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what is it that makes you so obsessed with fighting types? is it just a phase?
I just think they're very diverse and and most don't have the same counters/checks so it's easy to whittle them down for others!
what are the names of your dogs and your horse?
My dogs are named Mey and Charis and my horse is named Charlie :3
thoughts on pokemon cypher 2016?
I prefer the 2013 one over it but its still good shit imo
would you have ever revealed being a boy if nobody had noticed/told anyone by now?
Yea by the time I was feeeling uncomfortable and it sucked predenting to be someone you aren't.
do u feel that u have a special connection to the pokemon: jirachi and if so why is that?
Jirachi sexually arrouses me that is all. jk love xy uu Jirachi def my fav mon of all time
what kind of music do u listen to?
Mostly Rap German/English doesn't matter as long as the lyrics and sound is enjoyable. I also used to listen to brazilian music but it gets boring after a time because its always DUM CHAA CHAA DUM DUM CHA
most underrated/most overrated mon in ORAS: UU?
Crawdaunt most underrated love Crawdaunt :3. Idk what to say here but I think Specs Sylveon is mostly overrated sure it hits hard but dies to any combination of attacks and cleric's just way better.
drop 1 mon from OU/BL to UU except starmie bc everybody wants that. what is your choice?
Raikou UU needs a good electric -_-
what is/was the most broken mon that has ever graced UU with its presence? you may pick from any generation.
Mega Pinsir nuff said
marry/fuck/kill: scald/twave/knock off
Marry Knock Off, Fuck Twave, Kill Scald.
ban/keep/abstain: entei/celebi/mamoswine
Ban Mamo, Keep Celebi, Abstain Entei.
will u teach me ADV UU if i ask nicely?
Maybe ;D learn the basics yourself first tho!
remember when u picked me up on a random ladder game and introduced me to the one and only eck?
Obviously I do, back in my city they hired me as talent scout. Keepin the tradition.
bc i do and i appreciate that (: ty I'm very glad to hear that
What was your most memorable experience on pokemon showdown?
Gotta be my times in SUU during SPL draft with lochie when we fucked around a lot and laughed so much about the auction
Favorite Football player/club and why?
C.Ronaldo. FC Porto. Because I'm a true portuguese
Have you ever been to a footbal stadium in portugal/brazil?
Yea in the Sporting Lissabon stadium it wasn't that hype tho still a fun experience!
Thoughts on our tagteam rapbattle against qwily and tim? :]
That was the most fire shit ever that was legit rape.
Will there ever be a remtach rapbattle beetwen us?
I'm rusty but once I get back into shape sure why not.
If you were to take one person to a far away island, who would it be and why?
dodmen. We would just get drunk to shit and laugh all the time.
Have you ever thought about making pokemon related youtube videos, since youre a very fun guy #listigerfisterYT?
Yea I did like 3 years ago. But I don't have a good enough comp for that nor a mic or recording programm lol!
Its obv that were not going to play this game forever, but are you considering showing Pokemon to your future Kids and if so why?
Lol I'm gonna buy them all games if they want keepin the tradition and i'll make them pokemaster aswell.
Saturday Evening: Netflix and Chill or Gartic with frens?
Gartic all day whats netflix compared to robis artistic skills
Helene Fischer or Heidi Klum? #Milfhunter
Hele Fischer I'd bang her vry hard.
If you could choose another country to live in other than germany what would it be?
Brazil or Portugal
Favorite EV Spread on Tentacruel? 252 HP 192 Speed 60 Def Timid.
Is it always neccesary in UU to play 2 Fairy Resists(Steel+Poison/Fire) on a team because of Sylveons Presence?
Its def recommandable unless u have like a sure fire check like Arcanine or wutever.
A lot people dont train legs, are you one of these legday skippers?
I train everything I don't wanna look like a funnel lmao
Do you actually beleive that lacus clyne is a girl?, because i sure cant lmfao
If a person I trust and know for a long time says it so I obviously believe and I have no doubt. If you don't thats ur thing but don't harass them for not being what you want them to be :D
What would you do with a wallet full of money that you randomly found on the street?
Buy me a new wallet without money. Might be full of bacterias you know
Do you sometimes feel like youre a totally different person on the Internet, than who you actually are irl?
I can identify myself very well with my internet being :P
If you could change one Mechanic of a Pokemon Move, which one would it be and why?
Twave removing the 25% para chance slowing down the Pokémon is already valuable enough -_- and its unfair that it has 2 effects at once
Whos your Favourite tournament player to watch?
Ojama or -Tsunami- they're all legend and impressively amazing player and enjoyable to watch
obv i coulda asked you all of that in private, but i thought this would be fun :]
You're one of those guys that makes playing on this site 23509234x more fun that it'd normally be. Love you bro <3
That means a lot to me haha didn't know i make such a big influence n_n ly too
How would you rate my singing on a scale of 1-10? Feel free to break the scale btw ;]
I'm glad to that you added the 2nd part hah so obviously 8920491/10
There are many players out there, new and old, who are always trying to improve in regards to building and/or playing ability. What advice would you give to them?
Learn by doing, I grew up on the ladder and I recommend that to others idk why being a ladderhero is something people shame others to be just do your thing and learn yourself and keep improving untill you think you're ready.
Favorite food and drink?
I love any type of steaks really I can't get enough of them and I'm recently on a ginger ale trip xD
Akwakwak is the best mon of all time followed by Psykokwak I can't wait to make a team of 6 Akwakwak. I'll entitle it as Akwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwak.
There are countless moments I enjoyed with you. But if it's one memorable one it would be when I got exposed and you backed me up and said you liked me the same doesn't matter who I am love you for that <3
Would you quit Pokémon for 1000 €?
If just the game obviously, but if I had to quit anything related to it like friends and stuff no :( you all mean to much for me
yo ict i dont know you very well but you seem like a super nice guy
whats the craziest thing you're willing to use and have used in an important tour game?
do you believe when building teams for specific games players should try to build consistent teams or bring something that might have a particularly good match up for 1 game but kinda sucks vs everything else? is there a line you'd draw between these 2 extremes?
if you were in a coliseum armed w a spear and shield and had the choice to fight to the death between hoopa-unbound, salamence, and aggron, who would you choose? do you think you would win?
I really don't know, I've to establish myself as worthy I guess? If I get the chance to get picked up again I'd be happy with any price really but if i had to pick one probably 5-6k?
why is ur gyara answer whimsicott?
Is there anything wrong with that sir?? Unboosted Gyara is as scary as Chinchou in PU.
why did you send me that fucking snap u asswipe
Is there anything wrong with a narmean my son? U gay or wat?
do u think celebi deserves a suspect at any pt
No its just really good, not broken. Stupido
no seriously why did u send me that
Are u gay like for real LOL
underrated players that werent on your uu starting slot list thing
GrilledClawitzer and killintime are both solid fuckers. Pak, Cyndequil, Accelgor and TSR are def people to look out. And how could I forgot Hairy Toenail, but he probably belongs in the starter list so my bad.
if u were to get in a fist fight with any user on smogon who would it be / do you think u would win
I'm incredibly sensitive lmao and a pussy irl ;w; so I would take like people of my caliber p2 probably weak ass loser kek!!
yo ict i dont know you very well but you seem like a super nice guy
Hey thanks man :] Nice to hear that, Stallion told me a lot of positive stuff about you too so you seem to a be a top lad aswell
whats the craziest thing you're willing to use and have used in an important tour game?
Well I used mono fighting in spl and am willing to do it again any time. Nothing more crazy i think since im kinda new to the oficial tour scene. I might bring something wild for slam playoffs watchout.
do you believe when building teams for specific games players should try to build consistent teams or bring something that might have a particularly good match up for 1 game but kinda sucks vs everything else? is there a line you'd draw between these 2 extremes?
Like I mentioned I think building something that performs decently vs everything is the best way to go. You can definitely orientate yourself in a direction of cteaming. Like you notice their builds are linear you can kinda counterstyle and stuff but I wouldn't go very hard on it. So yeah don't really risk it, rather use a team that does well vs everything than vs 1 specific team unless you're like 100% sure.
if you were in a coliseum armed w a spear and shield and had the choice to fight to the death between hoopa-unbound, salamence, and aggron, who would you choose? do you think you would win?
Aggron probably sinces hes slow and I'm reasonably fast :3 The spear might rebound off his metal but a try worth I guess. I would win I'm a gladiator.
tell me your favorite pick up line
I don't really use pick up lines since they're mostly awkward. I'll just let my charm play and seduce the girlies like that. Can you resist a blonde guy with blue eyes, who is already very handsome and speaks a latino language? yea i doubt it :P
zooey deschanel or meagan fox
Megan Fox in her peak time probs around Transformer times, not she looks kinda fucked up so I'd probably go with Zooey now shes hot af for her age #milfhunter
do you actually like iced tea
yeah I love it ngl doesn't matter if peach/lemon/mango/wildberry they're all good af.
Do you have a specific moveset for it? If you do, please tell.
Personnally i use Hydrei to take out fairies lol. I bait em out cuz of its typing, I mean, everyone will send out a Fairy to a Dark Dragon right? And I finish em off with Iron Tail. Always works.
What's your opinion about Hydreigon as a Pokémon? Broken but meta needs it, jk ban it
Do you use him?
No reason not to my man
Do you have a specific moveset for it? If you do, please tell.
Specs = best set, scarf is sucks dont use that. 4 attacks is lit too i guess superpower/iron tail/draco/dark pulse
Personnally i use Hydrei to take out fairies lol. I bait em out cuz of its typing, I mean, everyone will send out a Fairy to a Dark Dragon right? And I finish em off with Iron Tail. Always works.
Thats why Hydreigo is broken it forces u to run a fairy on every team and then the fairy cant even beat it :^) ~ A Hydreigon fan
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi guys, I'm a 24 year old from Canberra, Australia and I've been on Smogon for 10 years now - so about 40% of my life. I'm probably one of the busier people IRL on this site. I work in Marketing full time, I DJ and I'm starting to produce music. Additionally, I play sports such as basketball, american football, dodgeball and rugby or train at the gym almost every day and I'm also the Marketing Manager for a boutique record label. I love watching all sorts of sports, but I'm a weird Australian in that I really dig the american ones like basketball, american football and baseball. I'm also an avid watcher of more conventional Australian sports like Aussie Rules football (look it up), both codes of rugby and soccer (refuse to call it football). I'm really into fitness in case anyone who frequents the fitness thread/photo album couldn't tell, and once I get my shit together I wouldn't mind trying some fitness modeling on the side. I used to be incredibly private about playing Pokemon, but nowadays even though I don't exactly advertise it, if it comes up in the context of a conversation, I don't really have anything to hide.
Most known for?
Being good at DPP and winning 3 WCOP's approximately 1000 years ago.
Favorite Pokemon?
Ho-Oh. Phoenix's are my favourite mythological creature, I love how they look and what they represent and I even have one tattooed on my right shoulder. It's been pointed out to me that it looks quite similar to how Ho-Oh was depicted in the very first Pokemon episode, even though it wasn't done deliberately.
Most Used Pokemon?
Easily Sylveon. It's the best pokemon in UU and you're risking getting fucked by Conk/Hydreigon if you don't run one.
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
Oh god haha, that was so long ago now. I'm pretty sure I was still quite into the cartridge games and I was already quite a competitive person, so I wanted to get the best edge possible and started googling movesets. Gamefaqs or Serebii would always come up at the top of my Google search, but one day Smogon came up and I heard about these unusual things like EV's, IV's and a whole new world opened up to me. I started playing competitively in ADV and while I wasn't horribad off the bat like a lot of people are (my teams were actually decent from the get go), my plays were definitely sub par - think not switching out a +6 mon when I knew it was going to die because I thought it was a waste of a set up rofl. I think by the time WCOP III rolled around though, I was actually good enough to be selected by Oceania. We didn't win that year because it was quite a different format to what you all know and love today, but we did win the next 3 years after that. I got quite good at DPP OU and UU at the time and did very well in some individual tournaments, but I never ended up winning one. I was very unlucky with hax in a lot of big games back then, but looking back on it, better long term thinking could've avoided me being in those situations.
What is your favorite Generation of Pokemon and why?
Probably DPP. I like the diversity of some of the newer gens, but my favourite thing about DPP was the lack of team preview. Lack of team preview meant that metagame knowledge reigned supreme and that understanding how teams worked, when to hide your wincon etc meant a lot more. It's no secret that players who are dominant at ADV/DPP are generally able to succeed at newer gens far easier than the reverse scenario. DPP UU was also pretty fantastic, was one of the most balanced tiers in the history of Smogon.
Thoughts on the current metagame of ORAS.
Assuming we're talking UU, it's actually pretty good, but there's a holy trinity of borderline broken mons that keep each other in check, but if any one of them were to go, the others would become dominant. Without Conk/Sylv, Hydreigon would be unstoppable. Without Sylveon, Conk would be unstoppable. Sylveon is needed to stop those two, but it's also the most broken of the three imo. Having said that, it's way less cancerous than ORAS OU, which has so many Regenerator mons that reward lazy play (better pivot in and scout, getting HP back even if you predict wrong) and stuff like Scald + Volt Turn spam. After having picked up UU and played Ubers extensively for this open, I've truly been able to see how much better they are than standard play. At least there's lots of viable counterplay to the strongest mons.
What is your favorite playstyle?
Hmm that's a tough one, you can ask obii but I'd like to think I'm equally proficient in heavy offense, balance and stall (despite my choke with the latter vs Killintime in the open). Heavy offense is cool because if your long term thinking is on point and your team is very well built, you can play your way out of almost any matchup. Balance is cool because of its consistency. Stall is really fun because if it's well built and you play well, it puts opponents so much pressure on your opponents to make the correct plays. It's actually a lot of fun to bring it against weaker or unprepared opponents.
Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
Stall is probably the weakest and balance is probably the most dominant in the current metagame. However, stall is still very viable if you think outside the usual constraints of team building. PIF is the master of this and there are a few other players who are very dominant with stall. As I said above though, balance is so consistent and it doesn't require the same level of long term thinking that offense does, so it's the most popular style in the tier for a reason.
Are there any specific Pokemon that you think are unhealthy for UU and may be deserving of a Suspect Test in the future?
As I've said above, the 3 best pokemon in the tier are Hydreigon (which is mid suspect already), Sylveon and Conkeldurr. I honestly think the latter two are actually far more dangerous than the former, so I wouldn't mind seeing them tested tbh.
How was it like to pretty much come out of no where and make your way to the finals of UU Open, nearly winning the whole thing?
It was an unreal feeling! I'm still quite disappointed to have lost the entire tournament on a 20% chance, but reflecting on my entire run I have zero regrets. I've actually made so many friends and fans throughout this improbable run, and the support I've received from users is incredible. Guys like Omfuga, Ice Tea, Pearl, King UU and many more are people I didn't know before the open and are now users I can consider my friends. I didn't have an easy run even from the start: bluri, Sapientiacryalot and blinkboy were my opponents in the first four rounds alone, so I had possibly the most brutal run in the entire open when you factor in Snowy, Killintime, Kingler12345, Vinc2612 and King UU too. I honestly never expected to get that far and only entered the open because someone tagged me in Pokemon Central (a facebook group) that signups started and I thought it'd be a bit of fun. I started believing I could truly win it all once I got to the 6th round. I've always been kind of known as the guy who "used to be good back in the day, but rarely plays anymore", but I just had a knack for UU. It's a tier that really rewards long term thinking, and having someone like obii in my corner to help me build and test teams and learn the metagame really quickly definitely helped me improve rapidly. Despite the unfortunate circumstances in which I lost, I'd won my Ubers open quarter final earlier in the day to seal my Grand Slam playoff spot, so don't fear, you'll be seeing more of me playing high stakes UU matches in the near future!
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
There are way too many to list and I'm bound to forget a bunch, so I'll list them by groups.
OCN crew
Pokemon central crew
#lifting and fitness thread people
My fantasy football, baseball and basketball friends.
All my new friends I've made from my grand slam run
All my friends from back in the good old ATQ days and from the Shoddybattle days.
If I spent time doing individual shoutouts, I'd probably take 2 hours of my life away and I'm currently at work so.....haha.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
Conkeldurr @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 244 HP / 24 Atk / 240 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
I've got a few that I'd like to keep under wraps for playoffs, but here's a team that look shit on paper that got me to top 5 of the UU ladder (that could still definitely use a few improvements let's be honest).
Classic hyper offense. When building teams like this, I like to put a bunch of threats together that blow holes in each others checks or counters. The main things I tend to watch out for are speed boosting sweepers like DD gyara or RD pert, because they're the only things that can really destroy a well played HO team. Triple priority is quite nice to mitigate that, and CB Extremespeed actually 2hkoes Gyarados sometimes even without rocks. Krook is actually a really cool tech to use against Gyara/Pert to chip them into hazards range, and Taunt helps stop hazards or set up sweepers from nuking my team. I have Spin Blastoise there as an offensive presence that can spin against bulkier teams at will, but it's not as good against other offensive teams. Metagross is there because fuck Specs Sylveon and how broken it is, but I could probably put something far better in that slot like a double dance Cobalion to take advantage of choice scarf Hydreigon. It can't switch in on barring Krook, which knocks off its item and makes it quite easy to deal with but it can revenge kill my team decently, so keep it in mind if you use this team. Mega Beedrill is also the other really annoying Pokemon for this team to face, because it outspeeds everything and can just pivot out at will (Cobalion definitely helps towards that). CB Crobat is a monster btw guys, definitely recommend you try it at least once. Infiltrator is underrated for obliterating annoying stuff like Sub/CM Chandy and despite its low base attack, Brave Bird is a 120 bp move so it blows large chunks in a lot of its usual checks.
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Thank you for your time and the great interview, Stallion! If you have any questions that you would like to ask him, feel free to leave them below. I'll be back next week with another interview!
y are u so sexy?
can u take a picture of your phoenix tattoo?
whats ur name come from?
when r u visiting germany : )?
whats ur irl name?
you make it far in every tour you join, whats your secret?
would you play uu in spl or would you stick to dpp?
free hera in dpp uu yn
thx for the shoutout my man, i was glad to help you out and gettin to know you you're crazy kind dude and a nice sports n_n see you in slam playoffs n_n
Scenario: After a narrow defeat of Team Rocket, you find yourself in the middle of the ocean. Your Pikachu signals to you - something is coming. You feel it in your gut, it's The Big Wave. What do you do?
My heritage is Italian, so Italian stallion is something that kind of got thrown around a little when I was younger. My very first username was Mysterious Stallion, which is a little cringe and try hard to be perfectly honest. It was such a mouthful to say that everyone would call me MS, so I shortened to that. Eventually, I changed it to Stallion because I didn't like my username reminding people of Multiple Sclerosis.
when r u visiting germany : )?
I would love to come sometime in the next 12 months. I've felt Berlin call to me for a long time now. The nightlife, music and culture is something that it leads the world in. Hopefully I'm there sooner rather than later and we can hang out ^.^
whats ur irl name?
Luca :)
you make it far in every tour you join, whats your secret?
Not every tour haha! I guess in the ones I've done well in though, it's 50% preparation/metagame knowledge and 50% long term thinking and in game strategy. Whether I'm passed a team, collaborated on it or built it myself, there needs to be room for me to play my way out of a tight spot or to set myself up for a win. Having high stakes games going down to 50/50s is not what I'm about because that's just educated guessing, I'll always look for a way to make it a 70/30 or a (here's where I cry) 80/20.
would you play uu in spl or would you stick to dpp?
Assuming they're both still around for the next SPL and assuming I'd be drafted, I'd honestly be happy playing wherever I'm needed. Due to my slam run I've actually played way more UU than DPP lately so I'm probably a little more rusty at the latter, but I feel like I'd be versatile enough for both.
free hera in dpp uu yn
All I remember was that it was way way way way too good for DPP UU back in the day. Unless anything has changed I don't want it free haha.
thx for the shoutout my man, i was glad to help you out and gettin to know you you're crazy kind dude and a nice sports n_n see you in slam playoffs n_n
No worries man ^.^. Awesome getting to know you, you're a top guy and a very good player. Make sure you win your tie breaker so we can see each other in playoffs!
Scenario: After a narrow defeat of Team Rocket, you find yourself in the middle of the ocean. Your Pikachu signals to you - something is coming. You feel it in your gut, it's The Big Wave. What do you do?
I look Pikachu in the eye. Humungadunga. This is what we've been preparing for. We grab our boards and lie on our stomachs, patiently waiting. The locals look at us like we're madmen, but we know we've got this. The Big Wave is more mighty than either of us expect, but against all odds, we manage to not get thrown off our boards -- instead catching it and riding it all the way to a Grand Slam title!
Hi, I'll give you some serious questions about competitive Pokemon (and a few not-so-serious ones about other things).
What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are as a player and how do you emphasize your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses?
What qualities do you think make a player great?
Who are some UU players that you believe will find success in upcoming UU tournaments and why (i.e. the standard "who are the underrated/up-and-coming players" question)?
Do you prefer team tournaments or individual tournaments?
What did you like the most about your SPL and other team tournament experiences?
What players do you believe SPL managers should consider drafting for UU if the draft were to take place right now?
Have you been following UU Majors at all? If so, what are your thoughts on the current results? Would you have participated if you didn't have to prepare for Grand Slam playoffs?
What changes do you hope that Sun and Moon will bring to the competitive scene?
How would you recommend that someone interested in learning DPP OU get into it?
Do you play any video games besides Pokemon?
Do you prefer watching NFL or NCAA football? What team(s) do you support?
Do you like to read for pleasure? If so, what books/genres do you prefer?
I have so many that I love, but gun to my head I'd have to choose Techno. You probably know what it is, but most people itt would use it as a blanket term for EDM itself, so if needed I'll post some example tunes.
What tier do you want to main in gen 7?
I've still gotta decide if I want to play gen 7 haha, some of the mechanics and changes seem so fucking stupid. Assuming I do play it, I will definitely start with OU (no other tier exists in the beginning after all barring Ubers), then once I realise how shitty it is (which always happens with OU eventually) I'll either move up/down to Ubers/UU and keep going until I find a tier that I love.
What colour would your banner have been if you won UU open?
Gold to signify that I'm the real King of UU.
When you win open next year, will you stick to that same colour?
Of course. Maybe I'll even get 1.5 x winner inscribed on it if I'm allowed ;)
Chocolate or Vanilla?
Definitely varies based on the food but I'm gonna be weird and say Vanilla in general. I like that you can add all sorts of toppings to it, where as chocolate sort of overpowers them. Plus it's usually not as sickly sweet.
Thanks for the questions King UU, the best part of losing in the fashion that I did of the open is that I got to become friends with you. You're a top guy and your music production is freakishly good. Mark my words I will make sure your stuff gets released on a label!
Will answer Amaroq's amazing questions after I've had some sleep. Definitely need to put a lot of thought into them. Keep the questions coming guys, I don't bite (much).
Hypothetically speaking: you finally decide to finally visit the lovely country esteemed user Ice Tea (and cbb too :D) is from and the plane you're in crashes in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Against all odds, you manage not to die from the impact or drown and start riding the big waves, which somehow lead you to a "deserted" island. The plot twist: there are 4 wild Pokemon you can befriend and enough food for you to survive for two whole weeks there. What's your "game" plan to leave the island?
Rules: No legendary or fully evolved Pokemon. No 2 Pokemon in the island are from the same species. There aren't enough materials for you to build a functional boat/plane/anything of sorts. The wild Pokemon aren't strong enough to carry you through the ocean to the nearest place with civilization (at a glance). The authorities will assume everyone died in the crash, so no rescue teams are on the way.
Good luck! I swear there's actually a reasonable answer to this question, and there might even be a loophole n_n
Have you liked my most recent hit single RMT a.k.a. "My Hands Are Wings Again"? If not, give me a reasonable explanation behind your disapproval. note: I'm posting another RMT after the first edition of UU majors is over due to popular demand, so here's some shameless self promotion, I guess.
How hard are you going to beat Sacri' up in Grand Slam playoffs if you ever have to play him? You must answer this question using the Omfuga scale for comical value. Sample answer: "I'm going to use the force of 5000 Omfugas to smack his ass!"
As an aspiring DJ, who are some of the artists you look up to the most? Relatively mainstream answers are fine, by the way. I'm not a hipster nor a music elitist. Sorry if this question has been asked before, by the way.
How many UU wins in Grand Slam playoffs would I have to contribute to for you to ever consider giving me a copy of your EP for free? Answer this ASAP so I can start working on counterteaming every single person you could possibly get paired up with.
If you had to use a UU team with a Pokemon that's currently unranked in the UU Viability Ranking Thread in Grand Slam Playoffs, which one would you choose? Hard mode: no Delphox. Pokemon Overlord mode: Choose a Pokemon that's currently PU. This might or might not be related to the question above this one.
Do you appreciate it when I like your posts or do you find it annoying? I already know the answer to this so there's no point in lying, but as a self-proclaimed like whore I'd still like to hear it from you.
If you had to learn a new language, which one would you choose and why?
As an older player (read: a Veteran), what do you think of the current Smogon community in comparison to how it used to be back when you started out? The more complete your answer turns out to be, the happier I'll be. I'd personally like to hear about how the top players of the moment compare to the legends of the past and how easier/harder it has become to integrate new users.
And to finish this in good fashion, right back at you:
Hi, I'll give you some serious questions about competitive Pokemon (and a few not-so-serious ones about other things).
What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are as a player and how do you emphasize your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses?
Strengths and weaknesses actually have a lot more overlap than you think. A strength of mine is my ability to think 5, 6 or 7 turns ahead and get to the end game. A weakness is that sometimes I rush my moves without calcing or thinking through the repercussions, instead going on instinct. Instinct can help me make some fantastic plays sometimes, but it's also been wrong and lost me winnable games before. I'm at my best when I'm balancing my instincts and my read on the opponent with solid long term thinking. The third game against kingler12345 was a really good example of this imo.
What qualities do you think make a player great?
Lots of players can get to a good level. What makes a player great is unpredictability in the type of team they'll bring to a game, knowing when to make ballsy predictions and when to play it safe, and how to minimize risk and maximise their chances of winning even in games that they look like they're dead in the water in.
Who are some UU players that you believe will find success in upcoming UU tournaments and why (i.e. the standard "who are the underrated/up-and-coming players" question)?
A lot of my favourite UU players are already quite well known. Obii is definitely going to take no prisoners though as long as he doesn't make stupid mistakes. When he's on, he's one of the most outstanding players going around. He very easily could've gone undefeated in his group for UU Majors. The other one to watch is Lcans, I haven't heard much of him but he's gone on a rampage in majors and Hogg has spoken very highly of him, so I'm keen to watch his future matches with great interest.
Do you prefer team tournaments or individual tournaments?
I like both for different reasons. Team tournaments are way more fun when it comes to prep, and the camaraderie is second to none. The world cups that I've won are still probably the best experience I've ever been a part on in Smogon. It's very easy for individual accomplishments to get lost in team tournaments though. People don't realise how much work goes on behind the scenes into a successful players team. The guys who go 8-0 in these tournaments often only do so because of countless hours of testing and innovating with their teammates. Records don't mean everything. In individual tournaments, people get to notice you straight away when you're doing awesome, which is nice. You've only got yourself to let down too rather than a bunch of other people, so there's a lot less pressure in that sense.
What did you like the most about your SPL and other team tournament experiences?
I haven't played SPL in so so long haha. My favourite thing from some of our more memorable OCN runs is definitely the bond we had as teammates. Sounds stupid for a Pokemon tournament, but we would be in #ocn every single night helping each other get better, building teams or even just chatting shit or talking about life. It's very hard to explain unless you're part of something like that. I hear all this stuff about internal conflicts on various SPL teams etc and having a team that has your back makes a world of difference.
What players do you believe SPL managers should consider drafting for UU if the draft were to take place right now?
*raises hand*. There is so much talent in UU. Guys like King UU, Omfuga, Vinc, Kingler12345, Killintime, Sacri, ZoroDark, Hogg, Christo, TonyFlygon, ict, Pearl, teal6 and obii (just to name a few, sure there's a bunch I've forgotten) are all good enough to make teams. There are way too many elite UU players and not enough roster spots, so I feel like if I couldn't decide between two players, I'd take an Omfuga or a Sacri who I knew could dominate in mulitple tiers.
Have you been following UU Majors at all? If so, what are your thoughts on the current results? Would you have participated if you didn't have to prepare for Grand Slam playoffs?
Honestly man, I've barely followed it because of the Slam Playoffs coming up. I definitely need to pay more attention to it and see who's doing good. 100%. That's the only reason I didn't sign up. A big part of me wanted to build on the momentum I've got from the UU open, but the Slam playoffs are too important for me so I had to make a tough decision.
What changes do you hope that Sun and Moon will bring to the competitive scene?
I just want less broken shit tbh haha. Z moves already sound retarded though so I'm not holding my breath. I'd just love the metagame to be as balanced as possible, so if they do introduce a lot of broken stuff, at the very least make this gen a massive power creep one so that it all balances each other out.
How would you recommend that someone interested in learning DPP OU get into it?
Dive head first into it. Aside from a lack of team preview, which no amount of article reading can prepare you for, it's actually quite an easy tier to pick up. Watch lots of high level games to understand some of the different nuances in strategy compared to newer gens: e.g. looking at team composition (BKC style) to guess their last or to make "educated blind predictions" (e.g. click a fire move with Scarf ape against Tyranitar because you know that their team is likely to have a Zapdos) or knowing when to not reveal stuff.
Do you play any video games besides Pokemon?
Not really. I used to play CoD and a lot of the sports games, but when my brother had a Monopoly on the PS3 (and PS4) I just stopped buying games and only occasionally play FIFA/NBA 2K/Madden when I'm at my mates.
Do you prefer watching NFL or NCAA football? What team(s) do you support?
Definitely NFL > NCAA, but I like both. Diehard Baltimore Ravens fan here, I'll get up at 3am to watch every one of their games unless I have to work. I'm an Indiana Hoosiers fan in NCAA but that's only because my sister's on a scholarship there.
Do you like to read for pleasure? If so, what books/genres do you prefer?
I used to read so so so much, like a book a week for years when I was in high school. I barely read now as an adult though, all my leisure time is taken up by sports/music/gym/Pokemon/friends/watching tv series'. I do love a good autobiography though and I am a big fan of fiction books that are portrayed in realistic settings. My favourite author that I've recently read is a guy called Jeffrey Archer. When I was younger, fantasy novels were definitely my thang. I have a collection spread around my house that would make the great J.R.R. Tolkien proud.
Azelf probably, although js Archeops is underrated as fuck.
Favorite Hazard Remover for offensive style teams?
Crobat. I feel like Empoleon tanks too much momentum. Crobat might be SR weak, but at least it outspeeds 95% of the metagame, so it gets rid of rocks easily.
Other than just general experience, was there any concious effort that you think helped you go from an average player to a high level player?
Definitely putting more thought into my moves. Everything I do has a reason. I calc the shit out of turns that most players wouldn't. Ignorance should not be an excuse for losing. I refuse to lose a game because I underestimated or overestimated how much damage something should do. Calcing reveals spreads, sets and helps me form a long term plan rather than guessing blindly. Even little things like figuring out whether that Scarf Hydreigon is Timid or Modest can go a long way towards winning games.
What is your rep power
10,000 (I actually don't know, I barely post on BB.com cause the forums are cancer).
Do you think Zyzz is really gone?
No way brah, cause there's a little bit of Zyzz in all of us. Everyone can be a sick cunt if you wanna be.
Do you work out for some deep existential reasons or did you realize it would make you more attractive someday ? (if its the latter it worked n_n)
n_n. Started out as the latter tbh, cause I was sick of being skinny and weak so I wanted to look bigger and more attractive to girls. After a certain point though, I stopped caring what girls think -- I learnt that more than you'd expect actually don't like the "muscles and tattoos" look that I've got. Now I just do it because I love getting bigger, stronger and faster every day. I'm an incredibly competitive person, so competing against myself to be the best version of myself is a lot of fun. Not gonna lie though, seeing the looks of shock on people's faces who haven't seen me in years is still incredibly satisfying haha.
Do you plan on sticking around for SUMO ?
I'd love to say no because Pokemon takes up way too much of my time, but knowing me I'll get curious and before I know it I'll get sucked in to yet another generation haha.
Will you go easy on me if we end up getting paired up ? n_n
You're the slam winner here, I'm merely a runner up so you should go easy on me I reckon ;).
Best set/haxx free set during this slam?
Entire set, it's tough to say because I don't think I've played perfectly for a whole set in the latter rounds. Game 2 vs. Vinc in UU and game 3 vs. kingler12345 in UU have to be by far the most satisfying individual games that I've played though. Both hax free and both games where I demolished very good players in a high pressure environment. If I hadn't been flinched on that last turn vs. King UU though, I'd definitely say that set as a whole was my favourite. Not just because I would've won the open, but because that was the most intense slam decider ever. Definitely good value if you were a spectator of that.
What made you come back to playing recently?
I'd always dabbled in ladder here or there, but recently in Pokemon Central (a fb group that contains some freakishly good players like Leftiez, Zamrock, PDC, xtrashine etc) I went 10-1 in a group stage of a tournament, only to get haxed out of my round 1 playoff match (to a flinch, sound familiar?). After that I had that burning desire to play competitive individual tournaments again, so when someone tagged me in a post saying that UU signups were open, despite having never played the metagame I figured "why not?"
Hypothetically speaking: you finally decide to finally visit the lovely country esteemed user Ice Tea (and cbb too :D) is from and the plane you're in crashes in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Against all odds, you manage not to die from the impact or drown and start riding the big waves, which somehow lead you to a "deserted" island. The plot twist: there are 4 wild Pokemon you can befriend and enough food for you to survive for two whole weeks there. What's your "game" plan to leave the island?
Rules: No legendary or fully evolved Pokemon. No 2 Pokemon in the island are from the same species. There aren't enough materials for you to build a functional boat/plane/anything of sorts. The wild Pokemon aren't strong enough to carry you through the ocean to the nearest place with civilization (at a glance). The authorities will assume everyone died in the crash, so no rescue teams are on the way.
Good luck! I swear there's actually a reasonable answer to this question, and there might even be a loophole n_n
Sorry to disappoint you Pearl my friend, but I have a Kadabra, a Kirlia, a Natu and an Elgyem who all happen to know Teleport and get me straight off this godforsaken island. They don't have to be strong enough to carry me through the ocean, they can use their minds to bring me home n_n.
Have you liked my most recent hit single RMT a.k.a. "My Hands Are Wings Again"? If not, give me a reasonable explanation behind your disapproval. note: I'm posting another RMT after the first edition of UU majors is over due to popular demand, so here's some shameless self promotion, I guess.
No I haven't. It's a good team, but tbh it's really hard to give a team a "like" that I 6-0ed with Bulk Up Conk when Vinc brought it vs me in UU Open hahaha.
How hard are you going to beat Sacri' up in Grand Slam playoffs if you ever have to play him? You must answer this question using the Omfuga scale for comical value. Sample answer: "I'm going to use the force of 5000 Omfugas to smack his ass!"
He's French right? Can't I make a joke about him surrendering before the fight even begins? Otherwise I'm going to say that I'd use the salt of 10,000 Omfuga's to dehydrate and annihilate him (sorry Fuga old buddy <3).
As an aspiring DJ, who are some of the artists you look up to the most? Relatively mainstream answers are fine, by the way. I'm not a hipster nor a music elitist. Sorry if this question has been asked before, by the way.
Sorry but most of the acts I listen to aren't relatively mainstream, because I am a little bit of a music elitist. Way back when I started getting into dance music and before they sold out and became shit, Tiesto and Armin van Buuren were easily the two artists I looked up to the most. Now I'd definitely say Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Adam Beyer and Claude von Stroke are the big four. So many artists inspire me from a music perspective, so I'm picking the guys who not only make amazing music but throw ridiculous parties.
How many UU wins in Grand Slam playoffs would I have to contribute to for you to ever consider giving me a copy of your EP for free? Answer this ASAP so I can start working on counterteaming every single person you could possibly get paired up with.
Each UU win = 1 free track. If I get King UU'ed out of one of those matches and I definitely would have won, I'll count that too. If I win the tourney (even if I don't win every UU game), you get the whole EP free. Bonus points if you're able to help me in non UU tiers, because I'm pretty shit at some of the tiers that are on offer haha.
If you had to use a UU team with a Pokemon that's currently unranked in the UU Viability Ranking Thread in Grand Slam Playoffs, which one would you choose? Hard mode: no Delphox. Pokemon Overlord mode: Choose a Pokemon that's currently PU. This might or might not be related to the question above this one.
Mega Camerupt. Fuck the haters.
Do you appreciate it when I like your posts or do you find it annoying? I already know the answer to this so there's no point in lying, but as a self-proclaimed like whore I'd still like to hear it from you.
Why would it be annoying getting attention from a cute user such as yourself n_n? I don't even fish for likes with my posts, which makes every one you give me all the more special!
If you had to learn a new language, which one would you choose and why?
I guess Italian doesn't count because I can sort of speak it right? I would like to brush up on it a lot haha, but if I had to learn a completely new language it would be pretty close between German or Mandarin. The former because I have always wanted to move to Berlin and because I want to know if their people are actually always angry, or just sound it. Mandarin, because I wanna know if they bitch behind white people behind our backs. Plus it's an incredibly different culture and a lot of that culture is lost when they try and speak broken English (much like if I tried to speak in average Italian for example). Getting to know what the Chinese are like in terms of their day to day conversations and their sense of humor would actually be really cool.
As an older player (read: a Veteran), what do you think of the current Smogon community in comparison to how it used to be back when you started out? The more complete your answer turns out to be, the happier I'll be. I'd personally like to hear about how the top players of the moment compare to the legends of the past and how easier/harder it has become to integrate new users.
It's still cliquey but a lot less cliquey. For example, I felt at the start of my UU run that I was a little bit of an outsider, but as I started to do well, the amount of support I received and the friends that I made was actually crazy. I think nowadays if you get on someones radar (whether it be as a player, contributor etc) that they'll reach out to you and be friends with you. Old Smogon was way more cliquey, Firebot was the worst and a lot of the older users had their in jokes that intimidated the fuck out of newer users. I will sound really old school when saying this though, but the best players of yesteryear are better than the top players nowadays imo. Guys like Earthworm, Husk and Gouki (my personal all time top 3) were on another level. The way they executed strategies, built teams or just managed to play their way out of trouble was honestly awe inspiring. Having said that, there were a lot less metagames to be good at back then, so to see some guys excel at even 5 or 6 generations like some modern players do is a massive talent in itself.
And to finish this in good fashion, right back at you:
"Did you think Portugal deserved to win the Euros?"
The more salt you manage to get out of SUPER MARSHALL with your answer the merrier
I've said it once and I'll say it again, but they shouldn't have even made it out of the group stages, their play was pathetic and if it wasn't for the new format, they'd have been eliminated off the bat. Having said that, much like Italy in the 2006 World Cup, after the group stages were done it was like a switch just flipped. They definitely deserved to beat France though. If you can't beat Portgual when Cristiano "the entire team" Ronaldo goes off with injury in the first half, you don't deserve to win the tournament LOL.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! I am Vinc2612, also known as Vincent outside of the Internet. I am a 23 year old guy living in Strasbourg, France, working as an IT consultant since last spring. During my free time I like going to bars, climbing, playing guitar, and of course Pokémon. I'm also interested in sciences, having studied chemistry myself for several years. I even work as a volunteer for Pint of Science. Advertising aside, it's a festival based on sharing scientific knowledge over a beer, and it exists in twelve countries, so you should definitely take a look!
Most known for?
As a player, I am known for being a jack of all trades, competitively playing every single official Smogon metagame, as well as a couple of VGC formats. I am also known for playing my own teams in most situations.
In UU, I am mostly known for my semifinals in this year's UU Open. It gave me the will of playing more UU, and that's what got me to start hanging out in the UU room on PS! and join more tournaments.
Otherwise, people know me as a tournament director, and the Smogon Grand Slam Host.
Favorite Pokemon?
Victini. For every possible reason. First, it is the victory Pokémon. This is just so cool. Then we can talk about its type, allowing me to nickname it "Mr. Fahrenheit". Reference to the famous Queen song, but also a badass nickname for any fire type. Win-win.
Last but not least, I can physically identify myself to Victini. He's all of cute, handsome, and a ginger :D
Most Used Pokemon?
I've actually used Empoleon in litterally every single Open game. The Rocks/Defog/Roar/Scald is amazing in term of compression, providing all the support I need as well as a check to stuff like Sylveon, Suicune, non-EQ Gyarados, etc. I planned to use another set (agility) in the finals just to surprise my opponent, too bad I didn't make it.
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
Everything started with Pokémon Platinum. At my house, we changed our Internet provider around that time, and it offered me the possibility to play on Wifi.
So I started on a french community called PokémonTrash (I swear I'm not bashing, that's the actual name), that's where I learned the basics of competitive battling.
Then I discovered the wonderful world of TPO (Team Pokémon Officielle!). At those times, the French community was divided by teams, each player trying to join any of them. Every two weeks or so, we were playing what we called interteams, the best players of a team facing the ones from another. While the concept sounds fun, it was ruined by the fact that we were immature, 15 year old boys trying to be the very best, leading to the biggest amount of salt you can even imagine (no seriously, Smogon is nothing compared to how we raged). That ultimately led to the end of the TPO, with people losing interest and, sorry for the wording here, getting tired of this shit.
So finally, I went on Smogon (especially after learning a bit of English!), for the next level of competitive Pokémon. That was the new hype after TPO. I had set my camp on the Tournaments subforum ever since.
What is your favorite Generation of Pokemon and why?
As someone who is familiar with every generation, that is a very hard question. I could go the old dumbass way and tell you that nothing ever reached the glory of the first generation, but I am not into that. I guess my real favorite generation would be Gen 3. It is my favorite to play both competitively (the metagame fits my playstyle perfectly, and the pace of the games is perfect) and for an in-game run (Emerald's Battle Frontier being easily the best part of any Pokémon game).
Thoughts on the current metagame of ORAS UU?
Trap question: it is the only UU metagame I actually know. That being said, I really like the way it is. Some people call it overcentralizing, but I do not see that as a bad thing. Compared to OU, there are very few "auto-lose matchups" with a well built team.
What is your favorite playstyle?
Balance is and always has been my favorite playstyle. The defensive backbone helps me to control the pace of the battle, while the offensive core allows me to click the OHKO button whenever I feel like. I guess that is what makes me unpredictable: sometimes I just won't take any risk and wait for my opponent to impale himself on my walls, while at other times I'll play aggressively from the start. Balance is the best playstyle for those kind of games.
Do you think any playstyle is blatantly dominant or weak in the metagame?
Stall is probably the weakest, unless you are called WhiteQueen. It is as matchup dependent as always, but the current metagame has so many dangerous options on the offensive side and UU lacks the defensive staples that you can find in other tiers.
Balance and Offense both have their flaws, but I don't think there is one necessarily more dominant or weak.
Thoughts on the Hydreigon suspect test?
I am on the "do not ban" side, but without any strong opinion. I get where the suspect comes from, but I'm afraid to break the balance from removing such a centralizing Pokémon. Many stuff could rise in popularity, from already good Pokémon such as Celebi (especially since you're freeing a coverage move) to less seen threats (Chandelure maybe?). But it's the end of the generation, and I am genuinely afraid of messing with a tier without enough time to balance it.
On the other hand, while very good, I still see it manageable, just like something à la Kyurem-B in OU. Impossible to counter in theory, "always" check-able on the battlefield. If not straight countered because it didn't pick the right combination of four moves within its pool of ~10 moves (without talking about the item).
Are there any other specific Pokemon that you think are unhealthy for UU and may be deserving of a Suspect Test in the future?
I honestly don't know. Celebi and Conkeldurr look like great picks (the former especially if Hydreigon leaves) and they are the closest from being deserving a Suspect, but I'll probably be on the no ban side again (except Celebi, again, if Hydreigon leaves).
How was it like to pretty much come out of nowhere as an ORAS UU player and make it to the Semifinals of UU Open? Also, what advice would you give to newer tournament players who strive to reach high level of play?
I would be lying if I told you that it didn't feel amazing. I started to have more and more people rooting for me, round after round. The peak of satisfaction was my series against WhiteQueen, because he proved me wrong in the "stall is the weakest playstyle" and drove me in a corner like no one else. Escaping this situation and finally winning the series is my favorite moment in Slam so far.
I guess the only way to reach high level of play is to try, and try again. Making my own teams from the viability ranking threads helped me to learn most metagames faster. But in the end, the experience is definitely the biggest factor, because you can adapt your game to any situation. That's how you learn to not choke, and it's usually the biggest difference between a decent and a great player.
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
I love everyone, so that's a really hard question, especially since I don't want to forget anyone. The two first names are obviously Alf' and Mentagrill, the two people I met and became real friends with. The latter even found me my current job! Other than that, I guess I want to talk about the TD team, the PS! french room staff, the Cryonicles, Team Europe, and most people I've teamed up with at some point.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Defog
- Roar
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Roar
- Rest
This is one of the teams I made to face Stallion in the semifinals (and the one I used in the first game). It is actually a compression of several features from my previous teams, which join together as my favourite UU team so far. It is based on a volturn core of Beedrill and Rotom-C, able to grab momentum at any time, and maintaining offensive pressure. Empoleon brings everything I said earlier, while Sylveon allows it to keep his health from wish and heal bell. Gligar finishes the defensive backbone with two amazing immunities, really good physical bulk, and the ability to u-turn to get the momentum back.
Suicune is probably the one I doubted the most, but it ended up being as important as the other members of the team. He is basically my wild card; if I get lured out a Pokémon, if I do anything stupid, or if a risk just doesn't pay off, Suicune allows my team to still have a shot. Gligar got killed from HP ice Mienshao? I still don't auto-lose to Krookodile. Rotom-C dies from a bad prediction? I can still PP stall the opposing Jellicent (this battle actually happened two hours ago). I could carry on but you get my point: I can win most 5v6 only because Suicune can adapt itself to the situation. And having a fire resistance definitely isn't a bad thing in a metagame where Entei should have its own viability rank above S.
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Thank you for your time and the great interview, Vince! If you have any questions that you would like to ask him, feel free to leave them below. I'll be back next week with another interview!
What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are as a player and how do you emphasize your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses?
What qualities do you think make a player great?
Who are some UU players that you believe will find success in upcoming UU tournaments and why (i.e. the standard "who are the underrated/up-and-coming players" question)?
Do you prefer team tournaments or individual tournaments?
What did you like the most about your SPL and other team tournament experiences?
What players do you believe SPL managers should consider drafting for UU if the draft were to take place right now?
What changes do you hope that Sun and Moon will bring to the competitive scene?
u
), that's where I learned the basics of competitive battling.
