Approved by Hikari and Sam
Hello, and welcome to UU's player of the week where I interview
some of Smogon's most accomplished and well knowns players in the tier to give
some insight on who they are and their views on some aspects of the metagame.
If there's someone you want to see interviewed next week, shoot me a PM!
I'm 22 year old Venezuelan (here is Venezuela, for the ignorant people). I'm really into fitness and I like running; I have done bunch of official 10k races, lately I've been trying to find a decent official half marathon, and currently training to be able to do full marathons. I used to play football (soccer) seriously when I was younger, but I fucked up my ankle and got kicked out from my school's team, so I stopped caring; RIP unrealistic dream. My main hobbies are playing Pokemon, watch sports (specially football and MMA), and working out. I'm sorta introverted, not in the "I'm socially awkward as fuck and I can't handle human interaction" aspect (which is not really introversion, that's being socially retarded), I just like being alone for long periods of time. I'm really thick skinned (not being 14yo probably helps here) and I'm usually "nice" towards most people, but I can be quite an abrasive cunt in certain situations.
Most Known For:
Being a former PO Admin and BW UU TL. Runner-up in POT 1, won POCL 1, and that same year I won SPL 3 with the Ruiners. In SPL 3 I managed to piss off the entire Scooters team because I complained about a crit (I won the match in the end), and got Aldaron to call me a classless cunt. People here seem to know me "that person who plays decently in SPL and then disappears for a year", but I'm not planning to go anywhere this time. Also known for being able to play any playstyle, being pretty much impossible to counterteam / counterstyle, and using unorthodox Pokemon.
Recently known as "Person who got promoted to UUTL after contributing for like 2 months". I know this pissed off some people, but lol.
Favorite Pokemon:
Mega Ampharos. Banner hype
Most used Pokemon:
Right now probably Suicune, because it fits in every playstyle.
How and when did you get into competitive battling?
My brother needed help getting Eevee in Pokemon Diamond, so I googled it for him. Doing this I somehow ended up reading about competitive Pokemon, and found Smogon and Shoddy Battle. This was in 2007 or 2008, I don't remember. I was pretty bad at the beginning and I only played casually for a couple years, until I decided to stop sucking and actually learned how to play this game.
What is your favorite Pokemon game?
Pokemon Snap
Thoughts on the No Scald Ladder? Do you think this move should be suspected?
It's a fun test ladder, wish I could play it more but busy with rl + SPL :[. Mindlessly spamming Scald to threaten switch in isn't an option, which means Pokemon like Mega Ampharos and Mega Abomasnow are much better. Less games turning into "whoever burns Tenta / Empoleon first gain the upper hand". Suicune can't "counter" Dragons with just Scald, which some people seem to believe is a bad thing, because they don't want to use a real counter that doesn't rely on a 30% to not lose.
In my opinion, it should be suspected. But suspecting Scald is an extremely controversial subject, so I would only push for that if a huge portion of the playerbase and UU council support the idea.
How is it being one of the new UU Tier Leaders? (congrats btw)
Not gonna lie, it's nothing especial for me. Not my first time with internet "powers", so I really don't care about that part.
Don't get me wrong, I like contributing, being helpful, and dedicating to projects I care about, and being an UUTL allows me to do that. But being a mod and having people "working" for me mean absolutely nothing and don't excite me at all, I only care about making the UU tier and forums better, and encouraging new users to contribute.
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon community?
kokoloko, I explained why here:http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/my-loyal-subjects-the-time-has-come.3530195/#post-6056539
Sam for being a cool co-leader. Didn't really speak with him before getting promoted, but we get along and we have similar views about some tiering related stuff
Rich HOMiE CA$ED for being bad
blarajan for being Indian
Oglemi for changing my name last year. Fuck my old name.
Many other people, but they are too many to mention.
I'm sure many people are wondering this; are you a guy or girl?
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/share-your-deepest-secrets-here.3531530/#post-6083764
and
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/share-your-deepest-secrets-here.3531530/page-2#post-6085673
You decide.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
I don't focus on any specific playstyle, but I already posted my stall so let's show something different:
Fairly offensive team I was considering using vs Jabba. It was between this and the Pidgeot team I ended up using, which is also a fun team because Pidgeot is god. Note that I was not expecting Jabba to use a defensive team, so this team is a bit weak to stall, but Toxic Spikes + Sharpedo + Kingdra can pressure all defensive cores.
The team is based around sweeping with RD Kingdra or Cresselia. Nidoqueen gives the team some important resistances, threatens lots of Pokemon, and can setup Toxic Spikes to wear down Kingdra checks and counters. Sharpedo is able to weaken or straight up beat every bulky water, especially with Toxic Spikes support, and with Destiny Bond it can take Florges and Aromatisse down; all these Pokemon can give Kingdra problems, and Cresselia appreciates not having to deal with bulky waters. Shaymin gives Kingdra a second life, which is huge because most offensive teams struggle to handle Kingdra once, and twice is borderline impossible. Cresselia is an easy win condition against offensive teams, which is what I was expecting Jabba to use, and with Toxic Spikes support + Healing Wish Shaymin makes it really hard for most teams to beat it late-game.
This team is "weak" to many things, which is normal for an offensive team (people who try to cover everything with an offensive team end up with shitty balance), you just need to find out what is your best win condition during team preview, and play accordingly.
---
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions for Hikari leave them down below. See you next week.
Hello, and welcome to UU's player of the week where I interview
some of Smogon's most accomplished and well knowns players in the tier to give
some insight on who they are and their views on some aspects of the metagame.
If there's someone you want to see interviewed next week, shoot me a PM!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?I'm 22 year old Venezuelan (here is Venezuela, for the ignorant people). I'm really into fitness and I like running; I have done bunch of official 10k races, lately I've been trying to find a decent official half marathon, and currently training to be able to do full marathons. I used to play football (soccer) seriously when I was younger, but I fucked up my ankle and got kicked out from my school's team, so I stopped caring; RIP unrealistic dream. My main hobbies are playing Pokemon, watch sports (specially football and MMA), and working out. I'm sorta introverted, not in the "I'm socially awkward as fuck and I can't handle human interaction" aspect (which is not really introversion, that's being socially retarded), I just like being alone for long periods of time. I'm really thick skinned (not being 14yo probably helps here) and I'm usually "nice" towards most people, but I can be quite an abrasive cunt in certain situations.
Most Known For:
Being a former PO Admin and BW UU TL. Runner-up in POT 1, won POCL 1, and that same year I won SPL 3 with the Ruiners. In SPL 3 I managed to piss off the entire Scooters team because I complained about a crit (I won the match in the end), and got Aldaron to call me a classless cunt. People here seem to know me "that person who plays decently in SPL and then disappears for a year", but I'm not planning to go anywhere this time. Also known for being able to play any playstyle, being pretty much impossible to counterteam / counterstyle, and using unorthodox Pokemon.
Recently known as "Person who got promoted to UUTL after contributing for like 2 months". I know this pissed off some people, but lol.
Favorite Pokemon:
Mega Ampharos. Banner hype
Most used Pokemon:
Right now probably Suicune, because it fits in every playstyle.
How and when did you get into competitive battling?
My brother needed help getting Eevee in Pokemon Diamond, so I googled it for him. Doing this I somehow ended up reading about competitive Pokemon, and found Smogon and Shoddy Battle. This was in 2007 or 2008, I don't remember. I was pretty bad at the beginning and I only played casually for a couple years, until I decided to stop sucking and actually learned how to play this game.
What is your favorite Pokemon game?
Pokemon Snap
Thoughts on the No Scald Ladder? Do you think this move should be suspected?
It's a fun test ladder, wish I could play it more but busy with rl + SPL :[. Mindlessly spamming Scald to threaten switch in isn't an option, which means Pokemon like Mega Ampharos and Mega Abomasnow are much better. Less games turning into "whoever burns Tenta / Empoleon first gain the upper hand". Suicune can't "counter" Dragons with just Scald, which some people seem to believe is a bad thing, because they don't want to use a real counter that doesn't rely on a 30% to not lose.
In my opinion, it should be suspected. But suspecting Scald is an extremely controversial subject, so I would only push for that if a huge portion of the playerbase and UU council support the idea.
How is it being one of the new UU Tier Leaders? (congrats btw)
Not gonna lie, it's nothing especial for me. Not my first time with internet "powers", so I really don't care about that part.
Don't get me wrong, I like contributing, being helpful, and dedicating to projects I care about, and being an UUTL allows me to do that. But being a mod and having people "working" for me mean absolutely nothing and don't excite me at all, I only care about making the UU tier and forums better, and encouraging new users to contribute.
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon community?
kokoloko, I explained why here:http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/my-loyal-subjects-the-time-has-come.3530195/#post-6056539
Sam for being a cool co-leader. Didn't really speak with him before getting promoted, but we get along and we have similar views about some tiering related stuff
Rich HOMiE CA$ED for being bad
blarajan for being Indian
Oglemi for changing my name last year. Fuck my old name.
Many other people, but they are too many to mention.
I'm sure many people are wondering this; are you a guy or girl?
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/share-your-deepest-secrets-here.3531530/#post-6083764
and
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/share-your-deepest-secrets-here.3531530/page-2#post-6085673
You decide.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
I don't focus on any specific playstyle, but I already posted my stall so let's show something different:
Sharpedo @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Destiny Bond
- Protect
Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse
Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
Shaymin @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Dazzling Gleam
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
Cobalion @ Chople Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Taunt
Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Moonlight
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Destiny Bond
- Protect
Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse
Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
Shaymin @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Dazzling Gleam
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
Cobalion @ Chople Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Taunt
Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Moonlight
Fairly offensive team I was considering using vs Jabba. It was between this and the Pidgeot team I ended up using, which is also a fun team because Pidgeot is god. Note that I was not expecting Jabba to use a defensive team, so this team is a bit weak to stall, but Toxic Spikes + Sharpedo + Kingdra can pressure all defensive cores.
The team is based around sweeping with RD Kingdra or Cresselia. Nidoqueen gives the team some important resistances, threatens lots of Pokemon, and can setup Toxic Spikes to wear down Kingdra checks and counters. Sharpedo is able to weaken or straight up beat every bulky water, especially with Toxic Spikes support, and with Destiny Bond it can take Florges and Aromatisse down; all these Pokemon can give Kingdra problems, and Cresselia appreciates not having to deal with bulky waters. Shaymin gives Kingdra a second life, which is huge because most offensive teams struggle to handle Kingdra once, and twice is borderline impossible. Cresselia is an easy win condition against offensive teams, which is what I was expecting Jabba to use, and with Toxic Spikes support + Healing Wish Shaymin makes it really hard for most teams to beat it late-game.
This team is "weak" to many things, which is normal for an offensive team (people who try to cover everything with an offensive team end up with shitty balance), you just need to find out what is your best win condition during team preview, and play accordingly.
---
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions for Hikari leave them down below. See you next week.
Last edited by a moderator: