Back with another interview this week! I'll leave it down below, but feel free to look for it in the OP as well.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
21 years old, engineer for a manufacturing company in the Midwest USA.
Most known for?
Only really "known" because omfuga once talked about me for like a minute and a half in an SPL smogcast haha
Favorite Pokemon?
Gengar or Suicune
Most Used Pokemon?
In UU, Krookodile. All around great Pokemon and one of the scariest wallbreakers in the tier since it's very hard for balance teams to prepare for without using Mandibuzz, Alomomola, or Chesnaught/Tangrowth.
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
I played casually on PS for a while during BW and XY before I finally made an account here. I've played Pokemon on and off since I was 5 or 6 but never discovered PS or other Pokemon sims until several years ago.
What is your favorite playstyle?
Offense for sure. I love building around all of the offensive threats in UU, my favorite recent offense teams include slightly underrated stuff like LO Explosion Metagross, 4 attacks Hydreigon, 4 attacks Mega Absol, Scarf Infernape, and Slurpuff (this thing's a fucking threat again)
Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
Stall was already kinda shaky and now it's even worse after losing Salamence. Bunch of stall teams I've seen lately have to use Alomomola and Tangrowth as their checks to Fighting types, or else be forced to revenge kill with Aerodactyl.
Are there any specific Pokemon that you think are unhealthy for UU and may be deserving of a Suspect Test in the future?
I know a lot of people feel differently, but I don't think threat stands out as being suspect worthy right now. Celebi is a huge threat for sure but not worthy of a ban at all imo, it brings a lot of good things to the tier, isn't threatening without a boost, has average speed and exploitable weaknesses. Hydreigons easily the best Pokemon in the tier and even centralizing, but not in a bad way (in my opinion). I like the metagame a lot, the two recent band put us miles ahead.
You always put up solid performances throughout tournaments and are acknowledged as one of UU's best players! Is there any advice that you're able to give to newer players who are looking to become involved in the tournament scene?
Just the standard stuff I guess, I'm not exactly all that "involved" in the tournament scene myself but be pleasant to interact with, don't bitch endlessly about hax, if you talk shit I hope you can back it up with wins haha
What are your thoughts on UU Open so far this year? Who do you think has a good shot at taking it, other than yourself?
Pearl and Icey Tea are my two favorites :) I know Sacri's gonna put up a great performance, Adaam is gonna take it far if he beats me this weekend, I hope pif has a good run, Bob the Bro is a threat (only when he's using my teams though!), and Kushalos. Of course, all-around good players like shakeitup and Eo are huge threats as well.
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
Ice Tea Pearl Omfuga Hogg teal are probably my top 5!
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
I'm on my phone right now so I'll edit in the import later, but one of my favorite recent teams that I used during the mence suspect was:
CB Iron Fist Conkeldurr, 4 attacks LO Hydreigon (Superpower and Iron Tail), SR LO Explosion Metagross, 3 attacks TSpikes Tentacruel, HC Aero (STABs EQ), Scarf Infernape
Basically the team worked to break down opposing defensive cores to clean with HC Aero or scarf Infernape. TSpikes and Explosion helps to KO Suicune and other bulky waters. Band Conkeldurr is incredible against fat teams, especially with no Salamence meaning it can run Knock Off Poison Jab, and CB Mach Punch can actually clean up other offense. LO Hydreigon does the same and is also very good with TSpikes as it makes it much harder to play around its moves. Scarf Infernape is very underrated, outspeeds everything and while it doesn't have the same power as Mienshao, dual stabs make it harder to play around with opposing offense, especially Froslass HO. Also, TPunch to reliably take out Gyara is great.
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Thank you for your time and the great interview, dodmen! 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!