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Yo, so Intimidate has some unique aspects that make it fairly good for us here.
1) Intimidate immediately announces itself
2) Intimidate takes our physical bulk from "sorta able to tank unboosted roaring moon" to "able to tank boosted roaring moon"
3) Intimidate is sorta perpendicular to Pixilate in its use cases
252 Atk Protosynthesis Tera Flying Roaring Moon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Scream Tail: 260-308 (67.7 - 80.2%)
+1 252 Atk Quark Drive Iron Valiant Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Scream Tail: 316-372 (82.2 - 96.8%)
While ye, these two are mons we absolutely don't revenge really all that well (they will Tera on us), being able to live boosted SE hits from them is something we could not do before. Pixilate leans very heavily into our offensive presence, and requires at least 252 EVs worth of investment to really be worth it, but Intimidate is very contrary to that, making us want to invest fully in bulk, and shift our focus entirely to our workable, if not amazing defensive typing.
I'd like to point out I think this is a pretty pivotal part to what I think CAP32's second abillity should consider.
I think counterplay to CAP32 should not have to play a guessing game on whether CAP 32 is Pixilate or not if it heavily alters counterplay.
An example to this are the Earth Eater and Levitate proposals, if CAP32 is in and hasn't used a Boomburst or Espeed yet and an opponent has a Great Tusk with Earthquake, this creates a 50/50 that I think makes it a lot more difficult to handle offensively.
From the defensive abilities proposed, I'm somewhat wary of the ground immunities for this reason.
Would also like to second Chlorophyll. I think both Chlorophyll and Pixilate could work as abilities on the same Pokemon, especially since Chlorophyll is really only useful on a specific type of team composition.
Chlorophyll is an ability that doesn't really see much usage. Granted, most of the Pokemon who get it are either pretty bad or have better abilities, but it has never really seen the success that Swift Swim, Sand Rush, or even Slush Rush have. Of course, Gen 9 introduced an ability that functions very similarly to Chlorophyll, but that's beside the point.
Even with our low base 55 speed, with full investment we outspeed the entire unboosted tier, including some boosted Pokemon such as +1 Baxcalibur and Scarf Gholdengo. Of course, we are saddled with low attack stats, so we may lack the ability to meaningfully pressure switch-ins, potentially wasting sun turns. There are also arguably better sun abusers out there. Nonetheless, I still think the ability is worth a look.
Chlorophyll is the best secondary option, I am pretty confident in making that claim. Sun really leans into its Fire-type breakers, and being one that is less afraid of Dragon-types is pretty niche. 99 SpA/Atk is enough to get the job done, although it will likely want some really notable high BP Fire moves, which probably doesn't matter too much to the Pixilate sets, they want them too but primarily focus on the Fairy moves.
It is a set that exists pretty perpendicular to Pixilate; one leans in more on Fairy STAB while the other leans on Fire STAB. This is a good actualization of our typing, which honestly feels a little at odds with Pixilate due to the added weaknesses undermining the spreads natural bulk. CAP32's Speed tier leaves it weaker at leveraging its Fire STAB imo as oppose to ESpeed Boomburst sets likely just want to focus on maximizing their Boomburst turns, Fire STAB is welcome here but almost unnecessary), and Chlorophyll solves that nicely. It also makes for a surprisingly useful Jumbao partner, since they only realistically stack one weakness and this Pokemon's sun-boosted Fire moves can pressure Fairy resists as well with their raw power. I remain unsure if it completely displaces something like Iron Moth, but CAP32 seems primed to take advantage of CAP's most consistent weather.
Chlorophyll doesn't alter counterplay that much, not that CAP32's answers don't change, but every team needs some kind of solution to deal with the Jumbao sun teams in the meta. Considering that you already prep for insane Fire-type breakers like Volc, Iron Moth, and various Tera Fire mons including Jumbao itself, CAP32 falls well in line with threats you already need to ackn
Other than Chlorophyll, the only ability I feel that really shines is Prankster. There isn't much reason for this though other than creating either a better Grimmsnarl by leaning into stronger STAB options/bulk or movepool additions to aid HO screen teams, or Prankster Encore being a potent tool against set-up sweepers. As such, this ability likely works quite well, but it is a niche that already has effective users. Chlorophyll is new ground since Scovillain is suboptimal at best. Both of these abilities exist alongside Pixilate without much overlap, especially in how they play and the teams you would fit them on. Chlorophyll better, but Prankster good too.
I am not sure if Intimidate sees as much value as I would want from a secondary ability. While synergistic with our stats and better into Band users and Protosynthesis mons, I think that Unaware Skeledirge otherwise eclipses the role of bulky Fire-type. Fairy STAB helps pressure Roaring Moon better, but still being weak to Earthquake and likely struggling more into Tera Fire mons hurts against common offensive threats. If you are switching into a Dragon Dance with Intimidate, its about the same effect as Skeledirge's Unaware, except Dirge doesn't need to worry about the opponent continuing to boost. Intimidate has a niche, but I am not confident in it sticking the landing as much as the above two abilities, even if the bulk is very respectable. I am open to being convinced otherwise.
No Secondary Ability, as always, is also very valid.
I heavily support Intimidate and lend some support to Chlorophyll, but not as much. I think being a fast Fairy-type Pokemon that can be threatening in Sun is valid and something worth considering for the playstyle, but I personally feel like Sun teamslots are already really competitive, especially considering Jumbao already exists as a staple and how there are far more lucrative abusers to choose from.
I am not sure if Intimidate sees as much value as I would want from a secondary ability. While synergistic with our stats and better into Band users and Protosynthesis mons, I think that Unaware Skeledirge otherwise eclipses the role of bulky Fire-type. Fairy STAB helps pressure Roaring Moon better, but still being weak to Earthquake and likely struggling more into Tera Fire mons hurts against common offensive threats. If you are switching into a Dragon Dance with Intimidate, its about the same effect as Skeledirge's Unaware, except Dirge doesn't need to worry about the opponent continuing to boost. Intimidate has a niche, but I am not confident in it sticking the landing as much as the above two abilities, even if the bulk is very respectable. I am open to being convinced otherwise.
I mostly want to comment on this to illustrate why I like Intimidate so much.
I feel like Intimidate's goal as a secondary isn't really to be a dedicated response to setup; it's pretty clear that Tera Fairy Skeledirge is leagues better in this department. Sure, it can help, but at that rate, if you're using CAP 32 as a way to deter setup from Dragon-types, you ought to just use Pixilate Extreme Speed. Instead, how we would use Intimidate is far more comparable to Landorus-T than Skeledirge. We are already going to be having some kind of pivoting move, something we have over Skeledirge. Also considering that we have very solid bulk and great resistances, Intimidate allows us to play more directly into these already-given strengths and more effectively serve as a defensive pivot into even more threatening Pokemon like Kingambit. Pixilate is also an innately offensive ability, and while I don't see Intimidate being as uniquely powerful, it has a very clear and defined function that lets CAP 32 play to its strengths as a pivot, just in a different way that's more team-centric.
I also support Intimidate. I think it really allows us to flesh out a more defensive pivoting role. Honestly, I think that role is borderline viable even with just Pixilate, despite our sometimes awkward defensive typing, but Intimidate helps a ton. It's worth noting that we'd be bulkier than Lando-T, with essentially the same Defense and significantly better Special Defense. I am not saying we're as good as Lando, but I think it helps to know the level of bulk we'd have as a defensive pivot.
I honestly don't like Chlorophyll at all. We're a lot weaker and slower than speed-boosting Iron Moth, and we're waaaaay weaker than Special Attack boosting / choiced Moth. Fairy STAB isn't worthless but it doesn't outweigh the massive decrease in power. The only possible route I can see to not being pretty much directly outclassed is Growth, and even then I'm not really sure if it's worth slotting us in. There are so many good sun mons this generation and it feels too difficult to make that work.
An example to this are the Earth Eater and Levitate proposals, if CAP32 is in and hasn't used a Boomburst or Espeed yet and an opponent has a Great Tusk with Earthquake, this creates a 50/50 that I think makes it a lot more difficult to handle offensively.
While I understand why people may feel this way, I also feel like people overstate how devastating how this is. We already experience basically the same thing in OU Clodsire, which can be either Unaware or Water Absorb, and their checks vary wildly. Dondozo/Walking Wake (I'm not talking about CAP atm, im using OU as an example, dondozo aint great and WW is banned from CAP) check Unaware Clod but Water Absorb Clod. Sub Dirge can 1v1 Water Absorb Clod but definitely not Unaclod. However, they both share a weakness to strong physical attackers, no matter the ability. Granted, CAP32 would have much more variance in sets than Clodsire, but in the same way Clod cannot contend with Psyshock users like Valiant or strong physical attackers such as Kingambit, CAP32 invites mons like Clod, Pex, Dirge and Iron Moth in, Levitate or not.
While there is a lot of talk about the secondary abilities themselves, I haven't really seen from the thread about the implications about the lack of Pixilate. Play Rough is 94% the power of Extreme Speed/62% the power of Double-Edge (and comes with 90% accuracy), while Moonblast is 57% the power of Boomburst.
Perhaps this isn't much of an issue since the discussion is leaning towards a defensive ability and CAP32's defining moves include Parting Shot/Knock Off/Spikes/Recover (although I still think CAP32 would rather run a Fairy STAB over Fire), but I'd just like to keep that in mind.
Back at it again to tell the world about the wonders of Sticky Hold.
While yes, Sticky Hold isn't nearly as immediately powerful as something Like Intimidate or Prankster, Sticky Hold is able to provide a pivotal piece of defensive utility that no other ability can provide; a complete Knock Off immunity.
One of the biggest sticking points of our typing is that we are a relatively bulky Fairy that wants absolutely nothing to do with Knock Off. Being half-Fire, for all of its benefits, comes with the curse of being weak to Rocks and, on account of our dismal Speed already strangling our opportunities to deal damage, all but forced to run Boots. However, Sticky Hold means that we can freely switch into Knock Off (and Trick for that matter) and keep our Boots no natter what, giving CAP32 a level of longevity that no ability, aside from maybe Regen or Magic Guard, can provide it. Sticky Hold also doesn't have the problem of completely redefining over how CAP32 is used and overpowering Pixilate, unlike an ability Magic Guard or Regen.
Overall, being able to offset CAP32's vulnerability to Rocks and Knock Off is huge for ensuring the success of our little guy, and Sticky Hold lets CAP32 address that concern perfectly without completely overriding its other strategies like Magic Guard would.
+1 to Intimidate. It gives us the defensive profile that we generally want a secondary to provide without the stressful guessing games that come with a type immunity ability. I really like that it keeps our matchups sort of the same, in that we defensively check with Intim most of what we offensively check with Pixilate Espeed – albeit not nearly as well, which keeps Pixilate the frontrunner in that regard. It also gives us an element of team support that increases CAP 32's value in the builder – Intimidate is scarce in this meta to say the least, which makes this ability worthwhile on CAP 32 without overshadowing Pixilate.
Also really like the idea of Sticky Hold for the reasons ryangregory78 suggested – it gives CAP 32 a real defensive niche as a bulky Fairy-type with good longevity by no longer making it deathly afraid of Rocks, and lets us actually pivot into Knock Off and Trick users that our typing should allow us to check like Arghonaut, Meowscarada, Iron Valiant, and non-Sludge Bomb Venomicon.
I also still see No Secondary Ability as a valid choice, but the idea of a defensively useful secondary ability has grown on me as I like the idea of using it to bolster our viability should Pixilate, for any reason, not be enough on its own to give us an effective niche in the meta.
While i still believe Earth Eater is the best option, and one of the very few options that allow purely defensive CAP32 to not run Pixilate. However, I still have opinions on other abilities listed:
The main criteria Im looking for with a defensive secondary are that they (A Have a measure of usefulness thats worthy of giving up Pixilate without overshadowing it and B) Patch up the glaring weaknesses in our otherwise solid typing in some way (hence the want for Earth Eater).
Intimidate: It's Intimidate. It won't not be good. Not my favorite though, because I feel like there are more useful utility options, such as... Prankster: I really like Prankster for CAP32. Prankster also lends itself to fast pivoting with Parting Shot and utility such as Encore, and Taunt, and potentially Paralysis (but thats for movepool finalizations.) My main issue with this is Dark types. We all have them. Who needs them? While obviously we have Fairy stab for them, being unable to strength sap a RoaringMoon so you can 1v1 it easier/being unable to taunt Kingambit before it sets up 12 Swords Dances and eats your booty for breakfast. Sticky Hold: Good idea, but Knock isn't as omnipresent as it once was, even if it is more common in CAP. A lot of the stuff that carries Knock (Great Tusk, Venomicon, Arghonaut) aren't stuff we'd be switching into normally. It makes it so Meow is a safe switch, though, so i guess that's neat? Chlorophyll: I REALLY want to like this. I really do, but 55 speed chlorophyll is a joke. I'd just run agility quark drive Moth at that point. Giving up Pixilate Extreme Speed just to be slower than +2 Moth or +1 Dragapult is Not Worth it.
Out of all of these, Prankster is definitely my favorite. While dark types are an, we're part Fairy. It's not free entry for them.
While I don't think we really need a Secondary ability I will discuss some that I like.
Sticky Hold is cool as somewhat of a Knock Absorber. It's a bit of an issue as most Knockers can hurt us, but being able to not lose Boots from a stray hit is quite useful.
Prankster is another interesting option that's been mentioned that sets us apart from Pixilate. It helps to circumvent our low speed and works quite well with quite a bit of our anticipated kit. I believe it is secondary banned though, so I'm unsure about its inclusion.
Flame Body is one that I haven't seen mentioned yet. It's not the most impactful, but it's an option I find more interesting than Intimidate in that the Burns are permanent when they trigger, and its typing works quite well to sponge weaker physical contact hits to spread.
I'm personally in the camp for Prankster, as I'm a sucker for the idea of Priority Parting Shot, but outside of just that Prankster provides an fantastic utility option with Encore and Will-o-Wisp that could see having a unique niche that wouldn't overshadow Pixilate. I also like Intimidate though not just as much as Prankster, I could definitely see it providing a more defensive niche compared to what Prankster can offer. Sticky Hold, while creative, feels too limited to me, while being able to ensure we can keep boots, that's really all it does which just dosen't feel like enough. I feel like Chlorophyll isn't impressive enough to justify it, I can't see there being a situation were Chlorophyll would be picked over Pixilate (also a minor gripe with Chlorophyll is that only grass types have gotten it, which not really all to notable just would bug me)
Yo, I've been keeping tabs on this thread and I think at this point I want to put up the preliminary slate. What I have in mind right now is the following:
Chlorophyll
Intimidate
Prankster
No Competitive Ability
A fairly short slate, but nonetheless these are the options that have been discussed the most. Here's the reasoning behind the slated options and why some are not in consideration:
Chlorophyll on a Fire type is fairly unique (Scovillain is meh at best), helps CAP32 by mitigating our low speed stat somewhat, and lets CAP32 find a niche on more dedicated Sun teams. Notably, this does not come at the cost of Pixilate, because on every other team you would probably want to run Pixilate over Chlorophyll. A lot of people in the thread seem to like this ability, for good reason.
Intimidate boosts our already above-average bulk, letting CAP32 switch into many resisted and neutral hits, as well as upping its survivability in the face of super-effective attacks. This ability comes at the cost of raw power, but I could definitely see more defensive sets being succesful into this meta.
Prankster is once again on the slate, and mostly for the same reasons- the utility provided by certain priority status moves like Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Encore and Parting Shot is undeniable and could make opponents think twice about their actions.
No Competitive Ability would always be slated regardless, but this is also something a lot of people agreed with earlier on in the thread. Pixilate by itself is quite a strong ability, and spreading our focus on multiple abilities might not always be the play here.
With regards to Levitate and Earth Eater, I will not be slating them because they impact our threatlist a LOT, and create unnecessary guessing games during matches. Filter, Sticky Hold and Flame Body I see as options that are quite weak in the face of Pixilate and the other slated abilities. The latter three also have not been positively discussed as much.
--
So that's it for now. I'm aiming to close this thread and move on to the poll(s) in a little more than 24 hours, so if there's any changes you want to see on the slate, now is the time to voice your opinion.
In my opinion, I really think Sticky Hold should be on the slate, as it can help in small niches such as being a better volc check with fire lash while playing around the knocks from volcs common teammates (while using fairies resistances too). Or heck you can run air balloon on it with two hazard removers / hatterene.
Sticky Hold is just too low impact for this Pokemon, as it stands. This is a good ability in SV CAP since item disruption is more common than in OU and it does make CAP32 better into Arghonaut, but then what? CAP32 doesn't have the raw power without Pixilate or sun to be a significant offensive threat to punish the Pokemon switching into it when it forces the aforementioned Arghonaut out. You aren't going to run an offensive spread on Sticky Hold when this Pokemon has Pixilate. It would imply a more supportive role for the Pokemon, and I just don't see that taking off with our typing and stat distribution.
Intimidate I already commented on how I don't see it really accomplishing much, and no one has mustered up an argument to convince me otherwise. The Landorus-T comparison doesn't work either. Lando-T has an amazing stat spread and one of the most useful defensive and offensive typings in the spread; we have an overwhelming average to poor stat spread and typing with glaring holes in its offensive and defensive profile. We literally have the same Attack (326) at maximum investment that Landorus-T has at absolutely no investment, it's just not comparable. You aren't going to run an offensive Intimidate set with Pixilate available, and the supportive/defensive set seems too slow and too weak for this metagame. Our typing doesn't blanket enough things defensively to make Intimidate worthwhile, at best it turns a poor defensive profile into a salvageable one, and that is a low benchmark to strive for. If you want to focus on a supportive, debuffing CAP32, Prankster just seems more cohesive with the pace of the format. It can at least do things faster, and even then I don't think its amazing direction for CAP32.
So I would 100% cut Intimidate from the slate, and honestly I could go either way on Prankster. And after thought, if you could go either way on an ability, why bother to include it? Prankster does not really introduce anything new, its just kind of on theme with CAP32 having low Speed but high "speed" and keeping up with an offensive metagame.
Imo the slate should be: Chlorophyll
No Competitive Ability
A really easy decision that cuts out the fluff and hedging. You either give CAP32 a niche on sun teams or you let it focus entirely on Pixilate. Either pathway is fine.
I will quickly comment that there are a LOT of really good secondary options for CAP32 that didn't go mentioned intentionally. Reading the pulse of the community shows that anything that really displaces Pixilate or too much emulates relevant Pokemon is undesirable. Or they complicate counterplay, or are just a little to fringe to have wide appeal at this stage. I think after this process there needs to be a discussion about secondary abilities in general (again) but for now I think we should leave CAP32 with a binary slate.
CAP 32 does have some unexpectedly good bulk by virtue of its above average defenses and surprisingly good defensive typing. Pixilate is 100% the better ability out of anything being offered here, but I think Intimidate would be a fantastic secondary ability. We’ve seen the success of Tera fairy Skeledirge with bang-average stats and Unaware, I could see CAP 32 carving out a very similar niche with intimidate, whether it’d be fully physically defensive or mixed bulk (re: specially defensive + intimidate). The typings too good to pass up imo, just give it a solid support movepool to boot.
I personally really like the slate we have right now. All three abilities slated carve out distinct niches for CAP32 that separate it from Pixilate sets (defensive for Intimidate, support for Prankster, sun sweeper for Chlorophyll) and would be fun to work with. I like Prankster and Intimidate the most, as they would be the most easily differentiated from Pixilate sets, but wouldn't be opposed to Chlorophyll or no secondary either.
I think none of the abilities named here will result in a cohesive set that also gets used over Pixilate enough to justify bothering with a secondary at all.
Here’s Why: Intimidate: several posters already have talked about how a semi bulky Mon with weird resist patterns and no real threat to switch ins will end up just too passive and slow for a meta where every turn needs to be about progress.
The fact that you can check the same mons that intimidate targets passively, offensively with extreme speed, makes me very wary of this ability.
The reality is that a Mon like Pex runs a set with max offensive investment, that garg has largely shifted to curse sets to not waste turns which is exemplary of mons trying to adapt to a meta that punishes any overly passive turn.
Now we still have move options that could add that level of threat and momentum that intimidate alone doesn’t provide. But I think that list is very limited and all of them will negatively impact Pixilate spreads as they are overtly powerful. (Think spore/powerful Boosting).
Intimidate is not too weak but will result in a Mon that is too passive to justify over Pixilate right now. Prankster:
Prankster tries to do what Pixispeed does and there are certainly ways that will see use.
But honestly none of them seem super compelling.
The design space looks fairly limited between Screen Setter a la Grimmsnarl and disruptor a la Sableye.
While I think the latter might actually be fun to build, I believe it will be disgustingly annoying to face.
The former is just entirely explored by Grimm already and doesn’t seem interesting to pursue at all.
Both also still have potential to overlap with Pixilate in an annoying way during moves and I’d rather put every single available resource into making Pixilate as consistent and precise as possible, without worrying about weird interactions. Chlorophyll:
Chloro i still like most on first glance just because it creates a niche playstyle that likely will not have balancing issues with Pixilate.
On second glance I feel like it’s much too weak though.
Firstly, why is there value in increasing speed whith our secondary when our primary ability can do that?
Yes the spread we chose has an awkward speed tier and I wish we had leveraged the fact that most Fire weak mons are below a certain speed level while most fairy weak mons are fairly fast.
But does increasing the speed actually do much here.
A Fire type Chloro Mon seems compelling at first
But Fact is 32 still under-speeds Pult if it runs modest which is already sad. Fact is that a Specs Overheat is only about 15% stronger than unboosted Overheat from moth and 20% weaker than specs moth
252 SpA Choice Specs Abomasnow Overheat vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Skeledirge in Sun: 171-202 (41.6 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Iron Moth Overheat vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Skeledirge in Sun: 145-171 (35.2 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Iron Moth Overheat vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Skeledirge in Sun: 218-257 (53 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
.
You basically trade the breaking power and flexibility of iron moth for some speed, which if you look at speed tiers doesn’t matter a whole lot bc the two mons that this helps with are Roaring Moon, Stratagem and maybe Greninja (though I’m not even sure gren can revenge moth in sun)
Now roaring moon you also easily beat (or force to tera with Pixilate so you end up with a positive matchup for stratagem with Chloro, compared to Iron Moth.
Obviously you could run both. But I’m pretty sure that Moth, Bao and 32 stack pretty awkwardly on a team and moth even has more synergy with Bao than 32 defensively and probably wider coverage offensively.
I feel like chloro is trying to patch the weird speed tier, while putting 32 into an awkward competition with Iron Moth as sun Breaker/Sweeper with only minor incentives to actually use it over the moth.
Which looks even more awkward when Pixilate can do very similar things.
Giving chloro is both heavily overcompensating for the bad speed tier and completely ignoring the loss of power that comes with it as well as Pixilate already taking care of that in part.
Now I realize, that discussion probably warrants a small slate of abilities to go up against NCA and a vote on them.
But I strongly support not taking this to a vote at all, bc NCA to me is clearly the most sensible alternative, but often when people have to decide between doing nothing and doing something they chose the latter even though that something will end up doing nothing or even more harm than doing nothing would have.
I apologize if this does not make sense I’m too tired to check for readability.
Prankster is the best choice of secondary ability. With its Fairy STAB and low stats, CAP32 is the ideal Pokemon to utilise Prankster to the fullest. As a community, this could be our best opportunity to explore the potential of this ability, and imo we should make the most of it.
Firstly, a Prankster Pokemon that functions as a durable part of a defensive core is a role that has been almost totally unexplored in competitive Pokemon. Tomohawk, while bulky enough, has a shallow status movepool consisting only of Haze, Taunt, and 50% recovery. Sableye, on the other hand, lacks both bulk and resistances. Nevertheless, it managed to be viable in OU in old generations despite pitiful 50/75/65 bulk, which makes CAP32's 90/89/97 bulk look comparatively formidable.
Priority Strength Sap and Parting Shot, among the most likely tools that CAP32 may get, are really intriguing to me. Not only could CAP32 switch into the majority of physical attackers and force them out, its ability to consistently lower offensive stats would force constant switches as the opponent tries to avoid becoming set-up fodder.
There are also many other interesting status moves that CAP32 could potentially utilise. Most are obvious (e.g. Encore, Will-o-Wisp), but I want to highlight Heart Swap in particular. Heart Swap would be an incredible anti-stat boosting option, synergising nicely with STAB Overheat or Fleur Cannon to increase CAP32's threat level.
In summary, CAP32 with Prankster has so much more potential than being a Pokemon that merely sets screens or inflicts status. I would love to see us explore this potential fully.
Chlorophyll, as others have said, doesn't have a lot to distinguish itself from Iron Moth. It's significantly weaker and still not that fast, to the point that its viability is really questionable. I also think it's quite... boring? Imo Chlorophyll is the preferred ability for those who don't actually want a secondary ability. It can't overlap with Pixilate due to only being usable on Sun, and requires absolutely no thought or discussion - it's just slapping Chlorophyll on a Fire type. From a flavour perspective (not strictly relevant, I know), Chlorophyll also makes zero sense on a non-Grass type, so that's another reason it's unsatisfactory to me.
I don't mind Intimidate, but upon reflection it really doesn't synergise all that well with CAP32's typing and stats. Intimidate is Intimidate, and of course it lets us check/counter a handful of threats, but I would prefer to build around this ability properly rather than just throwing it in at the end of a process.
Right so from the few posts between the preliminary slate and this one, it seems consensus is still split. All of the abilities on the pre-slate have since been mentioned as both positives and negatives, so it's kind of in the middle for me. Sticky Hold was mentioned once, but I would agree with Brambane that it is very low-impact compared to the other options and Pixilate. So I will keep the slate the same as it was:
Chlorophyll
Intimidate
Prankster
No Competitive Ability
Now I know that not everyone wants to see a poll at all, but I think giving the people who are interested in a secondary a chance here is important. We'll see what the poll(s) give us. This is it from me for now though, but I'll be back to help us select a Flavor Ability, if at all. Obligatory spoo tag :)
Talked with sciz and we decided to cut prankster from the slate to ensure that this will be a single stage poll. Neither of us were very confident that it would both be viable and effectively explore cap32’s concept further so it was the most sensible option to remove out of the bunch.
Stamp of approval goes to the remaining three options!
