Project Player Of The Week Revived: Week 8 - Many

[TJ]

Many
Favorite Pokemon: Whiscash
Most used Pokemon: Mesprit
Most known for: PU Room Voice and PUPL Manager
​

TJ: Hey Many, how are you doing today?
Many: I'm doing just okay, thanks

TJ: Can you tell us a little about yourself outside of Smogon?
Many: I'm a 21 year-old college student from Maryland studying Environmental Science. Outside of pokemon, I like to play tennis, hang out with friends, and do some creative stuff like making music / writing stories.

TJ: How and when did you get into competitive Pokemon? What drew you to PU?
Many: After I finished playing Diamond and Black/White I became interested in competitive pokemon. I did some Wi-fi battles, got bored of it and sort of forgot about pokemon for a while. Then around late 2013 I searched for "pokemon battle simulators" on a whim and discovered Showdown. At first I played almost exclusively ladder battles. The first community I really participated in was the UU chat room but it was hard to really feel included in such a large community. In about mid 2014 there was some promotions for the new PU ladder on Showdown so I tried it out. I loved the fresh and innovative metagame, and the small community was really welcoming. So I've stuck around ever since.

TJ: What made you select your current username?
Many: "A man of many" was one of the nicknames for a character in a story my friend wrote. I went by TheManOfMany23, then ManOfMany, and I eventually shortened it to just Many.

TJ: We recently banned Lilligant. Do you think it was the right decision?
Many: I don't have a strong opinion on it. I think Lilligant was broken at various times in the SM meta, but it was probably the most manageable it has ever been at this moment. Still, it will be a relief for people to teambuild without having to worry about it.

TJ: What's your favorite playstyle and why?
Many: I like playing with bulky offense because I love using strong offensive pokemon but also I'm not that comfortable at making aggressive plays which you need to properly handle hyper offensive teams. So having a nice fat defensive backbone to fall upon appeals to me.

TJ: You were chosen to manage in PUPL again. What do you look for when you draft a team?
Many: I'd like to have a variety of players on a team. Some people who have a lot of tour experience are nice, as well as a bunch of players who are really familiar with the PU metagame. I also look for making sure the team environment is fun and actually feels like a team, so I will try to avoid drafting many players who are known for just getting passed teams and playing without participating in the chat or teambuilding efforts.

TJ: Who do you think is going over 20k this year in PUPL?
Many: Tough question. A lot of the bigger name players are less active than they once were or have some controversy surrounding them (Ktütverde for example). I think Taskr, Shaneghoul, lax, and Kushalos are possibilities.

TJ: Can you name any players showing good potential?
Many: Chloe and Rexus have had some nice runs lately. I also feel maybe Jmash324 and Oathkeepre are pretty solid and hope they can prove themselves in upcoming tours.

TJ: Who are some of your favorite people in the PU community?
Many: Pretty much every regular on the PU discord- there's a lot of people I like so sorry if I miss anyone. TONE, Specs, tondas, UberSkitty, 2xTheTap, and the whole brit gang are extremely nice guys. LordST and @g are hilarious and brighten up my day with their memes. Special shoutout to Slowbroth who I've met in person and is extremely cool.

TJ: Favorite Music / TV Show?
Many: My music taste covers a lot of rock, pop, and hip-hop music- a lot of mainstream stuff with some more indie artists sprinkled in. Some of my favorite artists right now are Coldplay, Kanye, and Lorde. My favorite TV shows are probably Parks and Rec and any number of cute sci-fi/fantasy shows like Merlin and Stranger Things.

TJ: Finally, could you give us a cool team and briefly explain it?
Many:

Importable

Rampardos @ Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt

Guzzlord @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 184 SpD / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
- Knock Off
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast

Oricorio-Pom-Pom @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hurricane
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Roost

Rotom-Frost @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog

Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Healing Wish

Mudsdale @ Leftovers
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Heavy Slam

Hey this team's not very good but it is one of the few teams I've built recently and it's fun. Inspired by HJAD promoting CB Ramp in discord, so I built some Volt-turn around it to pivot it in. AV Guzzlord is the catch-all special tank here, and Pom Pom acts as a win condition as well as taking the Fighting moves for Ramp. Scarf Mesprit Healing Wish is great for Guzz and Ramp and Muddy is just a standard rocker who fits.

TJ: Thanks for your time, Many! As always, if you guys have your own questions, feel free to ask them below! ​

 

[tondas]

the fact that i got a shoutout from one of the dudes that got me into pu shows show much i've settled into a great community, so i appreciate it

what other video games interest you other than pokemon? any genres in particular that stand out?
how spicy do you like your thai curry?
do you think you could beat yogi in a game of badminton?

 

[ShuckleDeath]

nachos or burritos?
left twix or right twix?
is ron weasley a pointless character?
favorite pu mon and why is it shuckle?
favorite type of bird?
favorite type of dog?
favorite type of fish, to eat and in general?
favorite type of fruit?
favorite flavor of koolaid?
favorite dessert?
favorite desert?
favorite color?
favorite season, time of year and spice?
favorite pu mod and why is it shuckle?

ily

 

[zoowi]

what mon do u hate facing ?
have u tried using whiscash in pu? if so what set(s)?

 

[MZ]

why environmental science?
what do you think about the in-game channel?
which do you wish was your team name more, the SFLOL Kinglers or the Half-Blood Prinplups?

 

[ManOfMany]

the fact that i got a shoutout from one of the dudes that got me into pu shows show much i've settled into a great community, so i appreciate it

what other video games interest you other than pokemon? any genres in particular that stand out?
how spicy do you like your thai curry?
do you think you could beat yogi in a game of badminton?

I'm not that interested in video games these days, I do enjoy playing Smash with friends, or some player vs player shooter games like Halo and GoldenEye. I find I rarely have the attention span needed for most RPGs, but still I love the amazing worldbuilding of games like Skyrim,

moderately, I can tolerate spice (being Indian) but I'm not a fan

Absolutely not. I would totally crush him in tennis though

nachos or burritos?
left twix or right twix?
is ron weasley a pointless character?
favorite pu mon and why is it shuckle?
favorite type of bird?
favorite type of dog?
favorite type of fish, to eat and in general?
favorite type of fruit?
favorite flavor of koolaid?
favorite dessert?
favorite desert?
favorite color?
favorite season, time of year and spice?
favorite pu mod and why is it shuckle?

ily

burritos
no opinion
Ron is certainly not a pointless character. He's heavily flawed and often frustrating, but he is crucial in shaping Harry's character and keeps him grounded. I think it's fascinating to watch him grow over the course of the series and he is written with a lot of care and humanity.
pom pom
The intelligence of crows and ravens really intrigues me so I'm gonna go with them
golden retriever probably
I don't like to eat fish, but don't mind tuna I guess. Whale shark for general
MANGO
no idea, haven't drank kool-aid in like a decade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheer_khurma I call it by a different name but it's fantastic regardless
Fall, Halloween, cinnamon
Shuckle because his kids are probably better than me at pokemon

what mon do u hate facing ?
have u tried using whiscash in pu? if so what set(s)?

Carracosta

I have tried using it in ORAS. Dragon Dance sets EQ/Edge/Waterfall can work occasionally, and Specs with Ice Beam is also neat as a lure for the grass-types who wall Dragon Dance.

why environmental science?
what do you think about the in-game channel?
which do you wish was your team name more, the SFLOL Kinglers or the Half-Blood Prinplups?

During my freshman year, I was planning on going into engineering but I had failed Calculus and was sort of at a low point in my college education. I decided to take an introductory environmental science course just to check it out. I was always vaguely interested in animals and ecosystems, as well as various environmental issues like climate change, pollution, etc. But I was surprised at just how much I loved the content of the course. The science behind ecosystems is fascinating and I think it's cool that there's so much intersection between various fields like biology, chemistry, geology, and even sociology. And there's just so much important work to be done within the field; once I got involved I almost feel like it's an obligation to use my knowledge to better our society

I think it's cool

Half-Blood Prinplups is a classic. The fact that everyone might not get the reference of the name makes it imperfect, but I'm still proud I came up with the pun.