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.
at high level i think stall is probably the weakest play style because of how powerful the meta has become with so many strong breakers and cores so yes i do think semi stall is better than stall
just like any other tier, i pick a core or mon and a playstyle first and then go about picking mons that best help the core function efficiently. sorry this was such a generic response lol the whole process in my head is rather long and changes on a team to team basis so there wouldnt be a one answer fits all
Honestly have not been keeping up too much with the new gen info but i'm definitely excited to play in game, gonna be interesting to see what new things they have for us
I think i answered these questions previously but i think forretress is overrated because of it trying to do too much and not really excelling at any of it. I find Arcanine and Rose to be quite underrated
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
surely, i'm 24 years old and work as an associate in a VC firm focused on buying natural resource companies worldwide, having moved there recently after performing managerial work for a publications company co-owned by the principle of a small hedge fund i worked at where a mutual board member noticed me and offered me the opportunity. outside of mons im a huge soccer fan, love Liverpool FC and follow boxing quite closely. i play both sports myself and am looking to get back into boxing regularly enough to maybe start doing amateur fights once i move down to sydney australia for work.
Most known for?
in UU, probably my performance in UU open / grand slam + SPL which were back to back but i think throughout the tournament community more generally probably overall performance as i think i've done alright for myself in a few other tiers and metagames. but i think i am thought of as a UU player first and foremost most of the time right now
Favorite Pokemon?
swampert
Most Used Pokemon?
salamence. i run the same set like 99% of the time i use it and i genuinely think its the best mon in the tier, suits my playstyle absolutely perfectly. after that, probably swampert for its glue-like nature.
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
oh well i dont really remember what brought me over back in 2007, but i stayed for like 1 month and then quit for like 8 years. after that, i was in my last year of college and my roommate was playing XY and told me to buy a copy. i didn't feel like getting a DS so i looked up mons online and saw that showdown existed and just sortve went from there, started joining tours after watching joeys youtube channel for a little bit.
What is your favorite playstyle?
hyper offense by far. i love how tense many of the turns are for both sides when using/facing an HO team, and when you're "in the zone" having a team that can either win a game or lose a game in the span of a turn is best when you play more by emotion than by logic.
Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
part of the reason im not a huge fan of current UU (though zam being gone is good) is that i think bulky with a random HO threat is the best playstyle, legitimately. stacking things like cress + cele + megapert then throwing on one of the many many offensive threats (you dont usually even need to think about synergy) is fine, because you are essentially playing a pre-game gamble that your opponent can't handle it.
i think hard stall is relatively weak rn because it's so so difficult to cover all the various threats. only PIF really has made teams that i think are comfortable against most things you will realistically face, and also give you opportunities to outplay if necessary.
Do you think any Pokemon in particular needs to be suspected right now?
hydreigon and salamence, sadly.
You've had a very impressive run in both UU Open and SPL! Is there anything that you can tell newer players about preparing for such tournaments?
well it is weird, i actually think less prep can go a long way. this is a thing a bunch of people disagree about, though. i have found that my teams are generally less effective when i'm specifically preparing for someone than when i bring something i like or think fits the way i want to play. you can see that in action in say my first SPL game - i built that team really specifically to counter things i know xMarth likes, but the team itself was kinda garbage. later on i made some teams that were precarious, stuff i wouldn't recommend other people use, but they worked because i knew internally exactly what i wanted to do with them.
i think more important than teambuilding and construction is mental state. the mode you go into a game with will determine how you perform more than having a slightly more sturdy mamoswine check, etc. when you are at low confidence you won't make the necessary moves to win a close game, and at higher levels i feel the skill variance isn't big enough that you will be 100% able to roll someone over.
Your unique posting style has garnered a lot of attention, and you've written some of the most-liked posts of the year, such as this one: http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...k-9-read-post-313.3566619/page-6#post-6704162. You also picked up three Smogon awards, including Best New Player and Nicest User. How do you keep up such a high posting quality?
ah well one thing i have found out recently is that people think i am being sarcastic far more often than i usually am. truthfully i would say something like 99% of my posts are completely and utterly sincere, i'm not really mocking people unless it's super obvious and even at that point i'm not really trying to hide that.
the way i post is a bit informed by somethingawful forums, where i posted for like 7 years. its a comedy board and the only way to not be hated by the community is to try and make jokes a lot otherwise it can be a bit brutal to try and "join in" with the community there. so i would say posts like the SPL one are a lot like the ones i'd make over on SA truthfully. the awards were nice to win but not all that meaningful n_n
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
there's a ton, and i hope i don't forget anyone:
my grand slam friends from last year who were the first ones who included me in a group on this site, before i really had much to offer
the vod bros who i spent a lot of hours playing tagpro with and probably degraded my mons ability more than anyone else
powc east team where i refused to play a game until like the last week and playoffs and just hung out with
cryonicles, the only SPL team i ever want to play for probably
and west which has included a lot of people i didn't know before but have treated me very well especially in a period when im underperforming
playing wise i look up to the following people the most: ojama, phil, alex, tesung, ciele and the guy i've probably taken the most cues from, sweepage
What made you want to take a break from ORAS and try out past gens?
i just really wanted a trophy and oras UU does not give you a ton of opportunities for that
another factor i think is i sort of felt like i had gone as far as i could in UU. i have a bad habit of dropping tours really close to the finish line, and realistically the only thing better i could do in official UU tournaments would literally be win UU open finals and go 9-0 in SPL, both are really huge goals and difficult to reach so i was content (but not satisfied) with one step short of both of those.
Do you plan on participating in the up and coming UU Open? Also, who do you think has a good shot at winning it this year?
i don't know if i'll participate, i'm moving in the summer and scheduling on australian time while mid-move and mid-buying-a-company is going to be pretty hard, i could obviously get my games done but i think i would underperform and i don't want to do that.
as for winning it, i'd put my money on one of the following: hogg, christo, omfuga
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
i can only really use like stupid teams at the moment. idk why. but the idea here is simple. haxorus lures whims so swampert can sub endeavor etc. torrent max spa hydros are sick. but its still pretty slow. the team needs pjab on hax + iron tail on absol because it has no fairy resist so you just have to actually attack whatever fairy is in front of you and typically sack. swampert can hopefully endeavor on sylv bc otherwise it sortve 6-0s well actually it doesn't you probably just lose two mons to it.
----------
Thank you for your time and the great interview, teal6! 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!
Mane for 35m has Klopp lost his mind?
Would you want to unban anything from BL to balance the tier or do you think banning things to BL is the better way to go?
hm, not really. mamoswine's ludicrously strong, but the key difference is how it fits into teams. a bit part of what i get annoyed w/ in suspect test discussions comes from people not recognizing that there is a team around the mon being suspected - in a vacuum, mence might not be broken but i think as a whole it definitely is. mamo on the other hand does not fit as comfortably on 90% of builds, which is also why despite being so strong, it's used relatively infrequently.
Mane for 35m has Klopp lost his mind?
Would you want to unban anything from BL to balance the tier or do you think banning things to BL is the better way to go?
maero is the most overrated mon in the tier (tagging in Omfuga)
underrated, i'd say nape, mega sharpedo, absol and arcanine.
i don't use any azelf aside from the LO one w/ rocks, i think it's an amazing rocker even without the sash and i like my mons on HO to have versatility outside specific roles such as "suicide lead". so i think the explosion taunt SR one is not actually that good. besides, w/ LO even w/o NP, azelf RUNS OVER some of those half ass balance teams (think like pert, chesnaught kinda stuff).
probably my legs, my dad was a semipro footballer player and could squat stupid amounts, and used to do this amazing leg split that i always thought was like ironman level of mental effort. i also played soccer my whole life so mine are pretty strong comparatively
hm i would have to say LC - i like that the BSTs are so close to one another which lets you run a huge amount of mons and you can make so many things work
yeah mence has to go and so does hydrei, mamos good but not unbearable
hm well as a new player it is really all about performance. SPL managers and assistant manager scout ludicrously, they know who is performing well in some of the "smaller" tiers (UU existing sort of at that inbetween stage of sizes from other low tiers to UU). it's hard as a lower tier player because you just don't get the same amount of chance to prove yourself so you really have to take your shot when it comes around - UU Open / Grand Slam is a huge chance for anyone that wants to get drafted, and can't really complain if you buster out r4 and don't get picked up. aside from that being able to get along w/ people is always good cuz team chats need good vibes.
that's really appreciated man, i hope to keep my performance level high going forward and giving good games n_n
lol but truthfully any career success i've had in my life has been down almost entirely to nepotism and good fortune
i hope it is! we will have to record together soon. i am making some amateur mistakes still but i think actually recording a live thing is a long way from my MS Paint -> Windows Live Movie Maker videos which i made for like 4 years
someone actually did in the draft lol but no val and vinc have not been so kind as of yet
YES MY GOOD FRIEND OMFUGA SHOULD BE NEXT POTW
vastly prefer beer, if i drink hard alcohol its always shots. i invented a tradition at my frat called the decade where you take the shittiest vodka in town (traveler's club, its rancid) and you gotta do a shot a minute for 10 minutes. shits a blast because you feel like death for a solid 15 minutes after but then you're just wild...
i invented a tradition at my frat called the decade where you take the shittiest vodka in town (traveler's club, its rancid) and you gotta do a shot a minute for 10 minutes. shits a blast because you feel like death for a solid 15 minutes after but then you're just wild...
grats bro <3
fav football team?
fav mls team?
fav football player?
any predicts for UU open?
why do you have really good performances in some tours (spl, classics) and bad in others (wcop)?
were you pressured when playing wcop?
i really like manipulative and think that he will perform well going forward. ik he is actively trying to think like, more cerebrally about the game and that's a mark of a great player.
we've played like 100 games! honestly i need to get back in the zone for RBY then i will
yeah there was definitely hazing. my class had a relatively hard process compared to some on either side of us (our process got much easier following my year). i guess its fine to talk about this too considering our chapter doesn't exist anymore lol. but the bulk of it was workouts, we would do these cardiovascular workouts in this big auditorium room we had for hours at a time.. toward the end we would do legit like 3.5-4 hours of just various bodyweight exercises over and over and over. there was a lot of drinking too but its hard to count that as hazing as it was fun. some more secret stuff that i probably shouldn't write out online directly but it was actually a mentally exhausting semester, even physically too.. after i crossed i came down with a 104 fever that didn't go away for about 6 days. some fun memories though from the time, like i had to rap "juicy" by biggie in front of a lecture hall, get a cheerleaders number in just my boxers, complete a swimming challenge in front of like 100 ppl at the school etc.
grats bro <3
fav football team?
fav mls team?
fav football player?
any predicts for UU open?
why do you have really good performances in some tours (spl, classics) and bad in others (wcop)?
were you pressured when playing wcop?
ty man
Liverpool FC of course
New York Red Bulls
Luis Suarez will always hold a special place in my heart
i think you will see late runs by non-UU mains who are picking up the tier solely for slam
it's hard to be 100% consistent, and in longer tournaments i tend to do a bit better because it can even out. like in classic i probably played 45-50 games throughout the tournament, whereas in WCOP i only played like 4. i had a rough go of things RNG wise as well, a realistic appraisal of how i played i think i should've ended 2-2 probably, but sometimes things just don't go your way. no use worrying about it too much, it's the same as in football - form is temporary, class is forever.
i didn't feel pressured, SPL got a lot of that out of the way for me and i think i made my best plays. i was getting annoyed at losing all the time but sometimes you just gotta wade through the bad efforts and come out the other side. i'll do better next year
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sure, I'm a 17 year old and about to start my Senior year of high school. As a high school student, I usually have a good amount of free time. When I am not doing anything pokemon related, I usually go out with my friends, play basketball/soccer, work out at the gym(recently been getting back into it lol), watch sports(mainly basketball, and been getting more into soccer), and play chess. So yeah, nothing really too interesting haha. As for what I plan for after high school, I hope to study and major in finance at a university(if i get in :p). Oh, and I also have a Youtube channel that I just made recently: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcN_B5ymLmQqSOxhh9aYLJQ
Most known for?
I guess winning UUPL 3, having a good UU Open run, and playing for the Falcons in SPL
Favorite Pokemon?
Anime: Dragonite
In-game: Jynx
Most Used Pokemon?
Swampert
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
I wanted to get back into pokemon from when I played as a kid so I looked up how to play online as I did not want to buy a DS. I eventually came across Let's Plays on Youtube and found user BlameTruth. On his channel I saw him doing PS! lives and that basically got me into PS! and eventually smogon.
What is your favorite playstyle?
This is a pretty tough question for me. I can usually enjoy any playstyle as long as I like the feel of the team, but I think I consistently enjoy using Bulky Offense and Semi Stall/Stall. It really comes down to the team itself, though, rather than the style. As long as I feel confident and in control, I'm usually having fun.
Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
I think semi stall has gotten a lot worse for sure. A few months ago, semi stall really thrived in UU, but after all of the recent drops it has been hard to do consistently well with a semi stall build. Standard Bulky Offense is definitely the dominant playstyle currently. My favorite type of metagame is when all playstyles are useable, and I do not think that is the case currently
Do you think any Pokemon in particular needs to be suspected right now?
After the Salamence suspect is over, I really think Celebi and Hydreigon should be suspected. Nasty Plot Celebi is truly busted and has essentially no downside to using it. The only true counter is Leftovers SpDef Pursuit Escavalier, and that obvously can not fit on every team. Pokemon like Mega Aerodactyl and Scarf Hydreigon are decent revenge killers, but neither OHKO at full HP. The former dies to +2 Psychic after SR and the latter dies to D Gleam. Even if you have decent NP Celebi answers, Celebi can pass it's boosts, whether it is an SD or NP. So basically Celebi can work around any team and is definitely not healthy imo. Hydreigon has always been one of UU's biggest threats, but I think with the drop of Sylveon, Hydreigon has gotten too good. Although that might sound silly, the reason I think that is because before Sylveon was in the tier, CM Florges was the main answer. So if a team uses Specs Sylveon as the fairy type over CM Florges on offense, they will have a far harder time beating a well played Hydreigon. Not to mention Hydreigon can easily lure and beat any of it's supposed "counters".
You're one of the most consistent UU players in terms of performing well throughout tournaments such as UUPL, UU Open, and SPL! Is there anything that you can tell newer players about preparing for these tournaments?
Thanks! My advice would be to build, build, and build some more. Pokemon is all experience and the more you build the better you will get. I am assuming if you are getting into tournaments, you are already pretty decent when it comes to decision making. Imo, teambuilding is already over half the battle so if you can master the art of teambuilding through trial and error, I think you have a pretty good shot at succeeding. As for preparing for these tournaments, everyone is different. I personally build my own teams and focus more on making an overall solid build rather than going all out trying to counter team. Sometimes I don't even bother researching my opponent's replays. A basic thing to do is to just research your opponent's games and find a pokemon or core of pokemon that you think can work well vs your opponent. Just remember that they will bring new teams, so don't get too caught up into it.
You had a convincing round 1 win in the UU Open! Other than yourself, who do you think has a good shot at winning it this year?
Hm, I think the players with the best shot are, in no particular order: hogg, teal6, dodmen, Hikari, xMarth, Hairy Toenail, and Manipulative. I probably missed some people, but that is at the top of my head
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
There are a good amount of people I like to talk to in the smogon community. To name a few: r0ady, hogg, teal6, Euphonos, IronBullet, Lilou, the list could go on but I will stop there.
People that I do not really know, but enjoy reading their posts and stuff are: badabing and Afro Smash.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
I used this team in UUPL vs praj.pran I believe and is a very cookie-cutter build of mine that really resembles the UU meta rn. The team itself is very straightforward and plays pretty well from what I have seen. It is basically NP Celebi + Entei paired with Pursuit Trapping support, T Spikes, and the scary threat in Specs Sylveon. The team is basically 4 offensive threats all with defensive utility, with 2 pivots that provide hazards and hazard removal. The team has a bit of a problem with CM Cress/ Reuniclus but Scald Burns + Crunch on Aerodactyl usually does the job. Don't hate on the sylveon set, I think coverage on Sylveon is overrated and I like to use wild niche options :p
Thank you for your time and the great interview, Christo! 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!
