-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Doubles OU Player of the Week #41 - Stax
- Thread starter ryo yamada2001
- Start date
how do you become a dragonball master and get 3 balls like yourself
have you ever licked a frozen lamppole
how do you intend to get more players into doubles? tournaments? ps? irc? flyers? adult filmings of yourself playing doubles whilst doing other things?
have you ever licked a frozen lamppole
how do you intend to get more players into doubles? tournaments? ps? irc? flyers? adult filmings of yourself playing doubles whilst doing other things?
Stratos
Banned deucer.
sorry for being slow with this, smogon.com a shit this morning/afternoon
not in the near future. we simply don't have an interested enough userbase to sustain the project. If doubles grows, we could try it again later. However, I would probably be stricter in my moderation of the thread if I were to do it again. A lot of the posts were very long and very dumb, and it was pretty annoying: if your post is going to be dumb at least make it short and dumb so its quick to refute. As tempting of a scapegoat as they are though, I doubt that the presence of these long and dumb posts is what discouraged posting; doubles players just dont post for some reason (theyre (BAN ME PLEASE)gots) but the posts were still annoying.
No, I don't give a shit about a fantasy meta which has minimal if any benefits to actual Doubles play. The CAPs aren't made for doubles so I don't care to see how they do in Doubles.
eventually; i actually considered watching it last night but then i decided not to because fuck you, and watched non non biyori instead. it wasn't very good.
banned
no
Tournaments is the main avenue that I've tried to date, cuz I'm pretty sure the tournaments forum is hands down the best way to reach already established players on Smogon for a new tier. Newer players im less sure on, the PS room is one avenue, the other one that I can think of being Smog articles to raise publicity. Sadly, irc is pretty freaking dead, I wish it weren't true but even when I try to kickstart discussion in the channel it's dead. I don't know how to fix this :(
1. Hi, what's your name and where do you come from?
Hey, my name is KyleCole and I'm from Kingston Ontario
2. What is your favourite Pokémon in general, and which competitively, and could you explain why?
My favourite pokemon overall is probably Mega Abomasnow for a couple of reasons. It looks pretty cool of course but its also a niche pick in Doubles that you don't very often and played well even less so, I also really enjoy using Hail team builds which means I need to bring Mega Abomasnow. Competitively my favourite to use is Swampert. While a lot of people think Swampert is totally unviable (and they're not far off from right) there are spots are certain teams for Wide Guard 3 attacks Swampert and Swift Swim Mega Swampert, Swampert is my favourite Pokemon to use competitively because so often I find myself in matchups where Swampert completely dismantles an opponents team without effort. Regular Swampert has worked really well supporting Charizard Y with Wide Guard and Mega Swampert of course fits best on rain.
3. When did you start playing Pokémon competitively, and why?
I started around December 2013, whenever Showdown had just began to incorporate 6th gen mons. I had seen some youtube videos on old school channels like Pokemoshpit and thought it looked like fun so I gave it a try. I started playing doubles because I wanted to try Mega Tyranitar in Trick Room and play a team incorporating 2 team "styles" (Sand and TR) and Doubles seemed like the best place to do it
4. Obviously now you're on the council you have a lot more to say, and we're already in a Salamencite retest. Do you feel like there's anything else that the council wants to retest or suspect test?
Some people have floated around ideas about Kyurem-B and CM Cress before but I'm not sure if those will end up happening, especially the CM Cress one. The mon most likely to be tested next in my opinion is regular Hoopa. While Hoopa-U is almost definitely getting quick banned, Hoopa base form is definitely at least looking into. Even with its Protect-breaking signature move, Id be surprised to see the base form get kicked out.
5. Going back about Salamence, you've said in a post that you weren't even sure yourself whether you'd want it banned, could you explain what you think of it?
Right now I'm leaning towards un-ban, it doesn't have the characteristics of a broken Pokemon as far as I can see. While it certainly affects team building (like all good Pokemon do) it hardly restricts it, many teams have found success with few dedicated Salamence checks, including my own. Salamence does necessitate that you take it into account while building but given that you can use many already viable Pokemon to check it including (but not limited to) Tyranitar (sorry Stratos), Thundurus, Rotom-H, Rain teams in general, and Aegislash, It's clear that your options are still Wide Open. As far as I can tell the only legitimate argument towards a ban is that the options to support Salamence are so varied and effective, and then the options to support THOSE options are again so potent, that while a Salamence team will not always win every game, there is a Salamence team that could, or at least that's the argument. While I think its foolish to say that Mence / rachi alone is a broken core on its own, Mence Jirachi + Mence Excadrill + Mence Genesect may be too good to combat with any form of teambuilding. Whether or not I find that last point to be true in the next 2 weeks will decide how I vote.
6. You've talked much about the teambuilding, but how about the effects of it in-game? Don't you feel like it's a little bit too strong to be in the Doubles OU metagame?
Nah not even close, as far as straight up power is concerned its weaker than Charizard Y and Kangaskhan, and cannot set up as quickly as the latter. It also lacks the power to OHKO the most viable checks (namely Diancie Aegislash and Kyub) without finding a turn to Dragon Dance first. The Thundurus that I use most often requires Mence to be at +2 to OHKO, and even then it gets off a twave first to help compensate for your bad play in letting a Mence get to +2. As I said before though, its support options may be too powerful and varied, but on its own Mence is far from broken.
7. Do you feel like this Salamencite retest actually positively improves the metagame?
Absolutely, I think testing or retesting anything that a large group of people (we're not testing Talonflame lol) find suspect worthy is a great idea. It lets people be more vocal about their concerns if they know that they will be heard and acted upon, and of course it lets people learn about the meta that they're playing / want to play in. For example I was a huge supporter of the second Kang suspect, but at the end I realized it wasnt broken. I think the Mence retest, a potential cube test, and a Hoopa test are all positive things for the game and its players.
8. Is there anything else you'd like to have done soon as a new member of the council?
There's nothing that I see as an immediate concern after we're wrapped up with Salamence, but I'm sure before too long people will complain about something enough to warrant attention. I personally have nothing that I feel like I need to push for so we'll wait and see.
6. What is your favourite playstyle or strategy to use in Doubles OU?
It's a tie between rain and semi tr. On one hand I really enjoy the super offensive nature of rain and how easily many popular teams crumble to Ludicolo/Swampert based on coverage + speed alone, it's also really easy to play which suits me just fine. On the other hand Semi-TR is in my opinion the overall best archetype you can make, while semi-room does often struggle with super HO (Skymin/Keldeo/Talonflame) it can be worked around. Semi Room also has less natural counters to the playstyle as a whole than other styles. Rain for example struggles against Kyurem-B, Ferrothorn, Sun, Abomasnow, Kangaskhan, and others while Semi-Room really only has a huge issue with Ludicolo and serene grace flinchers
7. What is your favourite tier/metagame outside of Doubles?
My favourite meta outside of doubles is RBY OU as long as wrap is banned. That game is so hax filled to the point where you absolutely cannot take it too seriously, while still maintaining a competitive nature. Unless you use Agilinite or Clamp Cloyster in which case you're scum.
8. What is your advice to people who are new to the tier?
I guess the best advice I can give besides the obvious "play more games" or "build more teams" is to make some friends in the doubles community. Even if you're both new, bouncing off ideas and playing regularly against someone who wants to get better just like you do will help enormously. Then you've also got a friend :]
10. Could you provide a sample team that people could use in Doubles, with a brief explanation of it?
you start every rain team off with Politoed and mine is no exception. My toed used Ice Beam and Hypnosis to keep up some offensive presence, and with Damp Rock and Rain Dance on Thundy I'm not pressured to save Politoed if something needs to go down. Max Def because the team has solid switchins for the special attacks aimed at toed (grass/electric) which it shouldn't be taking anyways. Swampert is the second mon on the team but acts more like a filler slot, basically just applies huge offensive pressure to everything late game while being super bulky naturally, it has max speed to not get outsped by opposing Ludicolo as it can deal 40-50% with Ice Punch to 104HP Ludicolo. Talonflame provides priority and of course valuable offensive typing, I believe that you should try to have 1 Fire type move somewhere on a rain team to not autolose to Ferrothorn/Scizor and Talonflame has mine. It also has quick guard to support Swampert and Ludicolo against priority which is pretty much the only way they get hit first in rain. This particularly helps Ludicolo against Thundurus. AV Scizor is a really niche pick in ORAS but fits the team perfectly, it checks Kyurem-B and Kangaskhan which are extremely important, and it also fits the standard role of "bulky steel" on rain squads. Feint is great for my team, allowing me to take full advantage of rain turns and prevent my opponent from stalling them. Feint is also just super useful overall and would be on every team if it didn't have such poor distribution. Thundurus is my char y killer, while it doesn't outspeed char y or threaten to OHKO it, with rain dance and thunder wave it completely destroys it, and as I mentioned it takes a lot of pressure off of Politoed. Thunderbolt > Thunder looks odd especially on a rain set, but there are several situations where I would need thunderbolt and none where I would NEED thunder, so that's what I have. AV ludicolo is my last slot, I couldn't find any bulk necessary for Ludicolo to have and I wa
nted to be ensured against as many fast threats as possible, so Ludicolo is max speed. I made an RMT of the version with Aegislash so you can look at that for example on how to play the team
I forgot to mention but Thundurus lives a diancie Diamond Storm and a Latios Draco with the rest into SATk.
11. You have a YouTube channel with over 1,000 subscribers, and there are many people that enjoy watching your videos - is there anything else you want to do with your channel in the future?
I want to do an interview with Haruno's family. Other than that more hanging out with my friends and just recording us messing around, its a load of fun to listen to and by far the most fun videos to make. My channel is as much about me as a person as it is about Pokemon and I really love doing videos that reflect that, so definitely more content with friends
12. Now most definitely the most important question of them all, and that's why I saved this one for last: what is the best score you've ever had on agar.io?
oh man I'm not sure about the exact number but I know it was over 5500 haha I was MASSIVE and then I got DCd. Typical.
13. Is there anything else that you'd like to say before the interview is done?
youtube.com/thekylecol3
Thanks for this interview Kyle! Next interview is going to be some spectacular shit so stay stuned!!
Hey, my name is KyleCole and I'm from Kingston Ontario
2. What is your favourite Pokémon in general, and which competitively, and could you explain why?
My favourite pokemon overall is probably Mega Abomasnow for a couple of reasons. It looks pretty cool of course but its also a niche pick in Doubles that you don't very often and played well even less so, I also really enjoy using Hail team builds which means I need to bring Mega Abomasnow. Competitively my favourite to use is Swampert. While a lot of people think Swampert is totally unviable (and they're not far off from right) there are spots are certain teams for Wide Guard 3 attacks Swampert and Swift Swim Mega Swampert, Swampert is my favourite Pokemon to use competitively because so often I find myself in matchups where Swampert completely dismantles an opponents team without effort. Regular Swampert has worked really well supporting Charizard Y with Wide Guard and Mega Swampert of course fits best on rain.
3. When did you start playing Pokémon competitively, and why?
I started around December 2013, whenever Showdown had just began to incorporate 6th gen mons. I had seen some youtube videos on old school channels like Pokemoshpit and thought it looked like fun so I gave it a try. I started playing doubles because I wanted to try Mega Tyranitar in Trick Room and play a team incorporating 2 team "styles" (Sand and TR) and Doubles seemed like the best place to do it
4. Obviously now you're on the council you have a lot more to say, and we're already in a Salamencite retest. Do you feel like there's anything else that the council wants to retest or suspect test?
Some people have floated around ideas about Kyurem-B and CM Cress before but I'm not sure if those will end up happening, especially the CM Cress one. The mon most likely to be tested next in my opinion is regular Hoopa. While Hoopa-U is almost definitely getting quick banned, Hoopa base form is definitely at least looking into. Even with its Protect-breaking signature move, Id be surprised to see the base form get kicked out.
5. Going back about Salamence, you've said in a post that you weren't even sure yourself whether you'd want it banned, could you explain what you think of it?
Right now I'm leaning towards un-ban, it doesn't have the characteristics of a broken Pokemon as far as I can see. While it certainly affects team building (like all good Pokemon do) it hardly restricts it, many teams have found success with few dedicated Salamence checks, including my own. Salamence does necessitate that you take it into account while building but given that you can use many already viable Pokemon to check it including (but not limited to) Tyranitar (sorry Stratos), Thundurus, Rotom-H, Rain teams in general, and Aegislash, It's clear that your options are still Wide Open. As far as I can tell the only legitimate argument towards a ban is that the options to support Salamence are so varied and effective, and then the options to support THOSE options are again so potent, that while a Salamence team will not always win every game, there is a Salamence team that could, or at least that's the argument. While I think its foolish to say that Mence / rachi alone is a broken core on its own, Mence Jirachi + Mence Excadrill + Mence Genesect may be too good to combat with any form of teambuilding. Whether or not I find that last point to be true in the next 2 weeks will decide how I vote.
6. You've talked much about the teambuilding, but how about the effects of it in-game? Don't you feel like it's a little bit too strong to be in the Doubles OU metagame?
Nah not even close, as far as straight up power is concerned its weaker than Charizard Y and Kangaskhan, and cannot set up as quickly as the latter. It also lacks the power to OHKO the most viable checks (namely Diancie Aegislash and Kyub) without finding a turn to Dragon Dance first. The Thundurus that I use most often requires Mence to be at +2 to OHKO, and even then it gets off a twave first to help compensate for your bad play in letting a Mence get to +2. As I said before though, its support options may be too powerful and varied, but on its own Mence is far from broken.
7. Do you feel like this Salamencite retest actually positively improves the metagame?
Absolutely, I think testing or retesting anything that a large group of people (we're not testing Talonflame lol) find suspect worthy is a great idea. It lets people be more vocal about their concerns if they know that they will be heard and acted upon, and of course it lets people learn about the meta that they're playing / want to play in. For example I was a huge supporter of the second Kang suspect, but at the end I realized it wasnt broken. I think the Mence retest, a potential cube test, and a Hoopa test are all positive things for the game and its players.
8. Is there anything else you'd like to have done soon as a new member of the council?
There's nothing that I see as an immediate concern after we're wrapped up with Salamence, but I'm sure before too long people will complain about something enough to warrant attention. I personally have nothing that I feel like I need to push for so we'll wait and see.
6. What is your favourite playstyle or strategy to use in Doubles OU?
It's a tie between rain and semi tr. On one hand I really enjoy the super offensive nature of rain and how easily many popular teams crumble to Ludicolo/Swampert based on coverage + speed alone, it's also really easy to play which suits me just fine. On the other hand Semi-TR is in my opinion the overall best archetype you can make, while semi-room does often struggle with super HO (Skymin/Keldeo/Talonflame) it can be worked around. Semi Room also has less natural counters to the playstyle as a whole than other styles. Rain for example struggles against Kyurem-B, Ferrothorn, Sun, Abomasnow, Kangaskhan, and others while Semi-Room really only has a huge issue with Ludicolo and serene grace flinchers
7. What is your favourite tier/metagame outside of Doubles?
My favourite meta outside of doubles is RBY OU as long as wrap is banned. That game is so hax filled to the point where you absolutely cannot take it too seriously, while still maintaining a competitive nature. Unless you use Agilinite or Clamp Cloyster in which case you're scum.
8. What is your advice to people who are new to the tier?
I guess the best advice I can give besides the obvious "play more games" or "build more teams" is to make some friends in the doubles community. Even if you're both new, bouncing off ideas and playing regularly against someone who wants to get better just like you do will help enormously. Then you've also got a friend :]
10. Could you provide a sample team that people could use in Doubles, with a brief explanation of it?
Politoed @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Hypnosis
- Protect
Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Protect
- Quick Guard
Scizor @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
- Feint
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 164 Def / 24 SpA / 76 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Rain Dance
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Hypnosis
- Protect
Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Protect
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Protect
- Quick Guard
Scizor @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
- Feint
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 164 Def / 24 SpA / 76 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: null Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Rain Dance
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
you start every rain team off with Politoed and mine is no exception. My toed used Ice Beam and Hypnosis to keep up some offensive presence, and with Damp Rock and Rain Dance on Thundy I'm not pressured to save Politoed if something needs to go down. Max Def because the team has solid switchins for the special attacks aimed at toed (grass/electric) which it shouldn't be taking anyways. Swampert is the second mon on the team but acts more like a filler slot, basically just applies huge offensive pressure to everything late game while being super bulky naturally, it has max speed to not get outsped by opposing Ludicolo as it can deal 40-50% with Ice Punch to 104HP Ludicolo. Talonflame provides priority and of course valuable offensive typing, I believe that you should try to have 1 Fire type move somewhere on a rain team to not autolose to Ferrothorn/Scizor and Talonflame has mine. It also has quick guard to support Swampert and Ludicolo against priority which is pretty much the only way they get hit first in rain. This particularly helps Ludicolo against Thundurus. AV Scizor is a really niche pick in ORAS but fits the team perfectly, it checks Kyurem-B and Kangaskhan which are extremely important, and it also fits the standard role of "bulky steel" on rain squads. Feint is great for my team, allowing me to take full advantage of rain turns and prevent my opponent from stalling them. Feint is also just super useful overall and would be on every team if it didn't have such poor distribution. Thundurus is my char y killer, while it doesn't outspeed char y or threaten to OHKO it, with rain dance and thunder wave it completely destroys it, and as I mentioned it takes a lot of pressure off of Politoed. Thunderbolt > Thunder looks odd especially on a rain set, but there are several situations where I would need thunderbolt and none where I would NEED thunder, so that's what I have. AV ludicolo is my last slot, I couldn't find any bulk necessary for Ludicolo to have and I wa
nted to be ensured against as many fast threats as possible, so Ludicolo is max speed. I made an RMT of the version with Aegislash so you can look at that for example on how to play the team
I forgot to mention but Thundurus lives a diancie Diamond Storm and a Latios Draco with the rest into SATk.
11. You have a YouTube channel with over 1,000 subscribers, and there are many people that enjoy watching your videos - is there anything else you want to do with your channel in the future?
I want to do an interview with Haruno's family. Other than that more hanging out with my friends and just recording us messing around, its a load of fun to listen to and by far the most fun videos to make. My channel is as much about me as a person as it is about Pokemon and I really love doing videos that reflect that, so definitely more content with friends
12. Now most definitely the most important question of them all, and that's why I saved this one for last: what is the best score you've ever had on agar.io?
oh man I'm not sure about the exact number but I know it was over 5500 haha I was MASSIVE and then I got DCd. Typical.
13. Is there anything else that you'd like to say before the interview is done?
youtube.com/thekylecol3
Thanks for this interview Kyle! Next interview is going to be some spectacular shit so stay stuned!!
12. Now most definitely the most important question of them all, and that's why I saved this one for last: what is the best score you've ever had on agar.io?
oh man I'm not sure about the exact number but I know it was over 5500 haha I was MASSIVE and then I got DCd. Typical.
Attachments
Last edited:
When KyleCole is dpotw:
Have you made more than one dollar from your YouTube yet?
Do you ever plan to make a Semi-TR team with Mega Swampert that doesn't have rain?
Do you plan to keep the same avatar once you get Tiering Contributor?
Were these questions designed simply to give me the opportunity to show my distaste for you devaluing DPOTW?
Do you ever plan to make a Semi-TR team with Mega Swampert that doesn't have rain?
Do you plan to keep the same avatar once you get Tiering Contributor?
Were these questions designed simply to give me the opportunity to show my distaste for you devaluing DPOTW?
1) I used to like Togekiss and now it's not my favourite
2) None because I instantly reveal it all on a video. See "Stratos takes a Snooze"
3) Come on man
1) yesWhen KyleCole is dpotw:Have you made more than one dollar from your YouTube yet?
Do you ever plan to make a Semi-TR team with Mega Swampert that doesn't have rain?
Do you plan to keep the same avatar once you get Tiering Contributor?
Were these questions designed simply to give me the opportunity to show my distaste for you devaluing DPOTW?
2) No, but I have thought out some cores for a semi room team with rain + mega Swamp as the fast mode
3) I plan to keep the same avatar until someone buys that ad space :^)
4) of course they weren't. I bring DPOTW up to a level unimagined by infants like you
Didn't take this long to die
KyleCole, what's your teambuilding process?
How long do you see your youtube channel lasting?
Will you ever continue your calculator let's play?
Is there any mon that isn't viable in doubles, but you wish it was?
Least favourite thing to face, and why?
Best/worst moments of your doubles/youtube career?
KyleCole, what's your teambuilding process?
How long do you see your youtube channel lasting?
Will you ever continue your calculator let's play?
Is there any mon that isn't viable in doubles, but you wish it was?
Least favourite thing to face, and why?
Best/worst moments of your doubles/youtube career?
i love you too
i will make sure my koala avatar haunts you
1. Hi, who are you and where are you from?
A: Hey, I am kamikaze17 and I am from the Princeton, New Jersey.
2. What is your favourite Pokemon overall, and which is your favourite one to use competitively, and why?
A: My favorite Pokemon is Staraptor because I love how it hits like a truck and has access to two amazing abilities in Intimidate or Reckless depending on what you need. I always name it Kamikaze for obvious reasons and consider it my spiritmon. Unfortunately I have not used it much competitively outside of VGC and OU. As for my favorite to use competitively, that would probably be Aegislash as its something I have used in multiple formats. Lot of people call Aegislash a 50-50 coinflip but there are many times when I feel there is a more optimum play to make with it depending on the overall game state.
3. When did you join Pokémon Showdown!, and why did you?
A: I joined Pokemon Showdown back in Oct 17, 2013. This was during the XY and Gen 6 hype. I had stopped playing pokemon for awhile having completely skipped Gen 5 and having never owned a Nintendo DS, but when Gen 6 came around with the new pokemon, new mechanics, and new 3D models I convinced myself it was worth it to buy a 3DS and try to get into it competitively. I started with OU on PS since my previous competitive pokemon experience was in Gen 4 OU in the old Shoddy Battle days.
4. Do you feel like there is anything suspect-worthy currently?
A: A lot of people talk about potentially testing CM cress, but there is actually one pokemon that I think desrves to potentially be suspect tested first. That Pokemon is Kyurem-Black. Kyurem-Black is a pokemon that completely destroys many types of team and playstyles such as Balance, Sun, and Rain. It also is one of the best substitute users in the metagame. Its typing and natural heavy bulk allows it to easily setup substitutes on a lot of common threats and when its behind a sub, a lot of pokemon that would normally beat it such as Keldeo cant easily kill it without taking heavy damage. I strongly believe the IceBeam/EarthPower/Substitute/Protect set is the most solid set in particular because of the Ice/Ground coverage. One of my friends actually did a mathematical study on best offensive dual typing and the #1 was Ice/Ground. While Kyurem-Black may not have STAB on both attacks it still hits relatively hard with both and remains the best offensive Ice Type in Doubles OU. Unfortunately fellow Ice/Ground Mamoswine is not that great a pokemon in Doubles due to lacking Kyurem’s natural bulk and speed, but Kyurem-Black also has access to Teravolt which lets it hit the very common Doubles Pokemon Rotom-Wash that Mamoswine would not normally hit.
5. Now obviously there is a Salamencite suspect test going on, and the voting period is approaching, what do you think of this supect test and what are you going to vote?
A: I have made some pretty long posts on the suspect thread about this but in short I do not support Mega Salamence being unbanned due to how it limits teambuilding, and how easily it either softens or runs through teams thanks to its natural bulk, great resists, and good teammate synergy. A lot of my closing thoughts about both Mega Mence and the Suspect Test are outlined on this post: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/np-doubles-ou-stage-2-monster.3538960/page-7#post-6258002
6. Is there anyone who you think will impress this seasonals?
A: This summer seasonal has been quite interesting as there have been a lot of upsets with a lot of strong players being sent to losers bracket quite early and some even quitting the tourney as a result of that. I think the losers bracket in particular is quite interesting because they have such a long road of rounds before having a chance at the $20 and power rankings, but I don’t think any of them should quit since there are multiple people down there that I think still have the potential to pull their way up. One person that everyone should keep an eye out for is Lasagne who has been sent to loser’s bracket early in the Summer Seasonal, but is currently sitting in Grand Finals of the Winter Seasonal that still has not concluded. Another that got sent early to losers after losing to tier leader Stratos is my fren TGMD who can be so wild and wacky at times that you just have no idea what he is going to do. Hoping to see some impressive innovation out of him. deoxys speed and Stratos are also not slouches as they are both guaranteed top 3 in the ongoing Winter Seasonal and still in winners bracket for Summer. Lastly another top contender that I think to look out for is Hashtag who I should be playing shortly after this interview. Hashtag had a very strong finish in the previous seasonal and nearly was not going to be allowed to play in Summer Seasonals due to limited bracket size. I am really happy that a strong player like him managed to get in as a sub and look forward to playing him in the highlight match.
7. Obviously you've made a name for yourself during the last seasonals, how did you prepare and practice for this tournament so well?
A: To be completely honest I did not prepare too much for the Winter Seasonals. Most of the teams I used were either made back with my buddy Quality Content during XY era or were modified versions that I made to be prepared for ORAS. That is not to say that I did not build during seasonals as I started to build more near the end of Winter Seasonals, but did not feel too confident in using too many new teams immediately since I preferred to use what I was most comfortable with in the important matches. One major thing that has kept me sharp in Doubles is concurrently playing VGC which I started at the same time as Smogon Doubles back in January of 2014. I was actually involved in an intercollegiate VGC competition as captain for my college last semester, so it really helped me not lose touch from doubles and make intuitive choices each turn since I was actively helping my teammates with teambuilding and practice.
8. Would you have any interest joining a Smogon Premier League team next season?
A: I definitely am interested in trying out for SPL. I actually had a stigma against joining online tournaments in the past since it felt weird playing without really knowing other people, but I got over that a lot in the past 6 months since I have interacted and gotten to know a lot of people in the doubles community. I don’t regret doing Winter Seasonals and am glad that people know me now but I still feel that I have a lot to improve on before SPL and hope to make some progress on that before it begins. I hope to get better by playing in more doubles tournaments leading up to SPL and maybe even SDPL if that ever happens.
9. What is your favourite playstyle / strategy to use?
A: I generally like GoodStuff teams that are between Balance and Hyper Offense. I enjoy the Offense side of overwhelming the opponent with a safe switch into one of my offensive threats each time they faint one of my pokemon, while also having the Balance side of having some good switch-ins if I don’t have offensive pressure
10. Could you provide a sample team that reflects your playstyle?
A:
This is a Mega Diancie semi-room I made initially during the recent Mega-Salamence Suspect test and what I used to ladder for my reqs, but I still think it’s a strong team in its own right even in a non-Mega Salamence meta and outside the ladder. It utilizes a Dragon/Fairy/Steel core of Hydreigon/Mega-Diancie/Aegislash which complement each other with great resists and a lot of offense in all 3 pokemon. The first two are pretty standard while Aegislash is a substitute set which is very uncommon in ORAS and I think is highly underrated at the moment. The team is called Semiroom/Tailroom for obviously utilizing the speed control in Talonflame’s Tailwind and Jellicent’s Trick Room to change speed tiers when necessary, with Amoonguss also helping out with redirection and getting off fast Spore’s under trick room.
11. Do you have any advice to new people to the tier?
A: Try talking to people and getting advice. A lot of people in the doubles room try their best to help and people like me actually find it fun to help people. If you really want get better I definitely feel that the most efficient way is if you play against other people off the ladder, whether it be in room tournaments or large tournaments like seasonals.
12. Is there anything you'd like to say before this interview is over?
A: Quality Content play in the next seasonal dammit.
INTERVIEWING SOMEONE IN AMERICA;
NEVER AGAIN
stay tuned for amazing interviews next week
A: Hey, I am kamikaze17 and I am from the Princeton, New Jersey.
2. What is your favourite Pokemon overall, and which is your favourite one to use competitively, and why?
A: My favorite Pokemon is Staraptor because I love how it hits like a truck and has access to two amazing abilities in Intimidate or Reckless depending on what you need. I always name it Kamikaze for obvious reasons and consider it my spiritmon. Unfortunately I have not used it much competitively outside of VGC and OU. As for my favorite to use competitively, that would probably be Aegislash as its something I have used in multiple formats. Lot of people call Aegislash a 50-50 coinflip but there are many times when I feel there is a more optimum play to make with it depending on the overall game state.
3. When did you join Pokémon Showdown!, and why did you?
A: I joined Pokemon Showdown back in Oct 17, 2013. This was during the XY and Gen 6 hype. I had stopped playing pokemon for awhile having completely skipped Gen 5 and having never owned a Nintendo DS, but when Gen 6 came around with the new pokemon, new mechanics, and new 3D models I convinced myself it was worth it to buy a 3DS and try to get into it competitively. I started with OU on PS since my previous competitive pokemon experience was in Gen 4 OU in the old Shoddy Battle days.
4. Do you feel like there is anything suspect-worthy currently?
A: A lot of people talk about potentially testing CM cress, but there is actually one pokemon that I think desrves to potentially be suspect tested first. That Pokemon is Kyurem-Black. Kyurem-Black is a pokemon that completely destroys many types of team and playstyles such as Balance, Sun, and Rain. It also is one of the best substitute users in the metagame. Its typing and natural heavy bulk allows it to easily setup substitutes on a lot of common threats and when its behind a sub, a lot of pokemon that would normally beat it such as Keldeo cant easily kill it without taking heavy damage. I strongly believe the IceBeam/EarthPower/Substitute/Protect set is the most solid set in particular because of the Ice/Ground coverage. One of my friends actually did a mathematical study on best offensive dual typing and the #1 was Ice/Ground. While Kyurem-Black may not have STAB on both attacks it still hits relatively hard with both and remains the best offensive Ice Type in Doubles OU. Unfortunately fellow Ice/Ground Mamoswine is not that great a pokemon in Doubles due to lacking Kyurem’s natural bulk and speed, but Kyurem-Black also has access to Teravolt which lets it hit the very common Doubles Pokemon Rotom-Wash that Mamoswine would not normally hit.
5. Now obviously there is a Salamencite suspect test going on, and the voting period is approaching, what do you think of this supect test and what are you going to vote?
A: I have made some pretty long posts on the suspect thread about this but in short I do not support Mega Salamence being unbanned due to how it limits teambuilding, and how easily it either softens or runs through teams thanks to its natural bulk, great resists, and good teammate synergy. A lot of my closing thoughts about both Mega Mence and the Suspect Test are outlined on this post: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/np-doubles-ou-stage-2-monster.3538960/page-7#post-6258002
6. Is there anyone who you think will impress this seasonals?
A: This summer seasonal has been quite interesting as there have been a lot of upsets with a lot of strong players being sent to losers bracket quite early and some even quitting the tourney as a result of that. I think the losers bracket in particular is quite interesting because they have such a long road of rounds before having a chance at the $20 and power rankings, but I don’t think any of them should quit since there are multiple people down there that I think still have the potential to pull their way up. One person that everyone should keep an eye out for is Lasagne who has been sent to loser’s bracket early in the Summer Seasonal, but is currently sitting in Grand Finals of the Winter Seasonal that still has not concluded. Another that got sent early to losers after losing to tier leader Stratos is my fren TGMD who can be so wild and wacky at times that you just have no idea what he is going to do. Hoping to see some impressive innovation out of him. deoxys speed and Stratos are also not slouches as they are both guaranteed top 3 in the ongoing Winter Seasonal and still in winners bracket for Summer. Lastly another top contender that I think to look out for is Hashtag who I should be playing shortly after this interview. Hashtag had a very strong finish in the previous seasonal and nearly was not going to be allowed to play in Summer Seasonals due to limited bracket size. I am really happy that a strong player like him managed to get in as a sub and look forward to playing him in the highlight match.
7. Obviously you've made a name for yourself during the last seasonals, how did you prepare and practice for this tournament so well?
A: To be completely honest I did not prepare too much for the Winter Seasonals. Most of the teams I used were either made back with my buddy Quality Content during XY era or were modified versions that I made to be prepared for ORAS. That is not to say that I did not build during seasonals as I started to build more near the end of Winter Seasonals, but did not feel too confident in using too many new teams immediately since I preferred to use what I was most comfortable with in the important matches. One major thing that has kept me sharp in Doubles is concurrently playing VGC which I started at the same time as Smogon Doubles back in January of 2014. I was actually involved in an intercollegiate VGC competition as captain for my college last semester, so it really helped me not lose touch from doubles and make intuitive choices each turn since I was actively helping my teammates with teambuilding and practice.
8. Would you have any interest joining a Smogon Premier League team next season?
A: I definitely am interested in trying out for SPL. I actually had a stigma against joining online tournaments in the past since it felt weird playing without really knowing other people, but I got over that a lot in the past 6 months since I have interacted and gotten to know a lot of people in the doubles community. I don’t regret doing Winter Seasonals and am glad that people know me now but I still feel that I have a lot to improve on before SPL and hope to make some progress on that before it begins. I hope to get better by playing in more doubles tournaments leading up to SPL and maybe even SDPL if that ever happens.
9. What is your favourite playstyle / strategy to use?
A: I generally like GoodStuff teams that are between Balance and Hyper Offense. I enjoy the Offense side of overwhelming the opponent with a safe switch into one of my offensive threats each time they faint one of my pokemon, while also having the Balance side of having some good switch-ins if I don’t have offensive pressure
10. Could you provide a sample team that reflects your playstyle?
A:
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Protect
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- Protect
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Substitute
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- Tailwind
- Protect
Jellicent (M) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick Room
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Protect
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Protect
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- Protect
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Substitute
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- Tailwind
- Protect
Jellicent (M) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick Room
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Protect
This is a Mega Diancie semi-room I made initially during the recent Mega-Salamence Suspect test and what I used to ladder for my reqs, but I still think it’s a strong team in its own right even in a non-Mega Salamence meta and outside the ladder. It utilizes a Dragon/Fairy/Steel core of Hydreigon/Mega-Diancie/Aegislash which complement each other with great resists and a lot of offense in all 3 pokemon. The first two are pretty standard while Aegislash is a substitute set which is very uncommon in ORAS and I think is highly underrated at the moment. The team is called Semiroom/Tailroom for obviously utilizing the speed control in Talonflame’s Tailwind and Jellicent’s Trick Room to change speed tiers when necessary, with Amoonguss also helping out with redirection and getting off fast Spore’s under trick room.
11. Do you have any advice to new people to the tier?
A: Try talking to people and getting advice. A lot of people in the doubles room try their best to help and people like me actually find it fun to help people. If you really want get better I definitely feel that the most efficient way is if you play against other people off the ladder, whether it be in room tournaments or large tournaments like seasonals.
12. Is there anything you'd like to say before this interview is over?
A: Quality Content play in the next seasonal dammit.
INTERVIEWING SOMEONE IN AMERICA;
NEVER AGAIN
stay tuned for amazing interviews next week
Last edited:
can i hour mute?
Who is this?
How long have you been playing doubles and why do I not know you?
How long have you been playing doubles and why do I not know you?
have you been living under a rock
DPOTW power team for Dugtrio cup y/n
Is there any viable set for Staraptor that isn't Choice Scarf + Final Gambit?
How does it feel to get DPOTW after terrible player™ KyleCole
Did your friends study on best offensive typing take into account the frequency at which mons it's effective against get used?
Is there any viable set for Staraptor that isn't Choice Scarf + Final Gambit?
How does it feel to get DPOTW after terrible player™ KyleCole
Did your friends study on best offensive typing take into account the frequency at which mons it's effective against get used?
if you could change one thing about the tier what would it be?
Why does Quality Content hate us? :<
This is something I got asked a lot after I first did well in Winter Seasonals and I dont blame them. A lot of people thought I came "out of nowhere".
I actually have been playing Smogon Doubles for about 1.5 years but mostly not going beyond the ladder. As for why you dont know me its most likely because I have only become active on Smogon when the Winter Seasonals happened and I have not actively branched out much beyond the Doubles Tier and Doubles Room, so if you haven't been following or visiting those then you wouldn't know.
1. I was going to join but your team had many people vying for spots so I looked for a team in the meantime just in case, and an hour later I became happily taken sorry :[
2. My favorite set and the one I have always been using is the Scarf Final Gambit in VGC 2014 and OU. In VGC I used it to fire off an Intimidate and mainly click Final Gambit to remove a big threat off the field and help Sub-Aegislash or Belly Drum Azumarill win the game since VGC 2014 was a very limited meta with few answers to certain big threats such as those. In OU I opted for Reckless as I used it for attacking more and had Final Gambit in my wings if I ever felt I needed. I think Reckless Band/Life Orb could potentially also work and pick up OHKO's on many threats but it would need a lot of support in Doubles OU such as from redirection or speed control. Actually making a decent team using Staraptor in Doubles OU is on my bucketlist.
3. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson :]
4. No he did not. It was just a study based on taking into account dual types alone, not talking into account the actual pokemon or stats. It used every possible dual type including ones that did not exist yet such as Ghost/Normal. I definitely think it would be interesting to do a study based on the usage frequency, but definitely on a tier-by-tier basis.
One thing about the tier I would definitely want to change is expanding the playerbase. Our tier is currently extremely small and often times living in the shadow of VGC since a lot of people see that as the one true Doubles format because its endorsed by Nintendo and the Pokemon Company, but I still think that some VGC players may even be interested in joining Smogon Doubles. Recently however with the Mence suspect test attracting people outside looking for their TC badge and effort by some of our members in getting CAP and LC players into doubles, there has indirectly been a slow and steady rise in the playerbase with a lot more people saying how cool they think the tier is.
1. While I do enjoy playing both tiers for the different metagames and viable pokemon in each, Smogon Doubles had always been my #1 ever since I started both formats. It all essentially boils down to 1 word: OPTIONS. Options can be summarized as the wider range of legal event/legendary pokemon, the ability to make switches but be punished less in the 6v6 vs 4v4 setting, and the ability to use some pokemon and moves that are only available in Gen 5 and below.
2. I would probably decide between Doubles and VGC, but I dont feel I have made much of a breakthrough in the VGC circuit yet since I haven't had an opportunity to attend much outside of 1 regional and a few PC's that are near my college. If we are going by results, I would have to definitely go with Doubles especially after my Winter Seasonals performance. I have however got a lot better at VGC over the past 6 months both helping and playing with my team in an intercollegiate VGC competition which we got Top 4 in, so hopefully I can finally show the fruits of my labor at the next regional I attend in the Fall.
3. Ban him until he solemnly swears to stop using Swagger in tournament
It's ok Quality Content hates me too. Such is life.
Last edited:
How does it feel like to share a bed with tfc?
Will you keep providing me with info on niggas for dodrio cup?
Why do you call yourself kamikaze which clearly implies suicide bombing niggas and opting to use a random ass staraptor pic instead of the bravest bird ho oh????
Also who r u again?
Will you keep providing me with info on niggas for dodrio cup?
Why do you call yourself kamikaze which clearly implies suicide bombing niggas and opting to use a random ass staraptor pic instead of the bravest bird ho oh????
Also who r u again?
1. I dont share with the losers bracket :]
2. The internet is a wonderful thing so this is easy. Although most players at your current round and beyond are pretty strong/adaptable, so the info is not as useful.
3. I picked the name awhile ago as an online alius because I always thought it sounded cool and have the philosophy of going "Out With A Bang" in the games I play whether I win or lose. Later on, the Kamikaze name gained more meaning when Final Gambit became one of my favorite moves. Also dont hate on my boy Raptor. That Reckless savage hits harder than your Ubers' flame bird.
4. Someone who uses >2 teams