Idea from the LC one
Co-hosted by Pwnemon
Hi, and welcome to Smogon Doubles player of the week! This project is for newer people to be more acquainted with some of the most knowledgeable players of Doubles.
Featured Player: Mizuhime
Favorite Pokemon: Gyarados
Most known for: Using gimmicks and creative sets
Favorite playstyle: Trick Room
Signature Pokemon: Bellossom, Tangela, and Mantine
For the first week, (a long time ago but I was too lazy to put this up) I interviewed Mizuhime. She is currently the Doubles QC leader and a player of Doubles since before it became official. She is also currently playing Doubles in SPL!
Tell me a little about yourself:
I am a first year college student that's studying The Business of Advertising and Marketing. Though I don't have much free time now, when I do I often find myself spending time with my boyfriend (NOT BKC), drawing, or playing video games at a competitive level, specifically Gears of War or Halo. I'm also very big fan of the Baltimore Ravens and the LA Dodgers.
When did you start playing doubles? What was the first team you used?
Well my first time playing the doubles format was in 2010. I was introduced to VGC and was hooked right away. I've played VGC ever since. Smogon Doubles was first introduced as a Other Metagame, and at first I was turned off by the fact it wasn't VGC, but someone persuaded me to give it a try. I joined the #doubles chat on irc and was messing about, kind of humored by the people still learning things that were well known. I battled a few people and well here I am.
The first team I used was basically a clone copy of my, at the time, current VGC team. It was a Hail Room team that used Cresselia, Scrafty, Heatran, Abomasnow, Jellicent, and Amoonguss. Obviously the purpose was to set up Trick Room and let Heatran and Abomasnow put in all sorts of work.
What are some of your favorite elements of the Doubles metagame?
My favorite element of the Doubles metagame would have to be the fact that there is less restrictions when team building. In Doubles you can make almost any Pokemon work with the right team support. I can use Pokemon like Tangela and Poliwag against good opponents just by using them in creative ways.
What is one thing about the current rules (banlist, metagame structure) that you would want to change?
Judging by the current metagame, and knowing how Doubles works, there is really nothing outright broken in my opinion. Since there are two Pokemon on the field there is lots of ways to deal with a problem. The one thing that I would change is sleep clause, as it isn't broken in anyways and just punishes poorly built teams.
What are some Doubles players you think are good examples for newer users to look up to?
There are a lot good Doubles players that could be looked up to just based on playing ability, but a few of those players aren't the most admirable people when it comes to personality. I feel like the people that should be most looked up to are Nollan and Laga; both are hard workers and are quite good at the game.
What do you think is the most successful Pokemon, core, and strategy in the current meta?
The most successful pokemon in doubles has to be Cressselia; it's managed to stay a top Pokemon at anything it does. For a newer player, Charizard-Y and Himontop is a great core. It's not amazingly hard to use and it gets the job done. With Zard-y spamming powerful moves and Hitmontop supporting it with Intimidate and Wide Guard, it makes for a good core. The most successful strategy is and always will be Trick Room in my opinion. It allows for a lot of slower Pokemon to become potent threats that are extremely hard to deal with.
Can you give some advice to new doubles players?
To a new doubles player, I would say the best thing you could do is learn the mechanics. Doubles has a lot of little tricks and moves that aren't seen in Singles and never will be. These moves allow for great support and a lot of easy set up opportunities, and if you don't know these moves and what they do, you will lose.
What strategies do you hate playing against, or that you think are extremely gimmicky?
I don't hate playing against anything :] and as for extremely gimmicky, well... A lot of the things I do can fall under that category.
Can you provide a sample team with explanation on how to use for new players?:
"This is the team I used in week week 2 of SPL- I was playing laga. The goal of the team was to go all out offense with a surprise. Setting up Rain with Thundurus or Rotom and letting Douse Drive Genesect kill the Heatran that I knew laga was going to bring. Base 120 Water Move was the safest surprise I could think of, knowing Laga would presumably have a Shuca Berry. Choice Scarf Landorus-t is EVd to outrun max timid Skymin, while assvest Ludicolo is a great underrated set."
Editor's Note
So, that's the first featured player, Mizuhime! Thanks for tuning in, and feel free to PM me about who you think should be the next future player! That's all, and keep playing doubles! :]
Co-hosted by Pwnemon
Hi, and welcome to Smogon Doubles player of the week! This project is for newer people to be more acquainted with some of the most knowledgeable players of Doubles.
Featured Player: Mizuhime
Favorite Pokemon: Gyarados
Most known for: Using gimmicks and creative sets
Favorite playstyle: Trick Room
Signature Pokemon: Bellossom, Tangela, and Mantine
For the first week, (a long time ago but I was too lazy to put this up) I interviewed Mizuhime. She is currently the Doubles QC leader and a player of Doubles since before it became official. She is also currently playing Doubles in SPL!
Tell me a little about yourself:
I am a first year college student that's studying The Business of Advertising and Marketing. Though I don't have much free time now, when I do I often find myself spending time with my boyfriend (NOT BKC), drawing, or playing video games at a competitive level, specifically Gears of War or Halo. I'm also very big fan of the Baltimore Ravens and the LA Dodgers.
When did you start playing doubles? What was the first team you used?
Well my first time playing the doubles format was in 2010. I was introduced to VGC and was hooked right away. I've played VGC ever since. Smogon Doubles was first introduced as a Other Metagame, and at first I was turned off by the fact it wasn't VGC, but someone persuaded me to give it a try. I joined the #doubles chat on irc and was messing about, kind of humored by the people still learning things that were well known. I battled a few people and well here I am.
The first team I used was basically a clone copy of my, at the time, current VGC team. It was a Hail Room team that used Cresselia, Scrafty, Heatran, Abomasnow, Jellicent, and Amoonguss. Obviously the purpose was to set up Trick Room and let Heatran and Abomasnow put in all sorts of work.
What are some of your favorite elements of the Doubles metagame?
My favorite element of the Doubles metagame would have to be the fact that there is less restrictions when team building. In Doubles you can make almost any Pokemon work with the right team support. I can use Pokemon like Tangela and Poliwag against good opponents just by using them in creative ways.
What is one thing about the current rules (banlist, metagame structure) that you would want to change?
Judging by the current metagame, and knowing how Doubles works, there is really nothing outright broken in my opinion. Since there are two Pokemon on the field there is lots of ways to deal with a problem. The one thing that I would change is sleep clause, as it isn't broken in anyways and just punishes poorly built teams.
What are some Doubles players you think are good examples for newer users to look up to?
There are a lot good Doubles players that could be looked up to just based on playing ability, but a few of those players aren't the most admirable people when it comes to personality. I feel like the people that should be most looked up to are Nollan and Laga; both are hard workers and are quite good at the game.
What do you think is the most successful Pokemon, core, and strategy in the current meta?
The most successful pokemon in doubles has to be Cressselia; it's managed to stay a top Pokemon at anything it does. For a newer player, Charizard-Y and Himontop is a great core. It's not amazingly hard to use and it gets the job done. With Zard-y spamming powerful moves and Hitmontop supporting it with Intimidate and Wide Guard, it makes for a good core. The most successful strategy is and always will be Trick Room in my opinion. It allows for a lot of slower Pokemon to become potent threats that are extremely hard to deal with.
Can you give some advice to new doubles players?
To a new doubles player, I would say the best thing you could do is learn the mechanics. Doubles has a lot of little tricks and moves that aren't seen in Singles and never will be. These moves allow for great support and a lot of easy set up opportunities, and if you don't know these moves and what they do, you will lose.
What strategies do you hate playing against, or that you think are extremely gimmicky?
I don't hate playing against anything :] and as for extremely gimmicky, well... A lot of the things I do can fall under that category.
Can you provide a sample team with explanation on how to use for new players?:
Genesect @ Douse Drive
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Techno Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 192 HP / 192 SDef / 20 Spd / 104 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 168 Spd / 252 Atk / 88 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Superpower
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
- Thunder
- Rain Dance
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Return
Ability: Download
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Techno Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 192 HP / 192 SDef / 20 Spd / 104 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 168 Spd / 252 Atk / 88 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Superpower
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
- Thunder
- Rain Dance
Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Return
"This is the team I used in week week 2 of SPL- I was playing laga. The goal of the team was to go all out offense with a surprise. Setting up Rain with Thundurus or Rotom and letting Douse Drive Genesect kill the Heatran that I knew laga was going to bring. Base 120 Water Move was the safest surprise I could think of, knowing Laga would presumably have a Shuca Berry. Choice Scarf Landorus-t is EVd to outrun max timid Skymin, while assvest Ludicolo is a great underrated set."
Editor's Note
So, that's the first featured player, Mizuhime! Thanks for tuning in, and feel free to PM me about who you think should be the next future player! That's all, and keep playing doubles! :]
