boxofkangaroos
this is the day of the expanding man
Welcome to the update discussion for CAP 20, Naviathan! As your Update Leader, I will kick off this discussion and guide it with a variety of questions. As we know, Naviathan was one of the more recent CAP creations, and the first CAP of the ORAS metagame. With a firm concept and a solid build, the process ran smoothly, but the final result leaves quite a bit to be desired competitively.
Naviathan's concept was "Use the Boost to Get Through": a sweeper that can function in two completely different ways using two different boosting moves (more below). In the concept assessment stage, it was decided that this CAP would be able to utilize either Dragon Dance or Calm Mind, a combination that has never properly existed before. The Dragon Dance set would take advantage of coverage options to hit a variety of threats after a single boost, while the Calm Mind set would mainly be reliant on just one attacking move. This duality of roles did create a sort of limitation when it came to the base stats stage, as the stats had to be strong enough to support both sets without becoming too polarized in a certain field.
Name: Use the Boost to Get Through!
General Description: A sweeper with several boosting options that result in completely different checks and counters. While each set should be viable in its own right, the unpredictability of this Pokemon should make it much better than any one set alone.
Justification: In the early days of Pokemon X and Y, we experienced the first Pokemon that could (viably) boost and sweep from either the physical or special side: Mega Lucario. While it was clear his unpredictability could have a devastating effect (having your Chansey eat a Close Combat, Will-O-Wisping on the Nasty Plot, etc.) the true extent to which this could make a Pokemon better was masked by the fact that Lucario's sets were both already amazing. The purpose of this concept would therefore be to explore the impact of unpredictability in sweepers by creating a Pokemon that can run several boosting sets, none of which are dominant in their own right, but that when combined can result in an extremely dangerous threat.
Questions To Be Answered:
General Description: A sweeper with several boosting options that result in completely different checks and counters. While each set should be viable in its own right, the unpredictability of this Pokemon should make it much better than any one set alone.
Justification: In the early days of Pokemon X and Y, we experienced the first Pokemon that could (viably) boost and sweep from either the physical or special side: Mega Lucario. While it was clear his unpredictability could have a devastating effect (having your Chansey eat a Close Combat, Will-O-Wisping on the Nasty Plot, etc.) the true extent to which this could make a Pokemon better was masked by the fact that Lucario's sets were both already amazing. The purpose of this concept would therefore be to explore the impact of unpredictability in sweepers by creating a Pokemon that can run several boosting sets, none of which are dominant in their own right, but that when combined can result in an extremely dangerous threat.
Questions To Be Answered:
- Is there a limit to how much unpredictability can make a Pokemon better? Can it make a decent Pokemon great? Or can it only make them usable?
- How does being unpredictable with boosting options compare to other forms of unpredictability (such as uncommon coverage moves or trying to speed creep certain threats)? Is unpredictability in sweepers inherently more dangerous because of how easily they can win a game?
- For a Pokemon that is already unpredictable, will we see the use of strange coverage moves (as many sweepers tend to run) or will it tend to stick to standard sets because it already has the element of surprise?
- Which boosting moves are distinct enough to completely change a Pokemon's checks/counters? Are Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Agility the only ones that can fit this concept? Or is there a way to incorporate moves such as Dragon Dance without giving the Pokemon "the best of both worlds".
- How effective will double boosting sets be on this Pokemon? Will the ability to "pick your counters" on a Pokemon already designed to bypass its counters be too good? Or can it be designed so that the loss of coverage will still leave it with several checks and counters on any set?
- To what extent will teams have to prepare for this Pokemon? Will they have to pack several checks/counters like for M-Lucario? Or will they be able to just use a standard team so long as they can identify the set early?
With its intimidating movepool, good offensive stats, and decent defensive typing, Naviathan looks like it can sail straight through opposing teams with its boosting options. But as it stands, Naviathan is not the most relevant of sweepers in the metagame. Its main strong suit is its Calm Mind + Taunt set, which allows it to be a workable stallbreaker. With this set, it can potentially run through defensive teams in the late game, as long as its checks and counters have been removed. However, against most balance or offense teams, Calm Mind Naviathan is practically dead meat. It requires a ton of team support and loses to common threats like Tapu Koko, Mollux, and offensive Ground-types like Garchomp or Landorus. Then what about its Dragon Dance set, you may ask? Unfortunately, it's significantly worse. Its coverage is extremely subpar for a physical sweeper, and it is walled by several common Pokemon, such as Ferrothorn, Mollux, Pyroak, Krilowatt, and Rotom-W. In addition, its raw power is simply not enough, even after a Dragon Dance boost, partially due to the relatively low base power of its STAB moves. All of this leaves DD Naviathan outclassed by stronger Pokemon with better coverage options, such as Gyarados or Salamence.
With all that being said, let's weigh out the pros and cons of Naviathan in the gen 7 metagame.
PROS
- Solid defensive typing with resistances to common attacking types like Fairy, Ice, Water, and Bug.
- Good physical bulk that allows it to easily stomach neutral hits with some investment.
- Decent abilities in Water Veil and Heatproof that either allow it to avoid the crippling Attack halving and chip damage of burns, or grant it a useful resistance to Fire.
- Good mixed attacking stats and Speed.
- Access to both Dragon Dance and Calm Mind hypothetically makes it unpredictable at team preview.
- Access to utility moves like Scald, Taunt, and Haze.
- Reliable recovery to provide longevity to the Calm Mind set.
- Calm Mind + Taunt set allows it to function as a viable stallbreaker.
- Bad Sp. Defense stat that makes it very frail on the special side without Calm Mind boosts.
- Calm Mind sets lose to offensive teams.
- Outsped at +1 by most Choice Scarf users.
- Lackluster coverage that leaves it walled by many very common Pokemon.
- Mediocre raw power, in part due to the low base power of its STAB moves, which forces it to rely on Life Orb.
- Dragon Dance set is outclassed by stronger Pokemon with better coverage, like Gyarados or Salamence.
Not Showermon
Discussion will begin with the following questions. Note that you should not be suggesting specific new moves or abilities yet:
1. What is your opinion on Naviathan's current place in the metagame?
2. What are the biggest limiting factors for each of Naviathan's sets?
3. How do Naviathan's abilities impact the success, or lack thereof, of its sets?
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