I have written some feedback and thoughts about all (?) the concepts posted thus far. This took me several hours to articulate my thoughts, but I am happy to say most of the concepts would lead to a solid process. I also think most of them interact fine with out framework. At the very minimum, our framework allows us to "double dip" and get two Pokemon out of one concept. What a bargain, but not good etiquette at parties.
First Come, First Served
This is a strong concept in general, because it puts the magnifying glass on a game mechanic that has a lot of variety in how is manifests in the teambuilding process. There are a lot of routes to achieve speed control, which makes the concept fairly open in terms of direction, while giving us a very clear objective for CAP30's design: create a Pokemon that denies opponent the ability to move first. I really want to emphasize how much room there is to explore with this one. There are the listed examples of Trick Room, and Sticky Web exist, but speed control also appears in the form of weather abilities and Surge Surfer, a number of abilities that raise the users speed or lower the opponents, or otherwise targeting specific fast threats in the metagame and denying them the ability to utilize their Speed effectively in a game. There are a lot of avenues for us to take, and I think a large and fun part of the concept assessment stages would be honing in on which direction we want each form the pursue.
Weather/Terrain Power
Not a super flashy concept, but certainly a serviceable one. CAP has made a number of Pokemon designed to interact with weather conditions, including Jumbao who was designed to work with two of them. Because of that, I don't think the weather-side of this concept is all too interesting. The terrain-side of things is a lot more intriguing; there are CAPs that certainly like a specific terrain (i.e. Chromera likes Misty Terrain for blocking Toxic and Grassy Terrain for weakening EQ) but I don't recall there really one that is explicitly designed to set or abuse a terrain (RIP Electric Surge/Surge Surfer Voodoom.) Designing a Pokemon (or two, in this case) around terrain is a lot less explored for us, and therefore all the more enticing. To be frank, "let's build a Pokemon around terrain" comes off as pretty rough and uninspired, but I believe there is definitely diamond in that coal mine.
Role Compress to Impress
This essentially reads as "make a generally good Pokemon" because good Pokemon tend to offer some form of role compression, i.e. Tornadus-T's ability to be a wincon late-game while also being a pivot and Cawmodore check. Teams typically need a fair amount of role compression because there are a lot of threats to accommodate for in the meta. A lot of balance teambuilding comes down to how you can compress hazard control and countering specific threats. Defog Zapdos is a great example of this, where Zapdos really, really doesn't want to run Defog but sometimes you just need hazard control while also not auto-losing to Cawmodore HO at team preview (not singling out Cawm, but its a very low hanging fruit here.) One thing to note about this concept is that most of the CAPs in the past due offer some degree of role compression, since it tends to be a strong trait for Pokemon that are competitive in OU/CAP. Designing role compression is a tool for designing Pokemon, and one that has been put to work with Pokemon like Colossoil (spinner/pursuit trapper/status absorber), Equilibra (spinner/pivot/check to various things), Malaconda (spinner/special tank/pursuit trapper/speed control), and even something like Syclant (garchomp "counter"/late game wincon/offensive pivot.) Where this concept shines is putting to focus on role compression as the tool we have used for years, drawing upon examples, using what we have learned over many projects, and creating something new. Metaphorically, role compression is a hammer. We have used hammers to build a lot of houses; this concept asks the question "what makes the hammer so effective, and is there a way to improve it?"
Get It How You Want It
The definition of "utility" is somewhat subjective, but that definitely works in this concept's favor. Utility, in my opinion, means that your Pokemon is ultimately useful for something. A Pokemon with a lot of utility is useful for a lot things. Defog is an example, as are entry hazards themselves, of how to give a Pokemon more utility. But Scizor's ability to check Weavile with Bullet Punch also provides utility. Or consider dual screens. Prankster Taunt for prevention is one way to stop them. Defog is another, and Dragapult's ability to ignore Screens also works. This concept lends truth to to old saw: "there is more than one way to skin a cat." It is a fascinating and imo somewhat underappreciated aspect of the game to focus on. This is a wonderful concept and definitely one I would be very eager to explore, especially given the nature of our framework.
Not All Dragons Are Dragon-type
This concept touches on it at the end, but this is nothing new for CAP. So the question becomes "does it offer anything new or exciting in generation 8?" For me, the answer is mostly yes, but we have to focus very heavily on the CAP metagame as oppose to Pokemon as a whole. Over the years, Game Freak has introduced a wide variety of Pokemon that break the typing trends the dominated the earlier generations. As whole, I would say types have pretty high diversity in terms of role and stat distribution and whatnot. In the context of the CAP metagame, there are some openings for us to explore. The "Normal-type CAP" and "Physical Fairy" frameworks proposed earlier in the process are indicative of a desire to explore some of that open space; this concept would be a great way to do so.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
I actually don't have much to say; its a cool idea. My query is how this interacts with the framework. I assume by reading it that each form would use the same moves with different abilities each, but one form doesn't necessarily use the same moves as the other one. I think that would be more interesting than making each for use the same move, but they have different abilities AND stats, which seems at odds with the concept. This concept is strong at using the framework to "double dip" and give us a little more space to play in.
Booster Beware
I LOVE this concept so much that writing this reminded me to hit it with the Alomomola. This technically already exists; if you are familiar with competitive Pokemon you know moves screw over set-up sweepers. But what is great about it is there is a LOT of direction to take this concept, and a good chunk of them are cool as fuck and under-explored. I don't want to post my laundry list of ideas for this one, but the design space is interesting, it makes us ask a lot questions about the current metagame, and even opens the door to some pretty unique moves that don't really see any usage. Trying to make them effective, which as we have seen with Fire Lash, First Impression, and Spirit Shackle, tends to lead to some pretty cool final products. Love, love, love.
Don’t judge me by the color of my Type
I am admittedly struggling with this one. This kind of reads as a similar concept to Crucibelle and Mollux, but I think the difference (correct me if I am wrong) is that those Pokemon were designed to make the most of their bad typing; this concept is saying "my typing doesn't really matter." This is intriguing to me since I don't know if that is feasibly possible. Even for the Pokemon listed in the example, such as Blissey, Mew, and Butterfree, their typing is relevant to their design. Part of Mew's offensive limitations despite its movepool is due to typing. Blissey's lack of 4x weaknesses and neutrality to most type is a big part of why it is so effective. And even Butterfree benefits from having a strong mono-STAB typing, a Ground immunity, and 4x resistance to Fighting. This concept seems to most challenging of the lot, unless we go the more Crucibelle and Mollux route of making use of a bad typing by giving the Pokemon unique strengths to compliment or compensate for it. Imo an interesting way to go about this concept while treading new ground would be to do the typing stage LAST; after all, this Pokemon's other traits should by design completely overshadow its typing. That IS bold idea that I think would be fascinating.
Duck Fragapult
Fuck Dragapult.
Young God
This is another concept where I love its combination of simplicity and depth. It can be boiled down to "make good version of a very niche or bad Pokemon," but the majority of Pokemon in the CAP metagame are either very niche or bad. There is certainly a spectrum when it comes to being not-meta, like Garbodor (cool, unique competitive identity, but bad) to Jellicent (niche use, but generally suboptimal) to Haxorus (unique traits that make it situationally powerful, but mostly overshadowed). There is a lot of design space with this one, although I think this is one of the concept where it has to work a little harder with the frameworkt. Making TWO Pokemon that both utilize strategies and traits of lower tier Pokemon that also share the same type and movepool isn't impossible; personally it sounds like a pretty fun challenge.
Hidden Potential
It has already been touched upon how this concept struggles with the restriction of one of our forms being forced to hold an item. This concept explore the idea of opportunity cost to the highest degree; sacrificing an item slot for crucial coverage. We have seen this in past with certain Z-move users and the absolute sheer heat that is Natural Gift, which I think makes it an cool idea to explore. It just seems too out of synch for our current framework unfortunately, unless there is some work around I am unaware of.
Decentralizer 2.0
This concept is trying to hit too many good things, even if it is spread across two forms. I worry about creating project that is this anti-meta; these kind of target concepts are best when focusing on either a specific archetype of Pokemon (i.e. set-up sweepers, offensive Water-types) or bring really strong single threat while still being kind of useful outside of that role. Two Pokemon that counter a fairly diverse set of Pokemon, two of which have a pretty wide variety of strong sets atm, seems like too much of a good thing.
Optimized Ability
Pretty much Cyclohm's concept, which is fine because Cyclohm's concept is awesome. Not much else to say, building a Pokemon around strong or weird abilities stuck on garbage Pokemon will always make for a cool project. Ship it.
Color Theory
This concept is the scariest of the bunch, since making a strong, effective user of something like Soak absolutely terrifies me. Type changing moves are largely unexplored since they are stuck on Pokemon that don't really synergize with them. I think the only two I have seen consistently in competitive play are Pumpkaboo in Gen 7 LC (since its a good Z-move) and Pyukumuku for removing STAB and making things vulnerable to Toxic. With that being said, I am horrified of the idea of CAP-optimized Pokemon that can utilize such a weird mechanic. How strong is changing the opponents type? How strong can we make it? Should we make? Is it poll-jumping if I am seeing flashes of Soak -> Bolt Beak in my nightmares? With all that being said, this concept definitely inspires the imagination, and would be a fun af project for the community to tackle.
The Knight's Guard
This is going to sound blunt, but this is a partner concept and I don't particularly like partner concepts. Part of designing a good CAP is recognizing what will synergize well with its traits. What Pokemon benefit from what the CAP does. Partners emerge naturally from the process, and I don't think picking the partner to build around is actually all too interesting, and I was around in-person for Voodoom.
Special Priority Users
Talked about this on discord, but I think this concept could be expanded to focus on underutilized moves rather than specifically special priority. Building a Pokemon around a weird or underutilized move is so cool that we have done it a lot in past (Parting Shot, Coil, Spirit Shackle, Doom Desire, Fire Lash, First Impression) and it is always going to be a cool project. Opening it up to more than just special priority would be beneficial for CAP30 in particular since we have two forms to work with; we can double dip into the concept and pick multiple underutilized moves to build around. As is, the concept is a little too narrow and niche to be on par with the other concepts in the thread. If it can be expanded to give more design and discussion room with this framework, it could be a strong contender.
Utility Specialist Siblings
Basically the opposite of Get It How You Want It, I don't think this one is quite as interesting since the default for this framework would probably make two Pokemon that do different things despite having the same typing and movepool. The twist with this one is making support Pokemon, more specifically based on how the concept is worded, support Pokemon focused on non-attacking moves. An interesting part of this would be trying to make two Pokemon that don't overlap in the teambuilder despite having the same typing and movepool; how do we give them an identity? The best example that exists is probably Slowbro and Slowking, who have roughly the same movepool, and typing, and even run the same ability, but are vastly different when it comes to what they can switch in on. We could definitely make a pair more interesting than Slowbro and Slowking, especially if we leverage that one already is item-locked and cannot have its item removed. This concept has some potential I didn't appreciate the first time I read it.
Pacing
Pacing is definitely an aspect of competitive Pokemon but not one I think is super discussed outside of comparing metagames and certain team MUs. Using LC as an example, Gen 8 LC is a faster paced metagame than Gen 5 LC as a whole. Gen 3 OU is slower compared to Gen 5 OU. Designing specific Pokemon around pacing is a different beast entirely, which this concept's explanation handles nicely. It asks some good questions that aren't touched upon too much in the OP, like when do you want to play the long game and when do you want to try to ends things quickly? How do you create these openings; how do you deny them? How importantly is momentum, pressure, and reactivity to the pace of a game? Is it humane game design to create a Pokemon which functions best when it uses more of you and your opponents IRL time? These are questions I want to answer, which makes for a wonderful concept.
Multifaceted Wildcards
Way, way too much of a good thing. Creating two Pokemon with three equally viable competitive abilities seems like an absolute nightmare to build around and play against. This seems like a concept that makes for a fun process, but not a very fun playtesting experience. If you look at each ability as creating essentially a different playstyle and threat, and then doing two forms with that, it scares me. This one isn't for me, chief.
Screens for Me but Not for Thee
Screens see use in CAP with HO, so there is definitely some niche for an anti-screen Pokemon in the meta. But an anti-screen Pokemon that also sets up its own screens? My issue there is it forces us in some pretty specific design space that doesn't leave a lot of room for our framework either. Screen removal is quite limited, and screen prevention means Taunt, Imprison, or just outright killing the screener. If you also want this Pokemon to be a screener itself, you are already creating a somewhat clogged moveset right out of the gate. Additionally, the most common and useful form of screen removal is Defog, which is anti-synergistic to say the least. I am not sold on the Screen for Me part; the Not for Thee is okay if we give the Pokemon room to do other things other than screen removal/prevention.
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks
This concept appeals to my nostalgic heart. There a number of old strategies I would love to see given some attention to try and make work. That's all I really have to say about this one. Its an ppealing concept and seems like a fun one to explore, as well as tapping into some good ol' competitive Pokemon history. I hope to see this one make it past the first round of voting for sure.
Combo Maker / Breaker
A very cool concept with lots of room for exploration across two forms. Sure, combo making is already part of teambuilding (Future Sight + Breaker, Terrain + Hawlucha, Status Support + Hex, etc) or creating a strong synergistic moveset (Cawmodore's Belly Drum combos well with Acrobatics and Drain Punch, as does something like Kyurem's Substitute into Roost). The cool part about combo making would be talking about the importance of sequence; combos work best, or only work, when you do them in correct order. That is where the creation process for this concept seems to most engaging: deciding on how to set up the combo, and what impact we want the combo to have? Do we want it to be an all-in combo, like the terrain + Hawlucha example, or something with a bit more flexibility, like status + Hex? This side of the concept has a surplus of potential, but the other side is equally engrossing. How can we disrupt the already existing combo I mentioned? Which ones should we focus on? We can make a Pokemon that break a variety of combos at once? This is one of those concepts with so much potential that you could submit it every CAP and it would still be interesting. As such, I think its a fantastic fit for our framework as well.
Never Punished
This is a concept that I think works kind of like sprinkles on an ice cream. The basis, or ice cream, is the Pokemon need to be obviously viable in order to interact with the metagame, while the elements that reduce the effects of variance are the sprinkles. They are a bonus flavor that is great to have, but you don't need it to enjoy the product. As such, this concept will need a little more direction, probably by picking a specific source of RNG to avoid, i.e. Zapdos Static or Scald burns. Not a bad concept, but focusing too much on the anti-hax element would be a total design mistake.