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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.
This is the Commencement thread for GSC PL V. This thread is a place for players to discuss the tournament. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the hosts. The reward for winning this tournament is a custom avatar to be used on Pokemon Showdown.
There will be 6 teams in this tournament. Each team will have a manager and a co-manager. There are eight slots for each team every week, and each team must have at least 10 players picked from the auction, which will be held in the GSCPL groupchat on Pokemon Showdown. The live auction will be in Snake order in regards to how teams nominate players. Each team will be given 100,000 credits with which to conduct their auction. The auction will be held when there can be representative from every team present. The Player Signups thread will be locked 24 hours before the auction.
Reminder that following this decision, each team will be only one manager self buy, costing 20k. Managers must let us know if they plan to buy themselves before the Players Signups close!
There is no retains!
This year we will be using the Belgian Pro League format. Every team will be playing every other team for the first 5 weeks of the tournament. For each win, a team is awarded two points. For each tie, a team is awarded one point. For each loss, a team is awarded no points. We will then have a three week round robin between the top four teams. Then the top two teams will move on to the finals.
Managers should DM one of the hosts (which host will be made clear before the deadline) to submit their lineups each week. The deadline to DM hosts with a lineup will be at the same time as the deadline for the previous round. However, DMing a host early is allowed and encouraged; the earlier the hosts get all the lineups in, the earlier they can release the next round!
At any point in the week, a team can substitute out a player from a game if they are inactive or cannot play the game due to IRL issues or a schedule that does not match up at all with their opponent. In order to make a substitution, the manager must post the substitution in the week thread, tagging the hosts, the opposing managers, and the opposing player, stating which player is being subbed out and who the substituting player is. However, a player who has been substituted out for a week cannot be substituted back into a slot in the same week. In addition, the hosts can veto any substitution if they believe the reason for substitution is to gain a 'favorable' player matchup in the OU slots, where player order matters.
There will be no trades allowed. If a bought player is inactive/cancers, they can be reported and replaced with a player from the undrafted pool of players. Hosts will have final discretion on what constitutes inactivity or cancering, and all situations will be treated on a case-by-case basis. After week 3 of the tournament, managers can still report inactive or cancering players, but they will not be allowed to pick a replacement player.
Hi everyone, if you want to play OU for the Crooked Cloysters, pm me in priority. If u want to play lowtiers, dawnbuster will be way more qualified than me. And if you're interested in both uhhh it's like you want.
BloodAce did well in ALTPL and PUBD starting there all tour for each
Aurist one of the most dedicated PU players in recent times
Alice Kazumi did very well in the most recent individual but I understand if you want to put her in OU
lax and tom holland should also be very good if you get them some support but that may be difficult if you aren't already a manager that plays the tier
also want to quickly give a side s/o to plznostep who should definitely be drafted for NU somewhere, and lax could also play NU if given support.
BloodAce did well in ALTPL and PUBD starting there all tour for each
Aurist one of the most dedicated PU players in recent times
Alice Kazumi did very well in the most recent individual but I understand if you want to put her in OU
lax and tom holland should also be very good if you get them some support but that may be difficult if you aren't already a manager that plays the tier
also want to quickly give a side s/o to plznostep who should definitely be drafted for NU somewhere, and lax could also play NU if given support.
Hi! The annoying signup system prevented me from saying this in my post, so here I am. If managers plan on drafting me, please be advised that I'd greatly prefer to play OU than Ubers this GSC PL. I am, however, more than happy to support an Ubers slot with teams/practice games/etc.
Also, random plug, but I would be remiss if I didn't highly recommend Alice Kazumi for GSC PL. Not only is she a talented player (had an excellent performance in the play-ins for this past GSC Invitational), but she's a fantastic teammate. We teamed for this past RoAPL, and she was always willing to play test games, provide feedback, and retrieve scouts. An all-around asset for any team!
Personal team PRs ("official" ones will come later when I have at least 1 submission from each team and writeups happen etc)
0. Wobbuffet Village
1. Crooked Cloysters
dawn is the best UU player and is amazing support for Ubers and NU. SANKE is the best PU player and is good support for NU and UU. Isa is the second best (arguably best) Ubers. Already a very strong LT lineup. Jensen is much more inexperienced in NU relative to both the NU competition and just most other players in this tour, but he's motivated, and dawn should definitely help refine his teams and play, so I wouldn't be surprised if he snags a few wins. OU has some ups and downs. Rubyblood is a very strong player, and he should succeed, but he was extremely demotivated even just a month or two ago, and OU 1 has fierce competition. Melancholy and Iguana are good players also, but often I feel like melancholy gimps in the builder and iguana suffers from inconsistency in battle. OU 4 is serviceable though as TyCarter and SENTURIES are both respectable given the OU 4 field. Cawil is also a very noteworthy ubers sub. Lineup flexibility is overall quite good with the number of players on the roster and the ability of both dawn and sanke to play several lower tiers, and overall, the team is very good.
2. Cursed Tyranitars
Very close to number 1 for me, Cloysters and Tyranitars are arguably a tie. Cloysters certainly have stronger lower tier players, but the Tyranitars definitely aren't doing bad there either with Fruhdazi in Ubers, Real FV13 in UU, plznostep in NU, and tom holland or diannie in PU. I don't think any of these are best of the best, but they are all solid and definitely have huge upside, so I'm sure they will succeed. Meanwhile, their OU is a lot stronger, featuring superstars Vani and Chiles, up and coming NoName (who I believe is quite underrated), and the always solid Nalorium. Ultimately Cloysters rank ever so slightly above for me because support for and strength of lower tiers is much stronger and their OU is still solid, even if not at the level of the Tyranitars. Again though, essentially a tie.
3. Ladder-Saint Bayleefs
While MrSoup, BFM, and BloodAce is a great start to lower tiers, similar to the Cloysters, the odd man out, Lice, has to my knowledge absolutely no experience in UU while Jensen has some in NU. I think it will also be difficult for Lice to know how to properly utilize BFM's cookery, which doesn't help. Bayleefs definitely have strong lower tiers, but the cohesion of multi-slot support is there much less so than the Cloysters. OU meanwhile is also quite good. GLFGNo7 is coming off GSC Winter SSNL and GSC Cup wins, and hellpowna is another solid, if a little inconsistent, player. The bottom of the OU lineup is mostly filled with inexperienced players, but latent potential may lie there. MrSoup is also a great OU player if he chooses to dip out of NU, and this team could choose to throw BFM in UU and hellpowna in Ubers, adding flexibility. This team is definitely very respectable, but I feel like there's a small degree of separation between them and the two in front.
4. Royal Raikous
Raikous are headlined by great star power. Siatam in OU, Fear in Ubers, Aurist in PU, and Estarossa in NU and supporting UU is a great start absolutely, but the second half of the lineup may struggle. While Thor did very well in RoAPL, his play has felt inconsistent for quite a while, and Elian and Fantos are relatively inexperienced in recent GSC OU. Avarice hasn't played GSC UU very much and as far as I know he even hates the tier lol, though he may able to put up some wins owing to his general skill in other tiers. Fear is also a slight unknown, as there's pretty good chances for both dominance and getting out-boxed by the already-present Ubers mainstays, and Estarossa hasn't been achieving the same NU success recently as he used to. Another strong lineup, but there's less potency to me, so they go here.
5. Shunko Jolteons
Someone has to be last, and unfortunately it's the Jolteons. The Jolteons definitely have a strong lower tier loadout with Conflict in Ubers, Medeia in UU (hopefully in the future), lax in NU, and feen supported by Alice Kazumi in PU, but that's kind of where it ends. Their OU is filled with inexperienced players with not too much to show, and they will likely be relying on ziloXX a lot for support. Raichy is a solid OU, but I haven't seen much of him recently and he should definitely not be in UU in the future with Medeia around. lax also hasn't played GSC NU in a long time, so while is is absolutely a strong all-around player, if he isn't able to catch up to current meta with the help of Medeia, he'll likely fall behind. Ultimately, the quality of OU relative to other teams is the decider for me, so Jolteons place last.
#1. Conflict (1.375)
Conflict has firmly built his legacy in GSC Ubers as one of the top players of all time and is not surprising to see on the top spot of the power rankings. Going 6-3 in the UPL XII earlier this year, reaching finals of GSC Ubers Open II and finishing 7-2 in GSCPL IV tells a story of a player in form that can do it all. No man is invincible, but any player defeating Conflict immediately gets noticed in a way that defeating someone else would not, due to how rare a Conflict loss is, let alone a clean one. A relative lack of support on the bench (with Torchic's Ubers experience being some time in the distance now) does not impact the prospects much, as Conflict is very self-sustaining. The question going into GSCPL is whether Conflict can overcome his back-to-back losses to BigFatMantis in UPL semifinals and tiebreakers, or whether he has been figured out by the Bayleef superstar. Nonetheless, a gambling man would happily bet on Conflict ending the tournament with the top record. Written by Isa
#2. Isa (1.5)
Isa has cemented himself as one of the best and most dedicated GSC Ubers players across now several years. To some, he is the greatest to ever do it in the tier, and he is arguably still #1 now, finishing with an average of less than .20 behind Conflict. While he has taken a ride on the sidelines for ALTPL II and UPL XII, he dominated GSC Ubers Open II and guided cyberacc to a respectable 3-3 and a very strong 6-1 in those tours, respectively, and all the while he has remained very active in the GSC discord and played games with up-and-comers. His Ubers support should be plenty good enough to get him back into the tournament mindset, as DAWNBUSTER finished with a great record in UPL XII. Now though, he has to step back onto the stage and prove his right to the limelight, but we can have faith he will put out his best in the midst of this all-timer pool and put on a show.
#3. Fear (2.875)
Fear is recognized as one of the strongest players of all time in GSC OU, however, this is his first team tournament playing Ubers. Debuting at third place in the power rankings in a historically stacked field still showcases how high expectations are, due to his commanding grasp of the intricacies of GSC. Going against Fear's prospects is a relative inexperience in Ubers from his teammates - Estarossa and Siatam have dabbled in Ubers in the past, but are not frequently playing. This could result in unrefined sets being cooked, but on the other hand, it could also provide the tabula rasa to let the artist paint with his whole range of colors. With Ubers being possible to phrase as being "OU+", can Fear demonstrate mastery over the additional threats and compositions that are introduced? The voting audience says yes. What will the scoreboard say? Time will tell. Written by Isa
#4. Shitrock Enjoyer (3.857)
Shitrock enjoyer, also known as Fruhdazi, has been the talk of the town in GSC Ubers circles after he picked up the tier earlier in 2024. Looking to make his grand team tour debut as a GSC Ubers player in UPL XII, he instead found himself on the same team as BigFatMantis and had to settle for a season outside of GSC. This tournament, there is no alternative - Fruhdazi is starting in Ubers and is here to stay. Fruhdazi's innovative take on offense in GSC Ubers will be sure to create nerves in the hearts of those he faces. A solid GSC Ubers Open II run that involved wins over BigFatMantis, zben and Real FV13 shows an ability to perform in tournaments and not just friendlies. With excellent support on the bench from one of the best players in the tier, vani, the quick clicking, quick thinking youngster is looking to prove that he deserves the praise that he has gotten. Written by Isa
#5. BigFatMantis (4)
BigFatMantis being placed only as the fifth name in these power rankings is an indicator just of how strong this tournament is. How else would you explain a player going 7-3 in UPL XII, including back-to-back wins over Conflict, being ranked this low - not to mention being the reigning and defending GSCPL champion? BFM is an innovator at heart and has gotten more than one win from unexpected Pokémon, moves or even items being utilized, but may also need to be reigned in sometimes to avoid overcooking. The bench and captain slots are stacked with power and potential, including legendary player and fellow animal Earthworm, notorious man-liquid MrSoup and regular Italian guy hellpowna, all with an interest in GSC Ubers that will ensure BFM never has to worry about receiving too little input on his squads. In the end, it comes down to a matter of consistency - we all know that BFM can beat every player he faces, but he needs to stay on the right side of sanity in the builder to do so. If he can do that, nothing's stopping BFM from topping the leaderboards for another tournament. Written by Isa
#6. Cyberacc (4.857)
Cyberacc finds himself as the underdog in this historically stacked field, despite a superb 6-1 campaign in UPL XII and a strong run to finals in the recent RoA Spotlight tournament. Nothing is impossible though for the stall enthusiast, and no player should rest easy knowing that Cyberacc is their opponent. Having grinded the GSC Ubers spotlight ladder more than anyone else, playing friendlies with everybody and anybody, it is very possible that Cyberacc is the player in the tournament that has the most games of GSC Ubers played out of anyone. Unfortunately for Cyber, bench support is lackluster, as nobody on the Wobbufetts has really made a name for themselves in Ubers, with Mashing making a brief stint into the tier two GSCPLs ago. Can Cyber prove to the world that UPL XII was not just a fluke? Written by Isa
UU
#1. DAWNBUSTER (1.333)
DAWNBUSTER has proved himself pretty solidly the best GSC UU player around, and possibly the best ever. He planted his flag last GSCPL with a staggering 9-1 record, going undefeated until finals, and followed it up with a 3-4 UUSD III, a respectable 4-4 UUPL XII, a GSC UU Open II win, and a stellar 6-2 UUBD. He also emerged as the winner of GSC Slam II. He is seemingly motivated to tryhard again this tournament, originally not planning to even self-buy before changing his mind and feeling the flame again. Another strong record would likely solidify his position as the GSC UU goat, so we can safely expect dawn to give his all and dominate once more.
#2. Real FV13 (2.166)
Real FV13 has made his name as one of the consistently better GSC UU players around, showing up with innovative, though often weird, teams, and just winning anyways. He put up a solid 4-3 in ALTPL II, went 1-0 in the single game he played in UU last GSCPL, and had a very strong 5-2 in UUPL XI and 6-2 in UUSD III. However, after going only 2-5 in UUPL XII and having dwindling activity this year, some questions are raised. FV for sure has the skill to do it, but will he be able to execute well and pop off again? The answer remains to be seen.
#3. pp's splash town (2.4)
pp, a student of the illustrious DAWNBUSTER, has become a prominent figure in the GSC UU scene and looks to perform once again. Posting a dominant 5-1 in ALTPL II, a very good 4-2 in GSCPL IV, and a solid 4-3 in UUPL XII, pp has shown nothing but consistency in achieving success. He opted to forgo UUBD though, and he's been busy digging up dinosaurs, so he may need some time to unwash. With support from BeeOrSomething, a decent GSC UU player, he may just get that chance, and he is absolutely a threat to look out for during this tournament.
#4. Raichy (2.833)
Raichy hasn't played GSC UU in a long time, and frankly I don't even know when he last played it, surely at least over two years ago. However, he does have some familiarity with the tier, and with good general GSC knowledge and the support of Medeia, GSC UU should be no strange territory. Raichy is perhaps the biggest unknown for GSC UU this tour, but with his overall GSC skills and someone to help him catch up to the meta, he may be primed for success.
#5. LustfulLice (4.5)
LustfulLice is a complete newbie to GSC UU, and for the most part, GSC as a whole too. He is an accomplished player in other lower tiers for more modern gens though, and BigFatMantis is always present to cook up something fresh for him to use. He may struggle in a pool with multiple more accomplished players, or he may fail to properly utilize BFM's sometimes-overdone cookery, but with a complete lack of expectations, he has the opportunity to do nothing but impress.
#6. Avarice (4.667)
Someone has to be last, and in this case it's Avarice. He is a solid player no doubt, being a UU community mainstay with the capability to play many tiers well, but his experience in GSC UU is quite small. When he has played GSC UU in the past, he didn't have too much to show and even often expressed distaste for it too. Luckily for him, he has Estarossa on his side to help him out. He may definitely be able to prove his merit in this tier, but he may also once more end up not missing GSC.
NU
#1. MrSoup (1.667)
MrSoup has been one of the most consistently successful and definitely the most successfully innovative GSC NUers around. Time after time he shows up with his unbounded creativity and revolutionizes the tier in some way, whether it be the reinvention of Shuckle stall or the creation of Rhyhorn or the resurgence of Rapidash's usage and strength or other. It has certainly worked well for him, as he boasts consistently positive records (with the exception of ALTPL II this year), a win in GSC NU Open II, and a finals placement in GSC NU Cup. Rest assured MrSoup will do well, but the question of if he will keep his title of MrGoat remains to be seen.
#2. BeeOrSomething (1.8)
BeeOrSomething is quite infamously known for being the second best NU player, which is funny considering their disastrous success in individual tournaments. In fact, I cannot remember a single GSC NU tournament where the guy did well in besides the highly fake Vileplume test tour (in which he still got second to the undisputed best player). Bee has however seen quite a bit of success in team tours, being able to consistently put up strong records by being versatile and creative in the builder. Perhaps such success in team tours will foretell of his strong ability to lead Wobbuffet Village. Written by MrSoup
Boasting a 21-7 lifetime team tour record in GSC NU, including a 7-1 in GSCPL IV and 6-1 in NUCL, Bee is one of the strongest GSC NU players in the scene. However, he has failed to achieve success in individual tournaments, getting knocked out early in GSC NU Cup and GSC NU Open II. Only time will tell if he can continue his team tour success and possibly usurp MrSoup for the #1 spot, or if he will repeat his flops from individuals and crash out. Written by me
#3. lax (2.333)
lax has not played GSC NU in a long time; not since GSCPL III, in fact. However, in that tournament he did quite well, going 4-0, and little needs to be said about his skill as an overall player in other tiers. He will definitely need to catch up again on the metagame, but with the help of Medeia, who did quite well in NUCL, he has the potential to excel and show us he still has it in this tier.
#4. Estarossa (3)
Estarossa has been a mainstay in GSC NU for quite a few years now, posting good records and innovating, currently being known as "the guy who thinks Delibird is better than Pineco." Estarossa did well in GSCPL IV last year with a 4-3, but he opted to play UU rather than NU in ALTPL II and went 2-3 in NUCL, also failing to achieve success in GSC NU Cup or GSC NU Open II. He definitely has the capability to do well, and he will definitely do the best he can to do so, but after quite the break between his last GSC NU team tour showing with not much in between, he needs to show he can separate himself from the middle of the pack once again.
#5. plznostep (4.333)
plznostep does not have too much to show in this tier, playing one game in GSC in NUCL and having a pedestrian placing in GSC NU Open II. However, they have plenty of general NU experience and do have some familiarity with GSC. Real FV13 should also provide good support, and plznostep seems motivated to play. Their underdog status may prove to be in need of change following this tour, but we will see.
#6. jking55 (4.667)
jking55 is certainly the newest of almost any participant in this edition, picking up GSC only very recently and with almost no results to show. This doesn't lead to great expectations; however, he has the excellent support of DAWNBUSTER, a known tutor of quite a few great GSC LT players. With little expected or known of him and someone great to hit the grind with, he could surprise everyone, but for now he ranks last.
PU
#1. SANKE CARP (1.333)
Despite not being allowed to participate in PUBD, going undrafted, SANKE CARP pretty quickly increased his stock immensely, winning GSC PU Open II and finding himself a finalist in GSC Slam II Playoffs. He doesn't have too much else to show, but SANKE is a great GSC LT guy and all-around strong player, and GSC PU will be his world's oyster to show off.
#2. BloodAce (2.167)
BloodAce finds himself near the top of the pool, debuting with a very good 4-2 in ALTPL II and continuing with a decent 3-4 in PUBD and Round 3 knockout in GSC PU Open II, though without success in the GSC PU individual that Aurist hosted. BloodAce has more experience and success than most others in this pool, and with the support of BigFatMantis too, he will likely do well again.
#3. Aurist (3)
Aurist, perhaps seen as the current spokesperson of GSC PU, lands in the top half of the pool. While they had a meh 1-2 record in ALTPL II and was locked up in CG during PUBD, they supported vani to an excellent 4-1 during that tour and made it to semifinals in both GSC PU Open II and the GSC PU individual they held. They also have the support of Estarossa, who finished with a respectable 3-3 in PUBD. Now is finally time for Aurist to shine in a team tour themselves, and I look forward to what they will do.
#4. tom holland (3.333)
While tom holland has very few results in GSC PU, not playing it in ALTPL II, PUBD, or GSC PU Open II, he did knock out BloodAce in Aurist's GSC PU individual before falling to Aurist themself. He also has the support of DiannieRatson and vani, two solid GSC PU players, which perhaps does a lot of the heavy lifting for this ranking. This support combined with his general experience in PU should help to propel him to success.
#5. feen (3.5)
While feen doesn't have the most experience in the tier, merely dabbling in it for 2 games during ALTPL II and not much to show in individuals, he is definitely a strong overall player. He also has the support of Alice Kazumi, a finalist in Aurist's GSC PU individual. He is ranked quite low, but he absolutely has the potential to show up and ball.
#6. torkonpeter (4.4)
Despite winning Aurist's GSC PU individual, torkonpeter is ranked last, showing the quality of this pool. That is an excellent result for sure, but some, including torkon himself, have expressed that it was quite the lucky win. torkon also has little other results in GSC and even just in general. However, with the support of BeeOrSomething, who dominated PUBD with a 7-1 record, torkon definitely has hope for success.
Overall Team Ranking
#1. Crooked Cloysters (2.5)
#2. Shunko Jolteons (3.25)
#2. Ladder-Bayleef Saints (3.25)
#4. Cursed Tyranitars (3.75)
#5. Royal Raikous (4)
#6. Wobbuffet Village (4.25)
Thank you to Isa and MrSoup for contributing their pieces and thank you to everyone who voted, all your work means a lot. And remember everyone, if you or your team placed lower, that is not at all something to be ashamed of. LT pools were overall incredibly strong this year and some people just have to go below others. Fifth and sixth places can easily do just as well or even better than first and second places, we will just have to see.
Wobbuffet Village - 
Crooked Cloysters - 
Ladder-Bayleef Saints - 
Cursed Tyranitars - 
Shunko Jolteons - 
Royal Raikous - 
