Project National Dex POTW #3: Taka

[Michael213]

1. What is your favorite mega pokemon?

It's your favourite ezra here, and for this week of POTW I will be interviewing the captains and champions for National Dex: USA v RoW, Isza and sealoo!!

View attachment 601474 View attachment 601477
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Hey Isza and Sealoo, what's good?

Isza: Nothing much bro how about yourself?

Sealoo: hello i am well hru

I'm doing fine as well, I just got my winter break so I'm pretty free right now. What do you both enjoy doing outside of Smogon and tournaments?

Isza: Some of my hobbies are reading and painting. I've always loved books since I was a kid, and painting is something I've picked up recently. I'm not great at it ill admit but it's cool to learn as I go. I also enjoy trying new restaurants with friends when I'm not working

Sealoo: february winter break is crazy, im a hs senior and big dog person outside of that, ive worked at a veternarians office for the past yr outside of summer and its been v enjoyable

That's good to hear, now onto the topic of this interview, can you give us a quick summary of what you’re most known for in National Dex?

Isza: Is it strange I'm not sure? I wanna say being a good tournament player, although I'd also say being the US Northeast+Canada captain. I've won NDWC 2 years in a row since my introduction to the tier, so I'm assuming I'd be most known for that

Sealoo: i only got back in nd after playing during 2020 in around july 2022 (didnt touch it during 2021), but since then ive been p active across the community as a whole via forums/cord/room. Despite how unserious this tier is claimed to be, it's definitely my favorite to be around across ps/smog. tour success is worrywhirl but maybe one day..

Speaking of Natdex, how did you get into the tier ?

Sealoo: I played ss around feb/march 2020 and that Seismitoad v Dracovish dynamic got to me enough to the point where I wanted to try smth new. Think I got into natdex around ~april 2020 with a small group of friends in another server and enjoyed it as a breath of fresh air compared to cg ou

Isza: EZ and jonfilch(now known as fade) linked me NDPL and said we should all sign up because it had a custom and it was just like SM OU. We wernt bigshot tournament players at the time so we joined to have some fun. We ended up winning the entire tour and while they both moved on, I really enjoyed my experience and decided to stick around in the tier/community. Till this day SS ND is my favorite tier on the website

Ah, I got into Natdex during Dracovish meta as well, and yeah you guys were dominating that season of NDPL. How is the state of the tier right now, in your opinion?

Sealoo: i think its p fun, you can get away with a lot of different archetypes viably and i thought ND v RoW provided good insight into how the meta was atm. Overall fun despite the volatility inherently present with a meta that has tera & so many threats. Has a lot of room for creativity that im sure we'll see in NDWC.

Isza: I think the tier has a ton of offensive threats, although I wouldn't say it's in a bad state. There's a ton of diversity ATM, although I will say sun/rain are both really great and should be used more. I'm definitely a fan atm.

I agree, there is a wide range of mons to choose from that can win you games in this current meta. Are there any mons that you feel are overrated or underrated by the community?

Isza: For Overrated I'm going to say Skarmory and Mola. I think skarmory really gets taken advantage of in this meta, and Mola Is a great pivot but not as hyped up as it should be. For underrated I'm going to say volcarona and Archaludon. There's so many volc sets that I feel haven't been taken advantage of yet, and arch has only been used on rain but not abused to its full potential.

Sealoo: fs, as for overrated idt there's a ton but namely I think TornT, Clef, dnite, mola, and msciz are a bit overrated. As far as underrated goes I think mmedi, speed bu tusk, Garganacl, sd scale dice chomp, sd trailblaze shifu (very broken), and Cornerstone r some of my favorite picks. Oh hawlucha too, lucha is very very good ^ rillalucha structures (that empoleon one u built is super neat and i took inspiration from it) should be explored.

Yeah, a lot of mons are not utilized to their fullest, hopefully, we can see some development in the future. Now, what is your favourite mon to build around and your favourite playstyle to use?

Isza: In SV raging bolt. I think it's one of the best mons in the tier ATM on sun and just its cm/whatever tera set. Hits very hard and has good priority. Definitely bulky offense, makes it so that I have an even match uo most of the time vs anything.

Sealoo: I have always been a huge fan of offense (not ho, not bo, but somewhere right in between) as they tend to reward aggression and playing bold. At first esp in tours i stayed with fat as I was usually playing to not lose out of apprehension, but branching out more as of lately has been great. As for building around, I think mons that force almost guaranteed progress if you click/position right are rly good picks to start teams like that with (ursaluna, mmedi, specs val, specs lele, cm bolt)

Do you mind sharing a team that reflects this?

Sealoo: ive used this in a few individuals to some good success, really fun team with limited longevity on ur main defensive pivots so rewards aggression and getting your breakers (sd kart, av lele) into position

Isza: A prototype rain I made although haven't been in any tours in a few to test its success. Meant to be good into offense via swift swim+scarf bolt, and be able to break balance with torn

These teams are cool, I'll be sure to try them out. For the last few questions left. what do you think of the community?

Isza: I think the community is cool, and has lots of potential to grow more. One of the things I'm trying to do is to get some of the other tournament players to try nat dex and get involved. That will hopefully shine some light on how fun the tier is

Sealoo: i think the nd community is very unique is comparison to any other community on the site. Obviously there r the ash ketchum larpers in 1200 but ive also met some of the most driven people ive ever seen through here. I also think getting more tour players into the scene is v cool, seeing all the ppl i would think have no interest in natdex come out to play USA v RoW was fire

USA vs RoW was fun to spectate for sure. Now that I've mentioned it, how was your experience being captain for team USA?

Isza: I think sealoo could agree with me when I said we had a blast. Me getting players together alongside him, and his knowledge of who was good in what tier was why we were so successful. Plus having everyone in a chat that otherwise wouldn't interact with one another was very wholesome lol

Sealoo: it was incredibly enjoyable, got the chance to speak with a lot of ppl i wouldve never gotten to otherwise and assist in prepping tiers with this amalgamation of mainers/tour players that turned out rly nice in the end. That last Sunday esp when sabella and splash couldnt figure out when to play and saturday morning where we had like 5 games in succession was hype

Isza: You mean when splash dodged us and went to stream val

Sealoo: LOL

That sounded incredibly enjoyable for you both. And I think that's it for our interview, anything else you both would like to say before we end?

Isza: Make sure to join NDWC this March, and if you're laddering use raging bolt. Have a goodnight everyone

Sealoo: i am very much looking forward to ndwc and hopefully the NE v South rematch, think a lot of regions have potential if the managers just reach out to some ppl. Ty for your time, cool project

If you have any questions for Isza and Sealoo, feel free to ask them anything in this thread

what is your guys favorite mega pokemon and why?

 

[Dahness]

1.What is the most weird tier you have played outside of NDOU?
2.What other games besides Pokemon do you enjoy?
3.Who is your favorite artist?
4.What other mon could you see drop to OU, similar to Darkrai?

 

[Chilli Dewd]

It's your favourite ezra here, and for this week of POTW I will be interviewing the captains and champions for National Dex: USA v RoW, Isza and sealoo!!

View attachment 601474 View attachment 601477
​

Hey Isza and Sealoo, what's good?

Isza: Nothing much bro how about yourself?

Sealoo: hello i am well hru

I'm doing fine as well, I just got my winter break so I'm pretty free right now. What do you both enjoy doing outside of Smogon and tournaments?

Isza: Some of my hobbies are reading and painting. I've always loved books since I was a kid, and painting is something I've picked up recently. I'm not great at it ill admit but it's cool to learn as I go. I also enjoy trying new restaurants with friends when I'm not working

Sealoo: february winter break is crazy, im a hs senior and big dog person outside of that, ive worked at a veternarians office for the past yr outside of summer and its been v enjoyable

That's good to hear, now onto the topic of this interview, can you give us a quick summary of what you’re most known for in National Dex?

Isza: Is it strange I'm not sure? I wanna say being a good tournament player, although I'd also say being the US Northeast+Canada captain. I've won NDWC 2 years in a row since my introduction to the tier, so I'm assuming I'd be most known for that

Sealoo: i only got back in nd after playing during 2020 in around july 2022 (didnt touch it during 2021), but since then ive been p active across the community as a whole via forums/cord/room. Despite how unserious this tier is claimed to be, it's definitely my favorite to be around across ps/smog. tour success is worrywhirl but maybe one day..

Speaking of Natdex, how did you get into the tier ?

Sealoo: I played ss around feb/march 2020 and that Seismitoad v Dracovish dynamic got to me enough to the point where I wanted to try smth new. Think I got into natdex around ~april 2020 with a small group of friends in another server and enjoyed it as a breath of fresh air compared to cg ou

Isza: EZ and jonfilch(now known as fade) linked me NDPL and said we should all sign up because it had a custom and it was just like SM OU. We wernt bigshot tournament players at the time so we joined to have some fun. We ended up winning the entire tour and while they both moved on, I really enjoyed my experience and decided to stick around in the tier/community. Till this day SS ND is my favorite tier on the website

Ah, I got into Natdex during Dracovish meta as well, and yeah you guys were dominating that season of NDPL. How is the state of the tier right now, in your opinion?

Sealoo: i think its p fun, you can get away with a lot of different archetypes viably and i thought ND v RoW provided good insight into how the meta was atm. Overall fun despite the volatility inherently present with a meta that has tera & so many threats. Has a lot of room for creativity that im sure we'll see in NDWC.

Isza: I think the tier has a ton of offensive threats, although I wouldn't say it's in a bad state. There's a ton of diversity ATM, although I will say sun/rain are both really great and should be used more. I'm definitely a fan atm.

I agree, there is a wide range of mons to choose from that can win you games in this current meta. Are there any mons that you feel are overrated or underrated by the community?

Isza: For Overrated I'm going to say Skarmory and Mola. I think skarmory really gets taken advantage of in this meta, and Mola Is a great pivot but not as hyped up as it should be. For underrated I'm going to say volcarona and Archaludon. There's so many volc sets that I feel haven't been taken advantage of yet, and arch has only been used on rain but not abused to its full potential.

Sealoo: fs, as for overrated idt there's a ton but namely I think TornT, Clef, dnite, mola, and msciz are a bit overrated. As far as underrated goes I think mmedi, speed bu tusk, Garganacl, sd scale dice chomp, sd trailblaze shifu (very broken), and Cornerstone r some of my favorite picks. Oh hawlucha too, lucha is very very good ^ rillalucha structures (that empoleon one u built is super neat and i took inspiration from it) should be explored.

Yeah, a lot of mons are not utilized to their fullest, hopefully, we can see some development in the future. Now, what is your favourite mon to build around and your favourite playstyle to use?

Isza: In SV raging bolt. I think it's one of the best mons in the tier ATM on sun and just its cm/whatever tera set. Hits very hard and has good priority. Definitely bulky offense, makes it so that I have an even match uo most of the time vs anything.

Sealoo: I have always been a huge fan of offense (not ho, not bo, but somewhere right in between) as they tend to reward aggression and playing bold. At first esp in tours i stayed with fat as I was usually playing to not lose out of apprehension, but branching out more as of lately has been great. As for building around, I think mons that force almost guaranteed progress if you click/position right are rly good picks to start teams like that with (ursaluna, mmedi, specs val, specs lele, cm bolt)

Do you mind sharing a team that reflects this?

Sealoo: ive used this in a few individuals to some good success, really fun team with limited longevity on ur main defensive pivots so rewards aggression and getting your breakers (sd kart, av lele) into position

Isza: A prototype rain I made although haven't been in any tours in a few to test its success. Meant to be good into offense via swift swim+scarf bolt, and be able to break balance with torn

These teams are cool, I'll be sure to try them out. For the last few questions left. what do you think of the community?

Isza: I think the community is cool, and has lots of potential to grow more. One of the things I'm trying to do is to get some of the other tournament players to try nat dex and get involved. That will hopefully shine some light on how fun the tier is

Sealoo: i think the nd community is very unique is comparison to any other community on the site. Obviously there r the ash ketchum larpers in 1200 but ive also met some of the most driven people ive ever seen through here. I also think getting more tour players into the scene is v cool, seeing all the ppl i would think have no interest in natdex come out to play USA v RoW was fire

USA vs RoW was fun to spectate for sure. Now that I've mentioned it, how was your experience being captain for team USA?

Isza: I think sealoo could agree with me when I said we had a blast. Me getting players together alongside him, and his knowledge of who was good in what tier was why we were so successful. Plus having everyone in a chat that otherwise wouldn't interact with one another was very wholesome lol

Sealoo: it was incredibly enjoyable, got the chance to speak with a lot of ppl i wouldve never gotten to otherwise and assist in prepping tiers with this amalgamation of mainers/tour players that turned out rly nice in the end. That last Sunday esp when sabella and splash couldnt figure out when to play and saturday morning where we had like 5 games in succession was hype

Isza: You mean when splash dodged us and went to stream val

Sealoo: LOL

That sounded incredibly enjoyable for you both. And I think that's it for our interview, anything else you both would like to say before we end?

Isza: Make sure to join NDWC this March, and if you're laddering use raging bolt. Have a goodnight everyone

Sealoo: i am very much looking forward to ndwc and hopefully the NE v South rematch, think a lot of regions have potential if the managers just reach out to some ppl. Ty for your time, cool project

If you have any questions for Isza and Sealoo, feel free to ask them anything in this thread

So when am I getting mines alongside egg? Aka Epicgamergod69 , (Just kidding, also adding this to nd lore, we should also do that project at least for the lols)

 

[Ineros]

Sealoo.
Judging by your name you probably like . When are we getting the sealeo heat?!

 

[Amstan]

dogs or cats?

 

[sealoo]

Questions for both of you:

1. Whats your favourite foods?

2. Hardest you've ever malded playing mons?

3. Both of you being council members, has your opinion on mega bannette changed now that you realize its never going to drop in usage?

For Sealoo

4. What is the best natdex om in your opinion?

5. Do you think you've been a staff member long enough for me to name a after you?

1. Chicago thin-crust Pizza with ease, deep dish is a tourist trap
2. NDWC III Week 3, I was so pissed after this game LOL
3. I started realizing how consistently annoying it is to fight on ladder and started to think to myself how, “hey wait maybe this is doing well vs me for a reason.” Has a pretty interesting kit that carves out a role imo
4. National Dex NFE is not only the greatest NDOM ever, but very well could be the best tier ever.
5. I certainly hope not, R8 is too iconic despite their retirement from NDOU

1. What is your favorite mega pokemon?

Using Mega Scizor was one of the primary reasons I picked up ND in the first place. Peak design

1.What is the most weird tier you have played outside of NDOU?
2.What other games besides Pokemon do you enjoy?
3.Who is your favorite artist?
4.What other mon could you see drop to OU, similar to Darkrai?

1. ND STAB + CatSwap
2. I have logged too many hours to count on Overwatch and Rainbow 6 Siege (probably upwards of 1500+) but I dont really play anymore.
3. 21 Savage or Travis Scott as a whole, but it varies during seasons tbh. I like A$AP Rocky specifically in the Winter. (my playlist)
4. Roaring Moon is really the only option, there is a lot of support for it to be freed ever since its ban. Idk what else we could feasibly free

Sealoo.
Judging by your name you probably like . When are we getting the sealeo heat?!

I tried to build Sealeo for NFE to beat Smash Wartortle but unfortunately the Rocks weakness is crippling

dogs or cats?

Dogs 100%, Ive never owned a cat but I have 5 dogs. Have worked with more dogs at work than cats as well, but I am pretty experienced w/ both

thanks for the questions

 

[Isza]

Questions for both of you:

1. Whats your favourite foods?

2. Hardest you've ever malded playing mons?

3. Both of you being council members, has your opinion on mega bannette changed now that you realize its never going to drop in usage?

For Isza

1. What are these volc/archaludon sets you think might be underexplored and why?

For Sealoo

1. What is the best natdex om in your opinion?

2. Do you think you've been a staff member long enough for me to name a after you?

1. Definitely pasta, always loved it as a kid and nothings changed
2. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen1ou-732822

So there's lots of context behind this, while I'm very chill I am human and this was one of those days that got to me. My scl team missed playoffs by 1 game, some stuff happened at work, and it was 5-5 in rbypl and raizen got a little lucky all game. Ended up apologizing to him on the thread after, definitely not my best moment lol https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...glacial-articunos.3731537/page-2#post-9874678

3. Not on council also that mons a meme

4. Wcop is coming up so don't wanna reveal too much, also for volc I'd say bulky tera dragon 6-0s most teams. And for arch definitely AV in rain/Z steel beam in rain.

1. What is your favorite mega pokemon?

what is your guys favorite mega pokemon and why?

Mega mawile, I love its typing and the design is heat.

1.What is the most weird tier you have played outside of NDOU?
2.What other games besides Pokemon do you enjoy?
3.Who is your favorite artist?
4.What other mon could you see drop to OU, similar to Darkrai?

1.Probably Nat dex AG idk what goes on there man lmao but I played it this 1 side tour and got super farmed.

2. Yugioh is the only other game I play, but I stopped recently wanna get back into it again

3. Wale

4. None keep all that shit in ou

dogs or cats?

Cats

 

[Chilli Dewd]

Okay, I would love to ask some questions for the two of you myself if I may:

1. What kind of shows/movies/anime/yt channels/etc do you guys enjoy?

2. If there was a place would love to visit, where would it be and the reasoning.

3. What was the wackiest set or mon (or both) you have ever lost to in ND?

 

[Isza]

Okay, I would love to ask some questions for the two of you myself if I may:

1. What kind of shows/movies/anime/yt channels/etc do you guys enjoy?

2. If there was a place would love to visit, where would it be and the reasoning.

3. What was the wackiest set or mon (or both) you have ever lost to in ND?

1. I enjoy cop shows(law and order, Chicago PD, The blacklist) for anime I'd say yugioh me and hellom Watch it like everyday.

2. I'd love to visit the Cirque du Soleil, which is considered the biggest circus in the world. That way I could see all my friends like Attribute hariyana grande and Azick . On a more serious note I'd love to go to Vegas. I'm a city guy and everything over there looks so dope.

3. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9nationaldex-737350?p2

This was for money tour r2

 

[sealoo]

Okay, I would love to ask some questions for the two of you myself if I may:

1. What kind of shows/movies/anime/yt channels/etc do you guys enjoy?

2. If there was a place would love to visit, where would it be and the reasoning.

3. What was the wackiest set or mon (or both) you have ever lost to in ND?

1. Big fan of medical shows that are more medically inclined (Not the super dramatic ones, but some level of drama is needed) like The Resident & New Amsterdam. As far as anime goes, I very occasionally watch but I am a fan of Dr. Stone, oshi no ko, and jjba (only p1-6, not a manga reader). For youtube, I think listening to BKC/blunder videos are always interesting but non-pokemon related would include Veritasium, Adam Rageusa, Half as Interesting, LEMMiNO, Quabi, and the great Barry McCockiner (football fans know)

2. I always thought Italy would always be an interesting place to go climate- and attractions-wise. Domestically, ive never been to NYC and idk how as everyone else in my family has been 3+ times

3. That jerk spamming Mega Venusaur back in 2022 that went by the name of setset77…on a real note, I got smashed on ladder by offensive tera blast fire Gastrodon and I wanted to quit the game

 

[EatFoods]

I have 5 dog

Can we see them please and thank you

 

[anique]

ban sleep or darkrai?
Is ssnd overrated?
Shifu broken??

 

[sealoo]

Can we see them please and thank you

1

2

3

4

5

Bonus

ban sleep or darkrai?
Is ssnd overrated?
Shifu broken??

1. Sleep bc the policy sucks but Im indifferent
2. I used to think it was overrated earlier in the gen but as of recently people have settled down about it and I think it’s properly rated
3. I was exaggerating but scarf & sd are great, cb is interesting and Ive tried it a few times but it feels a bit easier to punish than other breakers so I rarely end up using it. Trailblaze is the only good last move on sd btw anything else is self-sabotage

 

[Isza]

ban sleep or darkrai?
Is ssnd overrated?
Shifu broken??

1. Definitely not

2.SS ND is the most balanced nat dex meta in my personal opinion. Power creep isn't over the top,(besides Z kart) every playstyle is viable, and despite being around for so long there's alot to explore in the meta.

3. Very good mon with tera steel SD although not broken

 

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

The week has ended, but, out of curiousity, Croissant Or Baguette?

 

[sealoo]

The week has ended, but, out of curiousity, Croissant Or Baguette?

baguette R8

 

[ezra]

I'm back! and for this week of POTW, I'll be interviewing the recent champion of ND Kickoff Taka!

(idk how to make it bigger sry)
​

Hey Taka, how are you?

Taka: I’m good bro just tired how about you

I just finished a bunch of schoolwork so I'm quite exhausted as well. So could you tell the audience what do you do outside of Smogon?

Taka: I work as a software engineer full time and outside of that I like to bake a lot and lift. I’ve enjoying newer stuff like swimming and boxing on occasion so glad to try stuff out like that

Ah, that's nice to hear while I'm still stuck with school x. What are you most known for inside the Natdex community?

Taka: I’d prob say I’ve been relatively active on the forums and I was on team south in ndwc. Wouldn’t say I’m entirely a known presence in natdex outside of that though. I guess kickoff might be the most well known part now haha.

Yeah, congrats on winning kickoff. Speaking of which, what was your tour run like during that tournament?

Taka: I definitely went a lot farther than expected. I usually get a lot more stressed out about my tours but it was quite nice playing this tour and seeing a variety of new stuff. Definitely found a new appreciation for stuff like Mawile and Waterpon. Shoutout nashrock for that being seamless and shoutout sealoo for helping me with everything. But I think the metas gone in a good way since PL.

I feel you, making that far in a money tournament can be quite stressful. Back to the topic of this interview, how did you get into Natdex in the first place?

Taka: It was actually my first tier on smogon, I was a huge natdex ladder player in the summer before SV came out and started playing smogon tours during SV. I think it was the appeal of Megas along w a lot of my favorite mons like Urshifu that really drew me to it but eventually that led to me being more active on natdex cord and so on.

Oh, that is impressive seeing now you are in bigger tournament scenes like SPL and SCL. Anyway, what do you like most about the format and the community?

Taka: Formatwise i really enjoy the metagame itself. Even outside of just having megas and z and everything, I think ultimately the tier feels like a good pace but not overly unbalanced. I think the community is a huge part of it too, I’ve just vibed w a lot of the players I’ve met both just in the way we act and the way we build and it’s been a huge reason to come back and keep playing.

Are there any Pokemon you don't think that is rated high enough / rated too highly with the addition of the second DLC?

Taka: Okay I can definitely say Iron Boulder needs to drop a few tiers. It’s cool as an HO deterrent but it’s just finicky in that it isn’t strong enough to revenge a lot of them thanks to the awkwardness of its STABS / attack stat, and lando/gliscor/chomp are all prevalent enough to deter it regardless. A lot of the time it just ends up trading with whatever is on the field atm, which is something I understand but I’m not a fan of compared to other HO pokemon. Ogerpon-Cornerstone may also be underrated and overshadowed by Ogerpon-Wellspring, but I’d argue it’s a much stronger breaker that just lacks the defensive utility / splash ability of its water counterpart.

Honestly yea I don't think Iron Boulder is that great at the moment due to how the metagame is now. So what is your favourite pokemon and kind of team to bring in National Dex?

Taka: I’m a huge fan of beat em down playstyles with setup spam feat stuff like Urshifu and Waterpon paired with Spikes. Just in general strong breakers reward good clicking feel great, especially in a tier where you have to narrowly pivot around threats through resists / drops. On the topic of Urshifu, I absolutely love how it feels with Glowking, even if that core has some issues in current metagame. Generally I feel consistent playing with stuff that keeps the game in my hands and rewards being aggressive.

Would you mind sharing a team that reflects that?

Taka: This is a team i've enjoyed quite a bit recently. You get spikes up early game with Ferro, can pressure opposing shared ground/fairy checks with Tusk / Bolt and Scarf Urshifu, and you still have some defensive leeway through AV Lele, Lando-T, and Scarf Urshifu, as well as priority from bolt.

Cool build, maybe I'll try out this in a tour one day though I'd prefer more balanced structures. And I think that's it for our interview, anything you wanna leave us with?

Taka: I'm looking forward to playing in NDWC. Appreciate the effort, this was fun, thanks for this!

I would like to thank Taka for his time and feel free to ask him any questions in this thread!

 

[about15guys]

Taka
Do you have any wacky or fun sets you've built with and you're willing to share?

 

[Dahness]

1.How do you mentally prepare for a big game that you are stressed about?
2.What's your favorite artist?

 

[Taka]

Taka
Do you have any wacky or fun sets you've built with and you're willing to share?

Hey! This may be the coolest set i've made recently in natdex:


Hoopa-Unbound
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Gunk Shot

he steals eviolite/boots from chansey/blissey for the most part and has a good stall mu (nice to bring into stall users)


Hatterene @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Draining Kiss
- Mystical Fire

built this one w sealoo but you just have a better mu into poison-types like gking while having a seismic immunity + creeping pex.

1.How do you mentally prepare for a big game that you are stressed about?
2.What's your favorite artist?

1. I actually used to and still have a lot of issues with this. A friend of mine on this site told me to try to keep my mind entirely off of it by occupying your day beforehand (i.e. go workout/hang out w friends/grab food), just do something that doesn't involve you anxiously sitting in front of the screen waiting for your tour game. Ultimately, nerves happen regardless but learning to play around them is how we improve, and just getting yourself in the feeling of "hey this is going to be fun im excited" is smth that takes some time to learn.
2. SZA is my pick for sure

 

[Ineros]

Hey Taka
1. What was your least favorite point in Gen 9 ND’s history?
2. What threats do you usually cover for when building?
3. What is your opinion on Mega Latias

 

[Chilli Dewd]

Well I got a rather important question, as I am studying computer programming(slight differences)
What places, websites, or others would you recomend me to look for a job?
For a more pokemon related question, if you were to mention a "Big 5" in Gen 9 ND (as in, the best 5 pokemon in the tier) which would they be and why?

 

[Taka]

Hey Taka
1. What was your least favorite point in Gen 9 ND’s history?
2. What threats do you usually cover for when building?
3. What is your opinion on Mega Latias

1. feels like chi-yu meta is a copout answer but the real answer is the week after bloodmoon ban (so many brokens left and so many fat teams)
2. what i focus on is usually just having general breaking synergy w my sweepers and then having general defensive pivots to the rest of the meta, but i get paranoid and really hone in on stuff like Specs Lele / Volc / Valiant sometimes in my builder bc they are so strong and relatively versatile.
3. Good mon, has some issues bc of a little bit less immediate power in this meta but ultimately not a bad pick. it has some nice traits in the bulk and speed, but I find myself using latios more bc i can just click and break through a lot of defensive cores

Well I got a rather important question, as I am studying computer programming(slight differences)
What places, websites, or others would you recomend me to look for a job?
For a more pokemon related question, if you were to mention a "Big 5" in Gen 9 ND (as in, the best 5 pokemon in the tier) which would they be and why?

My college had a thing called Handshake that you could apply through, outside of that I applied on LinkedIn and Indeed for the most part. I used Leetcode to prep for a lot of the interviews, so try that if you can.

Big 5: ogerpon-w, lele, gliscor, lando-t, gking

Gliscor + Lando-t are just grounds that fit different playstyles but they bring so much value to most teams that its hard to pass them by (unless you go the tusk route on more offensive builds). Gking is quite necessary in this meta for balance with the Tapus, Volc, Bolt, and just brings so much utility w pivot / status / spdef sponge. Ogerpon-W is an obscene breaker that also gives HO/offense a pretty broken out into Rain (outside of arch/torn). Tapu Lele is, imo, by far the most viable Scarf user in this tier, it is the most splashable form of speed control and one of the most consistent.