to kill the trapper before Perish Song turns end.


Most people have already answered most of the questions left and I don't think I could add anything. Nonetheless, when Infestation was brought during Necturna's updates (but ended up denied), I thought that Soak Necturna could become way more threatening due to the almost mandatory switch after being soaked being prevented, so I think Soak and Forest's Curse (which is a signature move currently and boosts every stat as a Z-Move, so I dont know if it should be considered) are options too as long as the said trapper has some coverage to abuse it (nonetheless, most Pokemon won't enjoy losing their STABs).
Soak is actually a really interesting option. Would Soak prevent ghosts from escaping as well? Also, if one's highest BP moves are grass or electric, trap + soak becomes more appealing.
 

Deck Knight

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Soak isn't viable in those circumstances because you're already dedicating 3/4 of your moveslots to a strategy and at best you are removing STAB from whatever switched in to counter you, if you move first at all. Not that typing is up for discussion yet anyway but grass and electric are both somewhat problematic typings for the concept because they are vulnerable to U-turn and Dugtrio respectively.

Broadly speaking we should stick to what Pokemon are desirable to trap, and hard pivots - which I'm defining as Pokemon that switch in briefly to alter the opponent's next attack that require the switch mechanic to pivot out - seem like the most viable ones. The best example of Pokemon like this are Tomohawk, Pyroak, Tangrowth, and non-Volt Switch Cyclohm. These are Pokemon that use their bulk, typing, and access to recovery to apply defensive pressure and lure in attacks other, more offensive Pokemon can tank via resistance and shift the battle again.
 

reachzero

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Soak isn't viable in those circumstances because you're already dedicating 3/4 of your moveslots to a strategy and at best you are removing STAB from whatever switched in to counter you, if you move first at all. Not that typing is up for discussion yet anyway but grass and electric are both somewhat problematic typings for the concept because they are vulnerable to U-turn and Dugtrio respectively.

Broadly speaking we should stick to what Pokemon are desirable to trap, and hard pivots - which I'm defining as Pokemon that switch in briefly to alter the opponent's next attack that require the switch mechanic to pivot out - seem like the most viable ones. The best example of Pokemon like this are Tomohawk, Pyroak, Tangrowth, and non-Volt Switch Cyclohm. These are Pokemon that use their bulk, typing, and access to recovery to apply defensive pressure and lure in attacks other, more offensive Pokemon can tank via resistance and shift the battle again.
Even in the case of pivots that U-Turn/Volt Switch like defensive Landorus-T and Cyclohm, these Pokemon are sufficiently slow that they still make viable targets, in my opinion. Speed matters are lot because switching (mostly) ignores speed while U-Turn and Volt Switch do not.
 

Deck Knight

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Even in the case of pivots that U-Turn/Volt Switch like defensive Landorus-T and Cyclohm, these Pokemon are sufficiently slow that they still make viable targets, in my opinion. Speed matters are lot because switching (mostly) ignores speed while U-Turn and Volt Switch do not.
My concern I guess is when I think of targets, I'm not only thinking of Pokemon I'd like CAP to switch into but also the Pokemon that would commonly see use as counterplay. Chucking Anchor Shot and Spirit Shackle at Lando-T and Cyclohm is going to be a losing damage exchange for the effect, but it would be valuable to not have them as direct counters so that when they DO switch in because they can simply pivot out with those moves while applying offensive pressure.

I grant that Threats discussion is down the road after typing, but obviously if the best switchins to CAP are Pokemon that can just U-turn or Volt Switch out while taking minimal damage from CAP is not an optimal scenario.

Where I think we can agree on Pokemon that are definitely not targets are Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Mega Manectric who frankly are way too fast for a well-built trapper to be much use against and can pivot out anyway. The caveat on Volt Switch users being that if Dugtrio is even a halfway decent partner for CAP it can work as a partner.
 

reachzero

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My concern I guess is when I think of targets, I'm not only thinking of Pokemon I'd like CAP to switch into but also the Pokemon that would commonly see use as counterplay. Chucking Anchor Shot and Spirit Shackle at Lando-T and Cyclohm is going to be a losing damage exchange for the effect, but it would be valuable to not have them as direct counters so that when they DO switch in because they can simply pivot out with those moves while applying offensive pressure.

I grant that Threats discussion is down the road after typing, but obviously if the best switchins to CAP are Pokemon that can just U-turn or Volt Switch out while taking minimal damage from CAP is not an optimal scenario.

Where I think we can agree on Pokemon that are definitely not targets are Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Mega Manectric who frankly are way too fast for a well-built trapper to be much use against and can pivot out anyway. The caveat on Volt Switch users being that if Dugtrio is even a halfway decent partner for CAP it can work as a partner.
You're missing my whole point here. My point is that trapping those two is still worth it if you're faster and can wipe them out with, say, Subzero Slammer after trapping them. U-Turn is only an issue if the Pokemon gets a chance to use it, and Speed is a factor in that discussion.
 
Soak isn't viable in those circumstances because you're already dedicating 3/4 of your moveslots to a strategy and at best you are removing STAB from whatever switched in to counter you, if you move first at all. Not that typing is up for discussion yet anyway but grass and electric are both somewhat problematic typings for the concept because they are vulnerable to U-turn and Dugtrio respectively.

Broadly speaking we should stick to what Pokemon are desirable to trap, and hard pivots - which I'm defining as Pokemon that switch in briefly to alter the opponent's next attack that require the switch mechanic to pivot out - seem like the most viable ones. The best example of Pokemon like this are Tomohawk, Pyroak, Tangrowth, and non-Volt Switch Cyclohm. These are Pokemon that use their bulk, typing, and access to recovery to apply defensive pressure and lure in attacks other, more offensive Pokemon can tank via resistance and shift the battle again.
You don't have to be grass or electric type to have those moves as coverage. And Z-moves make the loss of STAB less of a problem. You also need less attack diversity if you can guarantee that your only attacking move is always super effective.

Plus, the best trapping moves are damaging attacks of a different type anyway.

Then there's the fact that Soak also eradicates typing based status immunity. This is very significant to a trapping pokemon as it can then will-o-wisp fire types, leech seed (or other powder move) grass types, toxic poison and steel types (and paralyze electric types and freeze ice types for that matter). Removing status immunity is significant to a trapper.

Then there's the fact that getting rid of a pokemon's STAB is useful for outlasting the pokemon you trap and makes trapping the wrong pokemon less dangerous.

A set like

Cap 23 @Electrium Z/Grassium Z
-Spirit Shackle/Anchor Shot
-Soak
-Toxic/Will-o-Wisp
-Thunderbolt/Solar Beam

Or something like that doesn't seem inherently terrible to me. (I'm not trying to poll jump. Just giving an example of synergy)

EDIT: That said, I agree that a way to prevent/punish pivoting moves is a good idea.

Also, it would be better if not all of Cap 23's sets looked like that. Variety in trapping strategies is better for learning, for metagame health and for viability due to reduced predictability.
 

Deck Knight

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I don't want to belabor it much further but Z-Moves in no way make up for a lack of coverage. You can only use them once, and their Base Powers are basically adjusted such that they are equivalent to two uses of the non-Z move or less. In fact uses as coverage they are usually weaker than the STAB version of the non-Z move with a boosting item.

E.g.: Non-STAB Continental Crush has 180 BP. STAB LO Stone Edge has 195. STAB LO Stone Edge can be spammed, Continental Crush can't. Heatran largely gets away with what it does because Magma Storm is basically Fire Blast+ followed by a coverage move that wrecks most of its counters in one slot. The effective combined Base Power of Magma Storm and SE Bloom Doom is 530 + a fixed 12.5% damage on top of that over 2 turns The effective Base Power of the idiotic 3-turn setup of the Soak set is... 470 or 500 over 3. It'd be weaker than just using LO STAB Anchor Shot / Spirit Shackle and another SE coverage move twice.

The Gen 7 Metagame is way too fast to allow for 2 or 3 turns of setup for a one-time attack. It's a waste of your Z-Slot to dump that many resources into a strategy that only works once, if it works at all.
 
I'm not trying to claim that Z-moves make up for a lack of coverage. I'm claiming that soak on a pokemon that is trapped and thus cannot change its type back reduces the need for coverage because you only have to hit a single type-combination.

If you've trapped a mon successfully, you can forcibly reduce the fast-paced nature of the metagame to better suit you. Its not like they can switch out to a better match up and if the pokemon does what we intend,it's meant to be able to deal with its intended target being stuck with it for a while, just like how Decidueye can trap and take the time to set up sword dances (not in the cap metagame, but it's still an illustrating example).

If you absolutely need a pokemon gone, dropping a z-move on it is a great way to use a z-move. In addition, you don't have to use your z-move to drop a high BP electric or grass move on a pokemon you have both trapped and soaked even if you have the z-crystal equipped to give you the option.

Finally, even with all that, the defensive power of soak in that set must also be considered. It takes away STAB, improving our ability to Wall, which is good for a trapper, and it prevents ghosts from fleeing, which is a problem trappers typically are stuck with.
 
Soak doesn't give you enough momentum to make it worth it. You are making a single Pokemon take Super Effective damage vs an attack (while preventing ghosts from being able to flee) in a process that takes 3 turns, during which your Pokemon is likely taking damage from your opponent. Then once you KO that Pokemon, you would likely have to start from square one with whatever switches in, especially since it too may resist either Grass or Electric.

And it is the fact that it pretty much resets with every switch in that makes it sub-optimal. You would likely have to continue Trapping and Soaking each incoming Pokemon, meanwhile they are free to hit back. Sure they won't have a STAB, but you are still taking two or three attacks if it is guaranteed to OHKO. At the end of it you are still likely to be around or below half health, unless berries/healing move access is involved.

Compare this to boosting, where something like a Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, or Nasty Plot can not only put you a better position to KO the trapped 'mon, but it leaves you in a good spot to handle whatever switches in afterwards. It's more effective and reduces overall downtime since once you get the initial boost(s) you don't have to take additional turns to power back up.
 
Soak can be usefull in hard stall team, where you don't need momentum. Pyukumuku is doing this to toxic steel and poison type in lower tier, but it would work even better with a trapping move. Of course, this is a strategy that only works on realy bulky pokemon with recovering option that can survive the time to trap, soak, toxic and wait the death of the foe.
 
4. What kinds of moves pair well with trapping moves? What makes the trapping move worth running alongside those moves, rather than just not running said trapping move?

U-turn/Volt Switch: I think a move like Volt Switch or U-turn would be a useful way for the pokemon to switch out after setting traps and dealing damage at the same time. It could also be used as an escape from another pokemon that could easily defeat it.

Status Effect Giving Moves: I know this is not very specific, but I could see Most status affects going well with traps. paralyzation and freezing could make the trapped pokemon even do less then it normally would in addition to possibly defending the trapper. poison and burning would also help with giving the trapped pokemon a slow and painful death. Lastly confusion could work well with block as the trapped pokemon could not simply switch out of the confusion.

Healing Moves: These would be helpful for the pokemon to live while it puts traps onto the battle field. Since it would take at most three turns for the trapper (four without a healer), the enemies could defeat the pokemon before it would have a chance to set down all of its traps.
 
Okay. Firstly, this strategy isn't incompatible with boosting in the first place. You can replace Toxic/Will-o-Wisp with a boosting move, in which case Soak still provides the benefits. I suggested Toxic/Will-o-wisp because those are also moves that benefit from trapping and soaking (as soak allows you to burn fire types and poison steel and poison types).

Secondly, the opponent's healing access makes a long term setup followed by an OHKO better than extensive chip damage sometimes.

Thirdly, that combo isn't even meant to be he only thing that set does. It's just an option. The trapping move is an attacking move of a different type, so you aren't actually limited to one attacking type and you don't have to soak every time. Also, you may want to soak in order to burn a fire type or toxic a poison/steel type rather than do super effective damage to them. Staling out a burned/badly poisoned mon takes multiple turns anyway. Then, you may trap a mon with a pivoting move. By following with a soak, you can punish any mon that comes in when they pivot out.
 
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