UU Player of the Week #19: Sam

IronBullet

Astronomy Domine
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
cm entei or sd sceptile?
Definitely SD Scep, it's something I've used before and can be pretty deadly in certain situations. It also gains way more from surprise factor than Entei does since one SD could mean game over while Entei needs multiple boosts to be threatening. Honestly CM Entei seems more of a gimmick than anything else - why would you use it when you could be spamming CB Sacred Fires?

Who will finish higher on the table this year, the club for handsome and intelligent men aka Liverpool FC or Spurs?
I think overall we're more solid and consistent considering that you beat Arsenal then lost to Burnley lol, so if I had to pick right now I'd choose us :P Not gonna lie though Liverpool are definitely a threat this year under Klopp and you gave us a tough game last week! Will be an interesting season for sure.
 

Kreme

You might be right but you're not correct.
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
You read comics ;o Also grats on POTW.

Have you been reading Civil War 2? If so Team Iron Man or Team Cap Marvel? (There's a correct answer here.)

Favorite Avenger?

How do you juggle your multiple responsibilities across the forums, PS, and irl?
 

IronBullet

Astronomy Domine
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
You read comics ;o Also grats on POTW.

Have you been reading Civil War 2? If so Team Iron Man or Team Cap Marvel? (There's a correct answer here.)

Favorite Avenger?

How do you juggle your multiple responsibilities across the forums, PS, and irl?
Thanks dude!

No :( I haven't had much time to start a new series with work and studies going on but I can't wait to read it once my exams are done!

Underoos

Quite comfortably actually. I don't have to work once I get home and I study 2 hours a day on weekdays and 4-5 on weekends, which leaves enough time for hobbies, sports etc. And as I'm not participating in any tours and only playing the game casually I can invest most of my Smogon / PS time into my responsibilities. Like everyone else I do have days where things are really hectic and I can't spare any time for Pokemon, but I can always catch up on things on the weekends.
 

Manipulative

Camila <3
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Thanks for all of your time and effort, IB!

I'm back with another interview! I'll leave it right down below, but feel free to look for it in the OP as well.




Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm a 19 year old engineering student from Belgium. When I'm not wasting my time on mons or studying (one interferes with the other a lot), I like to hang out with friends, go partying once in a while and watch sports like tennis, soccer, basketball and American football. I myself played soccer for years as a child and I still play tennis occasionally. I also enjoy going quizzing from time to time in the weekend.


Most known for?
I guess mainly for playing in SPL and WCoP over the past year. I haven't really accomplished an awful lot in UU, losing my only UU game in SPL. I had a good run in this year's UU Open and I made it to the finals of the prestigious UU Ladder Tour last year though!


Favorite Pokemon?
I thought Zoroark and its ability were the coolest shit when BW had only just come out. It's around that time that I signed up on Smogon and this was the best I could come up with when thinking of a cool username. I'd say that Tyranitar is my favorite Pokemon in general, however. It looks badass, it's super strong and watching Pupitar evolve in Pokemon LeafGreen after hours of training remains one of my favorite in-game memories.


Most Used Pokemon?
Sylveon. Every team needs an answer to Hydreigon and it's so easy to slap Sylveon on any team. Its defensive set is so good as a blanket check to most Special Attackers, while doubling as a switch-in to all Fighting and Dark attacks courtesy of its amazing Fairy-type. Wish and Heal Bell are 2 tools that any balanced or defensive team appreciates as well. Its Choice Specs set retains that ability to check Dark, Fighting and Dragon types and it has a super spammable STAB move with no drawbacks to boot.


What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
For the longest time I used to look up things like evolution levels and egg moves on Serebii. Eventually, I learned about IV's and EV's and the entire complexity of the video games. Applying this new found logic to the BW Battle Subway allowed me to finally get a 70 win record streak, which was the necessary amount to be included in the hall of fame of this thread. It appears my post got deleted and my very measly record was never recorded, but that was my first post on Smogon!

That thread made me realize that the only way to get better at the Battle Subway was to use slow and boring strategies that aren't any fun whatsoever. I started shifting more towards regular 6v6 battles and I began to watch shofu on YouTube. His videos made me realize that I could be battling against real people instead of algorithm-driven trainers in the Battle Subway. I downloaded PO shortly after that and I still remember being so unbelievably excited to be battling against other people, because I had never even considered that I would be able to do that.

I didn't come back to Smogon until I thought that I had become good enough at the game to rate other people's BW teams. I definitely wasn't, as proven by about 100 embarassing posts that thankfully are very hard to find even if you wanted to. After having a surprisingly decent run in ST7, Tomahawk asked me to join Team Benelux for Smogon's WCoP. I contributed absolutely nothing to the team since everything happened on IRC and I genuinely had no clue how to use that god awful medium. It made me realize how much I liked to do tournaments, though. Over time I managed to establish myself as a "good player" on PO. It wasn't until that site really started dying off that I started to become as active on Smogon as I am now.


What is your favorite Generation of Pokemon and why?
Emerald is the best game and anyone who says differently is dead wrong. Competitively speaking, it's definitely BW. It's when I learned to play this game and all of its metagames ranging from NU to Ubers are fun to play.


Thoughts on the current metagame of ORAS UU?
I honestly really don't like it because it's very centered around Krookodile + Celebi + Sylveon imo. It doesn't help that most of the other big threats like Entei, Hydreigon, Conkeldurr or Mega Aerodactyl have very limited amounts of counterplay, so there simply aren't a lot of various teambuilding structures that are capable of dealing with all of these mons at once. The dearth of good hazard removers is annoying too.


What is your favorite playstyle?
I like to think that I can play well with any decent team of any playstyle, but most teams I build myself end up being more defensively inclined balance teams. I mainly like their consistency, which is also the same reason that I enjoy using stall more than most people.


Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
Stall is by no means unviable, but I think it's probably the weakest current playstyle. It's really hard to deal with all the threats I mentioned above. If you manage to cover those, there'll always be a stray threat like SubDD Gyara, CM Reuni or SubCM Chandelure that you can't cover. Stall also outright loses to Baton Pass Celebi.


Are there any specific Pokemon that you think are unhealthy for UU and may be deserving of a Suspect Test in the future?
Celebi and Hydreigon are probably the big ones for me. They're both incredibly strong Pokemon without real flaws. Celebi might be weak before set up, but its combination of bulk, Speed and flexibility when it comes to its 4th moveslot push it over the edge for me. I'm less passionate about Hydreigon because it's been in the tier forever and it's always been mostly manageable, but it's undeniable how centralizing it is to this tier.


You had an impressive run in UU Open this year! How would you reflect on the experience, and who would you like to see take it home at this point?
I'm still a little disappointed by how I was knocked out, especially since those 2 points I lost out on might have been enough to put me in a playoff spot. Overall, I'm proud of my run and any of the remaining players would make a very deserving winner. I'll be rooting for Vinc :)


Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
I've been very fortunate to interact with a ton of cool people and if it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be playing this game anymore. Team tours are my favorite part of Smogon for the same reason. I don't really like listing people because I always forget about some people and it makes me feel bad, but I'll give it a go.

PO people: raducan meeps bugzi finch omfuga cased draciel tol meowmix | Team EU: isa vinc pearl tonyflyGOD kush pearl johnny grotle mael choolio void w3k hellpowna h-c ender marshall | Other people that I enjoy talking to: sid rozes sken star. hogg christo teddeh ict clarion as well as the olt chat which is pretty entertaining


Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?

While I tried building lots of teams for the Open, I didn't like most of my creations, instead relying on the hot teams Hogg and Christo had passed me before the tour. This is one of the few creations that I liked though. It's a pretty boring, standard balanced team as evidenced by the fact that it's nearly identical to dodmen's latest RMT except there's a Kyurem in Snorlax' spot. I do like Kyurem here, as it's got interesting synergy with Conkeldurr. With a little help from the rest of the team in the form of entry hazards or Knock Off, Kyurem can break through Sylveon easily which paves the way for Conkeldurr. In return, Conkeldurr takes advantage of the bulky Water and Steel types (and Blissey) that give Kyurem issues. Aero completes the offensive core by providing Speed and Pursuit. The moveset is optimized to this team's needs. Bronzong + Sylveon + Tenta gives you a solid backbone that's got everything you'd ever want from a defensive core in hazard, wish and cleric support.
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
- Crunch

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 244 HP / 72 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off

Kyurem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse

Conkeldurr @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch



----------

Thank you for your time and the great interview, ZoroDark! If you have any questions that you would like to ask him, feel free to leave them below. I'll be back next week with another interview!
 
Most overrated Pokémon? Most Underrated Pokémon?
What do you think about Fairy-Types in the tier right now?
What's your favorite Celebi set (that isn't standard NP) and why?
 

ZoroDark

esse quam videri
is a Tiering Contributor
Most overrated Pokémon? Most Underrated Pokémon?
Mega Blastoise and Arcanine
What do you think about Fairy-Types in the tier right now?
They're still pretty much mandatory on every team to deal with Hydreigon. Sylveon's obviously the best one since it's got those 2 great sets that I also talked about in the interview. Florges struggles to find a niche next to Sylveon but it's still got some use. Whimsicott is a nice mon in general but it doesn't deal with Hydreigon nearly as well as the other two, but checking Waters / Krook / set up sweepers is still ridiculously useful.
What's your favorite Celebi set (that isn't standard NP) and why?
Leech Seed is a fantastic 4th move which allows you to beat a lot of defensive mons easier It's also a cute move to regain some HP when you need Celebi to absorb a Scald and you can't set up and win just yet.
 
why are you the inferior brother :}
why did u use scarf modest hydreigon xD
what would u change about ubers if ur previous po ubers tl would be transfered to smogon
do u miss fixed??
hows it feel that i ruined ur perfect after midseason record
how much did u crt after getting haxed by kink
kink or stallion
rachel zane or donna paulsen ;]
ur the epitome of fatness
djoker nadal federer or murray
 

ZoroDark

esse quam videri
is a Tiering Contributor
why are you the inferior brother :}
I'm literally superior in every conceivable way.

why did u use scarf modest hydreigon xD
It punishes trainers that like to sack their Mega Beedrill win con turn 1 when I don't mess up.

what would u change about ubers if ur previous po ubers tl would be transfered to smogon
ORAS Ubers is a mess and would be a mess even if you started banning things because where would you even stop? There's also the issue of Ubers losing its identity with every ban, so overall I'm pretty glad I don't have to deal with that.

do u miss fixed??
Yeah I do :( He was the one who actually banned Mega Rayquaza on PO while I was away for 2 days, so all the bragging rights I have of doing that before Smogon are courtesy of him.

hows it feel that i ruined ur perfect after midseason record
You brought a really cool team and in hindsight, mine was pretty bad. I still had an overall winning record, so I just look back on it as me giving you a pity win tbh :)

how much did u crt after getting haxed by kink
Ever since choking away like 3 WCoP and SPL games, I don't usually get angry about losing games where I played well. However, that series against Kink was really frustrating, mainly because of its play off implications. I had lost in PU Open to some unfortunate luck a couple of days before that as well. In big tours like Slam it's inevitable that lady luck shows up and I also did get really lucky in Ubers vs Lord Outrage so yeah. It's part of the game and I learned to embrace that a while ago.

kink or stallion
They'd both make very deserving winners, but I've been more impressed by Stallion. He's brought a lot of very cool teams of varying archetypes and that unpredictability makes me think that he'll take it home.

rachel zane or donna paulsen ;]
Donna without a question. Even Rachel wishes she was Donna.

ur the epitome of fatness
This is as big a lie as your first question.

djoker nadal federer or murray
I really want to see Federer win another Grand Slam because I feel like I didn't appreciate him as much as he deserves when he was in his prime. Otherwise, I root for Murray as he's obviously a top lad.

TinyFlygon :]

- Small Poppa, Medium Poppa (the right answer), Larga Poppa or XL Poppa?
#AllPoppasMatter

- Thoughts on having to change your name to SUPER ZORODARK should you win OLT this year?
If that's what it takes to win an official tour, I'll gladly do it. Unfortunately, I don't really know what I'm doing in OU so you'll have to hang onto those logs for a while.

Hopelijk hoeven we dat niet te zeggen na de LC Open finales.

- Why do you lead Ubers on PO when you openly dislike the metagame? :P
I started leading it back in XY when it was still bearable and then I never really stepped down. The Ubers subforum is dead 90% of the time anyway (except for that weird rise in activity before POCL), so it's not like I have to do much.

- Has Vinc2612 officially ascended or should we still consider him as a human being?
He was dominating Smogon Tour with Arcanine last week and couldn't be stopped until the RNG gods intervened so I think it's safe to stay that he has ascended.

- Which mons that don't make UU by usage would you consider viable (or even good) in UU?
Alomomola is probably the most obvious one. Bronzong and Diancie are great supporting mons that find themselves on a lot of my teams. Pearl introduced me to Registeel, which is a really cool mon on more defensive teams it doesn't take up a Mega slot like Aggron or Steelix and doesn't get Pursuit trapped by Krook like Bronzong. I think Xatu might have some potential but I've yet to try it out.
 
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Hey sexy ;)

Does jazzy jas ever feel bad that ur more handsome intelligent and better at this game? Are there any qualities he has over you?

What do u think of Jhene Aiko (in this pic specifically https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ4iZwzgmEQ/?taken-by=jheneaiko )?

Whats the best part about Belgium? Tbh I couldn't point it out on a map and all ik is u guys have chocolate and waffles.

Thoughts on Italy, the worst country in the world, legalizing public masturbation?

Do u ever wanna come back to the US?

Have u ever seen the spongebob episode where they just make fun of how stupid Texas is? As someone who lived in stupid Texas, how do u feel about Texas and the south in general?

Has anything super weird ever happened due to you and metalgross sharing an IP and being online at the same time?

How do ur parents feel about having bred a top 20 and top 40 smogon player in only a few years?

Youngest children are almost exclusively superior to Oldest children, but clearly this is not the case. Do you think you or your brother were potentially adopted? Would explain his afro lol.

Is it intentional that both you and Jas have stupid poke-pun names? Or do great minds just think alike?

How does it feel that metal has made gslam playofsf and that's the piece ur missing for completion? Do u ever wish u could merge with him?

Do u have a puppy? What kind :3

Are the females in belgium sexy like u are

thanks for reading&hopefully answering these loaded questions. Love you.
 
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Rare Poison

if im butter then ur a hot knife
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
top 3 things you miss from being a PO (BAN ME PLEASE)

do you ever go back on PO and look at how dumb we all were when we first started (specifically Finchinator)

does it make you sad that PO is dead

i know you follow the NFL quite a bit but how much do you follow things happening in America (like the election + other drama and such)

top 3 albums released this year

has there been a period in the last 2 years when you didn't have an exam to study for

do you plan on passing your exams ever

have you ever watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians and if so what did you think

do you even talk to meeps anymore

if I published a collection of opinionated open letters called "rad thoughts" would you read it

is Taylor Swift really a snake

who/what is your musical obsession at the moment

thoughts on this pick-up line now: "my love for you is like diarrhea; I just can't control it!"

do you still have that ^ video

that's all

BONUS QUESTION: do you like being called Mr. Strobbelights
 
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ZoroDark

esse quam videri
is a Tiering Contributor
Hey sexy ;)
Hey :)

Does jazzy jas ever feel bad that ur more handsome intelligent and better at this game? Are there any qualities he has over you?
He used to have that blonde afro going for him, but as of late he's been keeping it short. I've interpreted that as him accepting my overall superiority.

What do u think of Jhene Aiko (in this pic specifically https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ4iZwzgmEQ/?taken-by=jheneaiko )?
I honestly have no idea who she is except that you always talk about her. She looks hot in that picture though.

Whats the best part about Belgium? Tbh I couldn't point it out on a map and all ik is u guys have chocolate and waffles.
Waffles and chocolate covers most of it tbh. We also have great beer coupled with a legal drinking age of 16, which is obviously amazing. If you're interested in actual serious stuff, our health care is one of the best in the world. College is also very cheap compared to the US, but these perks come with massive taxes.

Thoughts on Italy, the worst country in the world, legalizing public masturbation?
I honestly can't comprehend how something like that happens, but if you'd make me guess which country would legalize this, I'd go with Italy 100% of the time.

Do u ever wanna come back to the US?
I've actually come back every single summer vacation since living there in 2012-2013. America is an incredibly beautiful country and I'm very lucky that I've gotten to visit so many different stunning places. Obviously, the US has its fair share of big problems that'll seemingly never get fixed due to the backwardness of American politics, but no country is perfect. Racism remains a problem in Europe too, and even though we don't quite have someone like Trump, right wing parties are on the rise all over Europe as well.

Have u ever seen the spongebob episode where they just make fun of how stupid Texas is? As someone who lived in stupid Texas, how do u feel about Texas and the south in general?
Tbh I've never seen a Spongebob episode in my life. I know you really hate the South, but I had nothing but good experiences in Texas (might be because I'm white lol). The people are really friendly, which was a big shock because people in Belgium typically act pretty frigidly towards people they don't know. Everyone was really welcoming to us and it didn't take longer than like a week before I felt at home despite having moved 8 timezones. The only thing that I sometimes struggle to understand is how a lot of people our age are still very religious and conservative and vote Trump. I have quite a bit of friends like that and I consider them all objectively good people. I knew that Texas and by extension the entire South was very religious , but I didn't expect that that'd also still be the case with young people.

Has anything super weird ever happened due to you and metalgross sharing an IP and being online at the same time?
Not really. A long time ago on PO, I had to beg coyo to unmute me as he had muted MetalGross for spamming or whatever and I needed to add tours to the queue. The first time we both played Smogon Tour at the same time, we had to explain it to some auth whose name I've forgotten. That took a while as his first PM was: "you have 2 mins to explain why I don't ban you and MetalGross right now".

How do ur parents feel about having bred a top 20 and top 40 smogon player in only a few years?
They don't appreciate it as much as they should tbh.

Youngest children are almost exclusively superior to Oldest children, but clearly this is not the case. Do you think you or your brother were potentially adopted? Would explain his afro lol.
People tell us we look alike (except for the hair) sometimes and even I have a hard time discerning whether it's me or him in baby/toddler pictures. So I'd say that the reason for his inferiority is that I simply exhausted the gene pool.

Is it intentional that both you and Jas have stupid poke-pun names? Or do great minds just think alike?
Ok so when I signed up for Smogon, I needed a name. I'm terrible at that kinda stuff so I asked Jasper who was sitting next to me. He was the one who picked the name ZoroDark and because he didn't have his own computer, we shared this account for like the first 3 months. Then he got his own computer and he had to pick a username. He was listing some of his ideas, but they were all terrible. That's when I suggested MetalGross. By lack of better options, he went with it.

How does it feel that metal has made gslam playofsf and that's the piece ur missing for completion? Do u ever wish u could merge with him?
He never made Slam playoffs, so I'm gonna hold off on merging with him until he accomplishes something other than doing well in RBY sometimes.

Do u have a puppy? What kind :3
I don't, what made you think that lol

Are the females in belgium sexy like u are
Yeah they are but I really messed up studying engineering when it comes to girls.
 
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Kink

it's a thug life ¨̮
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
What is it about UU that keeps you coming back?

Do you think you'll always love Pokemon and play competitively at some level, or do you think you will eventually say goodbye?

Favourite setup sweeper in UU?

Signing up for SPL, what is the main tier you'd prefer to play?

Chocolate or vanilla?
 

SPACE FORCE meeps

LAW & ORDER!
is a Tiering Contributoris a Past SCL Champion
he)lo zorodark big fan!!!!!!!!

why do you have two smogon accounts?
how long until you're banned?
your 3rd favorite pokemon is?

are you ever going to visit me?
rate finchinator scale 1-10
enchilladas, burritos, or tacos?

you enjoy studying engineering?
or would you rather study something else?
under what circumstances would you quit pokemon?

sometimes do you regret playing pokemon?
or do you actually like this game lol?

favorite city in the world?
anywhere else you'd like to visit?
take the time to read the first letter of every question
 

ZoroDark

esse quam videri
is a Tiering Contributor
top 3 things you miss from being a PO (BAN ME PLEASE)
The main thing doesn't really have to do with PO in itself, but just being able to find joy in playing ladder games is probably the biggest one. There's also quite a bit of cool people from back in the day that I miss and even forgot to shoutout like Navz. The final thing would probably be PO's side channels which at its peak and even now still are miles better than their Showdown equivalents.

do you ever go back on PO and look at how dumb we all were when we first started (specifically Finchinator)
Going back and reading old posts from Finch the 24 y/o accountant is something that gets me through difficult days.

does it make you sad that PO is dead
Sad is maybe too dramatic, but it isn't exactly a nice feeling to see a place where I spent hundreds of hours lose its shine.

i know you follow the NFL quite a bit but how much do you follow things happening in America (like the election + other drama and such)
I'm somewhat of a news junkie, especially when it comes to sports. I mentioned in an earlier question that I've gone on vacation to America for the past 4 years. Because there's no other sports to watch during the summer when I'm there, I've lately started following baseball too, despite thinking it was the world's most boring sport during the year I actually lived there. I really like watching basketball and American football (even college football now, God help my sleeping schedule). I'm not really into hockey, but I guess that's only a matter of time.

But yeah, I also follow other things that happen in America, such as the glorious shitshow that is the 2016 election. I get most of my news from reddit and lately politico, but Belgian news usually cover the most important things quite well.

top 3 albums released this year
I don't think I listen to music nearly as much as you, so you probably won't find this list very interesting. I know a lot of people didn't like it, but I personally liked and still listen to Kanye's TLoP sometimes. I haven't listened to Lemonade and The Getaway (by the RHCP) a lot lately, but I liked them a lot when they came out. I've been meaning to listen to Blonde as lots of people seem to like it, but I haven't gotten to it yet. I might do it during Tour later oO

has there been a period in the last 2 years when you didn't have an exam to study for
I only have exams in January and June. It's only because I failed a couple of those that I've also had to retake exams in August for the past 2 years. In the past years I also had tests that count toward the final grade, but this year I'll only have projects.

do you plan on passing your exams ever
I passed 12/14 on my first try this year and nailed the other 2 in August. I'm not as bad a student as you think I am... (ok nah i'm pretty bad)

have you ever watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians and if so what did you think
No, but as anyone in Team Europe will tell you, We Three Kings talks about it all the time. I've learned more about it thanks to him than I ever wanted to know.

do you even talk to meeps anymore
Not really :|

if I published a collection of opinionated open letters called "rad thoughts" would you read it
Only if you use that title.

is Taylor Swift really a snake


who/what is your musical obsession at the moment
I really like pretty much anything from The Shins.

thoughts on this pick-up line now: "my love for you is like diarrhea; I just can't control it!"
I think the exact line was: "my love for you is like diarrhea; I just can't hold it in!". It's a real gem either way imo.

do you still have that ^ video
Oh yeah for sure. Let the record show that the above quote wasn't mine though, I was the classy pick up artist remember.

that's all
ur a liar

BONUS QUESTION: do you like being called Mr. Strobbelights
No one has ever called me that, but it's a pretty good nickname so I wouldn't mind.

What is it about UU that keeps you coming back?
Even though I don't really like the current UU metagame, it's still the best ORAS lower tier imo. Nostalgic reasons might have something to do with it too as Ubers, OU and UU were my favorite tiers in BW. Ubers and OU are radically different (and worse imo) compared to their BW counterparts; ORAS UU comparatively feels a lot more like BW UU.

Do you think you'll always love Pokemon and play competitively at some level, or do you think you will eventually say goodbye?
This is actually a pretty hard question haha. I still enjoy playing Pokemon and I've met a lot of cool people that make me come back daily, so I'll probably still be here a while. On the other hand, Zamrock's post hit on a couple of things that made me consider quitting in the past. I'm definitely addicted in some shape or form to this game and my uni results would probably be better if I wasn't spending so much time on here. Then again, my results are still pretty good and Pokemon isn't solely to blame for my procrastination problem. I'm currently also very satisfied with my social life. Unless something changes, I think that I'll only quit when Pokemon starts feeling like a drag and that will probably still be a while.

Favourite setup sweeper in UU?
I'd have to say Double Dance Cobalion. I really like the dynamic of dual dancers in general and it's got that sweet typing to go with great stats across the board.

Signing up for SPL, what is the main tier you'd prefer to play?
It's hard to say because I don't know what LC and UU will look like when SPL comes around. Will it be ORAS or SuMo? Will LC release all the broken mons when SuMo comes out? Maybe I'll even like SuMo Ubers and try to get into that.

Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate in general but homemade vanilla ice is literally heaven.
 
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Manipulative

Camila <3
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Got another interview for you guys! I'll leave it down below, but feel free to find it in the OP as well.




Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Ice Tea and my real life name is Leon. I'm 18 years old and will turn 19 on the 20th September ^o^. I'm part german part portuguese and was born in Portugal but came over to Germany when I was around 4 years old. Currently I'm still living there and studying in an university here, specializing on languages as I'm looking forward to become translator since I've good connections that would secure me a spot in the Ministry of Foreign Affair. In my ''free time'' (that I barely have atm :( ) I enjoy playing football and watch a lot too. Not the inferior shitty american version tho. I also like to go out with my 2 dogs, with which I spend a lot of time since my family lives abroad :l and I also like to feed my horse. Other than that I have a gf that helps me a lot out at home and we go out very often and do fun stuff, sadly she doesn't know I play Pokemon and I'm not planning to reveal it anytime soon.


Most known for
I don't even know tbh but if I had to say something is that spl gave me time to shine, even though I kinda didn't do as expected I was happy with what I did. I guess I'm also quite an annoying smogtours chat presence :P and UU/NU legend. Prior to SPL I basically was a noone I guess and just one among other memers that made fun of bad persons on smogon without being superior to them D:. I'm also Gym Leader Maylene but lets forget this.


Favorite Pokemon?
Gotta be Breloom or Charmander. Little backstory behind each: When I was young I was in a forest with my family and we were like at a sea and then when the ice cream truck passed by I ran to it and on my way a dog bit my leg so that we had to call the ambulance and after that we were going home and I found a big Charmander figure out of rubber which I carried with myself for like 3 years as my lucky charm. I lost it when I was 10 tho where I cried for like 2 hours. To Breloom it has been my fav since RSE, obviously. I thought Mach Punch was the shit back then and Bullet Seed omg!!! So I made a team out of Blaziken and 5 Brelooms through my walkthrough until I realized I needed Fly/Surf/Dive etc so I had to threw out 3 of them. Yet my fav mon heh.


Most Used Pokemon?
I think the Pokemon I use the most are Krookodile, Infernape and Aerodactyl. Krook is literally S rank you can't prove me otherwise its clearly out of place in A+. Infernape is just so diverse its fun with CB being my favorite set : ). To Mega Aero its easily splashable and Hone Claws and Pursuit owns.


What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
Rofl when I was like 10 or smth I googled about playing Pokemon online browser games and came upon some simulators like Pokemon Lab Shoddy etc and played a bit of adv uu I think my team was complete GARBAGE but I improved quickly for like 2 months. After that my mom didn't allow me to go on her comp again so I like forgot about it and sticked to cartridge where I had a lot of fun playing every generation with like 200+ hours minimum.
Then I returned like late BW and was searching for simulators because I was getting into breeding and wifi playing so I stumbled upon Pokemon Online where I spent most of my time on the main channel building OU teams with stuff like Claydol and something other I don't remember because I was aids back then and couldn't get past 1200 ,_,. Back then I thought the main server was the only server but when I scrolled through the server list I saw a german server called Schiggysboard where I joined and laddered a bit. Later I got into chatting and quickly made a bad reputation for myself that people disliked me really early on. So I decided to make a new account and pretending to be a girl so people like me kek (it was a real bad error but idk what I did tbh) Funnily enough it worked out and people were quickly on my dick and started liking me cuz I said I was a girl. I got into a clan with some german dudes which I thought was the shit back then ''omg me in a clan???'' but that ended up being a terrible one with a certain person that later on was a mistake to interact with. So yeah me and said person became friends and she was a ''girl'' too so I felt some sort of rivalty where I decided to leave the clan (yeah i took the girl thing really serious back then) then I got to meet my dear friend qwily <33
who I became friends with quickly since he wanted to steal my banner SCUM!! He invited me to a channel on the main server where I started to stay more often and forget about Schiggysboard. Later on I got banned on the Server too because we bullied a person rly bad and they reported it so we got banned xd. Anyway I stayed on the main and laddered and became better and better. Then I met my lovely Lacus Clyne <33 with who I became great friends very quickly again later on I also met some great people like Reje Shocki and others. I singed up on Smogon because I wanted to recommend Lacus' team for rmt of the week after that I didn't really sign in again and stayed on PO. Later I played in the #Tournaments room on PO and after some time my fucking FRIEND NananaBatman invited me to a channel called SusieLou'sLounge aka the channel of the great Mushroom. I told them that I was a girl too (yeah this all happened with me being a girl) but he didn't believe me so I revealed it to them because they were my best friends back then and they knew I was a boy so yeah. Later on I did some dumb stuff which I do not desire to talk about anymore and I got exposed being a boy. I got a lot of hate because ya know its a boy not a girl lmao!!! Only my german friends and SusieLounge stayed loyal to me. They accepted me how I am love you all, qwily, lacus, dark, mush, snaga, reje and others. I was invited to a channel called Rage Channel where I met my good friends ZoroDark Metalgross Cased and others. From there I kinda was known to be a fake girl but it kinda faded with the time. So yeah PO died slowly and I obviously didnt want to die with them so I went over to pokemon showdown and eventually smogon too where I wasn't really active untill like October 2015 I think and yeah here I am.
I guess its unecessary what I writed here but interesting for some people that wanted to know my background story :P


What is your favorite Generation of Pokemon and why?
ADV isn't my favorite generation at all but ADV UU is my favorite tier of all time. It's just so fun and takes pure skill and knowledge to master which I really like. All around I think XY was the best generation. XY UU was hella fun XY OU too and I enjoyed all tiers overall.


Thoughts on the current metagame of ORAS UU?
Well yeah what to say other than Hydreigon is unhealthy. Even though I think the meta is going to change a lot without Hydra but its possibly for good. Other than that I enjoy ORAS UU a lot even though I didn't dedicate myself to it a lot like previously it'll always have a place in my heart and is a good metagame where Hikari and Sam did a good job with leading it.


What is your favorite playstyle?

I play a lot but mostly offensively orientated since it fits my aggressive and prediction reliant game. I don't like sitting 100 turns for an opportunity to deal 20% damage playing so I'd rather just deal damage quickly with offensive STUFF!! Balance is also a playstyle I enjoy since its fun to play and takes time to master.


Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
I guess they're all equally viable with stall being the weakest of them all imo. Bulk Up Conk and Celebi and Dreigon and Entei and Mamo is just too much to deal with heh :P. Sticky Web offense is broken too. You're losing to it 100% when you're laddering at least once.


Are there any specific Pokemon that you think are unhealthy for UU and may be deserving of a Suspect Test in the future?
Well not since the unhealthies is currently being suspected atm I'd say no :D. I wouldn't mind seind a UU NO Scald and Thunder Wave ladder again.


What have been your thoughts on UU Open this year? Who would you like to see win the Finals?

It sucks since I was really looking forward and was optimistic that I would win it but after some retarded events and me being autistic I clearly didn't deserve so :P other than that I'm surprised how many UU mains lost in the early rounds and how Stallion is just raping his way up to Finals. I'm def supporting Stallion for this one gl brother.


Can you tell us about your experience in SPL 7? What was it like, and what advice could you give to newer tournament players about reaching that level of play and preparing for such tournaments?
Words can't express how much I loved SPL 7 it was my first team tour ever so I came with big expectation on the environment and those were fullfilled. It was just amazing the team, our games, the team chemistry ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Classiest is a part of my heart. All the guys were amazing and we were a nice mix of veterans and actual legends. It was amazing to team with good friends like anti and lochie and later one I made a lot of new friends too. Like Evuelf one of my best friends rn giara fucking LOVE U Memoric cutie boy
blunder the best player of all time and amazing bro and more. I could go on but then I would just repeat my shoutouts post :P. It was also a honor to team with people like Ojama, pana, MoP and Ka$h Money KEV.
Idk if I can give advice on how to get into team tours since imo my pickup was luck haha based on events that teams made up to ruin our draft plan gave me the chance to get picked up. But if i had to say something is help people and make a name for yourself. I helped classiest without being on their team supporting my brooooooo lochie and helping him build and passing him teams and then eventually was mentioned in the team chat and they apparently appreciated that I helped out so they'd like to repay the favor. Into preparing I learned that counter teaming is silly and not necessary just go with a team you feel confident with and that is solid and performs well vs almost everything. To your playing abillity just think about every ways in your games have a gameplan and possibly write it down on paper on what you have to do to win even if it seems impossible just think and think and it'll work out : )!


Who else do you think should be starting for UU in the coming SPL?
dodmen (the best player of all time), Pearl, Christo, Sam (if he plays), IronBullet HOPEFULLY, koko impresses me too and should keep playin, ZoroDark too his builds are fantastic, Tony if hes willing to play UU!, def hogg he is an amazing player, YABO too even though hes an inferior me :P, Omfuga hes willing to play it again which I doubt, Manipulative obv need a newcomer, Ice Tea is a solid and valuable pick, and obviously Hikari if hes willing to play. I wouldn't mind Sacri and Accelgor starting either.


Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
UHHHHHHHHHHHHHH long list. I think I might have to group them
MetalGro$$ u sticked with me day 1 I love you my man, Evuelf come back to me pls, Calloflochie enjoy your life bro you know how to find me, qwily Tag 1 Bruder niemand nimmt dir dein Platz weg, dodmen you're my favorite person of all time best person to talk to, best person to test with, you amazing fam., Lacus Clyne liebe dich bby tag 1 familie, NananaBatman basically my dad on this site kys, TonyFlygon even if its a short time you mean a lot to me, Pearl I don't think I need to say how much I love you, p2, ceraa, fbc, SmashBrosBrawl day 1 suu day 1 fpoa, blunder champ <333, giara top 2 frenchie, Memoric most handsome asian there is i think Disenchanted amor da minha vida




:D if i forgot any1 lemme know there are so much i love u all


Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
http://hastebin.com/ijorudodiw.diff jk haha

Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Metagross @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 Atk / 56 SpA / 220 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Grass Knot
- Meteor Mash
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 244 HP / 72 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Acid Spray

Whimsicott @ Yache Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Giga Drain
- Encore

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge


Posted this in samples already but thats probably one of my favorite teams and playstyles straightforward HO. Build around CB Infernape its so good atm hng. Paired with Aero to trap ghost for free CC spamming. Metagross to lure bulky waters like cune swampert alo : ) and also stealth rock. tentacruel is the obv hazard removal for aero and uturner infernape whimsi was added for rd pert and sharpedo with yache to be able to tank ice punchs and ice fangs and lastly heracross to clean after aero and infernape destroyed the opposing team. Heras pretty underrated rn and a Moxie scarfer is something most teams aren't prepared for especially offense teams!


----------

Thank you for your time and the great interview, ict! If you have any questions that you would like to ask him, feel free to leave them below. I'll be back next week with another interview!
 

esche

Frust kommt auf, denn der Bus kommt nicht
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
hey icey (:

what is it that makes you so obsessed with fighting types? is it just a phase?

what are the names of your dogs and your horse?

thoughts on pokemon cypher 2016?

would you have ever revealed being a boy if nobody had noticed/told anyone by now?

do u feel that u have a special connection to the pokemon: jirachi and if so why is that?

what kind of music do u listen to?

most underrated/most overrated mon in ORAS: UU?

drop 1 mon from OU/BL to UU except starmie bc everybody wants that. what is your choice?

what is/was the most broken mon that has ever graced UU with its presence? you may pick from any generation.

marry/fuck/kill: scald/twave/knock off

ban/keep/abstain: entei/celebi/mamoswine

will u teach me ADV UU if i ask nicely?

remember when u picked me up on a random ladder game and introduced me to the one and only eck?

bc i do and i appreciate that (: ty
 
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Stallion

Tree Young
is a Tiering Contributoris a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Three-Time Past WCoP Champion
Were you surprised that King UU got the clutch flinch vs me?

Will you help me build NU teams for slam playoffs (if you don't make them)?

I struggle to build around sticky web for some reason, got a good sample team?

Favourite metagame - UU or NU?

Favourite gen?

Where about in Germany do you live?

Will you help me get into the Berghain if I come to Berlin?
 
do you miss your days as egirl?
how was your first CS expierience with the guys you seduced with your fake pics?
how mad were the guys you fooled when the found out you had a dick and no tits and vag?
do u still pretend on other communities to be a girl?
u r a fucking schwuchtel but you know that already, Lol.
 
Are you sweetened or unsweetened?

Favorite mon youre ashamed to use in UU?

How long until you win the UU majors? Also good luck and gg

What does it take to be a cool as you? Or if i may "ice cold"?
 
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Hey ict :]

What was your most memorable experience on pokemon showdown?

Favorite Football player/club and why?

Have you ever been to a footbal stadium in portugal/brazil?

Thoughts on our tagteam rapbattle against qwily and tim? :]

Will there ever be a remtach rapbattle beetwen us?

If you were to take one person to a far away island, who would it be and why?

Have you ever thought about making pokemon related youtube videos, since youre a very fun guy #listigerfisterYT?

Its obv that were not going to play this game forever, but are you considering showing Pokemon to your future Kids and if so why?

Saturday Evening: Netflix and Chill or Gartic with frens?

Helene Fischer or Heidi Klum? #Milfhunter

If you could choose another country to live in other than germany what would it be?

Favorite EV Spread on Tentacruel?

Is it always neccesary in UU to play 2 Fairy Resists(Steel+Poison/Fire) on a team because of Sylveons Presence?


A lot people dont train legs, are you one of these legday skippers?

Do you actually beleive that lacus clyne is a girl?, because i sure cant lmfao

What would you do with a wallet full of money that you randomly found on the street?

Do you sometimes feel like youre a totally different person on the Internet, than who you actually are irl?

If you could change one Mechanic of a Pokemon Move, which one would it be and why?

Whos your Favourite tournament player to watch?


obv i coulda asked you all of that in private, but i thought this would be fun :]
 

Accel

arise
is a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
You're one of those guys that makes playing on this site 23509234x more fun that it'd normally be. Love you bro <3


How would you rate my singing on a scale of 1-10? Feel free to break the scale btw ;]

There are many players out there, new and old, who are always trying to improve in regards to building and/or playing ability. What advice would you give to them?

Favorite food and drink?

Favorite football team?

What team will you bring vs me for UU Majors?
 

Kreme

You might be right but you're not correct.
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Will you go easy on me in majors? :D

Thoughts on Delibird not making VR?

Do you eat donuts? If so what's your favorite?

Is coffee your natural enemy or your best friend?

Will we ever get a Mono Fight + Zoroark RMT?

Best place and food in Germany?
 
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