I'm planning a documentary about competitive battling and I could use some help.

[Ritzii]

Hey, major apologies if this is in the wrong section, I wasn't too sure where to put it. Basically, I'm planning a documentary on the whole competitive battling scene and I'm trying to get hold of a selection of quotes from players to put in the pitch. If you could answer some of these questions, it doesn't have to be all, that would be awesome. Even better would be if you could record them on video, but if not - no worries!

There's a chance that this documentary might not go beyond the planning stages, but if it were to do so - would it be something any of you would be interested in being interviewed for?

QUESTIONS:

What makes Pokemon (as a video game) stand out?

The games have a wide demographic, appealing to people of all ages. What distinctions are there (if any) do you find in the way different people play?

How did you first get involved with competitive battling?

Have you participated in any 'in person' tournaments? If so, which ones?

How do you prepare for a tournament?

What do you look for when building a team?

What makes the metagame a unique experience?

There is some controversy regarding hacked and/or RNG abused teams, where do you stand on this?

What do you think is the appeal of shiny Pokemon?

How do you think sites like Smogon have helped (or hindered, if you feel that way) the competitive battling scene?

Are there any specific individuals that you follow in the scene?

What are your thoughts on the official Pokemon World Championships and do you think it could be improved?

What would you like to see in a documentary about the competitive battling scene?

[bobbyvaporeon]

This is a really cool idea that I would live to be a part of.

[Hulavuta]

I am also interested in doing this.

[JoyceyMaster]

I'd be interested in helping out :D

[Slayr231]

Yeah, this sounds really cool and I would definitely be interested in helping out.

For the sake of keeping this comment short here are the answers to your questions in spoilers.

...

---

1. Pokemon as a gaming franchise stands out because there is something there for everyone. There's the story line for the kids and competitive battling for the older people. Every game introduces something new from new pokemon to battle mechanics.

2. There are several ways people play. Some people play by choosing the tier that they can use their favorite pokemon in and still stand a chance while others throw all favoritism out the window and go for the strongest pokemon around. Most new people start out using favorites and then gradually let go and move into a more competitive team.

3. I first got into competitive battling in high school. I had beaten the games and started to battle my friends. I was on the internet one day and saw Smogon's battle simulator. I started battling and now I can't get enough. I just love the competitive atmosphere and now I'm the number one battler in my school.

4. Not really any "in person" tournaments, but I have participated in several ones online through pokemon showdown. For the sake of answering the rest of your questions I'll just go through what I know from battling online.

5. I just look for tournaments in which I have a team set up for. My favorite tournaments include Monotypes, OU, and NU tourneys. Sometimes I'll overhaul a team to prepare for a tournament in order to overcome some other teams that I have struggled against in the past.

6. The thing that makes the meta game unique is its competitive atmosphere. Normally when people play or think about pokemon they think of this nice relaxing time just sitting down and enjoying a game, but that's just the opposite for competitive play. I often find myself getting really into each battle and I remember the first tournament I won I was acting crazy for the rest of the night. I think I was actually on an adrenaline high from the final battle. You can't get that excited from beating the champion you're supposed to beat at the end of the game.

7. I really don't care how the pokemon team is formed or created. Just as long as the team is 100% legal and doesn't use any moves or have any ability that the species can't normally learn.

8. The main appeal of shiny pokemon is that they're incredibly rare. The odds are around 1/8192 pokemon are shiny so if you find one and even make it good for competitive play then that's a bonus. I had a shiny Gigalith that I used for a couple school tournaments and for some reason it worked very well and people were always impressed and even congratulated me on my shiny pokemon.

9. I think Smogon and other sites like Smogon have helped the meta game greatly. It laid down some rules for everyone to follow and helped people build teams. I certainly wouldn't have created as good of a team as I have now without Smogon and I certainly wouldn't have chosen the sets to run my pokemon on without it. They allow more people to share and collect ideas to help other people out.

10. I'm not entirely sure what this is asking, but if you're asking if there are certain people I keep a look out for when I sign up for tournaments then yes, there are a couple. For monotype tournaments I always keep an eye open for a person who goes by gryphon online. His dragon team and my grass team have gone up against each other several times in the finals for tournaments alone and I have never beat him. Each time I get a little closer, but to no avail. We're friends online and we always support one another if the other loses.

11. I've never been to the world championships or really looked into in so I don't have much feedback to offer.

12. I think it would be cool to display some battles and to follow the path of a couple people throughout a tournament. The documentary would need a lot of explaining how tiers work and all the different clauses that appear for all the non-competitive people that watch it. Maybe show a little bit of online action as well.

That answers all your questions and PM me if you want me to answer any more!