approved by monotype forum mods
inspired by this and this
First of all thanks for taking the time to do this, I'm sure the community will be interested in hearing from one of the tier leaders, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself? ((hobbies outside of pokemon, etc whatever u want, stuff in parentheses dont go on the thread)
For sure, so aside from being a Tier Leader i mainly have worked in restaurants/sales. Outside of that my days are definitely split between being a home body and going out. If i'm at home listening to music, playing videogames (mainly ps or the switch), binging movies/tv shows, or cooking. Outside since I live in Southern California I love to spend time chilling at the beach, exploring different areas, and the great nightlife around me on the weekends.
How did you get introduced / involved with the Monotype community?
Back in High School (a little over a decade ago) I saw someone playing Random Battles on a school computer, which is how I found out about the website. After laddering Random Battles and trying some OU games, I got into Monotype through leagues, and have stayed since.
Do you have a favorite moment or memory that sticks out from your time on Smogon / PS?
Would probably have to be the early moments of me joining the Monotype community with leagues and playing in various different team tournaments meeting new people, though I definitely join less of them now. Also probably back when I started rating and joined the RMT community back in its late-peak mid gen 7 have to probably be some of my favorite memories from the site.
If you were the (only) tier leader for a day, what would you ban? Unban? What about an old generation?
If it were only for a day I would probably go back to Sun & Moon and unban Shadow Tag, probably my favorite team I have ever built used both Gothitelle + Wobbuffett and it was truly a disgusting build to face but very fun to play. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-623566737
Do you have any advice for some players who are newer and trying to get more involved with the community / better at the game? What about someone who wants to get drafted for MPL / MWP / MFPL?
Yea so i'm sure everyone has heard this before but at the start of learning Monotype I would just suggest using a sample team and laddering, trying to improve your playing/tier knowledge. After you are somewhat comfortable start building a team, feel free to ask the room or discord for help, someone should be around. Building is probably going to be the hardest part of this if its your first Monotype team, but push past it gets easier from there. Then just continue to ladder/join our circuit tours and over time you will continue to get better and better. Then you will get to the team tours in no time!
Is there a team you wouldn't mind sharing with us that you really enjoy using and showcases your style of play?
For sure, this Sand Ground is probably one of my most used teams in SV. The Landorus set can be changed around to preference, read the note I left in the paste. Also Excadrill really can not afford to give up its coverage, since Rock Slide and X-Scissor hit too many important targets, so Choice Scarf Great Tusk has to be the removal for this team!
https://pokepast.es/7b8155318c7aeff2
Are there any new events, tournaments, or similar things coming in 2026 that the monotype community can get excited for? If not what is something you would like to see?
The tournament schedule should be pretty similar to this year, that being said there will be a discussion thread about the team tours towards the end of the year or early into it with a potential addition to our team tournament circuit, Monotype Champions League (MCL) similar to what our tier subforums have done this year!
Are you excited about Pokemon Champions? Any very early thoughts about perhaps a champions format being in MPL / other tournaments? Any mega from ZA you're looking forward to playing with in the next monotype format?
I honestly can not tell you how Champions will affect Pokemon Showdown yet or if it will even affect Gen 9 at this moment. Maybe if there is a developed format with the new additions, I could be convinced to add a Legends ZA specific slot to team tours and potentially an individual (not in circuit). As for the mega evolutions I'm most excited to use probably top 3 are going to be Delphox, Froslass, and Excadrill. I will say I am disappointed by how dirty they did one of my favorites (Excadrill) but I am still excited to use it competitively!
If you were stuck on an island and there were 1 monotype / ps staff stuck with you, who would you want it to be and why? what about who would you not want it to be?
That is such a messy ass second question, I love it. If I had to pick someone to be stuck on an island with it would probably be another homo like Leaf or Ken maybe Elvira, so we could keke and I could be annoying in a way theyd understand lol. If I can pick from retired staff I think if you know me you can guess who I would say, lets just leave it at that.
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?
Probably my fellow TLs ken and Cielau for picking up the slack so i can engage in my favorite passtime on the website (shitposting). Also want to give a shoutout to Blaze for finally taking a shower!
inspired by this and this
First of all thanks for taking the time to do this, I'm sure the community will be interested in hearing from one of the tier leaders, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself? ((hobbies outside of pokemon, etc whatever u want, stuff in parentheses dont go on the thread)
For sure, so aside from being a Tier Leader i mainly have worked in restaurants/sales. Outside of that my days are definitely split between being a home body and going out. If i'm at home listening to music, playing videogames (mainly ps or the switch), binging movies/tv shows, or cooking. Outside since I live in Southern California I love to spend time chilling at the beach, exploring different areas, and the great nightlife around me on the weekends.
How did you get introduced / involved with the Monotype community?
Back in High School (a little over a decade ago) I saw someone playing Random Battles on a school computer, which is how I found out about the website. After laddering Random Battles and trying some OU games, I got into Monotype through leagues, and have stayed since.
Do you have a favorite moment or memory that sticks out from your time on Smogon / PS?
Would probably have to be the early moments of me joining the Monotype community with leagues and playing in various different team tournaments meeting new people, though I definitely join less of them now. Also probably back when I started rating and joined the RMT community back in its late-peak mid gen 7 have to probably be some of my favorite memories from the site.
If you were the (only) tier leader for a day, what would you ban? Unban? What about an old generation?
If it were only for a day I would probably go back to Sun & Moon and unban Shadow Tag, probably my favorite team I have ever built used both Gothitelle + Wobbuffett and it was truly a disgusting build to face but very fun to play. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-623566737
Do you have any advice for some players who are newer and trying to get more involved with the community / better at the game? What about someone who wants to get drafted for MPL / MWP / MFPL?
Yea so i'm sure everyone has heard this before but at the start of learning Monotype I would just suggest using a sample team and laddering, trying to improve your playing/tier knowledge. After you are somewhat comfortable start building a team, feel free to ask the room or discord for help, someone should be around. Building is probably going to be the hardest part of this if its your first Monotype team, but push past it gets easier from there. Then just continue to ladder/join our circuit tours and over time you will continue to get better and better. Then you will get to the team tours in no time!
Is there a team you wouldn't mind sharing with us that you really enjoy using and showcases your style of play?
For sure, this Sand Ground is probably one of my most used teams in SV. The Landorus set can be changed around to preference, read the note I left in the paste. Also Excadrill really can not afford to give up its coverage, since Rock Slide and X-Scissor hit too many important targets, so Choice Scarf Great Tusk has to be the removal for this team!
https://pokepast.es/7b8155318c7aeff2
Are there any new events, tournaments, or similar things coming in 2026 that the monotype community can get excited for? If not what is something you would like to see?
The tournament schedule should be pretty similar to this year, that being said there will be a discussion thread about the team tours towards the end of the year or early into it with a potential addition to our team tournament circuit, Monotype Champions League (MCL) similar to what our tier subforums have done this year!
Are you excited about Pokemon Champions? Any very early thoughts about perhaps a champions format being in MPL / other tournaments? Any mega from ZA you're looking forward to playing with in the next monotype format?
I honestly can not tell you how Champions will affect Pokemon Showdown yet or if it will even affect Gen 9 at this moment. Maybe if there is a developed format with the new additions, I could be convinced to add a Legends ZA specific slot to team tours and potentially an individual (not in circuit). As for the mega evolutions I'm most excited to use probably top 3 are going to be Delphox, Froslass, and Excadrill. I will say I am disappointed by how dirty they did one of my favorites (Excadrill) but I am still excited to use it competitively!
If you were stuck on an island and there were 1 monotype / ps staff stuck with you, who would you want it to be and why? what about who would you not want it to be?
That is such a messy ass second question, I love it. If I had to pick someone to be stuck on an island with it would probably be another homo like Leaf or Ken maybe Elvira, so we could keke and I could be annoying in a way theyd understand lol. If I can pick from retired staff I think if you know me you can guess who I would say, lets just leave it at that.
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?
Probably my fellow TLs ken and Cielau for picking up the slack so i can engage in my favorite passtime on the website (shitposting). Also want to give a shoutout to Blaze for finally taking a shower!
~~~
This thread will remain open in case anyone would like to ask Rio Vidal 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!
This thread will remain open in case anyone would like to ask Rio Vidal 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!
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