Approved by Eien
Taken over from KevinElf
(Credit to Seo. for the banner)
During this project, I will be interviewing some of the most influential players in Monotype today whether it be based on their exceptional contribution to the metagame or their outstanding performance in tours. If anyone has suggestions on who should be interviewed next, feel free to PM me your ideas.
This week I am interviewing someone who's been playing Monotype for quite some time but has, since Gen 7 started, made quite an impression and impact.
Harpp
Tell us a little about yourself, Where are you from and how long have you been playing Pokemon?
I am from Mumbai, India. I am a graduate in Commerce from a university in Mumbai and I have been playing Pokemon for more than 3 years now. I started playing Pokemon roms first and the first game I ever played was Pokemon Emerald.
What do you outside of smogon and PS?
Outside of Smogon and PS, I enjoy training in karate. I spend some time playing Dragon ball legends since I am a fan of the series and I love watching comedy shows like Impractical Jokers. As far as academics are concerned I am doing post graduation in Accountancy and preparing for civil service exams.
Why and when did you join Showdown?
I joined Showdown in late 2014 and as I said earlier I started playing Pokemon rom first so after playing few Pokemon roms I got bored and wanted something where I could battle against other players so I started searching online and first came across Pokemon online and then I found Pokemon Showdown one day and have been playing since then.
This is a bug team I made recently. SD Heracross is really good wallbreaker almost nothing safely switches in on it against types like Steel. I paired SD Heracross with Psy Z volcarona as SD Heracross breaks Steel whereas Volcarona takes care of bulky water types such as Toxapex and Mantine and does good against the Flying-type core. Then I added Scarf Durant since it is kind of unexpected but fun to use Pokemon. Scarf allows it to outspeed threats like Mega Diancie and put in good work against Psychic-type teams as it is faster than Scarf Victini. Then I added Mega Scizor to have good matchup against Fairy-type teams and to provide the team with a priority move and a good win conidtion against Dragon teams. Volcarona beats bulky waters like Toxapex that check Mega Scizor.
This concludes my interview with Harpp. Thanks to him for taking the time to answer all these questions with such detail. If anyone has any questions they would like to ask Harpp feel free to post them in this thread!
If anyone has any suggestions for next weeks Player of the week please feel free to suggest someone!
Taken over from KevinElf
(Credit to Seo. for the banner)
During this project, I will be interviewing some of the most influential players in Monotype today whether it be based on their exceptional contribution to the metagame or their outstanding performance in tours. If anyone has suggestions on who should be interviewed next, feel free to PM me your ideas.
This week I am interviewing someone who's been playing Monotype for quite some time but has, since Gen 7 started, made quite an impression and impact.
Harpp
Tell us a little about yourself, Where are you from and how long have you been playing Pokemon?
I am from Mumbai, India. I am a graduate in Commerce from a university in Mumbai and I have been playing Pokemon for more than 3 years now. I started playing Pokemon roms first and the first game I ever played was Pokemon Emerald.
What do you outside of smogon and PS?
Outside of Smogon and PS, I enjoy training in karate. I spend some time playing Dragon ball legends since I am a fan of the series and I love watching comedy shows like Impractical Jokers. As far as academics are concerned I am doing post graduation in Accountancy and preparing for civil service exams.
Why and when did you join Showdown?
I joined Showdown in late 2014 and as I said earlier I started playing Pokemon rom first so after playing few Pokemon roms I got bored and wanted something where I could battle against other players so I started searching online and first came across Pokemon online and then I found Pokemon Showdown one day and have been playing since then.
What brought you to Monotype when you did join?
I started playing Monotype in 2016 on PS where I used to ladder with some teams that I made and failed terribly and then I was looking for sample teams on search engines lol and I stumbled upon the monotype website which scpinion had set up and from there I read about leagues and the whole idea of Pokemon league intrigued me where I could become a gym leader and so I started visiting other server and the first league which I joined was Phoenix and my alt was Phoneix_Harry.
What's your favourite type to use in mono and why?
I dont really have a favorite type to be honest however i do enjoy using some types such as Water as the type is really versatile and one can come up with always something new and creative with it. Water as a type also has various archetypes like stall, balance or offense which are fun to explore. I generally enjoy using Offensive builds as it forces to think long term right from the preview and a little misplay can cost you the game. On the other hand offensive archetypes also have enough offense to keep opponent on their toes so I like using such a archetype.
I started playing Monotype in 2016 on PS where I used to ladder with some teams that I made and failed terribly and then I was looking for sample teams on search engines lol and I stumbled upon the monotype website which scpinion had set up and from there I read about leagues and the whole idea of Pokemon league intrigued me where I could become a gym leader and so I started visiting other server and the first league which I joined was Phoenix and my alt was Phoneix_Harry.
What's your favourite type to use in mono and why?
I dont really have a favorite type to be honest however i do enjoy using some types such as Water as the type is really versatile and one can come up with always something new and creative with it. Water as a type also has various archetypes like stall, balance or offense which are fun to explore. I generally enjoy using Offensive builds as it forces to think long term right from the preview and a little misplay can cost you the game. On the other hand offensive archetypes also have enough offense to keep opponent on their toes so I like using such a archetype.
You're getting more recognised as a player and you've been performing very well from the start of SM having won a seasonal and having an overwhelmingly positive record in MPL. What are your thoughts on the SM meta and do you play any other meta's?
I think the current SM meta is really balanced as there is not really anything that is over centralizing in the metagame. Since this Metagame is balanced, it allows to use variety of types in higher level play which is really good in my opinion as it adds a factor of surprise and as far as team building is concerned, it is still possible to come up with something new and creative in a balanced metagame. The tiering council has done a good job in giving the tier the right direction by making correct decisions.
Recently I have started playing UU more and I have taken it seriously. I used to play NU and RU until very recently but I was not really motivated for those tiers compared to my motivation for monotype.
I think the current SM meta is really balanced as there is not really anything that is over centralizing in the metagame. Since this Metagame is balanced, it allows to use variety of types in higher level play which is really good in my opinion as it adds a factor of surprise and as far as team building is concerned, it is still possible to come up with something new and creative in a balanced metagame. The tiering council has done a good job in giving the tier the right direction by making correct decisions.
Recently I have started playing UU more and I have taken it seriously. I used to play NU and RU until very recently but I was not really motivated for those tiers compared to my motivation for monotype.
People spoke about your generally positive matchups in MPL, how do you go about prepping for an opponent to prepare teams with good matchup?
Ah! it all comes down to analyzing and effective scouting. I will try to go into the details. I go through replays of my opponent and I see how they play and what kind of plays they usually make. Then I try to see a trend in their type usage and I try to predict what types they can use against me. I do that after taking into consideration my own usage of types and from there I pick a safe type or a type with good match up against my opponent and sometimes I build specific teams that have good matchup against my opponent.
How was your MPL season, did you like your team, did you get along well and did you enjoy playing in it?
As MPL debut, the season went great for me and I am happy with that. I got drafted by managers of Saffron Sabers and I am glad about it. The team composition was really good and I loved playing with Saffron Sabers, met and got to know people better and in the process I learned a lot of new things like how to prepare for opponents better, some team building, learned to play in pressure etc etc. All in all it was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed my time.
Ah! it all comes down to analyzing and effective scouting. I will try to go into the details. I go through replays of my opponent and I see how they play and what kind of plays they usually make. Then I try to see a trend in their type usage and I try to predict what types they can use against me. I do that after taking into consideration my own usage of types and from there I pick a safe type or a type with good match up against my opponent and sometimes I build specific teams that have good matchup against my opponent.
How was your MPL season, did you like your team, did you get along well and did you enjoy playing in it?
As MPL debut, the season went great for me and I am happy with that. I got drafted by managers of Saffron Sabers and I am glad about it. The team composition was really good and I loved playing with Saffron Sabers, met and got to know people better and in the process I learned a lot of new things like how to prepare for opponents better, some team building, learned to play in pressure etc etc. All in all it was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed my time.
Who has influenced you as a player in the Monotype community?
I think Sabella has influenced me a lot once I got into Competitive Monotype. I started playing in ORAS and I heard and read about how good sabella is and how he make teams that are creative. He is a very successful tour player so that is always on my mind as a player to be. I am glad that later on I was able to get personal guidance from him as one day I approached him out of the blue and told him that I respect him as a player and wanted guidance from him and I am lucky that he agreed to guide me and helped me with battling as well as building skills. Another player that has influenced me is Leru, I am a fan of his builds lol and I wish I could build teams that are out of the box like he does. Eien is also a player that has influenced me as he was a room owner in phoneix league when I joined it and then later on I saw him rise as a Staff in Monotype room and his overall metagame knowledge, building and battling skills.
I think Sabella has influenced me a lot once I got into Competitive Monotype. I started playing in ORAS and I heard and read about how good sabella is and how he make teams that are creative. He is a very successful tour player so that is always on my mind as a player to be. I am glad that later on I was able to get personal guidance from him as one day I approached him out of the blue and told him that I respect him as a player and wanted guidance from him and I am lucky that he agreed to guide me and helped me with battling as well as building skills. Another player that has influenced me is Leru, I am a fan of his builds lol and I wish I could build teams that are out of the box like he does. Eien is also a player that has influenced me as he was a room owner in phoneix league when I joined it and then later on I saw him rise as a Staff in Monotype room and his overall metagame knowledge, building and battling skills.
Are there any newer players that stand out to you that may be a bigger player in the near future?
Yeah that are few players that have impressed me so far. Prosaic is a good player and he has potential in my opinion to be a solid tour player and then there is cam who managed to get into finals of seasonals and is another solid potential showing player that needs more exposure.
Yeah that are few players that have impressed me so far. Prosaic is a good player and he has potential in my opinion to be a solid tour player and then there is cam who managed to get into finals of seasonals and is another solid potential showing player that needs more exposure.
Who are some of your favourite people you've encountered over your time on ps?
I have been fortunate enough to meet a lot of good people on PS. There are many users who are my favourite, I cannot list every one of them but I will try naming few of them. Users like Alpha rabbit, Maroon, Iggy96, Mashiro-Kun, Nlslayer, are all good friends with me and I enjoy my time chatting or playing along with them.
I have been fortunate enough to meet a lot of good people on PS. There are many users who are my favourite, I cannot list every one of them but I will try naming few of them. Users like Alpha rabbit, Maroon, Iggy96, Mashiro-Kun, Nlslayer, are all good friends with me and I enjoy my time chatting or playing along with them.
Could you give a team you like and a brief overview of how to use it for people to see?
Galvantula @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
Durant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
Heracross @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Facade
Volcarona @ Psychium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
Durant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
Heracross @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Facade
Volcarona @ Psychium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
This is a bug team I made recently. SD Heracross is really good wallbreaker almost nothing safely switches in on it against types like Steel. I paired SD Heracross with Psy Z volcarona as SD Heracross breaks Steel whereas Volcarona takes care of bulky water types such as Toxapex and Mantine and does good against the Flying-type core. Then I added Scarf Durant since it is kind of unexpected but fun to use Pokemon. Scarf allows it to outspeed threats like Mega Diancie and put in good work against Psychic-type teams as it is faster than Scarf Victini. Then I added Mega Scizor to have good matchup against Fairy-type teams and to provide the team with a priority move and a good win conidtion against Dragon teams. Volcarona beats bulky waters like Toxapex that check Mega Scizor.
This concludes my interview with Harpp. Thanks to him for taking the time to answer all these questions with such detail. If anyone has any questions they would like to ask Harpp feel free to post them in this thread!
If anyone has any suggestions for next weeks Player of the week please feel free to suggest someone!
as you entertained well during MPL with your quality memes and I find you with a good sense of humour
. 