Project SV CAP - Victim of the Week - Week 14: Caribolt

[spoo]

Venomicon @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Hurricane
- Body Press
- Roost

tomo just does this but better but submitting venom as a counter

evs live facade -> +1 defense tera normal facade, can threaten back with a huge boosted body press, you have tera steel if things get hairy, you're also a rocker that colo can't spin on

252 Atk Guts Colossoil Facade (140 BP) vs. 248 HP / 148+ Def Venomicon: 158-186 (42.3 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Guts Tera Normal Colossoil Facade (140 BP) vs. +1 248 HP / 148+ Def Venomicon: 157-186 (42 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

 

[Zmaslan256]

Meowscarada @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flower Trick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Play Rough / Spikes

Getting back into CAP, I'd like to submit Meowscarada as an offensive Check to Colossoil

Colossoil often depends on getting a rapid spin speed boost to threaten faster offensive teams. Unless Colossoil gets two rapid spin boosts, Meowscarada can safely come in and threaten a OHKO in return. After one turn of burn damage, flower trick will OHKO without needing to run Adamant. This role is unfortunately left obsolete if Colossoil can become faster that Meow, which a smart Colo user will try to do against any Meowscarada user, which is why I'd consider Meow a check. Still, scarf Meow has proven to be a fantastic and versatile pivot for offensive teams, and that certainly remains the case in the face of Colossoil.

Calcs:

252 Atk Meowscarada Flower Trick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Colossoil on a critical hit: 398-470 (97.7 - 115.4%) -- Guaranteed OHKO after 1 turn of burn damage

252 Atk Guts Colossoil Facade (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Meowscarada: 291-343 (99.3 - 117%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Voting time. We will only be voting on Counters this time, Meowscarada automatically wins for checks.

Options:

(Concept Everything)
(spoo)

Voting ends Sunday, March 27th 11:59 PM GMT-4.

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Tomohawk

 

[MurderousMantyke]

Iconic venom

 

[TerrickTerran]

Tomohawk

 

[Brown4Sides]

Tomohawk

 

[Zmaslan256]

I am winnar

Anyways I vote Tomohawk

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Closing voting a bit early since there's only an hour left and there's a pretty clear winner here.

Tomohawk wins! Stay tuned tomorrow for Week 9!

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Before I get into the Victim for this week, I am announcing that from now on, submissions will always end on Fridays and voting will always end on Sundays. I figured that the extra two days wasn't really nessecery for submissions and I wanted to try to make a more consistent schedule.

Anyways, let's get into our next victim

Week 9: Dragapult

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Ghost / Dragon
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast / Hydro Pump
- U-turn
​

Choice Specs Dragapult is a Pokemon who needs no introduction for anybody who has played since it's debut last gen. Shadow Ball from Dragapult is perhaps one of the most spammable moves of all time, hitting the vast majority of the metagame for at least neutral on it's own, and the 20% Special Defense drop chance only adds onto that. On top of that, Dragapult has access to exceptional coverage and access to an incredibly strong secondary STAB move in Draco Meteor. With all these factors combined, it's no wonder why this Pokemon is the top offensive pivot in both SS and SV CAP. What are the best answers to this Pokemon? Well let's find out.

Submissons end Friday, March 31st 11:59 PM GMT-4

Reminder that we are doing Special Dragapult. If you want to mention Physical Dragapult as part of your argument, that's fine, but please do not make the the basis behind your argument.

P.S: Wulf this is the mon I was talking about doing last week as sort of a joke revenge plot. I went against it though since I didn't want to do two Specs Dragon-types back to back. Decided to go with it anyways since I thought it would be a good choice for this project, even though the joke is now past its expiration date.

​

 

[Brown4Sides]

Iron Valiant @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Close Combat
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock

Pretty self-explanitory check. Same deal as with Walking Wake. You outspeed with Booster Energy and kill it.

252 SpA Iron Valiant Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 372-438 (117.3 - 138.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

You can never go wrong with Iron Valiant, I've found.

 

[Zmaslan256]

I'm nominating Equilibra as a Counter to Specs Dragapult

Equilibra @ Leftovers / Assault Vest
Ability: Bulletproof
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 36 SpA / 64 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Rapid Spin
- Pain Split / Protect / Aura Sphere

Equilibra is easily one of the best pokemon in the metagame right now for its defensive utility while not slouching in the damage department. When the SV CAP metagame was first forming, Bulletproof Equilibra was used to stop Gholdengo from wreaking havoc, with the added benefit of dealing with Specs Dragapult quite well. Not only can Shadow Ball simply not touch Equilibra, but Draco Meteor does very little, and the damage can be easily offset by leftovers.

The problems here can arise from sets running Fire Blast / Hydro Pump, both of which can 2HKO the leftovers set. With assault vest, however, Dragapult becomes very easy to wall, especially with clerical support from things like Wish / Healing Wish Jumbao. If your team isn't dependent on Tera, then running leftovers is better, since Dragapult can never 2HKO with Fire Blast or Hydro Pump if you Tera Water, with Draco Meteor also not doing enough to pose much of a threat to Equilibra. If the Dragapult is instead running the more common Flamethrower, with leftovers, there's a < 1% chance that Dragapult 3HKOs Equilibra.

In return, with 36 SpA investment, Equilibra always 2HKOs Dragapult with Earth Power, handling one of the best offensive pivots in the game with one of the most splashable defensive mons in the metagame.

Calcs:

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 64+ SpD Equilibra: 184-218 (45 - 53.4%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 64+ SpD Tera Water Equilibra: 56-66 (13.7 - 16.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 64+ SpD Equilibra: 99-117 (24.2 - 28.6%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

36 SpA Equilibra Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 160-190 (50.4 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[mark6870]

I'm nominating Ting-Lu as a Counter to Specs Dragapult

Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock

Ting-Lu absolutely sponges all of Dragapult's attacks, as shown below:

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 166-196 (32.2 - 38.1%) -- 1.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 51-60 (9.9 - 11.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 94-111 (18.2 - 21.5%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 188-222 (36.5 - 43.1%) -- 98% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

However, since it has no recovery and often checks multiple pokemon repeatedly throughout the course of a game, it is prone to being worn down. Other than that, though, Ting-Lu sits on Dragapult.

Furthermore, while you likely would want to spend the turn getting up another layer of hazards, it should be noted that Ting-Lu does significant damage to Dragapult. It is a roll to 2hko without rocks up and a guaranteed 2hko with rocks up.
0 Atk Ting-Lu Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 148-175 (46.6 - 55.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

 

[JayHeaven]

nominating Toxapex as a Counter.


Toxapex @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Steel/Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic
- Haze

Toxapex does not get 2hkoed by dragapult by either of its stabs. It can toxic it and recover stall it to death or switch to a teammate that can take the hit after scouting what move it has locked itself into. Dragapult needs tera ghost or get lucky with spdef drops or rolls to 2hko pex after rocks and even then it is heavily in your favor.

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 93-109 (30.5 - 35.8%) -- 40.2% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 226-267 (74.3 - 87.8%) -- 6.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ghost Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 124-146 (40.7 - 48%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

 

[MurderousMantyke]

Resident salty boi is here to do its thing.

Nomming SpDef Garganacl as a counter.



Garganacl @ Covert Cloak / Leftovers
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Salt Cure
- Recover
- Protect / Iron Defense

Thanks to Purifying Salt and very solid natural bulk, Garganacl can switch into and force out Dragapult consistently. The only way Dragapult can pressure Garg is through either Draco Meteor, which does pitiful damage after the initial hit and allows Garg to attack, recover, or set Rocks freely on the following turn, and the relatively rare and inaccurate Hydro Pump. Both of these moves are completely blanked with Tera Fairy, which grants an immunity to Pult's strongest stab and neutrality to Water, meaning Pult is absolutely never breaking Garg.

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Garganacl: 204-241 (50.4 - 59.6%) -- 84% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Garganacl: 232-274 (57.4 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Purifying Salt Garganacl: 64-76 (15.8 - 18.8%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Fairy Garganacl: 116-137 (28.7 - 33.9%) -- 98.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

If Da Pizza Man considers the weakness to Hydro Pump and reliance on Tera for this to truly function as a counter to be too unreliable and demotes Garg to a check, I completely understand.

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Closing submissions.

I'm demoting Equilibra to a check due to it's weaknesses to both Fire Blast and Hydro Pump making it really hard to argue that it's a true counter.

Checks:

(Brown4Sides)
(Zmaslan256)

Counters:

by (mark6870)
by (JayHeaven)
by (MuderousMantyke)

Vote for one Check and one Counter. Voting ends Sunday, April 2nd 11:59 PM GMT-4.

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Check: Equilibra
Counter: Toxapex

 

[Brown4Sides]

Iron Valiant
Ting-Lu

 

[spoo]

equilibra garg

 

[TerrickTerran]

Iron Valiant
Garganacl

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Garganacl wins for counters, and for checks we have our first ever tie between Equilibra and Iron Valiant. Week 10 will go up later today.

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Week 10: Equilibra

Equilibra @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof / Levitate
Tera Type: Flying / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 36 SpA / 64 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Rapid Spin
- Protect / Pain Split / Aura Sphere
​

Even with the loss of Doom Desire, Equilibra remains one of the top Pokemon in the metagame. Bulletproof Equilibra has had a very noticable impact on the metagame, as it has drastically decreased the prominence of Gholdengo in CAP when compared to OU, and other mons such as Dragapult have also take a noticable blow to their viability as well. While not nessecerily a powerhouse in itself, Equilibra is still fairly strong for a defensive profile, and this combined with its typing and other solid stats make it one of the best hazard removers and defensive pivots in the entire metagame. What Pokemon are best suited for tipping the scales of justice. Let's find out.

Submissons end Friday, April 7th 11:59 PM GMT-5

 

[Brown4Sides]

Snaelstrom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Razor Shell
- Toxic
- Swords Dance
- Recover

Very straightfoward counter. There isn't anything Equilibra can do against Snaelstrom, especially with auto healing. It resists every attack Equilibra has and hits it back super-effectively.

36 SpA Equilibra Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Snaelstrom: 47-56 (12.1 - 14.5%) -- possibly the worst move ever
0 Atk Snaelstrom Razor Shell vs. 252 HP / 140 Def Equilibra: 138-164 (33.8 - 40.1%) -- 36.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Zmaslan256]

Venomicon @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Dragon / Steel / Water
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Hurricane
- Stealth Rock / Nasty Plot
- Roost

The Book is a very good Check to Equilibra. Flash Cannon from Equilibra can never 2HKO without a crit or SpDef drop, while Body Press threatens big chip damage. With Roost, Venomicon can heal back more than Equilibra can dish out, while Libra's attacks only make the eventual Body Press hurt even more. Venomicon can also set up rocks in Libras face to bait a Rapid Spin, further boosting the inevitable Body Press.

In the majority of interactions, Venom chunks Equilibra, eventually scaring it out while remaining healthy itself. Given how splashable Venom is on pretty much every team archetype as a versatile tank with an offensive presence, the matchup into Equilibra can be very straightforward.

Calcs:

36 SpA Equilibra Flash Cannon vs. 248 HP / 196 SpD Venomicon: 102-120 (27.2 - 32%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

+1 60+ Def Venomicon Body Press vs. 252 HP / 140 Def Equilibra: 200-236 (49 - 57.8%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO

 

[JayHeaven]

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Water/Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

Corviknight is a counter. Corviknight walls equilibra easily and can body press to weaken it or u-turn out for momentum. Relaxed nature is used to get a slower roost so libra can't ep on roost.

36 SpA Equilibra Aura Sphere vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 86-102 (21.5 - 25.5%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

36 SpA Equilibra Flash Cannon vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 64-76 (16 - 19%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Def Corviknight Body Press vs. 252 HP / 140 Def Equilibra: 148-176 (36.2 - 43.1%) -- 97.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery