Hi there everyone, rileydelete here with the latest PS! Staff interview. You voted, and the one and only Nani Man was selected for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to leave a vote in the poll for who you want to see next! Also, feel free to check out the previous PS interviews with Prem and Haunter!
My experience with the Illuminani Lord is as follows:
After months of seafaring, my ship arrived at, what my books referred to as “Australia.” With nothing but an ancient map to guide me, I began to make my way through this wild continent in search of the fabled “Illuminani.” After some time, I happened upon what appeared to be a school. I approached a young engineering student and asked him where I could find an individual named “Nani Man.” He pointed towards an ancient building. As I turned and walked away, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and fell unconscious.
When I came to, I found myself blindfolded. A voice commanded my blindfold be removed, and when my eyes adjusted, I saw I sat in a dark room. Hooded figures gazed at me, filling me with fear. In front of me sat a young man, spread out on a couch. Unlike the rest, he wears PJs and sunglasses. He lowered his shades and I realized I stood before the leader of the illusive Illuminani! I grabbed my notebook and trusty #2 pencil, knowing this opportunity must not go to waste.
: Good evening, Nani Man, or morning in your case. :)
:Hey, Riley, good evening to you too mate :)
: So, the big man himself, the leader of the Illuminani, and the wild child of PS!. How are you? :D
In the background I hear chants of “Swag! Swag! Swag! Swag! Swag!”
: Hahaha #illuminani. I’m going great mate, despite the horrible weather and workload from uni, I can’t really complain.
: Awesome! I hope the weather improves. Last thing we need is a hurricane and Australia to be the land down under water. :P
: Hahaha, that is true! it is usually nice and sunny here, but lately it has just been really cold. Be right back, learning the sunny day dance.
: Hmmm.
I think to myself “Could this group be attempting to control the weather?” Desperate to seem valuable, I remember a dance from my youth.
: Have you tried this?
: Hahahaha that is a sexy dance. To be honest, I’ll be mastering that today so don’t worry. I’m pretty certain if i bust that move in the clubs, sexy females will be chasing the Naniswag.
Stunned, I remember the tales of the world’s most powerful turn-on: the NaniSwag!
: Go easy on the girls lady killer. I'm sure your quite the fiend around campus. ;)
: LOL! Well, in my degree that I am currently enrolled in, girls are pretty much non-existent. :( But it doesn’t matter; I usually stalk the business classes as they are filled with hot chicks! I usually tell them I’m a PS mod and its instant GG after that.
: Hahaha. Relax, dude. You're one of the coolest mods out there :)
: Hahah thanks man, you are too :)
: Well, I’m just a driver mate, so let's hope I don't crash anything :P So on the topic of school, tell us a bit about yourself.
: Right, well when I began high school back in 2006 and finished in 2011, I was pretty much a horrible student the whole way. I did no work and usually just messed around a lot (which I ended up regretting later obviously). This forced me after high school to do a bridging course, which is basically a 'bridge' to the degree I wanted to do. That obviously takes time and money, so yeah. The bridging course was a general engineering course that supplied the assumed knowledge needed to actually do the degree. After completion of the bridging course, I enrolled in my software engineering degree, though shortly changed to computer engineering and then changed again, finally, to electrical engineering, which I am really happy with.
: You know, life's too short to take everything seriously. :) It's awesome you're happy where you are right now. I know what it's like to be in a rough transition period. Everyone's been there and you're certainly not alone. :D
: Yeah, while I regret not working hard in high school, the memories and friends I made make me feel much better! And the important thing to remember is, if you work hard enough you'll end up where you want to be regardless. In the wise words of Swag Master Drake, you only live once.
: Hard work certainly pays off. That's truly a good lesson to learn. :) So, as an engineer, are you aiming to be something like this:
: Hahaha, that'd be something! I’m actually uncertain on what career path I’ll take as of now. I’m hoping as times goes on things will get clearer.
: Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'll figure it out, and keep on progressing! Speaking of an area where you've already come a long way, let's talk about you and Pokémon Showdown!. :D How exactly did you come to PS!? Did it come to you in a vision, did a friend tip you off, or did you just sort of happen upon it on the road of life?
: Haha! Well, during the 5th gen era, my motivation to make teams and EV train them etc., had dropped drastically as opposed to how I was before, and I was in search of a simulator. Just some sort of way to avoid that hassle of training Pokemon and I stumbled on PO (Pokemon Online). I shortly got bored of PO, as the community and simulator itself didn’t appeal to me, and I then went back to searching and stumbled on PS! PS' community is really great, and I have made some quality friends on here, not to mention the simulator itself is the best one out there!
: That's awesome. You certainly make the sim and it's community even better! + Sims are nice. There’s nothing like just using a sliding bar to set EVs. ;)
: Hahah exactly dude! :P
: So you found PS!, but how did you start out? You're pretty popular now. Mind telling us what it was like for you in the earlier days? I'm sure newer members would benefit.
: Yeah man, back when i started in June last year, I only frequented one room, which was the monotype room! I usually kept away from lobby, as it is too big and always thought to myself “I’d never get noticed", until one day, I was really bored in the monotype room, as it was really quiet (Aus timezone sucked), so I decided to join the lobby and really loved how action-packed it was hahah. I slowly started making new friends, and people started recognizing my name which eventually gave me a 'rep' on PS!, haha.
: You know, that's one of the cool things about the lobby. It's big, and just keeps getting bigger overtime, yet it's not too hard to make a name for yourself and fit right in. It doesn't matter who you are; you'll get noticed :)
: Exactly mate!
: Back to you though, are there any particular memories you have as you made your way- Any funny or cool stories that the lord of the Illuminani can share? :P
: LOL! Well, one day i logged on PS at around 3am and i was really drunk, and well..drunk + PS = bad. This is just one log of what happened:
Heatmor used Fire Blast!
It's not very effective... The opposing Sudowoodo lost 20.7% of its health!
Nani Man: ITS A FUCKING TREE
Chicken Dance:LOL why would you Fire Blast a Sudowoodo?
Nani Man:ITS FKIN GRASS YPE
: As you can see from that, it was a 'memorable' night.
: Hahaha, that's awesome man. Don't forget, Sudowoodo pretends to be a plant. I guess you fell for its disguise! :P
: Haha, true. :P
: So, aside from PS, what do you like to do in your downtime? Do you climb mountains, paint portraits, fight crime, or something else?
: Aside from leading the Illuminani with master rapper Drake, I enjoy boxing a lot! I have been doing it for around 4-5 years now, and it’s a really good way for stress release... and to keep fit for the ladies. ;)
: Oh that's awesome! Nothing like some healthy exercise. Remind me not to piss you off though. The last thing I need is a pummeling. :O
I got up and backed away slowly. This man was not one to anger.
: Hahaha, nah man don’t worry, I really dislike violence so the worst thing i could do to you is possibly send you pics of Justin Bieber in his swag outfits…
…or a pic of me in a one direction shirt.
I shuddered. The fear of being beaten up paled in comparison to the image now burning itself into my mind.
: My god...
Still, “Pokemon Showdown Star Smackdown" does sound like quite the show.
: Hahaha, lets make it happen!
Calmed, I sat back down. What other secrets could this illusive man reveal?
: Alright, let's shift gears now. You've talked a bit about Pokemon Showdown, but when it comes to Smogon, how have you been making your way? Are you still involved in the monotype community, or are their other places that have caught you eye?
: I’ve been lurking on Smogon for a long time, though in early days it was purely for the Wi-Fi battle finder back when I was motivated for playing on the cartridges. Aside from that, I usually just stick to the PS forum on here! Hopefully in the future I can start contributing more elsewhere, but as for now, nothing else has caught my eye yet, but we'll see. :) As for the monotype community, I was just recently appointed RO, and I am hoping to add a lot more to the table for the monotype community so it is all really exciting.
: Congratulations on your appointment! That says a lot about you. :D
: Thanks mate. :)
: Any tips for building a successful Monotype team? Go Normalmons right? :P
: Using sets accustomed for the monotype metagame as opposed to using standard OU sets really does benefit your team overall, and with experience, you start to see what your team lacks and eventually make modifications which results in that. Basically, make a team you enjoy and keep getting that experience in!
…and nope, steel4life hahah!
: Nothing like using something you enjoy. You know, a lot of people say you need to include X,Y, or Z 'mon, or use A to check B, but you can always innovate and try what you like. A lot of the time, you may even find the stuff you use is viable. :D
: Yeah dude, haha, experimenting with new stuff is never a waste!
: You know, it's been awesome to talk to you, and there's no doubt you're a really cool guy!
: Thanks a lot man! and likewise, you are a really nice guy :) /nohomo
Feeling confident, I gathered my courage to ask the most important question-the true reason I had sought out this mysterious man.
: Before we go, one last question I'm sure the world want's to know: how would one go about joining the Illuminani?
: The process is complex, secretive, swagful, and rare to happen. You don’t simply join, you get invited. It’s basically like the first Pokemon movie- you stroll about doing your everyday stuff, and them BAM, a yoloswag420 Dragonite gives you the legendary Illuminani invitation.
: So don't seek it, it shall come to you?
: Exactly man. I’ll be sending the Illuminani Pamela Anderson and Drake pics later tonight so sit tight :)
: Will there be flying Dragonites involved?
: Hahaha of course man!
Nani Man picked up two large needles. I panicked, but then he began to knit a sexy Dragonite onesie!
: Sounds like quiet the experience! :)
: It sure is ;)
: Well, I'll let the Swaglord get back to his life of swag, engineering, Pokemon, and more. It was great to talk to you, Nani Man! :D
: Hahah thanks a lot man, was great to talk to you too!
The man before me clapped twice, and once again, I felt a painful sensation in the back of my head. When I awoke, I found myself at an airport with a first-class ticket home. Awestruck by the influence of the Illuminani, I vowed to share my experience with others.
Thanks so much to user, Elcheeso who provided the artwork, and thanks for reading everyone! But who would you like to see interviewed next? Vote in the poll above and let your voice be heard!
