Other 5 Years of National Dex

I used to lurk in Gen 7 OU casually during my first years of competitive Pokemon back in 2017, but eventually I shifted to OMs as USUM OU kept turning more offense-oriented as time went on, but what peaked my interest for PS was the introduction of the National Dex format, as I had an extreme dislike for the whole deal of dexit and I felt that everyone should be free to use their favorite Pokemon, no matter how obscure or neglected, gotta catch them all, after all.

As I hanged around participating in nearly all of the NDOU suspects in Gen 8, and chilling in the Discord server for years, with the tier becoming heavily stagnant at the end of the generation, and Gen 9 NDOU being extremely Mickey Mouse with Tera, I eventually went back to OMs and expanded a bit to Pet Mods, which has been a nice experience overall.

Contrary to what my position may imply, I never touched vanilla Uber metagames, I never felt interested to USUM Ubers when it was the current generation, SwSh Ubers has Calyrex-S roaming around in a dexit setting on top, and don't make me start with SV Ubers having the bikes (or well, only one left now, but still). I did check out Gen 8 NDAG for a good while, and it was surprisingly playable as Dynamax shut down a lot of the cheese strats normally found in AG tiers (but still broken, think like how Pure Hackmons is enjoyable to some), but that didn't last long with the shift to Gen 9 and stuff like ReviveCats or Wonderloon Shedinja. I really became a mod by the coincidence of me becoming heavily active on the C&C section of the tier while displaying general in-depth knowledge of a good portion of the metagame, and two of the three Tier Leaders at the time retiring.

That said, while it's not easy being a mod, it has helped me a lot to mature as I'm well aware that because of my position others want to imitate me, which has made me aim to be more ambitious on how the section is handled while also toning down the memes I once did often.

With the Tera ban in SV NDOU, I'm currently waiting for the metagame to settle so I may join it back and see if something is overrated, or if my hatred for Great Tusk in OU metas will tone down anytime soon.

Let's hope that NatDex keeps going well and that everyone has a promising future.

Finally, to amplify the nostalgia, here's the oldest replay I have playing NDOU and showing how the metagame was like, back when it was called "National Dex (beta)".
 
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Lupla said:
got permission from sealoo for this
View attachment 691507
:sv/raboot:​

Hey everyone, hope all of you are doing well right now, this is probably gonna be one of my last posts in National Dex due to my constant work as well as my motivation getting to a new low (especially for December) and honestly i'm not sure what i'll be doing after this. I will apologize for how i'll be talking here but now's just the time to chill and relax, go back in time and remember our good bits.

This is the 5th anniversary of National Dex, November 27 2019 being the time the room was made public which is where i decided to mark this anniversary. This is the first community i actually entered in terms of Competitive Pokemon, i've been on some Discord servers previously just being me (the bad me from 2019 to early 2021) and i have to say it was a huge ride for sure. I wasn't exactly a big hater on the whole dex cut or anything but i found this concept appealing and decided to join, from when it was a private room in this exact day (November 27), when the discord barely had like 3 channels and no activity for a week or two, to the absolute bonkers of the Dynamax meta, all sorts of things occuring in the early stages of a tier (especially Gen 8) up to now.

A long time has passed since then, i've met all sorts of people, liked all sorts of people, disliked all sorts of people, i've seen a lot of things change in good and bad ways, most notably with myself. I wasn't a good person and i'm not a good person right now either, i can confidently say i've changed to be a better person from years ago but not a good person, my experience in this place has allowed me to reflect on my thoughts, personality and life, i honestly can't stop thanking everyone i've met from the bottom of my heart, regardless of anything, this was an important and amazing experience for me.

Now i could go over a lot more things about how i'm not in the best position right now or how i'm still a lazy bum but i don't wanna make this about me, let's make this about everyone in the community. What was your experience in National Dex? And, throught everything you experienced in years or months especially, did you had fun? View attachment 691508
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Retired gang welcomes you
 
started with smou cause i hated ss dex cuts at the time and then i found out natdex existed and have always been messing with it on and off in some form ever since. ss ndou has always been a ladder i can go to when im bored and i hope sv ndou can be the same after tera ban. ndoms (or ams lol) are genuinely some of the coolest tiers ive ever played and im glad that it exists and continues existing despite everything.

anyway heavy duty boots to natdex and lets keep heal order dexited
 
gamer but swag said:
Pretty good tier, despite what I say. Hard to believe I've almost been playing this tier for 3 years! Some of the people I've met during my tenure here are now good friends whom I wouldn't give up for the world. Glad to have shared this time with y'all and here's to 5 years more!
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can you ping these people, specifically someone named after a.. fruit?
 
Damn Lupla really becoming unc now

Anyway, joined this tier and competitive Pokémon in general like early 2023, and it’s cool to see how I’ve improved over the year, I’ve also made friends through the ps room chat including but not limited too boppydop! sluGGy Ineros

Also wanna give a big shout out to Lupla you were just a nice guy, and so kind and helpful to everyone, including me. I probably would have just been that same shy self that wouldn’t talk to anybody without you, and I wish you well in whatever you’re about to go do.

Anyway, short post, just wanna say that I still got a long way to go until I’m satisfied with that I’ve done on this website, so I’m gonna be seeing y’all in like 15 minutes in the ps room again yapping about how im boutta make okidogi work.

- With Regards, Lightniong aka wolfgame.mp3 aka wolfgame.mp4 aka wolfgame.mp5 aka wolfgame.mp6 aka wolfgame.mp27
 
I started mid Gen 8 when I was but a wee lad, spamming my favorite Pokemon and having no competitive strategy

One of my fondest memories was when I first started to play Gen 8 NatDex, and we had an activity in school that wanted us to write down our biggest goals. I remember specifically thinking to myself, man, wouldn't it be cool if I hit 1400 ELO on ladder someday?

Several years later, I have peaked top 100 several times and am hovering around the 1700s.

This tier has always been so much fun for me, even if I haven't been involved in the community much before this year. I'm hoping to get to know the community more as I become more involved (and become better lol (Zard Y supremecy))
 
Was happy to be apart of the larger community for gen 8, despite most of the people i knew best being either gone or banned by now.

For anyone that still remembers krooks, it was still the best side server I've ever been in, until it turned to shit anyway. Quick shoutout for everyone there: dhelmise Kate Solaros & Lunaris Jordy Jho astralydia Rei and the countless people now banned!

Despite some of the pushbacks we had in gen 8, im glad we got past them and achieved so much for National Dex in the span of a generation.
From being covered under TC to getting our own ribbon to having our own official Community Leaders, it's good to look back and see how far we've come.
 
:quagchamppogsire::quagchamppogsire::quagchamppogsire:

Natdex was my intro to competitive pokemon and is also where I used to roleplay and it was fun, although I don't have much fond memories with it and the community. But hey why bother remembering it? What matters most is that we had fun in that moment, even if it'll be lost to time in our lives. Nothing stays forever, but alteast we can preserve is while we can ^^

:quagchamppogsire: :quagchamppogsire: :quagchamppogsire:

:sv/walking-wake:​
 
Elvira said:
However my name was Bruised Thighs.
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WAIT THAT WAS YOU?

National Dex was and still is my favorite tier, I started getting into OU near the tail end of gen8, when I was bored from playing NDAG 24/7 and peaking like top 100. Afterwards though I took a small break before coming back like a month into gen9 to dick around with the new stuff. I'd like to think that I've gotten at least a little better at pokemon since then, going positive in the natdex whatever-it's-called tournament in GG, alongside peaking at a very respectable #5 on ladder over summer. This tier has gotten so much more excited lately with tera being banned, and with all the eyes on us now I hope it gets even better. A week and a half in and I've already had so much fun building with stuff that I can't even imagine what will come next for the tier

Stepping away from the gameplay side of things, the other reason I love Natdex so much is the community. A few months ago when I went woke (i transed my gender *GASP*). I was working some stuff out to put it mildly, and I'd love to thank the awesome people in the nd moderation team for helping me through that and find myself (sol ur the goat <3). Once you get past the swarm of middle schoolers logging matches during free time in computer lab, a lot of the people who play this tier are super cool and chill. In NDFL Me and Sputnikk finished in dead last, but we still had a blast regardless, and everyone on the team had a great time too. The room is also pretty chill, especially after lurking in the ou room for a bit, I was able to get a much clearer perspective on the unique community we've built.

To celebrate natdex being old, here's the oldest team I have in my builder! It actually isn't, sorry for lying, but I lost a lot of my really old teams when I got a new laptop, maybe I'll try and salvage my really old stuff from that later, but for now this'll do since it's the first team I ever posted to the bazaar. I don't remember too much about it besides a very vivid memory of that toxapex winning a 1v4 vs a sun team, but it's actually not the worst thing I've ever built (that would be this). I've gotten a lot better at building lately, especially when I was a builder for TLW, but I still feel like I've got a long ways to go.

It's almost 3am for me at the time of writing this, but know that Solaros & Lunaris, Ineros, hidin, sealoo, Redgoop115, Lupla, Runo, Wildfiree and Sputnik are all really cool people and in the interest of time I can't get into why. Just know I think that they're nifty.

also Sulo too ig... that guy's aight, Adriyun smells though

there's also like 30 million other room regs who prolly know me because i yap in there a lot but I'm not going to go though and ping them manually

5 years old, and still kicking. I can't wait to see where this tier goes in the future!
Let's make it a good one, AND a long one!
 
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boppydop! said:
Man wtf I’m catching strays

anyway nd has been a blast even tho svnd pre Tera ban is kinda dicks I haven’t been around for a while but I’m glad I put in the effort to meet new people and establish myself in the community(best nd reg btw)

RunicPower413 sluGGy IRONM0NK3Y808 Ineros dewfew Illouri Medasus Sami Flames Of Elixir and prolly more I don’t remember off the top of my head thanks for BOOSTING my ego and SUPPORTING me in my nd endeavors

i hate you guys
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Weren’t you at work on Wednesday? Hope u get fired for playing games on shift lil boy

Anyways nd is pretty cool, I started playing around 2020 but only really started playing more serious when gen9 came out. It’s been a pretty crazy ride and I’ve met a ton of cool people and had a lot of fun. Cheers to everyone I’ve met and played with, and here’s to another 5 years
 
See ya everyone
Lupla

Thread 'Chau, cuidensen'

Welp, i guess people were already aware i was gonna do this sooner or later.

It's been really fun for me but unfortunately i've been low on both time and motivation to keep sticking around ND, these 5 years have been great for me and i wanna thank all of you for being there, to deal with someone like me (especially in the early days) but now i'll retire from any position i'm currently in. I'm really happy to see how ND Lower Tiers have grew up and them being in much better and active hands than how it would be with someone like me around, i was there to give a needed push and now it's...
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* Five.

* It is the number of indifference.

* It is not too great, nor is it too little.

* Isn't it fascinating, to think that you are neither at the beginning or end of a great journey?



:pmd/ariados:
​
(Great choice of music! I swear I'm not biased.) I can't believe its already been five years since the introduction of National Dex. I first entered Pokemon Showdown in late Generation 8, but only watched battles from afar. As someone who was never a fan of the dex cuts, I loved the idea of National Dex. Being able to use previous mechanics like Megas and Z-Moves added a layer of depth to the game that I felt was leagues above Gen 8's Dynamax. When Generation 9 rolled around, I really started getting into National Dex OU. I had basic knowledge of the game, like the physical/special split, and what good team synergy looked like, so I started building teams with Pokemon and strategies that I thought were cool, including Ariados. Seriously, I was able to reach the 1800s on the ladder with an Ariados webs team, which I still consider a nice accomplishment. I love how this format is beginning to carve its own path now through the banning of Tera. National Dex feels like so much more than just Generation 9 without the dex cuts. It's simply amazing to think I've been part of this community for 3-4 years.

It was also fun bonding with all the cool folks in the ND room, I've made quite a few pals and friendly rivals in there. They really helped me become both a better teambuilder and battler. After growing tired of battling on ladder, it was nice just to chill in the ND room and watch some shared replays or critique some teams. I don't think I would be nearly as good a player that I am now without all the friends in the ND room that helped me improve. So, thanks to all the members of the National Dex community for staying Determined throughout these past 5 years. Now let's bring forth even greater memories going forward!



* I just hope

* National Dex will flourish

* for 555 more years.
 
When I began playing National Dex as a format, I played National Dex UU in spring 2021 because I thought Melmetal and Hoopa-Unbound legal was really funny, and often used Trick Room teams with the two. Some time after though, I quit Showdown. Some time after in summer 2022, I got really sick to the point I was quarantined in my own room. I was so bored and sad being in my room all day so I tried to find old things that made time fly. After some deep diving, I found Showdown again, looked at the formats, and National Dex struck my eye. Since then I've been on this site and in this section as an avid contributor and a large presence in the community.

I'll admit it though: As much as I've enjoyed my time here, there's definitely been some lows with myself in this section. From being in a lot of petty dramas with people, messing up some tier leadership in National Dex AMs, and truthfully my mouth and tone deafness with some situations leading to issues haven't caused good things for me at times. However, time and lesson learning are great healers and have helped me gradually move on from my past and not too recent bad habits. Saying this is of course a little embarrassing, but I feel like I have the need to acknowledge some issues as a frequent guy in this community and to let you guys know that at the end of the day; I care and cherish this community and never want to purposefully overstep and harm anyone in it. As young as I am I'm starting to get to a point where I cannot accept no control over immaturity. Take this as a promise of sorts.

But besides that it's been a pretty good time so far in the community, I genuinely enjoy contributing and interacting with the people in this section along with playing the tier too, even with Tera. Can't begin to state how big of a blessing it being banned was because now we can have a fresh start after some rocky developments in the past with it and I can't wait to see how we go from here. There's quite some work we need to get handled and I'm sure that when the time comes to cross those bridges we will succeed. No particular shoutouts to give out here as I'm sure the people that feel like they'd have one know that I care about them. Happy (belated) birthday National Dex...unlike some comments in this thread you aren't quite close to my age.

Happy.png
 
Toxic Ariados said:
Five.

* It is the number of indifference.

* It is not too great, nor is it too little.

* Isn't it fascinating, to think that you are neither at the beginning or end of a great journey?
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Did you write this or is it from something else? Trying to find it assuming #2.

Anywho NatDex has always been a great time and I've enjoyed playing off and on even since the Max-Fly SD Landorus T days taking 40^ from Ice Beam. Here is to another 5 years!
 
ant4456 said:
Did you write this or is it from something else? Trying to find it assuming #2.
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While I did write that on my own, it's mostly a reference to the first few lines from Undertale's 9th Anniversary Letter! I love that letter (and pretty much anything relating to Undertale/Deltarune if you couldn't already tell) and wanted to come up with my own description for the number five.
 
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