Project Player of the Week

:cyclohm:
Week 9: againa​

Username: againa (a not capitalised) (steam buns on discord and in other communities)

Tell us a little bit about yourself, outside of pokemon showdown:
I'm 19 year old university dropout from Perth Australia, currently just figuring out what to do with myself. Aside from pokemon, I also play competitive smash ultimate and attend local tournaments pretty frequently aswell as this I've been learning chess since the start of this year and am loving it. Outside of gaming, my interests include music, animals and sports of which my favourites are hiking, rock climbing and ultimate frisbee.

Where’d you get your username from?
It's a bit of an odd story actually, I used to spend a lot of time chatting in random rooms on showdown and would frequently change my username, about every few weeks. At some point I was chatting with someone and they misspelt the word again as "againa" so I used the /nick command to make fun of them, changing my name to what it is now and left as that for a while. By pure coincidence it was while I had this name that I found the cap room and as I started interacting and meeting new users here, since I was really enjoying myself I never ended up changing my name because I didn't want to be forgotten.

Favourite CAP:
This is a tough one, Mollux and Cyclohm are both honourable mentions, but it has to go to Pajantom. It's design is so clever and its probably my favourite CAP to actually use in battle, I'm also very fond of it because of the "aussie pajantom" set from gen 7.

Favourite Heat Set you've used in CAP?
There's too many to choose from, so I'll just show off one I made somewhat recently
Pajantom @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Comatose
EVs: 228 Atk / 152 SpD / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spirit Shackle
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Outrage
I made this to pair with keldeo, the idea is to trap and KO toxapex, aswell as most other keldeo counters, it's super janky but a lot of fun when it works.

Underrated mons in the current CAP meta?
Very little comes to mind but I would like to see more people exploring tapu bulu, It can do some cool stuff that rillaboom can't with bulky utility sets.

How'd you get started in CAP/What drew you in?
Like I mentioned above, I used to find random chatrooms on ps to hang out in, I actually went looking for the cap chat after finding the meta and thinking it was really cool but I think the number one thing that got me to end up as a cap main was the community. I always had recognisable names to battle with and improve against and everyone was super friendly. I feel the need to mention rat with wings in particular, who was the best player I'd ever fought when I met him, so I made it my mission to eventually beat him, which led to us playing very often and was the reason I started competing in forum tournaments.

What’s your favourite playstyle to use in CAP and why?
I've always had a preference for building and using balance teams as they just come the most naturally to me. But in the current cap meta I much prefer using offense as I can't help but find gen 8 balance a little too passive.

Favourite CAP concept that wasn't chosen?
I really liked Birkals "celebrity entourage" from equilibras process, that would have been one hell of a discussion. https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/cap-26-part-1-concept-submissions.3647402/#post-8048001

Thoughts on the current CAP metagame?
I sadly don't really like gen 8 CAP that much, I don't necessarily dislike it but isn't all that appealing to me right now, I don't exactly know whether there's something particularly wrong with it, the game is just growing stale for me or it's some combination of the two, I do know that I'm not fond of a lot of the changes that came with the new generation like heavy duty boots and the removal of mega's. But if I were to just comment on the general state of the meta it seems very balanced, especially compared to every other iteration of it up until this point, the only potential problematic pokemon that stands out to me at the moment is dragapult (which I've found obnoxious since the gen started) but even that I would hardly call dominant.

What are your favourite memories from older team tours? What about more recent ones?

A great memory I have was playing oras cap for the first time in CAPTT 5 I decided to try it out randomly just out of curiosity and it ended up becoming my favourite cap metas. As for more recent ones, one of my favourite memories on this site is my game vs callmedrippy in the recent cap snake tour, until that game I had being playing terribly all tournament and my confidence was definitely suffering, so it felt amazing to pull off a comfortable 6-0 while the whole chat was memeing and spamming "gimme the loot" it really brought back my motivation.

What is a pet peeve you have in the CAP Meta or room?
Can't think of any, hooray for positivity :)

Share a particular team you are proud of?
I tried for a long time after mega cruci was nerfed to make a team with it that I felt was really good and actually accommodated it's weaknesses and long after gen 7 ended I finally made this https://pokepast.es/0e4267b6fa55d95e
I think this team perfectly fits my playstyle and I love using it.

Can you give some advice for new CAPers starting off in the metagame?
Well firstly and most importantly... have fun! battle lots, experiment with lots of different things and get creative, It's what pokemon is all about and you have 31 brand new ones to learn about.
Secondly, don't be afraid to ask more experienced players for help and advice, but make sure you're actually prepared to take it in, it's far too common for newer players to disregard suggestions others make, I was guilty of this for a very long time and it really hindered my growth as a player.
 

Voltage

OTTN5
is a Pre-Contributor
Hello my favorite rosemate, congrats on being picked as this week's player!

What are your favorite and least favorite, non-CAP metas to play right now, if any?

Are you an handler or cutter, and depending on that answer what's the sickest layout you've ever done or seen done?

How would you feel about the Gen 8 Meta if Pursuit hasn't been snapped?

Go Roses
 

Steam Buns

:rosetriumph:
is a Pre-Contributor
Hello my favorite rosemate, congrats on being picked as this week's player!
Thankyou!

What are your favorite and least favorite, non-CAP metas to play right now, if any?
Well I haven't played it much recently but I've really enjoyed learning BW OU this year it's a unique and fun meta but isn't so different from what I'm used to that it feels like I'm learning a new game, unlike the earlier old gens and 99 percent of oms. Watching BKC videos has also really helped me get into it. Another one of my favourite metas is the losers game (was called suicide cup in gen 7) it doesn't have a ladder right now but It's always been one om I happen to really enjoy.

Are you an handler or cutter?
It sorta depends on who I'm playing with to be honest, I'd say I'm definitely more suited to cutting, having pretty good speed and agility. But handling is a lot of fun and I try to be a handler when the opportunity presents itself.

what's the sickest layout you've ever done or seen done?
The sickest layout I've ever seen done was at the under 18s nationals a few years ago, I made the team purely due to lack of competition but I was also playing with my older brother who is much better than me. He happened to do what was easily the play of the whole tournament, he basically chased the disk halfway down the field and caught it with the most dramatic dive possible getting stupid airtime and his toes just landing barely in the back corner of the endzone. I've had some nice layouts too but obviously nothing like that haha.

How would you feel about the Gen 8 Meta if Pursuit hasn't been snapped?
Fantastic question! It's really hard to say without actually playing with it, but I think I'd like it more. I see pursuit as a sort of necessary evil in that, while trapping is super lame as a concept, pursuits overall effect on the meta is positive. To get an idea of why we might want it all you have to do is read through the personal vr thread and ask, what are the two mons that at least one of will feature in every single persons s tier? None other than two of pursuits biggest, would-be-victims.:slowking::dragapult:

Not that I'm saying either of these mons being top tier is a bad thing on its own, I just think they are both abusing the general trend that the loss of pursuit and this generations other changes of been a part of. That trend being the ability for teams to make progress without consequence, or risk of consequence. teleport, hdb, and pursuit are all guilty of this. Even losing mega's and z moves (although I hate z moves) while not directly part of this problem, have further centralised the game around the battle between hdb and knock off which I find to be super toxic and uninteresting. To really illustrate my point I'd like to list some mons I consider to be a part of the problem.

:slowking: can frequently and reliably set up future sight and pivot without losing any hp or risk of pursuit trapping. (hdb pursuit teleport)
:dragapult: can use an almost uncontested speed tier to fire off an unresisted stab combo without risk of trapping. (without pursuit, ghost type is too overwhelming offensively as it has too few defensive checks)
:zeraora: can use an actually uncontested speed tier to either force out its targets or safely pivot, without ever taking damage from hazards. (hdb)
:clefable: can pass a wish to a teammate without any risk to said teammate. (teleport, hdb)
:astrolotl: had to be nerfed twice (hdb)
also notice how most of these rely on knock off (pretending astro still has it) and most of them can't afford to be hit by it.

If you ever wondered why I use so much cb victini and cb pajantom, it's because they are two of the only mons that can force the game to progress for both you and your opponent. OK rant over lol.

Go roses.

I'm really stupid and totally forgot about nfepl when answering the team tours question. Literally every moment of nfepl 3 was a highlight, I've never bonded and clicked with a team so well, not even when I drafted my own team.
 

dex

10 wolf, 3 shepherd, 1 sheep, led leopard
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Team Rater Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
Sup againa, the government has returned to ask CAP players intrusive questions

I'll follow in Voltage's footsteps and ask how would you feel about the Gen 8 meta with Hidden Power in the game?

What's an overrated mon in the meta atm?

Have any funny stories of people malding trying to schedule with an Aussie?

Music suggestions?

What CAP player do you think is going to go for less than they are worth in CAPPL?
 

SHSP

is a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top CAP Contributor
Moderator
againa my friend i have questions

You're no stranger to running heat/weird stuff: has there ever been something you've added to a team that makes even you ask why the hell you're using it? What's the strangest thing you've ever justified on a team?

Whats your favorite and least favorite matchups in Ult?
 

Lasen

smiling through it all
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a CAP Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
Againa! I come to you with questions because I forgot about this thread!

When are we getting drunk in call together?
Hottest take on VR? What about ORAS VR?
If you could move to any country, where would it be and why?
What is a perfect day for you, meal-wise? Talk me through what you eat from the moment you wake up until you go to bed.
If you could have any superpower, why would it be teleportation?
Favourite Pokemon TCG artwork?
 

Dj Breloominati♬

born to play, forced to john
is a Top Tiering Contributor
UPL Champion
if you were a captain and the rest of CAP staff were pirates, who would you make walk the plank and why?
best breakfast food
Favourite animal ( cute pics appreciated )
If you were locked in a room with WishPort clef and Rachel ( from ToG ) , who would you shoot first ?
Whos a smog user thats scares you ( or one that gives off a threatening aura )
Favourite song ? What kind of music do you like in general ?
Favourite custom avatar on ps

:smogduck:
 

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