Other OU Player of the Week #17: Lyconik

[Clone]

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Welcome to OU's Player of the week, a project
where I interview well known players to gain insight on how they battle, as well as get to know some things about them. The goal of this thread is to have these high level players give insight to other players in this community in hopes of creating a better overall experience in the OU environment. As always, if there's someone you'd like to see interviewed, feel free to shoot me a PM. So without further ado, lets get to it!

​

Lyconik ​

Most Known For:
Winning OLT

Favorite Pokemon:
Landorus-I.

Most used Pokemon:
Keldeo. It can fit on many playstyles, from HO to semi-stall while rarely being useless due to scald burns.

Where did you get your name from?
Actually, this nickname doesn't really have any meaning . I tried some badass alt like Tornado or Cyborg (...) but they were all taken, so I tried something that sounds cool, and stayed with it.

How and when did you get into competitive battling?
About 3 years ago, I was looking for walkthroughs for Pokemon Black. I found a site called pokebip; it's like Serebii, but only with french people. This is where I learned about EVs, IVs, and all the basic stuff you have to know first. I used to play on PO, then I quickly moved to PS! and Smogon a short time later because I felt like it was the best way to improve. It took me some time to get a name on French room, then I started to join Smogon tournaments when I knew I was at a good level.

How do you feel about how ORAS plays compared to XY?
It's practically the same thing with the recent Greninja ban. In my opinion, the only thing that has changed is the introduction of fast Fairies with Mega Diancie and Mega Altaria, and how balanced and stall teams have to adapt against these threats.

What are your thoughts on the Metagross suspect currently going on? Is there anything else that stands out as suspect worthy to you?
At this moment, I'm not sure about banning Metagrossite. Of course Mega Metagross is the most broken Pokemon in ORAS, but it's not on the same level than other Pokemon that were suspect tested, and I don't feel like it is overcentralizing the metatagame. On the other hand, Mega Metagross can be such a pain due to its good coverage that lets him beat some of his usual counters (Ice Punch for Landorus-T, Grass Knot for Hippowdon / Slowbro, etc)

Bar Metagross, I don't think there is anything that is suspect worthy. Maybe Mega Diancie because 160/160/110 offensive stats is terryfing.

What's your favorite playstyle and why?
Like most players, I'm a fan of balance / bulky offense . It's also because I love FWG cores, and the possibilities you can have in both teambuilding and battling. That also suits the way I play, being preservative and doing the plays only when you need to.

What's your favorite generation of OU and why?
Without hesitation, BW. I began and learned Pokemon with this tier, so it will always have a special place in my heart. Also, I like how balanced this metagame is; with good teambuilding you can be prepared against most playstyles, therefore that leaves it down to skill rather than team matchup,(AC) with sun teams being an exception.

If you could change one thing about OU, what would it be and why?
Actually, I'm fine with OU. I just want to see Genesect and Aegislash back in the metagame to see how it will affect the metagame, but I know something like this will never happen.

How has your OLT experience been? Favorite and least favorite moment(s)?
It's the first time I came so far in such a big tournament, I was excited everytime I get through all these rounds, getting closer to the trophy. I didn't expect to see so many people supporting me, even those who I don't really know.

Favorite moment is when I defeated Tesung in a great BO3. He is one of the best XY / ORAS players and it was kind of an achievement to win against him. Some of my friends want crazy after this.

Least favorite moment is surely my loss against Chimpact for the first BO3. I was so stressed, and the win for the first game didn't really help me. I brought the wrong teams and made bad plays, and disappointed the audience.

How did the ORAS changes affect your OLT matches if at all?
That changed a lot for me. You have to play XY for qualifications and the first round, then you have to enter a new metagame, with new Megas, moves,(AC) and abilities. Also, every team you had in XY is now useless. These changes affect everybody, but I'm not really a good teambuilder, and I don't have people doing teams for me, so Leftiez and Reymedy gave me a few teams when they saw that I was struggling with teambuilding.

How does it feel to be the winner of OLT?
Winning OLT is kind of an accomplishment for me. It's the first time Ive seen so many people congratulating me, and even if all of this is just virtual, I feel like all this time playing pokemon was worth it. It's funny how just a bunch of black pixels can make one happy.

Now I'm looking for other tournament to win. I'm getting addicted to the adrenaline I got when I succeeded.

Do you have any advice for newer players, and for Smogon in general?
Play a lot on the ladder. Then, find friends who are better than you and learn from them. Don't hesitate to steal teams at first, but seriously, don't try to make other people believe that it's your team. That's sucks dude.

Enter Smogon tournaments when you feel you are at a good level. People are going to recognize you if you do well, and that's the best way to get respect. Unless you act like Tele.

What players do you look up to / are good friends with?
I have respect for people who achieve great results in tournaments and also have the correct attitude and display sportsmanship. Since they are too many of them, I won't bother to name them all.

About my friends, I would say that I like to talk with most of the French room, as they were the people that made me love this game. If you want some names :
Leftiez : This nigga is good, and he is always here to help me. I learned many things from him.

Evuelf : One of the best players I know. Sometimes he can be a dick, but I still like to talk with him and play against him. Very honest guy that doesn't bother to tell me when I use bad teams.

Vohlt / Twin Citiez / BahaWin : Three French guys who are nice. I know their levels and I'm sure they are gonna show how good they are soon.

Nelson / Tomahawk / Prankster / Bluri / Steve Angello / Tom Bus : I'm listing them all because they've all helped me some time. Nelson and Tomahawk were the ones who trusted me when I wasn't really known, and brought me to World Cup. Prankster and Bluri are good people in general, being both good in game and helpful. Steve Angello for SPL, was one of the best teammates I've ever had. Tom Bus for OLT; speaking to him during this tour was fun.

Finally, can you provide us a team that’s a good fit for this metagame and reflects your playstyle, with a brief explanation of how it works?

Hide

Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 128 HP / 12 Atk / 252 SpA / 116 Spe
Rash Nature
- Rock Polish
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 132 SpD / 76 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Baton Pass

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

This is the team I used against sugarhigh in SPL Week 2. It feature one of the cores I love the most: Celebi / Heatran / Keldeo. They have good defensive synergy, while Celebi NP¨+ BP to Keldeo is formidable against defensive teams. Landorus-T + Rotom-W is the VoltTurn core that checks the majority of physical attackers, and allows free switch-ins for Diancie or Keldeo. Mega Diancie with Rock Polish is a nightmare for most offensive teams, as you can see in the SPL replay.

---

I hope you all can understand why I delayed this edition of PotW for a day. I wanna give Lyconik a big thanks for doing this, and to congratulate him on his victory in OLT. Additionally, I wanna give a shoutout to horyzhnz for helping GP this. As always, leave any questions you have for Lyconik down below. See yall next week!

 

[Luckstard.]

Proud to see someone from my French room doing well on Smogon.

Few questions :

1. How do you look to the Tournaments hosted on French room after winning a Major Tour on Smogon?

2. How does it feel to be better in BW than ORAS but being known as a good ORAS player?

3. You said you are a big fan of BW metagame, I am too. You find the metagame pretty cool as it is right now, but do you think any unban would be intersting to be done?

4. What are the advices you would give to a player that would learn BW metagame?

5. You johned ST 18, will you play ST 19?

6. Thoughts on Pokémon Lanturn?

7. How does it feel to look like a Heliolisk IRL? Do you have any superpowers? o.o

 

[Unamed]

1- What do you think about benar ?

2- Do you think the actual OU tier is a match-up megatame ?

3- Have you sisters ? How old are they ?

4- What do you think about Choice Spe Heliolisk ? Can he have a chance to have his place in the OU megatame ?

 

[Reverb]

Est-ce que mon francais est bon? The German room on PS has been threatening to take over your room. Are you guys just going to let them, or are you going to put up a meager resistant that was doomed to fail from the start?

 

[firehusky]

is lando-i good in this meta? do you like horses?

 

[Clone]

explain in 1 word what your 15 minutes of fame is like

pls explain game 2 of ur matches vs chimpact last night

favorite balance core to work with? offense core?

top 5 underrated mons in OU that arent in the OU tier

would u suggest anything to help improve olt for next year?

favorite mega?

favorite game thats not pokemon?

 

[davidTheMaster]

1. as you're friend with Leftiez, do you think like leftiez, Volcarona must be ban from the BW OU ?

2. What's your favorite mega ORAS at the moment and what's the Pokemon that you would have wanted to see acquire the mega evolution ?

3. Why do you prefer Mega-Altaria Special Attacker instead of Physical Attacker ?

4. How do you feel to be the first winner of the olt?

 

[Karxrida]

Is it true that French people get laid a lot?

What is your favorite battle music from the Pokemon series?

What Gen V Pokemon do you hope get a Mega in the next games?

 

[michaeloche]

Who do you have winning OST? How about SPL?

 

[mien]

What's your opinion of the current OU ladder? Do you consider upper ladder players to be on the same level as high profile tournament players or different?

 

[Lyconik]

Proud to see someone from my French room doing well on Smogon.

Few questions :

1. How do you look to the Tournaments hosted on French room after winning a Major Tour on Smogon?

2. How does it feel to be better in BW than ORAS but being known as a good ORAS player?

3. You said you are a big fan of BW metagame, I am too. You find the metagame pretty cool as it is right now, but do you think any unban would be intersting to be done?

4. What are the advices you would give to a player that would learn BW metagame?

5. You johned ST 18, will you play ST 19?

6. Thoughts on Pokémon Lanturn?

7. How does it feel to look like a Heliolisk IRL? Do you have any superpowers? o.o

1. These are minor tour that I'm still enjoying because the community is great. Furthermore, the level get better every year.

2. That's because I played it bad in SPL, I'm looking for next ST to perform my BW skill.

3. Like I said in dadoux's thread, I would like to see excadrill without sand rush back to BW. This metagame really need more spinner in my opinion.

4. Watch last SPL replays, this will give you a idea on how is the metagame right now. Look at BW OU Ranking Thread. Go on Old Gens room and find some good player to face.

5. I'm gonna win ST 19.

6. Inferior Rotom-W, only a fool will consider this pokemon in BW OU.

7. My long neck scares girl but that's fine.

1- What do you think about benar ?

2- Do you think the actual OU tier is a match-up megatame ?

3- Have you sisters ? How old are they ?

4- What do you think about Choice Spe Heliolisk ? Can he have a chance to have his place in the OU megatame ?

1. benar is benar ^^^

2. Of course. There can always have something who can destroy your team, due to the number of threat, you can't cover everything in 6 slots.

3. No.

4. I would never use one of my brother on a game. Also, that's a terrible pokemon.

Est-ce que mon francais est bon? The German room on PS has been threatening to take over your room. Are you guys just going to let them, or are you going to put up a meager resistant that was doomed to fail from the start?

Better than some french I know.
I don't heard anything about the German threat, but if they want to redo the second world war I'm ready, no surrender this time.

is lando-i good in this meta? do you like horses?

Very good, Landorus-I with Hp Ice particulary in order to catch off guard Gliscor.
Yeah, taste good.

explain in 1 word what your 15 minutes of fame is like

Fantastic.

pls explain game 2 of ur matches vs chimpact last night

I bring Serperior, he bring regular Lopunny with switcheroo. Enough said.

favorite balance core to work with? offense core?

Balance :Celebi / Heatran / Keldeo.
Offense : Metagross / Keldeo.
Keldeo everywhere.

top 5 underrated mons in OU that arent in the OU tier

Well no Celebi anymore because he moved to OU.
1 - Victini
2 - Serperior
3 - Empoleon
4 - Volcarona
5 - Togekiss

would u suggest anything to help improve olt for next year?

No more double elimination, that drag this tour for a too long period, specially when the qualification already take 8 weeks.

favorite mega?

In term of design, Mega-Blaziken. In game, Mega-Altaria.

favorite game thats not pokemon?

Super Smash Bros Melee.

1. as you're friend with Leftiez, do you think like leftiez, Volcarona must be ban from the BW OU ?

2. What's your favorite mega ORAS at the moment and what's the mega that you would have wanted to see acquire the mega evolution ?

3. Why do you prefer Mega-Altaria Special Attacker instead of Physical Attacker ?

4. How do you feel to be the first winner of the olt?

1. No, volcarona is fine in BW OU. Some may argue that it's unhealthy to the tier, but I disagree with this point since Volcarona have a hard time in current metagame.

2. See my answer above.
Mega-Hydreigon would be badass, something like a huge dragon with 5 heads.

3. Doesn't need turn to set-up, excellent coverage.

4. Dude, have you read the interview before asking this ?

Is it true that French people get laid a lot?

Yeah, especially with foreigners. Our accent and the fact that French people are reputed to be romantic grandly help thought.

What is your favorite battle music from the Pokemon series?

I don't listen to battle music.

What Gen V Pokemon do you hope get a Mega in the next games?

Mega-Hydreigon. With Adaptability.

Who do you have winning OST? How about SPL?

If you ask who I think is going to win OST, I bet on Tesung or McMeghan.
Team Raiders is certainly going to win this, no doubt.

 

[benallaire]

what would you advice to a new player on trying to make it in SPL or OCL
what is the current best mon in ou in your opinion
why are you so good?

 

[asdfCookie]

how much omelette du fromage do you consume on a daily basis?

 

[Vohlt]

between us ;), Is this trophy on smogon have helped you take a rather sexy girls in party ?

 

[Tressed]

Do you have any tips on improving consistency, preventing yourself from going on tilt?

Are there mons that see usage at high levels of play that you think are overrated, or personally don't like using?

Favorite match you've played, or one that really stood out to you as a fun game?

Merci pour votre temps :)

 

[Cicada]

Is it true that French people get laid a lot?

With Meridian's sister at hand, it's trivial to get laid in France :]

Oh well, i'll write some questions to make my post a bit more useful, and to kill some time

1. On a scale from 1 to dididoc@yahoo.fr, how much do you find the franch room cancer?
2. After acomplishing the feat of getting a trophy (hi Leftiez), do you consider yourself as a big player ?
3. Seeing that you have an affection for bulkier teams in BW, which defensive cores do you find the most potent/easy to incorporate?
4. Talking about OLT, which serie did you find the hardest in term of preparation/pressure/difficulty during the games?
5. Is bernar492 an acceptable name change? oO Cicada's cool but benar is benar^^
6. How much do you find the ORAS metagame enjoyable compared to the late-XY one?
7. On a scale from benar^^ to iMeritrash, how bad do you think the user Evuelf is overall?
8. was bluri's support the main reason of your ultimate win during the OLT? (rip, your sacrifice shall not be forgotten)

That's all, have fun answering those :] benar ^^

 

[Lyconik]

What's your opinion of the current OU ladder? Do you consider upper ladder players to be on the same level as high profile tournament players or different?

I miss the old BW ladder when they were still well-known player who tried to climb at the top. Don't get me wrong, the current ladder have a good level, but peaking #1 is not as difficult as before in my opinion.

It's clearly not the same thing. When you play on ladder you have to play in a totally different way than on tournament. Some 'ladder hero' will become good tournament player, but I consider high profile tournaments players to be better than upper ladder players.

what would you advice to a new player on trying to make it in SPL or OCL

Show your skill in smogon tournament, ST and OST being the best way if you achieve a great run. Have a nice attitude because managers doesn't want people who cry and complain too much.

what is the current best mon in ou in your opinion

Mega-Metagross

why are you so good?

Thanks for the compliment ._. Train hard, think about every move and how your opponent have been playing during the game, and the most important, be lucky.

how much omelette du fromage do you consume on a daily basis?

It's omelette AU fromage

How many girlfriends have you had?

7

Is SubCM keldeo the best set for Keldeo?

Depend on your team, most of time when I have pursuit support I like to use SubCM set.

Favorite American food?

Hamburger

Do you wish you got the chance to beat Tele?

I don't care about beating Tele or not

Thoughts on Raiders teammate AFRO SMASH?

I don't really know him, as long as he win games it's fine.

Thoughts on Reverb and lil manaphy?

Reverb is a nice guy. Who is lil manaphy ?

between us ;), Is this trophy on smogon have helped you take a rather sexy girls in party ?

My big black trophy make ladies drop their panties ;)

Do you have any tips on improving consistency, preventing yourself from going on tilt?

Always stay focus on your game, think about every possibility, this will help you to decrease choke. When you start getting angry about the game, due to hax or after a choke, just stay away from pokemon during a certain amount of time.
I didn't touch pokemon for 3 days after losing against Chimpact.

Are there mons that see usage at high levels of play that you think are overrated, or personally don't like using?

I like Garchomp, but I always find myself using a different pokemon.

Favorite match you've played, or one that really stood out to you as a fun game?

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-31781 favorite match that I still have in replays.

Merci pour votre temps :)

De rien ;)

With Meridian's sister at hand, it's trivial to get laid in France :]

Oh well, i'll write some questions to make my post a bit more useful, and to kill some time

1. On a scale from 1 to dididoc@yahoo.fr, how much do you find the franch room cancer?
2. After acomplishing the feat of getting a trophy (hi Leftiez), do you consider yourself as a big player ?
3. Seeing that you have an affection for bulkier teams in BW, which defensive cores do you find the most potent/easy to incorporate?
4. Talking about OLT, which serie did you find the hardest in term of preparation/pressure/difficulty during the games?
5. Is bernar492 an acceptable name change? oO Cicada's cool but benar is benar^^
6. How much do you find the ORAS metagame enjoyable compared to the late-XY one?
7. On a scale from benar^^ to iMeritrash, how bad do you think the user Evuelf is overall?
8. was bluri's support the main reason of your ultimate win during the OLT? (rip, your sacrifice shall not be forgotten)

That's all, have fun answering those :] benar ^^

1. Same level as ebola

2. I guess having a trophy is enough to be called a big player

3. I also like Slowbro / Ferrothorn core, they cover a good portion of the meta in 2 slots.

4. The first bo3 against Chimpact. Having to play for my first final put too much pressure on me.

5. bernar492 is definitely better than cicada, you should seriously consider this change, it suit your personnality so well.

6. I enjoyed late-XY metagame more than current ORAS. I'm looking for the result to the suspect test of Metagross to see if things are going to change.

7. Evuelf is good, at least he is doing a good run on SPL, not like some people I know ;)

8. Not the main reason, but in some way, his cheering motivate me to win.

 

[firehusky]

advice on predicting whether opponent has zard y or zard x?
is sand offense still good in ORAS?
thoughts on scizor?

 

[Vinc608]

not like some people I know ;)

Who are they ?

favourite set of Landorus-I ?

 

[Luckstard.]

Other questions :

1. Do you miss BW1 metagame (Lando-I Sand Force, no Kyu-B etc)?

2. Top 5 BW OU / ORAS OU underrated threats?

3. Top 5 BW OU / ORAS OU underrated sets?

4. You want excadrill back in BW OU without Sand Rush. Considering Smogon philosophy, that would mean banning Sand Rush from BW OU. Do you think Stoutland and Sandslash are not relevant enough in the current metagame to destroy their potential just for 1 Pokémon?

5. Which do you think is the best to get into an old gen between :
a. Get teams on internet, try to play the metagame to learn it, and when you feel able to do it, build your own team.
b. Watch last SPL replays, this will give you a idea on how is the metagame right now. Look at BW OU Ranking Thread. Go on Old Gens room and find some good player to face.

Actually, I'm fine with OU. I just want to see Genesect and Aegislash back in the metagame to see how it will affect the metagame, but I know something like this will never happen.

6. Why do you think Genesect and Aegislash could have a good impact on the metagame?

7. Do you think banning Metagross-Mega will automatically make Diancie-Mega Broken?

8. Do you think sometimes threats in OU should not be banned because the OU will become boring if we ban them (i.e. banning Metagross + Diancie)?

9. Do you agree with the sentence "If you find X broken, then abuse it to prove to everyone it's broken, and then it could be banned."

10. Is there any tournaments on Smogon you consider as completely impossible for you to win it?

11. The game you loose and still have regrets?

12. The game you loose and was the most horrible/unfair loose for you? Did you accept it?

13. You said you are now a big player. Does it affect how you prepare your games? Are you afraid of being "The one if I beat I could be proud of myself"? Do you think it's easier to prepare for battles when you are unknown / underdog?

 

[benallaire]

Thanks for the compliment ._. Train hard, think about every move and how your opponent have been playing during the game, and the most important, be lucky.
Shutouts to pdc lel

 

[Keb]

C'est bien Lyconik, tu peux mourir en paix.

Sale random.

 

[Aurious]

Cats or dogs?

 

[santaK]

1. On a scale from 1 to Zenadark how good is your level in your opinion ?

2. Shall i begin BW, is it worth it ?

3. How do you fine heliolisk ? Should it be banned from ubers ?

4. How does it feels like to win a black trophy ? Don't you think leftiez and twin citiez deserve one ?

 

[Caiahar]

Top 5 cancerous mons