LucarioOfLegends
Master Procraster
Alrighty! Its time for the almighty slate!
This thread was generally incredibly split between two different ability focuses: Abilities that give us a straight up power boost to our STABs and/or coverage, and abilities that can remove status to last longer against our Target and Dismantle list so that we can break them. It was a long fought battle, but both sides ended up have strong arguments and notable weaknesses. With that said, here is our slate:
Tough Claws
Comatose
Shield Dust
Strong Jaw
Tough Claws: Offering a general power boost, Tough Claws' extra power to our Dragon STAB is a direct and surefire way to assist in breaking down our targets without limiting ourselves to Z-moves to beat them. Tough Claws also increases the power of a large number of possible coverage options such as Brave Bird, Zen Headbutt, Psychic Fangs, and Ice Punch, giving us the chance to diversify sets. Finally, Spirit Shackle is not boosted from the ability, allowing us to keep the possibility of Anchor Shot alive while also not making Spirit Shackle a requirement for all sets with Tough Claws Shadow Claw.
Comatose: A direct stop to all forms of status, secondary or otherwise, is an incredibly powerful tool for CAP23's survival against our Target and Dismantle list, who can easily inflict burns and poisons to hamper CAP's breaking capabilities and longevity. It also allows CAP23 to not waste a moveslot on moves like Substitute to protect against status, giving CAP more move freedom. Preliminary concerns came up about its ability to break through our targets, but nyttyn's post shows that they can still be beaten with a good attack stat and clever usage of Z-moves.
Shield Dust: Most of our targets primarily use secondary effects to inflict their status conditions, making Shield Dust a very reasonably balanced and content contender. It also has the benefit of stopping the possibility of flinch hax from Tomohawk's Air Slash, while also keeping the possibility of ability unpredictability. It may not block direct status moves like Toxic and Will-O-Wisp, but it is certainly sufficient to use against our current Target and Dismantle list.
Strong Jaw: Focusing more on a few strong coverage moves to beat the targets than a large variety, Strong Jaw is a very viable ability without having to worry that our STABs would be blown to ridiculous power levels. Calculations show that it can easily beat our threats with proper stat placement, and coverage choices like Psychic Fangs and Ice Fang cannot interfere with our checks and counters. A modest ability certainly, but one that can get the job done no less.
Awaiting slate confirmation from our glorious TL snake_rattler.
This thread was generally incredibly split between two different ability focuses: Abilities that give us a straight up power boost to our STABs and/or coverage, and abilities that can remove status to last longer against our Target and Dismantle list so that we can break them. It was a long fought battle, but both sides ended up have strong arguments and notable weaknesses. With that said, here is our slate:
Tough Claws
Comatose
Shield Dust
Strong Jaw
Tough Claws: Offering a general power boost, Tough Claws' extra power to our Dragon STAB is a direct and surefire way to assist in breaking down our targets without limiting ourselves to Z-moves to beat them. Tough Claws also increases the power of a large number of possible coverage options such as Brave Bird, Zen Headbutt, Psychic Fangs, and Ice Punch, giving us the chance to diversify sets. Finally, Spirit Shackle is not boosted from the ability, allowing us to keep the possibility of Anchor Shot alive while also not making Spirit Shackle a requirement for all sets with Tough Claws Shadow Claw.
Comatose: A direct stop to all forms of status, secondary or otherwise, is an incredibly powerful tool for CAP23's survival against our Target and Dismantle list, who can easily inflict burns and poisons to hamper CAP's breaking capabilities and longevity. It also allows CAP23 to not waste a moveslot on moves like Substitute to protect against status, giving CAP more move freedom. Preliminary concerns came up about its ability to break through our targets, but nyttyn's post shows that they can still be beaten with a good attack stat and clever usage of Z-moves.
Shield Dust: Most of our targets primarily use secondary effects to inflict their status conditions, making Shield Dust a very reasonably balanced and content contender. It also has the benefit of stopping the possibility of flinch hax from Tomohawk's Air Slash, while also keeping the possibility of ability unpredictability. It may not block direct status moves like Toxic and Will-O-Wisp, but it is certainly sufficient to use against our current Target and Dismantle list.
Strong Jaw: Focusing more on a few strong coverage moves to beat the targets than a large variety, Strong Jaw is a very viable ability without having to worry that our STABs would be blown to ridiculous power levels. Calculations show that it can easily beat our threats with proper stat placement, and coverage choices like Psychic Fangs and Ice Fang cannot interfere with our checks and counters. A modest ability certainly, but one that can get the job done no less.
Awaiting slate confirmation from our glorious TL snake_rattler.