New poster, mostly, to debate threads here. 'Read up on both ability threads and figured I could put out a few worthwhile thoughts on what's being talked about right now, if lucky.
No Competitive Ability: I think, as a few people have voiced, this CAP might be better off without a secondary utility boost when compared to the suggestions this thread has offered so far. There are a few options besides this that I'm willing to throw support behind, but as
Ignus and
Alfalfa both elaborated on, in this case an extra utility ability might be more than what's actually needed for this CAP to do it's job well. That having been said...
1. What abilities offer utility different from Natural Cure that will also complement Parting Shot?
Frisk. Frisk absolutely does, and it makes perfect sense to me that it wasn't chosen over Natural Cure the first time around, because it's a substantially inferior ability, and there's only a few situations where I myself would run it, but when the question of choosing "No Competitive Ability" is brought up, my mind jumps to Frisk. I understand that there are pokemon like Kitsunoh that may be able to utilize it better, but this doesn't in any way seem like an anti-concept ability to me, and although this is probably the biggest point of my ignorance and inexperience in the metagame speaking for me,
I do not understand why Frisk shouldn't be chosen over no competitive ability.
Aroma Veil: Up the same alley as Frisk, this idea has my support, but not an overwhelming amount of it. I'd still say it's worth voting for over No Competitive Ability as it isn't anti-concept, shouldn't be used more often than Natural Cure, and incentivizes the use of Parting Shot over an offensive ability, however like Frisk, I'd still assert that it isn't an ability that makes or breaks this mon's job.
2. What other abilities would help us target our threatlist?
Sticky Hold: I like this one, but after reflecting on why I like this suggestion for a little while, it probably shouldn't get picked over an ability that compliments Parting Shot, I don't think. CAP 22, as it stands, should not be getting obliterated by Dark types, and because Knock Off is what it is, and because our stats are what they are, and because 22 could really benefit from a Life Orb, I really liked this idea. The unfortunate truth is, however, that what we're working with right now doesn't have a crippling Knock Off weakness or a crippling dependence on a stat boosting Item to do sufficient damage to most of the things it needs to check. I don't think this idea is anti-concept as I've seen a few people suggest, but it could overshadow Natural Cure in my opinion, and it... I think this CAP would be doing it's job of pivoting in Parting Shot-able situations, more often without the option of this ability.
Justified: Small suggestion that I thought of for people like myself who have qualms with Sticky Hold: would Justified remedy your qualms with this kind of an ability? The only major arguments I've seen made for Sticky Hold are taking into account that 22 is holding a Life Orb, and the opponent uses Knock Off, that's supposed to be the main purpose of where Sticky Hold as an ability helps this CAP. Well, what about Justified instead? I feel like as a niche ability, it might be a more supportable alternative for Sticky Hold cynics. Then again I understand that any form of stat boost goes against an incentive to use parting shot, so I'm not sure just how smart of a suggestion that is, but hey, just a thought.
Gooey/Intimidate: Sorry for not addressing these abilities individually but to make this post a little less cluttered, I think both of these are bad ideas for slightly different reasons. Gooey is the better of them to me, and it still feels too useful. There was a very polarizing debate about what this CAP's speed should beat out in the stats department, I get the impression that Gooey would not only overshadow Natural Cure, but also that 22 doesn't require a situational speed buff in it's toolkit. As for the latter, I don't know the facts, the calcs and stuff on this one, but Intimidate seems
way too good for this guy. People besides me have been going against Gooey for messing with our checklist, how would an instant Defense buff every switch in not do that tenfold? I barely see anyone running Natural Cure or even using Parting Shot if 22 gets Intimidate.