[AMA] Trinitrotoluene

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Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
screw it, i'll save my next rmt for my 1k post


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Username: Trinitrotoluene

Areas of Expertise: Rate My Team, Overused, Contributions & Corrections, The Smog

Background: I made my account back in 2010 (I had a different username back then; if you want to know what that username was, ask user: Hulavuta) during the waning days of DPP OU just so I could get a team rated. During this time, I tried to get into team rating, but I found that a lack of experience kept me from making good rates. After that failure, I went to lurking the forums. Once Pokemon Black and White was released and C&C was in full steam, I stepped out of my lurking phase and took part in the BW analysis write-ups. I started by taking over Krookodile and Raikou from their previous OPs, but I ended up writing only the Krookodile analysis (uploaded 28 August 2011), since I didn't really like Raikou's prospects back in BW OU.

After that tumble with C&C, I took a year off to learn more about the BW metagame and lurk more around the forums, RMT in particular. It was also during this time that I'd post teams on the RMT forum, often on a bi-weekly basis. Come mid-2012, user: Sayonara, who was a team rater back then, convinced me to get into the team rating business. I wasn't particularly good at it at first, as alluded to previously, but I kept at it and eventually, I got better at rating. I earned my Pre-Contributor badge for Team Rating shortly before Jirachee became a RMT mod, and it remained a Ladybug for almost half a year because of my on-off rating activity. Come the end of November and an increase in activity consistency, I became a full team rater.

Skip forward another half-year, and I've written another 3 analyses (BW2 Tyranitar revamp, Custap Lead Skarmory, and Riolu) and one article for The Smog. This half-year time skip also saw my inclusion into the Battling 101 program as a tutor and the Mentorship program as a mentor (this latter inclusion is the main reason I'm making this thread). Turn the clock forward to today, and now I am a Team Rater Alumnus and a RMT Community Contributor. I help run the Practice Teams project in the RMT forum (and I'm the only non-mod actively taking part in it, currently) and I mod the Rate my Team room on Pokemon Showdown!.

Hobbies: I play Pokemon. I also play Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. As for music, I'm into drum and bass. My favorite artists right now happen to be Etherwood, Bachelors of Science, Fred V & Grafix, Logistics, Klute, B-Complex, Netsky, S.P.Y, and High Contrast. I'm also a casual manga reader and anime watcher. As of now, I'm currently keeping up with Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. I like writing massive walls of text too, but don't tell anyone that.

Favorite Pokemon:
(but aegislash is cool too)

Good Questions to Ask Me: You can ask me questions regarding team rating and team building, as well as my thoughts on the metagame as of now. However, feel free to ask me anything. I'm not limiting you to what's in the OP.
 
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What is it about Team Rating that you enjoy?

What advice would you give to aspiring raters?

What are your current thoughts on the XY tiers?

Favourite BW tier?
 

MCBarrett

i love it when you call me big hoppa
What are your thoughts on the RMT room on PS? Any ideas you would like to see implemented to improve it?

Do you feel team rating has helped you become better at building teams yourself?

Most underrated mon this gen?

Why is there not a blue check on your twitter page yet?
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
What is it about Team Rating that you enjoy?

What advice would you give to aspiring raters?

What are your current thoughts on the XY tiers?

Favourite BW tier?
re: q1: I like helping people improve their teams. In addition, I also like trying out and tweaking new strategies that other people come up with.

re: q2: The most important piece of advice I can give to aspiring team raters is to learn the metagame and become proficient in battling. You don't need to be an established tournament player to be a good rater, but it's fairly obvious (or at least it should be) if someone doesn't know the tier. In addition, consider the goal of the team before suggesting changes, and don't suggest that something be changed just because you don't like it. If a team's end goal is to secure a Volcarona sweep, don't replace the Volcarona with a Talonflame just because you don't like Volcarona. Also, if you do need to make Pokemon / set changes, try to make it so you don't replace any more than 2 Pokemon or 3 movesets. Having a multitude of small changes, such as EV spread, move, and item tweaks, is okay since you're just fine-tuning the set. An example of a small change would be something like Weakness Policy over Lum Berry on DDnite so it can exploit Multiscale and get to +3 Atk if it takes a SE hit, or Substitute over Swords Dance on Mega Mawile so it can have a chance at getting past its offensive checks. Finally, justify your changes. Don't suggest a trendy set just for the hell of it. This was a massive problem in R18 of the Rating Practice Teams, where nearly everyone and their mother suggested Jolly SD AcroZor over the Adamant LO variant on the team without more justification than "lol jelli weak."

re: q3: There aren't too many broken things in XY OU (both pre-Bank and post-Bank), and the weather nerf keeps mons like Excadrill and Manaphy from being broken. Most of the Mega Evolutions out there can always turn the game around if they're played right, and since multiple Pokemon can mega evolve, one could pack their team with more than one Pokemon that can mega evolve, creating mind games even before the battle begins, with both sides trying to figure out which mon the opponent will choose to mega evolve. Of course, some are obvious (here's looking at you, Kangaskhan, Mawile), but others are harder to spot. Overall, I think this meta is less match-up reliant (and more fun) than BW2 OU was. While this doesn't change the fact that there still remain some broken elements (*cough*megagar*cough*), I have faith that the OU Council (Haunter is a pretty cool guy, by the way) will get to them in due time.

re: q4: My favorite BW tier was BW OU, simply because it had a bunch of bad-ass Pokemon in it. In terms of balance though, UU, RU, and NU were pretty cool.

What tips do you have for aspiring team raters?

What got you interested in competitive pokemon?
re: q1: Read my response to Raseri's second question.

re: q2: Back in the 2009 - 2010 school year, when I thought that Roar of Time was the greatest move to use on Dialga, Torterra was the shit, and Infernape was shit (oh, how times have changed), Serebii's Pokemon of the Week entries sparked my interest in competitive Pokemon. However, I had little to no knowledge on how to get into the competitive scene, so I just kept reading those entries, giving my Pokemon the moves they suggested. I had absolutely no idea how natures or EVs worked, so I just ignored those. Later on, as I was browsing Bulbapedia, I found a link to Smogon's DP OU analysis of Garchomp, which led to me discovering the rest of Smogon's analyses. I read over those with a near-religious fervor, and then I saw a link to Shoddy Battle. Since I had nothing to do at the time (I was a freshman with very few friends back then, so don't judge me), I downloaded it and started on my trek to become a competitive player. As time flew by, I learned about EVs, IVs, and natures, and I slowly got better at the game. I'll stop there, but if you want to hear the rest of my story, then you're more than free to ask.

What are your thoughts on the RMT room on PS? Any ideas you would like to see implemented to improve it?

Do you feel team rating has helped you become better at building teams yourself?

Most underrated mon this gen?

Why is there not a blue check on your twitter page yet?
re: q1: The PS! RMT room was (and still is) a brilliant idea. I love the chat on there, especially in the wee hours of night, when it starts to slow down. Modding the chat is pretty fun too. However, I'll be honest when I say the average team posted is shit. People, you should remember that we (the official Team Raters) are here to rate and fine-tune your team, not rebuild it from scratch for you. Also, if you have a team with Talonflame / Volcarona / Noivern and no means of preventing SR from going up on your side of the field, you're not doing it right.

This is just a pipe dream right now, but I'd like an auto-mute function that is triggered when someone says something like "legendaries are for noobs, remove them and be a man" or "legedary = op, pls ban" or "ban >non-broken ou pokemon goes here< because it beats my awesome team that is totally awesome." The term "Legendary" is just a pointless status added to certain Pokemon because of their rarity, and it has no bearing on a Pokemon's in-battle abilities. Also, I want Nog to be voiced again. He gives out good advice, especially for those shitty teams that tend to get posted on the main chat, and is fairly active in the RMT chat.

re: q2: Oh, that is extremely true.

re: q3: Either big hoppa (Diggersby), Gourgeist, or Barbaracle. The most overrated of the Kalos mons is either Malamar or Tyrantrum. The most underrated mega evolution IMO is either Mega Mawile or Mega Pinsir, while the most overrated mega evolution is either Mega Alakazam, Mega Scizor, or Mega Aerodactyl.

re: q4: I have no idea, man.
 
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Hello there, I'm Dychoz and I'm new to the competitive scene / forums.

What are your thoughts on OU for X and Y? what pokemon do you expect to see on it?

Do you think Aegislash will be Uber?

What is your process for team building?
 

McMeghan

Dreamcatcher
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis the 5th Smogon Classic Winneris the Smogon Tour Season 14 Championis a defending SPL Championis a Past SPL Champion
Big Chungus Winner
As a Team Rater, you have plenty of experience with team building and -I hope- competitive games. What do you think about the tournament scene, and do you plan to involve yourself there more in the future?
 

tcr

sage of six tabs
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Like you i lurked a lot (i actually remember you before your name change IIRC) before just recently wanting to be a part of smog society. Im hoping to try and get more involved witb C&C (fucking too me forever to find a c&c mentor) and i just want to know where to start. Note i have zero experience in analysis and idk the format or anything for just writing up one)
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello there, I'm Dychoz and I'm new to the competitive scene / forums.

What are your thoughts on OU for X and Y? what pokemon do you expect to see on it?

Do you think Aegislash will be Uber?

What is your process for team building?
Welcome to the competitive scene, Dychoz.

XY OU is less centralized than BW OU (thankfully), which means that there is more diversity abound. As for what I'd expect to see in OU, I'm expecting a lot of Talonflame and Aegislash, as well as Garchomp and Azumarill. i'll finish this thought later.

No, I'd expect Aegislash to be a solid, top tier OU contender, but not Uber. Even though Aegislash has no hard counters (aside from Mandibuzz and maybe Heatran), it has a plethora of viable checks.

For team building, I pick a Pokemon or core that appeals to me, then I build around it. By the time I have three or four team members selected, I'll have a vague idea of what kind of playstyle I want the end result to encompass. Once I'm done building, I'll try the team out on the ladder and iron out any obvious flaws.
Best Pendulum album?

Are you aware that Muse's Panic Station, while a great song, is a brutal Stevie Wonder ripoff?
While In Silico and Immersion are excellent albums in their own rights, Hold Your Colour without a doubt is the best album Pendulum has produced.

No, I was not aware that "Panic Station" is a blatant Stevie Wonder ripoff. Doesn't change the fact that it's still a great tune, like you said. Thanks for informing me.
As a Team Rater, you have plenty of experience with team building and -I hope- competitive games. What do you think about the tournament scene, and do you plan to involve yourself there more in the future?
The tournament scene is fun, but the shitposting / obnoxious behavior in large tournaments (e.g. Smogon Tour, SPL, OST) needs to stop. For that, I appreciate the efforts the TDs are putting forth to curb the shitposting. Also, I do plan on further involving myself in the tournament scene, starting with SPL (depending on what happens).
Like you i lurked a lot (i actually remember you before your name change IIRC) before just recently wanting to be a part of smog society. Im hoping to try and get more involved witb C&C (fucking too me forever to find a c&c mentor) and i just want to know where to start. Note i have zero experience in analysis and idk the format or anything for just writing up one)
Before you get started in C&C, make sure you know the relevant threats and metagame for the tier you're writing in. It's obvious to all of QC and several non-QC people if you don't know the metagame. Also, read the stickied threads BEFORE you do anything I list out below.

Now, to actually get started on analysis writing, pick out a Pokemon on the reservation list that hasn't been reserved and get your analysis thread up. I know that some people like putting their threads up when they have a completed skeleton, but I like putting my threads up as soon as possible and filling out the skeleton as I go. Once you get your skeleton up and completed, you can then have the Quality Control (QC) team for the tier skim your analysis and give their opinions. If a QC member finds your skeleton to be up to snuff, then they'll give out a QC Approved x/3 stamp to your analysis. After two of these, you can start writing up your analysis based on the skeleton.

Once your analysis is written up, QC will browse it once more, and if a third QC member deems the prose to be sufficient in quality, he will give the stamp needed for the analysis to continue to the GP stage, where the Grammar / Prose (GP) team will run through your analysis. Amateur grammar checkers will also appear at this time. You can integrate the amchecker's grammar / prose checks, but note that these checks do not count for the GP Approved x/2 count unless a GP member approves it. On that note, once a GP member approves your analysis, implement their changes as soon as possible. This streamlines the process and makes it easier for the next GP member to go through the analysis and give that second stamp.

Once your analysis is QC and GP approved, all you have to do is wait for a site staff member to upload your work. Sorry for the mound of text, but I hope this helps.
 
How is this sun team doing:
Victreebell-Modest-Keeberry-Gigadrain/growth/belch/weatherball
Arcanine-Impish-leftovers-Flareblitz/Extreemespeed/WoW/Morning Sun
Quagsire-Relaxed-leftovers-scald/EQ/recover/toxic
Vaporeon-Bold-leftovers-scald/wish/healbell/haze
Hariyama-Adamant-Heat Rock-Crosschop/Sunny day/ Rockslide / rest
Hydreigon-Timid-Choice scarf-Draco Meteor/Fireblast/Uturn/Superpower
Togekiss-Calm-Heat Rock- Sunny Day/Wish/Healbell/Defog
Gliscor-Impish-Heat Rock-Sunny Day/Defog/EQ/Roost

No normal/flying resists. Never got sweeped by those types tho. In 5 battles, the team remained undefeated, but a BP team almost sweeped me but I got a crit >:) I feel like I'm putting too much pressure on togekiss since it is pure support.
Edit: I split Togekiss' roles in 2 by using vaporeon>quagsire and Gliscor>Togekiss. Now my team has no dragon immunities but I haven't run into sweeped deaths yet. Vaporeon also fixed my baton pass problems. But I still need feedback on this sun team, because I will try to make it in my Y and I don't want it to be lame. I got in more battles on PO, and the team is about a 75% win ratio. People go "wtf..." when they see sunny day though... should I really consider drought? Also tried mega houndoom. Special walls still laugh at him so I stopped.
 
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Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
How is this sun team doing:
Victreebell-Modest-Keeberry-Gigadrain/growth/belch/weatherball
Arcanine-Impish-leftovers-Flareblitz/Extreemespeed/WoW/Morning Sun
Quagsire-Relaxed-leftovers-scald/EQ/recover/toxic
Vaporeon-Bold-leftovers-scald/wish/healbell/haze
Hariyama-Adamant-Heat Rock-Crosschop/Sunny day/ Rockslide / rest
Hydreigon-Timid-Choice scarf-Draco Meteor/Fireblast/Uturn/Superpower
Togekiss-Calm-Heat Rock- Sunny Day/Wish/Healbell/Defog
Gliscor-Impish-Heat Rock-Sunny Day/Defog/EQ/Roost

No normal/flying resists. Never got sweeped by those types tho. In 5 battles, the team remained undefeated, but a BP team almost sweeped me but I got a crit >:) I feel like I'm putting too much pressure on togekiss since it is pure support.
Edit: I split Togekiss' roles in 2 by using vaporeon>quagsire and Gliscor>Togekiss. Now my team has no dragon immunities but I haven't run into sweeped deaths yet. Vaporeon also fixed my baton pass problems. But I still need feedback on this sun team, because I will try to make it in my Y and I don't want it to be lame. I got in more battles on PO, and the team is about a 75% win ratio. People go "wtf..." when they see sunny day though... should I really consider drought? Also tried mega houndoom. Special walls still laugh at him so I stopped.
No offense, but your team seems kind of all over the place. You lack a cohesive goal, and many of your choices seem random at best and shitty at worst. It's at that point where I can't improve it without overhauling the team completely. I think you should consider signing up for B101 when it starts offering XY OU tutors.

Also, to answer your question, yes, you should consider a Drought setter such as Ninetales or MegaZard-Y, which IMO is better than running a Pokemon with Heat Rock and Sunny Day.
 
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Ouch... well I kind of expected that. No one gives this team a thumbs up even with it's oddness and positive win:lose ratio. Well I'll just keep this team to myself, and thanks anyway.
Btw, there is no such thing as perma sun in XY. Of course I would run to ninetails if such a thing were to exist.

Whats ur favorite SSBB character? Mine is Wario
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
My favorite SSBB characters are Snake, Olimar, and Princess Peach. Wario is also a fun character to use; his down-B is probably my favorite non-Final Smash attack in SSBB. Also, thanks for catching my derp moment.

I have a feeling that TNT thinks Wario is pretty ossim as well ;)
HA, that was funny.
 
Hello there. I am new to this community.
I would like you to rate my XY team and give me some advises. the team only has 3 pokemons now. ( I trained a lot of pokemons,but they don't work very well.)
Rotom-W (assault vest) levitate
modest
232HP/ 56spA /220spe
volt switch
hydro pump
thunder bolt
hidden power ice

Scizor ( choice band) technician
adamant
252ATK/252HP/4spD
bullet punch
brick break
U-turn
pursuit

Garchomp (choice scarf) rough skin
navie
252ATK/ 252spd/ 4HP
earthquake
fire blast
outrage
rock slide

I need advises for the rest of the team,I am thinking adding a talonflame since this team is very weak againest grass type. If the those 3 pokemons need any adjustment you can also tells. Thank you.
Also, I would like your opinion about rain team in Gen 6 OU, cuz I tried to make one rain team ,it does not work well. The main reason is that the rain only last for 5~8 turns, so it forces the team to be offensive during the duration. Neither rain dance nor drizzle works for me. I need your opinion about the rain team, if it is still a possible team in OU. if you can, make a team list would be great.
Thanks a lot! I have a lot to learn here.
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
SQQDQQ: I'll get to your team question later on today since it requires a more detailed answer than what I can give in 5 minutes.

my q is

why aren't you on irc more?

what is the best way for an interested rater to get started?
I don't know, actually.

If you're interested in rating teams, then start rating them. Find a team that looks like it can be fixed, then go for it. There's no formal process involved; just make sure to read the stickied threads. Also, don't be afraid to ask for rate evaluations from the established team raters.
 
Hello. I am not new to competitive battling, but I am definitely new to the community (in a sense). I'm hoping to get more involved in Pokemon discussion (hopefully something more individualized), and I was wondering what would be the best place to do that? I tried to log in to the IRC, but I keep getting DC'ed :(. it seems like it's having some weird glitch for me, and it has happened multiple times. Is there another place people tend to hang out? People use skype at all? Also, does anyone have any idea when 6th gen OU tutoring will be a thing? I learn best by example so I feel that sort of thing would be good for me.

Also, I am becoming involved in the Melee community as well. I played a lot of brawl for about 2 years (Snake, MK, some Falco for me with DK as my "just for fun and I don't care if I lose" character). Are you interested in the competitive side of smash? Because in my limited experience I have found that a fair amount of smash players play Pokemon, and I was curious if you think the reverse is true as well.
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hello. I am not new to competitive battling, but I am definitely new to the community (in a sense). I'm hoping to get more involved in Pokemon discussion (hopefully something more individualized), and I was wondering what would be the best place to do that? I tried to log in to the IRC, but I keep getting DC'ed :(. it seems like it's having some weird glitch for me, and it has happened multiple times. Is there another place people tend to hang out? People use skype at all? Also, does anyone have any idea when 6th gen OU tutoring will be a thing? I learn best by example so I feel that sort of thing would be good for me.

Also, I am becoming involved in the Melee community as well. I played a lot of brawl for about 2 years (Snake, MK, some Falco for me with DK as my "just for fun and I don't care if I lose" character). Are you interested in the competitive side of smash? Because in my limited experience I have found that a fair amount of smash players play Pokemon, and I was curious if you think the reverse is true as well.
IRC, #pokemon specifically, is obviously the best place to do competitive discussion. However, if you don't mind having to sift through players that just don't know what they're talking about to get to good discussions, Pokemon Showdown!'s various rooms dedicated to the various tiers are other places where you can discuss Pokemon competitively. I know that a few people here use Skype, but you'll have to find them for yourself. As for 6th Gen. tutoring, I believe that will come up next year, whenever we (Smogon) have an OU tier set up.

As for competitive Smash Bros (both Melee and Brawl), I love watching tournament matches and theorycrafting, but I lack the dexterity needed to succeed in the competitive Smash world (mainly because I don't play it as much as I play Pokemon!). So, to answer your question, yes, I do hold an interest in competitive Smash Bros.
 
Hi :) would I be able to ask for a rmt? Its here

If you're changing a pokemon, can you comment on why the change needs to be done? I'll try my best to defend said pokemon, and I'll appreciate it if you can refute anything I said that was wrong.

You can just reply here its alright :)
 

Hulavuta

keeps the varmints on the run
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Do you have any replays of your recent tournament or good ladder games? (Gen 5 or 6)

What is your favorite thing about me? :O
 

Trinitrotoluene

young ☆nd foolish
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hi :) would I be able to ask for a rmt? Its here

If you're changing a pokemon, can you comment on why the change needs to be done? I'll try my best to defend said pokemon, and I'll appreciate it if you can refute anything I said that was wrong.

You can just reply here its alright :)
I'll give your team a rate later on today.
Do you have any replays of your recent tournament or good ladder games? (Gen 5 or 6)

What is your favorite thing about me? :O
Ladder matches: FooPossum v. Trinitrotoluene, fear chomper v. Trinitrotoluene
Tournament matches: Pound-for-Pound R1, Pound-for-Pound R3
Funny matches: fuk megakhan v. Eighty

My favorite thing about you (Hulavuta) is your cuteness, semi-relaxed nature, funniness (is that even a word?), and infectious enthusiasm! (◠‿◠)
 

Aenna Honey

Banned deucer.
I feel this post is very well organized and is quite interesting. I really want to join this kind of events.Thanks for the post.
 
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