Note: Check out the May 2015 player of the week issue with Stratos! It will be referred to several times throughout this interview and is a worthwhile read in itself because of the extensive answers, although some might be slightly outdated at this point!
Stratos 3: Back with a Vengeance
A cornerstone of the Doubles metagame and community, for he has been around since the dawn of Doubles, under the moniker of Pwnemon. Despite a long period of Smogon absence, his track record remains impressive: a 2015 Doubles circuit victory, leading the Six Island Shitposters to DPL2 victory with a 6-0 record and becoming 2015 Fall Seasonal finalist only to lose to KyleCole. Stratos also had a long tenure as tier leader, and has been contributing for years with valuable resource posts, insightful metagame commentary, and countless streams he hosted for tournament matches.
After returning from his lengthy ban, he immediately dived back into the competition with a top 8 DLT finish, getting bought for 17000 credits in DPL 5, and getting drafted in Snake 3 for the Sky Tower Lindworms where he'll have to prove his worth as builder for Croven. Most recent is his recent Grand Prix win, where he beat Memoric in the finals.
Stratos is an undeniable part of Doubles history, a relic vying to redeem himself with his battling skills, whilst also being a notable presence in the Doubles chat with his constant wit, rallying for a Shaymin-Sky unban, and grabbing every opportunity to shit on jojoposters whenever they interrupt the important iDOLM@STER talk!
Hi Stratos, could you give us a brief introduction of yourself to kick the interview off?
I'm 22 years old and work as a software developer in Wisconsin, USA. I've been playing competitive Pokemon since I was 12.
Is there anything great about Maryland? (or in whatever bumfuck nowhere state you live now)
Maryland? No. That place sucks. It's in my rearview mirror forever. Wisconsin doesn't really have anything to recommend to tourists, but it's a nice, relaxing place to live and I generally love it here.
You went from Pwnemon to Stratos to eventually jumpy23; what are the origins for these names and how do you feel about them now?
Pwnemon is the name I came up with when I made my first Pokemon-related account on the now-defunct website The Pallet Tribune; you can probably follow the logic. It's a nice ironic username, but unfortunately I made it with no irony at all. All of my old accounts used it, including my Smogon account (which I actually wanted to make at the same time as my TPT account, but I read the rules first and saw that you had to be 13 to have a Smogon account!)
The previously untold story of why I switched usernames is that I noticed that I had started referring to myself as "Pwnemon" in my head in real-life contexts and I knew if I ever accidentally called myself that in front of another person I would have to start a new life in a different country. So I brainstormed cool usernames for a while and eventually hit upon Stratos because clouds have cool names.
When I got banned from Smogon in 2016, I was trying to come up with untraceable alt names to continue to read Firebot with, and in a moment of post-ironic inspiration I hit upon jumpy23. The "untraceable" bit didn't work out too well because I liked the username so much I changed to it on Discord and then that alt got banned, which certainly didn't help my case for getting unbanned.
These days I avoid the "Pwnemon" issue by not using the same username everywhere, so my personal identity isn't tied to any one username. I think I have a pretty good set of usernames to pick from when I'm making new accounts these days, I tend to like them all, though I don't use Pwnemon anywhere I want to be taken too seriously.
What made you change from the trademark eel you had over three years ago in favor of a standard anime girl profile picture Taiga?
Bad Joke Eel is probably a better avatar than an anime girl in an objective cosmic sense, but I want my avatar to be of one of my hobbies (and not Pokemon). It's a similar logic to why I wear my Pokemon t-shirt climbing and my climbing T-shirt to regionals—it's a quick way to signal shared interests to make friends.
What initially got you into Pokémon? And how did you get into competitive Doubles?
I was always into Pokemon as a kid, but what actually got me into competitive Pokemon was my dad—which certainly didn't stop him from ranting about how it was taking up too much of my time throughout high school. My brother had gone to a Pokemon TCG prerelease event (I don't know whose idea that was) and my dad asked if I wanted to come along to the next one. I was nine then, and played the TCG for a few years—that's actually the only trophy I have, from a state championships as a junior—and then my dad also let me know about "podcasts" and told me there were ones about competitive Pokemon. Those are what got me into the competitive video game (that's what The Pallet Tribune was).
I spent half a decade being a mediocre ladder player in singles tiers, my ladder peak was like 22 on the OU ladder in Gen 5 I think? And then one day DTC in #cap told me about DOU. I joined the IRC channel for it, built proto-WhiteWater as my first team, and the rest is history.
What are your favorite Pokémon in terms of aesthetics, and your favorites for competitive usage? On the contrary, are you any Pokemon you dislike seeing or using?
I think almost all Pokemon designs are pretty good, and that if you use a Pokemon enough competitively you'll eventually come around on its design. For example I used to think Amoonguss was stupid, but it was on a lot of my XY teams and now I think its design is cool. Of course, there are Pokemon for which I love the design, even if they suck competitively, such as Lanturn. My favorite Pokemon, Scizor, is also viable competitively (kinda...) so that's nice.
Some of my favorite Pokemon to use competitively are Talonflame, Kingdra, Kartana... What can I say, I'm an offense guy. As for Pokemon I hate to see, really there aren't many. Even stereotypical "annoying" Pokemon like Chansey just present an interesting challenge where you have to be hyper aware of your positioning. I guess I hate Pokemon with a strong luck element like Diancie.
Congratulations on being drafted for Snake! Finding yourself on a team within your first year back from getting unbanned is an impressive feat, but did it come as a surprise to you? Are you content with pairing with Croven on the Lindworms?
Honestly, I was excited when I got paired with Emilio in top 8 of Grand Prix, despite our horribly lopsided match count (in his favor). I knew he was the guy to beat in DOU right now, so I thought I had a pretty good chance at getting drafted if I could win our set—and I did! Of course, I'm not taking it for granted, and I knew there was a good chance I didn't get drafted as well, so I'm just happy to be here. Croven's an idiot but I'm looking forward to working with him, and hoping that he wins every week so I don't have to start. I'll do it if I have to, of course, but I'm not really looking forward to the possibility. More on that in the next question.
You mentioned before you become very nervous during games; do you believe for this reason it is a wise decision to pick you up a substitute, or are you disappointed you aren't starting?
Yeah, I do get stupid nervous, and I'm a big choke artist. You didn't ask, but I think it's because I really feel like I need to be acknowledged by the community as a great player (to justify the time I spend on this shit to myself?) and losing on a big stage like a Smogon draft tour or a tour finals is a really good way for that to not happen. So while on the one hand, it would have been a huge opportunity to be able to start, I don't think it would have been good for my mental health at all. It's probably better for me and my team that I play a support role, especially on my first big tournament in years.
How do you feel about the rest of the Snake Doubles playing field? In your 2015 interview you mentioned being a little afraid of managers defaulting to VGC players over those invested in Doubles. We have had tons of VGC-first players since that interview who have been successful in these big team tours. Do you feel like there is enough Doubles main representation among the draftees now? Is the high VGCer pick rate a worrisome trend despite their strong showings?
Back then, the larger Smogon community wasn't really taking DOU seriously, and getting wiped by Biosci bringing the same Terracott team to five SPL games in a row was the last thing we needed. If the DOU community wasn't good enough for a seasonal winner to be a safer draft pick than random VGC guy 11, I had a real fear that people would eventually say "Why is this shit still in SPL anyway?"
These days, I don't think that's a concern. So when I see random VGC guy 11 get drafted for SPL my thought process is generally hoping they have fun. I'm also ever so slightly involved in the VGC community now, so I know a lot of these guys and want them to do well for that reason. It still sucks for the guys who aren't good enough to get drafted over Ezrael or Human, but that should just be motivation to improve as an individual—I don't see it as a community crisis anymore.
We are reaching the end of current generation Doubles, do you feel like SM is now a solved metagame or do you believe there is still room for innovation left? Do you have any expectations for Snake in this regard?
Of course SM isn't a solved metagame. We had people saying BW was a solved metagame years ago, and look how that's changed. We might need a fresh set of eyes to shake things up, but I'm certain there's something that can change. Team tours are usually an environment which pushes that innovation to the forefront since people go hard on the prep. But I think what might really be the next big shake-up in the SM meta is when SS come out and we backdate new strategies—like how Knock Off rose to prominence in DPP OU after people realized how good it was in XY, or how Stoss Kang became a thing in XY thanks to SM.
Are there any tiering decisions you believe are worth looking at, during the final stages of SM?
The only thing I think we should reconsider is the Dark Void ban in SM. I don't think it's necessary at all with Fini, Koko, the Accuracy nerf, and being removed from Smeargle. And I like Darkrai, so I'd like to have a reason to use it, even if it was a gimmicky one.
Congratulations on your Grand Prix win! Do you believe it was a successful tournament concept?
I think that qualifying via 3 single-elim tournaments is overly influenced by bracket luck. I could have made playoffs by beating Frrf, soTsoT, duckpond, and poseidonTHEking; other people weren't so lucky. I also think asking people to play 3 bo3 sets in a single week (4 if they are also in Seasonal) is a bit much and prep is going to be devalued in that kind of scenario. That being said, I definitely want some kind of all-gens tournament to always exist in the DOU circuit (only partly because that favors me over just about anyone), and the Grand Prix wasn't a bad way to do it. It could just use some further refinement in the future, I think. Perhaps just a double-elimination bracket with playoff bo3 format would be better.
What did you find the most fun set to play in Grand Prix, and what was the tier you enjoyed the most?
All of my playoff sets were super fun, as I really enjoy the all gens bo3 format, and I got to play against three of my friends on the NPA Monarchs. Other than that, I'd have to say my set with Kiichikos, because I built a fun new team that I got to show off. I've said this before, but asking me to pick a favorite DOU gen is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. It's not that I don't have one, but my favorite changes every time it pisses me off. So right now it's probably BW or SM since I just lost to Terracott against Tommy.
XY has developed enormously over SM's lifetime with the newfound knowledge and improved playerbase. What do you find the best or most surprising innovations and developments? Do you believe there is still much room for adaptation here, as well?
I think XY still has room to change, but I think of the three DOU metas, it's the closest one to being solved. I've been loving the recent adaptations to counter THALKS builds (such as Memoric's grassless Zard or Tommy's Terracott) which are not exactly falling out of favor, but becoming less reliable. Similar to how Kangaskhan didn't cut worlds at VGC14. People, including me I guess, were kind of doom-saying about THALKS when it put a dominant showing in DPL, but I think the XY meta history is far from being finished.
(XY thread) You have been rallying hard for a reconsideration on Shaymin-Sky's ban, to the point of bringing even Darkmalice out of his grave. Do you believe an unban would positively impact the metagame? Are there any more tiering decisions, whether ban or unban, that you would like to see considered?
Of course I think an unban would positively impact the metagame, or I wouldn't be posting for it. You can see my logic in the XY thread (and you should go post your own opinion there!)
I would like to see a Mence unban in XY considered. I think we made a mistake banning Mence in the first place before we suspected Jirachi. We didn't really know what we were doing in XY at the point where we banned Mence—go check out the VR at the time. I understand talkingtree's point though and ultimately I'm not losing sleep over the fact that Mence is banned in XY.
You have mentioned being insecure about your BW games despite your positive Grand Prix record. Do you believe BW is still a worthwhile metagame or is it too dated and the metagame too RNG-reliant to include it into the Doubles circuit?
I don't think BW is as inconsistent as I think it is... if that makes sense. There are a lot of relevant 90% accurate moves and the like (way more than in SM for sure), which can be a problem, but the better player still usually wins. A large part of the reason I'm scared of BW is not the RNG, but because I think the meta is underexplored, and I still don't really know what works. If I was more confident in my ability to prep in BW, I would not have any reservations about choosing it first in a Prix bo3.
It would certainly be a massive shame for BW to ever be dropped from the circuit completely. OU official tournaments go all the way back to RBY, and I think BW DOU should always have a place in a Prix-style tour. Dropping it from DPL is a discussion we'll have to have at some point, but I'll probably be fighting to keep it when that happens.
^ I wrote that shit before my game vs Memoric for Prix finals. Delete this meta please
As you have played through the entire lifetime of all three generations of Doubles we've had; would you say they are more fun or satisfying than they were at their beginnings?
I definitely think they are, even if the meta has changed in a way to decrease creativity (which it definitely has in every gen). Simply because I think it's more fun to play at a higher level. Pokemon is such an addicting game to work toward mastery because the skill ceiling is incredibly high.
Could you give us a team (for any gen) that resembles your playing and building style and elaborate briefly on it?
(click for paste)
Here's one of my favorite BW teams. I think that perfectly played crackhead offense is the most consistent team-style, because it doesn't rely on having checks for things—if you are able to suffocate and overwhelm the opponent, you don't have to respond to their gameplan. A lot of times, slower teams just 'auto-lose' because they lack the ability to proactively respond to a threat before it stomps them, but that's never the case with a well-built offense.
I do think that offense is a harder style to play with because a single mistake sends the game careening off course (see my XY game vs Memoric), but I remember that back as far as 2015 Mizuhime said that I like to build teams that have theoretically better matchup spreads but are impossibly hard to use. I think that's definitely still true of me haha, I like to believe that I can push myself to be a perfect player and thus win with these teams.
You have been pretty active on the ladder, hitting #1 several times, but in 2015 you mentioned you were disappointed at its low skill level. Do you feel like the ladder has improved over time? Do you still believe we should divulge usage stats from tiering, especially now that we have a relevant metagame in DUU that is impacted by it?
Frankly, the last time I seriously laddered (DLT), I thought it was worse than ever, except maybe BW-era. You can totally hit #1 without being good, simply by knowing how to beat hard TR. As toxic as old ladderers like Pane and frania could be, I have to admit they were at least good at the game.
Trying to divulge usage from tiering is a waste of breath at this point, and I don't actually give a shit about DUU so I may as well not. A better approach would be having some alternate method to group mons in the DOU teambuilder / on analyses, because a lot of players will see a mon as "DOU" and think "well it must be viable in DOU then!" or vice versa. I think we as experienced players definitely underestimate the effect of analyses on new players—I remember Dragonite dropping from top 10 in usage to like 40th after I wrote the XY Dragonite analysis. That's the real fallout to me of mons being in the wrong tier, is newer players (or just those uninterested in engaging with the community) being misled.
Also, what are your favorite and least favorite gimmicks to face in DOU and what kind of advice do you have in regards to playing and building to achieve consistent results on the ladder?
I don't tend to like playing gimmicks or anything flowcharty in DOU, I hate them all to greater or lesser degrees. Even if it's an autowin, thanks for wasting my time. If you want to achieve consistent results on ladder, I have three pieces of advice.
1) Be legitimately good at the game.
2) Don't neglect your fullroom matchup.
3) Pay attention to your tilt. When I was going for the triple peak achievement in my signature, I would quit laddering for the day as soon as I lost a single game. It's so easy to say "I need to get the points back NOW," but that is the wrong attitude. Mental game is always important in Pokemon, but it's most important on the ladder.
Is there any player you have been notably impressed by in recent memory? Are there any retirees you believe would be able to still perform at consistently high level in DOU?
Back in the day, I used to watch every single seasonal set—that's not an exaggeration. I don't do that anymore, so it's harder to catch good players on the come-up. I guess I would have to say something basic like SMB to answer this question these days. There aren't many players I would admit are better than me, but he is one.
As for retirees, how old are we talking? People who quit playing in gen 6 (Laga, Audiosurfer, Nollan, etc)? Probably not unless they put in a lot of work, I think we as a community are better than we were back then. People who quit more recently, like Chase and frania, could probably jump right back into the fray though.
What are your tips to achieve success in tournaments? Any other advice to newcomers, those interested in trying out DOU, or those vying for a big team tournament spot?
Practice a ton. Even though I hate the ladder atm, it is the best way to get a lot of practice quickly. Immerse yourself in the metagame; watch as many tournament sets as you can (especially live!) Make friends with good players, and ask them for test games. The only reason I'm good at this game is the amount of time I've dumped into it. A lucky talented few can succeed with very little practice, but if that's not you, then you know what you need to do.
Also, be humble. Take advice from people. After every loss, look at what happened and ask how you could have won—even if you got haxed, there are usually things you could have done better. Never just blame "matchup" or "bullshit" for your losses and move on without learning anything. A loss is a great opportunity to learn, so don't squander it.
What tournament sets did you enjoy playing the most in your career? What were the most difficult sets you ever played? At their peak, who would be the players you would least want to play in an important best-of-3? What player historically was the most fun to play? (as in, who were you happy to get paired up against knowing you'll have a good set).
This is a bit of a left-field pick maybe, but I think the best game of Pokemon I ever played was game 2 vs shaian in the 2015 fall seasonal (winners' semis). I had a bad matchup but I think I played super well to end up winning the game (please don't break the illusion by telling me all the misplays I made).
The player I would least want to play is definitely Chase (I am a Rookie). I practiced with that guy a lot for SPL8 and he is the master of making experienced players look like they have no fucking clue what they're doing. I would get absolutely humiliated by some bullshit if I played him in a tournament.
I didn't ever really play the same player enough times to get an idea for who would give me a fun set, but I always enjoyed playing against friends.
Will you be participating in the next VGC season? If yes, are you excited for it? What do you believe would be the optimal ruleset?
I think I will be. I've already made plans to attend the Knoxville regional. There are a few things for me to be excited about:
First, you probably wouldn't think about this, but the actual physical ergonomics of a 3DS are a serious disadvantage for taller players. I have to sit with horrendous posture for 7 hours on Swiss day in order to prevent screenpeeking and keep the IR connected, and I can tell my brain isn't as sharp as it is on Showdown. Also the backlight fucking sucks. The Switch provides the possibility of these issues being mitigated / eliminated, and that's exciting.
Second, the decision to cut Pokemon from the national dex is great for competitive. GameFreak will certainly get rid of bugbears like Genies, Tapus, and probably most pseudo-legends, which are basically just impossible to balance. 2017 was a great format with the lower power level, and I'm hoping for another like that.
I don't think it's much use talking about optimal ruleset because VGC rulesets are quite predictable at this point. Gonna be Galar dex in 2020.
What are your expectations for the upcoming Sword and Shield game? Do you remain optimistic despite the abundance of negative press its development has had? What do you think of its newly introduced mechanics and their potential impact on Doubles?
It's going to be an awful single-player game, as all Pokemon games have been, because the battling isn't interesting PvE and that's the core gameplay mechanic. I don't really care though. What I do care about is that the battles are probably going to be laggy, unperformant, and maybe buggy, which will be annoying when playing in events. GameFreak is a terrible developer, and getting your hopes up is asking for sadness.
They're pretty good at designing a competitive game though. I'm really excited about replacing Mega with Dynamax which is just a much more interesting mechanic, since you're not locked into half a dozen archetypes as soon as you start building.
What spurred you on to return and participate on Smogon again despite your lengthy ban and less-than-stellar reputation on the site? What made you stick around the community during your ban period?
Bro, I just love Pokemon bro. Even when the community is pissing me off, the game is just excellent. I've never seen a competitive game with so much room for creativity at the top level; the skill ceiling is so high that I'm confident we've never even gotten close to scratching it.
How do you feel about the development of 'mish' over time? Are there any other memes you find either particularly funny or grating?
I generally try not to be "old man yells at cloud" about memes, I tend to find them pretty funny. The only real criterion I have is that the meme has to encourage creativity, I want to see the format used slightly differently each time. I have an entire folder on my PC for Loss because it's one of the most creative formats of all time.
I used to hate mish because there was no creativity in how you use it, but eventually I came around on it because I think it's fucking epic that our community has its own version of Frindle.
Rate the DPL meme threads by quality; and what are your favorite posts from these?
I don't know where I'd put the rest, but #1 is obviously the DPL2 meme thread.
Is there any retiree you miss being involved with the community?
Plenty. Probably Audiosurfer more than any, we were buds back in the day. I wish Totem would be more involved than he is, but I still talk with him daily.
What is your fondest memory of Doubles? How do you feel about how the tight-knit community has developed over time, relative to when we had our interview in mid-2015?
It's hard to pick a single favorite memory of Doubles, because I have a lot. This is a crazy pick, but my single favorite might be the saga of totem trying to download Cat Planet Cuties from the single seed in Johannesburg. Epic DOU chat moment.
One thing that disappoints me about the DOU community of late is that we've moved to discord, as this makes it a lot harder to recruit new members. But I don't know how to get a critical mass to migrate back to PS. I will confess that this is selfishly good for me so that I can chat when I'm on mobile, but that might be a bad thing anyway, lol—I should probably cut myself off from communication more often than I do. Otherwise, I think DOU's community is still pretty great—probably better than it was in my last interview because it's not being led by an annoying 17-year-old (me).
What is your opinion on the switch from old-school likes to the Facebook-style reaction images Smogon now has? Also, what was your favorite version that Smogon has gone through?
"Old-school" likes?
You may not be old enough to remember this, but there was a massive uproar when Smogon switched from vBulletin to XenForo (because of security vulnerabilities in vB that let rootinabox take down the entire site) and got likes in the process. People were adamant that likes would ruin the forum, although LizardMan may have gotten a blowjob out of it.
My opinion on likes is mixed, leaning negative. It's good to feel that your post is appreciated, and that happens a lot more now. But without likes, you have to respond to show you agree with a post, and that tends to involve adding your own viewpoint as well—so I think likes overall discourage discussion and lead to a deader forum. I've also noticed that when I refresh Smogon I check whether my like count has incremented, and that's a pretty disgusting behavior from myself that I am having trouble stopping.
I think a full react gamut is definitely an upgrade from just having likes. Now when someone makes an awful post, instead of having to leave an easily misinterpreted irony like, I can drop a haha/shocked/sad/angry react, so the poster knows I think their post is trash. I think people who oppose the full react system just hate all change. I also think people who opposed the move to the Pokemon reacts hate change—they're cute and I like them.
My favorite Smogon version is probably XenForo because the mobile website is easier to navigate, though I had gotten pretty adept at clicking extremely tiny links back when Smogon was on vBulletin—and it was fewer clicks to go from place to place. Probably current Smogon though because the dark theme is slick.
Who's the hottest Pokégirl, you kisama? Just kidding, but what are your favorite Firebot threads, posts, quotes, or comments?
Obviously the first mention here has to go to the Smogon Hate Thread. That was the greatest happening in my entire time on Smogon. The thread had something like 400 concurrent viewers and racked up 11 pages of posts in a few hours (and many of those posts were 5+ paragraphs long). Sadly the few attempts to recapture the magic haven't even come close.
Another great Firebot happening was the Subjugator thread, we had a lot of good riffs come out of that one. Individual posts I remember loving include Tobes's attempt to post like v and I'm sure there are plenty of great ones I don't remember. Most xenu threads were good, as you've alluded to.
What is the best log from Demantoid's quote database?
Not gonna reread all of his PR thread dumps to answer this. The one that comes to mind immediately is
[12:09 PM] miltankmilk: u ever build a team
[12:10 PM] miltankmilk: and then scrap it because if it wins, aray had a decent meta call
What are your hobbies and interests outside of playing Pokémon?
My main hobbies are board gaming and rock climbing. I'm a pretty decent board gamer and I have a few trophies and other awards from it. I'm a pretty bad rock climber, but it's fun, and a better way to meet girls than anything else I do. Aside from that, I play video games (especially platformers and strategy games) and watch a bit of anime. If you have any questions about these hobbies, feel free to ask away.
What are your favorite board games, and why?
My favorite game of all time is Robo Rally (1995 / 2005), probably at least somewhat due to nostalgia as I've been playing it since I was a little kid. Other favorites are Herbalism, Medici, Gangsters, Diplomacy, Hanabi... I tend to favor games with a strong interactive component and just enough luck to keep it interesting, and be less enthused by games that are more "multi-player solitaire" engine buildy types (though I end up playing a lot of those as well due to sheer quantity). I tend to hate co-op games, since they usually end up being one player making all of the decisions for everyone, though Hanabi is the exception for the obvious reason of no table talk being allowed.
As a last note, if any of you crazy gamers are ever at the World Boardgaming Championships in Seven Springs, PA, hit me up in PM because I'm always there.
What are some anime you'd recommend to the readers?
90% of anime is SHIT, but there's a lot of good stuff, like Fooly Cooly. It's hard to give "general recs" without knowing the taste of the person you're recommending stuff too, but anything on my 3x3 or that I've rated 5 on https://anilist.co/user/jumpy23/animelist is probably worth checking out.
ACCA / Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood / Nagi no Asukara / Tsuki ga Kirei / Toradora! / THE iDOLM@STER / AnoHana / Mushishi / 91 Days
Give us a THE iDOLM@STER character tier list!
S: Haruka, Chihaya
A: Makoto, Takane, Yukiho
B: Azusa, Hibiki, Yayoi
C: Iori, Ami, Mami, Miki
What is your favorite iDOLM@STER episode?
BLOOD TOTEM is gonna call me a little bitch for this pick, but absolutely Yakusoku. I don't wanna get too into it because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might watch im@s in the future, but I tend to like cry porn and that's what Yakusoku is. Just a real nice episode with a feel-good ending, and probably the ep with the highest production value in the show (which makes sense as it's the emotional climax of the show). Also Haruka and Chihaya are the main characters of it.
What is your favorite iDOLM@STER song/performance?
My favorite song from the show is Nemurihime. Imai Asami is a legend. Unfortunately, I don't think they've ever released a full a capella version of Nemurihime—but I still do love the full version. It was my first pick for karaoke with the boys in Japan.
I wish I could say my favorite performance is something chad and high IQ like Marionette Heart. Can't lie though; it's Yakusoku again.
THE iDOLM@STER was a notable omission from the renowned Doubles Anime Viability Rankings; what tier would you reasonably put it in?
Unironically tier 1. Great animation and great writing.
Do you regret buying your Haruka shirt? Do you regret spending over 500 USD (correct me if i'm wrong) on iDOLM@STER merchandise on your Japan trip?
It was less than 200 USD for the iDOLM@STER merch alone—I got a lot of other merch as well. You would not believe how difficult it is to find 765pro merch in Tokyo; Cinderella Girls is apparently infinitely more popular. The namuko idols also appear in Million Live, but all of the Million Live stuff I saw barely contained them at all—there was this cool official magazine for Million Live that I almost bought, but the entire thing contained two pages of 765pro. So as a general rule, I don't regret any of my iDOLM@STER merch purchases, simply because it contributes to demand for 765pro.
That being said, I wish I had gotten an iDOLM@STER t-shirt that I could actually wear outside.
Could you tell us more about your Japan trip? Give us a warstory!
Tokyo is awesome, man, I miss it. I'll try to keep this short and touch on the interesting anecdotes cuz I expect a lot of people aren't interested.
Spent a few days browsing anime merch with BLOOD TOTEM and shesukmedry. Totem talked me into buying all kinds of bullshit I didn't need, but when I was debating buying Amami Haruka card sleeves he said "look, man, I've pressured you to buy every item we've come across, and all I'm saying is, you shouldn't buy those." The porn in anime stores is just sitting out there, and it's based as hell. Real fun to browse porn with the boys.
Went to karaoke with the boys twice. Martin did a surprisingly good rendition of Rolling Girl, despite how fast that song is. Totem did not do nearly as good of a job trying to sing Radiant Force. internet put Never Gonna Give You Up in the queue and its name came up in katakana. When I was trying to read the next song's title, I was like "Give... you... up? ........ Ok who the fuck put this in here." It was great.
Went into a Don Quixote and there was a Tenga Egg party pack sitting on the shelf. That was the actual name of the item. We all got aggressively approached on the street in Shinjuku by a black man (the only one we saw the entire time) inviting us into a brothel.
We climbed Mt Fuji and let me tell you, that shit is the biggest tourist trap. It's 500Y for a water bottle on the mountain and I was not prepared, so I ended up spending something like 3K yen on water. There were so many people climbing that there was a literal km-long queue to the summit. The views were amazing though.
Some of the subway ads were everywhere and became their own legend. There was one that just said Burger is American Beef. We ended up eating at that restaurant; advertising works I guess. There's a lot more I want to say, but I'll cut it off here.
Whats your biggest real life pet peeve?
Of the normal things people do, probably chewing with your mouth open. I had a roommate in college who did this, and I had to leave the room every time he was eating. He always ate in the dorm, too.
Is Tulsi Gabbard the #1 hottest candidate of all time? Do you think finding a candidate 'hot' is valid reason to vote for them?
If you're asking whether Justin Trudeau's election was legitimate—then no.
As for the most important question of them all: who is your waifu?
Real answer—there are a ton of anime characters I like (of course), but I'm almost never "attracted" to them. They're almost all in high school, dude, that's just too weird. I'm 22 now! So I don't have one.
Is there anything we missed in the interview that you would like to touch on. Anything else to say, or some shoutouts of any kind?
Shoutout to all the people who supported me getting unbanned. It means a lot to me to get another chance.
Stratos 3: Back with a Vengeance
A cornerstone of the Doubles metagame and community, for he has been around since the dawn of Doubles, under the moniker of Pwnemon. Despite a long period of Smogon absence, his track record remains impressive: a 2015 Doubles circuit victory, leading the Six Island Shitposters to DPL2 victory with a 6-0 record and becoming 2015 Fall Seasonal finalist only to lose to KyleCole. Stratos also had a long tenure as tier leader, and has been contributing for years with valuable resource posts, insightful metagame commentary, and countless streams he hosted for tournament matches.
After returning from his lengthy ban, he immediately dived back into the competition with a top 8 DLT finish, getting bought for 17000 credits in DPL 5, and getting drafted in Snake 3 for the Sky Tower Lindworms where he'll have to prove his worth as builder for Croven. Most recent is his recent Grand Prix win, where he beat Memoric in the finals.
Stratos is an undeniable part of Doubles history, a relic vying to redeem himself with his battling skills, whilst also being a notable presence in the Doubles chat with his constant wit, rallying for a Shaymin-Sky unban, and grabbing every opportunity to shit on jojoposters whenever they interrupt the important iDOLM@STER talk!
Hi Stratos, could you give us a brief introduction of yourself to kick the interview off?
I'm 22 years old and work as a software developer in Wisconsin, USA. I've been playing competitive Pokemon since I was 12.
Is there anything great about Maryland? (or in whatever bumfuck nowhere state you live now)
Maryland? No. That place sucks. It's in my rearview mirror forever. Wisconsin doesn't really have anything to recommend to tourists, but it's a nice, relaxing place to live and I generally love it here.
You went from Pwnemon to Stratos to eventually jumpy23; what are the origins for these names and how do you feel about them now?
Pwnemon is the name I came up with when I made my first Pokemon-related account on the now-defunct website The Pallet Tribune; you can probably follow the logic. It's a nice ironic username, but unfortunately I made it with no irony at all. All of my old accounts used it, including my Smogon account (which I actually wanted to make at the same time as my TPT account, but I read the rules first and saw that you had to be 13 to have a Smogon account!)
The previously untold story of why I switched usernames is that I noticed that I had started referring to myself as "Pwnemon" in my head in real-life contexts and I knew if I ever accidentally called myself that in front of another person I would have to start a new life in a different country. So I brainstormed cool usernames for a while and eventually hit upon Stratos because clouds have cool names.
When I got banned from Smogon in 2016, I was trying to come up with untraceable alt names to continue to read Firebot with, and in a moment of post-ironic inspiration I hit upon jumpy23. The "untraceable" bit didn't work out too well because I liked the username so much I changed to it on Discord and then that alt got banned, which certainly didn't help my case for getting unbanned.
These days I avoid the "Pwnemon" issue by not using the same username everywhere, so my personal identity isn't tied to any one username. I think I have a pretty good set of usernames to pick from when I'm making new accounts these days, I tend to like them all, though I don't use Pwnemon anywhere I want to be taken too seriously.
What made you change from the trademark eel you had over three years ago in favor of a standard anime girl profile picture Taiga?
Bad Joke Eel is probably a better avatar than an anime girl in an objective cosmic sense, but I want my avatar to be of one of my hobbies (and not Pokemon). It's a similar logic to why I wear my Pokemon t-shirt climbing and my climbing T-shirt to regionals—it's a quick way to signal shared interests to make friends.
What initially got you into Pokémon? And how did you get into competitive Doubles?
I was always into Pokemon as a kid, but what actually got me into competitive Pokemon was my dad—which certainly didn't stop him from ranting about how it was taking up too much of my time throughout high school. My brother had gone to a Pokemon TCG prerelease event (I don't know whose idea that was) and my dad asked if I wanted to come along to the next one. I was nine then, and played the TCG for a few years—that's actually the only trophy I have, from a state championships as a junior—and then my dad also let me know about "podcasts" and told me there were ones about competitive Pokemon. Those are what got me into the competitive video game (that's what The Pallet Tribune was).
I spent half a decade being a mediocre ladder player in singles tiers, my ladder peak was like 22 on the OU ladder in Gen 5 I think? And then one day DTC in #cap told me about DOU. I joined the IRC channel for it, built proto-WhiteWater as my first team, and the rest is history.
What are your favorite Pokémon in terms of aesthetics, and your favorites for competitive usage? On the contrary, are you any Pokemon you dislike seeing or using?
I think almost all Pokemon designs are pretty good, and that if you use a Pokemon enough competitively you'll eventually come around on its design. For example I used to think Amoonguss was stupid, but it was on a lot of my XY teams and now I think its design is cool. Of course, there are Pokemon for which I love the design, even if they suck competitively, such as Lanturn. My favorite Pokemon, Scizor, is also viable competitively (kinda...) so that's nice.
Some of my favorite Pokemon to use competitively are Talonflame, Kingdra, Kartana... What can I say, I'm an offense guy. As for Pokemon I hate to see, really there aren't many. Even stereotypical "annoying" Pokemon like Chansey just present an interesting challenge where you have to be hyper aware of your positioning. I guess I hate Pokemon with a strong luck element like Diancie.
Congratulations on being drafted for Snake! Finding yourself on a team within your first year back from getting unbanned is an impressive feat, but did it come as a surprise to you? Are you content with pairing with Croven on the Lindworms?
Honestly, I was excited when I got paired with Emilio in top 8 of Grand Prix, despite our horribly lopsided match count (in his favor). I knew he was the guy to beat in DOU right now, so I thought I had a pretty good chance at getting drafted if I could win our set—and I did! Of course, I'm not taking it for granted, and I knew there was a good chance I didn't get drafted as well, so I'm just happy to be here. Croven's an idiot but I'm looking forward to working with him, and hoping that he wins every week so I don't have to start. I'll do it if I have to, of course, but I'm not really looking forward to the possibility. More on that in the next question.
You mentioned before you become very nervous during games; do you believe for this reason it is a wise decision to pick you up a substitute, or are you disappointed you aren't starting?
Yeah, I do get stupid nervous, and I'm a big choke artist. You didn't ask, but I think it's because I really feel like I need to be acknowledged by the community as a great player (to justify the time I spend on this shit to myself?) and losing on a big stage like a Smogon draft tour or a tour finals is a really good way for that to not happen. So while on the one hand, it would have been a huge opportunity to be able to start, I don't think it would have been good for my mental health at all. It's probably better for me and my team that I play a support role, especially on my first big tournament in years.
How do you feel about the rest of the Snake Doubles playing field? In your 2015 interview you mentioned being a little afraid of managers defaulting to VGC players over those invested in Doubles. We have had tons of VGC-first players since that interview who have been successful in these big team tours. Do you feel like there is enough Doubles main representation among the draftees now? Is the high VGCer pick rate a worrisome trend despite their strong showings?
Back then, the larger Smogon community wasn't really taking DOU seriously, and getting wiped by Biosci bringing the same Terracott team to five SPL games in a row was the last thing we needed. If the DOU community wasn't good enough for a seasonal winner to be a safer draft pick than random VGC guy 11, I had a real fear that people would eventually say "Why is this shit still in SPL anyway?"
These days, I don't think that's a concern. So when I see random VGC guy 11 get drafted for SPL my thought process is generally hoping they have fun. I'm also ever so slightly involved in the VGC community now, so I know a lot of these guys and want them to do well for that reason. It still sucks for the guys who aren't good enough to get drafted over Ezrael or Human, but that should just be motivation to improve as an individual—I don't see it as a community crisis anymore.
We are reaching the end of current generation Doubles, do you feel like SM is now a solved metagame or do you believe there is still room for innovation left? Do you have any expectations for Snake in this regard?
Of course SM isn't a solved metagame. We had people saying BW was a solved metagame years ago, and look how that's changed. We might need a fresh set of eyes to shake things up, but I'm certain there's something that can change. Team tours are usually an environment which pushes that innovation to the forefront since people go hard on the prep. But I think what might really be the next big shake-up in the SM meta is when SS come out and we backdate new strategies—like how Knock Off rose to prominence in DPP OU after people realized how good it was in XY, or how Stoss Kang became a thing in XY thanks to SM.
Are there any tiering decisions you believe are worth looking at, during the final stages of SM?
The only thing I think we should reconsider is the Dark Void ban in SM. I don't think it's necessary at all with Fini, Koko, the Accuracy nerf, and being removed from Smeargle. And I like Darkrai, so I'd like to have a reason to use it, even if it was a gimmicky one.
Congratulations on your Grand Prix win! Do you believe it was a successful tournament concept?
I think that qualifying via 3 single-elim tournaments is overly influenced by bracket luck. I could have made playoffs by beating Frrf, soTsoT, duckpond, and poseidonTHEking; other people weren't so lucky. I also think asking people to play 3 bo3 sets in a single week (4 if they are also in Seasonal) is a bit much and prep is going to be devalued in that kind of scenario. That being said, I definitely want some kind of all-gens tournament to always exist in the DOU circuit (only partly because that favors me over just about anyone), and the Grand Prix wasn't a bad way to do it. It could just use some further refinement in the future, I think. Perhaps just a double-elimination bracket with playoff bo3 format would be better.
What did you find the most fun set to play in Grand Prix, and what was the tier you enjoyed the most?
All of my playoff sets were super fun, as I really enjoy the all gens bo3 format, and I got to play against three of my friends on the NPA Monarchs. Other than that, I'd have to say my set with Kiichikos, because I built a fun new team that I got to show off. I've said this before, but asking me to pick a favorite DOU gen is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. It's not that I don't have one, but my favorite changes every time it pisses me off. So right now it's probably BW or SM since I just lost to Terracott against Tommy.
XY has developed enormously over SM's lifetime with the newfound knowledge and improved playerbase. What do you find the best or most surprising innovations and developments? Do you believe there is still much room for adaptation here, as well?
I think XY still has room to change, but I think of the three DOU metas, it's the closest one to being solved. I've been loving the recent adaptations to counter THALKS builds (such as Memoric's grassless Zard or Tommy's Terracott) which are not exactly falling out of favor, but becoming less reliable. Similar to how Kangaskhan didn't cut worlds at VGC14. People, including me I guess, were kind of doom-saying about THALKS when it put a dominant showing in DPL, but I think the XY meta history is far from being finished.
(XY thread) You have been rallying hard for a reconsideration on Shaymin-Sky's ban, to the point of bringing even Darkmalice out of his grave. Do you believe an unban would positively impact the metagame? Are there any more tiering decisions, whether ban or unban, that you would like to see considered?
Of course I think an unban would positively impact the metagame, or I wouldn't be posting for it. You can see my logic in the XY thread (and you should go post your own opinion there!)
I would like to see a Mence unban in XY considered. I think we made a mistake banning Mence in the first place before we suspected Jirachi. We didn't really know what we were doing in XY at the point where we banned Mence—go check out the VR at the time. I understand talkingtree's point though and ultimately I'm not losing sleep over the fact that Mence is banned in XY.
You have mentioned being insecure about your BW games despite your positive Grand Prix record. Do you believe BW is still a worthwhile metagame or is it too dated and the metagame too RNG-reliant to include it into the Doubles circuit?
I don't think BW is as inconsistent as I think it is... if that makes sense. There are a lot of relevant 90% accurate moves and the like (way more than in SM for sure), which can be a problem, but the better player still usually wins. A large part of the reason I'm scared of BW is not the RNG, but because I think the meta is underexplored, and I still don't really know what works. If I was more confident in my ability to prep in BW, I would not have any reservations about choosing it first in a Prix bo3.
It would certainly be a massive shame for BW to ever be dropped from the circuit completely. OU official tournaments go all the way back to RBY, and I think BW DOU should always have a place in a Prix-style tour. Dropping it from DPL is a discussion we'll have to have at some point, but I'll probably be fighting to keep it when that happens.
^ I wrote that shit before my game vs Memoric for Prix finals. Delete this meta please
As you have played through the entire lifetime of all three generations of Doubles we've had; would you say they are more fun or satisfying than they were at their beginnings?
I definitely think they are, even if the meta has changed in a way to decrease creativity (which it definitely has in every gen). Simply because I think it's more fun to play at a higher level. Pokemon is such an addicting game to work toward mastery because the skill ceiling is incredibly high.
Could you give us a team (for any gen) that resembles your playing and building style and elaborate briefly on it?
(click for paste)Here's one of my favorite BW teams. I think that perfectly played crackhead offense is the most consistent team-style, because it doesn't rely on having checks for things—if you are able to suffocate and overwhelm the opponent, you don't have to respond to their gameplan. A lot of times, slower teams just 'auto-lose' because they lack the ability to proactively respond to a threat before it stomps them, but that's never the case with a well-built offense.
I do think that offense is a harder style to play with because a single mistake sends the game careening off course (see my XY game vs Memoric), but I remember that back as far as 2015 Mizuhime said that I like to build teams that have theoretically better matchup spreads but are impossibly hard to use. I think that's definitely still true of me haha, I like to believe that I can push myself to be a perfect player and thus win with these teams.
You have been pretty active on the ladder, hitting #1 several times, but in 2015 you mentioned you were disappointed at its low skill level. Do you feel like the ladder has improved over time? Do you still believe we should divulge usage stats from tiering, especially now that we have a relevant metagame in DUU that is impacted by it?
Frankly, the last time I seriously laddered (DLT), I thought it was worse than ever, except maybe BW-era. You can totally hit #1 without being good, simply by knowing how to beat hard TR. As toxic as old ladderers like Pane and frania could be, I have to admit they were at least good at the game.
Trying to divulge usage from tiering is a waste of breath at this point, and I don't actually give a shit about DUU so I may as well not. A better approach would be having some alternate method to group mons in the DOU teambuilder / on analyses, because a lot of players will see a mon as "DOU" and think "well it must be viable in DOU then!" or vice versa. I think we as experienced players definitely underestimate the effect of analyses on new players—I remember Dragonite dropping from top 10 in usage to like 40th after I wrote the XY Dragonite analysis. That's the real fallout to me of mons being in the wrong tier, is newer players (or just those uninterested in engaging with the community) being misled.
Also, what are your favorite and least favorite gimmicks to face in DOU and what kind of advice do you have in regards to playing and building to achieve consistent results on the ladder?
I don't tend to like playing gimmicks or anything flowcharty in DOU, I hate them all to greater or lesser degrees. Even if it's an autowin, thanks for wasting my time. If you want to achieve consistent results on ladder, I have three pieces of advice.
1) Be legitimately good at the game.
2) Don't neglect your fullroom matchup.
3) Pay attention to your tilt. When I was going for the triple peak achievement in my signature, I would quit laddering for the day as soon as I lost a single game. It's so easy to say "I need to get the points back NOW," but that is the wrong attitude. Mental game is always important in Pokemon, but it's most important on the ladder.
Is there any player you have been notably impressed by in recent memory? Are there any retirees you believe would be able to still perform at consistently high level in DOU?
Back in the day, I used to watch every single seasonal set—that's not an exaggeration. I don't do that anymore, so it's harder to catch good players on the come-up. I guess I would have to say something basic like SMB to answer this question these days. There aren't many players I would admit are better than me, but he is one.
As for retirees, how old are we talking? People who quit playing in gen 6 (Laga, Audiosurfer, Nollan, etc)? Probably not unless they put in a lot of work, I think we as a community are better than we were back then. People who quit more recently, like Chase and frania, could probably jump right back into the fray though.
What are your tips to achieve success in tournaments? Any other advice to newcomers, those interested in trying out DOU, or those vying for a big team tournament spot?
Practice a ton. Even though I hate the ladder atm, it is the best way to get a lot of practice quickly. Immerse yourself in the metagame; watch as many tournament sets as you can (especially live!) Make friends with good players, and ask them for test games. The only reason I'm good at this game is the amount of time I've dumped into it. A lucky talented few can succeed with very little practice, but if that's not you, then you know what you need to do.
Also, be humble. Take advice from people. After every loss, look at what happened and ask how you could have won—even if you got haxed, there are usually things you could have done better. Never just blame "matchup" or "bullshit" for your losses and move on without learning anything. A loss is a great opportunity to learn, so don't squander it.
What tournament sets did you enjoy playing the most in your career? What were the most difficult sets you ever played? At their peak, who would be the players you would least want to play in an important best-of-3? What player historically was the most fun to play? (as in, who were you happy to get paired up against knowing you'll have a good set).
This is a bit of a left-field pick maybe, but I think the best game of Pokemon I ever played was game 2 vs shaian in the 2015 fall seasonal (winners' semis). I had a bad matchup but I think I played super well to end up winning the game (please don't break the illusion by telling me all the misplays I made).
The player I would least want to play is definitely Chase (I am a Rookie). I practiced with that guy a lot for SPL8 and he is the master of making experienced players look like they have no fucking clue what they're doing. I would get absolutely humiliated by some bullshit if I played him in a tournament.
I didn't ever really play the same player enough times to get an idea for who would give me a fun set, but I always enjoyed playing against friends.
Will you be participating in the next VGC season? If yes, are you excited for it? What do you believe would be the optimal ruleset?
I think I will be. I've already made plans to attend the Knoxville regional. There are a few things for me to be excited about:
First, you probably wouldn't think about this, but the actual physical ergonomics of a 3DS are a serious disadvantage for taller players. I have to sit with horrendous posture for 7 hours on Swiss day in order to prevent screenpeeking and keep the IR connected, and I can tell my brain isn't as sharp as it is on Showdown. Also the backlight fucking sucks. The Switch provides the possibility of these issues being mitigated / eliminated, and that's exciting.
Second, the decision to cut Pokemon from the national dex is great for competitive. GameFreak will certainly get rid of bugbears like Genies, Tapus, and probably most pseudo-legends, which are basically just impossible to balance. 2017 was a great format with the lower power level, and I'm hoping for another like that.
I don't think it's much use talking about optimal ruleset because VGC rulesets are quite predictable at this point. Gonna be Galar dex in 2020.
What are your expectations for the upcoming Sword and Shield game? Do you remain optimistic despite the abundance of negative press its development has had? What do you think of its newly introduced mechanics and their potential impact on Doubles?
It's going to be an awful single-player game, as all Pokemon games have been, because the battling isn't interesting PvE and that's the core gameplay mechanic. I don't really care though. What I do care about is that the battles are probably going to be laggy, unperformant, and maybe buggy, which will be annoying when playing in events. GameFreak is a terrible developer, and getting your hopes up is asking for sadness.
They're pretty good at designing a competitive game though. I'm really excited about replacing Mega with Dynamax which is just a much more interesting mechanic, since you're not locked into half a dozen archetypes as soon as you start building.
What spurred you on to return and participate on Smogon again despite your lengthy ban and less-than-stellar reputation on the site? What made you stick around the community during your ban period?
Bro, I just love Pokemon bro. Even when the community is pissing me off, the game is just excellent. I've never seen a competitive game with so much room for creativity at the top level; the skill ceiling is so high that I'm confident we've never even gotten close to scratching it.
How do you feel about the development of 'mish' over time? Are there any other memes you find either particularly funny or grating?
I generally try not to be "old man yells at cloud" about memes, I tend to find them pretty funny. The only real criterion I have is that the meme has to encourage creativity, I want to see the format used slightly differently each time. I have an entire folder on my PC for Loss because it's one of the most creative formats of all time.
I used to hate mish because there was no creativity in how you use it, but eventually I came around on it because I think it's fucking epic that our community has its own version of Frindle.
Rate the DPL meme threads by quality; and what are your favorite posts from these?
I don't know where I'd put the rest, but #1 is obviously the DPL2 meme thread.
Is there any retiree you miss being involved with the community?
Plenty. Probably Audiosurfer more than any, we were buds back in the day. I wish Totem would be more involved than he is, but I still talk with him daily.
What is your fondest memory of Doubles? How do you feel about how the tight-knit community has developed over time, relative to when we had our interview in mid-2015?
It's hard to pick a single favorite memory of Doubles, because I have a lot. This is a crazy pick, but my single favorite might be the saga of totem trying to download Cat Planet Cuties from the single seed in Johannesburg. Epic DOU chat moment.
One thing that disappoints me about the DOU community of late is that we've moved to discord, as this makes it a lot harder to recruit new members. But I don't know how to get a critical mass to migrate back to PS. I will confess that this is selfishly good for me so that I can chat when I'm on mobile, but that might be a bad thing anyway, lol—I should probably cut myself off from communication more often than I do. Otherwise, I think DOU's community is still pretty great—probably better than it was in my last interview because it's not being led by an annoying 17-year-old (me).
What is your opinion on the switch from old-school likes to the Facebook-style reaction images Smogon now has? Also, what was your favorite version that Smogon has gone through?
"Old-school" likes?
You may not be old enough to remember this, but there was a massive uproar when Smogon switched from vBulletin to XenForo (because of security vulnerabilities in vB that let rootinabox take down the entire site) and got likes in the process. People were adamant that likes would ruin the forum, although LizardMan may have gotten a blowjob out of it.
My opinion on likes is mixed, leaning negative. It's good to feel that your post is appreciated, and that happens a lot more now. But without likes, you have to respond to show you agree with a post, and that tends to involve adding your own viewpoint as well—so I think likes overall discourage discussion and lead to a deader forum. I've also noticed that when I refresh Smogon I check whether my like count has incremented, and that's a pretty disgusting behavior from myself that I am having trouble stopping.
I think a full react gamut is definitely an upgrade from just having likes. Now when someone makes an awful post, instead of having to leave an easily misinterpreted irony like, I can drop a haha/shocked/sad/angry react, so the poster knows I think their post is trash. I think people who oppose the full react system just hate all change. I also think people who opposed the move to the Pokemon reacts hate change—they're cute and I like them.
My favorite Smogon version is probably XenForo because the mobile website is easier to navigate, though I had gotten pretty adept at clicking extremely tiny links back when Smogon was on vBulletin—and it was fewer clicks to go from place to place. Probably current Smogon though because the dark theme is slick.
Who's the hottest Pokégirl, you kisama? Just kidding, but what are your favorite Firebot threads, posts, quotes, or comments?
Obviously the first mention here has to go to the Smogon Hate Thread. That was the greatest happening in my entire time on Smogon. The thread had something like 400 concurrent viewers and racked up 11 pages of posts in a few hours (and many of those posts were 5+ paragraphs long). Sadly the few attempts to recapture the magic haven't even come close.
Another great Firebot happening was the Subjugator thread, we had a lot of good riffs come out of that one. Individual posts I remember loving include Tobes's attempt to post like v and I'm sure there are plenty of great ones I don't remember. Most xenu threads were good, as you've alluded to.
What is the best log from Demantoid's quote database?
Not gonna reread all of his PR thread dumps to answer this. The one that comes to mind immediately is
[12:09 PM] miltankmilk: u ever build a team
[12:10 PM] miltankmilk: and then scrap it because if it wins, aray had a decent meta call
What are your hobbies and interests outside of playing Pokémon?
My main hobbies are board gaming and rock climbing. I'm a pretty decent board gamer and I have a few trophies and other awards from it. I'm a pretty bad rock climber, but it's fun, and a better way to meet girls than anything else I do. Aside from that, I play video games (especially platformers and strategy games) and watch a bit of anime. If you have any questions about these hobbies, feel free to ask away.
What are your favorite board games, and why?
My favorite game of all time is Robo Rally (1995 / 2005), probably at least somewhat due to nostalgia as I've been playing it since I was a little kid. Other favorites are Herbalism, Medici, Gangsters, Diplomacy, Hanabi... I tend to favor games with a strong interactive component and just enough luck to keep it interesting, and be less enthused by games that are more "multi-player solitaire" engine buildy types (though I end up playing a lot of those as well due to sheer quantity). I tend to hate co-op games, since they usually end up being one player making all of the decisions for everyone, though Hanabi is the exception for the obvious reason of no table talk being allowed.
As a last note, if any of you crazy gamers are ever at the World Boardgaming Championships in Seven Springs, PA, hit me up in PM because I'm always there.
What are some anime you'd recommend to the readers?
90% of anime is SHIT, but there's a lot of good stuff, like Fooly Cooly. It's hard to give "general recs" without knowing the taste of the person you're recommending stuff too, but anything on my 3x3 or that I've rated 5 on https://anilist.co/user/jumpy23/animelist is probably worth checking out.
ACCA / Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood / Nagi no Asukara / Tsuki ga Kirei / Toradora! / THE iDOLM@STER / AnoHana / Mushishi / 91 Days
Give us a THE iDOLM@STER character tier list!
S: Haruka, Chihaya
A: Makoto, Takane, Yukiho
B: Azusa, Hibiki, Yayoi
C: Iori, Ami, Mami, Miki
What is your favorite iDOLM@STER episode?
BLOOD TOTEM is gonna call me a little bitch for this pick, but absolutely Yakusoku. I don't wanna get too into it because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might watch im@s in the future, but I tend to like cry porn and that's what Yakusoku is. Just a real nice episode with a feel-good ending, and probably the ep with the highest production value in the show (which makes sense as it's the emotional climax of the show). Also Haruka and Chihaya are the main characters of it.
What is your favorite iDOLM@STER song/performance?
My favorite song from the show is Nemurihime. Imai Asami is a legend. Unfortunately, I don't think they've ever released a full a capella version of Nemurihime—but I still do love the full version. It was my first pick for karaoke with the boys in Japan.
I wish I could say my favorite performance is something chad and high IQ like Marionette Heart. Can't lie though; it's Yakusoku again.
THE iDOLM@STER was a notable omission from the renowned Doubles Anime Viability Rankings; what tier would you reasonably put it in?
Unironically tier 1. Great animation and great writing.
Do you regret buying your Haruka shirt? Do you regret spending over 500 USD (correct me if i'm wrong) on iDOLM@STER merchandise on your Japan trip?
It was less than 200 USD for the iDOLM@STER merch alone—I got a lot of other merch as well. You would not believe how difficult it is to find 765pro merch in Tokyo; Cinderella Girls is apparently infinitely more popular. The namuko idols also appear in Million Live, but all of the Million Live stuff I saw barely contained them at all—there was this cool official magazine for Million Live that I almost bought, but the entire thing contained two pages of 765pro. So as a general rule, I don't regret any of my iDOLM@STER merch purchases, simply because it contributes to demand for 765pro.
That being said, I wish I had gotten an iDOLM@STER t-shirt that I could actually wear outside.
Could you tell us more about your Japan trip? Give us a warstory!
Tokyo is awesome, man, I miss it. I'll try to keep this short and touch on the interesting anecdotes cuz I expect a lot of people aren't interested.
Spent a few days browsing anime merch with BLOOD TOTEM and shesukmedry. Totem talked me into buying all kinds of bullshit I didn't need, but when I was debating buying Amami Haruka card sleeves he said "look, man, I've pressured you to buy every item we've come across, and all I'm saying is, you shouldn't buy those." The porn in anime stores is just sitting out there, and it's based as hell. Real fun to browse porn with the boys.
Went to karaoke with the boys twice. Martin did a surprisingly good rendition of Rolling Girl, despite how fast that song is. Totem did not do nearly as good of a job trying to sing Radiant Force. internet put Never Gonna Give You Up in the queue and its name came up in katakana. When I was trying to read the next song's title, I was like "Give... you... up? ........ Ok who the fuck put this in here." It was great.
Went into a Don Quixote and there was a Tenga Egg party pack sitting on the shelf. That was the actual name of the item. We all got aggressively approached on the street in Shinjuku by a black man (the only one we saw the entire time) inviting us into a brothel.
We climbed Mt Fuji and let me tell you, that shit is the biggest tourist trap. It's 500Y for a water bottle on the mountain and I was not prepared, so I ended up spending something like 3K yen on water. There were so many people climbing that there was a literal km-long queue to the summit. The views were amazing though.
Some of the subway ads were everywhere and became their own legend. There was one that just said Burger is American Beef. We ended up eating at that restaurant; advertising works I guess. There's a lot more I want to say, but I'll cut it off here.
Whats your biggest real life pet peeve?
Of the normal things people do, probably chewing with your mouth open. I had a roommate in college who did this, and I had to leave the room every time he was eating. He always ate in the dorm, too.
Is Tulsi Gabbard the #1 hottest candidate of all time? Do you think finding a candidate 'hot' is valid reason to vote for them?
If you're asking whether Justin Trudeau's election was legitimate—then no.
As for the most important question of them all: who is your waifu?
Real answer—there are a ton of anime characters I like (of course), but I'm almost never "attracted" to them. They're almost all in high school, dude, that's just too weird. I'm 22 now! So I don't have one.
Is there anything we missed in the interview that you would like to touch on. Anything else to say, or some shoutouts of any kind?
Shoutout to all the people who supported me getting unbanned. It means a lot to me to get another chance.
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