Doubles OU Player of the Week #41 - Stax

Yknow after reading this you remind me wayyyyy too much about my friend Chris irl. Since I have to actually put in a question, who do you main in melee and who do you main in sm4sh?
 
Yknow after reading this you remind me wayyyyy too much about my friend Chris irl. Since I have to actually put in a question, who do you main in melee and who do you main in sm4sh?
In Melee I main Peach, no secondaries :P
In sm4sh I main Ike, have a Ness secondary, and also have a pocket Mewtwo and Corrin.
 

ryo yamada2001

ryo yamada2001
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus

Interviewee #37 - n1n1

Hi there! Could you tell us who you are by giving a small introduction about yourself?

Hi. I’m 24 and live in Brooklyn NY; working for an Investment Bank where I am designing a calculator for regulatory purposes. I’m studying for CFA so I can move into more financial stuff but have been procrastinating a lot because I really like to play DOU.

Where does your username come from, and why did you stick with it?
It’s stupid and I know better than to say, lol. Sorry for the shitty answer. I recently thought “number 1 n1gga” sounds cool and is fitting for me so I will go with that.

When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
My friend told me about showdown because I said while playing X&Y that I just want to compete against other people. That was like 2 years ago. I used to be hooked on neopets because I liked the turn based style of play and being creative; this game was the replacement I was looking for. I think I found doubles within a month or so of playing showdown and stuck with it because I enjoyed that chat room and thought that my shitty surf spam team was fun to use.

What is your favourite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favourite Pokémon overall and why?
It changes all the time but right now its Gengar. It has a really good match up vs Lando and Kang, it hits Mega Gard and TR setters hard. It just disrupts a whole bunch of the common stuff people are using right now. Overall Hippowdon, obviously. I still find my no stab Mega Blastoise sand team really fun to use. People gave me shit for using Hippowdon so I kind of became synonymous with it which inspired my DPL team name.

[23:25] +Yellow Paint: ask him what's strongest in the meta rn and why
You can put Lando T on almost any team you want. It’s the icon of doubles imo.

[23:24] +Yellow Paint: ask him what should be suspected next and why
The obvious mon to suspect is Skymin. Also Imo we could do more suspects just for the hell of it. Lets suspect mewtwo, it probably shouldn’t be allowed in doubles but suspecting probably wont hurt.

[23:27] Test Bot #25: how 'bout freeing mence :I that would make Doubles popular like heck

If suspected I would probably vote ban; but would like to battle it more to make proper judgement. Although if unbanned I would no longer be the only person using scarf Glaciate regular Kyurem :)

[23:21] +Yellow Paint: best archetype and why

extreme bulk. Idk if that’s an archetype but the bulky sub-volcanion + mega venu team, with intimate support, light screen support, and assault vest conk (look in team bazaar) has been really good for me. It has given common teams a lot of problems. Likewise I have seen other guys using bulkier than normal teams doing well. shit like Suicune and ferro is looking more viable.

[23:15] #SpaceBass: THE FUCKING N1N1 V RANKS

[00:30] Elise♥: no cradily
[00:30] Elise♥: no hippowdon
[00:30] Elise♥: what
[00:30] Elise♥: is this a troll
[00:30] n1n1: they r 2 niche rank 4

Could you give us a team that resembles your playing and building style and give a little explanation about it?

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Sky Drop
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Iron Head
- Low Kick

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Fire Blast
- Air Cutter

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Abomasnow @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Blizzard
- Energy Ball
- Ice Shard
- Focus Blast


I don’t think this team is good enough to bring to a serious tour, but I have been able to beat some really good players with it. I think it describes my play style well because I rarely use the 3 most common megas and like trying unorthodox sets. I think I built this because I wanted to try Mega Aero in the Sand for the SpD boost. After building the team I found it weak to fairies which is why I am running Iron Head mega-Aero. Scarf Ttar is the only good Ttar, also with Iron head. Salamence originally had TW but fighting types were destroying me so I added Air Cutter. Up to here I am weak vs Lando so adding Rotom W for that. I’ve thought that Abomasnow + Heatran sounds cool to spam blizzard+Heatwave so Genies can’t come in.

Who do you think is going to do well this Doubles Open, and why?
I honestly feel like there are a good 15 to 20 people who are good enough to win. No one has even made it to finals of ssnls twice; that tells me there a lot of players capable of winning any tour. I think people focus too much on a small number of players who are well established without recognizing that the difference in skill between the 20 battlers is minuscule. With that said the scariest player to me is Nido-Rus. He can build and play well with such a variety of teams and be really creative.

[23:21] Stratos ✈‖: i want to know his top 5 players and why

Nido-Rus for reasons I already stated. Memoric, after seeing him win that DUU tour it shows he has really good ability to quickly recognize what pokemon and cores synergize well together. That milk guy beat me 4 times recently so I’ll throw him in this list. SamVGC impressed me a lot during DPL, he had creative teams and executed well. I was impressed by deo when I saw him fight but he’s inactive so he may not belong on this list. But like I said earlier I don’t think the next 10 best are significantly worse than the top 5.

[23:22] Stratos ✈‖: ask him to explain why he thinks hes a top player when hes never made it past top 32 of a seasonal
I don’t see ssnls as a bench mark as who is the best like you do. I don’t think that anyone is going to beat me more than 50 to 60% time given we fight enough times to rule out hax.

How was playing the Doubles Premier League as manager of the Hungry Hungry Hippowdons?

It was so exciting for me. Thank you Hashtag for believing in me! Hashtag knew that I was going to draft people that had been active in doubles and deserved to play; not take people who havnt given a shit about doubles all year. Props to Stratos and Memoric for doing the same. Even though before the draft I heard a lot of shit it didn’t bother me; the whole team was very confident and serious about winning and making an upset, which we did and I am very proud of.

[23:23] +Yellow Paint: how do you think we should improve the doubles community?
I already mentioned. Less elimination tours, more room tours, push DUU, change the Illuminati culture by empowering and rewarding players who care and put effort into doubles. But that only answers what the leadership can do. What everyone can do is by participating, to start with. If you are reading this and havn’t submitted for Guess The Last and team building comp, then go do that now or STFU with your complaints about doubles. Next, our room tours are fucking pathetic. There is a pretentious attitude that some people carry; some people think they are too good for room tours. They think “I’ve already established myself as a good player” get the fuck off your high horse and participate in what we do or you don’t deserve to on Council, or TL, or have Mods, or the right to complain. Think about why you started playing this game in the first place, it’s to have fun. Other people helped you become a good player now give back and battle these young guys, experience makes them better, when are room tours aren’t a joke it makes our community not a joke.

What are your plans for the future in this tier?
I plan on hosting a tour. Inspired from DPL I feel like new players will greatly benefit from being on a team with top players to take them under their wing. Way too many tours are elimination. Think about it, if you didn’t get drafted to SPL or DPL and aren’t good enough to advance in ssnls you are getting a tour fight every 4 months. Having non-elimination tours will improve a lot of players especially when good players have an interest in making them better. Additionally I’m going to keep voicing my opinions to kamikaze/everyone about shit I think because that’s all I can really do.

[23:27] +Yellow Paint: who would be the best candidate for new ro and new tl, and why?
Qualities I look for: 1) Building good relationships across smogon staff. 2) proven to put in effort to doubles. 3) creative and pragmatic thinker. 4) Empowering the player base.

Easy Answer: talkingtree

[23:28] +silverwhiteblue: would he accept being a RO, and why?
Yes. I’d totally over haul the room. Inactive mods who only promote their friends and don’t start tours would be demoted to driver – someone needs to get the balls to do this. I’d promote some of the voices and check to driver. Start tours more frequently. And update the room intro to Doubles OU Seasonal week 6

[23:28] +Yellow Paint: who does he hate most in this community, and why?
Yoda2798 for bringing total fuck garbage bull shit to ssnls and DLT

Is there anything else you would like to say or speak about?
Bring back #official and #tour. Start more DUU tours. Yeah promote checkmater75 to driver you shitty mods. Sorry check for using you as an example but people like him care so much about the interest of doubles that they need to be given respect that they deserve. I could really go on a stupid rant about illuminati BS but I’ll just leave it at that.

What do you think of weaboos and people that like anime?
2 of my friends have actually moved to Japan temporary though some work. And I think its funny it all started with them watching animie as a kid that made them passionate about Japanese culture enough to learn the language and move there

What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokemon? What are you interested in?

My biggest hobby is skateboarding, not longboarding, the skateparks in NYC are amazing and skating through the city is my favorite thing to do. I am on my company’s basketball team and follow the NBA. I’m an economic major/African studies minor and found it really fascinating to learn why people/places are poor and others are wealthy and what drives economic growth; it change my mind set to be a lot less ideological. So I follow that type of shit and I have started getting into investing and following the markets, I don’t feel knowledge about investing yet but I want to learn more about how to invest my money so I follow the markets and read that kind of stock market shit.

[23:22] Lolk: i want to see n1n1 draw a picture of himself [23:22] +Lolk: using microsoft paint


[23:25] Yellow Paint: mfk stratos kami ablast and why
I’m not doing mfk

[23:26] +Lolk: ask how blacklivesmatter and pokemon doubles interlap
I have seen some racism toward blacks(and other minority) on smogon/showdown by some of our users. You obviously know who you are. People on the internet are safe to be a racist and black people know that. They know that while in public people are not blatantly racist but when you are on the internet and with your white friends you have no problem making disgusting jokes. Its 2016 stop with bull shit

thanks n1n1 for this legendary interview
god bless
 

ryo yamada2001

ryo yamada2001
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Hey! I forgot a few questions that I realized I should've asked during the interview, sorry!

What kind of music do you listen to? You've stated during clius's interview you like to listen to jazz(?), are there any other genres you like to listen to?

What do you currently think of SPL player Braverius, who you have defeated in a legendary bo3 bo3?

What do you think of the other SPL players (qsns, TheFourthChaser, and kamikaze for example)? Do you think you could ever play in the SPL?

What is on your wishlist for the new Pokemon gen? Will you still be around to play that with us?

(edit: also what do you think of Doubles UU)

again, thanks so much for your interview, god bless
 
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Platinum God n1n1

the real n1n1
is a Tiering Contributor
I dont do mfk...

Hey! I forgot a few questions that I realized I should've asked during the interview, sorry!

What kind of music do you listen to? You've stated during clius's interview you like to listen to jazz(?), are there any other genres you like to listen to?
Yeah my best friend is a Jazz drummer, after watching him preform live I was hooked. Herbie Hancock has been my favorite. Also I like rap mostly 90s and early 2000s. I like that era for the gansta style rap and sample beats they used; nas, kanye, outkast are some of my favorites.

What do you currently think of SPL player Braverius, who you have defeated in a legendary bo3 bo3?
well I dont even know the guy we just did some battles that people enjoyed watching. That original bo9 was funny, he thought he could beat me so I had to put him in his place. Then it got more serious, he beat me badly in salty suite. so I won bo3 bo3 set 1 and he won bo3 bo3 set 2, imo we need to do another to break the tie.

What do you think of the other SPL players (qsns, TheFourthChaser, and kamikaze for example)? Do you think you could ever play in the SPL?
I have the same mind as stratos which is doubles players should be drafted to doubles. People like TFC and Bowman, VGCers and Blingas do not belong in SPL as doubles representatives. That entire tour is fucking joke when it comes to doubles, the singles managers are clearly clueless when it comes to drafting and they are listening to other people who dont know shit on who they should draft for doubles. As far as QSNS and Kami goes they are fine to be drafted. I wont apply for the draft this upcoming year instead I will tell managers who to draft like stratos did. Also I'll do those weekly predictions bc people seemed to enjoy them

What is on your wishlist for the new Pokemon gen? Will you still be around to play that with us?
I dont even play the games.
a decent non-grass poison type would be cool

again, thanks so much for your interview, god bless
 

DaAwesomeDude1

waiting for a moment
is a Top Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Thoughts on kd going to golden state and why he is a fukn traitor

Why do you think kd left us D:

Now that kd is gone, what do you think will happen to westbrook D:

could B L A K E G R I F F I N be okc's savior????
 
:toast:hey n1n1

can u teach me to skate? how about in 1 weekend?
how long do you think it will take to overthrow the illuminati? (whether or not it will happen is no question)
i cant think of any other questions i love you
 

Braverius

snowls
is a Past SPL Champion
I dont even know the guy we just did some battles that people enjoyed watching. That original bo9 was funny, he thought he could beat me so I had to put him in his place. Then it got more serious, he beat me badly in salty suite. so I won bo3 bo3 set 1 and he won bo3 bo3 set 2, imo we need to do another to break the tie.


I have the same mind as stratos which is doubles players should be drafted to doubles. People like TFC and Bowman, VGCers and Blingas do not belong in SPL as doubles representatives. That entire tour is fucking joke when it comes to doubles, the singles managers are clearly clueless when it comes to drafting and they are listening to other people who dont know shit on who they should draft for doubles. As far as QSNS and Kami goes they are fine to be drafted. I wont apply for the draft this upcoming year instead I will tell managers who to draft like stratos did. Also I'll do those weekly predictions bc people seemed to enjoy them

First paragraph had me like "yeah dude let's do one last set! You seem to have come a long way and I'd like to play you again"

but the second paragraph makes me really want to drop you on your ass one more time

also shoutouts to my vgc-playing man dawg for winning the last seasonal, must have been blessed by the spirits of the singles-playing spl managers who don't know anything about doubles

on a light note i really like the interview melo, good stuff. i miss these types of spotlights on players from the earlier vgc days and i know they're sorta regular here but i have a lot of feelings and thought you should know that you're appreciated, okay? keep up the good work n_n
 
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i have to say n1n1 you really impressed me with this interview. i have newfound respect for you

a weird question that comes to mind is : how important do you think it is to balance, in a team brought to a serious game(tournament, etc), between whats viable and what one enjoys to use
 

MajorBowman

wouldst thou like to live fergaliciously?
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
doubles players should be drafted to doubles. People like TFC and Bowman, VGCers and Blingas do not belong in SPL as doubles representatives.
So there are a few ways I could respond to this. I could talk about how I had the best DOU record in SPL, or how you don't really have room to talk about drafts in team tournaments considering your team's performance in DPL, or how saying doubles players should be drafted to play doubles is retarded because obviously we all play doubles.

Instead I'll just leave you with this gif

 

kamikaze

The King Of Games
is a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
There is so much in this interview that I disagree with and people shouldnt take seriously but the one below I think is something that should be highlighted since its a self-destructive mentality that some people need to break.

[23:22] Stratos ✈‖: ask him to explain why he thinks hes a top player when hes never made it past top 32 of a seasonal​
I don’t see ssnls as a bench mark as who is the best like you do. I don’t think that anyone is going to beat me more than 50 to 60% time given we fight enough times to rule out hax.
You can run into bad luck, you can run into a hard bracket, but there are still many factors in your control.
You have control over teambuilding.
You have the ability to minimize the reliance on luck and put yourself in a position to either win or give yourself the best odds of winning on every turn.
Even in bad situations you need to recognize your long term win cons and stick to them.

The defaulting of blaming hax is immature, especially when there are options to win that just were not taken. If you stick to this mentality, it wont actually ever lead to improvement.

You dont need to be a top player to make Top 32 of a seasonal, and getting there wont validate you as one. But considering how many seasonals you have entered, not being able to break this barrier is important so dont expect to validate yourself by ignoring it.

Its really important for you and others to analyze what you have been doing wrong and where you can improve on. Often times people are missing something very fundamental that they just need to recognize to get better. I implore you to do the same n1n1.
 

Platinum God n1n1

the real n1n1
is a Tiering Contributor
Thoughts on kd going to golden state and why he is a fukn traitor

Why do you think kd left us D:

Now that kd is gone, what do you think will happen to westbrook D:

could B L A K E G R I F F I N be okc's savior????
I think westbrook stays for a short contract and I think he can carry that team to the playoffs. Imo how the fuck did the NBA allow that to happen? Chris Paul wasnt allowed to join the lakers after he left New Orleans because the NBA said Kobe + CP3 + Dwight Howard would be too strong; so they got Steve Nash. In this case KD to goldstate is on that same level, even more overpowing. SO that should have never happened, I didnt see it coming.
And I have hated Blake Griffen ever since he turned the 2011 dunk contest into a fucking Kia commercial. KD is literally better than blake in every way too
r.i.p. the dream of championship for OKC :( sad becand has a good match upause that small market might never recover what they had going.

:toast:hey n1n1

can u teach me to skate? how about in 1 weekend?
how long do you think it will take to overthrow the illuminati? (whether or not it will happen is no question)
i cant think of any other questions i love you
Unfortunately no, I have been skating for 5 years and still kind of suck. I think the Illuminati will be a lot less powerful when people start to wake up; I see potential for a grass roots uprising. to answer your question 8months
and i love u 2

i have to say n1n1 you really impressed me with this interview. i have newfound respect for you

a weird question that comes to mind is : how important do you think it is to balance, in a team brought to a serious game(tournament, etc), between whats viable and what one enjoys to use
I depends on whats more important to you. I find it most rewarding when I build a team that is really unlike any other or at least significantly different than the standard Chalk or Mega Gard that everyone seems to use. But I know some people dont have that mind set and would rather sick with whats proven. This ssnl I kind of went off the edge and got too creative, I brought CharX + Abomasnow, that didnt give me a great chance but at that time I didnt care too much. On that note though I feel like if you enjoy using shit like swagger you just should not use it. Absolutely everybody hate playing against it and I just think its totally fucked up that you would cost someone there chance at winning a tour because you think you are funny using non-competitive luck based moves.

Are you a troll?
I am the Truth and the Light

Don't you think that based on SPL history it makes sense to draft "VGCers" considering they have consistently good results?
Before SPL7 there was only 1 other SPL with doubles so its not like there record is much to go off of.
As a manger I would want to draft someone whose been playing the meta for the whole year as their main meta. And I think that the doubles players who did not get drafted are better than most of the VGCers.
if blingas being drafted before memoric isnt enough evidence that spl managers dont know how to draft doubles for you then you are delusional

Do you doubt the drafting prowess of user makiri?
who?
 

Platinum God n1n1

the real n1n1
is a Tiering Contributor
There is so much in this interview that I disagree with and people shouldnt take seriously but the one below I think is something that should be highlighted since its a self-destructive mentality that some people need to break.



You can run into bad luck, you can run into a hard bracket, but there are still many factors in your control.
You have control over teambuilding.
You have the ability to minimize the reliance on luck and put yourself in a position to either win or give yourself the best odds of winning on every turn.
Even in bad situations you need to recognize your long term win cons and stick to them.

The defaulting of blaming hax is immature, especially when there are options to win that just were not taken. If you stick to this mentality, it wont actually ever lead to improvement.

You dont need to be a top player to make Top 32 of a seasonal, and getting there wont validate you as one. But considering how many seasonals you have entered, not being able to break this barrier is important so dont expect to validate yourself by ignoring it.

Its really important for you and others to analyze what you have been doing wrong and where you can improve on. Often times people are missing something very fundamental that they just need to recognize to get better. I implore you to do the same n1n1.
Good points, I hear you but I am not blaming ssnl performance on hax; most of my losses where just people played better than I. you contoured what I said to make it seem like that and its unfair that you try to make an example of me on this thread. I think its clear what I meant that I can beat anyone 40 to 50% of the time when the sample size of battles rules out hax

also while I have you highlight pls respond to my pm about the tour
 
#free stratos y/n

If one day you are crowned the rightful sovereign king of this forsaken tier, who would you trust and appoint power to oust the unbelievers & illuminati while benefiting the tier as a whole?

#1 most undervalued/niche but dapper mon in your eyes?

Is there a place you've always wanted to travel to?

fite me dubs uu
 

TheFourthChaser

#TimeForChange
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Two-Time Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
I have the same mind as stratos which is doubles players should be drafted to doubles. People like TFC and Bowman, VGCers and Blingas do not belong in SPL as doubles representatives. That entire tour is fucking joke when it comes to doubles, the singles managers are clearly clueless when it comes to drafting and they are listening to other people who dont know shit on who they should draft for doubles. As far as QSNS and Kami goes they are fine to be drafted. I wont apply for the draft this upcoming year instead I will tell managers who to draft like stratos did. Also I'll do those weekly predictions bc people seemed to enjoy them
Before SPL7 there was only 1 other SPL with doubles so its not like there record is much to go off of.
As a manger I would want to draft someone whose been playing the meta for the whole year as their main meta. And I think that the doubles players who did not get drafted are better than most of the VGCers.
if blingas being drafted before memoric isnt enough evidence that spl managers dont know how to draft doubles for you then you are delusional
Sounds like it's learnin' time.

Despite what you think there were actually 2 years of non-VGC Doubles before SPL 7, giving us a pretty decent amount of information to use. Let's look at the Doubles players of each winning team in the past 3 years:

SPL 5: Me + Arctic
SPL 6: Braverius
SPL 7: MEEEEEE (gloating intentional???)

100% of the Doubles-playing SPL winners have been influenced by VGC. Is this really the case of singles managers being clueless and delusional? Isn't it more likely that the argument that SPL, the most important Smogon Doubles tournament, isn't a joke when it comes to doubles and that those who think that are actually the silly ones? Considering that its the sign of a great Pokemon player to be able to perform in multiple metagames and VGC-influenced players have found great success in tournament play it seems foolish to ignore players simply because they aren't "doubles representatives". It honestly just seems like you're biased against those who play VGC or don't participate in Seasonals (which dropped in quality after the removal of the Invitational imo). Managers are choosing what they think is their greatest shot at winning unless they choose BLINGAS

Stratos' draft list was awful btw
 
hey fuck you

and hey n1n1 fuck you too

SUMO NEWS
After day 10 5 rikishi lead the pack, all at 8-2! Both Yokazuna Harumafuji and Hakuho coming off defeats on day 9 bounce back and win handily on day 10. Yokazuna-hopeful Kisenosato suffered a loss to a Henka. His stablemate also lost today. The last 8-2, Takarafuji, reached his kachikoshi today despite being in one of the hardest rankings do so, M2.

Do you like Sumo?
 

Platinum God n1n1

the real n1n1
is a Tiering Contributor
#free stratos y/n
yes. as long as he is not room mods he should be fully restored

If one day you are crowned the rightful sovereign king of this forsaken tier, who would you trust and appoint power to oust the unbelievers & illuminati while benefiting the tier as a whole?
I can only trust myself with that responsibility

#1 most undervalued/niche but dapper mon in your eyes?
sableye. it fucks up landos and kangs with priority Wisp. But being that is does basically no damage you need it on hyper offense or very offensive TR. That allows you to Quash all sorts of faster things so its basically the best speed control other than talonflame

Is there a place you've always wanted to travel to?
kenya, or some african country for a safari to see Elephants/other animals in their natural habitat

fite me dubs uu
yes ok, lets duu

Do you like Sumo?
no
 

ryo yamada2001

ryo yamada2001
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
>interviewing n1n1 before spl6+spl7+good seasonal player
yeah i know ill start working all good players out there


Interviewee #38 - Braverius

Sup, could you tell us who you are by giving a small introduction about yourself?
Yo, I'm Zach. I live in Redmond, Washington, USA. I'm living the barista dream working at Starbucks in Seattle, and I'm currently self-studying web development while building a website.

Where does your username come from, and why did you stick with it?
I was using the name "Bravery" for whatever reason on PO back in the day, and since that name was taken everywhere else, I just changed it to make it sound cool and original.

When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
I started playing competitive Pokemon in 2011, when I stumbled upon the Skarmbliss PO server. I started playing Doubles basically at its inception, and I stuck around because it was a nice change of pace from VGC that I could apply what I knew to. The two formats have a ton of similarities, and I think the similarities are just enough to make me enjoy trying to figure out the differences and learn how to appropriately deal with each format.

What is your favourite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favourite Pokémon overall and why?
For the first question: Kangaskhan, probably because it's so universally good and is a staple on most teams. It has a way to beat most things and it has a ton of utility.
For the second question: Gourgeist, because Halloween is my favorite holiday and Ghost is my favorite type. Gengar's a close second.

What do you think is the strongest playstyle or Pokemon in this metagame right now, and why?

I think TR option is really strong, hard to shut down and hard to deal with the multiple options it presents effectively. Jirachi, Victini, Diancie, and Hoopa are all good examples of Pokemon that can help set the TR for this while also being pretty effective outside of setting it if need be.

Do you think there's a Pokemon or set that is currently underrated in the meta?

Haze Volcanion. Have fun with your Azumarill + Jirachi over there!

Do you think there is anything that should be suspected right now?
Trick Room, but I don't think it should necessarily be banned, just closely observed by everyone. It's worth suspecting and always has been, it's an incredibly strong move, especially with Volcanion and Hoopa now around.

[20:21] KyleCole: Zach/Braverius thoughts on Swagger?
Swagger is a status-inflicting move that raises the target's attack by two stages and also confuses it. It has a 90% chance to hit and a 45% chance to disable the opposing Pokemon the turn it is used. If you paralyze the opposing Pokemon first and your partner is using Rock Slide the turn you use Swagger, the targeted Pokemon has a 29% chance of firing off a move before the turn begins.

Could you give us a team that resembles your playing and building style and give a little explanation about it?
I'll try my best to objectify this since I've never really done that in a while. I usually try and observe the common threats that I want to deal with, and then find a core of Pokemon that I feel handles them very well. I work through my options in my mind against the leads and progression of the battle, and I work to find answers that effectively deal with the major threats to my win conditions. I sometimes end up finding a Pokemon that can flat-out wall off a lot of threats or create a checkmate to opposing teams and work to incorporate that as well as I can into a core of a team (Jellicent, CM Cress, Gourgeist, WoW Heatran.)

Do you think there is a significant difference between Doubles and VGC players in building and/or playing?
Sort of, but I think it's mostly because of the intent of the teams. I notice Doubles players get a lot more crazy and variable with their team concepts and probably because they have a lot more emphasis on using a wide variety of teams since you're able to switch teams between matches in tournaments. VGC players tend to stick with a few solid teams and round them out the best they can. Not sure either is really better than the other, but from what I've observed that seems to be the trend.

[20:05] KyleCole: ask braverius his opinion on filthy vgcers infiltrating spl

People who play VGC primarily went 9-8 in SPL7 against people who play Doubles primarily. I think we're pretty close to a balance and I think managers nowadays get slightly more crap than they deserve. The SPL7 Ruiners/BIGs were the bad exception, just like the SPL6 Wolfpack was the bad exception. It works both ways and there's more good drafting than bad.

Is there any other metagame you play outside of Doubles and VGC?
Challenge Cup 1v1!

What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokemon? What are you interested in?
Traveling, music, sports (baseball and football mostly), and really just finding a lot of interesting experiences. I've traveled to 39 of the 50 US states, and sometimes I do crazy stuff like heading up to Alaska for a weekend for really no given reason. I find a ton of enjoyment in seeing surreal things or doing things that get my mind out of its box.

Is there anything else you would like to say or speak about?
Not too much, heh.

[20:03] LERU: top 3 anime?
Ansatsu Kyoshitsu, Nagi no Asukara, Ouran High School Host Club

[20:02] LERU: who is your waifu
do you know who you're... ok fine, you're getting an answer
Chiaki Morisawa!

[20:03] LERU: do you have a bodypillow
It has a plaid cover.

[20:20] +BlueSkiddoWeCanToo: what his top 3 favorite songs are
Kids and Heroes by the Bouncing Souls, Bananonymous by Savant, Take Control by Built on Secrets.
I also really like Hands Like Houses but I don't think any one song is something I can list here. I'm mostly into Punk / DnB / EDM / Rock.

[20:20] +BlueSkiddoWeCanToo: and also (if applicable) why none of them are from kanye or kendrick
Ain't my thing

[20:20] +TFC: Dear Zach, why do you move all the time?

This is probably the one I want to actually dig into since I've been asked this a lot and finally feel comfortable disclosing more about it than before. I was born in a place I didn't belong and wasn't really allowed to think about and react to the consequences of it for the first 18 years of my life. People told me what to think, how to act, what's "normal", and basically I was in a bubble and never had the chance to think any other way, but I knew something was not right. It's kind of hard to be raised how everyone around you wants you to be and being someone that holds basically none of the values or attributes others around you want to see, especially when there's nothing outside of the bubble that you can experience.

When I graduated from high school, Pokemon allowed me that escape. It allowed me to travel all around, explore new places, understand perspectives of people from all walks of life, and become a more socially aware (and consequently, a less angry and more content) person. Moving was a more medium-term solution but sometimes finances didn't allow me to stay in places for long periods of time. I think I'm pretty much settled down here now. I might still end up moving around town since I'm not able to make a down payment for a house yet and want to explore apartments, but I love Seattle and want to stay here for a long while.

(I enjoy talking about life experiences more than I do about Pokemon heh)


Thanks for the interview Elise. If anyone has questions fire away and I'll do my best to answer them!
 

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