Project ZU Player of the Week: Week 4 - Union Caboche

Oathkeeper

"Wait!" he says, do I look like a waiter?
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Union Caboche
Favorite and most used ZU Pokemon: Electivire
Most known for: Moderator

Oathkeepre: Hi UC, how are you doing today?
Union Caboche: I'm fine, I enjoyed the last moments of the summer and of my holidays. I was a bit sad to have left China some weeks ago but I'm better now.

Oathkeepre: Could you tell us about yourself?
Union Caboche: Here is my history: I am a Belgian boy of twenty years old now. I'm studying to be a teacher, I don't know yet if I will do more studies once I'm graduated (in around a year). I started the strategy a bit before ORAS, but I was not very active in Showdown rooms. I just climbed the OU ladder in playing bad sets and was stuck around 1500. At the end of the generation, I started to play PU. I was sad when I saw how the tier became after the power-creep of SM. I searched a tier below and someone in the room gave me in a PM the discord link of the Zeroused server.

Oathkeepre: Where does your name come from?
Union Caboche: It's a long story actually. The french name of the move Mind Blown is Caboche Kaboum. The first time I saw the animation of the move, I found it hilarious and I decided to change my previous nickname to take Caboche Kaboum. That's the first part of the story. Then I arrived on the ZU Discord and at that time, we didn't have a room yet on the main server. However, we had one on the Azure one which was always completely inactive. Since I was bored, I searched an activity to do there in waiting to do ZU battles. I found a Monotype league over there where you had to be called "Union" to join it. I was not interested in Monotype but it was better than nothing I guess. I removed the "Kaboum" to have Union Caboche in the nickname and I haven't changed it since. It doesn't mean anything in french "Union head". Caboche is an old slang word which means head.

Oathkeepre: What are your feelings on the state of the meta right now?
Union Caboche: I have mixed feelings. Except Shiftry, Swanna, Electivire and Golem which are a bit above other mons, the meta is pretty balanced. We can play a lot of mons without making the teams unviable and it's something I enjoy a lot. The meta is pretty decentralized, for the best and the worst. You have paradoxality to take into account a lot of threats into account when you build a team, and not especially common threats. You are also forced to play bad mons because they are sometimes the only real answers to some threats. I sometimes feel to do chemistry when I build a team. Building a good team with bad mons is sometimes easier than building a good team with good mons, which is a bit weird to be honest. However, that makes the meta very special and I enjoy playing it.

Oathkeepre: What are your top 5 likes and 5 dislikes in life?
Union Caboche: I would say China, the summer, the lemon, travelling, and taking a bath for what I like... Bugs, orders, meat, the european countries and swimming for what I dislike.

Oathkeepre:
What is your favorite turtle? (ninja or otherwise)
Union Caboche: I don't know good turtles except Torterra. I like real turtle though, they are cute but I don't have the opportunity to see them much.

Oathkeepre: Do you have a favorite Gen 8 Pokemon so far?
Union Caboche: I try to avoid to be spoiled to discover the game by myself... My favorite types are ghost, poison and ice types so I hope they will have some cool mons of these types.

Oathkeepre: Is there a ZUBL Pokemon that you could bring back?
Union Caboche: I would like to test Jynx but I know she is broken. I just like the mon. The more interesting try would be probably Gorebyss or Throh. Zangoose could be fun a day though but it would destroy the meta. It would be fun to play but not to face. The meta is globally fine and I don't especially wait new suspect tests to unban some Pokemon.

Oathkeepre: Do you have a childhood memory you're most fond of? If so, may I ask that you tell us?
Union Caboche: I was not really a child, I was around 12 years old but we went with my family to Laos. That was a great memory because the life was really different there, also very different than China. It's a country I liked a lot even if I have never gone back since.

Oathkeepre: What are your thoughts on ZUPL right now? You're on that awesome team called the Humilau Hakamo-o's right?
Union Caboche: I like a lot of the members of the team, czim, RawMelon, Graceclaw, yovan33321, Tack :], you of course. I appreciate also BloodAce0107 in manager. There is a good atmosphere and since it's my first team tour, it fits me well. I hope we will go far in this competition. It is anyway a good experience.

Oathkeepre:
Who do you think are some up and coming players in ZU right now?
Union Caboche: 275p is probably the first who comes in mind. It's an old player but he left during few months the ZU room and now he is back, stronger than ever. Other people are well known. Oranges Meme deserved to be known because he is a very good player as well but he is unfortunately not very active. yovan33321, and if it is not a surprise anymore since his success notably in ZUPL, could definitely be one of the best ZU player in the following months.

Oathkeepre: Could I ask you to share a meaningful team for us and explain what it does?
Union Caboche:


Vibrava @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 64 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Rapidash @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 184 Atk / 72 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Morning Sun
- Will-O-Wisp

Toucannon @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Bullet Seed
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Mawile @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Play Rough
- Toxic
- Pain Split

Electivire @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wild Charge
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Volt Switch


This is probably the team which has been the most meaningful for me. It is very well known but at the beginning, it was a bad team. There was a Grumpig over Dusclops. Then, I added Dusclops and the team became really good. The bad match ups don't really exist and I feel, in playing well, you are able to win anything. Dusclops is broken, Toucannon SD roost is very strong and the rest is pretty obvious. Different people have played this team, Chokepic notably who has probably played it more than me. It's normally not too difficult to play it so i advice anyone to try it.



Oathkeepre: Well UC, this was a fun interview. I do thank you so much for your time, humor, and answers for our community to look over. You have a great day!
Union Caboche: You too, thank you for your patience!
 
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Hey there buddy!

ZU:
Are there any Pokemon in the current meta you wanna highlight?
Why is Electivire your favorite Pokemon?
Which gain and drop do you want to see?

Off topic:
Which country is better Belgium or Netherlands?
What is your favorite food?
 

Tuthur

formerly 0-7 in FCL
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Hi!

ZU:
Which was your favorite ZU metagame and why?
If you could bring 5 former ZU Pokemon which would it be?
What do you think of the debates arround Abomasnow being a ZU Titan?
What do you think of stall? According to you, is it busted?
Who'll be the new Lurantis?
What's the most overrated Pokémon in ZU?

Off Topic:
What do you think of France and french people on PS?
What do you love that much in China and don't find in the europeans states?

ZU:
Quelle a été la méta ZU que tu as préférée et pourquoi ?
Si tu pouvez ramener 5 ex-ZU en ZU, quels seraient-ils ?
Que penses-tu des débats autour de Blizzaroi pour ZU Titans ?
Que penses-tu du stall ? Est-ce que tu le trouves craqué ?
Quel sera le nouveau Floramantis ?
Quel est le Pokémon le plus surestimé du ZU?

Hors-Sujet:
Que penses-tu de la France et des français sur Showdown ?
Qu'est ce qui te plait autant en Chine et que tu ne retrouves pas dans les pays européens ?
 
Thoughts on Turkish food?

Thoughts on the Dusclops-Satan alliance?

What is your connection with China and why do you prefer it to Europe?

How does it feel to be the ideal Belgian citizen?
 

5gen

jumper
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Hey UC

Which "bad Pokemon" are you referring to in your response to your thoughts on the current meta?

Which Pokemon do you think are underrated/overrated?

What would a UC S to A- VR look like?

What's your go-to method for when you team build? You usually have anything specific in mind?

Other questions:

Seeing as how you were around during the Azure days, do you prefer a smaller ZU community as it was back then or today's comparatively large community size?

Did learning French come naturally for you, and how does it compare to other languages you speak?

What do you like most about the ZU room?
 

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