Resource Introduction to SS CAP

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Introduction to SS CAP

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Hello everyone, this thread is meant to be used as a primer/introduction to the SS CAP Metagame. This is intended to provide essential information about the CAP Metagame to anyone from newcomers to Smogon to long standing tournament players dipping their toes into the CAP meta for the first time. Below I've included a brief summary of the CAP process and CAP Metagame history, as well as summaries of each individual CAP, and key differences between CAP and OU.

To start off, the CAP Metagame uses Pokemon created by Smogon's Create-A-Pokemon Project in addition to the pool of mons available in standard OU. The CAP Project is a community based process that designates a specific concept to build a Pokémon off of, then gradually moves through various stages of building a mon while fulfilling the aforementioned concept through communal voting on the forums. The purpose of this metagame is to provide a competitive and balanced arena to showcase our past creations, as well as to generate interest in the overall CAP Project. We follow OU's banlist, but the CAP Metagame Council reserves the right to implement additional bans outside of OU's tiering. The council will also nerf an existing CAP if the need ever arises. There is no restriction in terms of how many OU or CAP mons are necessary on a team; you can run anywhere from 0 to 6 CAPs and your team will still be legal.

CAP began in December of 2007 with the first threads for Syclant, and has since finished 30 total projects. 33 distinct fully-evolved mons are currently available for use in the metagame. Some of the first few CAPs created were given access to custom abilities or moves, however that practice ended in DPP. These custom abilities include Mountaineer on Syclant, Persistent on Fidgit, and Rebound on Colossoil, while the custom moves include Shadow Strike on Kitsunoh and Paleo Wave on Stratagem. Additionally, Necturna exhibits a unique mechanic in which it can use one move available from Sketch on any of its sets. In both ORAS and SM CAP Crucibelle had access to a Mega Evolution. However, with the removal of the Mega Evolution mechanic in SS, Crucibellite and Mega Crucibelle are both no longer available for use. All projects prior to CAP 22, Kerfluffle, were created for the OU Metagame at the time, with no considerations for interactions with other CAP mons. Afterwards, each project has been created with the full breadth of the CAP Metagame in mind. A more complete reference for the history of the CAP Project can be found here.

In addition to the CAP ladder found on Pokemon Showdown, there are many other venues that provide access CAP battles. Official room tournaments are held in the PS! CAP Project room every day at 8am, 2pm, 6pm, and 10pm GMT-4. Those who place well in official room tours will earn points on the room's monthly leaderboard. The person with the most points at the end of the month is awarded the room prizewinner role. Unofficial room tours are also held frequently at the discretion of the room's staff. The 2022 CAP Tournament Circuit provides players with an opportunity to prove themselves amongst the best of CAP players, culminating in the 2022 CAP Championship. There are two CAP team tournaments in the year, with CAP Premier League starting in June and CAP Champions League starting in November. Plenty of unofficial tournaments also tend to be available in the CAP Metagame subforum.

Below I've included brief descriptions of each CAP available for use in the metagame.
  • :Syclant: Syclant is an Ice/Bug-type offensive pivot. Its custom ability, Mountaineer, gives it an immunity to Stealth Rock and Rock-type attacks, although only upon switching in. While Weavile often outcompetes it as a physical Ice-type sweeper, it does have its own niche in STAB U-turn, a strong special movepool, better coverage, and the ability to run an offensive item without risk of Stealth Rock damage. Its standard set is Never-Melt Ice with Nasy Plot, Ice Beam, Earth Power, and one of Spikes or U-turn. It is also capable of running a Choice Band set with U-turn, Ice Shard, Earthquake, and Triple Axel.
  • :Revenankh: Revenankh is a Ghost/Fighting-type Bulk Up abuser. While it has trouble directly coming in and setting up, it has still found success as a cleaner, thanks to its access to a useful combination of priority in Shadow Sneak and Triage Drain Punch, as well as a strong STAB in Poltergeist and the special bulk to take a hit and set up. It will need teammates to take care of Pokemon it cannot pick off or set up on easily, but it is surprisingly devastating once the stage is set for it.
  • :Pyroak: Pyroak is a Fire/Grass-type wallbreaker. Thanks to a recent buff, Pyroak gained access to Contrary to complement its powerful Overheat. With a set of Overheat, Earth Power, Synthesis, and Giga Drain or utility options like Aromatherapy, Pyroak is a nigh-unwallable breaker for as long as it’s on the field. Fire/Grass is an awkward defensive typing that loses out on many of Grass and Fire's individual resistances and is vulnerable to Flying-type attacks, so Pyroak will need some help getting onto the field and defending against Flying-types. With the right team support, however, Pyroak is a force to be reckoned with.
  • :Fidgit: Fidgit is a Poison/Ground-type utility Pokemon. Its custom ability, Persistent, extends the duration of certain field effects by two turns, and the fact that this ability affects Trick Room sets it up as the prime TR setter in the tier. Its most common set is thus a Trick Room setting one, which also features U-turn, Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin or Self-Destruct, and sometimes even moves like Encore. Persistent also enables niche Tailwind offense teams, but beyond this, other affected moves like Gravity, Safeguard, and Magic Room are largely useless. It should be noted that screens and weather are unaffected by Fidgit's ability. While it has access to a plethora of utility moves, it is generally outclassed at using these on non-Trick Room or Tailwind teams, and its viability is mostly tied to the strength of Trick Room and occasionally Tailwind which are both not particularly powerful at the moment.
  • :Stratagem: Stratagem is a Rock-type special attacking glass cannon with Levitate. It has sole access to the move Paleo Wave, an 85 base power Rock-type special attack with a 20% chance to lower the target’s Attack. Bestowed with powerful options like Fire Blast, Energy Ball, Earth Power, Paleo Wave, and STAB Meteor Beam, Stratagem is a terrifying late-game sweeper. Its excellent 130 Speed gives it the jump on much of the tier, but it’s still limited by faster foes like Dragapult, Zeraora, Choice Scarf Kartana, and others, as well as bulkier teams that can withstand its boosted coverage moves.
  • :Arghonaut: Arghonaut is a Water/Fighting-type physical tank with Unaware. Its standard set is that of a physical wall, running max HP and max Def, with Spikes, Circle Throw, Recover, and Knock Off. It can also run a set with mixed bulk to switch into Dragapult, Pyroak, and Heatran eith more ease. Thanks to the combination of Unaware and Circle Throw, Arghonaut is able to deal with many of the setup sweepers in the metagame, including the infamous Cawmodore. This, along with its natural bulk, good defensive typing, and ability to compress multiple roles, makes it a strong choice in the current metagame, despite its vulnerability to some prominent setup sweepers like both Venomicon formes.
  • :Kitsunoh: Kitsunoh is a Ghost/Steel-type physical attacker with access to some utility moves. It’s hampered immensely by its speed tier and limited offenses, and despite access to Defog, is thoroughly outclassed as a Defogger. Its custom move is Shadow Strike, a 95% accurate 80 base power physical Ghost-type attack with a 50% chance to drop the target’s Defense by one stage, although this is often overshadowed by Poltergeist because of its higher base power. If used at all, Trick + Scarf is its most common set, which at least allows it to perform revenge killing and cleaning duties with Poltergeist, Iron Fist-boosted Meteor Mash, and U-turn. Bulkier sets with Wish and Protect have also seen small usage lately to deal with Tapu Lele and delayed moves like Future Sight, but other Steel-types still largely outclass Kitsunoh in this role.
  • :Cyclohm: Cyclohm is an Electric/Dragon-type physically bulky and specially offensive tank. While it has a unique combination of traits in its typing, useful abilities in Static and Shield Dust, high physical bulk, access to reliable recovery and powerful moves like Draco Meteor, Ice Beam, and Fire Blast, it often finds itself overshadowed in many of the roles it tries to fulfill. Despite this, it is a reliable Cawmodore, Kartana, and Venomicon-E check, and can provide specific role compression if necessary with its powerful coverage and even Heal Bell. A standard set might run Volt Switch or Discharge, Flamethrower, Draco Meteor or Ice Beam, and Slack Off with Heavy Duty Boots or Rocky Helmet.
  • :Colossoil: Colossoil is a Ground/Dark-type bulky physical attacker with access to great moves such as Knock Off, Earthquake, Rapid Spin, U-turn, Sucker Punch, and Toxic. Its custom ability, Rebound, acts as Magic Bounce but only upon Colossoil switching in. It is generally overshadowed by Colossoil’s secondary ability: Guts. This mon's main niche is as a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. While it is not the best status absorber, spinner, knocker, Toxic spreader, Electric immunity, or Ghost resist, it finds use due to its ability to perform all of these roles at the same time and at an adequate level.
  • :Krilowatt:Krilowatt is a Water/Electric bulky special attacker. It is a decent pivot in the meta, mostly due to Magic Guard, which provides it with a useful immunity to damage from status, hazards, Life Orb recoil, and other passive damage, that pairs well with Krilowatt’s massive HP stat. However, Krilowatt has fared poorly since Saharaja's release, now being hugely limited by the metagame's most common bulky Ground-type. Moreover, Krilowatt is very dependent on its Life Orb to deal meaningful damage and absolutely hates Knock Off as a result. Its coverage can hit much of the metagame fairly hard, but Krilowatt has a lot of trouble landing outright OHKOs, even if it still has its Life Orb. Its most common set runs Flip Turn, Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt or Volt Switch. It is also capable of running Earth Power to hit specific Pokemon like Heatran or Astrolotl harder, though this is more rare.
  • :Voodoom: Voodoom, a Fighting/Dark-type special attacker, was recently buffed from 105 SpA to 130 SpA. Thanks to this newfound boost in power, Voodoom is much more threatening than it was previously, being able to do significant amounts of damage with proper prediction. However, it still suffers from many of the issues it suffered pre-buff, as it is still stuck with unreliable or lower power STABs, will lose 1v1 versus most Pokemon faster than it, and is unable to consistently leverage its Electric immunity abilities in Volt Absorb and Lightning Rod due to losing to most of the relevant Electric types. While the buff did give it an actual tangible niche, it is often regarded as requiring too much work and prediction to use reliably. If used, Voodoom generally prefers a Choice Specs wallbreaker set with Focus Blast, Dark Pulse, and two of Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon, or Vacuum Wave. It may also run a Nasty Plot set.
  • :Tomohawk: Tomohawk, a Flying/Fighting-type physical wall, has been one of the best Pokemon in CAP for several generations. However, it is currently at a low point in its viability, as the current physical threats in the metagame, such as Weavile, Venomicon-E, and Zeraora, all heavily threaten it. Despite this, its surprisingly high damage output thanks to its 115 SpA, access to Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, and its ability to check some physical threats like Saharaja and Kartana means it is still capable of providing some utility to its team. A common set features Rocky Helmet and Intimidate alongside Roost, Hurricane, Aura Sphere, and either Stealth Rock or Rapid Spin, with options like Toxic being viable as well. It also has the access to the exceedingly rare combination of Prankster Haze, and it often runs Haze over Aura Sphere on Prankster sets to shut down set-up sweepers in an emergency.
  • :Necturna:Necturna, a Grass/Ghost-type mon, is an incredibly singular case in the CAP Metagame, having access to one singular Sketch move on any set. Although Sketch was snapped in Gen 8, meaning it cannot Sketch any moves introduced in Gen 8, Necturna is allowed to Sketch a move introduced in a previous generation and transfer it. Necturna usually uses that slot on a set-up move, typically one of Geomancy or Shell Smash. Geomancy sets often run Substitute to aid setup and run dual STAB in Giga Drain and Shadow Ball, while Shell Smash sets tend to lean physical with moves like Power Whip, Shadow Claw, Shadow Sneak, and Stone Edge.
  • :Mollux: Mollux is a Fire/Poison-type bulky special attacker with access to Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin, and Recover. Despite being blessed by the advent of Heavy Duty Boots, Mollux is middling in both its performance and consistency. When invested properly, it can act as a check against certain threats like Urshifu-R, Jumbao, and even Dragapult. Dry Skin gives it some utility on rain, although the weather weakens its STAB Lava Plume. Mollux will usually run a Calm Mind set with Recover and two of Lava Plume, Sludge Bomb, or Thunder. It can also run a Stealth Rock set, although it struggles to compete against the many better hazard setters in the tier.
  • :Aurumoth: Aurumoth, the former demon-king of CAP, is a Bug/Psychic-type pseudo-legendary that came as a result of one of the most controversial CAP processes to date. This mon has been heavily nerfed throughout the generations, losing access to Illusion, Tail Glow, and Quiver Dance. As of now, Aurumoth is exclusively found on hyper offensive teams. Its primary set is a Scarf Final Gambit user, as it has the highest HP stat of any Final Gambit Pokemon. This set also tends to run Blizzard to hit Dragapult, the most frequent Ghost, and some utility moves like Trick and Healing Wish, but will primarily be clicking Final Gambit at the first opportunity. Aurumoth is also capable of running a Nasty Plot set with Weak Armor and Weakness Policy; while trying to set up is very difficult, it quickly becomes overbearing if the opponent does not immediately deal with it.
  • :Malaconda: Malaconda is a Dark/Grass-type specially bulky mon. While at first glance, its high special defense and access to moves like Glare, Knock Off, and Parting Shot make it seem like Malaconda can fill a variety of roles in the CAP Metagame, it is unable to do so with any semblance of efficacy. A quadruple weakness to U-Turn and generally low physical bulk makes it difficult for Malaconda to operate in most environments. This even includes Sun, despite its access to Drought.
  • :Cawmodore:Cawmodore, a Steel/Flying-type Belly Drum sweeper, has been the subject of great controversy among CAP players for generations. Its three immunities and hefty physical bulk provide plenty of opportunities for Cawmodore to set up. After getting to +6, its speed tier in combination with Bullet Punch can easily sweep through an unprepared team. Acrobatics KOs a fully physically defensive Toxapex from full, while its last move is often either Drain Punch or the occasional Knock Off. Its greatest weakness is its poor Special Defense stat and reliance on Bullet Punch to KO faster Pokemon like Dragapult and Tornadus.
  • :Volkraken: Volkraken is a Water/Fire-type special attacker. Its most common set is a Choice Specs set with Hydro Pump, Fire Blast, Scorching Sands, and U-turn, which aims to combine Specs with Analytic for very strong hits, and is almost always seen on rain teams. Some may instead opt for a Scarf to patch up Volkraken's awkward speed tier of 95. Bulky waters being so common in the meta make Volkraken’s dual STAB options far less effective in most matchups. Despite this, Analytic can punish an improper switch extremely hard, and this is further boosted when paired with rain.
  • :Plasmanta: Plasmanta, an Electric/Poison-type special attacker, fulfills a very different role in practice than on paper. Despite seeming like a suitable Specs or Life Orb attacker, Plasmanta’s most effective set runs max defense with Body Press and Magnet Rise alongside STABs in Sludge Bomb and Thunderbolt, which can be surprisingly effective at dealing with certain defensive cores, such as the combination of Clefable and Toxapex. Unfortunately, Plasmanta's effectiveness is low outside of these specific matchups, and it is further limited by an inability to hit Ground-types and a lack of recovery, making it a very niche pick at best.
  • :Naviathan: Naviathan, a Water/Steel-type Guts abuser, tends to run a Dragon Dance set with Slack Off. However, it struggles to fill out the rest of its moveslots with adequate coverage. Its most common combination is Waterfall and Facade, although any combination it can try is beaten by common Pokemon in Arghonaut, Ferrothorn, and bulky Electric-types. Still, given the right matchup and the right combination of moves, Naviathan is capable of rolling over a team with one boost.
  • :Crucibelle:Crucibelle is a Rock/Poison-type offensive pivot. This Pokemon has struggled due to being nerfed in Gen 7 and losing access to its Mega Evolution in Gen 8. Its primary set is a Trick Scarf set that also runs Stone Edge or Rock Slide, Gunk Shot, and U-turn along with Regenerator. Thanks to Regenerator and its decent natural special bulk, along with the speed afforded to it by Scarf, it can act as a soft check to certain Pokemon like Volcarona and Tornadus-T, and bait in defensive Steel types before Tricking them a Scarf. However, its STAB combination is rather poor, and beyond this small niche, it has very little use.
  • :Kerfluffle: Kerfluffle is a Fairy/Fighting-type offensive pivot whose primary gameplan is to force out the opponent with its powerful attacks, then click Parting Shot to provide easier switchins for its teammates. The most common set is a Choice Specs set with Moonblast, Focus Blast, Aura Sphere, and Parting Shot. Unfortunately, Kerfluffle is hindered by the presence of defensive Pokemon like Toxapex, Venomicon, and Galarian Slowking that easily sponge Kerfluffle's attacks, drastically reducing its effectiveness. If those Pokemon are not present, Kerfluffle has surprising power from its Specs-boosted attacks, giving it a much easier time clicking Parting Shot.
  • :Pajantom: Pajantom is a Dragon/Ghost-type trapper with access to Spirit Shackle. Its primary set is a Choice Band or Spell Tag wallbreaker set that runs Outrage, Spirit Shackle, Earthquake, and either Ice Punch or Toxic. It can also opt to run a bulkier spread with Spirit Shackle, Protect, and Toxic, which is more focused on trapping and removing certain defensive threats. Although Pajantom can be a strong offensive presence, it is forced to compete with Dragapult, which trades Pajantom's brutal power for blazing speed.
  • :Jumbao: Jumbao, a Grass/Fairy-type bulky special attacker, can serve a number of different roles in the metagame. Its most common set is a Choice Scarf set that runs Leaf Storm/Moonblast/Focus Blast/Healing Wish, which can easily force out Dragapult and use Healing Wish to support a teammate. In some cases, it may choose to use Life Orb and swap Healing Wish for Shore Up. It also has the option of running bulkier sets with Wish, although this set is much rarer, as Jumbao tends to become passive without offensive investment. Trace is generally the preferred ability, as it allows it to copy and heal from Regenerator Pokemon, as well as wall Heatran with its own Flash Fire. Unfortunately, though, the plethora of bulky Poison-types in Venomicon, Toxapex, and Galarian Slowking prevent Jumbao from seeing much competitive use at all.
  • :Caribolt: Caribolt, a Grass/Electric Galvanize abuser, is one of three Pokemon created during the celebratory process for CAP 25. Its preferred set is a Swords Dance set with Quick Attack, Body Slam/Double Edge, and Horn Leech. Although it has access to Boomburst, Caribolt's middling 77 SpA means it is far better off running physical sets. Unfortunately, a plethora of highly used mons such as Astrolotl, Dragapult, and Ferrothron resist Caribolt's dual STABs, making it difficult for it to find opportunities to put in serious work in a lot of games.
  • :Smokomodo: Smokomodo, a Fire/Ground-type physical attacker, is another CAP starter. Even though it has access to Technician, it does not have access to moves that make it worth running. Instead, it prefers running a stallbreaker set with Earthquake, Flare Blitz, Morning Sun, and Toxic, with Blaze to increase the power of Flare Blitz at low health. Although its status as a starter makes it a popular ladder pick, its frailty, compounded by its iffy speed tier and reliance on Flare Blitz, means it is very rarely seen outside of the ladder.
  • :Snaelstrom: Snaelstrom, a Water/Bug-type mon, is the last CAP starter on this list. On paper, Snaelstrom seems to have an incredible movepool, featuring Sticky Web, Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin, U-turn, Spiky Shield, and even offensive options in Swords Dance, Aqua Jet, and Leech Life, along with an interesting typing combination, but in practice, it is incapable of using any of these effectively. It suffers greatly from its weakness to Stealth Rock, and yet cannot run Heavy Duty Boots, as it needs to run Toxic Orb with Poison Heal in order to get reliable healing. As a defensive Pokemon, it is crippled by extremely common weaknesses in Flying and Electric, along with the aforementioned Stealth Rock weakness. Despite having the tools for an offensive set, Snaelstrom can’t use them effectively due to how easily its STAB combination is walled. Snaelstrom has performed best with a set of Swords Dance, Waterfall, Toxic, and Spiky Shield, which attempts to maximize both its best defensive and offensive traits.
  • :Equilibra: Equilibra, a Steel/Ground-type Doom Desire abuser, has been a metagame defining mon since its release in late SM. While Equilibra had a period of poor viability not too long ago, it is currently experiencing a strong resurgence with use in checking Saharaja, Venomicon, and gaining back access to Bulletproof and some Special Attack it lost at the beginning of the generation. Its high bulk backed up by a good defensive typing, dual immunity abilities in Levitate and Bulletproof, a sizable offensive presence, ability to set up Doom Desire combos, and access to Rapid Spin, Equilibra is able to fit the needs of many teams. Its preferred set runs Doom Desire, Earth Power, Rapid Spin, and one of a number of different moves, including Pain Split for some kind of recovery, Flash Cannon for immediate Steel-type damage, Protect to scout choiced attackers and stall Leftovers and Doom Desire turns, or Aura Sphere to hit opposing Steel types.
  • :Astrolotl: Astrolotl, a Fire/Dragon-type Regenerator pivot, is very good at finding ways to make progress. Usually running Heavy-Duty Boots, Astrolotl can switch in and set Spikes or remove hazards with Defog, break down would-be checks with Fire Lash, and cripple opposing sweepers with Encore and Will-o-Wisp, all before switching out and recovering off any chip damage; however, a Choice Scarf set is still a decent option to limit foes like Dragapult and Kartana from making too much progress. Astrolotl generally runs Fire Lash, Stomping Tantrum in order to deal with Heatran (which otherwise stops it in its tracks), Encore, and one more utility move such as Defog, while Choice Scarf sets run Flare Blitz, Draco Meteor, Stomping Tantrum, and Healing Wish. Utility sets tend to run max SpD, while having enough Speed to outrun a threat of its choice, Kartana being a common benchmark.
  • :Miasmaw: Miasmaw is a Bug/Dragon-type anti-pivot with access to Neutralizing Gas. Although its awkward STAB combination and speed tier makes it difficult to use reliably, it has devastating power through STAB First Impression and Dragon Hammer, along good coverage for whatever it wants to damage. Said damage won't go away either, thanks to Neutralizing Gas preventing Regenerator from activating when the opponent switches out. Common sets usually include a Choice Band set with First Impression/Dragon Hammer/Earthquake/Poison Jab, or more rarely a Heavy Duty Boots set that exchanges Poison Jab for Taunt or Thunder.
  • :chromera: Chromera is a Dark/Poison-type bulky set-up sweeper that has the ability Color Change. Because Color Change changes Chromera's typing with every hit, it is not able to fulfill typical roles associated with Dark or Poison types, such as Ghost-resist or poison absorber, making it rather difficult to build with. Instead, it leverages its great stats and access to moves like Boomburst, Scald and Recover to set up with Calm Mind, which can make up for losing STAB through the type change, and sweep that way.
  • :venomicon: Venomicon-Prologue, Venomicon, or simply “book,” is one half of our most recent framework project that celebrated our 30th CAP process ever. Venomicon easily threatens the majority of the tier due to its great coverage and access to strong boosting, sporting a set with Nasty Plot, Hurricane, Earth Power, and Roost. With fully invested special bulk backed up by Stamina, Venomicon is incredibly hard to take down; Choice Specs Tapu Lele and Choice Band Tyranitar are some of the only viable Pokemon that can reliable OHKO Venomicon from full health, while teams must rely on other select defensive checks like Zapdos and Galarian Slowking to handle it. Venomicon can sometimes struggle to get going against more offensive teams, but it’s nonetheless one of CAP’s premier win-conditions right now.
  • :venomicon-epilogue: Venomicon-Epilogue, commonly referred to as Venomicon-E or “e-book,” is the second half of CAP 30’s framework process. While Venomicon was meant to optimize Stamina, Venomicon-E was built to optimize Tinted Lens. With its custom unremovable item Vile Vial that acts like Giratina’s Griseous Orb, boosting its STAB attacks by 1.2x, Venomicon-E’s near-unresisted Brave Bird dishes out serious damage. A set of Coil, Brave Bird, Roost, and Gunk Shot or Knock Off positions Venomicon-E as one of the most threatening set-up sweepers in the tier. A set with Substitute over Gunk Shot can even be used to set up on foes like Toxapex and Ferrothorn. Just make sure to bring good hazard removal, or else Venomicon-E is massively limited by its unavoidable Stealth Rock weakness.
  • :saharaja: This beloved but mighty camel is our most recent CAP, and the last one made for generation 8. Built around utilizing Diamond Storm, Saharaja has all the tools it could ever need to be a powerful win-condition: the ability to boost three different stats on the same set, Water Absorb negating what would otherwise be a crucial weakness, strong EdgeQuake coverage, and more. Saharaja is no slouch defensively, either, with 70/105/130 bulk and even the ability to remove hazards; these features combined make it one of the metagame's premier Ground-types (and Pokemon in general), even putting it on the same level as longtime staples like Landorus-T. A typical set will run Swords Dance, Earthquake, Diamond Storm, and Rapid Spin, investing in bulk or offenses depending on the needs of its team.
Now that you've got an idea of what each CAP does, here are some important differences between CAP and OU.

:saharaja: :arghonaut: :astrolotl: :venomicon: :venomicon-epilogue:
Saharaja and Arghonaut are generally seen as the two best CAPs in the metagame at the moment, with Astrolotl and both Venomicon formes close behind. Saharaja's immense defensive utility between two immunities and great special bulk, as well as its frightening strength as a win-condition with three different boosting moves on the same set, make it the go-to Ground-type for many teams. Arghonaut is not only a great defensive answer to Saharaja, but is a great check to many of the tier's best wallbreakers like Weavile and to some extent Dragapult, also being arguably the tier's best Spikes setter. Astrolotl’s unparalleled utility and staying power makes it an excellent stopgap against common offensive Electric-types, slower set-up sweepers like Tapu Fini and Venomicon, and even hyper offense teams relying on Alolan Ninetales. Both Venomicon formes are quite difficult to check in their own right and pose a huge threat in-game and in the teambiulder.

:cawmodore:
Cawmodore can win or lose games depending entirely on matchup, thus causing it to be a large nuisance to teambuilding. It's a classic CAP meta experience to be swept by Cawmodore upon your first time seeing it. To avoid losing to Cawmodore on team preview, players can opt to run either a faster offensive threat that can tank a +6 Bullet Punch, or a defensive threat strong enough to tank an attack and OHKO it in return. It can be very difficult to take down Cawmodore on the physical side due to its high physical bulk, and Volt Absorb turns otherwise devastating Electric type attacks into free healing, so most counterplay revolves around special Fire type attacks. Dragapult can live a +6 Bullet Punch from full and OHKO with Fire Blast in return, but it can be difficult keeping it at 100% HP throughout a match, and you can still lose the mon to a crit. Tornadus-T can work similarly by surviving +6 Bullet Punch from full and OHKOing with Heat Wave, while Zapdos resists most attacks from Cawmodore and also can OHKO with Heat Wave. Defensive answers to Cawmodore include Arghonaut, which can survive any attack thanks to Unaware and Circle Throw Cawmodore out to remove its boosts, and Cyclohm, which leverages its high physical bulk, Electric typing, and access to Fire Blast to deal with Cawmodore.

:fidgit:
Fidgit's presence in the meta makes Trick Room, and to a lesser extent Tailwind, a bit more effective in CAP than OU. Persistent extending the effects of these moves for two full turns makes them slightly more viable strategies, but CAP doesn't add many effective abusers to OU's pool of mons, outside of Pyroak and sometimes Venomicon on Trick Room and Stratagem on Tailwind.

:heavy-duty-boots:
The CAP Metagame has a remarkably higher volume of mons with access to either hazard setting moves or removal, although not many of them are particularly viable in this role. Of significant note is that Rapid Spin is much more common as a removal option compared to OU, thanks to the presence of Colossoil, Equilibra and Tomohawk. Arghonaut and Astrolotl are very capable of setting Spikes, thusly making Spike-stacking strategies more viable. On the other hand, there aren't any new prominent Stealth Rock setters besides Tomohawk; Venomicon has access to this move but neither forme is a good setter, and Toxic Spikes and Sticky Web still remain somewhat niche overall.
Hopefully this has provided enough essential information for you to get a start in the SS CAP Metagame. For further information, please feel free to chat in the CAP Project room on Pokemon Showdown or the CAP Discord server!
 
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