Project Monotype Interviews #11 - Isza

RoyalReloaded

I could build us a house down across the sea
is a Social Media Contributoris a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
approved by monotype forum mods
inspired by this and
this
Monotype_Interviews.png

brand new art made by Finchely


Monotype Interviews #11 - Isza

:pmd/pawmi: royal :pmd/pawmi: | :pmd/murkrow: Isza :pmd/murkrow:


:pmd/pawmi:
First of all thanks for taking the time to do this, I'm sure the community will be interested in hearing from an MWP winning manager, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?



:pmd/murkrow:
I appreciate the opportunity, I've read some of your previous interviews and I'm grateful to participate. I'm a resident from NYC who's enjoyed competitive pokemon for about 8 years. I used to play a rpg called pokemon indigo and a friend introduced me to PS and I've been hooked for awhile. As far as other hobbies go I enjoy reading, writing poetry, and recently modeling. I also really enjoy traveling, although i haven't been out the country yet so that's a goal of mine this year. For more pokemon related stuff my favorite pokemon is definitely aegislash. The typing and design are both dope to me, and it's one of the best pokemon that came from ORAS, my favorite gen



:pmd/pawmi:
How did you get the name Isza?



:pmd/murkrow:
If you're familiar with Kingdom hearts, there's a character named Isa who is my favorite. Unfortunately that name is taken on PS by a popular old gens player so I couldn't have it. The simple solution was just to add a Z in the middle and here we are. My original name was Kaiser, you will see older players refer to me as that or shali (my irl nickname)



:pmd/pawmi:
How did you get introduced / involved with Pokemon Showdown and the Monotype community?



:pmd/murkrow:
With showdown pokeaim youtube videos brought me to the site. I liked watching his stuff, but when I first came on PS they had someone advertising for a monotype clan In lobby and I joined one to see what's up. Ended up making a mono fighting team and laddering, after playing for awhile I met alot of cool people and here we are today in 2025 with alot of those same friends today. Although I admit I don't play the tier as much as I used to I definitely enjoy playing and interacting with community members when I can



:pmd/pawmi:
Big congratulations on your MWP win, do you mind telling us about that? How did you and fade decide to team up? How did you approach the draft?



:pmd/murkrow:
The funny thing is I wasn't supposed to manage with fade, I was actually supposed to manage with sabella. Unfortunately I got snipped and ended up forcing him (yes I didn't ask him, I just put his name in the post prior including his self buy) to manage with me. While he's not much of a mono builder, fade has a very unique and objective approach to not only drafting, but the game that I respect alot so I knew having him would be valuable even if it was just to play. As for the draft, we p much drafted alot of our friends with the idea that me and some others could support them. Neko was a nice fit, only person we couldn't get was gondra(he tier locked to ss) and style.css(too expensive)



:pmd/pawmi:
How did you prepare during the regular season? Was it any different during the playoffs? What about tiebreaker?



:pmd/murkrow:
Regular season was kinda chill, we didn't do too much and I admit I didn't pay that much attention LOL I just passed teams when needed. Playoffs is where we really went tryhard, even staying up late for hours at a time making sure everyone had a solid team. My favorite moment was when we were down 2-4 and I made a little speech. We ended up winning the thr next 4 games after that to make finals . Tiebreaker was extremely stressful because I felt the opposing SV was better. To make matters worse we had 3d who didn't really play sv mono prior but he was out best option. Fade put in alot of work picking his team, and our sv got alot of games in. Just happy we won in the end but was definitely challenging, respect to our opponents.
Screenshot_20250223_204108_Discord.jpg




:pmd/pawmi:
Was there a generation that was hardest for you guys to prepare for?



:pmd/murkrow:
Id say BW had some issues. I'm great at alot of old gens but I'm unfamiliar with BW and we had no support. I got more into it near the end though, and I was even comfortable picking it in tiebreak if nessesary and putting fade there. I'd much rather have a builder for it though, would have taken the stress off me



:pmd/pawmi:
If you could manage a tournament with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?



:pmd/murkrow:
Thats a good question, id say chaitanya. This would be more so a social experiment cause we butt heads alot in terms of prep lol so that would be interesting to see. I don't think it would be too bad though, he's a good player but I dont think that would happen unfortunately.



:pmd/pawmi:
If you could ban / unban anything in any monotype generation, what would it be and why?



:pmd/murkrow:
Id ban Kommo in SM I don't even have to think about that one. It's a stupid mon and just flips some match ups that aren't really able to be salvaged. As an easter egg free mega Lucario in oras so I can relive my childhood.



:pmd/pawmi:
Do you have any advice for newer players who want to get more involved in the community?



:pmd/murkrow:
Absolutely, I'd say reach out to more established players especially in team tours. For MWP/MPL I always pick up at least 1 new person, and it's simply because they reach out and I give them a shot. Never hurts to ask questions, you never know where it might get you. I'd also say talk in the monotype discord, it's p active and you can meet lots of community members there



:pmd/pawmi:
Thank you so much for your time and your diligent answers, I’m sure everybody will appreciate reading and learning a bit more about you. Is there anybody you would like to give a shoutout to?



:pmd/murkrow:
Shout outs to Attribute, Cell, Trichotomy, DugZa, and Chaitanya. All easily my favorite monotype competitors, best of luck in everything



~~~



This thread will remain open in case anyone would like to ask Isza any further questions. If you have an idea for who you would like to be interviewed next, please don't hesitate to let me know!
 
Few questions

You mentioned traveling out of the country which countr or countries would you like to visit?

Any hobbies outside of Pokémon?

What changes have you seen in the Monotype community over the years positive and negative?

Do you still pla Pokemon ROM hacks if so what is your favorite one?

Any retired player you'd like to see come back?

How long do you see yourself still playing Pokemon?

Congratulations on your teams MWP win. Always a pleasure to see a friend win a big team tournament.
 
Hey big bro, hope your day is blessed.

1. I was going to ask about traveling but my question got stolen, so here’s a slightly related one. You have to live on another continent for the rest of your life, which country are you picking and why?
2. What are some of the best pieces of life advice you’ve ever given or been given?
3. Word on the street is that you are a creative. Could you show us a piece that you have written?
4. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past month? and don’t gatekeep…
5. How do you carry yourself with such aura?
 
1. Favorite place to get Pizza in NYC
2. What do you get on your Bagel
3. If Isza was a pokemon trainer in the pokemon world and had a team of 6, based on irl Isza vibes and practicality what would those mons be.
4. Song recommendation
5. What is a battle from your pokemon career that you will never forget
 
Few questions

You mentioned traveling out of the country which countr or countries would you like to visit?

Any hobbies outside of Pokémon?

What changes have you seen in the Monotype community over the years positive and negative?

Do you still pla Pokemon ROM hacks if so what is your favorite one?

Any retired player you'd like to see come back?

How long do you see yourself still playing Pokemon?

Congratulations on your teams MWP win. Always a pleasure to see a friend win a big team tournament.
1. I'd definitely love to take my grandmother to London
2. Reading, my go to genre is realistic fiction or anything to do with self improvement/development.
3. Im not sure exactly how to answer this. For a positive change, I'll say alot of players are better now. Community def had a very high ceiling now in cg, something negative? I haven't paid attention much to point that out honestly.
4. I don't, tbh ps is the only video game I play. My favorite though is emerald kaizo.
5. While he wasn't much of a player, scpinion. He's a big reason we all have what we have today as a community, and I hope he is well.
6. I can't give an exact # of days/years, I'll say as long as I enjoy it. I will say though I have more fun being a manager main in tournaments now over playing.

Ty bro it's appreciated, I hope you're doing well it's nice to see you're still around :heart:

Hey big bro, hope your day is blessed.

1. I was going to ask about traveling but my question got stolen, so here’s a slightly related one. You have to live on another continent for the rest of your life, which country are you picking and why?
2. What are some of the best pieces of life advice you’ve ever given or been given?
3. Word on the street is that you are a creative. Could you show us a piece that you have written?
4. What is the best food you’ve eaten in the past month? and don’t gatekeep…
5. How do you carry yourself with such aura?
1. Africa, I feel as if that would help my learn more about myself and my people.
2. "Never judge a book by it's cover, we are all unique and have our own stories and situations. You never know who you can meet ever, so be open to meeting new people" This mindset has lead me to meet so many great people not just in person, but online here on smogon. I've made so many friends in different communities just by being open and accepting of most people, and because of that also many opportunities/memories were made.
3. So you know I write poetry, however I've kinda pivoted to more motivational content. You have me on IG, so I'll post something from there
Screenshot_20250301_211122_Instagram.jpg
4. Jerk chicken Salad with onions, Avocado, and Tomatoes.
5. I don't think I have much aura, I'm a mid player when you compare myself to many others on the site. I will say, being nice to people and just being social keeps me well liked among others.
1. Favorite place to get Pizza in NYC
2. What do you get on your Bagel
3. If Isza was a pokemon trainer in the pokemon world and had a team of 6, based on irl Isza vibes and practicality what would those mons be.
4. Song recommendation
5. What is a battle from your pokemon career that you will never forget
1. Cuts and slices
2. Cream cheese, sometimes with bacon
3. Rain check
4. Always and forever (by Mariah the scientist ft. Lil baby)
5. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5ou-655390 a very big turning point in my old gen career. Till this day me and mcmeghan are the only 2 to beat him in bw(playoffs) in recent years.
who is the best mainer and why is it me?
Atm, best mainer in my opinion is Leafium Z.
who do you hate the most on this site
Hate is a very strong word, I definitely don't hate anyone. I wouldn't even say I dislike anyone, there's moments of conflict with different people sometimes but it's all love as a competitor. It can never be personal for me.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top