Shrouded by mystery and cloaked in shadows, a single user pulls the strings of the foremost LC figureheads from behind closed doors. For as long as anyone can remember, the enigmatic figure known only as trash has decided the fate of tournaments and tier leaders alike with the flick of a finger and building of a team. Recently, this has not been enough; trash has decided to step into the limelight, beginning with a 4-1 record in Smogon Exhibition. Just who lies behind the mask?
When and how did you get into LC? How do you feel about this decision?
Yahallo nyanpasu! I got into pokemon randomly from a few friends who introduced me to ps! from another game sometime in 2013, but I never really played competitively until 2014. I started messing around in a side server called "Frost," then thought LC was a unique tier and decided to play it. That led me to stop going to Frost and I began going to the ps! LC room to learn more. I'm happy with this decision since I made a few good friends in LC and from other communities.
Towards the end of ORAS, you started getting some recognition as a good builder, even getting a team into archive, but you were never really acknowledged as a battler. You're now 4-1 in exhibition - what sparked this level of improvement?
Hmm... I still don't think that I am a good battler, but OP gave me some tips and I started putting more thoughts into my plays (recognizing what my win condition in the game is and if I can afford making a high risk play) rather than just randomly clicking buttons. Also, reviewing my past games (replays) helped me see what I could have done better and see how I can improve as a battler, and playing lots of pokemon games helped me become a better player in the past years. One day I hope I can become a great battler like my little cup heroine lucy!
How do you feel of the quality of the metagame as it transitioned from ORAS into SM into USM? Do you feel that it has become more or less difficult to build a solid team (in the sense that it covers all major threats fairly well)? How much importance do you place on a team being traditionally solid?
ORAS was a very unique metagame, imo, because of broken goth and having at least 2 fletch checks on every team. So, when SM arrived and nerfed fletch then the TLs banned goth, I think the metagame quality improved a lot because these changes allowed builders to be more creative. While the transition from SM into USM wasn't that different imo, the only noticeable changes are sr donkey and np spritz which made torch pass broken af. I feel that it has become very easy to build a solid team because of how stable the meta is atm and this lets people be more creative.
My importance on a team being traditionally solid depends on what i'm playing for because in ladder I would want to cover most of the threats well, while in tour games I can get away with a few weaker matchups as long as I have strong ones too, and bring more fun stuff (see my exhibition week 4/5 games).
Do you think there are any Pokemon or cores that are especially strong in the current metagame? If so, how do you feel they contribute to the metagame's current level of stability?
Foonix (foongus + onix) is the strongest/best core in the current metagame because they are able to check key threats like fighters, water types, opposing onix, ponyta to an extent, donkey, fairies, snivy, etc. While I think people are overusing mienfoo as their fighter, I feel like timburr is amazing in the current metagame because of how strong it is and good priority. Timburr is a great wallbreaker, steel and rock check, and has strong prio to weaken or rk some sweepers. Also, I feel like staryu (mainly evio 4 attacks) is great because of its coverage and speed. Overall, these mons aren't broken since they are fairy easy to deal with and help make the meta stable because they are able to check a majority of the meta.
Do you still consider Mienfoo to be one of the best Pokemon in the metagame, or do you find Timburr to be flat out better? Are there any other Pokemon or sets that you feel aren't all they're talked up to be?
I still consider mienfoo one of the best pokemon because of regen + u turn and being a super safe glue mon, but timburr is flat out better if you can to play well with it. Basically foo is safer and timburr is more annoying to deal with. I feel like defog snivy is overrated and personally I feel like its really bad; sure it can defog on most rockers, but losing out on knock or glare is huge since this hinders its sweeping/cleaning potential.
You've brought some very unique teams to Exhibition. Do you think that this metagame is flexible enough for archetypes as niche as manual weather to become viable? Are there any less popular archetypes or Pokemon that you think deserve more credit?
Those were very unique teams, and I think that the metagame is flexible enough for niche archetypes. fsr people have a mindset where you need to be standard and boring to do well in the metagame, but I feel that as long as you can check key threats you can be as wild as you want and still perform at a high level. Some underrated mons that I like in the meta are bunnelby, salandit, and amaura - these mons hit hard and has very few reliable switchins in the current meta. While less popular archetypes like manual weather, semistall, hazard stacking, and hail should be more recognized.
You are frequently ranked among the strongest team builders in the LC community - what are your thoughts on this? Who are some other LC builders you consider very good?
I do agree that I am a strong builder, but I don't think that I am at the same level as most of spl lc players from last year. Some other LC builders that I consider very good are heysup (uses wack mons and still is solid), sken (really solid builder), and levi (also uses cool mons and builds solid teams). Even though zf is dead he's been my idol for teambuilding, rip the goat.
Who are the users that you looked up to when you were first getting into LC? Which users do you continue to hold respect for?
When I started LC I looked up to levi, doka, and zf because of their builds and their battling skills, and I still respect these three users even though they are inactive. But im right here?
Lastly, do you have any teams that you would like to share with us?
doggy poo and the vros. For week 4 of unspl, I decided to use something out of the norm because many players feel like the meta is stale and boring. Manual weather was an archetype I really wanted to use and I chose sun because of how strong sprout is currently in the meta. My build process was quite simple: I wanted to use z sunny day pony and sprout, then added a prankster heat rock mon and thought cat was cool, next added numel cause levi used it in spl once, after that I wanted a reliable sr and dig seemed nice because it could trap annoying fire types, lastly foo cause why not. Pony, sprout, and numel help break for each other, while cat, dig, and foo sets up sun and supports the team.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful answers, trash - that was a very fun interview! I look up to me too btw
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Thanks for reading! Sorry for taking ages to start potw 8 - potw nine will be here shortly.
When and how did you get into LC? How do you feel about this decision?
Yahallo nyanpasu! I got into pokemon randomly from a few friends who introduced me to ps! from another game sometime in 2013, but I never really played competitively until 2014. I started messing around in a side server called "Frost," then thought LC was a unique tier and decided to play it. That led me to stop going to Frost and I began going to the ps! LC room to learn more. I'm happy with this decision since I made a few good friends in LC and from other communities.
Towards the end of ORAS, you started getting some recognition as a good builder, even getting a team into archive, but you were never really acknowledged as a battler. You're now 4-1 in exhibition - what sparked this level of improvement?
Hmm... I still don't think that I am a good battler, but OP gave me some tips and I started putting more thoughts into my plays (recognizing what my win condition in the game is and if I can afford making a high risk play) rather than just randomly clicking buttons. Also, reviewing my past games (replays) helped me see what I could have done better and see how I can improve as a battler, and playing lots of pokemon games helped me become a better player in the past years. One day I hope I can become a great battler like my little cup heroine lucy!
How do you feel of the quality of the metagame as it transitioned from ORAS into SM into USM? Do you feel that it has become more or less difficult to build a solid team (in the sense that it covers all major threats fairly well)? How much importance do you place on a team being traditionally solid?
ORAS was a very unique metagame, imo, because of broken goth and having at least 2 fletch checks on every team. So, when SM arrived and nerfed fletch then the TLs banned goth, I think the metagame quality improved a lot because these changes allowed builders to be more creative. While the transition from SM into USM wasn't that different imo, the only noticeable changes are sr donkey and np spritz which made torch pass broken af. I feel that it has become very easy to build a solid team because of how stable the meta is atm and this lets people be more creative.
My importance on a team being traditionally solid depends on what i'm playing for because in ladder I would want to cover most of the threats well, while in tour games I can get away with a few weaker matchups as long as I have strong ones too, and bring more fun stuff (see my exhibition week 4/5 games).
Do you think there are any Pokemon or cores that are especially strong in the current metagame? If so, how do you feel they contribute to the metagame's current level of stability?
Foonix (foongus + onix) is the strongest/best core in the current metagame because they are able to check key threats like fighters, water types, opposing onix, ponyta to an extent, donkey, fairies, snivy, etc. While I think people are overusing mienfoo as their fighter, I feel like timburr is amazing in the current metagame because of how strong it is and good priority. Timburr is a great wallbreaker, steel and rock check, and has strong prio to weaken or rk some sweepers. Also, I feel like staryu (mainly evio 4 attacks) is great because of its coverage and speed. Overall, these mons aren't broken since they are fairy easy to deal with and help make the meta stable because they are able to check a majority of the meta.
Do you still consider Mienfoo to be one of the best Pokemon in the metagame, or do you find Timburr to be flat out better? Are there any other Pokemon or sets that you feel aren't all they're talked up to be?
I still consider mienfoo one of the best pokemon because of regen + u turn and being a super safe glue mon, but timburr is flat out better if you can to play well with it. Basically foo is safer and timburr is more annoying to deal with. I feel like defog snivy is overrated and personally I feel like its really bad; sure it can defog on most rockers, but losing out on knock or glare is huge since this hinders its sweeping/cleaning potential.
You've brought some very unique teams to Exhibition. Do you think that this metagame is flexible enough for archetypes as niche as manual weather to become viable? Are there any less popular archetypes or Pokemon that you think deserve more credit?
Those were very unique teams, and I think that the metagame is flexible enough for niche archetypes. fsr people have a mindset where you need to be standard and boring to do well in the metagame, but I feel that as long as you can check key threats you can be as wild as you want and still perform at a high level. Some underrated mons that I like in the meta are bunnelby, salandit, and amaura - these mons hit hard and has very few reliable switchins in the current meta. While less popular archetypes like manual weather, semistall, hazard stacking, and hail should be more recognized.
You are frequently ranked among the strongest team builders in the LC community - what are your thoughts on this? Who are some other LC builders you consider very good?
I do agree that I am a strong builder, but I don't think that I am at the same level as most of spl lc players from last year. Some other LC builders that I consider very good are heysup (uses wack mons and still is solid), sken (really solid builder), and levi (also uses cool mons and builds solid teams). Even though zf is dead he's been my idol for teambuilding, rip the goat.
Who are the users that you looked up to when you were first getting into LC? Which users do you continue to hold respect for?
When I started LC I looked up to levi, doka, and zf because of their builds and their battling skills, and I still respect these three users even though they are inactive. But im right here?
Lastly, do you have any teams that you would like to share with us?
doggy poo (Ponyta) (M) @ Firium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Morning Sun
- Solar Beam
- Sunny Day
dandelion sprout (Bellsprout) @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Sludge Bomb
- Solar Beam
- Weather Ball[/FONT]
sparrow (Purrloin) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
Level: 5
EVs: 188 HP / 36 Atk / 140 Def / 140 SpD
Jolly Nature
- Encore
- Knock Off
- Sunny Day
- Thunder Wave
mother hen (Numel) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Simple
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 156 SpA / 76 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Growth
lump of soil (Diglett) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Beat Up
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
farmer (Mienfoo) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 196 Def / 116 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Sunny Day
- U-turn
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Morning Sun
- Solar Beam
- Sunny Day
dandelion sprout (Bellsprout) @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Sludge Bomb
- Solar Beam
- Weather Ball[/FONT]
sparrow (Purrloin) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
Level: 5
EVs: 188 HP / 36 Atk / 140 Def / 140 SpD
Jolly Nature
- Encore
- Knock Off
- Sunny Day
- Thunder Wave
mother hen (Numel) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Simple
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 156 SpA / 76 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Growth
lump of soil (Diglett) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Beat Up
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
farmer (Mienfoo) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 196 Def / 116 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Sunny Day
- U-turn
doggy poo and the vros. For week 4 of unspl, I decided to use something out of the norm because many players feel like the meta is stale and boring. Manual weather was an archetype I really wanted to use and I chose sun because of how strong sprout is currently in the meta. My build process was quite simple: I wanted to use z sunny day pony and sprout, then added a prankster heat rock mon and thought cat was cool, next added numel cause levi used it in spl once, after that I wanted a reliable sr and dig seemed nice because it could trap annoying fire types, lastly foo cause why not. Pony, sprout, and numel help break for each other, while cat, dig, and foo sets up sun and supports the team.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful answers, trash - that was a very fun interview! I look up to me too btw
---
Thanks for reading! Sorry for taking ages to start potw 8 - potw nine will be here shortly.
