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The Well #65 - Finchinator
- Thread starter Finchinator
- Start date
Plague von Karma
Banned deucer.
What's your most-liked post?
A man walks into a bar and ask the bartender for a drink. As the bartender is mixing his rum with coke, the man notices a person next to him. This person is the most repulsive man he has ever seen, in fact he isn’t even sure if the man is alive or a decaying corpse. The bartender hands him his drink and he asked who is that man? The bartender replies, that woman was cursed by a witch to appear as the person you hate the most. So the man curious asked who do you see? “My wife, and you?” You are that man Finch and I the bartender, so answer the question.
Hi Finch. I'm not really a member of the OU or Tours community but even I can still see the immense amount of work you put into this website. I'm also a big fan of your Youtube channel, especially when you commentate tour games. Even I'm able to understand what's going on!
My question for you is how you handle all your responsibilities from Work, Smogon, and Youtube? I started college this year and could barely handle schoolwork + playing a varsity sport so I am wondering how you do it all.
Cheers
My question for you is how you handle all your responsibilities from Work, Smogon, and Youtube? I started college this year and could barely handle schoolwork + playing a varsity sport so I am wondering how you do it all.
Cheers
With all the work you do in the community I imagine you feel burnout or fatigue coming on often. If so, how do you get yourself back into the mood to keep playing/contributing?
e: like emma said I really enjoy your tournament game analysis. Do you have any plans for covering SPL?
e: like emma said I really enjoy your tournament game analysis. Do you have any plans for covering SPL?
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Is this you?
A pokemon trainer is getting ready for his sanction match in Alola. He walks out of his dressing room and steps into the stadium. The crowd is roaring his name and he silently raises his hand and smirks. He faces his opponent who is waving to the crowd, the trainer thinks he's waving to him and waves back. The other trainer does not notice him. The boy's heart is pumping in excitement when all of a sudden it sank. His opponent has lead with a Magearna, a legendary pokemon! He quickly regains his composure and sends out his Magmortar, for fire beats steel which were their respective typing. "Magmortar use fire spin!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, when his confidence faded. The Magearna was scarf and outsped. It volt-switched into Heatran who absorbed the fire spin thanks to its ability Flash Fire. "Another FUCKING LEGENDARY!" he cried as the Heatran KO'ed the poor Magmortar but our hero while down was not out.. He sent out his best friend, someone who was not legendary in terms of status or power but was to him. "Let's go partner, I choose you, SCEPTILE!" He chuckles thinking he has the upper hand. Even tho Sceptile is a grass type and Heatran a fire steel type, he had a secret tech. The man started dancing and while maintaining eye contact yelled "All-Out Pummeling!" The move hits Heatran and was no less a critical hit but it did not KO the lava dome Pokémon. The boy's heart was shattered and needless to say that poor man was 6-0'ed. As he walked out of the stadium, with his head low he muttered "I would of won if he didn't have legendary Pokémon. My bond with my Pokémon have no equal! Fuck the council and fuck smogon... Wait! The council! I bet if I can personally talk to them I can ask them to ban these unfair Pokémon."
So the boy went on Smogon.com and wrote on an OU councilman's wall. He waited patiently by his computer for minutes into hours into days, until *bing* he got a notification. He was notified that his post was deleted for "waste of time". "A WASTE OF TIME!" he exclaimed. Then another notification appeared, the councilman who's wall the boy posted on started a thread. He click and his heart gave out. "Gen 7 OU is perfect as it is rn and Toxapex will not get a suspect test." The boy clicks x on his computer and goes to bed, defeated. Whispering “why, why, why?” repeatedly as he cries himself to sleep.
Finch you were that councilman, the boy was the average ladder player and the man who 6-0'd him was me. So answer the question, remember that time you haxed me on the ladder, I clicked x on my browser instead of forfeiting and you went on my wall to talk shit?
So the boy went on Smogon.com and wrote on an OU councilman's wall. He waited patiently by his computer for minutes into hours into days, until *bing* he got a notification. He was notified that his post was deleted for "waste of time". "A WASTE OF TIME!" he exclaimed. Then another notification appeared, the councilman who's wall the boy posted on started a thread. He click and his heart gave out. "Gen 7 OU is perfect as it is rn and Toxapex will not get a suspect test." The boy clicks x on his computer and goes to bed, defeated. Whispering “why, why, why?” repeatedly as he cries himself to sleep.
Finch you were that councilman, the boy was the average ladder player and the man who 6-0'd him was me. So answer the question, remember that time you haxed me on the ladder, I clicked x on my browser instead of forfeiting and you went on my wall to talk shit?
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Top 5 Taylor Swift songs?
What’s your words-per-minute rate?
Favorite late night tv host of all time?
What’s your words-per-minute rate?
Favorite late night tv host of all time?
funniest interaction with a ps random that recognized you
funniest story from when you were a 13 year old baseball team executive or whatever the job description was (as in, best lie you told people about it)
most heated ou council discussion you ever witnessed/participated in
funniest story from a team tour chat that didn't see the light of day for the masses
what does your day look like after you get eliminated from smogon tour playoffs/spl, snake or wcop playoffs (or assuming you played very late in the day, what does the next day look like)
starry already asked the Two Canonical Questions, but i urge you not to be a coward when answering them. you gave a non answer on the shittiest player one smh come on
funniest story from when you were a 13 year old baseball team executive or whatever the job description was (as in, best lie you told people about it)
most heated ou council discussion you ever witnessed/participated in
funniest story from a team tour chat that didn't see the light of day for the masses
what does your day look like after you get eliminated from smogon tour playoffs/spl, snake or wcop playoffs (or assuming you played very late in the day, what does the next day look like)
starry already asked the Two Canonical Questions, but i urge you not to be a coward when answering them. you gave a non answer on the shittiest player one smh come on
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Gonna only tackle a handful of these tonight as I was away from 7am-11pm today, but I will be free all night tomorrow to cover plenty. Keep them coming in the meantime and I will get to all over them over the next 1-2 days.
My favorite tournament to participate in as a player is Smogon Tour, even if the qualification process is grueling. My favorite moment from that tournament is turn 17 of G1 of Smogon Tour 26 finals. I was in an early hole due to a critical hit on my Rotom-Wash making me incapable of actually using it when it was important, so I had to make some plays to get back in it. After baiting Substitute Heatran into a sense of being threatened by Encore and leaving the impression that Heatran was his win condition with the hesitance in my prior maneuvers around it, I read z0mOG's midground scout by clicking HP Ice into the Heatran behind a Substitute, connecting with Landorus-T. While this play did not singlehandedly win me the game, it turned my odds from nearly nonexistent to favorable. If I landed 2 Focus Blasts or got a few little things, I would have won the game from there. Obviously the end result was not what I wanted, but this one I was very happy about my play in.
My favorite tournament to engage in as a teammate is probably WCOP. My favorite moment from that tournament would have to be US Northeast winning the whole thing in 2018 after I went 2-0 in relevant playoff games against McMeghan and lax. I was able to really break out in BW once again, proving that I belonged in elite competition and was a strong contributor to our title run that season. It is true that we were perhaps the strongest roster at the time and I was not much of a leader on this team, but this was still an amazing and unique victory.
Will be getting to a ton more than just this tomorrow, if not the whole remainder. Feel free to ask more in the meantime as well.
I feel as if it is hard to break it down to a single experience or tournament. This is partially because I have so many amazing experiences to go through. The brief likely answer from me would be SPL6 and my favorite moment being my first ever SPL win during week 2 vs my good friend meeps. However, I actually think the best way to paint the full picture here would be to give a few different answers fitting various contexts.
My favorite tournament to participate in as a player is Smogon Tour, even if the qualification process is grueling. My favorite moment from that tournament is turn 17 of G1 of Smogon Tour 26 finals. I was in an early hole due to a critical hit on my Rotom-Wash making me incapable of actually using it when it was important, so I had to make some plays to get back in it. After baiting Substitute Heatran into a sense of being threatened by Encore and leaving the impression that Heatran was his win condition with the hesitance in my prior maneuvers around it, I read z0mOG's midground scout by clicking HP Ice into the Heatran behind a Substitute, connecting with Landorus-T. While this play did not singlehandedly win me the game, it turned my odds from nearly nonexistent to favorable. If I landed 2 Focus Blasts or got a few little things, I would have won the game from there. Obviously the end result was not what I wanted, but this one I was very happy about my play in.
My favorite tournament to engage in as a teammate is probably WCOP. My favorite moment from that tournament would have to be US Northeast winning the whole thing in 2018 after I went 2-0 in relevant playoff games against McMeghan and lax. I was able to really break out in BW once again, proving that I belonged in elite competition and was a strong contributor to our title run that season. It is true that we were perhaps the strongest roster at the time and I was not much of a leader on this team, but this was still an amazing and unique victory.
For sure friend, hmu anytime
Born and raised a Knicks fan. Gotta stay loyal, even if the franchise is run awfully. I do not support the team to the same extent I used to and honestly would struggle to even go to a game had we not been mid-pandemic and I had the option. Ownership is poor and it trickles down horribly, but I still always want to see them achieve success above all else. I will never be a bandwagoner or just swap teams overnight for the sake of doing so.
Platinum, but HGSS is A+ tier for me an they were very well done. Generation 4 in general was amazing in-game in my opinion, which I am sure many of you got from the OP already.
I thought it was the coolest thing ever when I learned about it for the first time wayyyy back when, but now it is just another distant memory the education system planted deep in my head. It has some intriguing applications though.
Money and being able to help people. The original idea, which still may come into play in the future, was to be a financial advisor or financial consultant. It would lead to a reliable life for me money wise while also working to help companies or individuals with their finances. Helping people and making a difference in society is of the utmost importance to me. I actually was an accountant initially, but swapped away from that after a year due to being unhappy with the trajectory of accounting prospects, who oftentimes had to throw away so much time during their prime years in order to obtain a reliable position in a company before moving up.
Thank you so much, this means a lot to me!
Very sporadically and never on my own, no. I do not have the interest or attention span to watch many proper documentaries on other topics admiteddly.
Yes, every year of course. I watch with friends most years, but the pandemic hurts that prospect. BBQ is not always in the equation either as the weather oftentimes prevents actual BBQ, so we would order it from outside and that really depends on the specific group of people I am with during the game.
There are some beaches down the shore I like, but most attractions you end up finding in New York in all honesty. I tend to visit the beach at least 1-2 times every Summer that I do not get to go on a fully-fledged family beach vacation though. It is a great change of pace that can be relaxing if you find the right place that is not filled with countless people. In addition, the boardwalk is a great time that tends to be intertwined with beach visits.
Leading the Smogon Charity Bowl stream when we raised over 10k for an amazing cause and being able to lead the SS OU tier. Being presented with such awesome levels of responsibility will always be memorable. In addition, being able to make the impact I did will always make me proud!
Thank you! It is very hard sometimes, but it is super important to maintain the positive mindset.
Will be getting to a ton more than just this tomorrow, if not the whole remainder. Feel free to ask more in the meantime as well.
Diophantine
Banned deucer.
This popped into my head when I read this:
Have you met anyone from PS/Smogon in real life? Who were they and how was it?
Please may we get a viability rankings for different chicken wing flavours?
Which sports are you into? To what extent are you into them? Are there any that you would like to start spectating/participating in?
This one took a while to answer, but it was easily worth it. I have to handle some IRL things, but once I am done I will get through the next batch as well. This one deserved its own post anyway.
- STour & SPL officially, but also it has seen usage by a lot of people in Classic, STour regular season, circuit tournaments, etc.
While McMeghan deserves credit for the creation of Fighting Gem Landorus-T, I do feel my structure helped optimize and popularize it over the years, especially from late '17 - mid '19. Pairing it with Scarf Garchomp allowed for pretty great coverage of common match-ups. The Landorus-T was able to lure things like Skarmory, Rotm-Wash, defensive Politoed, Gliscor, opposing Landorus-T, and the rare Tangrowth, which always dies to +2 Superpower with Fighting Gem after SR + Spike + Sand (and Tangrowth structures tend to enable Ferrothorn setting up Spikes, so this scenario popped up a ton when people spammed those dice Tangrowth structures in '17-'18). Scarf Garchomp was able to do an amazing job in late game scenarios with this support and it also cleans up Rain offense in general, which is important as Landorus-T does not do as well in that match-up. I feel this is the team I associate the most with myself nowadays and I was proud of myself for coming up with this application of the strategy.
2.
- SPL officially, but also it was the most common team for a few months in the middle of '19 after this game
It was no secret that I was supporting the Ruiners in the SPLX finals, mainly due to my disgust with the Tyrants antics. dice had come up with the Earthquake / Iron Head / Rapid Spin / Protect Leftovers Excadrill with Sand Force a few days earlier in the chat, but in making this build I was able to capture some of the most trendy and effective concepts in the metagame:
3.
- SPL officially, but this 6 has seen ridiculous amounts of usage over the course of this year in BW Cup, circuit tournaments, PP tournaments, and even a few uses in PSI.
I do not want to claim that I was the first (or last) person to come up with this 6 originally and I have personally used >dozen different variants of this 6 over the course of this year alone, but I feel like it shot up a ton in popularity after I used it against Fakes and the specific sets I had in that game (Specs Keldeo, Scarf Latios, Sub+Agility Thundurus-T, fast Toxic Tentacruel, etc.) became the standard configuration.
Specs Keldeo under Rain was at its peak at this point in time and builds like this arguably led to a surge in Jellicent Sand balance structures with Alakazam+Spikes in the coming months, too. Regardless of this and the specific trends it touched on, it also was sick to sweep with this specific Thundurus-T set. I have always been high on the Substitute+Agility combination that I came up with a couple years prior, so winning specifically because of it was one of the best feelings. I feel like this 6 is as close to "standard" as you get for Rain offense nowadays, too, but obviously there are other variants with respectable trade-offs and the archetype will continue to evolve.
4.
and
- SPL x2 officially, but this 6 revived non-DragMag weatherless teams during mid-late 2020 I feel.
I feel that this was one of my best builds ever from a purely conceptual standpoint. The idea is that weatherless always struggles with hardcore Rain abusers like Tentacruel, which is basically granted 2-3 lives and the ability to spread status everywhere, or Pokemon teams rely on Pursuit for like Latios and Alakazam, which are basically always carrying their weight and likely doing much more against weatherless due to the lack of Tyranitar. I used Poison Heal Breloom to abuse the former. Reuniclus also sits on Tentacruel, but it enabled the wrong things and this Breloom set punishes teams immediately so well. It was the Substitute/Protect/FocusPunch/SeedBomb Breloom set that dice had popularized just a number of days prior to my usage of this. This set gained traction and so did the team.
As for the pesky Psychic types, SDef Jirachi worked well here for those Pokemon as the combination of Breloom abusing Ferrothorn, Trick Rotom-Wash luring Ferrothorn, and a bulky Spin Excadrill (or Magnezone on the initial variant) allowed for Spikes to be punished. SDef Jirachi's main issue, of course, is enabling Spikers and forfeiting momentum. These teams were able to mitigate that weakness and it allowed for a totally different pace and dynamic for a weatherless team because of that.
Finally, being able to bring back a truly timeless titan, Scarf Rotom-Wash, was one of the things I enjoyed the most about these structures. While it saw much better days back when BW was the current generation, I still believe it has viability outside of Sand. These teams being living proof of that is something I treasure.
5.
- SPL officially, but I used it dozens of times in circuit tournaments and various others used it in BW Cup/circuit tournaments as well.
"TriPsy" was a team archetype that had been used before, but I think this is one of the most disruptive modern applications of the concept. With Magic Guard surging once more in BW OU earlier this year, stacking these Pokemon in a synergistic configuration allowed for some games to get out of hand quickly. In circuit tournaments, this was one of the most reliable "noob killers", esp because it had Sash Alakazam + Scarf Latios as a safety blanket. As for my usage of it in SPL, it was still super raw and disruptive at the time, especially coming from me when I had not used many builds like this previously. I am glad I got to pull it off and it was cool to bring Endeavor Ferrothorn, even if I never showed it in the game. That set is legitimate and I refuse to hear out anyone claiming otherwise
Honorable mention to my Facade Breloom Rain from early '19. Popularizing Facade Breloom was really cool and a number of people used it right after I revealed it there in the BW Championshop finals vs Posho. The team itself I used it on never gained as much traction as these five though. Also, a few of the teams I used in WCOP '18 deserve mention, too. The Rain vs McMeghan and Sand vs lax in particular, both winning crucial playoff games. BW had a bit of a lull in progress later that year though, mainly seeing a surge in Gliscor due to the latter team and people like SoulWind utiziling it well. I could honestly keep going for 10-15 teams and have a lot to say, but that's plenty for now.
This was one of the best teams in the early WCOP metagame and a lot of people used it/similar structures to it after I brought it. It highlighted some of the best Pokemon in the metagame and was a solid build all around. Not a ton of commentary on it beyond what was said in the RMT, but I hyperlinked that above.
2. SM NU Sand Offense - SM NU, 2018
This team was one of the few that pushed Sand over the edge in SM NU. It used a really fun concept to use Eject Button + Recycle Slowbro in order to maximize the turns and positioning of specific abusers. This led to hilarious breaking potential early and sweeping potential late. The team was absolutely vicious and poor Star got owned in like 8 turns for tiebreak of HPL by it as well.
3.
- ORAS NU, 2015 - SPL
Believe it or not, there was a point in time when nobody used Hex Rotom in lower tiers. This team (and the concept I came up with during the planning stages) was the coming out part of the now standardized Wisp+Hex combination in NU that generation. It was a pretty huge breakthrough for me, too, as I had never really been innovative on this stage before. It was my first SPL and I was up against FLCL, who was and still is one of the best out there. Being able to win this game and come up with a top-notch Steelix lure that ultimately became a huge metagame presence in various capacities was pretty dope. I still remember shaking at team preview of this game, nervous out of my mind. It was my second ever SPL game and it was really a huge success in the moment and projecting forward for me.
4.
- SM OU, 2018 - Smogon Tour
Zygarde had been slightly controversial before this, but seeing a totally new set outright win a game in the semifinals of Smogon Tour was ultimately something that contributed to us suspecting it later that month. This team was also just a great, consistent build that was able to clutch g3 for me, but I think that it also held some significant in the history of SM OU as well. Also, look how little Ice Beam did to it LMAO
5.
- SS OU, 2020 - Snake and various other unofficial tournaments.
While this was not the exact 6 that was spammed during the end of SSD this year, this was the first HO with the dual Fighting core that was used on the big stage. I feel like it was one of the first dominos that fell, leading to HO being spammed throughout October/November in DLC1 SS OU. This team was also absolutely brutal and highlighted how busted Urshifu was, too.
ST29 R1 vs Corazan, SM OU
This has to be one of the best played games of 2020, and I realize how cocky I sound when saying this. I don't care. I faced Charizard-Y with Charizard-Y check Heatran (hint: not a check), Weavile with Weavile check Greninja (hint: not a check), and Z-Steel Kartana with Z-Kartana check Tangrowth, which lacked HP Fire/Focus Blast. I had to get everything right while toeing a tight rope, which I managed to do. I kept Gliscor in on Weavile as it clicked Knock Off, went Gliscor on Focus Blast in the Sun, kept Rotom-Wash in on Kartana as it used Corkscrew Crash, etc. I pretty much had to be super aggressive whenever he got any momentum while making only incrmental progress every time I found an opening myself for over 100 turns. It worked and I was absolutely elated. Losing this series was a huge blow to me/my 2020 though. I played similarly well in g2 and got super unlucky, so that stunk.
SSD III W1 vs Garay oak, SM NU and SSD III W2 vs Kushalos
Both of these games were tight because I was not playing NU in officials for years and got the top 2 ranked players in the first 2 weeks, not giving me a ton of time to get in form. I also fell behind in both games early. With a ton of attention to detail, patience, and timely aggression, I was able to pull out both in close fashion. Each of these games showed a certain level of precision and win condition analysis that I wish I found myself exhibiting more often nowadays honestly. I can go on for hours about every detail that went into my execution during these games. Two wins I am proud of for sure.
Smogon Classic VI Playoffs vs Tamahome, RBY OU
RBY was a tier that I was still not entirely familiar with. Sure, I had played it before, but I was still adapting to standard operating procedure on the fly, as these games were played. I consider myself competent at RBY currently, but at this point I was still on the fringe of competency. So I went into this game, against one of the best old generation players of all time, a bit worried. But I balled out here. I did not make too many unnecessary risks, I found a groove and a gameplan early, and I really understood the game -- for the sequences the opponent was going for in order to decipher their team/sets, for the way I could use my Pokemon in order to make the most progress directly, for the things I had to preserve in order to give myself the best chance of winning in the long haul, etc. I really think this may be one of my gutsiest performances ever. There were some turns I was genuinely scared because optimal plays are harder for me to come by in this format, but I managed to make it work no matter what happened, including some crazy inaccuracy.
Permasand Invitational I Round 6 vs xray, ADV OU
ADV is a tier I felt a lot better in than RBY, but it was still not exactly my home turf and I was using a team with some novel concepts. I was able to execute my gameplan perfectly here though. I did not take any unnecessary risks, disclose anything I needed not to, or even go out of my way to be aggressive when I was able to decipher his gameplan and remaining Pokemon from how he was playing. A lot of the greatness of modern ADV is hard to put into words in a post like this due to how much experience, energy, and attention to detail it takes to gameplan forward. The metagame has so many lovely nuisances and strategies. It has explosive offensive potential and plenty of defensive roadblocks as well. I feel like I took a ton of time to pick apart all possibilities to assure that my Salamence could seal the deal, which became a near certainty in the later stages of this game.
Honorable mention to: me vs Raiza from SPLXI semifinals -- I may have lost due to some unfortunate stuff, but I played a crazy game and the fact that I brought it back to an ~80/20 endgame state was crazy, especially given how well he played. Also, me vs SoulWind from WCOP '20 R1, but I already included my team from that battle above, so did not want to discuss that anymore.
A rare marathon BW game. Both of these players helped lay the groundwork for an archetype of balance that focused on controlling momentum and spreading more passive damage. At the time, many people took a more direct approach towards making progress, even on balance builds, and it has been very cool seeing similar builds used in the aftermath. Of course, the game itself had various exciting things as well. I will not go in-depth on the whole 190 turn affair, but I would strongly advise watching it slowly with some popcorn.
Star vs John W, Smogon Tour 30 R1 SM OU
I do not think this game was one of the five best played games ever necessarily, but Star's gameplan here stands out as optimal and well executed. He was patient, he knew what trades to make, and he only took risks once he was able to feel out all of the sequences that the game had involved. I think that he displayed a certain level of mastery when it came to long-term thinking, positioning, and preservation. I think there were maybe 1-2 sloppy turns on his end and John W made some weird risks in the middle, but I really enjoyed how Star played this one.
ABR vs McMeghan, Smogon Tour 28 Finals, ORAS OU
This game needs no introduction; it was an instant classic. McMeghan employed one of the craziest strategies even he has used and ABR was left to his own devices to fend off all of the craziness that ensued. A must-watch for people who this game predates. Both players exhibited masterful competency here.
linear vs KG, SPL X Week 3, ADV OU
Some really cool things on both sides. Linear has a pretty clear gameplan he executes very well from the start, but KG's lure Zapdos gets in a ton of damage on Blissey, opening the door for KG to have a legit shot late game with a pesky Gengar and the hidden Metagross in the back even. Linear had to do so much long-term planning on the fly here and that made it really special for me as a teammate when he pulled through, but KG gave it one hell of an effort down the stretch, too. An underrated game.
ABR vs Empo, Smogon Tour 26 Playoffs R2, SM OU
This was an intense game, especially for ABR's standards in ORAS. Both had similar team structures and Empo had a pretty uncommon bring at the time in Kyurem alongside it all. Some nice back-and-forths, a closely contested endgame, and ABR barely won off of having QA on his Mega Lopunny. This one was a thriller as a spectator and I feel both played it quite well. Stuck with me for a while after when attempting to use BO in SM honestly.
Honestly I find it amusing at this point and I have embraced it to an extent. People who call me out never really get anything out of it nowadays, but they keep coming for my head. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, but they can keep trying if they so please. It is true that I do respond a fair amount, even more than I should. But for every response, there are a solid dozen things I just laugh at and move on. People trying to provoke me or just saying outright absurd things -- it is who they are and that's their own problem. I do not need to be defensive 24/7. The amount of attention I receive on this website, especially isolated attention specific to myself and no larger groups, is kind of crazy. I am not sure if people are obsessed with me or just have nothing better to do with their time (it is 2020 after all, but this phenomenon predates 2020), but at this point I am more worried about their own wellbeing due to the massive amount of landscape I possess in their heads than I am about myself. If they want to spend their spare time trying to provoke me, then all I can do is wonder why they are using their spare time on me instead of themselves. Perhaps they are jealous? Perhaps they are insecure about themselves? I don't know, but it is more amusing than anything else to me at this point. All I can do is just keep being myself.
I cannot possibly make everyone happy as a leader in this community. There are contrasting interests and philosophies at every single crossroads. All I can do is use my constantly improving and evolving judgement, sense of self, and individuality to do what is best for myself and Smogon when given the opportunity. There will always be people who go out of their way to ridicule me as I am an easy target, but those people are going to have to be a lot more justified and civilized in order to derail me.
Ever since I started uploading on YouTube, this has come up a ton. I am, after all, the big bad Smogon guy who bans all the things that beat stall. How dare I do that?
1.
While McMeghan deserves credit for the creation of Fighting Gem Landorus-T, I do feel my structure helped optimize and popularize it over the years, especially from late '17 - mid '19. Pairing it with Scarf Garchomp allowed for pretty great coverage of common match-ups. The Landorus-T was able to lure things like Skarmory, Rotm-Wash, defensive Politoed, Gliscor, opposing Landorus-T, and the rare Tangrowth, which always dies to +2 Superpower with Fighting Gem after SR + Spike + Sand (and Tangrowth structures tend to enable Ferrothorn setting up Spikes, so this scenario popped up a ton when people spammed those dice Tangrowth structures in '17-'18). Scarf Garchomp was able to do an amazing job in late game scenarios with this support and it also cleans up Rain offense in general, which is important as Landorus-T does not do as well in that match-up. I feel this is the team I associate the most with myself nowadays and I was proud of myself for coming up with this application of the strategy.
2.
It was no secret that I was supporting the Ruiners in the SPLX finals, mainly due to my disgust with the Tyrants antics. dice had come up with the Earthquake / Iron Head / Rapid Spin / Protect Leftovers Excadrill with Sand Force a few days earlier in the chat, but in making this build I was able to capture some of the most trendy and effective concepts in the metagame:
- Using Magic Guard to deter opposing status and hazard reliance for progress
- This was arguably one of the catalysts for BW experiencing another phase of Magic Guard (specifically Reuniclus) being atop the threat list. Another shoutout to McMeghan for BoltBeam Reuniclus, which We Three Kings used to success multiple times that SPL and completely changed the trajectory of the metagame.
- Using Spikes + Sand with Protect in order to make incremental progress on a more balanced build
- More of a timeless concept, but one that had been phased out a little bit for more direct offense in months preceding this
- Stacking Psychic types in order to ramp up pressure on common checks/counters and find openings in the later game
- Oftentimes seen with Latios+Alakazam or Latios+Reuniclus, but sometimes both MG users or all 3. This team fit Reuniclus more, but many different compositions have been used over the years.
3.
I do not want to claim that I was the first (or last) person to come up with this 6 originally and I have personally used >dozen different variants of this 6 over the course of this year alone, but I feel like it shot up a ton in popularity after I used it against Fakes and the specific sets I had in that game (Specs Keldeo, Scarf Latios, Sub+Agility Thundurus-T, fast Toxic Tentacruel, etc.) became the standard configuration.
Specs Keldeo under Rain was at its peak at this point in time and builds like this arguably led to a surge in Jellicent Sand balance structures with Alakazam+Spikes in the coming months, too. Regardless of this and the specific trends it touched on, it also was sick to sweep with this specific Thundurus-T set. I have always been high on the Substitute+Agility combination that I came up with a couple years prior, so winning specifically because of it was one of the best feelings. I feel like this 6 is as close to "standard" as you get for Rain offense nowadays, too, but obviously there are other variants with respectable trade-offs and the archetype will continue to evolve.
4.
I feel that this was one of my best builds ever from a purely conceptual standpoint. The idea is that weatherless always struggles with hardcore Rain abusers like Tentacruel, which is basically granted 2-3 lives and the ability to spread status everywhere, or Pokemon teams rely on Pursuit for like Latios and Alakazam, which are basically always carrying their weight and likely doing much more against weatherless due to the lack of Tyranitar. I used Poison Heal Breloom to abuse the former. Reuniclus also sits on Tentacruel, but it enabled the wrong things and this Breloom set punishes teams immediately so well. It was the Substitute/Protect/FocusPunch/SeedBomb Breloom set that dice had popularized just a number of days prior to my usage of this. This set gained traction and so did the team.
As for the pesky Psychic types, SDef Jirachi worked well here for those Pokemon as the combination of Breloom abusing Ferrothorn, Trick Rotom-Wash luring Ferrothorn, and a bulky Spin Excadrill (or Magnezone on the initial variant) allowed for Spikes to be punished. SDef Jirachi's main issue, of course, is enabling Spikers and forfeiting momentum. These teams were able to mitigate that weakness and it allowed for a totally different pace and dynamic for a weatherless team because of that.
Finally, being able to bring back a truly timeless titan, Scarf Rotom-Wash, was one of the things I enjoyed the most about these structures. While it saw much better days back when BW was the current generation, I still believe it has viability outside of Sand. These teams being living proof of that is something I treasure.
5.
"TriPsy" was a team archetype that had been used before, but I think this is one of the most disruptive modern applications of the concept. With Magic Guard surging once more in BW OU earlier this year, stacking these Pokemon in a synergistic configuration allowed for some games to get out of hand quickly. In circuit tournaments, this was one of the most reliable "noob killers", esp because it had Sash Alakazam + Scarf Latios as a safety blanket. As for my usage of it in SPL, it was still super raw and disruptive at the time, especially coming from me when I had not used many builds like this previously. I am glad I got to pull it off and it was cool to bring Endeavor Ferrothorn, even if I never showed it in the game. That set is legitimate and I refuse to hear out anyone claiming otherwise
Honorable mention to my Facade Breloom Rain from early '19. Popularizing Facade Breloom was really cool and a number of people used it right after I revealed it there in the BW Championshop finals vs Posho. The team itself I used it on never gained as much traction as these five though. Also, a few of the teams I used in WCOP '18 deserve mention, too. The Rain vs McMeghan and Sand vs lax in particular, both winning crucial playoff games. BW had a bit of a lull in progress later that year though, mainly seeing a surge in Gliscor due to the latter team and people like SoulWind utiziling it well. I could honestly keep going for 10-15 teams and have a lot to say, but that's plenty for now.
1. WCOP Magearna balance - SS OU, 2020 - WCOP officially, but plenty of times after in other tournaments as well.
This was one of the best teams in the early WCOP metagame and a lot of people used it/similar structures to it after I brought it. It highlighted some of the best Pokemon in the metagame and was a solid build all around. Not a ton of commentary on it beyond what was said in the RMT, but I hyperlinked that above.
2. SM NU Sand Offense - SM NU, 2018
This team was one of the few that pushed Sand over the edge in SM NU. It used a really fun concept to use Eject Button + Recycle Slowbro in order to maximize the turns and positioning of specific abusers. This led to hilarious breaking potential early and sweeping potential late. The team was absolutely vicious and poor Star got owned in like 8 turns for tiebreak of HPL by it as well.
3.
Believe it or not, there was a point in time when nobody used Hex Rotom in lower tiers. This team (and the concept I came up with during the planning stages) was the coming out part of the now standardized Wisp+Hex combination in NU that generation. It was a pretty huge breakthrough for me, too, as I had never really been innovative on this stage before. It was my first SPL and I was up against FLCL, who was and still is one of the best out there. Being able to win this game and come up with a top-notch Steelix lure that ultimately became a huge metagame presence in various capacities was pretty dope. I still remember shaking at team preview of this game, nervous out of my mind. It was my second ever SPL game and it was really a huge success in the moment and projecting forward for me.
4.
Zygarde had been slightly controversial before this, but seeing a totally new set outright win a game in the semifinals of Smogon Tour was ultimately something that contributed to us suspecting it later that month. This team was also just a great, consistent build that was able to clutch g3 for me, but I think that it also held some significant in the history of SM OU as well. Also, look how little Ice Beam did to it LMAO
5.
While this was not the exact 6 that was spammed during the end of SSD this year, this was the first HO with the dual Fighting core that was used on the big stage. I feel like it was one of the first dominos that fell, leading to HO being spammed throughout October/November in DLC1 SS OU. This team was also absolutely brutal and highlighted how busted Urshifu was, too.
Not gonna number them 1-5 because I have no true order here.
ST29 R1 vs Corazan, SM OU
This has to be one of the best played games of 2020, and I realize how cocky I sound when saying this. I don't care. I faced Charizard-Y with Charizard-Y check Heatran (hint: not a check), Weavile with Weavile check Greninja (hint: not a check), and Z-Steel Kartana with Z-Kartana check Tangrowth, which lacked HP Fire/Focus Blast. I had to get everything right while toeing a tight rope, which I managed to do. I kept Gliscor in on Weavile as it clicked Knock Off, went Gliscor on Focus Blast in the Sun, kept Rotom-Wash in on Kartana as it used Corkscrew Crash, etc. I pretty much had to be super aggressive whenever he got any momentum while making only incrmental progress every time I found an opening myself for over 100 turns. It worked and I was absolutely elated. Losing this series was a huge blow to me/my 2020 though. I played similarly well in g2 and got super unlucky, so that stunk.
SSD III W1 vs Garay oak, SM NU and SSD III W2 vs Kushalos
Both of these games were tight because I was not playing NU in officials for years and got the top 2 ranked players in the first 2 weeks, not giving me a ton of time to get in form. I also fell behind in both games early. With a ton of attention to detail, patience, and timely aggression, I was able to pull out both in close fashion. Each of these games showed a certain level of precision and win condition analysis that I wish I found myself exhibiting more often nowadays honestly. I can go on for hours about every detail that went into my execution during these games. Two wins I am proud of for sure.
Smogon Classic VI Playoffs vs Tamahome, RBY OU
RBY was a tier that I was still not entirely familiar with. Sure, I had played it before, but I was still adapting to standard operating procedure on the fly, as these games were played. I consider myself competent at RBY currently, but at this point I was still on the fringe of competency. So I went into this game, against one of the best old generation players of all time, a bit worried. But I balled out here. I did not make too many unnecessary risks, I found a groove and a gameplan early, and I really understood the game -- for the sequences the opponent was going for in order to decipher their team/sets, for the way I could use my Pokemon in order to make the most progress directly, for the things I had to preserve in order to give myself the best chance of winning in the long haul, etc. I really think this may be one of my gutsiest performances ever. There were some turns I was genuinely scared because optimal plays are harder for me to come by in this format, but I managed to make it work no matter what happened, including some crazy inaccuracy.
Permasand Invitational I Round 6 vs xray, ADV OU
ADV is a tier I felt a lot better in than RBY, but it was still not exactly my home turf and I was using a team with some novel concepts. I was able to execute my gameplan perfectly here though. I did not take any unnecessary risks, disclose anything I needed not to, or even go out of my way to be aggressive when I was able to decipher his gameplan and remaining Pokemon from how he was playing. A lot of the greatness of modern ADV is hard to put into words in a post like this due to how much experience, energy, and attention to detail it takes to gameplan forward. The metagame has so many lovely nuisances and strategies. It has explosive offensive potential and plenty of defensive roadblocks as well. I feel like I took a ton of time to pick apart all possibilities to assure that my Salamence could seal the deal, which became a near certainty in the later stages of this game.
Honorable mention to: me vs Raiza from SPLXI semifinals -- I may have lost due to some unfortunate stuff, but I played a crazy game and the fact that I brought it back to an ~80/20 endgame state was crazy, especially given how well he played. Also, me vs SoulWind from WCOP '20 R1, but I already included my team from that battle above, so did not want to discuss that anymore.
ABR vs SoulWind, Classic V SemiFinals BW OU
A rare marathon BW game. Both of these players helped lay the groundwork for an archetype of balance that focused on controlling momentum and spreading more passive damage. At the time, many people took a more direct approach towards making progress, even on balance builds, and it has been very cool seeing similar builds used in the aftermath. Of course, the game itself had various exciting things as well. I will not go in-depth on the whole 190 turn affair, but I would strongly advise watching it slowly with some popcorn.
Star vs John W, Smogon Tour 30 R1 SM OU
I do not think this game was one of the five best played games ever necessarily, but Star's gameplan here stands out as optimal and well executed. He was patient, he knew what trades to make, and he only took risks once he was able to feel out all of the sequences that the game had involved. I think that he displayed a certain level of mastery when it came to long-term thinking, positioning, and preservation. I think there were maybe 1-2 sloppy turns on his end and John W made some weird risks in the middle, but I really enjoyed how Star played this one.
ABR vs McMeghan, Smogon Tour 28 Finals, ORAS OU
This game needs no introduction; it was an instant classic. McMeghan employed one of the craziest strategies even he has used and ABR was left to his own devices to fend off all of the craziness that ensued. A must-watch for people who this game predates. Both players exhibited masterful competency here.
linear vs KG, SPL X Week 3, ADV OU
Some really cool things on both sides. Linear has a pretty clear gameplan he executes very well from the start, but KG's lure Zapdos gets in a ton of damage on Blissey, opening the door for KG to have a legit shot late game with a pesky Gengar and the hidden Metagross in the back even. Linear had to do so much long-term planning on the fly here and that made it really special for me as a teammate when he pulled through, but KG gave it one hell of an effort down the stretch, too. An underrated game.
ABR vs Empo, Smogon Tour 26 Playoffs R2, SM OU
This was an intense game, especially for ABR's standards in ORAS. Both had similar team structures and Empo had a pretty uncommon bring at the time in Kyurem alongside it all. Some nice back-and-forths, a closely contested endgame, and ABR barely won off of having QA on his Mega Lopunny. This one was a thriller as a spectator and I feel both played it quite well. Stuck with me for a while after when attempting to use BO in SM honestly.
Depending on my ability to get into new shows while working in the future, yes (so maybe).
I deal with them by just being myself. Yes, sometimes I can be a Lot, but also I have to be doing a Lot right if these people feel the need to try and bring me down instead of minding their own business. You should not feel a desire to bring something down unless it is above you to begin with... or you are just a lame person who derives satisfaction off of the dissatisfaction of others, which is a whole other issue. I'm not sure which of these two it is, but I sure as hell know I am not the problem in this dynamic and I am always going to embrace being myself. As much as I love this community, I also realize it is fortunate to have me at this point.
Honestly I find it amusing at this point and I have embraced it to an extent. People who call me out never really get anything out of it nowadays, but they keep coming for my head. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, but they can keep trying if they so please. It is true that I do respond a fair amount, even more than I should. But for every response, there are a solid dozen things I just laugh at and move on. People trying to provoke me or just saying outright absurd things -- it is who they are and that's their own problem. I do not need to be defensive 24/7. The amount of attention I receive on this website, especially isolated attention specific to myself and no larger groups, is kind of crazy. I am not sure if people are obsessed with me or just have nothing better to do with their time (it is 2020 after all, but this phenomenon predates 2020), but at this point I am more worried about their own wellbeing due to the massive amount of landscape I possess in their heads than I am about myself. If they want to spend their spare time trying to provoke me, then all I can do is wonder why they are using their spare time on me instead of themselves. Perhaps they are jealous? Perhaps they are insecure about themselves? I don't know, but it is more amusing than anything else to me at this point. All I can do is just keep being myself.
Not normally, no. The worst it has done in recent months is just made me walk away from my computer for 5-10 minutes to "reset" and then I was good again. A lot of people are ignorant, so I try to explain things to them. If they get it, great. If they do not get it, I cannot do anything more and I move on. Realizing that you have to have thick skin and you can only control so much is huge.
I cannot possibly make everyone happy as a leader in this community. There are contrasting interests and philosophies at every single crossroads. All I can do is use my constantly improving and evolving judgement, sense of self, and individuality to do what is best for myself and Smogon when given the opportunity. There will always be people who go out of their way to ridicule me as I am an easy target, but those people are going to have to be a lot more justified and civilized in order to derail me.
Ever since I started uploading on YouTube, this has come up a ton. I am, after all, the big bad Smogon guy who bans all the things that beat stall. How dare I do that?
I have alluded to this in my responses above, but yes -- it is the reality of the situation and I view it as more of a positive reflection on myself and revealing aspect of the specific characters in the community who elect to give me a hard time than anything else. I will ALWAYS try to change for the better and reform myself to be the best version of Finchinator, which I have done countless times, but these changes are made constructively and with great contemplation. They are not done through edgy teenagers or unhinged Smogon regulars trying to sling their shit in my direction. All of that shit misses the mark. And it is oftentimes not remotely close to the mark, too.
Deserves? Yes. The thankless work I and many others do on this website deserves financial compensation. However, I do not blame Chaos or the system that is currently in place for not enabling this. A lot of things deserve to happen or "should" happen that are impossibilities. Contributions to this website happen in all shapes, sizes, and forms over various different timeframes. Finding a way to standardize this and monetize it specifically would be a huge task itself which would undoubtebly leave some group feeling wronged or underappreciated. Additionally, doing this all online when there is virtually no in-person component is a huge liability issue, especially given the ages of many site regulars. Many people over 18 do not even have financial independence and contribute here, legally being of working age. Finally, who knows how Nintendo/GameFreak would react to finding out this news -- if there is any chance it would lead to Smogon or PS encounering issues, then that makes it not worthwhile at all. At the end of the day, the point is that we do not know the specifics of the situation, everything that it would entail, or the potential consequences. Before all of that is known, I absolutely refuse to make a statement of what should happen. I will say that people contributing "deserve" it, but what is deserved is oftentimes a different world from what actually happens -- we both know this.
Thank you and same. I am quite excited for the eventual gen 4 remakes. May even get a switch for it.
Hi, thanks a ton! I've been loving your work in the OU subforum lately, so gotta say I am happy to hear from you.
Try this!
Onions may be up there, but pineapple is an atrocity and I have seen corn on top of pizza as well, which is just like...why ever!?
ADV OU Teambuilding Strategy thread, Velociraptor art thread, Finchinator challenge post, BKC Smogon Tour 22 win post/shoutouts (and like a dozen other posts from him about the game, for that matter), and this masterpiece.
KratosMana due to his creativity in-game and in the builder has to take the top spot, but a honorable mention to McMeghan for the same thing and ABR/BKC for their amazing attention to detail in both aspects of the game. A more modern wildcard who belongs in the conversation has to be Tricking, who has quickly risen up the ranks with some unorthodox approaches as well.
Eo due to his knack for reinventing "stable" metagame environments with sets/strategies that help mobilize the entire metagame, but ABR is a close secon.
Oranges.
Watashi probably.
Fair question. Not sure the answer, but I do agree that it is overrated.
I honestly have a mixed bag of social memories that I probably should not get into the highlights of fully here. I was never the biggest partier as you know, so my response probably is not of the conventional variety here.
There was a night freshman year during my first ever finals week when I stayed up until 6:30am writing things completely unrelated to my finals. I did not do anything productive academically, I was not prepared for the final ultimately, and I did not touch my packing, which I had to do in a timely fashion. However, my roommate returned home already, so I was able to fully open the blinds and appreciate the seemingly empty sky on a late fall evening with the moon shinning into the Newing (our dorm, for others reading this) field. I wrote a solid dozen poems that I still cherish to this day -- some of my absolute favorites -- and also spent the entire evening reconnecting with a dear friend from HS who I am still close with now, but distanced myself with previously.
Honestly, I got a C on the final, which ruined my chances of getting an A in the class, and I had to half-ass packing afterwards while absolutely exhausted, but none of that mattered. What mattered was the connections I made with myself and my old friend. It really set the tempo for the rest of my time at college and moving forward into adulthood. I feel like going into college, I tunneled a bit, subscribing to norms of society as my default priorities rather than pathing my own way forward. This allowed for me to see things in perspective and force a bit of a mental reset, which ultimately made the remainder of college more enjoyable and helped me discover my adult self.
I also realize this answer is cheesy beyond belief and likely to be used as a copypasta in the future, but that has never stopped me before and it will not stop me here either. Spam away fellas.
TDK and Anti tried once, got me to watch a single episode. That is all she wrote though. I have told various teams I have been on that I would watch a season of anime or an entire anime if we won the tournament, but each time we have fallen short. Same offer goes to the weebs on my SPL team if they are that eager for me to watch anime.
Blue moon probably, but it's something that changes over time for me.
French fries has to top the list -- universal side-order. McDouble at McDonalds, Chicken Fries at Burger King, and the 5 dollar biggy bag (if that counts as an item) from Wendy's also would likely make my list. Beyond that, I don't know. I've cut down a lot on my fast food consumption after being in a pretty bad place on this front earlier this year, so it's really just these that I previously ate semi-regularly.
Mine
Yours
I mostly use Hinge nowadays. I say this in the least braggy way possible, but I land a lot of matches and make a lot of connections through it. This is not even necessarily because of my appearance or because I am graduated+working at 22, but rather because every single girl out there loves Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. I do, too, and we instantly connect. I'm hoping to keep this up and actually find something that develops seriously once the pandemic settles, but it has been good to pass time in the meantime as well.
Absolutely. My current theory is that I left it at my grandparent's house when we went over for dinner, but I won't be able to find out until Christmas day. This has kept me up at night and I cannot check sooner because I do not want my family to get invasive about my writing -- there's a lot of stuff I do not want them or anyone else seeing in there. I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle come then, but if it is not there, then I've run out of places it could be and I am probably screwed. I do not think anyone will track it to me or anything crazy, so it won't be the end of the world, but losing that much writing would be super unfortunate.
Probably SPL VIII vs Vinc.
It is pronounced Finch like the bird.wait is finchinator pronounced finkinator and not finch like the bird...
Straight into savings!
Chik-fil-a tastes better, but I prefer getting Popeyes usually.
Medium well and just cheese/ketchup usually.
My IRL last name starts with Finch. I was playing baseball when I was younger and after I did well in a game, my coach called me the Finchinator. I guess it stuck in my head because it was my instinctual response to the name prompt the first time I logged in to Pokemon Online.
Nope, that is a meme because of Vinc2612's custom title that predates most people on here honestly. It's pronounced Finch.
BW UU. Fairygen players will never get it because they are small-brained when it comes to formats lacking Defog and Regenerator.
Rotom-Wash probably.
Empoleon or Staraptor.
Glad I came through!
Usually broken is defined by how limiting it makes teambuilding/preparation at the core. If a Pokemon has a very limited pool of counters, it makes building restricted and linear. That is a huge part of being broken in most cases. Of course, there are other situations, but they can fit under the umbrellas of "uncompetitive" or "unhealthy" more than broken, which also contributes towards being banworthy even if not necessarily broken by definition. While this may sound boring and by-the-book, most of my beliefs are through studying and constantly applying the logic of this framework.
Finding a Pokemon that is able to lure or forcibly cripple a generic defensive option in the metagame and pairing it with something that takes advantage of that Pokemon being crippled or taken out surprisingly. In my last post, I outlined a team with Fighting Gem Landorus-T + Scarf Garchomp in BW OU; I would say examples like that are the best practical evidence of strategies like these that I have put out.
My building has consistencies and preferences like just about any other player, yes. I tend to be overly focused on covering things, so I default a bit more to standards and balance/bulky-offense in tiers I am familiar with, but more recently I have been branching out in a calculated fashion as well.
It was my honors civics class senior year. I was a pretty respected debater in that environment; I was forming my first true opinions on many hot topics and I felt confident speaking my mind around peers. As you guys can tell from my time on here, I am more verbal than most and also thrive when passionate. One day, we were discussing abortion and my class had a whole group of conservative thinkers. The rest, much like myself, were leaning towards the left on social issues. This one in particular I felt strongly about.
As we were in the middle of the debate, I was responding to a classmate of mine who provided some evidence from a religious journal on a specific sub-issue of abortion. I was explaining how his source was not one that was reputable and the argument he made directly undercut the teacher's rules on what could and could not be used while also integrating in my own argument -- it was a long story that I will not get into here. One side note that is relevant is that the door to our classroom was partially broken going into the class period. Anyway, I was fired up at the time and it was my closing remark, so I concluded with "you may not be able to fix something that is not broken" -- referring to him claiming that there was nothing broken with traditional society that did not allow abortion and to not fix something that is not broken to begin with -- "but your argument is as broken as the door to [insert classroom number we were in]" and within 5 seconds of me saying that, with nobody standing within ~5 feet of the door, the glass window slipped out of its casing and shattered everywhere while the wooden frame's erosion led to a small splinter multiplying in size. Before this kid could respond, I had basically spoken that into existence. My teacher included this in his incident report to get a new one and every time the janitor or vice principal saw me walking around he referred to me as "door boy" for the next few months.
Not really because I do not want them to be associated with me more than they already would be for their own sake. They deserve the credit for all of their work anyway; nobody owes me anything for me giving them a chance or leading them in the right direction. I would prefer the community embraced them for who they are and they used their own identities to help them continue to climb the Smogon ladder. Some of them are already pretty far up there though. And I am super proud of them. They know who they are.
Brooklyn 99 fans understand.
All of the people who go out of their way to be rude to newer players for the sake of asserting themselves as superior, including myself from years ago. Also, bratt.
Tace wielding double Electric vs a Corviknight.
You too, friend!
I take breaks whenever I feel like I am starting to derail. During Smogon Tour 26 semifinals, I lost G1 and was off to an iffy start G2, so I took my water bottle, dumped the contents down the sink, walked all the way down the hall of my dorm's floor, refilled it to capacity, and took some long sips. It burnt about 90 seconds of timer, so be careful, but I find a walk up-and-down the hall coupled with a sip of water or a small bite into a snack can go a long way towards forcing a quick reset and then promptly regaining focus/concentration. It also helps when you are teambuilding, for what it's worth.
Another thing is to continue to keep yourself in the game from the start. Calc things that may not matter early on for the sake of having as much information as you can have later. Oh, Volt Switch did 8% to my Ferrothorn? Let's see if the Rotom has any special attack. Maybe it means nothing on turn 3, but on turn 33 it could help determine what is optimal going forward and now you have that information without going through a ton of scrolling and time wasting. Use the seconds your opponent gives you while they are thinking to your advantage. It will keep you locked in, give you a more complete picture of the game, and likely increase your odds overall as well.
lmao nice
This community has given me hundreds of friends, a chance to develop myself into a young adult and leader for the rest of my life, and so much more. While making a quick buck is cool, being able to give back and help show the next generation of players what amazing things they can do while playing the game and while participating in the community is a privilege that I am fortunate to have. Also, helping people is one of the things I am most passionate about and this is one of the most convenient and practical ways of doing so for me.
More coming tomorrow, sorry to cut off right before you antemortem ;-;
Hello Finch 1 nat or.
If it hasn't been asked:
* Favorite (and not so favorite) things about YouTube recording?
* Favorite techs or mons throughout some generations (esp BW2). NU too if you can - gotta give both tiers love.
* Overall would you approve of Gamefreak continuing this approach with mons in future generation. Why or why not?
If it hasn't been asked:
* Favorite (and not so favorite) things about YouTube recording?
* Favorite techs or mons throughout some generations (esp BW2). NU too if you can - gotta give both tiers love.
* Overall would you approve of Gamefreak continuing this approach with mons in future generation. Why or why not?
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a happy holiday and new year! I will get to even more of these over the next day or two, but still making good progress here!
As for a specific story, I think my favorite will always be hiding my age for a year+ despite being involved so much and the fabrication of the whole life of some fake, 10+ year older Finch. However, you touched on this above, so the honorable mention story would probably be the time when we were able to keep PO's OU and UU tiering ahead of Smogon's for almost an entire generation. Being ahead of the curb was really cool and at the time I was like 15-16 years old feeling like I was on top of the world. It did not really mean anything and eventually PO subscribed to Smogon tiers after all, but back then I felt like hot shit for contributing what I did to OU and that was a blast.
I think there was also the POCL when I went from being drafted for the first time as an accidental upbid because IFM had to bid due to scheduling issues with Hikari/kneesocks/br -> being a starter because someone quit by week 2 -> finding a way to go positive after getting owned in my first week -> getting banned during the last week when the playoffs were on the line. This was back when I was so young that the whole concept of the tour amazed me and I made so many cringeworthy posts, but getting banned was the weirdest way to end it. I was so miserable about it, just lurking on Poke Mexico the entire time.
As for IRL, I just always stay focused on what is within my control. My motivation comes and goes honestly, but I just keep pushing until things get done and work out.
Big thing for me is just that I need to stay social and continue to work on improving myself. I feel like if I am grounded in the same situation doing the same things without experiencing any fundamental change, then I am going to drive myself insane.
Never. For evidence, see: tonight.
Writing, watching sitcoms, geeking out on sports stats / gambling models I make, playing in-game, listening to music, and probably watching some late night comedy. It really depends on the season/my mood though.
Honestly PO related topics have all died down; there just has never been much time to discuss them. We were not really involved with the same things or even entirely at the same time though given my understanding, yea.
I used to love playing Sports video games when I was younger. I was pretty good at Madden, which was probably my favorite video game. I used to play MLB the show a lot, too. I stopped playing these games at 13-14 when I got seriously into Pokemon though. I did not feel a need to branch out once I got more into this specific hobby I suppose.
ODINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!! Merry Christmas bro, good luck in SPL! *-*
The latter for sure. I spent so much time on Tik Tok during quarantine before I started working that I felt a need to delete the app once I got employed to avoid wasting every last second of my spare time on it.
Summer for sure. I have some seasonal issues and also I just do not enjoy the cold all that much anymore. Going to school in upper state New York absolutely did not help this either -- I feel like that really ruined it for me.
Summer, but Spring is a close second.
Sure as hell not any day in 2020. My favorite days historically have been when I was able to go to Yankee games in person or when I was around my close friends. Honestly, anything involving being out-and-about with people that I cherish goes a long way towards me. I am not picky beyond that.
Rapid for sure.
Staraptor so I could fly around on it like I used to in-game. Makes life more convenient and also it's one of the most badass birds ever made.
After my luck this year, absolutely not.
Disney for sure.
Yes, it requires a lot of attention to detail and consistent aggressive play. It really enforces the concept of risk-reward and I feel like only players who have an understanding of it in the long term can break stall consistently if they lack an "auto win" type of match-up. To me, playing vs stall is just like playing vs any other team, but it is amusing seeing how different it is for others. I do not find the game boring in general, so I do not find stall games particularly boring as an extension.
I've played >dozen 1000 turn games, resulting in a tie. However, my longest official game is my win vs Hayburner for SSD II. Game is here and it lasted 615 turns.
Yes, I play every tier. I have led NU in the past and have been a member of NU Council for longer than just about anybody besides Eternally. I enjoy the game as a whole no matter the tier. I have not been as fond of lower tiers this generation due to DLCs and tier shifts not being too kind to them, but I feel each tier will grow an identity with some more normalcy without anymore DLCs on the horizon.
Not really, at least not in a serious capacity. I have done so on the ladder many a time for YouTube, but that's about it. I would never do this in a serious setting/tournament because I focus on winning above all else personally.
Gliscor. It would be amazing. It checks CM non-Ice Beam Clefable, Heatran, Toxapex, Electrics, etc. -- it would be an amazing addition to the metagame and make building balance so much easier.
Fire/Fighting/Ground coverage, more speed, and perhaps access to Roost.
lmfao this one has had me laughing for a solid 5 minutes now, well done
A more general answer would be chilling in Rage Channel. with the whole gang. There was a social dynamic there that will never be replicated in this community and I really enjoyed those times. Not sure that is much of a story though -- you could argue the story of me and cased going from best buddies to forging a petty rivalry over a 2-3 year span could qualify as one, but that does not really capture anywhere near the whole essence of the chat and the thick of this happened after the prime of the Rage Channel. days honestly.
As for a specific story, I think my favorite will always be hiding my age for a year+ despite being involved so much and the fabrication of the whole life of some fake, 10+ year older Finch. However, you touched on this above, so the honorable mention story would probably be the time when we were able to keep PO's OU and UU tiering ahead of Smogon's for almost an entire generation. Being ahead of the curb was really cool and at the time I was like 15-16 years old feeling like I was on top of the world. It did not really mean anything and eventually PO subscribed to Smogon tiers after all, but back then I felt like hot shit for contributing what I did to OU and that was a blast.
I think there was also the POCL when I went from being drafted for the first time as an accidental upbid because IFM had to bid due to scheduling issues with Hikari/kneesocks/br -> being a starter because someone quit by week 2 -> finding a way to go positive after getting owned in my first week -> getting banned during the last week when the playoffs were on the line. This was back when I was so young that the whole concept of the tour amazed me and I made so many cringeworthy posts, but getting banned was the weirdest way to end it. I was so miserable about it, just lurking on Poke Mexico the entire time.
Personal experience, specifically when it comes to hardships and overcoming obstacles. Writing has always been something I have excelled at since middle school. I guess I just never stopped, but it helps that my family has a few writers I suppose.
Seems unlikely, not not entirely out of the question.
I used to love playing Sports video games when I was younger. I was pretty good at Madden, which was probably my favorite video game. I used to play MLB the show a lot, too. I stopped playing these games at 13-14 when I got seriously into Pokemon though. I did not feel a need to branch out once I got more into this specific hobby I suppose.
Nah, I struggle during the colder months, especially November/December when it is first hitting. I prefer late Spring and Summer.
I feel like my motivation is derived more from how I feel like I am playing than actual results. Things like losing in STour have not bothered me as much as most of my last few exits have been due to things out of my control. I do find ways to improve and get better over time still -- that also is a big drive for me for sure, but I do not let any failures set me back too much.
As for IRL, I just always stay focused on what is within my control. My motivation comes and goes honestly, but I just keep pushing until things get done and work out.
Meh, it has been alright. Happy I do not have to hear the generic Christmas music they play on the radio as much anymore at least. Thanks for asking, hope yours went well and Merry Christmas!
Now that I am back home in New Jersey, my selection is a lot worse unfortunately. Buffalo Wild Wings is still solid and I get from them 1-2 times every month though. There is this place called Sharky's that is within 20-25 minutes of me that has great wings, too, and we get from there semi-regularly as well.
Probably this, but I am not positive on that.
Probably Bratt, that guy is entirely irredeemable. Thankfully he is banned now, but I do not hate any active users that are unbanned and I think hate is an overreaction in 99% of instances.
Thanks so much, comments like these make my day and I am glad to help you understand haha
That is a great question and sometimes I wonder the answer to it myself despite (barely) getting through it all firsthand. I have some days that I barely get by. For example, earlier this week I had a day where I: was working on this thread until 2:30am, woke up at 6:30am, got to work at 8am, had work until 5pm, saw friends (distanced from our cars -- gotta stay safe) until 10pm, worked on this thread until midnight, worked on OU forum stuff until 1am, and then finally ate dinner/did YouTube stuff until 2am only to have to wake up at 6:30am again the following morning. Days like these probably happen once every week or two due to some combination of commitments and they are super challenging. On days that I am not overloaded, I actually get through it all and am mostly ok. I do not normally get more than 4-5 hours of sleep and I tend to multi-task a ton (i.e: I am watching a show or listening to music while making posts like these, I am uploading YouTube videos as I play/build, I am watching sports while I chat on discord, etc.), which allows for a ton of productivity on here and personally. I will say that one thing that is important is to find priorities. I personally prioritize my contributions on here when it comes to my personal life because this community means a ton to me and I love giving back, so if I do not have professional or social/family commitments, then this will be my go-to and that is why I am super efficient and involved on here. Obviously not everyone can prioritize this and some people have more time consuming priorities themselves, too -- that is all entirely understandable. I would not use me as a measuring stick or even as someone to give advice for on this front because of that. I, more or less, subscribe to basic time management tactics with a bit of multi-tasking and a bit of having some extra hours in the day since I sleep less than most.My question for you is how you handle all your responsibilities from Work, Smogon, and Youtube? I started college this year and could barely handle schoolwork + playing a varsity sport so I am wondering how you do it all.
Cheers
It has been 9+ years of playing and 7+ years of contributing seriously to PO or Smogon. I have yet to burn out once and I hardly fatigue. They say you never "work" a day in your life if you are doing something you love; I love the "work" I do on here. I cannot imagine burning out from contributing, but maybe eventually from playing -- I have shown signs before. Ultimately, the passion always comes back pretty quickly though, so I am not too worried about it.
Absolutely! Stay tuned and thank you so much friend.
Yes, actually.
222nd on the nose, hope this helps.how would you rankagainst the some 980 permutations of pokemon species, with one being the best pokemon and 980 being
?
Adding anything with Regenerator, that bulk, and recovery to generations 3-4 would force the entire metagame to shift drastically, likely breaking the tier. In generation 1-2 it is less easy to say due to the lack of abilities, but you would have to imagine it would still be one of, if not the, best Pokemon depending on what moves it had. Generation 5 would be entirely different as well, but this would likely be the single metagame that is most capable of handling it. There are a ton of offensive options and it can be punished with Spikes that are frequently up and not capable of being Defogged away. Generation 6 would be the second less changed metagame, but it would really shift the entire dynamic of balance teams I feel.
It's more than 100, but less than 200. It may top 200 sometime in the next month or two with ignorant people chiming in about it now that it is back in the game, but I am hoping that there is nowhere near as much traction as last generation.
Hey Finch! I don't have a question, I'm just passing by to say hello. Merry Christmas 
Plague von Karma
Banned deucer.
Nadolig Llawen, Finch!
Do you believe in RBY Fire Blast Tauros?
Do you believe in RBY Fire Blast Tauros?
earlier i asked what the greatest game you won through hax was. it wasn't a clear question, and you are a very noble person for assuming that i was asking about you winning in spite of hax. what i actually meant was: what's the hardest you've ever haxxed someone in a tournament match?
opinion on jersey mike's subs?
opinion on jersey mike's subs?