LC Player of the Week 1: Heysup

Corporal Levi

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Heysup, one of LC's oldest active users, placed first in the SPL power rankings after a strong performance in previous tournaments. However, by the end of the second week, he had already taken two brutal losses, disappointing his fans everywhere. As his circle of admirers dwindles, Heysup desperately attempts to make a comeback, but is only able to go even at 2-2 by midseasons. His position as a top LCer is now being called into question - were the HeYsUpiken haters right all along?

Player of the Week 1: Heysup
Pokemon of the Week 1: Onix

They say that the legend of Heysup begins as so:

Once upon a time, Heysup was born. Shortly afterward, Hitler initiated the Holocaust.

Heysup spent his adulthood watching children's television shows such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He was captivated when the Gatekeepers appeared in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie, and greatly upset when they were defeated. It was because of this that Heysup resolved to begin studying law, so that he could one day make it illegal to defeat rock monsters on television.

During his studies, Heysup had a chance encounter with Onix. Something that Heysup had never felt before began to blossom in his chest - love. From there, it was only a matter of time before Heysup discovered Smogon, and with it, Little Cup.

How much of this is true? Is there anything you would like to add?

told exactly as it occurred.


Figure 1: Heysup Offense

Then you've been around for a long time - in fact, you're the single most veteran member of the LC community. What is it like to have so much more experience playing LC than the vast majority of the playerbase? Do you feel that it gives you the edge? How about the playerbase - do you think that it has improved since you started?

I don't think it particularly helps with technical aspects of the game but sometimes experience helps with nerves and what to do when playing important team-tour games when it's not just your win in the line. Sometimes people give you the benefit of the doubt if you've been around longer. That being said, when you have a reputation, you definitely feel a bit more pressure to perform so it can work both ways.

The player base has improved in certain areas and faltered in others in my opinion. I don't want to get into specifics in a public manner, but as a whole I think we are moving in the right direction and contributors are really doing a great job. Skill-wise, I think it's pretty clear that there's a whole slew of great talent in the user base. I think many people, since gen 7 have really taken it upon themselves to learn the tier or strengthen their battling knowledge.


Which current or former members of the playerbase stand out to you? Is there anybody you used to or continue to look up to?

GOAO has always been a motivated little lad who's improved a lot in both building, battling, and not outwardly expressing bigotry. The user I always looked up to was eric the espeon who is long gone, but he was definitely the mod I respected the most in my time on this website.

You're known as one of the community's more innovative teambuilders. What is your thought process behind including Pokemon that most of us would consider gimmicks? Do you feel that there are any uncommon Pokemon that do not deserve their reputation and are actually quite splashable?

When notable set stealers like Levi steal my sets, I assume it has some sort of value that other people can use that isn't just unique to my playstyle. I think the reason I bring underutilized Pokemon is because of the restrictions to LC team building. There are lots of Pokemon that are pretty useless because they are just worse versions of other Pokemon, but sometimes there are Pokemon that actually have a niche that no other Pokemon does. For example, Numel and Gible are never used over Drilbur, Hippopotas, or even Sandshrew as SR's/bulky Grounds even though they both have the capacity to take on basically any fire-type in the game, plus some grass-types. Numel has the added benefit of being able to switch into Magnemite Flash Cannon better than basically any other ground, can switch into Fairies and can use Flame Charge to avoid Diglett. Gible on the other hand avoids that annoying 4x water weakness (making it able to switch into IB-less Chinchou and Staryu with less risk, making it a good partner with Gunk, my fave mon).

I think another Pokemon that's been under the radar is NP Gunk, but I used my NP Gunk team and then others also used NP Gunk so I feel like the frog's out of the pond, so to speak. Spikes are easy to keep up this gen because Defog users are generally shit. All gunk needs is 2 hazards to OHKO Diglett with +2 VW and with Gothita gone, it's hard to exactly stop croagunk reliably without a faster Ground type (and may people opt for slower, bulkier ones like Mudbray).


Figure 2: An artistic depiction of Heysup in real life

You mentioned that you think highly of Numel and Croagunk, two Pokemon that are generally seen as weak to Diglett without significant support, such as multiple layers of hazards. Last gen, it seemed like you were anti-Diglett ban, if only slightly. Do you feel that Diglett has overall improved or gotten worse? Do you think that it restricts teambuilding to an abnormally large degree? Would you find it banworthy now?

Diglett is constantly toeing the line. Last generation I was mostly anti-ban because the people arguing for a ban had horrible arguments and convinced me to vote against its ban. Diglett seemed like it was broken when Cutie/Pory were in the metagame, but since they left it's been at least tolerable. This generation Diglett was nerfed because of Sucker Punch nerf, but now has a new tool of Groundium-Z. I think it's a bit of a double-edged sword in that it's weaker and easier to set up against with Snivy, Vullaby, Timburr, Mienfoo, etc., but being able to trap one specific Pokemon can be game breaking. I'm on the fence with it again honestly, but I do think it would be worth taking another look at.

Other Pokemon that have been brought up for bans include Vulpix (because of Sun) and Vullaby. What are your opinions on them potentially being suspected?

I mean, Sun is really annoying. I wouldn't mind seeing it go personally, but I'm not totally convinced yet. I think if Diglett goes, it's one of those things that may become harder to deal with. Because of Z-moves, it's hard to just "counter" it with other weather users but it still has trouble against a few match ups, particularly with stuff like Carvahna, Abra and bulky Vullaby. I think Vullaby at this point is amazing but you can definitely play around the NP set. The part that may push it over the edge is the set-guessing. But since lots of the counters overlap, I don't think it's too strong at this point.

What part of LC, whether the community or metagame, do you think could be improved upon? What about it do you like the most?

I've always thought we should have a more competitive ladder and more activity. As for the metagame, were stuck with what GF gives us for the most part. My least favorite thing are speed ties and damage rolls but what makes LC the most playable metagame for me is the sample size. Other tiers to me are basically glorified games of rock paper scissors and a coin flip here or there because you just have so many Pokemon. I think LC you can actually contemplate counters and be a bit more creative with sets, similar to metas like ADV and DPP. I also like how the damage is more biased towards offense.

Is there anything else you would like to say to your readers?

Keep innovating and the game won't get stale.

Lastly, do you have a team that you would like to share with us?

Here is the team that Heysup won week 3 of SPL 8 with:

Kimberly (Vullaby) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Tailwind

Trini (Omanyte) @ Eviolite
Ability: Weak Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Def / 236 Spe
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Scald

Jason (Croagunk) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
EVs: 52 HP / 116 Def / 188 SpA / 36 SpD / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Vacuum Wave

Billy (Staryu) @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 236 Def / 156 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

Tommy (Mudbray) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Stamina
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 156 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Roar
- Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam

Zack (Pumpkaboo-Super) @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
Level: 5
Happiness: 0
EVs: 204 HP / 36 Def / 4 SpA / 236 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Synthesis
---

Thanks for reading our first Player of the Week! If you ask when your PotW is, you will be removed from the list.

Due to a potential loss of interest, we will only be doing these on a bi-weekly basis instead of every week. In addition, my co-host GOAO and I will be alternating in hosting them. Stay tuned!
 
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