Project SM Monotype PotW #2: 1 True Lycan

Kev

Part of the journey is the end
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Approved by Eien , Acast & Vid
Based off of OU PotW and Gen 6 Mono PotW

Welcome to the second edition of Monotype Player of the Week!


(credits to Seo. for the banner)

During this project, I will be interviewing some of the most influential players in Monotype today whether it be based on their exceptional contribution to the metagame or their outstanding performance in tours. If anyone has suggestions on who should be interviewed next, feel free to PM me your ideas.
This week I have the winner of the first edition of MLT I, manager of the winning MPL team and overall amazing tour player.



1 True Lycan

Can you tell us a bit about your life outside of Smogon?
- I just finished my second year at university studying maths and physics. In my spare time I like to play sports, pokemon, or go to the gym (took this up recently so don't ask my stats they're pre bad)

What are you most known for?
- Probably just doing well in mono tours, most recently for winning mpl.

What is your favorite Pokemon in general and favorite one to use competitively?
- I only really remember the first season of the anime and i always liked the episode with Primeape so I guess that's my favourite mon. I always loved using jirachi in gen 6 mono and still enjoy using it now although it's not as good so that is my favourite mon to use competitively.

What is your favorite type?
- Steel all the way, it can pull off every playstyle if built right but it's not so easy that anyone can pull it off.

How about your favorite playstyle?
- Bulky offense since it has a defensive backbone and requires sharp thinking to play correctly.

What are your thoughts on the current SM Monotype metagame? Are there things you think deserve a suspect, to be banned or unbanned? How does it fair compared to ORAS?
- I think it's pretty balanced right now. A lot of people just use the same old types but I hope I showed during my mpl run that you can use a variety of sets and still win. Even with generic types you can put your own spin on it, for example I decided to build still round electrium z Dragonite on flying instead of the usual balance everyone spams. Could probably suspect Magearna. More balanced meta than oras. I feel there was still a bit more creativity in oras but that may just be the playerbase's fault, the teams in mpl were pretty diverse for the most part.

What are your thoughts on Monotype OMs? Do you think they deserve a presence in competitive monotype or do they simply belong in occasional room tours?
- Mono AAA in particular is awesome imo. In general mono OMs are fun and make for good room tours, not sure if they have a place in competitive monotype though. Would be too hard to balance and the playerbase would be tiny.
Are there any up and coming players that have impressed you or that you think will be able to make a mark in the community?- My boy waszap has been doing really well recently and I think he could go far if he keeps playing.

Who do you think are the top 5 SM monotype players right now?
TheThorn/Eien/Paleo/Rnbs/Lax

You have performed consistently well in tournaments, what advice do you have on prepping for a match?
- Look at their teambuilding patterns and try to build your own team around a core which could do well vs them. Dont completely counterteam though because if they bring something other than what you were expecting you could be in trouble. I usually try to build teams which can handle the whole tier effectively.

Similar to the previous question, any advice on teambuilding?
- For monotype I try to make a plan of how I'm going to beat each type. For example on my bug team the idea vs poison was to catch toxapex or nihilego with a z psychic and open up Scizor. Vs steel it is to pop heatrans balloon and sweep with volc or to get rid of skarm and sweep with buzzwole. Do this with every type and you should be fine.

Who are some of your favorite people that you met on Pokemon Showdown?
- I made a bunch of good friends through woa such as sabella, thorn, rnbs, yaksok and many more. Hate zarif tho

Finally, can you showcase a team that you think represents your style as a player and provide an explanation on how to use it?

Volcarona @ Psychium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Yanmega @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz
- Air Slash

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower

Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Galvantula @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Buzzwole @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Leech Life
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake


- This team has given me a lot of success in tours and I think it can win almost any matchup. Scizor is as as dangerous this gen as ever, and will be your main win con alongside volcarona.

Any last words you want to leave us with?
-Don't forget to try out other tiers as well as monotype, there are plenty of options!

This concludes my interview with 1 True Lycan. A huge thanks to him for taking time out of his day and replying all my questions! Feel free to now ask your own questions to our Player of the Week.
 
I never knew that people secretly ran Calm Armaldo


But in all seriousness, what are your thoughts on Mega Heracross? How good do you think it is on Bug teams compared to Mega Scizor?
 
I never knew that people secretly ran Calm Armaldo

But in all seriousness, what are your thoughts on Mega Heracross? How good do you think it is on Bug teams compared to Mega Scizor?
Loved it in oras because it could break types like water so easily. This gen I think with webs up it can still be an excellent wallbreaker, but bug has some decent wallbreaking options anyway and I would prefer sciz/pinsir to sweep and have my fighting type be the scarfer.

top 5 types

most creative type
Fairy/Water/Flying/Bug/Steel

There are plenty of creative types, the one that comes ti mind atm is flying jut bc there are so many cool mons and strats to abuse
how much do you lift (give stats pls)
:(
Deadlift 105kg for 1 set of 5
Squat 60kg for 5 sets of 5
Bench 40kg for 5 sets of 5

Why is a boxing ring square?
Because you can't force someone to be what they're not, anyone who boxes is a BORN fighter, no room for square pegs in round holes
 

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