Project OM Interviews (#22: Ren)

[PartMan]

Who is the cutest involved 2v2 staff member? (Apart from yourself, of course)

 

[Krytocon]

Who is the cutest involved 2v2 staff member? (Apart from yourself, of course)

become involved :sad:

 

[Snowjy]

to mubs the absolute g,

1. Will you be my friend :eyes:

2. send me some oras teams y/n

3. make a team with me when

4. when will itchy get voice in <<2v2>>

5. wendys or mcdonalds?

I’m glad you finally got interviewed

 

[Itchy]

4. when will itchy get voice in <<2v2>>

The real question is:
When do we get a public room?

/j 2v2 on Showdown if you want to join us btw

 

[LBDC]

In your opinion, and with your experience as 2v2 leader, what qualities you'd think as most important for metagames / community leaders?
What it's like to be part of both 1v1 and 2v2 community?
What do you prefer: WCoP 1v1 or 1v1PL?
Does it's hard to you to find good pfp? (both discord/smogon)
Last one: Why do you like every posts of the GP queue? And when did you start to do it?

 

[IBM]

Who is your favorite demoted former 2v2 voice

 

[Mubs]

Who is the cutest involved 2v2 staff member? (Apart from yourself, of course)

Making me choose between pa and d2. d2's room activity is the tiebreaker.

1. Will you be my friend :eyes:

Thought I was.

2. send me some oras teams y/n

ORAS 1v1 or 2v2?

3. make a team with me when

hmu whenever tho I'm kinda busy with pl and apush rn so...

4. when will itchy get voice in <<2v2>>

Not sure. Depends on a few factors.

5. wendys or mcdonalds?

uhh, I like both ig? Never really had a pref with fast food.

The real question is:
When do we get a public room?

My current estimates have it at late next year.

In your opinion, and with your experience as 2v2 leader, what qualities you'd think as most important for metagames / community leaders?

If you mean for a metagame to succeed, you need to be dedicated and consistent with developing it. You don't have to be like me with 69 posts (I checked) in the 2v2 thread, but I'd suggest one work to make and develop hubs of playing and discussion, along with making it easy for people to learn the meta. I've been very lucky with having a challengable meta right off the bat, along with people who play it somewhat often, but I feel what I mentioned can apply to most metagames, assuming they have appeal (rip pacifistmons).

What it's like to be part of both 1v1 and 2v2 community?

I consider 2v2 as a subcommunity but I guess with the situation we've been put in we've grown a little more distant. Either way, it's fun. Sometimes annoying, but that's every community. I appreciate the people there.

What do you prefer: WCoP 1v1 or 1v1PL?

1v1PL. Drafting + better control of your teams strengths and weaknesses. Still love US East.

Does it's hard to you to find good pfp? (both discord/smogon)

I've been sticking to Grant Gustin for a while now because I like him as an actor. Never really thought of changing it.

Last one: Why do you like every posts of the GP queue? And when did you start to do it?

I don't know exactly why I've kept on doing it, but I guess its my "token of appreciation" to the people who spend their time in C&C. As for when I started doing it? Late gen 7.

Who is your favorite demoted former 2v2 voice

u really making me choose between u and zio.. I don't really have an answer.

 

[OM]

Hello and welcome back to OM Interviews! This time, we're featuring...

​

Hello Tmi489 and welcome to OM interviews! How are you doing today?

I'm doing fine? Haven't been playing PS! in a while, though. Just lots of work and another game

That's good to hear you're doing alright. Now, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?

I'm a highschooler in the eastern coast of the US. I'm not really comfortable telling more, really.

And that's alright! Now, how did you get into OMs?

I orignally started playing Custom Game (Level 9999, 24 Mons) around 2018 when some friends told me about the format. Around when, 8191 speed cap was patched ~2019, we were talking about some terrible formats to play - one of them being Gen 1 PH. This got me interested into old Gen PH as a whole, which lead me to OMM and eventually general OM talk.

So what OMs / OMMs do you enjoy playing and building?

My main oms are Pure Hackmons (Gen 4, 7, 8) and Stabmons + AAA (StAAAb).

Now, what are you thoughts on the metas? Wanna give a run down on some major threats or playstyles?

Gen 4 PH is very unexplored right now, I haven't played it in over a month. But what does seem most threatening is (semi)-stall. Rapid Spin is hard to pull off due to all the Wonder Guards and Ghosts; and its very easy to wear down a team. Pure Power Giratina-O is the main threat of the meta; while hardwalled by Flash Fires its an amazing offensive threat that ends up choking others like Latios and Deoxys-Speed. Taunt ends up being very effective, either by Arceus or Electrode and its very hard to provide pressure. Gen 8 PH is going through meta trends as the 0 defense glitch has been (re)discovered; making it hard to progress StAAAb is fairly interesting; but I dont think i have as firm of a grasp on it as I do PH. There are some really powerful breakers like Glastier and Latios, and I think offense is best because of it.

Are there any teams or cores for the meta you'd like to share?

I personally really like Sylveon + (Physical Breaker) for StAAAb, though you could replace Sylveon with another nuke like Latios. https://pokepast.es/223b426d940bf100

You mentioned you've been doing other things lately... what are some hobbies you do outside of PS?

I play a game called Realm of the Mad God; its too addicting for me and its main appeal permadeath, isn't fun to actually experience. But it eats up time, whenever I like it or not. I also play trumpet, and have been trying to draw, but I spend too much time playing ROTMG

That's cool! I've always wanted to try an instrument but never had the time... Now, are you excited for wcoom?

tbh I kinda forgot about it. I'm not really interested in the tournament scene, sadly. Its also not for formats I really play. I will probably tune in to a game or 2, though

In that case, what are some memories you've made in OMs so far?

There really isn't anything specific. I like hanging out in any of the OM rooms (OM, OMM, Old Shark), its always fun. I remember battling another player in Gen 8 PH, but neither of us brought Eternamax, and it turned out to be a really intense game. I dont think I have the replay though

Hmm, do you think you've made any friends in OMs?

Not in the general sense but I like talking to some people that I dont want to name

Fair fair. Going back to Gen 8 PH, what is your thoughts on the 0 defense glitch? Does it help or break down the meta?

It destroys the meta. No longer is it a delicate struggle to get your shell smashers in, in the right conditions. I don't like what I'm seeing so far, but its better than I expected. However, the 0 Defense glitch probably is the only way to balance out the broken monstrosity that is Calyrex-Shadow (and neutralizing gas); which would have torn the meta apart anyways.

Adding on, what are you thoughts on Gen 8 PH compared to Gen 4, 6 or 7 PH?

Old gen PH is way more playable than Gen 8. Except Copycat + Whirlwind in Gen 4 (which I forgot is a huge threat), and Innards in Gen 7 but both really haven't really been explored to its fullest

Why is that? Anything that PH could add or get rid of to improve it?

Eternamax and Neutralizing Gas are just very constricting. Because of its concept, PH can't really improve on it.

is it time to balance PH?

My personal theory is that BH is also inherently broken; anything that can actually break through the walls of the meta can also have the potential to 6-0 or otherwise But I've never played enough BH so I am probably 100% wrong here

Feel free to ask Tmi more questions below!!

 

[ArcticBreeze]

Where did u get your name from?

What is the most balanced and competitive ph gen and why is it gen 2?

Pineapple or Sushi pizza?

 

[manu 11]

Where does your sylveon fetish in staaab come from?
iirc you don't like gen 5 ph, can you explain why because imo it's a great meta?
Why do you hate copycat/whirlwind in gen 4 ph? It's honestly hilarious to use
As a fellow person with numbers in his name i kinda have to ask, why 489?
Do you play any other video game?
What do you think is worse in gen 8 ph, eternamax or ngas?

 

[The Number Man]

Manu sniped my number 1 question (sylve), so ig i gotta come up with my own.

You've always had unique takes on STAAAB (using Sylveon + Snorlax when everyone else was spamming Weather/Terrain abusers + Chansey, Esca seems to also be a preferred pick for you). Why do you think your teams differ so much from what others tend to run?

Feel free to skip this question if you dont wanna answer this - how come you aren't interested in the tournament scene?

Did you prefer STAAAB in gen7 or gen8?

How does one get into PH? The meta feels way too different to everything else I've ever played.

Whats an OM mashup that deserves more attention than it has been getting this gen?

 

[Tmi489]

Where did u get your name from?

What is the most balanced and competitive ph gen and why is it gen 2?

Pineapple or Sushi pizza?

• 2nd and 3rd of my real name swapped, then 489 sound cool
• Gen 2 tbh has some problems with Explosion and sleeptrap, so my bet is probably on Gen 6
• Sushi

Where does your sylveon fetish in staaab come from?
iirc you don't like gen 5 ph, can you explain why because imo it's a great meta?
Why do you hate copycat/whirlwind in gen 4 ph? It's honestly hilarious to use
As a fellow person with numbers in his name i kinda have to ask, why 489?
Do you play any other video game?
What do you think is worse in gen 8 ph, eternamax or ngas?

• Sylveon hits all these insane 2kos man, I probably stole the set from stabmons proper when needing a fairy type and saw how it broke through everything (at the time; Chansey did not exist).
• I dont like how Spirit is hard to break and how sleep lasts and how stally it generally is. personal preference maybe because there is competitive
• smh bc you're the one using it
• see above
• ^
• Ngas probably; ph nglassless is better than ph eternyless at least

Manu sniped my number 1 question (sylve), so ig i gotta come up with my own.

You've always had unique takes on STAAAB (using Sylveon + Snorlax when everyone else was spamming Weather/Terrain abusers + Chansey, Esca seems to also be a preferred pick for you). Why do you think your teams differ so much from what others tend to run?

Feel free to skip this question if you dont wanna answer this - how come you aren't interested in the tournament scene?

Did you prefer STAAAB in gen7 or gen8?

How does one get into PH? The meta feels way too different to everything else I've ever played.

Whats an OM mashup that deserves more attention than it has been getting this gen?

• I spam the same cores but they are my cores (more recently ttar + chomp + mag). Kinda hard to use sylve-lax in DLC2 soooo... But sylvelax has probably warped my perception as a tier as a whole, bc lax eats most special attackers. I also do not like chansey.
• I just never really got into the tournament scene
• Gen 8 StAAAb; for one I didn't get into mashups until the tail end of gen 7, and when I did I just spammed HO with tinted lando-t and latios
• idk how to really answer that question, but focusing on the dynamic between WGs / No Guards / Pure Powers / Mold Breakers help
• StAAAb UU? kinda only been playing StAAAb main lately

 

[OM]

Hello and welcome back to OM Interviews! This round we've got...

The Thinkerino Statue!
​

Hello Thinkerino and welcome to OM Interviews! How are you doing today?

I'm doing great! Today's my last day before I drive home for winter break, so that's exciting

That's awesome!! I hope you enjoy the break. Starting off, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?

It's no problem! I'm a second year uni student (premed majoring in biology), and I live in an apartment w/ a roommate around four hours away from home. With everything going on in regards to the pandemic, adjusting to online school has been a challenge for sure, but we pulled through. Outside of PS, I tend to spend a lot of time reading--whether it's novels, manga/webtoons, or dictionaries (yes, really), it's one of my favorite hobbies for sure! I also play several instruments, but most frequently I practice the drums and the cello Music is a huge part of my life because everyone in my family either sings, plays an instrument, or both, so that's a ton of fun As for my experience on PS, even though I've actually never played a single second of any cartridge pokemon game, a friend introduced me to it at the beginning of high school and it's stuck ever since. I tend to spend a lot of time just hanging out on showdown--even when I'm doing other things.

And how did you get into OMs? What are some of your favourite metas to play?

I got into OMs as a result of wanting to be able to use mons without being relegated to standards like ou/uu, which I was honestly tired of at the time. Aside from that, I really wanted to be able to contribute to oms in some way, so eventually getting into a council/leading a tier was always a goal for me--aside from PS-staff related goals, obviously Some of my favorites are Almost Any Ability (duh), Last Will, Godly Gift, and Camomons.

Speaking of AAA, you've recently come into leading it! What are your thoughts on the current meta trends? Does anything worry you?

Wow, there's a lot to unpack there To start with, right now the meta is in a state where there are a lot of viable offensive threats (which I've even posted about on the thread) and arguably limited means to deal with them defensively without there being some glaring weaknesses. Regardless, competitive AAA matches seem to rarely have unwinnable matchups for either side, and it's certainly worth noting that AAA is by no means a "fat" meta right now. A particularly noteworthy trend is Zeraora showing up on seemingly every other team. Its near-uncontested speed tier and impressive coverage makes it excellent at both crippling and cleaning up teams. Additionally, it's now become no surprise to see Blissey on virtually every team, namely because it compresses hazard control in the form of Magic Bounce while retaining its position as a top tier specially defensive wall newly enabled with pivoting in the form of teleport. Blissey and Zeraora aren't the only culprits, either--they're just two of the most notable. Something that concerns me is that although no single element seems to shout "broken" or "unhealthy" as of right now, teambuilding for the current meta can be difficult--as I said earlier, it's not always easy to defensively cover for powerful attackers like Kyurem, Spectrier, Victini without giving up some kind of advantage in return. That said, I'm hoping that after the OM World Cup, the council will be able to fully devote our attention to examining which factors of the metagame require observation and which might need to be suspect tested/banned.

I see! And how have you reacted to these meta trends when building? Anything new or interesting you like playing with? Any teams you'd like to show off?

My reaction has mostly been to try and adapt by making the most of the tools available and also watching other people's games to better understand how they're tackling all of the changes that came with DLC II. Another potentially odd habit I have is taking teams from completely different metas and adapting them into AAA teams. I've done it with MnM, Camo, OU, and even UU teams in the past--it's quite fun :] In terms of interesting stuff worth giving a try, it's honestly difficult to come with "heat" sets when there's already such a large amount of experimentation going on, but something that was brought to my attention recently is Modest Sheer Force Genesect, running BoltBeam coverage, Shift Gear, and Leech Life. It takes out quite a few common defensive cores (many of which include Blissey) and deals a ton of damage by taking advantage of boltbeam utility As of right now there's really only one team that I've can say is my "favorite," and it's this one: https://pokepast.es/b88ddf860d11f123 I built it a week or two ago, and it's the definition of straightforward and simple: The gameplan is to spam pivoting moves until Victini can get in to kill something with Choice Band Tinted Lens V-create, featuring spdef Blissey and Tyranitar. Other than that, I tend to spend quite a bit of time vacillating over my options in teambuilder, so sometimes several days will pass and a team still won't be finished, but I can say without a doubt that labbing things in teambuilder is definitely something I do for hours on end

(Oh I forgot to add in my answer to the first question that my name in real life is in fact Isaiah--same as on discord)

It's great to see such a detailed look into your teambuilding process! How have you been enjoying the WCoOM games so far? Anything you'd like to talk about regarding their teams or plays?

When it comes to tournament gameplay, it's really easy to pass judgment on decisions that players make while enjoying the safety of being on the outside and looking in. I've been a culprit of this many times, and I'd say I do it pretty much everytime I watch a tour game while chatting with friends. That being said, the [AAA] WCoOM games have been entertaining to watch thus far, mostly because it gives me an idea of what people think competitive AAA should look like. In terms of teams and plays, it should be noted that barring a match featuring both a Chansey and Blissey on the same, the teams used tend to forgo worrying about having direct answers to every threat and instead seek to incorporate wincons that are equipped with the tools to take advantage of their checks. One of the easiest examples of this to explain is Triage Tapu Bulu. On paper, it seems as though the obvious answer is to just pack intimidate/dauntless and/or a steel type, but Bulu's coverage of Close Combat + Darkest Lariat actually gives it the potential to beat would-be answers like Dshield Mew and Skarmory or even Corviknight by Swords Dancing up and blasting right through them. We saw an example of this at the end of a game in Week 1 where Ham was able to break through a Corviknight quite easily by getting +4 Attack in front of it and just killing it. Bulu is able to recreate similar scenarios versus things like Doublade and even Zapdos as well given the proper positioning--and this really just points to the direction of the meta right now. People seem to be favoring pokemon like Tapu Bulu, Zeraora, and even Garchomp (rozes managed to cram all three onto the same team in week 1 as well!) because they're able to either achieve their intended goal of exerting offensive pressure or cripple their own checks using the utility of their movesets.

This approach to building when combined with the standard AAA building mentality of cramming as many pivoting moves as possible onto every team is both parts entertaining to watch but also indicative of just how offensive the meta seems to be right now. That may change in the coming weeks, but I wouldn't be surprised if the trend continues until the very end of the tournament

Moving on, how do you feel about last will / godly gift / camomons? Why do they interest you, and what do you consider each's "greatest pressure" to build around?

For me, what made Last Will particularly fun was just the sheer audacity of a meta where your pokemon execute their last moves before fainting. There were so many ways to get last minute chip or intentionally sack a mon to kill another, and for someone who up until that point had only really experienced OU, it was a huge change for me. One of the hardest things to deal with in that meta was figuring out endgame plans while in the midst of mons leaving behind presents left and right. It got somewhat hectic sometimes but was still loads of fun! As for Godly Gift, my interest in that was mostly because it gave me a way to use 150 Base HP Mega Scizor by way of Giratina, and for whatever reason at the time I became infatuated with running Giaratina with Mega Scizor in the HP slot. I can't say I ever got to the point where I ever started seriously building Godly Gift teams, but something that often gave me trouble was Deoxys-Attack HO, which just turned two mons into offensive machines capable of breaking through nearly everything

Camomons is awesome! Changing up typings is a dream come true if anything. Mons like Mew enabled to become whatever one needs them to be adds so much flavor to the realm of possibilities! I think the most attractive aspect of camo is knowing that no matter what would-be coverage moves I want to run on a mon, I can find a way to give it a STAB boost or defensive typing that'll be to its advantage in some way. In standard tiers you have to just deal with the [pokemon] cards you're dealt, and sometimes that just isn't enough to allow for a teambuilding experience that's as interesting. Something I've noticed in Camo games I've watched is that there's a lot of pressure on teams to have a way to deal with mons who gain poison type by running toxic, and that was really easy to overlook when I first started out. As someone who loads up teams with poison heal mons willy-nilly in AAA, it was definitely something I had to get used to

Awesome Moving from mons related things, what are some books you've enjoyed recently and would recommend?

Hmm, most recently what I've read is Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (it's #4 in a series) and also The First Law trilogy. I'd definitely recommend both series to anyone interested in fantasy.

As Well, would you like to talk about your experience with playing music? How did you get into it? What's your relationship with it right now?

I took an interest in playing the drums because I was impressed by what I saw from professional players on Youtube but primarily musicians performing during services at church when I was around 8 years old. With a father who both plays piano and has experience as a choirmaster, I guess it's not the biggest surprise that I ended up taking an interest in music. In intermediate school (5th grade) I picked up the Cello and since then I've also learned Piano and Guitar (I don't play either of those anymore, however). For me, playing any kind of music--especially on my Cello--is a form of escapism: I don't have to think about anything but producing the sounds I want to hear. No need to focus on stressful college classes, the pandemic-induced lockdown, or anything else that would normally occupy one's mind. Even now, 11 years after I initially took interest in playing the drums, I still play/learn music on my cello when I have free time and spend a lot of time at church playing the drums whenever I'm home on break

Awesome. Can you think of any memorable moments you've had in OMs?

The first two that come to mind are kind of cheesy but they're significant to me so I'll mention them: Getting AAA Tier Leader was and still is a big deal to me because as I mentioned earlier, leading a meta is something I've always looked forward to and there are certain personal reasons I won't go into that make it a cherishable achievement; secondly, getting room driver in the OM room was cool because one of my PS specific goals is to try and become global staff Outside of those two, I think my most memorable moments in OMs are those that most people probably take for granted: Specifically, when I'm playing a test game versus a friend and one of us reveals an unexpected set--the ensuing reactions from both parties are always worth the hilarity that ensues. This can also happen while watching games, and I can say with full confidence that two of the best perpetrators of those moments are TheCoastsOfToast and Jrdn, because they're ALWAYS cooking up something CRAZY in the builder (cough steam engine stored power slowbro cough)

And what do you think your future holds in OMs? Any suspects, tours, or community aspects you have plans for?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about this but I assume it's not a big deal. Starting sometime in the near future I'll be launching OM Theorymon, where people will be able to discuss how OMs would be impacted by changes to core aspects of how pokemon works as a game--this is something I think will be loads of fun as long as plenty of people participate, so I hope it works out :D As for AAA, after OMWC the plan is to update the VR and look into updating the sample teams as well. If anyone has any teams they think are or could be sample worthy (especially in the coming weeks), they should post in the AAA thread! Additionally, the AAA council will be looking into addressing some of the issues regarding balance between offensive/defensive options in the meta--so hopefully everything goes well

Anybody you'd like to shoutout?

Shoutout to stresh for joining my theorycrafting antics all the time and shoutout to TheCoastsOfoast for being a wonderful presence all around :]

Finally, any last words to the readers?

[This applies to every OM really] don't be afraid to post your thoughts/findings on the different metas you play on the forums! I see so many discussion-worthy opinions brought up in the OM room that don't make it any farther than the subsequent activity it spurs on PS. It adds depth to metas when player posts on the forums show that people are actually playing them, so those contributions are always welcome

Feel Free To Ask More Questions Below!

 

[Ren]

What're some of your favorite Webtoons to read and what platform do you read them on?

 

[Atha]

Would you name one thing that you think is underrated in AAA right now ? Be it a mon, an ability, an archetype, a core or whatever. And one that is overrated ?

 

[The Number Man]

Im not sure how to word this to express that i am being nonjudgmental and nonaccusatory, so im just gonna leave this disclaimer here lmao.

Why do you like stall as an archetype so much and how do you approach building stall in aaa?

 

[Isaiah]

What're some of your favorite Webtoons to read and what platform do you read them on?

A few of my favorites that I'm still reading right now are Unordinary, Hardcore Leveling Warrior, The Boxer, Weak Hero, GOSU, Lookism, The God of High School, Tower of God, and Omniscient Reader

I read all of them on either Tachiyomi or the WEBTOON app

Would you name one thing that you think is underrated in AAA right now ? Be it a mon, an ability, an archetype, a core or whatever. And one that is overrated ?

Something that I think is underrated in AAA right now is Hydreigon. Since it has access to Nasty Plot, it can still blast through defensive cores extremely easily with Dragon's Maw-boosted Draco Meteors (much like Naganadel used to) and it even almost ohkos several resists. I think that if some of the more standard overwhelming fast threats end up being banned, setup Hydreigon will see some glory again for sure.

As for an overrated part of the meta, I think [Magic Bounce] Blissey might be overrated. Realistically, the #1 reason for using it is Spectrier--but Spectrier actually has the ability to beat it 1v1 using Nasty Plot + Dark Pulse even if it has Shadow Ball! Despite having teleport, Blissey doubles tend to be really telegraphed and can prompt predictive switchins to many physical attackers that can capitalize on the defensive switch to Blissey. This is by no means me saying Blissey is terrible or unviable, however. I just think it's not quite as reliable as we've made ourselves believe.

Im not sure how to word this to express that i am being nonjudgmental and nonaccusatory, so im just gonna leave this disclaimer here lmao.

Why do you like stall as an archetype so much and how do you approach building stall in aaa?

Stall is my favorite playstyle/archetype because the height of satisfaction for me when it comes to teambuilding is to know that I can defensively cover [virtually] every threat I might see on the opposing team. For me, the challenge of figuring out what combinations of pokemon can reliably return the most profit in terms of answering threats is exciting rather than daunting. Sometimes it can be frustrating to attempt to crack the code to building decent stall if the meta is heavily skewed towards offensive playstyles (as it is right now), but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable to build fat teams :]
My approach to building stall in AAA is fairly straightforward. Just like the threatlist I made and posted on the AAA thread some time ago, I have a running list of what I think are the most important threats to prepare for and I refer to it constantly while building. Once I'm more or less satisfied with my answers/gameplans versus those threats, I look for ways to give the team actual wincons. A hurdle that can be difficult to pass is making a team so passive that it's unable to pressure opposing teams into using any pp, resulting in unnecessarily long, drawn out games--the difference between a long strategic game and a long game where both players are switch stalling is significant. Usually, wincons can be things like hazard stacking, defensive setup mons like pheal Snorlax, trappers like stallbreaker tapu fini, but truthfully they can be anything one thinks of as long as it works. An unfortunate misconception about stall is that it doesn't require any skill to be used effectively, but I'd argue that trying to figure out how to beat everything defensively can sometimes be much more challenging than setting up standard offensive cores! So yeah, that's my perspective on building stall.

 

[OM]

What is up everyone and welcome back to OM interviews! In this session, we are interviewing the AAA corporation itself...

aesf!​

Hello Aesf, and welcome to OM interviews! How are you doing today?

Hey OM im doing good hbu

I'm good, thanks! Starting off, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

Sure, im a 16 year old college student at georgia tech studying computer science. A lot of what I do kinda died down during covid but generally, aside from spending a lot of time on ps/smog/cord seasonally, I'm pretty busy w school and basically trying to get a career going for myself. Outside of being productive like that recently Ive been getting into competitive programming / hackathons and things like that (mostly before lockdown), while doing my best to keep up w running exercise and whatnot. I generally like to keep myself pretty busy but its definitely been a little harder to motivate myself to do new stuff over the past year so for now im keeping it simple and sticking to those goals (im kidding abt my age btw im actually 21)

You're one of the oldest OM players out there! How did you end up joining PS and OMs?

Growing up my brother was the one who kinda introduced me to the internet, and at one point he was like "yo check it out u can play pokemon fire red on your computer" and I was like "wait idk if I wanna do that also is that legal" and he was like "dont worry about it" and from that point on I started enjoying pokemon a lot. He also introduced me to smogon analyses, I remember things like the magikarp and spinda analyses being really funny to my 10 year old self. I had always wanted to battle other ppl but never really got the chance to since I played on emulators, so when I found out abt PS via Youtube I was super hyped. Through youtube, I found my first community...not the OM community but almost. This YTer named "dun deal showdown" made a side server with a meta called "abcab" which is this fusion between alphability and alphabet cup with a whole lot of awful complex bans (like no fur coat on mons with > base 70 defense). I made some early friends, and one of them (think his name was yazma?) introduced me to aaa and I found the om room and the rest is my history.

And that history has been gold indeed! You have been a magnificent AAA player who has shown up in nearly every major tournament lately. How has your experience with OM tournaments been? Any ones you remember more fondly than others?

OM tournaments have been a fun time! The first ones I entered were just generally for the sake of entering but as Ive gone along theyve definitely gotten better. Im naturally close to alot of the other AAA players who also take breaks seasonally, I know there was (and still is kinda) this meme for a long time that AAA players always quit and come back for ompl (and now omwc) and thats definitely part of it -- theres something really fun to just spend alot of the idle days of summer with a group of internet friends youve never met playing pokemon and playing it like winning actually means something. More recently ive gotten a little more stressed with them but not sure if thats a sign that im growing more weary of them or just something related to quarantine Theres been moments ive really enjoyed from just about every tournament ive entered by now but I guess if I had to pick a few Id probably just pick my 3 om tournaments last year. OM snake was the first teamtour tournament I entered where I just had alot of fun w the tournmaent and the team itself rather than just interacting w past friends. Was fun just being complete shitters, bm'ing half our games, and still like completely dominating the pool (like 17-3 or smth), even though we lost in finals. OMPL was more serious but that was pretty much my breakout tournament. I lost my first game w 5 mons and felt really good throughout, going like 6-1 I think. Im always looking to play my friends in tournament too and that tour I got my runback w geerat from the ompl before and won too so that felt really good. Finally omwc was also really fun that year bc of both the people on it and bc we literally had 3 undefeated slots I think. Was easily my best year recordwise but also mightve been the most fun year too.

Moving forward, how do you view teambuilding in AAA this gen? Are there any cores you like to fall back on?

I think as a whole of gen 8 from dlc 0 to dlc 2 ive had a little bit of a different view on teambuilding than some other prominent players. I think with how strong pivot spam is and how you can just materialize a random breaker that you will lose to out of thin air, its not the best approach to start from a sturdy defensive core and work from there because it will fall apart to something, even if it covers everything thanks to how ridiculously easy it is to lure things in this meta. Instead, I feel like its a lot more important to focus on speed control - to build a team that is focused on making progress versus necessary defensive pieces in aaa and from there limit threats to the team first by speed control, and then if thats not possible, with switchins. A core I stole from fv that I cant stop using (or making derivations of) is zera + mew + chomp. The idea is that zera is strong enough speed control to always give you an out vs things that are ridiclously hard to swtich into like kyurem latios and whatnot. Chomp checks opposing zera and synergizes really well with mew defensively while providing a longer term wincon, while mew not only blanket checks physical attackers but also ensures you dont autolose to poison heal with skill swap, and can get up spikes that help zera alot by skill swapping on magic bouncers and then spiking.

You also were the winner of OM classic! How did you enjoy that tournament, and who helped you with your success (if anyone did)?

Om classic was cool! I entered it on a whim bc of gen6 aaa and gen6 stab. I was originally gonna enter all but sm bh but last second I just decided Id enter and use shed spam and that was what ended up getting me to playoffs and eventually the championship. Was a pretty chill tour all things considered, I played most of my games on Monday and Tuesday which you definitely wouldnt see during grand slam but it still felt fairly competitive nonetheless. I definitely had a lot of help, I stole teams left and right - aaa I found an old laxpras dump, bh I just took sugarhighs teams, mnm I owe entirely to andyb0y and nfe I just poached from my teamcord in nfepl. I built most of aaa and stab on my own and also stole teams from others at various points but those were the main shouts.

You've managed in team tournaments before as well. How have you tackled that? How do you think a good team environment should look like?

For the most part its really not that much work lol. Most of it is the draft which I didnt play too large a part in. Mons is a game that really rewards involvement and anyone can beat anyone, so the most improtant thing is definitely team chemistry, which is gonna come from the draft. It helps being familiar with tiers and how games within them are played to make decisions regarding who should play, but aside from that whatever magic goes into drafting is far more important. If you want a great example of how team chemistry can flip a tournament, look no further than agpl this year. Fardin drafted a team of OM mains and (of course with much help from fardin) I think between jrdn, stresh, highlighter, andy, volk, and I we went 22-2 or something ridiculous like that with the team as a whole losing like 4 games in the last 3 weeks when we rolled out our strongest lineup. Teams that dont get along literally never succeed its pretty simple, also the whole point is to have fun so dont draft incohesive teams guys! ...is all I can say as jrdn's comanager lmao

Furthermore, what other metagames outside of AAA do you enjoy, and why?

STAB is the main one that comes to mind beacuse it's just generally a pretty simple meta but you can still do a ton. The power creep isn't like AAA where it reaches the point that you still can't just do whatever you want. Honestly just look at w0rd's teams lol every time I see him roll up with some bullshit I feel a little inspired to build myself. I think the metagame concept naturally plays pretty well too. Something else ive enjoyed a little further back is nfe (although I played gen 7) when I played that in nfepl quite a bit. Feels like it pretty strongly rewards long term play and feels a bit less polarizing in terms of mus than many other metas I played while still yielding fairly interactive games. The main things I like in a meta is like a medium between too much power creep and freedom to be creative while also having competitive gameplay and both of those do it for me, alot of times even moreso than aaa

Do you have any examples of weird stabmons teams you're proud of?

https://pokepast.es/aa4a2295db01ccf2, so this team was actually inspired by a fusion of a team from dlc1 and a jrdn team with specs porygon2. The idea is that av pex or tar are pretty much mandatory in the current meta to blanket check the ghosts - youre not making it very far without either of them, and terrain pulse p2 can lure ttar and pave the way for scarf blace to sweep. theres some small techs on this team like chople rhyperior which is an old anti-thundyt tech (thats a lot more relevant in gen 8 w/o pursuit). I go pex + rhyp over tar here because im not as scared of mons like specs blace or specs spectrier - if they click a ghost move on pex I can easily pivot into p2 and threaten to immediately kill something. Aside from that I just tried to account for the general threats in the meta as best as I could, with decent speed control to back it up in scarf blace and bulu

Gameplan is just to pivot into p2 and start killing things or luring the tar and then cleaning up

What are some memories you've made in OMs? Any fun in-jokes, hilarious moments or enjoyable times you've done with friends you've made in OMs?

oh man uh, theres definitely been some fun moments id have to rattle my brain a little to remember some good ones.

One that immediately comes to mind is a conversation that happened in aaa council chat a little while back although I cant divulge too much of it unfortunately for stupid reasons. Or this one is kinda related to tournaments but..

hm how do I put this.

its kind of a simple thing but over the years throughout each teamtour pretty much, I would build and of course I would test my teams w other aaa guys and alot of times id just play one game and wed just start talking for like hours and hours in the fuckin pokemon showdown battle chat. Its def something I can really appreciate because having longform convos with ppl ive never even seen before is still just kind of a cool thing, I dont really know how to put it lol

yeah its corny but the little things like that definitely stand out through the years and its why I always end up coming back to ps when I have a lot of time to kill

another unrelated thing I just remembered was my set was vs geerat in like the ompl where he went undefeated that was probably the biggest rush ive gotten from this pokemon battling simulator, he was vomiting in a hospital, I was trying to keep quiet in my room playing a bo3 aaa that would determine playoffs at fuckin 5am and the set was incredible it was a great time

Any users you'd like to shoutout?

Obligatory s/o aaa crew you know who you are, s/o jrdn andy thecoastsoftoast for being daily reminders that I dont have to quit mons when I become an old man, s/o gl volkner for keeping me thankful (that im not dumb), antI s/o to catalystic bc cringe. If I didnt shout you out don't worry I didnt forget its just because I have nothing mean to say about you, hope you have a nice day! :)

Thanks om for interviewing me too, am currently in great anticipation for the upcoming betathunder interview keep it up.

Finally, anything you'd like to say to the readers?

nah lol but ask away

Feel free to ask aesf more questions below!!

 

[Ren]

Are you a watermelon irl? If no, why not?

How does it feel being the first OM Classic champ?

What's your favorite play to make in Among Us?

What's it like being the second most cracked builder I've ever seen (second to only sugarhigh himself?)

What inspired you to become a BH main?

How much do you make playing Pokemon?

You suddenly come into possession of a hundred thousand dollars. What do you do with it?

Jrdn Andyboy and Catalystic have each won two tickets to a cruise. All three of them want to go with you. Who do you convince to give you both tickets and what do you do with the extra ticket that you've procured?

What would be your rapper name?

 

[berry]

what does AESF actually stand for?

favorite set you've played of all time? or if you can't think of one, favorite opponent to play in a tour?

(asking this to every om gamer) would you ever consider playing / building for old gens?

what's one thing you'd like to see removed from mons in gen 9?

honest thoughts on the volkner image? (you know the one)

do you have your eyes on any up and coming OM players?

who do you want to team with in the future that you haven't teamed with yet?

 

[Lectrys]

Your Smogon profile says you're 25. Which of the ages you've given - 16, 21, and 25 - is the closest to your real age?

 

[Betathunder]

Favorite gen for AAA?

Any tips to new AAA players who are looking to get more involved/better at the meta?

 

[Andyboy]

General Questions

Favorite food(s)?

Favorite drink(s)?

Meat tier list?

Favorite animal?

Favorite sport?

How can you enjoy the activity of suffering that is running?

On a scale of 1-10 how artistic are you?

Have you ever pogged irl?

Have you ever said pog irl?

Are there as many peaches in Georgia as advertised?

How and why does my Ganon inspire you? (Multiple reasons would be appreciated)

What is your fave divine beast from botw?

Are you excited for botw 2 and if so, what are a few things they should improve from the first?

Mons Questions

Do you feel building or playing ability is more important in mons?

Can someone succeed at a "high level" without a solid understanding of playing through a game plan?

How much truth is there in aaa players having an unhealthy obsession with pivot moves? (You knew this was coming)

How much truth is there in om players having an unhealthy obsession with pivot moves?

How much truth is there in multiple prominent aaa players having an unhealthy obsession with stall?

I think you're the om player who is the most eager to play the best competition possible (like when you were killing it in stab in ompl and asked to be slotted into aaa to face geerat for the rematch) do you think there's truth in this and if so, why are you so eager to play the best player available?

What helps prevent burnout for you in long tours like ompl?

Do you enjoy branching out and trying new metas or innovating the metas you already know more?

Most important questions

Would you rather watch a bunch of cringey waifu bait harem anime with Catalystic or play among us with GL Volkner where he asks you what everything you were doing every time a body is found?

Is GL Volkner mald?

 

[aesf]

Are you a watermelon irl? If no, why not?

No, genetics. Very insensitive question smh

How does it feel being the first OM Classic champ?

Lol actually felt pretty good to win my first om individual tour even if its not supposed to be one of the big ones. Aside from now drownign in women and advertisers begging to use my name i feel pretty normal ig. but if they gave me a color in omcord though

What's your favorite play to make in Among Us?

The best play to make in Among Us is to not play Among Us

What's it like being the second most cracked builder I've ever seen (second to only sugarhigh himself?)

"'Good artists borrow, great artists steal' - Pablo Picasso" - Steve Jobs

What inspired you to become a BH main?

Saw highlighter become the greatest aaa player of all time in a few days and felt inspired to go where he started

How much do you make playing Pokemon?

bro i dont make anything right now bro but in a few years bro this shits gonna blow up bro trust me just invest

You suddenly come into possession of a hundred thousand dollars. What do you do with it?

Id honestly first google the smartest thing to do with a 100k cause i wouldnt know where to start aside from paying for college / housing for a few years. Would definitely save some for travel cause thats something ive been wanting to do for a good bit. If i completely flop with my career direction id just save the remaining and live on ramen noodles for the rest of my life however long that would last

Jrdn Andyboy and Catalystic have each won two tickets to a cruise. All three of them want to go with you. Who do you convince to give you both tickets and what do you do with the extra ticket that you've procured?

I actually get seasick very easily so im not really made for cruises lol. Im pretty sure i remember from that one ompl cata played a game on a cruise that he doesnt rly like them either so id probably get cata's and then like sell them and if i look like a dick then id blame you for making me do certain things in the question statement.

What would be your rapper name?

big nubbins (rest in peace to my son)

----------

what does AESF actually stand for?

Its just a keyboard mash nothing too special. Is what i would say if i was LYING

(yeah i look at this image before i go to bed to help me sleep what about it)

favorite set you've played of all time? or if you can't think of one, favorite opponent to play in a tour?

I've already kinda alluded to this in the original one but my favorite set is probably my set with geerat two ompls ago.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-786194818
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-786198142
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-786204626
For whatever reason during this week I built like 3 of the best teams ive made throughout gen 7 so I felt really good going in. The whole series is just crazy tech after crazy tech with a nice mix of styles, cool plays, and a wild finish even when you dont consider the external factors. Might be gassing myself up a bit but feel like this game and kind of the laxpras-ham game too generated a lot of hype for aaa, like it was a good showcase of just how much is possible to explore and how much more can be done. If i can't pick that one though:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/almostanyability-402305640
this one is fun to look back at to think what the fuck was going through my head in a crucial potentially playoff-deciding ompl game. We gentlemanned to both bring a PU mon before the game (yeah take notes u whippersnappers in the old days we gentlemanned to make building HARDER) and somehow ended up with this super close game where a whole lot of techs still came into play.

(asking this to every om gamer) would you ever consider playing / building for old gens?

Im assuming you dont mean OM old gens cause ive done that already and youre like an oldgen ou main i think. Im definitely not opposed to playing it, I've seen enough oldgen OU games to probably know the ropes but i dont know in what situation id be playing it unless its way down the line and im still on this site lol. Im not opposed to building anything either as long as its not super difficult and theres a reason to.

what's one thing you'd like to see removed from mons in gen 9?

Heavy duty boots easily god that item is so so obnoxious. It was cool at first to be able to run stuff like volcarona without as much support but as time has moved on and people (myself included) are now running boots on rock-neutrals and even rock resists, its becoming clear what the actual effects are. I dont think it ruins mons by any means it just makes building that little bit more annoying and playing through rough matchups even moreso.

honest thoughts on the volkner image? (you know the one)

Everyone loves BL BULKNER! He's an inspiration, a living proof that what you lack in brains you can make up in brawn and people will still love you for it.

do you have your eyes on any up and coming OM players?

I think if theres been one rising guy in the OM community its gotta be tnm right? He already has really good knowledge of all the metas it seems (except maybe bh lmao sorry tnm) and also is a pretty solid player from what ive seen. Would also say ppl need to put more respect on multi but hes already gone ahead and gotten like top 4 of omgs and finals of om championship cup with like rly strong showings so im a bit late there.

who do you want to team with in the future that you haven't teamed with yet?

Put me w Sylveon. id never lose. But actually, aside from like jrdn and rozes ive never really gotten an actual chance to team with many of the other aaa players so yeah people like geerat and racool would be really fun to team with. My really good aaa teams all take ridiculously long to build and I usually cant make them every week, I've also had kind of a hard time w it historically in tournament so I definitely wouldnt mind playing something else lol.

Aside from that Ive teamed with most of who Ive wanted to team with following AGPL and CAPPL this year, although those were still a little different from OM tours and I do wanna team with Andy and/or stresh for at least one OM tour. Also would wanna team with some retired / probably retiring players like w0rd and motherlove but its probably a bit too late for that sadly.

Your Smogon profile says you're 25. Which of the ages you've given - 16, 21, and 25 - is the closest to your real age?

listen here buddy youre lookin a little too closely with these questions.
edit:
fine ill answer, im 23
proof:

Oh my fucking god i just finished typing all of this and clicked "new messages" and saw andys ok thats gonna be another post whatever

 

[Ren]

If you had to move to one place, where would it be and why?

If you had to visit one place, where would it be and why?

Would you rather be allergic to pizza or ice cream?

Why do cows have hooves?

Favorite season?

Favorite month?

What's your ideal day?

Did you know there's already BotW2? Just google Genshin Impact :) thank me later

Favorite song rn?

Favorite song of all time?

If you had to spend a day with one Pokemon, which one would it be?

If you had to spend the rest of your life with one Pokemon, which one would it be?

When are you gonna start playing Pokemon GO and ruin PvP for everyone else?

What's your opinion on me calling you sass because of one night of being too tired?

Catalystic?

I'm torn between learning about AI and diving deeper into security. If you had to pick one, which would you personally pick and why?

What bender would you be and why? You get access to no specializations (so no bloodbending cheapo).