art by Brumirage
1v1 Player Interviews
#1 | #2 | #3
#4 Waylaid
Favorite Pokemon: Mega Tyranitar
Most used Pokemon: Dragapult
Most known for: Winning the recent Premier League as manager of the Big Baller Barraskewdas, being a generally successful 1v1 player, and being involved in nearly every facet of 1v1
Welcome to the first interview in a while! So to start, tell us about yourself! What should people think about when they hear the name "Waylaid"?
Glad to be here! I think a lot of people associate me with my involvement in the 1v1 room and discord, as well as with some slightly niche 1v1 memes that I'm a part of. I'm 17, from California, and in my free time I like to listen to music and swim competitively
Glad to have you here. So, how's life been? Online, irl, whatever. I know for sure things irl have taken a drastic shift since the last interview I've done-
Ummm it's been different these days for sure. I'm super extroverted irl, so being away from my friends for so long has taken quite a toll. Luckily, I've had the unique opportunities to meet people in the community that have been really helpful in sating my desire to talk to people regularly. Big Pokemon-related events like 1v1pl have also kept me somewhat busy for a considerable amount of quarantine, which I really appreciate. It always feels great to have something to do.
Just before we started the convo you had mentioned finishing school recently and that got me curious. What's the school situation been like? Is it all online like I've been hearing? Also, has there been any word about what the graduation's gonna be like?
so, yeah. I just finished classes for my senior year of high school, all of which have been online since mid-march. it's pretty heavily encouraged that the students attend class, but because of the possible gap in connectivity to the internet for students at my school, there's effectively no repercussions for not attending classes. several of the teachers don't even take attendance anymore. because of this, I've probably slept through at least 80% of online classes thus far.
And obviously, graduation won't be able to be in-person this year, so administrators have decided to implement a drive-through graduation ceremony for the seniors. There's also an online portion for seniors getting their names called to receive their diplomas/student council and academic achievement speeches
damn, crazy times we live in. Hope it all works out, at least!
Now, taking a step back through time, where'd you get started with Pokemon? And what's your history with competitive?
I played dpp with my sister throughout the entirety of elementary school. I had a blast, cheated all my mons up to max level, and promptly forgot about pokemon for the next 3ish years. During the spring of my sophomore year, a school friend introduced me to the Ubers tier on Pokemon Showdown. I was pretty hooked and played ubers for a bit until stumbling upon an Elo Bandit FEAR in Ubers video, at which point I started binging his content. I made my debut on the "Waylaid" account that fall, somehow got drafted for Pl 3, and the rest is history
Oh, did you end up in 1v1 as a result of watching elo bandit vids? And since you mention it- What does the "Waylaid" name mean?
Yep! I was a huge Elo Bandit fanboy for a pretty considerable chunk of time, and joined the 1v1 room to try out the tier he raved about. Suffice it to say that I was pretty starstruck to be on Elo's team last WCop. And Waylaid just means "to be interrupted or held up." I found it when searching for a 1 word name and kept it because of the obvious and amusing connotations it has
Interesting. Now, let's talk about PL. You already mentioned the rest is history, but of course nobody else besides you and your teammates can really speak to what happened internally. So, what was this recent PL experience like for you? Any major ups and downs, notable experiences, etc. Did you get what you were looking for, out of the whole experience?
I absolutely got what I was looking for out of this experience: a tight-knit group of teammates that I consider friends. But obviously Cash and I set out to win this PL, and win it we did. Barring week 1, the PL experience for BBB was actually pretty charmed. It always felt like we were in control or had the potential to be in control as a team, which is a good feeling to have before going into a game. Even at some of the most stressful points for us as a team (0-2 in the deciding pl tiebreaks match, 0-1 in TB with ryy and ggopw remaining, etc), we managed to work hard and support each other as a team.
Yeah, it was crazy seeing you guys pull through all of that. What would you say made the whole team work, per se? What elements of success were at play throughout the duration of the tour?
French people!
okay, but in all seriousness, it means a lot to players if you let them know that you worked hard in the draft to make their experience enjoyable. Lancer, LBDC, and XSC were all thrilled to be working together, which in turn helped them perform shockingly well. Also, taking a chance on newer players or non-mains helps them recognize their value and thus have an enjoyable and high-performing experience in the tour.
Makes sense. Now, how about last PL? Would you say this tour was particularly different from how things went for you as a Heatrans member last year?
it was certainly a different playing experience. I was very notably carried to a trophy last PL on heatrans, which is a pretty stark contrast from my record this time around. But Cash and I certainly tried to replicate the Heatran experience for our players this time around, promoting good vibes and fun in the team discord. It means a lot to players to have people rooting for you, so having 9 of your biggest fans cheering you on every game is super great player motivation
True that, and on one last note about team tours; World Cup is coming soon, and it seems clear that you and Boat are shoe-ins for the US West Captains. You excited for that? Do you think the team might do better than last year?
I'm actually quite excited to have a more active role than I did last year! I think that there was a lot of drama and complaints of shadow-leadership last year, which led to an unfun experience for quite a few players. I'm looking forward to making this group of teammates a team again. I think that, this time around, we'll definitely be working for each other, rather than against ourselves. and yes, I think USW has a good shot of making finals this time around. We're a mix of strong players and fast learners, which is always a good 1v1 combination.
Hope you guys do well in that! Now, since you seem pretty invested in tours all around, with your participation in multiple other 1v1 tournaments, what are your thoughts on the differences between team tours and individuals?
Thanks! I definitely think that individuals are the purest display of a player's performance, but not necessarily their skill as a player. in an individual, one unlucky series can spell doom for your run, whereas an unlucky series in a team tour simply serves as an opportunity to help your teammates compensate for your loss. I have huge respect for anyone who can win an individual though, because that's a pretty huge feat
Interesting, and how would you say the ladder stacks up, in comparison to individuals? Obviously, the low ladder will always be the low ladder, but say, 1500 and up, what's the difference to you between running into the same person 5 times in one laddering session vs doing a proper tournament Bo5?
I've never really been a huge ladderer, but I've topped enough to know that there's definitely more than just luck in maintaining high elo and gxe. people will always complain that high ladder just becomes sniping, but that's effectively what tournament play is when prep is involved. you expect certain things from your opponent and teambuild specifically to get good mus against the types of teams they use. I think that sniping on ladder with creative sets is indicative of teambuilding ability. Now, I wouldn't say that ladder skill translates directly to tournament skill, but I think a top ladderer would almost always perform better in tourney than, say, a 1200s player.
Makes sense. Now, since you mention it, you yourself certainly have quite a history of rather "creative" sets, such as the infamous Drifblim you used to beat blunder. I, for one, am curious to see what your particular favorite team made with creative sets might be. If you can't think of a particular favorite, any team will do, and walk us through your thought process of how you went about building it-
based of off results and surprise factor, I'd definitely say that this is my personal favorite
I built this in PL as a surprise team to beat nalei. I'll never forget the moment when I picked tyranitar into alolan-ninetales and people started popping off when my sand proc-ed before the hail
I started this team with kebia whimsicott. this certainly isn't the most common item for whimsi, but I thought that I'd be able to beat any haxorus' or sawks that nalei may bring. it had the added benefit of beating then-unsets like pjab rhyp, which the team is insanely weak to without kebia. She also is well-known for using gimmick-y mons and sets, many of which can be rendered entirely useless by taunt
My second choice for a mon was arcanine. before this series, I'd been using a LOT of stall, and was becoming known for relatively fat and slow teams. I wouldn't put it past nalei to expect double stall mons + band tyranitar from me. Stall arc also made me look pretty weak to ttar, assuming she opted to bring it. one of my teams the week prior had been 3-0ed by ttar and I expected it to make a reappearance when she was down 0-1. LO arc gave me a little more offensive capability than stall would've as well as baiting stallbreakers like tyranitar and scarfed sawk
my last mon was the most fun to build with: scarfed tyranitar. my team at this point was missing a good amount of special bulk, which tyranitar was pretty known for. my team also straight up lost to stall arcanine if I had been banded ttar, so I thought that the speed boost I got from scarfing it would let me get a jump on a lot of mons hoping to outspeed and stall me
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1071045736 (the game I brought it in)
Interesting interesting. Would you say this team still holds up in the current metagame? Or is this more of a one-off that was only really useful for this one instance?
I would definitely not recommend using it. whimsi has unfortunately lost a lot of viability post-mimi and rachi bans. the team is also pretty weak to lucky yawn sylveons, and you have to predict the sets for any darm-gs you might run into
Speaking of the metagame, with your recent promotion to 1v1 Council, I'm sure many people are curious to hear what your thoughts on the metagame might be? The way it's developed into what it is now, what it's looking to be towards the future, etc.
I'm super excited to be working with the rest of the 1v1 Council in helping promote the well-being of the metagame. I think that the metagame is actually in the healthiest spot it's been in, tbh. with the removal of dynamax, sableye, mew, necrozma, mimikyu, and jirachi up to this point, I think it's finally mellowed down enough for players to start recognizing what is good, rather than what is broken
I'm looking forward to DLC as well. I'm really excited to see how that will supplement the mons and playstyle of the metagame.
Interesting, would you say anything is looking to be bannable with what we have atm? If not, what would you say is the next closest thing?
I honestly don't think anything in the meta is bannable atm, but Darm-g is certainly the closest thing we have to it. with just two main sets it manages to destroy the vast majority of the meta with strong stats, a fantastic ability, and a great movepool. I wouldn't say it was worthy of a ban, but it certainly forces steelix and crustle to be used much more than they would be otherwise
Big agree on that one. Now, shifting from the metagame to the people who play it, what are your thoughts on the overall 1v1 community? You end up interacting with more or less everyone between the room, smogon, and discord, so I'm sure you've probably formed a strong opinion by now.
I definitely understand the differing opinions from smogon players on the community in general. We always manage to get mixed up in the thick of drama. I think that we do have a pretty bad reputation for toxcitiy, which is something I'd like to see changed in the future. but, as with any community, there are bad apples that give everyone a bad rep, and I can confidently say that the 1v1 community is not all bad
I couldn't agree more. Now, as we wrap things up, your dedication to 1v1 has been pretty clear to see, with your investment in near everything between tournaments, VR, analyses, Council, suspects, and so on; all of this raises a question though: Do you have any long term goals in mind for the community and metagame? Say, five years from now, where would you want to see 1v1?
hm, that's a toughie. I'm not sure that 1v1 synergizes enough with the competitive ideals of Smogon to be ever made official, but I do hope for a day where the only thing holding us back is our metagame, rather than our community
I hope we can get there, too. Any last words to the readers?
Thanks for reading! feel free to lmk if you have any questions, and I'll do my best to answer them!
Thanks for your time :)
1v1 Player Interviews
#1 | #2 | #3
#4 Waylaid
Favorite Pokemon: Mega Tyranitar
Most used Pokemon: Dragapult
Most known for: Winning the recent Premier League as manager of the Big Baller Barraskewdas, being a generally successful 1v1 player, and being involved in nearly every facet of 1v1
Welcome to the first interview in a while! So to start, tell us about yourself! What should people think about when they hear the name "Waylaid"?
Glad to be here! I think a lot of people associate me with my involvement in the 1v1 room and discord, as well as with some slightly niche 1v1 memes that I'm a part of. I'm 17, from California, and in my free time I like to listen to music and swim competitively
Glad to have you here. So, how's life been? Online, irl, whatever. I know for sure things irl have taken a drastic shift since the last interview I've done-
Ummm it's been different these days for sure. I'm super extroverted irl, so being away from my friends for so long has taken quite a toll. Luckily, I've had the unique opportunities to meet people in the community that have been really helpful in sating my desire to talk to people regularly. Big Pokemon-related events like 1v1pl have also kept me somewhat busy for a considerable amount of quarantine, which I really appreciate. It always feels great to have something to do.
Just before we started the convo you had mentioned finishing school recently and that got me curious. What's the school situation been like? Is it all online like I've been hearing? Also, has there been any word about what the graduation's gonna be like?
so, yeah. I just finished classes for my senior year of high school, all of which have been online since mid-march. it's pretty heavily encouraged that the students attend class, but because of the possible gap in connectivity to the internet for students at my school, there's effectively no repercussions for not attending classes. several of the teachers don't even take attendance anymore. because of this, I've probably slept through at least 80% of online classes thus far.
And obviously, graduation won't be able to be in-person this year, so administrators have decided to implement a drive-through graduation ceremony for the seniors. There's also an online portion for seniors getting their names called to receive their diplomas/student council and academic achievement speeches
damn, crazy times we live in. Hope it all works out, at least!
Now, taking a step back through time, where'd you get started with Pokemon? And what's your history with competitive?
I played dpp with my sister throughout the entirety of elementary school. I had a blast, cheated all my mons up to max level, and promptly forgot about pokemon for the next 3ish years. During the spring of my sophomore year, a school friend introduced me to the Ubers tier on Pokemon Showdown. I was pretty hooked and played ubers for a bit until stumbling upon an Elo Bandit FEAR in Ubers video, at which point I started binging his content. I made my debut on the "Waylaid" account that fall, somehow got drafted for Pl 3, and the rest is history
Oh, did you end up in 1v1 as a result of watching elo bandit vids? And since you mention it- What does the "Waylaid" name mean?
Yep! I was a huge Elo Bandit fanboy for a pretty considerable chunk of time, and joined the 1v1 room to try out the tier he raved about. Suffice it to say that I was pretty starstruck to be on Elo's team last WCop. And Waylaid just means "to be interrupted or held up." I found it when searching for a 1 word name and kept it because of the obvious and amusing connotations it has
Interesting. Now, let's talk about PL. You already mentioned the rest is history, but of course nobody else besides you and your teammates can really speak to what happened internally. So, what was this recent PL experience like for you? Any major ups and downs, notable experiences, etc. Did you get what you were looking for, out of the whole experience?
I absolutely got what I was looking for out of this experience: a tight-knit group of teammates that I consider friends. But obviously Cash and I set out to win this PL, and win it we did. Barring week 1, the PL experience for BBB was actually pretty charmed. It always felt like we were in control or had the potential to be in control as a team, which is a good feeling to have before going into a game. Even at some of the most stressful points for us as a team (0-2 in the deciding pl tiebreaks match, 0-1 in TB with ryy and ggopw remaining, etc), we managed to work hard and support each other as a team.
Yeah, it was crazy seeing you guys pull through all of that. What would you say made the whole team work, per se? What elements of success were at play throughout the duration of the tour?
French people!
okay, but in all seriousness, it means a lot to players if you let them know that you worked hard in the draft to make their experience enjoyable. Lancer, LBDC, and XSC were all thrilled to be working together, which in turn helped them perform shockingly well. Also, taking a chance on newer players or non-mains helps them recognize their value and thus have an enjoyable and high-performing experience in the tour.
Makes sense. Now, how about last PL? Would you say this tour was particularly different from how things went for you as a Heatrans member last year?
it was certainly a different playing experience. I was very notably carried to a trophy last PL on heatrans, which is a pretty stark contrast from my record this time around. But Cash and I certainly tried to replicate the Heatran experience for our players this time around, promoting good vibes and fun in the team discord. It means a lot to players to have people rooting for you, so having 9 of your biggest fans cheering you on every game is super great player motivation
True that, and on one last note about team tours; World Cup is coming soon, and it seems clear that you and Boat are shoe-ins for the US West Captains. You excited for that? Do you think the team might do better than last year?
I'm actually quite excited to have a more active role than I did last year! I think that there was a lot of drama and complaints of shadow-leadership last year, which led to an unfun experience for quite a few players. I'm looking forward to making this group of teammates a team again. I think that, this time around, we'll definitely be working for each other, rather than against ourselves. and yes, I think USW has a good shot of making finals this time around. We're a mix of strong players and fast learners, which is always a good 1v1 combination.
Hope you guys do well in that! Now, since you seem pretty invested in tours all around, with your participation in multiple other 1v1 tournaments, what are your thoughts on the differences between team tours and individuals?
Thanks! I definitely think that individuals are the purest display of a player's performance, but not necessarily their skill as a player. in an individual, one unlucky series can spell doom for your run, whereas an unlucky series in a team tour simply serves as an opportunity to help your teammates compensate for your loss. I have huge respect for anyone who can win an individual though, because that's a pretty huge feat
Interesting, and how would you say the ladder stacks up, in comparison to individuals? Obviously, the low ladder will always be the low ladder, but say, 1500 and up, what's the difference to you between running into the same person 5 times in one laddering session vs doing a proper tournament Bo5?
I've never really been a huge ladderer, but I've topped enough to know that there's definitely more than just luck in maintaining high elo and gxe. people will always complain that high ladder just becomes sniping, but that's effectively what tournament play is when prep is involved. you expect certain things from your opponent and teambuild specifically to get good mus against the types of teams they use. I think that sniping on ladder with creative sets is indicative of teambuilding ability. Now, I wouldn't say that ladder skill translates directly to tournament skill, but I think a top ladderer would almost always perform better in tourney than, say, a 1200s player.
Makes sense. Now, since you mention it, you yourself certainly have quite a history of rather "creative" sets, such as the infamous Drifblim you used to beat blunder. I, for one, am curious to see what your particular favorite team made with creative sets might be. If you can't think of a particular favorite, any team will do, and walk us through your thought process of how you went about building it-
based of off results and surprise factor, I'd definitely say that this is my personal favorite
I built this in PL as a surprise team to beat nalei. I'll never forget the moment when I picked tyranitar into alolan-ninetales and people started popping off when my sand proc-ed before the hail
I started this team with kebia whimsicott. this certainly isn't the most common item for whimsi, but I thought that I'd be able to beat any haxorus' or sawks that nalei may bring. it had the added benefit of beating then-unsets like pjab rhyp, which the team is insanely weak to without kebia. She also is well-known for using gimmick-y mons and sets, many of which can be rendered entirely useless by taunt
My second choice for a mon was arcanine. before this series, I'd been using a LOT of stall, and was becoming known for relatively fat and slow teams. I wouldn't put it past nalei to expect double stall mons + band tyranitar from me. Stall arc also made me look pretty weak to ttar, assuming she opted to bring it. one of my teams the week prior had been 3-0ed by ttar and I expected it to make a reappearance when she was down 0-1. LO arc gave me a little more offensive capability than stall would've as well as baiting stallbreakers like tyranitar and scarfed sawk
my last mon was the most fun to build with: scarfed tyranitar. my team at this point was missing a good amount of special bulk, which tyranitar was pretty known for. my team also straight up lost to stall arcanine if I had been banded ttar, so I thought that the speed boost I got from scarfing it would let me get a jump on a lot of mons hoping to outspeed and stall me
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1071045736 (the game I brought it in)
Interesting interesting. Would you say this team still holds up in the current metagame? Or is this more of a one-off that was only really useful for this one instance?
I would definitely not recommend using it. whimsi has unfortunately lost a lot of viability post-mimi and rachi bans. the team is also pretty weak to lucky yawn sylveons, and you have to predict the sets for any darm-gs you might run into
Speaking of the metagame, with your recent promotion to 1v1 Council, I'm sure many people are curious to hear what your thoughts on the metagame might be? The way it's developed into what it is now, what it's looking to be towards the future, etc.
I'm super excited to be working with the rest of the 1v1 Council in helping promote the well-being of the metagame. I think that the metagame is actually in the healthiest spot it's been in, tbh. with the removal of dynamax, sableye, mew, necrozma, mimikyu, and jirachi up to this point, I think it's finally mellowed down enough for players to start recognizing what is good, rather than what is broken
I'm looking forward to DLC as well. I'm really excited to see how that will supplement the mons and playstyle of the metagame.
Interesting, would you say anything is looking to be bannable with what we have atm? If not, what would you say is the next closest thing?
I honestly don't think anything in the meta is bannable atm, but Darm-g is certainly the closest thing we have to it. with just two main sets it manages to destroy the vast majority of the meta with strong stats, a fantastic ability, and a great movepool. I wouldn't say it was worthy of a ban, but it certainly forces steelix and crustle to be used much more than they would be otherwise
Big agree on that one. Now, shifting from the metagame to the people who play it, what are your thoughts on the overall 1v1 community? You end up interacting with more or less everyone between the room, smogon, and discord, so I'm sure you've probably formed a strong opinion by now.
I definitely understand the differing opinions from smogon players on the community in general. We always manage to get mixed up in the thick of drama. I think that we do have a pretty bad reputation for toxcitiy, which is something I'd like to see changed in the future. but, as with any community, there are bad apples that give everyone a bad rep, and I can confidently say that the 1v1 community is not all bad
I couldn't agree more. Now, as we wrap things up, your dedication to 1v1 has been pretty clear to see, with your investment in near everything between tournaments, VR, analyses, Council, suspects, and so on; all of this raises a question though: Do you have any long term goals in mind for the community and metagame? Say, five years from now, where would you want to see 1v1?
hm, that's a toughie. I'm not sure that 1v1 synergizes enough with the competitive ideals of Smogon to be ever made official, but I do hope for a day where the only thing holding us back is our metagame, rather than our community
I hope we can get there, too. Any last words to the readers?
Thanks for reading! feel free to lmk if you have any questions, and I'll do my best to answer them!
Thanks for your time :)
======================================================================
Duration of interview: 2 hours, 14 minutes
If you have any questions of your own for Waylaid , feel free to ask them here!
As for the next interview, don't expect a consistent schedule behind these-
Duration of interview: 2 hours, 14 minutes
If you have any questions of your own for Waylaid , feel free to ask them here!
As for the next interview, don't expect a consistent schedule behind these-
