yogi
I did not succumb...
EviGaro
Favourite Pokemon: Mismagius
Most used Pokemon: Mesprit lol
Most known for: salt, renowned ru tryhard, pu main™ and pupl manager, big fan
Evi - Hlelo, I'm quite alright, and you?
yogi I'm doing great thank you, and I'm glad you're doing good!
Yogi - Can you tell us a little about yourself outside of Smogon? Any hobbies or interests you'd like to share Evi?
Evi - I'm a postgrad political science student, which makes me 1 - old and 2 - jaded about life in general, but working with other students and trying to help them on their merry way is typically something I get really passionate about, rather than the academia stuff that is... well. Most political stuff tends to be a hobby of mine due to how entertaining following it can be, also playing old versions of Football Manager from time to time because my computer sucks ok
Yogi - So, I've always wanted to know, what's the inspiration behind your name?
Evi - Well most people know about my... thing. EviGaro is a play on my name and the one I would want. People trying to guess which is which can be funny
Yogi - What brought you to Smogon / Pokemon Showdown and, more importantly, the PU community?
Evi - I imagine like most people here Pokemon has been a part of their life for a loooong time, and it's not different for me. It took me a while to really join Smogon though, due to general lack of motivation with anything close to online gaming but one day I made an OU rain team with no setter. Before I knew it it was hours of playing and yelling Katy Perry songs - don't judge - so I just tried to branch out more lol. I played a bit of PU late oras, the gen I joined, but never really clicked with the tier while I was still settling in RU. The key thing for me being involved more with the tier was probably winning the BW PU Cup, especially since I had to play a lot of the mains I've come to grow fond of, like LordST, amberlamps, even TJ!
Yogi - So, while this question is undoubtedly a late one, what were your favourite moments managing a team this PUPL?
Evi - Just the team really, when I did rupl I really didn't know what I was doing in the auction but luckily the team there really clicked, whereas in pupl I knew from the start which team I wanted and how I could realistically get it. There's a few players I expected to see more interest in - especially obii or NaCl - but they were already a great fit due to past history. In general I felt the team worked brilliantly together, we had a lot of great moments imo, and I hope the others feel that way. I was a bit peeved at missing out on finals due to one win but the whole thing was super close so I'm not really complaining
Yogi - What are your thoughts on the meta post Kingler and Pyroar ban? Do you think either even deserved to stay?
Evi - Pyroar has been stupid for months, even when Magmortar was still around imo. Having to run either Regirock or Lanturn, even before the rise of Grassium, was extremely restrictive, and there was just no reason to not run it on offensive teams. Kingler... hm. On one hand it was very stupid, being able to capitalize on free turns extremely well without really needing the setup, but the flaws were made a lot more obvious by Pyroar's effect on the tier and how counterplay to Pyroar flatout dropped to Kingler due to how easy it was to pressure it. I think doing it the other way would have made more sense, especially since the remaining fire types really cannot apply the same pressure for several reasons, but I can live with it. It's pretty odd to see the meta right now though, especially since losing two massive breakers like that is leaving the tier scrambling for something of the same consistency, and it'll be interesting to see how the tier works around that issue
Yogi - Do you have any people that you look up to on Smogon?
Evi - As a player / builder / how he thinks the game, definitely McMeghan, just the way he can explain a game and the intent of the build can convince me even when the build is triple water rain stall with seed spam. I absolutely freaked out when I had to play him lmao (he'll likely won't remember but that's cool). col49 is another builder I like even if he can be MEAN, and uh yeah most other are people I'm friendly with which doesn't seem like the intent of the question
Yogi - Finally, wanna give us a cool team with a short explanation for it?
Evi -
Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpD / 124 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell
- Protect
Aggron @ Steelium Z
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Lurantis @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Superpower
- Synthesis
- Defog
Froslass @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Trick
Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Flamethrower
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpD / 124 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell
- Protect
Aggron @ Steelium Z
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Lurantis @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Superpower
- Synthesis
- Defog
Froslass @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Trick
Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Flamethrower
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind
Used that against sam i yam, basically since I knew he ran offence like, all the time, tried to make something that could check brokens, so Protect Lanturn can scout for the grassium on Pyroar and stuff. Z Aggron is something I thought of because of the Regirock matchup, basically since in theory Regirock can deal with non CB Aggron with coverage, Z-Heavy Slam was a sort of lure to effectively remove it for Mesprit / Pyroar late game without shenanigans, plus it hits hard in general without missing. Obligatory Lurantis since that mon is top ten, use it, Scarf Froslass was wack but in an offence matchup it's pretty effective against booster and could at the time outpace Scarf Pyroar, which was nice because I had coverage for it. Mesprit... well I toyed with the set, but I kinda liked CM Colbur, being able to effectively punish dark types with appropriate coverage and generally being able to hit the entire tier besides bulky psychics was useful, adding more threatening setup too. Basically a very offensive team with some attempt at having defensive checks to stuff, to put it eloquently.
Yogi - Well Evi, it has been a blast as usual. Happy to have finally caught you! Remember you can ask questions below! See you all next