Player of the week 43: Nineage

[GOAO]

Favorite Pokemon: Phanpy
Most used Pokemon: Skrelp​

Most known for: Top 3.
​

Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi I'm Nineage. I'm a 15 y/o guy from Cali, and I'm a sophmore in HS. I'm a pretty big music guy irl, so I spend a lot of time playing (my newest instrument is guitar!) and uhhhh I play basketball when that's going on. I also do small scale website design and stuff so I can buy weed school supplies to improve as a student. Not really that interesting apart from that which I guess is why I'm on here...

How and when did you get your start in LC?
I started my time on PS right before BW2 was released, but spent most of my time playing monotype on private servers (yes, I was one of those). I wasn't really into Smogon stuff but I started reading the Smog cuz someone linked an article or something and noticed there was lots of cool articles about LC! I decided to try playing and I built an absolutely terrible hail team (featuring the legendary Choice Band Attract Cubchoo). I got wrecked and kinda forgot LC. In SwirlGar era, I kinda got bored on private servers so decided to try LC again, and I got tutored unofficially by DeathxShinigami and got sorta good. After that, I joined SparkServer because of my private server code experience, and got hooked on the metagame and the community!

What is your favorite aspect of LC?
I think LC is an extremely stable metagame. There aren't huge meta shifts because there aren't rises and drops, and our last few suspect tests have ended in no ban. Because of this, its very easy to innovate and play around with weird Pokemon/sets, since you don't need to worry about X new broken threat sweeping your entire team. However, because of this innovation the metagame is never really stagnant or boring which some people like to claim that it is. Also, the LC Community is pretty great.

Is there any mon, playstyle, etc that you feel is underrated in LC?
I think Skrelp gets shrugged off really often as a potent threat because it gets trapped by both of LC's relevant trappers (fuck trapinch lol). I find it more than makes up for how it fares versus trappers with just the sheer amount of pressure it puts on a lot of the offensive builds that dominate LC. I'm also been converted this LCPL by rssp1 to the church of Rufflet. Its actually surprisingly bulky, its insanely powerful even without a good flying STAB, and it can run a Bulk Up or a Scarf set viably. Also fuck @Starmaster cuz his Rufflet tanked my Cranidos Stone Edge D:

Anything you find overrated?
OK maybe its just me but I think Spritzee is pretty terribad in the current meta. Its main job seems to be to switch in on fighters, which have absolutely no trouble clicking Knock Off and crippling it defensively for the rest of the game. Its not very strong, so it serves as setup bait for basically anything that sets up ever. I think Spritzee can catch the occasional team off-guard, but the meta is just in a place where it can't reliably do its job.

What players do you look up to / are good friends with?
Oh man there's some cool people.
In terms of battling, I've always looked up to Heysup. He's an extremely consistent player, he's been around forever, and he knows his stuff. In terms of teambuilding, ZoroarkForever builds super super cool teams, and I'm pretty jealous (also can someone beat him in BW please). I also wish I had Corporal Levi's metagame knowledge and level-headedness, and@Vileman's memes.
Frens are pretty much all of LFC, you are cool people. Shoutouts Aerow and sparktrain for being SparkServ admins with me,Shrug and Berks for being super cool people to talk to, rozes for teaching me NU one time, and TheFenderStory for being literally the best.

What's your favorite playstyle and why?
I think immediate speed is overrated in the metagame at the moment, and so I've been running a lot of teams based around bulkier setup sweepers like Shellder and Corphish, and Pokemon that hit hard immediately like Skrelp and Download Porygon. I find that as long as a team has a decent amount of priority, it deals fine with fast, frail Pokemon in general. I've also been building lots of typespam (water, dark, and flying), because its really fun to wear down checks to things :D.

What are your thoughts on Drifloon in the current metagame? Do you think the metagame would be healthier without it? Why?
I'm sure this comparison is gonna get me told off by someone, but I actually think Floon is a little bit like Gligar. It can't fill as many roles as Gligar could, but, like Gligar, it acts as a blanket check to so many things that it can be slapped on a team with pretty much no thought or support and do its job well. I think the act of keeping a Pokemon alive to check Floon puts an unfair amount of momentum on the Floon users' side. However, its not like it can't be stopped, so I don't know if I'm outright calling for a ban, but I certainly think if we are going to look at anything right now it should be this.

Do you think ladder will ever be good again?
Not as long as PURPLEDOOSH is playing on it

Everyone knows you're really good with bots. What is your next bot idea?
I'm working on a bot right now, with a lot of help from Corporal Levi and guidance from OrdA, that aims to use a checks compendium to break down and analyze a team and generate a list of potential weaknesses (effectively, an RMT bot). We have a decently working version coded already, and while a program will never be able to replace a real team rater with knowledge of the meta, I have high hopes that this bot could be a good way to make sure your team has the basics covered before bringing it to the ladder or further testing.

Is there any advice that you'd like to pass on to new LCers?
Ask for help! In the LC room we are pretty friendly most of the time to new users, and there's almost always someone there to answer your questions or look over a team for you. Once you ask some questions, play some ladder games, and get to know the meta, you will be able to help other people in the room, and fit right into the community. Just don't be a dipshit. It can be hard to get into a tier if you piss off the people who already play it.
Oh and mono starter teams are never a good idea.

Lastly, do you have a team you'd like to share with us?

Hide

God (Aipom) @ Life Orb
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Fire Punch
- Knock Off
- Fury Swipes

Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 156 Def / 236 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch

Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 156 Def / 76 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Roost

Skrelp @ Eviolite
Ability: Adaptability
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Def / 196 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt

Drilbur @ Eviolite
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock

Chinchou @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 52 Def / 232 SpA / 224 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Thunderbolt

This is one TheFenderStory and I built a while back, when we noticed not many people were using the threat that is Aipom. It's stood the test of time super well, and I still pull it out a lot when I need a team I feel really comfortable with. It uses my favorite two Pokemon to use in LC, Aipom and Skrelp, which together put a TON of pressure on opposing teams. Later versions of the team involved stuff like Floon > Vull and BJDril because of the rise of Mag, but this first version is still my favorite.

 

[PD]

I know this may seem like shit with me being the first person to post in your Potw thread but.....

Congrats man, you really put in work and You have a bright future ahead of you in life and on here
Also, you don't have to worry about facing me on ladder because I might give you free wins here and there.

 

[sam-testings]

gratz on potw!

What is the thing you want most in gen7?

 

[Merritt]

What Pokemon do you personally think is best in LC?

How is it being a manager? Special plans for your w4 lineup?

Things you could see happening in Gen 7 (not stuff within the games, but community stuff)? Thoughts on the starters' designs?

What playstyle do you think is worst in LC at the moment?

name origin?

congrats on your potw!

 

[Nudisto]

Ayyyye a fellow guitar player. What type of music do you usually like to play?

 

[rssp1]

grats lad

1) praiserufflets

2) Thoughts on scarf gligar? I know that it's your favorite set ever but would you like to elaborate?

3) How much gg could a gg gg if a gg could gg gg's?

4) How's it feel knowing you live within 2 hr away from a decent amount of lc people?

 

[ZoroDark]

who's your favorite player and why is it me

what's your favorite type of music / band / album / song

 

[Nineage]

What is the thing you want most in gen7?

I want an offensive fairy type :D. Fairy type is obviously super potent, but the only fairies we've had in lc have been pretty passive (Spritz), broken (Swirl), or shit (Mime Jr.). Also free spin on Phanpy!

What Pokemon do you personally think is best in LC?

Hate to just pick the obvious answer, but I don't see how anything but Mienfoo can be considered the best. Adding Mienfoo to a team takes very little effort, it comes in on so much, it forces switches which it can grab momentum off with U-turn, it has recovery both with drain punch and u-turn, it can run various fourth moves to adapt to a team, its a counter to some of the scariest wallbreakers in the meta, and it compresses roles like CRAZY.

How is it being a manager? Special plans for your w4 lineup?

Being a manager is pretty cool. I'd still rather have OP, but I really like my teammates and its not hard to manage a team when ur people are all pretty chill. Also, this way I get to bully rssp1.

Things you could see happening in Gen 7 (not stuff within the games, but community stuff)? Thoughts on the starters' designs?

Haven't really paid attention to gen 7 stuff much (!), but I don't understand the hype about that little owl thing. Its no Phanpy.
In terms of community, I see our core userbase staying mostly the same, and a lot of people will join the tier (since most likely it'll just be us, OU, and Ubers for a little while). Unless the metagame is really bad, I foresee a lot more activity at least at the beginning of gen 7.

What playstyle do you think is worst in LC at the moment?

I mean, that's a tough question to answer, since playstyle is defined loosely. Stall is pretty bad, but there's lots of gimmicks which are way, way worse.

name origin?

When I was first into Pokemon (read like: 7 y/o), I decided with some friends to make some Pokemon of my own. We thought eevee was pretty lame, so we decided to make a different Pokemon that evolved NINE TIMES and we named it Nineage. Fast-forward to like 5 years later, I discovered PS and I guess it was the first thing that popped into my head. It has nothing to do with age.

Ayyyye a fellow guitar player. What type of music do you usually like to play?

On guitar, I've played a lot of the kinda classic "beginner" stuff, and now I'm getting to where I have more options. I find myself kinda drawn to Punk/Metal, which is weird cuz I'm like the least edgy person I know...

Ignoring rssp1

who's your favorite player and why is it me

what's your favorite type of music / band / album / song

My favorite player is Caledrith.
My music choices are kinda all over the place. I do listen to some classical stuff, and then a whole lot of Alt Rock. Honestly, though, I listen to pretty much anything that doesn't have people wearing cowboy hats in the music video.

 

[rssp1]

snubbed ;-;
oh, woe is me

 

[infamy]

dear Nineage,

greetings and salutations!

you are a most beautiful human bean.

i have a question: what is your favorite pachyderm?

my favorite is rhinoceros. i think it is because i have a big nose and so do rhinoceros.

thanks for being a weekly prayer,

Infamy

p.s. what is your stance on pokemon: mime jr.?

p.p.s. i have a dog. he is a border collie. he is very cute. he is my favorite dog. he is better than pachyderms.

p.p.p.s. who is your favorite rapper? mine is kanye.

p.p.p.p.s. what is your favorite wrapper? i have always been partial to the butterfinger wrapper but m&ms are nice too.

 

[Nineage]

Dear Infamy,

Thank you so much for your extremely kind letter! It means a lot that you took the time to write instead of just messaging me on skype like a normal human bean

My favorite pachyderm is a phanpy

I'm very sorry to hear about your nose. I imagine Heysup might be able to sympathise

Nineage

p.s. mime jr. is very annoying when used on InfamyPass, the only true LC Baton Pass team

p.p.s. no dog is as cute as goaos dog

p.p.p.s. my favorite rapper is Cheek Pouch

p.p.p.p.s. wrappers actually create trash in landfills which creates global warming p sure