Multi Gen Ubers Player of the Week · [Week #9: Pohjis]

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Based on other Player of the Week threads



Art by NicoReaper

Welcome everyone to Ubers Player of the Week! This will be a weekly project where I interview well known players to try and see into their mind a bit. If anyone has any suggestions on who I should interview, feel free to shoot me a PM. Anyways, lets get to it!​



Pohjis

Most Known For:

Winning ORAS Ubers ladder tournament, being one of the most known lucky players ladder heroes of this generation.

Favourite Pokémon(s):
Deoxys-Attack. I also like Latios and Lugia they are all extremely cool design-wise.​

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am a 20-year-old Finn who has born in England, despite of my English being mediocre, but raised and lived in Finland almost my entire life. After a year break from school and studies due to my short period in the military, you can read about it here if you really want to, I am starting this autumn my mathematics studies in university. I also enjoy sports a lot and especially football. Obviously Pokémon is a game I enjoy a lot, even though it sure is annoying in many ways sometimes.

How did you choose the name Pohjis?

I started playing this game more competitively in spring 2015 after I finished my finals in high school or in lukio which is the Finnish counterpart. I picked several names as my nickname back then and one of them happened to be the nickname of my high school which was Pohjois-Tapiolan lukio. Probably the reason I sticked to that name was the amazing three years I had in high school. Even though it is amazingly hard to a non-Finn to pronounce it.

How and when did you get into the Ubers community?

As I mentioned before, I started playing Ubers in spring 2015 but I got more and more into the community in the following summer. I started joining the Ubers room for seeking help to improve as a player and joining room tournaments. I want to give a mention to Gunner Rohan, who was my ladder partner back then and my first really good friend on this site, for directing me to the Ubers room and to "Other Tier Series" live tournaments which were held in July and August. Getting two times into the finals out of four Ubers live tournaments and winning the second weekend tournament back in September, Gunner obviously winning the first one, along with my success on the ladder awarded me voice in the Ubers room which sealed my place in the Ubers community.

Which generation of Ubers is your favourite and why?

I started playing Ubers competitively in ORAS so I suppose I have to pick this generation to be my favourite. I don't really have great reasons to determine generation six as my favourite but I do like that ORAS provided really strong physical hitting Pokémons that made physical attackers the dominant force of Ubers after many generations. Xerneas was introduced in XY but I feel it got even better in ORAS and I like how it can serve so many different purposes in this metagame. I think the main reason of me favouring ORAS over other generations is the possibility of using frail but fast and strong revenge killers that get to shine in ORAS. For example Darkrai, Mewtwo, Shaymin-S and Deoxys-Attack are all killed by Choice Scarf users but apart from Xerneas and Landorus-Therian there aren't really any viable scarfer threatening them. ORAS definitely gave a buff with these Pokémons.

I have to mention DPP too since it is really fun and enjoyable to play. It has really cool offensive teams and viable Pokémons, like Garchomp, to use that are different from other Ubers generations. Not having team preview is another cool aspect because that forces you to think how to win long-term and making you guess what Pokémons your opponent might have base on the ones you have already seen.

What's your favourite playstyle and why?

My favourite playstyle is offense and hyper offense because it requires zero skill and you don't need to use your mind to win. Just kidding for the latter one. I enjoy playing fast-paced games and using offensive threats that hit really hard which are why I like offense a lot. Even though I have for a while enjoyed using different playstyles. For instance, standard Ho-Oh balance is so fun to use and is different from the common offensive teams.

What are two of your favourite things of the Ubers metagame?

I basically answered this one already but in ORAS I like the possibility of using really strong physical hitting Pokémons like Mega-Salamence and Ho-Oh to punch holes on your opponent's team. I also enjoy a lot using fast, strong but frail offensive threats like Darkrai, Mewtwo and Deoxys-Attack due to Choice Scarf users, except Landorus-Therian and Xerneas, being mediocre in ORAS metagame.

You had a nice performance in your first UPL. How did you go about preparing your matches and how was your team experience?

My very first UPL experience was really pleasurable and I enjoyed the five weeks with Grand Helix Fossil's a lot. All of my team members were very nice and we didn't have a so called team aids on our team lowering our team spirit. Level 56 did a great job drafting a really solid but also enjoyable team and I am still upset that we screwed up horribly week four against Really Good Reshirams. Winning that week meant that we would have most likely managed to get to the finals.

Preparing to a UPL match is the same as preparing to any other tournament game. You could always go into a tournament match bringing a team you are most comfortable with. I used to do that but in the end, against ShadowQuinn in Fall Seasonal round eight, I got counter teamed and I needed to change my way of preparing to a tournament match. Scouting your opponent by checking his old replays if possible, analyzing his teams and way of playing and deciding your playstyle and team which you are comfortable with but that also has a great chance to beat your opponent are some common ways of preparing. Obviously you have to know how to use the team you are going to use so testing as much as possible for trying to find your team's flaws is really appreciated. There is also a mental side of preparing and motivation which are in my opinion big factors in tournaments. If you don't focus enough and you don't have enough motivation to succeed in your tournament match, you will be destroyed and you will regret for not caring enough. I am saying this from my own experience.

Favourite UPL/Seasonal/Ubers Open game(s)?

I didn't excel at all last year in Ubers Open with my round one exit so no memorable games on my end from that. Jokes aside, I have played many games I have enjoyed a lot but there are two games I prefer at the moment over my other played games. The first one is my week two UPL match against Blim but you can read about it here. The second one is my all-time favourite match is from Fall Seasonal in round ten against Hack. As I mentioned before, ShadowQuinn counter teamed me round before so I had to change my way of playing. I brought a whole new team and playstyle against Hack in game one. The match-up in my opinion was more or less even. The reason I favour that match the most are the long-term thinking, the doubles we made after we overpredicted each other (for example on turn four it was my Salamence against his Dragon-Arceus and he brought in Primal-Groudon predicting my Klefki but I over predicted that and brought in my Primal-Kyogre) but also the patience we both had for winning the match. I ended up winning that game but I lost the series 2-1 after choking horrible in game two. I still am upset about that because I felt I got the momentum to get my revenge from ShadowQuinn next round and maybe going to the very end.

What are some Ubers players you think are good examples for newer users to look up to?

There are plenty of players who I would love to mention but Lord Outrage and Level 56 deserve a mention due to their work, effort and achievements during ORAS. Newer users who are getting into the Ubers tier should definitely take a close look on both of them.

I want to mention veterans in the Ubers tier, for instance Sweep, Hack, Fireburn, Blim and many others, who have during these many years put their time and effort to this game and tier and we should all be grateful to them. They are all really respected users in the Ubers community and outside it. Newer users should take that into account as well.

Is there any advice that you would like to share with new users?

I was a year ago really shy and I barely had the encourage to ask help or questions from anyone. You don't have to be the same as I was. Don't hesitate to ask any question that is on your mind in the Ubers room or here on Smogon forums. Otherwise you might never find the answer to it and it will bother you for a long time. Some outsiders say that Ubers community is awful and it has the saltiest players, maybe that is true but who knows, but our community has really nice persons who won't escort you to another room if you are a newer user asking questions that bother you. Don't be though intentionally stupid and show that you have good manners.

Finally, can you provide us a team with a brief explanation of how it works?

Me building a team? Hah! Pohjis cannot build a team, he always uses others' teams! That is what people tend to say. Here is the expected team that is still work in progress.


Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
EVs: 212 Def / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Geomancy

Salamence (Salamence-Mega) (M) @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Facade
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

Deoxys-Attack @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 72 Atk / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psycho Boost
- Knock Off
- Extreme Speed
- Superpower

Groudon @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 Atk / 188 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave

Arceus @ Life Orb
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance

Mewtwo @ Life Orb
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psystrike
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast
- Taunt

Pretty simple hyper offensive team. Primal-Groudon sets up Stealth Rocks and checks Xerneas. Xerneas, Mega-Salamence and Arceus setting up and sweeping your opponent's team. The fun part of the team is dual psychic with Mewtwo and Deoxys-Attack to revenge kill stuff and punching holes. The team for sure has its weaknesses but it is a solid team in general and is fun to use.

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Thanks to Pohjis for taking the time out to complete this interview. :heart:
Be sure to ask him any questions you have below!
 
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On a scale of 1 to 10, how often do you hax?

Do you think the PU hype is truly over?

Do you love me? Keep in mind that if it is a no don't answer because I will hunt you down and kill you.

Are you looking forward to your Ubers Seasonal Playoffs - Round 2 match vs Trout (Lord Outrage) and will you severely hax him to the point where your relationship with him will be undeniably affected , whereas he will end your career?

What are your thoughts on ghosting, and why do people ask you so often to ghost you despite them knowing the answer will always be a "no"?

Where the fuck do you get your luck from? You're very lucky and that luck can be shed onto me yn.

Where is Gunner and what did you do to him (sad)?

Out of these players, who do you think will win and why? Lord Outrage, Pohjis, The Trap God, Kebabe, Steve Angello, Astounded, Kingler12345, and Tricking. Also which matches are you excited to be watching, will you give these players some of your luck?
1 | -17 out of 10
2 | Yes
3 | I would say "No", but I kept in mind that if it is a no I shouldn't answer because you will hunt me down and kill me, so yea
4 | No, because I hax at -17 on a scale of 1 to 10
5 | I think that you should have built several teams before going in a tournament, so you shouldn't be disgusted by being ghosted. Anyway, I actually have more teams than there are victims to the 9/11, so I don't really care about being ghosted.
6 | I think it comes from hell, and I don't think that you want me to shed it onto you yn.
7 | He found a job, a wife, has some children and is happy. Perhaps we should do the same.
8 | I think The Trap God will win because there is "God" in his nickname. I'm excited about Lord Outrage vs. The Trap God, because they are cool enough to not play Pdon (I hope..? oO), and I will not give my luck to them, because I hax at -17 in a scale of 1 to 10, so they will lose.
 
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1 | -17 out of 10
2 | Yes
3 | I would say "No", but I kept in mind that if it is a no I shouldn't answer because you will hunt me down and kill me, so yea
4 | No, because I hax at -17 on a scale of 1 to 10
5 | I think that you should have built several teams before going in a tournament, so you shouldn't be disgusted by being ghosted. Anyway, I actually have more teams than there are victims to the 9/11, so I don't really care about being ghosted.
6 | I think it comes from hell, and I don't think that you want me to shed it onto you yn.
7 | He found a job, a wife, has some children and is happy. Perhaps we should do the same.
8 | I think The Trap God will win because there is "God" in his nickname. I'm excited about Lord Outrage vs. The Trap God, because they are cool enough to not play Pdon (I hope..? oO), and I will not give my luck to them, because I hax at -17 in a scale of 1 to 10, so they will lose.

 
If it isn't the one blessed by the hax gods themselves: Pohjis. Also one of the coolest people I've met when I first started.

So, if there was anyone you could bless with luck in open who would it be?

Are you going to attempt to peak ladder like the old days in SM?

Finally, if you could change one thing about the ubers metagame, what would it be?
 
I get this is a potw thread and the occasional shitpost is natural but attempting to take over someone else's thread with troll responses is not okay!!!!!!

some posts have been taken care of.

as for a question:

what do you expect from the ubers meta in SM based off what we know so far?
 

Fireburn

BARN ALL
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
How many Gunner Rohans do you think you could take in a fight?

What's the best job you've ever had and why is it being a Room Moderator (@) on the PS! Ubers room?

Who's a better teambuilder, you or Honko's team generator? Or are you one and the same?

Has your status as a ladder hero ever gotten to your head?
 
Obviously all ladder heroes don't end up being more than, well, just ladder heroes. However in your case, you've had some pretty good wins in tournament, had a good UPL record, and won the ORAS Ubers ladder tournament. What were some things you focused on in your ladder days that you feel contributed to your growth as a player, allowing you to perform well in tournament? Also, what was the transition like from ladder and roomtours to entering the tournament scene?
 
Pohjis how are u so lucky in this game ?
There is no evidence or proof me ever being lucky in this game.

What is your favourite colour?
Blue. What else would it be?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how often do you hax?

Do you think the PU hype is truly over?

Do you love me? Keep in mind that if it is a no don't answer because I will hunt you down and kill you.

Are you looking forward to your Ubers Seasonal Playoffs - Round 2 match vs Trout (Lord Outrage) and will you severely hax him to the point where your relationship with him will be undeniably affected , whereas he will end your career?

What are your thoughts on ghosting, and why do people ask you so often to ghost you despite them knowing the answer will always be a "no"?

Where the fuck do you get your luck from? You're very lucky and that luck can be shed onto me yn.

Where is Gunner and what did you do to him (sad)?

Out of these players, who do you think will win and why? Lord Outrage, Pohjis, The Trap God, Kebabe, Steve Angello, Astounded, Kingler12345, and Tricking. Also which matches are you excited to be watching, will you give these players some of your luck?
I don't think so.

I sure do love you. How could you think I wouldn't?

I am definitely looking forward playing Lord Outrage first time a best of three in a high-level situation. I have played him once before in UPL IV and I managed to beat him. I have confidence advancing to semi-finals but my opponent is the toughest possible. We will see after the series how he is going to react.

Ghosting is a no-no thing and is against the rules.

Check my first response.

One of my best friends on this site is having a lot of real life stuff (especially studies) that he is focusing on that has decided to live this site. I should add him on Facebook at some point but I am lazy and I always forget that. -_-

The very first Ubers Seasonal winner, Astounded, is in a great form and has the toughest route to get into finals. He is the biggest favourite to win Seasonal playoffs among Lord Outrage and I do think one of the two will end up winning the whole thing. I will obviously try my best to beat first Lord Outrage and then possibly Astounded in semi-finals. However, I do think Kebabe, The Trap God and Kingler12345 have a legitimate chance winning too. The two latter are really underrated and seeing Kebabe having a free pass to finals is definitely wrong.

Pohjis (^v^ )

If you were to fight Steelphoenix in a battle, who would get luckier?

Favourite moments on Ladder? Least Favourite?

If you could change one thing about Ubers, what would you change?
Definitely me. Let this match be proof enough.

My very first peak. I remember waiting More Curve to decay enough points that winning one match would be enough taking first place. I was six or seven points behind him and I won match that gave me enough points to tie with him. It sure did feel great back then peaking the ladder.

I have so many bad memories on the ladder that I rather not go into them.

Baton Pass + stat boost is a complex ban but it is skilless, uncompetitive and broken that it should be banned sooner or later.
If it isn't the one blessed by the hax gods themselves: Pohjis. Also one of the coolest people I've met when I first started.

So, if there was anyone you could bless with luck in open who would it be?

Are you going to attempt to peak ladder like the old days in SM?

Finally, if you could change one thing about the ubers metagame, what would it be?
You are really nice guy and a good and active contributor in the Ubers chat that I hope you to keep up the great work.

Since I can't pick myself and I want to pick someone else, that would be either Hack or Lord Outrage. Both of them are without a major ORAS Ubers singles trophy (however they won UPL III together) and I would love to see one of them winning the last major ORAS Ubers tournament.

I am not sure if I will ladder only to peak since I am good enough to do so but I will be laddering for trying the new 'mons and teams. I will stick with this tier and community in the SUMO era.

---

I will answer the remaining questions later. This message is long enough and I want to give a thought to the remaining ones.
 
I get this is a potw thread and the occasional shitpost is natural but attempting to take over someone else's thread with troll responses is not okay!!!!!!

some posts have been taken care of.

as for a question:

what do you expect from the ubers meta in SM based off what we know so far?
I am grateful for your efficient moderation with this situation.

From the information we have got so far I hope Lunala to be a really fast (hopefully base 130 speed) offensive threat rather than a new Lugia with worse typing. Solgaleo not being Fire-type is interesting indeed but a bulky Psychic and Steel type with (hopefully) good physical attack stat would possibly add another Xerneas check. Super- or Mega-Zygarde sounds far too complicated, stupid and broken that it will probably join Mega-Rayquaza in Anything Goes. Z-moves or whatever that was called sounded at first another broken thing that it very well might be. Overall I think the best 'mons in ORAS Ubers (Primal-Groudon as the dominant force, Xerneas, Mega-Salamence, Mega-Gengar, Darkrai, Arceus etc.) will be remaining their place in SUMO but I hope that Solgaleo, Lunala and hopefully few others can have an impact to this tier.

How many Gunner Rohans do you think you could take in a fight?

What's the best job you've ever had and why is it being a Room Moderator (@) on the PS! Ubers room?

Who's a better teambuilder, you or Honko's team generator? Or are you one and the same?

Has your status as a ladder hero ever gotten to your head?
Gunner Rohan tossed me and would still toss me if he was with us. :/

I get really well paid in the best room on the Showdown server which makes being a room moderator a dream job.

We are both one and the same. We both build pure trash.

It sure has. ._.
best move in oras other than the 2 obvious og moves stealth rock and twave
This question is difficult to answer since I thought of Sticky Webs to Toxic Spikes and Spikes to Knock Off. Neither of them have such an impact as Stealth Rock and the juicy yellow magic have in every ORAS tier. -_-

Obviously all ladder heroes don't end up being more than, well, just ladder heroes. However in your case, you've had some pretty good wins in tournament, had a good UPL record, and won the ORAS Ubers ladder tournament. What were some things you focused on in your ladder days that you feel contributed to your growth as a player, allowing you to perform well in tournament? Also, what was the transition like from ladder and roomtours to entering the tournament scene?
I appreciate your kind words. You have been one of the most underrated players in the tournaments scene despite you being consistent and playing at a really good level. I hope you can keep up the same level and even improve.

As for the question, in my laddering days I focused learning the tier and meta and getting better by using mostly only one team. That made me get high on the ladder and perform decently on the ladder, room tournaments and first rounds of Fall Seasonal. The biggest impact growing as a player was my round eight loss against ShadowQuinn which I mentioned in the interview. It forced me to evolve as player by not sticking to one team I performed with really well.

After my series with ShadowQuinn I felt my laddering days were fully over. I haven't focused on laddering or even peaking ever since then. You could say that the transition from ladder hero to a tournament took one lost series but obviously it wasn't that simple. Or maybe it was?

I just remembered one thing with that very same series. I used to use Red as my avatar but after losing I changed it to Ethan which I still use. It still reminds me of changing and most of all improving as a player.
 
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