Doubles OU Player of the Week - week #11 - Level 51

I am deeply sorry for my lateness Matame . I'll do better next time.

1. What is your favorite french word?
2. How long can you hold your breath?
3. If you could rule over the earth for just one day, what would you do?
4. If you could rule over mishimono for just one day, what would you make him do?
5. Who is your favorite actor?
6. Do you usually wait for your tea / coffee to cool down for a few minutes or can you just go right ahead and drink it when it's finished brewing? I've personally always had to wait to drink mine and wondered if this was common or not.
7. Can you touch your toes?
8. Favorite kind of dog?
9. Favorite animal in general?
10. Least favorite smogon user?
11. What food do you hate the most?
12. Will you bow down to Trump when he inevitably takes over the entire world with his luscious golden locks of freedom?
13. What would you say is your "standard" attire for going out for the night?
14. At what age do you think you will die?
15. What do you think will be the cause of your death?
16. If you could be an elephant for just one day, what would you do?
17. How you you pronounce Worcestershire sauce? Please provide a link to a recording on http://vocaroo.com/

18. Are you interested in ever coming to America? If so, what would you want to see or do?
19. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
20. Scale of 1-10 rate this person.
 

Matame

New Rules
do you think doubles ou needs more tutors on b101 ? if so how can we get players more involved in b101 system
why am i the best tutee ever?
whatcha think about gardevoir comin back?
Dou needs more contribution in general lol prob just try to spike the active player base idk
Excuse me is ur name nacl (toxigen suca)
Gard is qt af I can imagine it being stronk in this meta, although I'm looking forward to diancie more

LOOOOL I KNOW THIS GUY
Who

why dont you ever snap back >:(
You can't send me a picture of you in a Robbie rotten t-shirt and expect me to reply wtf

mr. matame what kinda pot is this
View attachment 83154
A kettle, which is a much better way of brewing tea than fucking microwave wtf lolol

I am deeply sorry for my lateness Matame . I'll do better next time.

1. What is your favorite french word?
2. How long can you hold your breath?
3. If you could rule over the earth for just one day, what would you do?
4. If you could rule over mishimono for just one day, what would you make him do?
5. Who is your favorite actor?
6. Do you usually wait for your tea / coffee to cool down for a few minutes or can you just go right ahead and drink it when it's finished brewing? I've personally always had to wait to drink mine and wondered if this was common or not.
7. Can you touch your toes?
8. Favorite kind of dog?
9. Favorite animal in general?
10. Least favorite smogon user?
11. What food do you hate the most?
12. Will you bow down to Trump when he inevitably takes over the entire world with his luscious golden locks of freedom?
13. What would you say is your "standard" attire for going out for the night?
14. At what age do you think you will die?
15. What do you think will be the cause of your death?
16. If you could be an elephant for just one day, what would you do?
17. How you you pronounce Worcestershire sauce? Please provide a link to a recording on http://vocaroo.com/

18. Are you interested in ever coming to America? If so, what would you want to see or do?
19. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
20. Scale of 1-10 rate this person.
La piscine
I tried just now and got to around 2 minutes and got dizzy so I stopped
I'd make the punishment for animal abuse public execution by wolves
I thought that said run over mishi for a min and got excited sigh, uh I'd make him tell us his irl name (still sold at sauda)
Jennifer Aniston because she's qt af
I usually take a sip and evaluate if it's either too hot to drink right now or just right, so depends I guess
Yes wtf I'm not toxigen
Huskeys are adorable af oml
Cats
Mishi because he made me do blt
Onion rings
I'm not particularly fond of world war 3 so probably not
Apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur
Whenever I get wrinkles
In a nice warm bed looking over every moment of my life and evaluating my regrets and achievements, or I could just get hit by a car early on either works
Go on a murder spree
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0F6Qr257NGQ
yeah I'd love to go over there, mostly because of the tourist attractions and there are a few landmarks that would be sick af to go to
dead
11
 

Toxigen

get numb to it
is a Top Tiering Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
DPL Champion

Interviewee#6 - Jhon

1. Hi, could you tell us who you are by giving a small introduction about yourself?
Bonjour. I'm Jhon from the UK (Somerset), but you may know me as Ethan from the VGC side of things. I'm probably best known for getting 2nd place at UK VGC Nationals in 2016, using a Memento Latios.

2. Where does your username come from, and why did you stick with it?
I think I was about 13, ten years ago now, we were creating accounts for some school thing and a friend suggested changing names about. So Ethan became Jhon, among other changes. I can't remember why we corrupted the spelling. Since then I've used 'Jhon' pretty much everywhere.
However only last year did I find out that this is a standard Spanish spelling of the name, so it's actually pretty common.

3. When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
I've been playing OU casually since Diamond and Pearl. I didn't make an account here until much later, but I enjoyed playing with friends from school on Shoddy and PO.
I discovered VGC, post worlds 2014, and found out that the nearest town had an active TO. So I started attending events, played a lot and fell in love with doubles. This is wheh I started to improve; with the advent of direct feedback from my opponents, many now friends, I really grew as a player.
I think DOU garnered my attention while suspecting M-Salamence, some VGC people were talking about it so I decided to hop on the suspect ladder and lurk the forum. Since then I've kinda just been keeping up with it. Did a couple of suspect tests and had a decent seasonal run along the way.

4. What is your favourite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favourite Pokémon overall and why?
Amoonguss, without any doubt. Redirection is such a useful tool to have on nearly any team, and so fun to play with. Adding accurate sleep to that along with its decent bulk and convenient speed makes for a fantastic mon. It applies pressure in all the right ways for me, something that has to be thoroughly respected while team building.
Overall, my favourite mon is Oddish. Just 'cause it's cute really. I don't play the TCG but I have a collection of Oddish cards from most sets.

5. What do you think is the strongest playstyle or Pokémon in this metagame right now, and why?
I like the current meta, it feels like many styles are actually decent. Most of the time I'd think that those fast and frail offensive teams were pretty bad, but they seem good enough to play right now. That being said, I think the bulky offense teams are best. They feel like they have more options while playing. For me having many options that allow playing the same team in different ways, adaptively, is really valuable.

6. Do you think something has to be suspected?
Nothing feels outright broken. There was a bit of talk surrounding Snorlax, I don't think it's really overbearing in any manner. We have the tools to handle it reasonably.
One mon I kinda dislike is Fini. The viability of status moves has taken a bit of a dive, I really like having those elements of the game being around as they add another layer. However, it can be difficult to tell if this is primarily on Fini. Twave's accuracy and speed nerfs, along with there being fewer wisp targets also contribute. Back on Fini, misty surge combined with it's phenomenal typing, stats and supportive options make it a clear defining presence. Probably not suspect worthy though, perhaps a bit of a weird one to bring up.

7. Do you think there's a Pokémon or set that is currently underrated in the meta?
I'm not too sure really. M-Venusaur maybe, Don't see it around too much and I think it is probably better than it's usage might imply. Belly Drum Snorlax is another one I haven't run into much. It can be pretty great on the right teams, worth considering a little more.

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

Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Telepathy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 136 SpA / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- Trick Room
- Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
- Superpower

Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Energy Ball
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Sunny Day

Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpA / 32 Spe
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Protect

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
- Electroweb

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Tailwind
- Protect

My XY Gardevoir team that I used for Seasonals and twice in DPL. This is actually somewhat hastily built, and barely revised. Despite that it's brought me good results.
I adore having both Tailwind and Trick Room on the same team. Having the options available to go with either mode, means you adapt how you play to the opponent. It's also extremely satisfying to start up one of them on the same turn the other ends and seamlessly control the flow.
I imagine people want the Scarf Rotom-W addressed, and I don't have a good answer for you. I've found Trick-Scarfing to be pretty effective against stuff like CM Cress and generally support mons which dislike the lock. I also like having something that's fast without support, considered switching it about to Scarf Lando but never got around to trying it.

9. Santalune Storms have won DPL and you helped them with an amazing 7-0 record, how do you feel about that and how was the experience overall?
I truely just went in aiming to be the best of the <5k picks. So I'm extremely happy to have gone 7-0 and contribute to this great team's win. Getting to play solid opponents was great, I generally just have a lot more fun playing in this sort of environment.
I wish I'd been more active in teamchat, but actively building for XY was less of a thing and I don't know BW enough to contribute on that front.

10. Will you stick around with DOU in the future?
I'll be sticking around. I've been playing a lot less VGC this year, and have just found DOU to be a more satisfying doubles format. Which is interesting to me because I prefer 3v3 singles to 6v6, but in doubles 6v6 feels a lot better than 4v4.

11. How do you think the new released mega stones, as well as Gardevoirite, will impact the metagame?
Apart from Swampert and Gardevoir I think the recent batches won't be too impactful, sadly.
Rain's received something really interesting in Swampert. The new M-evo speed mechanics are such a boon. I love that you can switch in drizzle and M-evo the same turn and have swift swim active, other swift swimmers don't get to enjoy that.
Gardevoir I hope will get to relive most of it's glory from xy. TR users with their own major (spread)damage output aren't too common.
All that being said, Abomasnow is actually the one I like to work with the most, I know it isn't perfect by any means but hail is fun stuff.

12. Is there anyone you see as up and coming player?
I haven't been observant enough to accurately answer this. Can I say EmbC and get away with it?

13. Is there anyone you look up to as a player?
I see many of us as being on fairly even ground, which I really like, so I don't look up to the other players in that sense.
Demantoid's team building recently is something that interests me, I do quite admire nifty setups.

14. Do you have any advice for players that are new to the tier?
If you're new to doubles, take the time to learn the mechanics of things you don't see in singles (Wide Guard, Follow Me, Sky Drop etc). Watching a lot of tournament play will quickly show you the importance of things like protect or fake out in doubles and you'll soon be good to go. Other than that all the general stuff will still apply, particularly reviewing games and talking about them with your opponent if you can to get their perspective and reasoning behind certain choices.
I think skill transfers really well between formats in pokemon. Once you have mechanics and meta specifics down it's just the same type of thinking whether it's doubles or singles. So if you're good at any format, don't worry about being bad at another one.

15. What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokémon? What are you interested in?
I live rurally and there's not much to do, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm gonna sound boring, but studying is practically a hobby at this point. I always like to learn new things. Otherwise, countryside stuff like walks through forests or over hills and moorland are always a pleasure.

16. Is there anything else you'd like to speak about?
Gonna take the opportunity to request that people send me some cool BW teams. I want to learn BW.
Also, thank you Toxigen for this opporuntity.
 
Whats your favourite UK theme park and why?

Also if jhon is 6-0 in xy for dpl and im 2-0 against jhon am i the best xy player atm?

Also hit me up for a couple bw teams
 

Matame

New Rules
Why is the uk so shit

What do u feel helped in achieving ur 7-0 record

Fave music genre and artist(and why is it lana)
 

marilli

With you
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Former Other Tournament Circuit Champion
I feel betrayed that you aren't actually named jhon IRL. I'll be damned if the next thing people tell me is that samvgc isn't actually named sam IRL.
 
Whats your favourite UK theme park and why?
Also if jhon is 6-0 in xy for dpl and im 2-0 against jhon am i the best xy player atm?
Also hit me up for a couple bw teams
The only one I've been to was Legoland as a kid, so it kinda wins by default.
Yes, by defeating me you've added my power to yours. Now go and win the live tours this weekend.
Aye, will do.
Why is the uk so shit
What do u feel helped in achieving ur 7-0 record
Fave music genre and artist(and why is it lana)
They keep trying to tell us it's great, the reality is a dissapointment. Except the Lake District, that's pretty good.
Just being relaxed. I like listening to slower instrumental music (such as this) while I play. Lyrical stuff is too distracting.
It's always too difficult to pick one thing above the rest. Just looking at my most played aritists Mastodon, Kate Nash and Danny Brown seem to be what I gravitate towards more often that others. I must confess, I haven't listed to any Lana. Worry not, the situation will shortly be remedied.
I feel betrayed that you aren't actually named jhon IRL. I'll be damned if the next thing people tell me is that samvgc isn't actually named sam IRL.
I get this frequently, luckily for you though Sam only carries good news.
 

Toxigen

get numb to it
is a Top Tiering Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
DPL Champion

EmbCPT

1. Hi, could you tell us who you are by giving a small introduction about yourself?
Cheers, my name is Eduardo Cunha, but most Pokémon players call me Edu, and I'm a Portuguese 19 year old college kid. Overall, I see myself as a very friendly and energetic guy who tries to make everyone happy around him. I also got very lucky last year and managed to reach the Top 4 of the VGC World Championships.

2. Where does your username come from, and why did you stick with it?
EmbC are just my initials, as my full name is Eduardo Mourão Brás da Cunha, and PT is code for Portugal. I know, it's really lame, but I was around 12 or 13 when I came up with it and never bothered to change. I just never really considered changing it until it was too late and way too many people already knew me as EmbC.

3. When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
I've been playing Pokémon since I was around 5 and I always had a competitive mindset, as I used to have friends and cousins who also played. However, I took a more serious approach when I found out about Pokémon Online, since I could ladder and challenge my friends to a quick battle. That happened when I was around 12. Nonetheless, practicing multiple hours just to be able to top a meaningless leaderboard just wasn't enough to keep me around, so I just spent my time RNG abusing and making trade shops. All of this changed, however, when I decided to learn more about this VGC thing I knew little about. I actually attended a National championship when I was 12, but I didn't really know anything about the whole circuit behind it. It was in the summer of 2013 that I found out about how I could join a worldwide circuit to qualify for the ultimate official Pokémon event, the World Championships. This whole idea sounded fascinating, and when I started to play in Doubles, I realized how beautiful of a format it was and never looked back. As for Doubles OU, I started it mostly to play something fresh, but still Doubles related in 2016. I laddered a bit, but didn't really have the time to dedicate to its circuit.

4. What is your favourite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favourite Pokémon overall and why?
Landorus-Therian, Cresselia, Porygon2, Xerneas, Hitmontop and Tapu Koko. I love them all for different reasons, so I couldn't pick just one. Landorus-Therian allows me to combine Intimidate with outstanding power, while Cresselia controls the board with moves like Trick Room and Skill Swap. My favourite Porygon2 is the Toxic stall one, as I just love spotting win conditions and slowly getting the win from a plan. The digital duck, however, also has the option of controling the speeds with Trick Room and using one of the best offensive moves in Ice Beam. Xerneas is fun because you click buttons and Pokémon just faint. Hitmontop is very special to me, just like Xerneas, as I used both at Worlds last year. The spinning fighter has a completely different roll, though, as it supports the team with both Fake Out and Intimidate, giving me tools that you must have noticed I love having. Finally, I love Volt Switch Tapu Koko, as it deals a lot of damage while also allowing me to gain positional momentum. As for overall favourites, they're always changing. I really like Porygon2 and Hitmontop's concepts, as they're somewhat small Pokémon that can both be very helpful to its teammates and win games by themselves, while having amazing designs.

5. What do you think is the strongest playstyle or Pokémon in this metagame right now, and why?
The metagame is still adapting to the return of some Megas, so it's hard to have a concrete opinion on it, but Mew is an outstanding Pokémon no matter what. It has access to multiple support moves as well as offensive moves, the most important one being Transform. The fact that you can just copy a 100 base HP version of any Pokémon on the field, including your opponents', is incredibly terrifying. I have swept complete games by just transforming into the right Pokémon at the right time, which is insane!

6. Do you think something has to be suspected?
I think Deoxys-A should be considered. Its damage output is ridiculous, especially in Psychic Surge, and not even Dark types will help because Tapu Lele carries Moonblast and Deoxys-A usually has Superpower. Despite not being easy to take down, it's still unhealthy, as you're forced to run your own terrain just to lose 90% HP instead of fainting, while bringing up silly 50/50's that both players should feel stressed about.

7. Do you think there's a Pokémon or set that is currently underrated in the meta?
I feel like Celesteela is underused. I often notice that many teams lack more than one check to it, making it very easy to set up a situation where you can just stall it out with Leech Seed. Not only that, but we're also talking about a 1000kg monstrosity that has access to Heavy Slam, so offensive presence is something you don't have to worry about too much. As long as you keep in mind that you only have 16 PP on Leech Seed, just beat its counter(s) and keep a few Pokémon alive to punish switches and you should be good to go.

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

Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 208 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam
- Aura Sphere
- Protect

Talonflame @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Tailwind
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- Protect

Amoonguss @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Sludge Bomb
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Protect

We Will Rock You (Landorus-Therian) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 232 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- King's Shield

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt

This team contains the Fire-Water-Grass core, as well as a Fairy-type next to a Steel-type, carrying great synergy and switching potential, which is definitely something I deeply value. U-turn, Intimidate and Speed control are great tools that I also love. Overall, the team is very solid, blends offensive Pokémon with defensive ones and has some unorthodox choices like the Mega-Blastoise, which are very common characteristics on my teams.

9. Although your team didn't win dpl, you had an extraordinary run with a 6-0 record. How do you feel about that and could you describe your overall tournament experience?
First of all, I have to admit I got pretty lucky on some of the rounds. My lack of experience on Doubles OU tournaments made me feel uncomfortable while planning my games. I also wasn't sure about some damage variations between level 50 and level 100 Pokémon and the Mythicals still mess me up a bit, but my experience in the game still managed to carry me into good situations where something like a Rock Slide flinch could lock up games, which has helped me not feeling as bad about the RNG. As for the tournament, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot with both my teammates and my opponents, so I'm very happy I was a part of it. Giving my friends a win every week definitely felt great and I'm glad they could put them to good use. The members of the Rustboro Baptist Church were absolutely brilliant to play with and I'm very thankful to them.

10. What's the biggest difference you find between VGC and Doubles OU?
The fact that you can only bring 4 Pokémon to a VGC match is the biggest difference format wise, both for good and bad reasons. On one hand, you're forced to leave some important Pokémon behind and losing 1 Pokémon makes a much bigger difference, so matchups can play a much more important role. On the other hand, a better player can get a big advantage off of Team Preview, logical plans are encouraged and reads are rewarded more heavily. In my opinion, it also forces you to be more strategical and random plays are heavily punished. However, the actual biggest difference between VGC and Doubles OU is that VGC is a much more rewarding format to play, since TPCi supports it, there are official events to play it in and amazing prizes are awarded at said events.

11. Who do you think is going to win this Seasonal?
I don't really know the players that are left too well, but Frania is on my PSPL team so that's my pick!

12. Will you stick around with Doubles OU?
I really want to. It's a very refreshing format and I enjoy the community. I really just have to remember joining the tournaments, that's all ahahah!

13. Is there anyone you see as up and coming player?
DaWoblefet, for sure. He's one of my best friends and, even though he hasn't played Doubles OU that much, he's insanely clever and I honestly think he has the potential to be one of the best.

14. Is there anyone you look up to as a player?
I don't know enough about the Doubles OU community to have anyone in it to look up to, but there are a few VGC players that have taught me a lot that I always idolized, like Wolfe Glick and Ray Rizzo. I started VGC by studying their reports and their games and it's an honour to be able to call Wolfe a friend.

15. Do you have any advice for players that are new to the tier?
Trying to understand the dynamics of the Doubles format is definitely very important, mainly the impact of Protect and Set Up. Testing as many archetypes as possible and practicing in general can help you understand the mechanics of Doubles OU while allowing you to choose a core you like for your main team.

16. What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokémon? What are you interested in?
My main hobbies are watching shows and movies, hanging out with friends and procrastinating on Youtube. I used to also play sports, but injuries and lack of time made me stop. I also was a boy scout for a year and a half, but got sick of all the hypocrisy.

17. Is there anything else you'd like to speak about?
I'd like to thank you for having me here. It's an honour to be considered the player of the week and I hope I was an interesting interviewee!


Sorry for posting this so late but I had other things in mind, it's returning weekly though!
 

Pocket

be the upgraded version of me
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
If you were in charge of making the rules for VGC 2018, what would they be (ie banlist, etc)?
 
Last edited:

EmbCPT

VGC 2022 Masters Champion
If you were in charge of making the rules for VGC 2018, what would they be (ie banlist, etc)?
The ruleset for Battle Spot Doubles is looking like the most viable option. It's similar to 2015, which was a great format, and the open dex allows for more creative options.

It's hard to come up with a good enough ruleset because banning Pokémon can result on certain Pokémon losing their counters and becoming even stronger, especially if there isn't an organized institution behind those bans. What I mean is, I would need an organization like Smogon to help me figure out which bans would result on a healthy format, so I'm not in a position to ban particular Pokémon. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the UB's, but I can't really see anything too centralizing in BS doubles.

To be fair, I would just play anything. Pokémon is Pokémon and I love it, so I probably wouldn't stop playing even if I didn't enjoy the format. I just hope we don't get something like 2016 again.
 

DaWoblefet

Demonstrably so
is a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Researcheris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnus
PS Admin
Pro tip: to beat Edu, just nickname all of your Pokemon "Sandwich". If that doesn't work, lead with Curselax and just sit there the entire game. Evidence: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7doublesou-584758939

As for some legitimate questions:
  • I have noticed the most creativity from you by far in DOU (though it's still prevalent in VGC). Your teambuilding skills in this tier are spectacular, overlooked, and if properly abused could easily turn you into a regular DOU champion. I honestly just don't see stuff like Raichu, Mega Gyarados, or Entei ever around, but when you put the pieces together on your team it just flows so well. What about DOU draws out your excellent teambuilding?
  • I know you've talked about how some DOU teams succumb to weakness overlaps, e.g. half a team weak to Ice, etc. What can players effectively do to counteract this issue in teambuilding?
  • You're incredibly involved with a number of online leagues and tournaments, which coupled with schoolwork, live events, and personal life, surely takes up much of your time. Besides never going to bed, how do you balance Pokemon, particularly between DOU and VGC?
 

Toxigen

get numb to it
is a Top Tiering Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
DPL Champion

Interviewee#8 - Frania
1. Hi, could you tell us who you are by giving a small introduction about yourself?
Hi! My name is Franciszek, im a 16 year old highschool student from Warsaw. I mostly focus on doubles, but i also play recent gens of OU and SM lower tiers.

2. Where does your username come from, and why did you stick with it?
Frania was a childhood nickname i used to have when i was around 10-12, after that noone really adressed me like that, since its pretty far from my actual name, still i really liked it and im very happy i got to make use of it online.

3. When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
I remember watching VGC matches around 2015 and not really knowing what is going on, i was just curious how the competitive aspect of the game looks like, since i used to play pokemon Diamond / Heart Gold a lot when i was younger, but i never got involved, because i wasn't interested in traning all my mons to lv. 100 also i didn't have a proper console or the game. Still i was watching VGC videos from time to time on yt after some time i found the pokeaim channel. When i discovered that you don't need to pay / breed on pokemon showdown and you get any team you want i immediately got involved. And after some time pokeaim uploaded a video where he link kylecole's youtube and thats when i found out about Smogon Doubles. From the moment i started watching VGC videos i always knew that the double battle format is what i like best, so thats when i started playing on the competitive level. I stuck around because there was always new things to discover and to play around with and i never got tired or bored of the format.

4. What is your favourite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favourite Pokémon overall and why?
In sm metagame its aerodactyl, as it strongly helps to shift momentum in your favour with its amazing speedtier and wide coverage, in oras and bw its thundurus-I, a mon that controls the tempo of the battle with thunder wave while providing strong offensive support.
Kangaskhan is probably my favourite mon, since most the teams i build around it have fantistic color synergy.

5. What do you think is the strongest playstyle or Pokémon in this metagame right now, and why?
The strongest playstyle has to be zapdos bulky offense as it can run strong anwers to any other style and while it has a lot of counterplay it has to get around, a well build zapdos team should be able to all its problems. The best pokemon is landorus-t has both amazing offensive and defensive utility while beeing a great momentum tool with uturn. I feel like the choice of the lando moveset / item greatly impacts on how the team functions and how effective its going to be.

6. Do you think something has to be suspected?
I dont have a strong oppinion on marshadow + swagger as its has been around for only a couple days and hasnt seen much tournament usage but a swagger quickban / suspect is something we could concider in the future. I strongly disagree with the oppinion that tapu fini / snorlax are suspect worthy, as both have very strong counterplay in the current metagame, but one thing i would like to see suspect tested is zapdos. It has very little viable answers and overcentralizes bulky offesive teams to the point when if you dont run it on your team its very much likely to get run over by the opposing zapdos team and only ways around it are resorting to running niche stuff like rain or trick room. Its the only consistant speedcontrol user and theres simply no althernative to it on this kind of teams, while i dont belive its broken in any way it makes sm doubles just a less fun format and i don't see any reason why we should put up with that.

7. Do you think there's a Pokémon or set that is currently underrated in the meta?
Aerodactyl is a strong mega evolution that i had a lot of success in the recent seasonal (and i know other people used it too), i belive its the best fit for a lot of teams and can be surpizingly effective if you give it a try. Electrium Z tapu koko is a really cool set that is almost never seen and in my eyes has a lot of potecial.
Could you give us a team that resembles your playing and building style and give a little explanation about it?

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

http://pokepast.es/063302e9ebf3ac3f

This is the final version of the team i used a lot in the later stages of the recent seasonal, its a good representiation of the zapdos bulky offensive style i mentioned above, with great offensive pressure from aerodactyl + stealth rocks and the tapu bulu / heatran core and strong defensive synergy between all the members, i believe it can do well in any match up and is a good mix between the standard playstyle with some non commonly used options.

9. You've had some great results recently like a top 4 at Spring Seasonal and a DLT win. What do you think is the key to your success?
I use teams im feel comfortable using at the same time that should do well in the current format, anytime i come up with a cool idea i try to feature it in a team and if i like it enough ill make use of it in tournaments. I think its key to only use what in your mind feels right and keep it in a good relation between whats used right now and how you reflect on it. Thats the teambuilding aspect of it, as for playing i focus on the gameplan and positioning rather than predition or guessing games and i find that really rewarding.

10. Who do you think will win Seasonal Finals between nvakna and Z-Strats?
I used to favour nvakna, but recently i played a couple test matches (and a seasonal series) against z strats and ive grown to respect him a lot as a player, i imagine its going to be close series, but for now my favourite has got to be Z strats

11. What are your thoughts on the new released Mega Stones and, of course, Marshadow?
Gardevoir is going to be an interesting mon, theres a lot of things you keep in mind while building, that you didn't need to worry about in oras, still i think its going to have some viablity both as an offesive and trick room mega evolution. Marshadow seems like a cool addition to the format, if it werent for swagger its offensive typing would probably get balanced out by its poor defensive utility, but for now i can see how it can be really problematic.

12. Is there anyone you see as up and coming player?
Z strats has had a great showing in this seasonal and if he keeps it up i can see him having a lot of success in the future, also i think marilli is really good.

13. Is there anyone you look up to as a player?
https://pasteboard.co/GzQIUJq.jpg

14. Do you have any advice for players that are new to the tier?
Watch replays of high level tournament games, don't be ignorant, ask for advice. Play a lot and try to learn from your losses (the most important thing).

15. What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokémon? What are you interested in?
i really like music (mostly classical, but theres a couple pop artists i really adore), i also try to keep up with politics and world events. i go to school thats focused on literature, history and art history so im partly interested in that.

16. Is there anything else you'd like to speak about?
Thanks for the interview!​
 
Its been p long but here are a couple of questions:
1. What are the best SR mons in the game?
2. Opinions on swagger, fini and marshadow now its been round for about 2 weeks?
3. How do you pronounce your name?
 
How was your SPL experience and what brought you to playing some OU as well as DOU?

I know you've been pretty active in other tournaments on smogon, do you see yourself as a DOU player, a tournament player or something else? Do you see this changing going forward?

How do you feel about DOU's representation in official tournaments and does this change your goals as a player on smogon?
 

Fran

formerly Frania
is a Tiering Contributor
DPL Champion
Its been p long but here are a couple of questions:
1. What are the best SR mons in the game?
2. Opinions on swagger, fini and marshadow now its been round for about 2 weeks?
3. How do you pronounce your name?
Aero, tran and lando are the strongest setters in sm, ferro is not bad either but it looses out on coverage

I really dont like how fini only has a couple good answers and that kinda restristricts our building, but its not broken by any means, marsh is a really strong mon, didnt get to play around with it a lot since i was a bit busy last two weeks, still i think it has really amazing potencial, i dont think its suspect worthy but i want to form a more proper oppinion after i see it in tournements. I would really like to see swagger gone since both on fini boosting up its partners and alongside spectral thief it can be really obnoxious and often doesnt have consistant counterplay

feelings about the luck aspect in pokemon?
do you get salty if you lose an important game to luck? to what extent ?
goals as a dou player?
I think its a part of the game we cant control fully but hax should be something you should be able to get around as its bound to happen from time to time. Most official tournaments are played in bo3 format and very rarely luck is the only reason you loose your series.

In the moment loosing a series you 'deserved' to win is such an awful feeling, but i feel like im learned to get over that pretty quickly. Often when i rewatch replays of games i lost to luck im almost always able to find something i couldve done diffrently that would likely change the outcome of the match and not make it come down to the one turn where i got lucked.

Doubles Tour is something im very excited to play as its likely going to be the highest level individual player tournament for doubles, so winning that and a good SPL record are the two most rewarding things you can achieve in doubles in my oppinion.

How was your SPL experience and what brought you to playing some OU as well as DOU?

I know you've been pretty active in other tournaments on Smogon, do you see yourself as a DOU player, a tournament player or something else? Do you see this changing going forward?

How do you feel about DOU's representation in official tournaments and does this change your goals as a player on Smogon?
It was a lot of fun since i didnt expect to get bought untill when Stratos told me to sign up, since he and Kyle recomended me to some manegers and even then only Luigi reached out to me before the auction and he didn't give me a 100% confirmation if hes going to get me / if i was going to play. I was pleasantly surprised with how all the teammates were nice to me when though i was only a bench doubles player. Working with Memoric nice too, even tho we didn't do as well as i expected its still was great to build with someone on the highest level. Last week we were out of the playoffs already and one of the OU guys that was supposed to play wasnt able to get the game done, so Luigi tagged me and some other people that could be interested in playing and i was the first that responded. Even though the game didnt matter, playing (and winning) OU versus a strong opponent in a tournament setting was a lot of fun and thats partly why i started getting involved in singles.

I still have a strong preference for DOU over any other format on Smogon, but recently i have been getting more involved in other tiers and while i havn't lost any interest the doubles i feel like a tournament player is the most accurate term to describe my current tournament acitivity. With Smogon Tour, Grand Slam and ADV tournaments on Pokemon Perfect i have discovered a lot of new tiers that i enjoy playing so for now im going to try to stay involved in most important tournaments on Smogon.

I feel like its only fair with our playerbase we don't get the same treatment as OU formats, the change in the doubles tournaments circuit for this year brought some great improvements like adding Doubles Tour over Open and reintroducing Invitational make it so much more fun to compete in. While successful doubles players don't get nowhere near as much recognition as OU players do and the only tour where you can get a trophy is a team tour i feel like if you want to stay involed in doubles there's always something going on and if you make the choice to play the less tier you shouldn't have the same expectations you'd have playing one of the main formats.
 
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Toxigen

get numb to it
is a Top Tiering Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
DPL Champion

Interviewee #9 - nvakna

1. Hi, could you tell us who you are by giving a small introduction about yourself?
Hello, I’m nvakna. Just graduated from UCB this year and currently live in Nor Cal doing computer stuffs for work.

2. Where does your username come from, and why did you stick with it?
My username comes from my inability to remember usernames. Every time I went on showdown (very infrequently back in the day), I just made a new username since I couldn’t remember my old one. All of these usernames were random sequences of key strokes. Eventually, autocomplete started working or something and my computer remembered nvakna for me.

3. When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
I think I started in gen4 since that’s when I first EV trained a mon on cart. Battle Revolution was really fun! I didn’t really play seriously though, until I went to Berkeley and Kami got me to join a DOU seasonal 2 years ago.
I’ve stuck around because I think the ruleset is really fun and allows games to end quickly. I can’t play singles because stall is the only fun archetype to build, but games going over 50 turns is dumb...

4. What is your favorite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favorite Pokémon overall and why?
My favorite Pokémon to use competitively are chansey and glalie. Minimize and moody are the best elements of this game, and I think DOU council should strongly consider introducing them into the meta.
Favorite Pokémon overall is misdreavus because it’s cute :3

5. What do you think is the strongest playstyle or Pokémon in this metagame right now, and why?
I honestly think there really is no strongest playstyle and that this game is heavily reliant on matchup. Of course, some teams have wider ranges of good match ups but that doesn’t mean much since those teams typically have a higher chance to get hard countered.
Personally, I like offence because being fast is a great way to minimize the number of hits you take (= less chance for hax). Also, nuking is fun and short games are the best games.

6. Do you think something has to be suspected?
Not really. I feel everything significant has a significant weakness so adjustments in the meta take place automatically to balance it. Maybe suspect hoopa though because it’s annoying.

7. Do you think there's a Pokémon or set that is currently underrated in the meta?
I think we need to give mega gyara some love. It has a huge opportunity cost but it definitely is unique and most importantly it wins games (quickly).

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

Marshadow @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Protect
- Shadow Sneak
- Spectral Thief

Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 200 Atk / 132 SpA / 176 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Double-Edge
- Tailwind
- Protect

Amoonguss @ Payapa Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Clear Smog
- Protect

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Deoxys-Attack @ Psychium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 Atk / 216 SpA / 236 Spe
Rash Nature
- Protect
- Substitute
- Psycho Boost
- Superpower

Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Substitute
- Protect
- Steam Eruption
- Heat Wave


This is the team I used for marshy suspect laddering. It’s a straight forward offense team with min speed volc stuck on it, so I don’t auto lose to ladder troom.
The best part of this team is SUB PSYCHIUM Z DEO by far. The basic idea is sub when your opp has two mons that are threatened by it, since your opp’s best play is typically protect one and switch the other into a resist (see turn 1 for an excellent example of when I should have subbed but didn’t because too chicken). Next turn, just nuke the slot that doesn’t resist psycho boost, and proceed to nuke again the following turn to get the second kill. Also, z-psyboost can OHKO fini in misty terrain.

9. You have won the most recent Doubles OU Spring Seasonal. Could you describe your run and what do you think was the key to your success?
I felt that my run was fairly smooth (though I played a couple well established players like Braverius and Level51 along the way), since I was lucky enough to stay in winner’s bracket the whole time. I feel a lot of my success is a result of using “good” mons like mega glalie, mega heracross, and coil hypno milotic.

10. What are you goals for the next Seasonal?
Get enough points for invitational :3

11. The Doubles OU Tour is almost over, approaching finals between Stax and MajorBowman. Who do you think will win and why?
I wouldn’t be surprised with either one of them winning. They’re both really good. Maybe Stax has the edge because he has sexy teams, but his head has been hurting apparently so idk.

12. What are your thoughts on Smogon Snake Draft? Will you take part on that tournament?
idk, I haven’t looked into it.

13. Now that all megas are free and Marshadow has stayed in OU, what are your thoughts on the current metagame?
There’s a lot of “viable” stuff so team building is fun. Z moves are dumb though.

14. Is there anyone you see as up and coming player?
Not sure. It’s hard for me to draw the line between up and coming players and established players, since I still feel kinda new cause I haven’t socialized much on discord and stuff until recently.

15. Is there anyone you look up to as a player?
Stax is :sogood:
I used to look up to kami but he feels dated now


16. Do you have any advice for players that are new to the tier?
Just use the mon you like even if it's bad and try to build around it to cover its weakness. Building is more fun that way, and that methodology kept me motivated during my dark age of using guard split chansey and double weather perish trap room. Eventually, you’ll realize on your own that replacing the bad mon with something top tier will get you a perfect team.

17. What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokémon? What are you interested in?
I talk about this in discord anime channel a bit, but I really like light novels. I’ve read quite a few of them, and I’ve been writing my own and submitting them to competitions. Y’all should give in and accept those isekai/harem/etc cliché light novel anime to maximize your enjoyment from modern animes :3
p.s. my goal in life is to make a living off of light novels, so plz support the industry by over hyping it and purchasing copies

18. Is there anything else you'd like to speak about?
Thanks for the interview!
 

nvakna

consistently random
is a Former Smogon Metagame Tournament Circuit Champion
what are some good light novels
I like classic stuff like wolf and spice, baccano and main stream stuff like oregairu, axel world but you can prob find recommendations for those elsewhere so I'll list more niche ones.
Disclaimer: My recommendations are skewed since I mostly only enjoy comedy.
Kumo desu ga, nani ka?
One of my favorite narou light novel (narou light novel = originates from narou website and is mostly isekai). Konosuba and Re:Zero (also narou light novels) have good anime adaptations but I personally don't like either author's style of writing.
This one also has a good manga adaptation so I guess you can try that.

Jinrui wa suitai shimashita
Although the art makes it look like fantasy, it's a comedy sci-fi. If you can reach the final volume, you'll feel an insane 'wow what an amazing overarching plot' moment. Has an anime adaptation which is decent.

Ore no imouto wa kanji ga yomenai
Translates as "my little sister can't read kanji." Probably the most hilarious volume 1 I have ever read. I don't think the jokes translate well into English though (although an official translation apparently exists), so you should start taking Japanese classes if real.

Chuuko demo koigashitai
Amazing bad rom com light novel. Don't even bother trying to translate the title (a pun on chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai) if you're not into this genre :3

Over run
One of those bullied children fantasies put into book form, but with actually good writing. It's only 1 volume so it's good if you're looking for a quick read. A bit violent though and idk if translations exist.

And if you're too lazy to read
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru
Oniichan dakedo Ai sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne!
Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara
Korewa zombie desuka

The original light novel for most of these have bad writing, so don't bother trying to read it :3
 

ryo yamada2001

ryo yamada2001
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Before I'm dropping this, I want to preface this with a huge shoutout to Toxigen for helping with more than half the interviews and getting on my case for not being too quick :p also shoutouts for being a great friend etc etc but personal stuff aside, here's the issue for the new DPoTW


Snake Draft 2017 Special Edition
Welcome back to Doubles Player of the Week. This time we're shaking the format up a little bit -- instead of one specific person, we decided to interview all Doubles starters for the 2017 Snake Draft. Keep in mind some of these questions were asked before some of the games happened.


Berry Forest Bushmasters
marilli
- 81st pick
qsns - 100th pick
Perhaps one of the most exciting newcomers to the big team tournament scene would be marilli, the 81th pick. The second biggest trap of the Doubles community comes off good form, making R10 in the Spring Seasonals, only to be knocked out by Demantoid, and several other high finishes he surely can be proud of. While marilli has a great track record and high consistency, perhaps the nerves might play a role in his gameplay, though surely this will be alleviated by experienced team tournament player qsns backing marilli up.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
I did not expect to be drafted, but I'm happy that I am and I'll try my best.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
I am thankful for my manager tony because he gave me a chance when I thought I would not get drafted. I appreciate that he drafted qsns so he can give constructive criticism, and step in when I do poorly, which lifts some burden off my shoulders. My teammates are all very strong and accomplished players in the singles metagames.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
I also think kami, nvakna, and finally should have been a starter if they signed up.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
marilli: ill say miltankmilk is the biggest threat in the tournament :3
peachyy: cuz cows tend to be big, right :3c
marilli: yeah!

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
I enjoy the metagame because I can use cute Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir, Diancie, and Lopunny :3

We also asked Hearthstone god qsns on his opinions on comparing metagames:
How much is ORAS superior to SM?
un fucking beliebably serperior



Victory Road Rattlers
stax -
39th pick
Stax is perhaps one of the most intriguing players out there. Coming out of seemingly nowhere, he started dominating tournaments around mid-2015, and while he doesn't chat much, he makes his presence felt by putting down consistent high performances in tournaments. While his Spring seasonal was a bit of a dud, he made the finals of the very first SM Doubles seasonal, only to be beaten by Demantoid. Perhaps he can take his revenge now in a much more prestigious tour. Surely his experience from last season's SPL, in which he finished with a 3-5 record, will help him further in this tournament.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
I believe my response can be described as content. My draft position went as I expected and nothing too out of the ordinary happened to produce a more vested response from myself. I believe I have the capabilities to be the best but I have trouble with high leverage situations so there is also a lingering fear that I’ll wash out in this tour. Though I have a better grasp on the metagame than I did at the start of spl and late oras where I felt like I struggled so that possibility might be mitigated.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
I’m happy with both managers and teammates. Though it is a bit difficult to interact with them due to the nature of me being the only doubles player on the team. I believe we have the talent to succeed and our success will be dependant on how well we coalesce. Though it's unlikely we’ll be able to replicate the success of my old spl raiders team, which was a group of players that will probably never be replicated, I still have high hopes for the group.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
From my perspective the draft quality is pretty standard, not too strong nor too weak. The only obvious player that missed out was frania which is a bit ridiculous considering her success. There were also many players that didn't sign up that had the ability as well such as dawg, nvakna, edu and chase if that fits your criteria.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
I don't really view anyone as a threat nor do I want to. I’m past the point where I tier people into threats, average, and “easy wins”. We’re all good at this game in some sort of way if we’ve made it this far. What matters to me is if I can have some enjoyable matches and hopefully let my ideas flow.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
The metagame is close to ideal from my perspective despite the gripes of many people. There are only two changes that I think definitely should happen. These two changes are the banning of deoa and beat up. I’ve wanted deo-a banned since the start of the generation due to the ludicrous pressure and hands it forces the opposition to play. I want beat up to be banned due to there always being a variation that can produce auto-win situations with very little counterplay. I view it in the same light that ou viewed baton pass in the current generation and it being uncommon still does not mean it's not stupid. Other than that, I view the metagame as slightly volatile but still fun.



Lanakila Nagas
miltankmilk
- 78th pick

miltankmilk has been playing fairly well recently, earning himself a spot on the prospective list of Doubles Circuit qualifiers. miltankmilks prior experience in the big team tournament scene was playing a supportive role for MajorBowman, as well as the rest of the team given miltank's versatility, even snagging a win against DaAwesomeDude1. Miltank was also unfortunately thrown to the wolves, having to play an incredibly difficult and stressful tiebreaker in a tier he was learning along the way. Even though this was a stain on miltank's otherwise great SPL season, the Nagas managers have put enough trust in him to put him in a starting spot.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
Thanks! I won't bullshit here and say it was a total shock that I got picked but I also wasn't 100% confident that I was going to get picked up because I really didn't know many managers besides Zebraiken and a few passing interactions with Hikari and Anti. I was definitely super excited to get picked up though and am excited to play in the first iteration of this tournament.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
Definitely! Hikari is a guy I've been in a few discords with over the last year and came off as intimidating-ly serious about how he ran the UU tier so I wasn't sure what it would be like on his team. It's actually really great to be on a team with such a straightforward approach towards winning and assembling a team that will win. My teammates are a really strange group who on the surface may look like a dumpster fire but has really meshed together well and I'm really happy with the guys on my team. Its a really good group of players I've never teamed with and teaming with some old SPL teammates like Mazar and Steve Angello, as crazy as they are, is really great.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
I think the pool is really strong and its actually bigger than I thought it would be. There is a player here and there that is good enough to make the cut, frania being the guy everyone has named, but I was happy to see Croven get bought again and people like Demantoid, Level 51 and marilli getting a chance in a team tournament is a really good thing for the community and the strength of the playerbase in this tour.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
I helped write the Power Rankings so my thoughts have been expressed in some detail there, but I definitely see MajorBowman as the biggest threat, especially for me. He's a guy who has influenced my building and metagame views extensively, and I have likely influenced his, so preparing to play him will be a nightmare as we so often prep together. Some honorable mentions are Stax for his consistency, Kaori for his teambuilding creativity and Biosci for somehow always putting up good results against everyone in the DOU community's best guess.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
I feel like the metagame is as volatile as it's been in a while right now. The new megas and pokemon like marshadow have shaken things up and I don't think we have a great grasp on it yet as things like Rain and Fullroom have run rampent on ladder and the first snake game. I think this tournament is the push the meta needs to really start to settle into something that rewards a more balanced approach to teambuilding and play, but for now its very volatile!



Terminus Taipans
Biosci -
24th pick
Matame - 105th pick
People were perhaps putting their question marks around veteran Biosci, for not being around the metagame the past few months, but history has proved time and time again Biosci is an incredibly consistent performer. In SPL8 he finished with a 8-3 record, the best of the crop, as well as 5-4 SPL7, 4-4-4 SPL6, and 6-2 SPL5 records. Biosci is definitely one of the best performers in SPL, and the step to performing in Snake shouldn't be too difficult. Surely his experience and teammate Matame will help immensely against the rather new crop of 'big Doubles players'.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
I was pretty glad to get drafted again. I knew CBB and obii both planned on drafting me after the times we had in SPL so I expected to get picked up somewhere in the draft, but a 3rd round pick was kind of shocking to me.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
Yea of course. Frankly the main reason I play in these tournaments is because of how fun it is to hang out and play in SPL. Everyone on the team seems really cool and I'm glad we have Matame to finally have someone to test with this time around.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
I think the quality is pretty solid, a couple SPL players missing but still good nonetheless. I actually had to go through the list of sign ups mid-draft to pick who I wanted to help test. With short time to choose, I ended up with Matame but there were definitely a couple more candidates that would've been solid teammates/players to have for sure.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
Stax, the dude is on fire recently and I don't think him being in a team tournament will change that. Definitely the person that I'd power rank at #1.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
Honestly, it feels all over the place. Prepping will definitely be the hardest time this tournament. Marshadow added a lot of things I like to the metagame which can be good and bad at the same time. The megas also add a nice twist to things, but I still feel like Salamence and Gengar reign as top tiers. We'll see how it pans out though, it definitely felt like the meta shifted hard during SPL and I sort of expect the same here. We do have less time to see shifts this time around so it's really hard to tell tbh.



Lake of Rage Leviathans
Jhon -
85th pick
Croven - 116th pick

Jhon, while new to the big Smogon tournaments, is considered a big threat in this tournament. His lack of tournament replays, other than from his 7-0 DPL season, make him a difficult player to prepare for. This lack of participation might backfire though, as his teammate Croven hasn't been around for the metagame for a long time either. While there is little known about Jhon's playstyle and habits, if he proves to have a sharp knowledge of the metagame he will definitely be a player that is not to be underestimated.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
I'm elated. Very glad to be picked for a major tour, a new experience for me.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
I don't know the whole Smogon Tour scene well enough to judge with any accuracy, but they all seem cool so far. Finch has been particularly welcoming.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
Focusing on doubles, everyone's good. I saw some people surprised with Marilli being picked, but I really respect Marilli.

Of course with only a little more than 10 picks, good players will be left out. I don't wanna list them, but I think there were a lot of people who could have been drafted without surprising me.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
I may just be terrible at evaluating player skill, but I do genuinely see us as fairly clumped together. At least close enough for it to be unclear who's the biggest threat.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
I kinda like what's going around now. Agressive setup has quietened down, and thankfully swagger is gone. The more balanced teams seem better again, and the raw aggro stuff is still performing well enough.
However, there's always a lot for room for development. I'm looking forward to seeing what we all come up with.



Sootopolis Sidewinders
Kaori
- 35th pick
Kaori, also known as SamVGC, is definitely the cutest pickup of the entire tournament. Sam has proven to be an extremely versatile and quite creative builder with the skill to utilize them properly, which will perhaps be one of the most exciting things to see. Perhaps he can come up with another metagame dominating innovation like he did with Snorlax in SPL8, the same tournament he put up a respectable 5-4 record in his debut season? It'll definitely be exciting to see how our favourite Australian player will perform.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
Getting drafted for me wasn't exactly much of a surprise, but it was pretty validating to be picked not only so early on but also to be the 3rd Doubles player taken. Hopefully I can make sure that this faith in me is valid.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
Absolutely, I really enjoy our team and the atmosphere is great. It's a little unfortunate not having anyone else who plays a ton of Doubles but I think that's less important than having an enjoyable team and I'm a big fan of what we have going on.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season, and do you think anyone is missing?
It's an interesting player pool, lots of mix up as opposed to the same familiar faces you see in tournaments like SPL. I think Frania realistically should have been picked, but its also noteworthy that not a lot of teams drafted multiple doubles players like they did in SPL so it was a bit more competitive to get in. I'm sure they'll have the opportunity to prove themselves down the road.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
Outside of obvious answers like Bowman or Stax I'd have to go with Jhon, he's a really intelligent player and the lack of available information on him is gonna play into his favor I think. It's hard to prep when replays simply don't exist of him playing SM DOU and that puts one aspect of the match instantly to his advantage.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
The metagame is going to be interesting, I think its at sort of an odd point where we've been introduced to so much new stuff and now it's finally settling down. Rain jumps out as extremely threatening as well as a number of other more offensive archetypes, which while I think is worse from a players perspective it probably makes for a more entertaining viewing experience. These hyper offensive teams often rely on not getting unlucky and with one unfortunate RNG roll you've lost the game.

How do you plan to regain yourself after your false start in game 1 versus Biosci?
I think I'll be fine, this was always gonna be one of the tougher weeks and I pulled a pretty awful matchup and got a little bit of unfortunate luck. It's certainly not tour-ending and I'm looking forward to the rest of my games.



Shinto Ruin Serpents
Demantoid -
74th pick

Demantoid is such a mysterious player that not even his friends know of his real name. Few things are known about him though: he's an incredibly shitty memer, obsessed with Mishiimono, and one of the best and most consistent Doubles players out there. Demantoid proved his qualities yet again by winning the very first SM Doubles Seasonal, and taking out various top-tier players such as qsns and marilli, only to get knocked out by Frania in the top 4. While there's no doubt that Demantoid is an incredibly high calibre player, it will be exciting to see how Demantoid will perform in an entirely new stage without any players on his team able to back him up in Doubles.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
It was exciting since it will be my first big team tour.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
I don't know many people outside of doubles but they seem nice. Obii has also been very helpful so far.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
It seemed like a lot more doubles players were drafted than usual with several teams picking up two. There were a few people that could have been drafted that weren't and there were also several people that didn't sign up for snake.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
Biosci and Jhon are both good players and they're a lot harder to prepare for than other people because they don't play as much sm dou.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
It's not my favorite because of the more offensive nature of teams right now.


Ambrette Astrotias
Memoric -
53th pick
While esteemed tier leader Memoric had a fantastic breakout season in SPL7, going 4-0, he might've disappointed some players by ending with a 3-4 record in SPL8. Nevertheless, Memoric has always been a dependable player in the past few years. While his Seasonal records tend to be relatively mediocre, when Memoric starts putting in more effort he will definitely shine. Time will tell whether he can replicate his great SPL7 season over the course of a full tournament.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
I was personally shocked that I got drafted as early as I was, I cannot lie. But something like that puts pressure on me to push myself even better, a challenge like that is always welcome.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
Yeah of course, we got a solid mix of up-and-comers and vets, including our managers BKC and Jirachee. The vibe and atmosphere is great too, and a lot are willing to help me out even with the specialized tier and all.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
I'd say it's pretty good, overall I think everyone's deserving of a spot at the very least. However, it's simply hard to stomach that frania, one of the best players of recent time, didn't even get drafted; I personally thought frania was a lock at a starter spot. Not much else to say though, tbh.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
I can't really peg one as the "biggest" threat tbh, I just want to win every game lol. Everyone who got drafted are pretty dangerous players but, regardless of who they are, they still count as 1 on the record in the end. I can say all I want about how skilled the other players are, but it won't matter as they're all my "biggest" threats and I need to do my job and get some Ws.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
that's a secret :joy_cat:

though someone's probably going to bring crazy stuff, that much is certain. Big tours like this do bring out the most of the creativity of players.


Pacifidlog Pitvipers
Level 51 -
89th pick

Level 51 is definitely one of the most experienced players out there, having played Doubles since the very start. However, it's only been recent that Level 51 is being considered as a top-tier player. Perhaps best known for his strategies such as PerishTrap or GeoPass, strategies he personally calls "uninteractive", it will definitely be very interesting what kind of gimmicks Level can come up with to surprise the top tier players. Despite his experience, hopefully he won't crumble under the pressure from this being his debut team tournament, as he has nobody to share the pressure with.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
Definitely! I think my team is probably top of the table in terms of how well everyone meshes together and the sheer chemistry between players. While I'm not super familiar with who's hot in the other tiers I also have a good feeling about the team and I believe we're more than capable of winning the whole tournament.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
It's pretty hard to answer this question because I feel like the DOU community has more than 10 ~ 12 players who were worth drafting. I found Croven being drafted a little surprising since he hasn't played DOU probably since Kangaskhanite got banned, but he probably has the fundamental teambuilding skills to help out and complement Jhon's playing ability. I also thought me being drafted was a little surprising since I'm not an absolute standout player by any means, but I'm glad I was drafted and I'll do my best to not disappoint my team! :3 In terms of people being missed out, I thought it was surprising that frania was missed out, since he's not only versed in DOU but also familiar with other tiers from what I've heard. I thought he'd be one of the first DOU players to get drafted, since he seems like not only a solid player but also pretty good support for other players. Other players who I felt would also be worthwhile pickups but who didn't get picked up include other strong players like kamikaze and Mishimono. Overall, though, I guess the draft was pretty good—there's only so much one can do with 10 starting slots for DOU.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
Marshadow.

Oh, you meant players. I think MajorBowman is probably everyone's favourite going into the tour, since he's come off the back of a Smogon Doubles Tour win runner-up placing and has also demonstrated a solid amount of consistency in recent tournament play. Stax, the winner of the aforementioned tournament, also comes close in my books, since I feel like he has the right balance between teams which are surprising enough to pull out the win in a best-of-one scenario and overall good play. Then of course there's the immensely handsome and amazing player Sam Schweitzer, uncontested in his ability to be a cute user and pull out Ws; I think a lot of people might sleep on him when it comes to listing top players but he's definitely one of the best of the DOU drafts in terms of play skill and the chemistry he'll bring to his team. On the whole I think everyone who was drafted could go 7-2 or 6-3 and it wouldn't be a huge surprise, though.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
Marshadow is absolutely awful and I rue the day I thought it was not broken. What a mistake. Other than Marshadow ruining everything for everyone I think lacking the continuous cycle of bans and rises has DOU sitting pretty stable or stale, depending on how you look at it. I'm hoping to see a good amount of innovation coming out from this tournament, though



Goldenrod Gliders
MajorBowman -
11th pick

MajorBowman is considered the most valuable Doubles player at the moment -- this is evident looking at his pick position. The first Doubles player, and the only one to appear in the first round of draftees. The power rankings devised by Bowman's opponents obviously respect him as well, and put him on #1. MajorBowman has proven to be a phenomonal player, going 4-0 in SPL7 and 6-4 in SPL8. The only doubts around Bowman are whether he will be up to bar in terms of building teams, which could prove problematic without a solid teammate.

Congratulations on getting drafted! How did you respond to getting drafted?
Thanks! I was actually super surprised when I got drafted. I absolutely did not expect to get picked up so early (11th overall I think?), as I didn't think managers would put that much value in doubles players. I was thinking round 3 or 4 at the earliest, but I felt pretty honored to be grabbed so early. I knew Funkasaurus already so I was happy to have him as a manager.

Are you happy with your managers and teammates?
Yeah definitely. While I only knew a small few of them going in, they all seem like fun people so far and it should be an enjoyable tournament. I entered SPL8 only knowing a couple people on the Tigers and I'm good friends with a lot of them now, so hopefully I build some more relationships during snake tour.

What do you think of the draft quality on players this season? Do you think anyone is missing?
If I'm being honest, snake tour feels a little bit less prestigious to me than either of the SPLs in which I've been involved. Maybe it's because a lot of the veterans took the tournament off (Braverius especially, kamikaze, etc), but it could also just be a changing of the guard with some of the newer players finally getting their chance on the big stage. I think that everyone who got drafted definitely deserved it and I'm looking forward to some fun games.

Who do you consider the biggest threat going into this tournament?
If Sam is on his A game then he's going to do really well in this tournament, and Biosci is always a big threat in tours like this too. I think Biosci especially is the one to look out for, he always seems to go unnoticed then pull out a really strong record.

What do you think of the metagame going into this tour?
After SPL it felt like the tier had flatlined a little bit, but as the new megas got released and everyone started branching out in teambuilding it was really fun to watch how the metagame began to diversify. I think snake tour will give the metagame a little more of a kickstart, since all the top players are going to be building a whole lot. Hopefully we'll get some cool teams out of this tournament.


-----------------------------
That was all for this issue of the Doubles Player of the Week -- toxigen'll definitely be back sooner or later with another nice interview for y'all to appreciate.
 
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ryo yamada2001

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

Interviewee #11 - Level 51
Hi there! I'm sure everyone knows you by now, but could you introduce yourself by telling a little bit about yourself?
Hi! I'm Level 51, and I've been playing Doubles since the very start in 2012. I'm currently a conscript in the Singapore Armed Forces, working in military intelligence, and I'm looking forward to enrolling in university in 2019 to do Computer Science.

Congratulations with winning the first iteration of the Snake Draft! How was it to play in this tournament, and what was your key to success?
Thanks! Snake was honestly a really terrifying experience for me, since playing with an entire team's trophy hopes at least partially on my shoulders was pretty stressful. I wouldn't say I had any "key to success", especially since I wouldn't count the tournament as a huge success for me (apart from the fact that I got carried to a trophy). It's true that confidence is key, though—Pokemon as a game can be quite heavy on the player's mental state, and it showed when I played games extremely anxiously in my first Phase versus when I was more relaxed later on in the tournament.

Perhaps a bigger reason for the success that I did have could be attributed to my teambuilding—I liked a lot of the teams I built very much and I think they're all pretty good teams past the first Phase. I've had a habit of thinking about teams in my spare time, so that was very helpful for coming up with a large volume of random ideas, which I think was crucial given that the tournament demanded three teams per two weeks. On the other hand, having Pokemon always at the back of my mind was pretty stress-inducing too, especially when the same stale ideas kept circulating in my mind nonstop (Mega Scizor + LandoT + Volcanion took a good 3 days to expel from my brain) so I probably wouldn't recommend trying this.

It's pretty surprising that the winner of the Snake tournament would not participate in the Premier League. Why did you decide not to sign up for SPL?
Like I mentioned, Snake was really stressful—I lost like 4 pounds and started dry retching before battles out of stress, and the latter still affects me even after Snake so I should probably get that checked out. I didn't want to go through the same experience again for SPL, since even though there were fun moments in Snake, I value my mental health above the remote possibility of another pixel trophy.

Speaking of SPL, what do you think of the player pool drafted this year, and what do you think of the new additions, such as Tman and EmbCPT?
I was very glad to see some of the players who performed well in Snake being picked up like Jhon and marilli, and I think the pool this year is pretty good apart from the exclusion of quality users™ Memoric and talkingtree :pirate:. Tman and EmbCPT aren't too surprising in the sense that they're both accomplished VGC players and skills are reasonably transferrable from DOU to VGC and vice versa, but I was intrigued by the Classiest's decision to draft EmbCPT by himself when he has VGC commitments to fulfill. Should be interesting to see how he'll choose to balance the two.

Do you feel like some players went for too little credits? How do you feel about the lack of substitutes this SPL, compared to Snake?
I don't think underpays are really a thing in DOU. I feel like in DOU, most of the top players are on relatively equal footing when it comes to player skill, so getting, for example, Demantoid wouldn't be too different from picking up marilli in terms of the results you'll likely get at the end of the day (the memes you'll get are a different matter though). As a result I'd assume most managers weren't as anxious to get their "first choice", so were willing to let a few go first instead of coughing up valuable money which could be spent on other tiers where the skill gap, or at least the perceived skill gap, is wider, leading to larger differences in player prices.

We're pretty far through the Invitationals. Who do you think has the biggest chance of winning this tournament, apart from yourself, and do you feel like there have been many upsets so far?
Obviously I'm out by the time I'm writing this so I couldn't include myself even if I wanted to but I think realistically frania has been on a tear and could very well take the whole thing. Akaru and marilli are also very good players and though I honestly wouldn't quite put Yellow Paint in the same tier as the other three I respect his ability as a dark horse and wouldn't be overly surprised if he took it all. The only game I've thought was a major upset was MajorBowman vs Akaru, which was admittedly in part due to luck, but that's the game we play. I don't want to comment on any games I've played in for fear of sounding egotistical but that one game was the biggest bracket-ruiner.

Is there anyone you look up to as a player?
No.

Do you feel like there's anyone up and coming in the Doubles tournament scene?
I'm very happy to see Jhon's participation in Snake and SPL and I think he'd be a huge force in DOU if he joins more Seasonals and plays more!

How do you feel about the Marshadow suspect test? Do you feel like there is anything else that should be considered for a suspect test?
I'm pretty heavily in favour of banning Marshadow. There's obviously a lot of reasons for it because Marshadow is pretty broke but I've honestly lost count of the number of teams I've had to scrap halfway through because "oh yeah Marshadow invalidates this whole idea". The fact that people are using Kasib Berry on Necrozma—a Pokemon with Prism Armor—is pretty mind-boggling, and shows what kind of singularity-like pull Marshadow has on the metagame.

And how do you feel about the Ally Switch discussion - is it uncompetitive, and should it get banned?
Ally Switch is basically no fun to play against. Despite it basically giving me the series against Demantoid, I would honestly prefer not to have it in the format. I don't think it's super uncompetitive or anything but it's just really unfun and I typically play Pokemon to have fun, not to get shadow realmed by semi-50/50s.

What do you consider the strongest Pokemon/playstyle in the metagame, at the moment?
Marshadow is the strongest Pokemon, and because of that, probably "semi-bulky" offense is the strongest playstyle. I hesitate to say bulky offense because I don't mean really bulky Zygarde / Tapu Fini / Zapdos teams, but rather the kind of team that can flexibly switch around while still dealing significant amounts of damage with Pokemon like Tapu Lele and Marshadow.

And what do you consider the most underrated Pokemon or playstyle in the metagame?
Mega Manectric is pretty good. I think having an Intimidate user with a mid-turn switch option in Volt Switch is great, and it's easily used with Landorus-T since not only does it stack the Ice-type weakness like Salamence, it also complements Landorus-T's offensive coverage somewhat, threatening Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Ferrothorn and Landorus-T which otherwise come in relatively easily on Landorus-T and sit in front of it. Having double Intimidate on a team is really good, especially in the Marshadow meta where the ability to stack Intimidate is very often a huge boon.

You're perhaps most known for your gimmicky and "uninteractive" teams. How do you come up with these gimmicks and how do you try to get them to work?
aw. I think I grew out of this a while ago, but in general a lot of my ideas stemmed from attempting to take ladder gimmicks and turn them into actual, workable strategies against good players. Back then, I wasn't super confident in my own playing ability, so I figured the best way to go toe-to-toe against top players was to remove the element of player skill from my games by playing flowcharted teams. This allowed me to capitalize on my strength of teambuilding in order to gain an advantage by theorizing matchups far in advance of the actual game. In general, I tried to make every team as robust as possible against all kinds of different team compositions, including worst-case scenarios, and to try to minimise the chances that the team just loses at Team Preview. I think this is actually a pretty viable method of teambuilding, but of course with the generation-on-generation power creep it's becoming more difficult to maintain a hard setup team as time goes on. Honestly, though, it was a fun label to wear for a while but being known as the guy who deals in Perish Trap and gimmicks is getting a little grating, which is one of the reasons (alongside increased confidence and the decreased viability of flowchart teams) I've moved on to more conventional teambuilding.

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

LASKER (Togekiss) @ Mago Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 16 SpA / 112 SpD / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Follow Me
- Tailwind
- Encore

FISCHER (Rotom-Wash) @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 44 SpA / 80 SpD / 48 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Electroweb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Ally Switch

CARLSEN (Landorus-Therian) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 60 HP / 100 Atk / 96 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Protect

CAPABLANCA (Aegislash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 188 HP / 12 Def / 228 SpA / 80 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield

KARPOV (Tapu Lele) @ Mago Berry
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 52 SpA / 92 SpD / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Protect

KASPAROV (Manectric-Mega) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 12 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect

This team is one of my favourites. I have a very switch-heavy playstyle so I favour teams with lots of defensive synergy, but I enjoyed this team not just for its ability to switch around but also for its very powerful attacking options. I won't say the team is focused around supporting a Landorus-T or Tapu Lele sweep, because it's not, but it aims to use the strong defensive synergy between Rotom-W and Aegislash, aided by double Intimidate from Manectric and Landorus-T and Tailwind support from Togekiss, to break opposing teams down slowly. I hope you enjoy using this team! :)

Do you have any advice for players that are new to the tier, or any players that have aspirations to become a SPL/Snake player?
I think that the biggest entry barrier is probably teambuilding, since the DOU format is so different from the singles tiers in terms of not only the Pokemon but also the roles that need to be filled on each team. This, combined with the fact that new players must contend with twice as many Pokemon on the field at the same time, puts a lot of stress on new players and is probably one of the reasons we end up with new players using Spindarcanine and Oricorio and stuff on the ladder. I guess my biggest piece of advice to new players is therefore to not be ashamed to borrow a sample team to start with, and to start building only when they're more confident with the metagame.

In terms of advice to prospective SPL/Snake players, I don't think I'm qualified to give advice on that front. As is widely known, I was apparently picked up for Snake because ict thought it was hilarious that I owned KyleCole on the ladder, so I guess just save lots of replays of you kicking the shit out of people who managers have targeted vendettas against? Other than that, just strive to be the best player you can be, I guess. Getting your name out there supposedly helps, too, mainly through large tournaments like Seasonals.

What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokemon? What do you like to do in your free time?
I actually really enjoy writing, though I don't do it often because writer's block is a huge pain in the ass, but I've written a few pieces which can be found on my writing blog (link intentionally ommitted). I guess I generally enjoy creating stuff, from ROM hacks to math problems to origami models, it feels good to make something with your own hands or brain and to see it complete.

Free Stratos yes or no
Stratos' freedom is like Rain Psyspam: all the top players have no problem with it but it'd be super painful and discouraging for newcomers.

Is there anyone in the community you'd like to give a shoutout, or have other kind words for?
Big shoutouts to talkingtree, DOU's member of the year. He's super slept on but he's actually a phenomenal teambuilder and perhaps more importantly one of the kindest people I've met. Plus, he's great at spreadsheets and Words with Friends :3

Is there anything you would like to add to the interview?
Yes:
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MajorBowman

wouldst thou like to live fergaliciously?
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
What got you into making puzzles, and do you think you'll be doing another big puzzle competition anytime soon? :eyes:

Do you think you'll do team tournaments again or is your SPL hiatus permanent?

On a scale of 1-10 how offended were you when you were called gimmicky and uninteractive by your interviewer?

Friendship test: what is my favorite color?
 

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