CAP Biweekly Research - Ferrothorn and Aurumoth

[Frostbiyt]

Approved by cbrevan
Idea mostly from locri's thread in addition to other research threads

CAP Biweekly Research

Welcome to the CAP biweekly research thread. Here we research a chosen Pokemon from the CAP metagame by building with and using them in competitive matches and then discussing our findings. Participants then have two weeks to write up their findings in a detailed post that analyzes the Pokemon and its role in the CAP metagame. Once the two weeks are up there will be a vote on which post is the best and that post will go in to the Hall of Fame.

How it Works:

• Each week a new Pokemon is chosen
• Over the course of two weeks, research and discussion on that Pokemon occurs
• Research involves building around the Pokemon and playing in competitive matches
• Participants write up their findings in a detailed post that includes some or all of:
  • Teambuilding strategy
  • Sets used
  • Strengths and weaknesses of the Pokemon
  • Analysis of how the Pokemon fits into the current meta
  • Replays of your own battles and/or tournament battles (the battles should be against decent teams, no 6 CAP ladder battles)
  • Anything else you think might help in your post
• When a post is completed, it should be made clear that it is ready for voting in some way (e.g. “Final Submission” or something similar at the top)
• Once the two weeks is up there will be a period of time (~24 hrs) where there is no discussion and people vote on which post they think is the most detailed and well constructed
• Once the voting is done, a new Pokemon will be posted and discussion on it will begin

Here are some examples of good posts from other research threads:

• Tornadus-T by Jordy
• Rotom-W by Flygoner818

If you want to know when it's a good time to get your battles in, see this thread for the CAP room tournament schedule.

 

[Frostbiyt]

Hall of Fame

Necturna - by Jordy

 

[Frostbiyt]

Round 1: Necturna

Up until recently, Necturna was the top threat in the metagame with its Shell Smash set having very few answers and plowing through most teams. Now that Necturna has been nerfed, what are its new optimal sets? What additional team support does it need to be successful? Is it still broken?

You have two weeks(until March 29) for discussion and to write up your final posts(see OP for examples) at the end of which, there will be a vote.

 

[Jordy]

This is cool, thank you for bringing this to CAP Frostbiyt

Necturna

Synopsis

At the start of Sun and Moon, during updates, Necturna got access to Phantom Force because it was a previously overlooked Pokemon in gen 6 and the move in general was perceived as an inconsistent move that'd never be worth it. However, after a while, quite the contrary proved to be true and Necturna ended up being broken thanks to the combination of Z-Moves, Phantom Force, variety of setup moves, but particulary Shell Smash, an amazing offensive and defensive typing, and just generally great stats, allowing it to match up really well against practically any archetype because it had all the tools necessary. Since then, a nerfing process has been put in place, and Necturna had been deemed too much for the metagame, so it got nerfed, which you can read more about here. Since it got nerfed, Necturna has changed pretty drastically, and I'd like to share my observations.

Shell Smash

Necturna @ Rockium Z / Ghostium Z
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Atk / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Power Whip
- Shadow Sneak
- Stone Edge / Shadow Claw

I believe that this is the most consistent set that Necturna can run as of right now. Similarly to early gen Necturna, I believe that Rockium Z is the optimal Z-Move. Although you miss out on really dealing with Steel-types like Magearna, you gain the ability to deal with Tornadus-T reliably, which really goes a long way, especially when considering that Steel-types in general are worn down relatively easily. However, Ghostium Z can be run to deal with Steel-types on a more reliable basis. I believe that Shadow Sneak is the best option rather than Substitute because Necturna really wants to run an Adamant nature, which would mean that it can't outspeed Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, but thanks to Shadow Sneak it can still deal with them. Shadow Sneak is also useful for KOing offensive checks like Volkraken once worn down. An alternative route you could take would be a Jolly nature with Shadow Claw rather than Shadow Sneak to outspeed Mega Alakazam, reliably chunk Steel-types, while still dealing with Tornadus-T, though you'll have to pick between Rockium Z and Ghostium Z, which can be hard.

This is the set I will be focusing on in "Teambuilding with Necturna."

Other Sets

Neither of these sets are as consistent as Necturna's Shell Smash set, but they're both really fun so I'd like to highlight them too. I won't go very in-depth, but you can read this post by my good friend xavgb. Even though it was posted before the nerfs happened, most of it still stands true.

Necturna @ Rockium Z
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 52 HP / 252 Atk / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Shadow Sneak

This set functions very similarly to Shell Smash, but it trades the +2 in Attack from Shell Smash for no drops in either defenses and only +1 Attack. Although it may seem significantly worse, it can be really threatening thanks to the fact that its defenses don't drop, because this makes it significantly harder to revenge kill.

Necturna @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Power Whip
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak

Of all the sets that Necturna has, this one is arguably the most threatening, though less consistent. This set moreso focuses on punishing teams that attempt to pivot around Necturna's Z-Move to check it.

Sample Team

Shell Smash Necturna
--
by me

Building with Necturna

Generally speaking, I believe that Necturna fits particularly well on offensive hazard stacking teams that aim to overwhelm its defensive counterplay.

Pokemon with Shared Checks

I believe this to be a necessity on any serious Necturna team, it must have ways to offensively overwhelm the opposition. The most reliable way to do this would be to pair Necturna up with Pokemon that share checks with it. Some notable Pokemon are Greninja, Mega Crucibelle, Magearna, Tornadus-T,Mega Alakazam, and Mega Diancie, which are all known for their ability to wear down Steel-types like Celesteela, Magearna, and Ferrothorn quite significantly.

Spikes Setters

In similar vein, Necturna is an amazing fit on teams that focus on stacking Spikes. Spikes in particular are useful because Steel-types like Magearna and Ferrothorn are quickly pressured by them. Greninja and Ash-Greninja are better fits for more offensively inclined teams, while Arghonaut and Ferrothorn fit better on bulkier teams and synergize pretty well with Necturna defensively. Notably, Arghonaut can consistently handle Choice Scarf Volkraken, while Ferrothorn takes a lot of pressure off of Necturna's back to check Pokemon like Tapu Koko.

Conclusion

Despite the recent nerfs that have happened to Necturna, I think that it's still an incredibly potent threat that can definitely still dominate games. However, it now does that with much less consistency, because it needs a lot more support from its team and can't really run all the moves that it wants to.​

 

[Frostbiyt]

Great post Jordy. Now here is the next Pokemon up for discussion:

Round 2: Ferrothorn

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This Pokemon is extremely bulky, can provide loads of utility to a team, and is generally very splashable. What role does this Pokemon play in the CAP meta? Discuss. Submissions close April 5.

Note that Necturna is still open for submissions for another week.

 

[Frostbiyt]

Jordy wins round 1 in a landslide, his post will be added to the hall of fame. Remember, Ferrothorn is still open for discussion. Now onto the next Pokemon:

Round 3: Aurumoth

​

Aurumoth is a Pokemon with decent bulk, decent power, some of the best set up moves in the game, and an insane amount of coverage moves at its disposal. Aurumoth is arguably the best setup sweeper in the meta right now, discuss. Submissions close April 12.