[AMA] Plus

Hello there, I'm pretty new to this smogon community, and I've working my way up the ladder on PS! lately, and it looks like im doing pretty badly. The main reason being is probably im feeling too rushed and not thinking through the best course of action. This leads to my question: How long did it take you to become adept at battling and eventually knowing everything within the meta game? Was it all from losing many times, getting help from others, or just straight vast amounts of research?

Off-topic question: Will you be getting Bravely Default which is coming out soon? I'm hearing lot's of great things about it and I was wondering what your thoughts on the game.
 
Well this is my first time posting on you AMA thread so:

  1. What was your learning curve for every Generation and Meta that you became proficient at?
  2. When analysing game play and logs for your personal benefit, and team building analysis, what do you look for?
  3. Any tips for up and coming Smogon users to get more involved in the community?

    Thank you for reading and doing what you do =]!
 

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Hello there, I'm pretty new to this smogon community, and I've working my way up the ladder on PS! lately, and it looks like im doing pretty badly. The main reason being is probably im feeling too rushed and not thinking through the best course of action. This leads to my question: How long did it take you to become adept at battling and eventually knowing everything within the meta game? Was it all from losing many times, getting help from others, or just straight vast amounts of research?

Off-topic question: Will you be getting Bravely Default which is coming out soon? I'm hearing lot's of great things about it and I was wondering what your thoughts on the game.
Hi, welcome to Smogon. Personally when I started competitive battling in 07 I only had a vague idea of what Pokemon did due to lurking on sites like Gamefaqs. I'd say it took me about a month to become aware of most things in the metagame, and about a year to start winning on a consistent basis. I attribute a lot of this to the help I got from Battling 101, it expanded my network of friends (who were very good at the game) and it helped me improve my decision making and teambuilding skills. Getting better requires you to have a firm understanding of the metagame, and being able to identify weaknesses in your team and your playing. It's nice that Showdown lets you save your replays, so save your logs when you lose and try to figure out what you could have done better, or if your team is really weak to something. And if you need help with that, you can shoot me a PM on #mentor and I'd be willing to give some advice.

Thinking about getting it, it's pretty hyped up from what I've seen. I don't know the first thing about it other than the fact that it's an RPG, I'll probably pick it up during my spring break. If you manage to get or play the game before mid-March you should tell me what you think of it!

Well this is my first time posting on you AMA thread so:

  1. What was your learning curve for every Generation and Meta that you became proficient at?
  2. When analysing game play and logs for your personal benefit, and team building analysis, what do you look for?
  3. Any tips for up and coming Smogon users to get more involved in the community?

    Thank you for reading and doing what you do =]!
Well since I play singles at lv 100 I can't really say much for things like Doubles or LC where mechanics are a little different, but the learning curve for me was pretty easy once I picked up my first metagame, which was DP OU pre-platinum. I've played DPP OU / UU / NU , BW OU / UU / RU / NU and XY OU, and no matter what type of metagame you pick up you're still going to have to have a solid battling foundation. Teambuilding comes easier when you can identify key threats, and jot down some key speed tiers. Doing a little research before jumping into a tier is very important as well, I skimmed over a good amount of the BW UU/RU/NU forums when I started to pick them up last year in June.

Look for potential mistakes you made, if it's a blatant mistake you'll usually pick that up while the game is played. If you find yourself swept by something then look for Pokemon in your team that can beat it. If those Pokemon were dead while the sweeper was in, it's most likely that you should have played to conserve that Pokemon instead. If it's too easy for a Pokemon to sweep your team then make some changes to it, but make sure the changes are reasonable (ex. don't replace your Mega Lucario with something like a Chansey on an offensive team just because you find yourself to be mega zard y weak).

IRC is where the community part of Smogon is, I'd probably just idle on a couple channels in places you want to get involved in and talk to the people there. Lurk before posting, make sure you understand the culture of the forum before posting there. The mentor program tries to help newer users integrate themselves in the community so #mentor is always a good place to start.
 
Hey, we kinda have similar interests so here are some questions...
1. Your top 5 rappers of all time?
2. How good is THJ?
3. Do the Knicks make the playoffs (I think Bobcats are currently 8th seed lol)
4. How did you like The Last Of Us's ending, and how incredible is that game?
5.Thoughts on my team? I suck at building teams so I just take a common core and try to build around it. It's easier to choose 3 or 4 mons for a team than 6 lol
Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Polish
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Psychic

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Ghost]

Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Superpower

Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spd
Impish Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Claw

Deoxys-Speed @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Fire Punch
 

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Hey, we kinda have similar interests so here are some questions...
1. Your top 5 rappers of all time?
In no particular order: Tupac/Nas/Biggie/MF Doom/Jay Z

2. How good is THJ?
Don't know who or what that is o_o, VM me or something and I'll look into it

3. Do the Knicks make the playoffs (I think Bobcats are currently 8th seed lol)
This is a tough one, I'm going to say yes simply because the Knicks have more starpower than the Bobcats, and I think that by the end of the season they'll be trying really hard for the 8th seed while the Bobcats are going to either end up choking or will try to tank hard to get better chances for next year's draft. I think the Pistons are ahead of them but tbh they look worse than the Knicks especially since they have TO machine Brandon Jennings running the point and like 0 perimeter shooting and a crowded front court. But talking point guards, Raymond Felton isn't much to brag about either :p

I like your avatar though! I'm a fan of Tim Hardaway Jr., he is a bright spot in an otherwise shitty season. If he becomes a better rebounder / assister, then I sure as hell hope that the Knicks ship JR Smith's ass out of there.

4. How did you like The Last Of Us's ending, and how incredible is that game?
Never played it, just watched my friend play it over the summer and I was impressed with the game. The ending was pretty good from what I remember, if I remember correctly it was something along the lines of Joel saving Ellie from surgery and imminent death. Again, I didn't play the game so I don't know if Joel was telling the truth when he said that the fireflies had given up on making a cure or whatever, but it was a very good ending. The game was also a nice change of pace from your bog standard zombie killing game, I mean essentially it is your horror / apocalypse / kill all the motherfuckers game but it had a very nice spin to it and an aura of authenticity.

5.Thoughts on my team? I suck at building teams so I just take a common core and try to build around it. It's easier to choose 3 or 4 mons for a team than 6 lol
Get a Spinner in there, running Pinsir without the hazard control limits the opportunities it gets to come in and out freely. I would look into running something like an Excadrill on this team over Tyranitar for Spinning capabilities. Furthermore if you ran Air Balloon on it then you would have somewhat of a response to Mega Pinsir, because at the moment it seems that your best way to deal with that is to tank a hit with Tyranitar (not sure if EQ kills at +2 though) or to Speed tie with your own Pinsir. Lastly, Excadrill helps against Fairies like Clefable and Sylveon a bit with Iron Head, as having no Fairy resist is a bit of an issue here.Next, I would look into replacing Trevenant for a more offensive way to deal with Rotom-W, I think Kyurem-B might be a neat way to deal with him. For your team, I think going physically mixed would be best as opposed to specially mixed since you want to land a clean kill on Azumarill with Fusion Bolt, and you have enough firepower with Keldeo and Landorus anyway. Run enough enough HP to hit 404, max the attack, throw the rest in speed, run lonely nature with Dragon Claw / Sub / Ice Beam / Fusion Bolt.

Landorus is pretty neat, I like running HP Flying + Sludge Wave over Psychic + HP Ice on it so I can hit bulky Clefables and Sylveons and kill them. HP Flying handles Venusaur and Conkeldurr just as hard because of STAB. Shoot me a PM if you need further clarification on anything
 
quick question. I use a whimsicott as stall drainer. (drain hp form a Pokemon with leech seed and giga drain) i been using grass whistle to put them to sleep but would stun spore be better? because grass whistle only has 55 accuracy.
 

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On a scale of 1/10, how much do you love:

Bacon
Hey Arnold
Your GF (if applicable)
University
Yours Truly

Justify your answers.
 

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is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis an Artist Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
quick question. I use a whimsicott as stall drainer. (drain hp form a Pokemon with leech seed and giga drain) i been using grass whistle to put them to sleep but would stun spore be better? because grass whistle only has 55 accuracy.
Not entirely sure what a 'stall drainer' is, is that something you put in a bathroom shower?? o_o nice terminology x)

Jokes aside, I'm not too well versed with Whimsicott but generally there are better Leech Seeders in OU, namely Ferrothorn and MVenusaur, even Breloom. I guess Whimsicott has some sort of niche though as a sort of pivot with Prankster Encore with U-turn / Stun Spore, I guess it could switch into dragons like Garchomp and Charizard-x while setting up, letting you encore and paralyze things. Again, there are better options for Leech Seed in OU, and generally Grasswhistle is a terrible move due to its god awful accuracy. I'd really consider using this for a stall drainer instead.

On a scale of 1/10, how much do you love:

Bacon
Hey Arnold
Your GF (if applicable)
University
Yours Truly

Justify your answers.
I think bacon's a little overrated, I like it on sandwiches and that's about it. I'm not much of a breakfast guy, so bacon's usually a little too heavy for me early in the morning, I don't feel right if I'm eating bacon + eggs + pancakes etc. first thing when I wake up. I can't eat bacon alone, it has to be with some carbs in it like hash browns or bread. I'll give it a 7/10 for generally being a great compliment to sandwiches and the like, but falling flat as a standalone food.

Hey Arnold's a great show, I really liked the one movie where his grandpa was telling him stories about his parents. I always thought he was wearing a kilt until I realized he was rocking the sweater vest + plaid (a very nice look that I sometimes like to rock myself). I'll give it an 8/10 for promoting diversity within the streets (most colorful cast of characters on Nickelodeon personality-wise and culturally), but I'll take a couple points off for Lila being a complete hoe, come on Arnold give Helga some of that d.

No girl atm, hmu if you know any west coast chicks that I could show around the city though!

I'm giving my University a 6/10 for this month of February, otherwise it's been a solid 7.5/10. I'm giving it a 6 because they are fucking terrible with snow days and completely disregard commuters, last Thursday was ridiculous with about 6-10 inches of snow piling on top of all the other shit we've been hit with. On every street crossing I've literally had to play hopscotch to avoid giant puddles that were up to my ankles, while the snow on the sidewalks pretty much narrowed down the walkable area to about 1 person wide. I'm pretty damn sure the only reason I had to go to school was because Hillary Clinton was visiting NYU that day. Anyway, I went back home to NJ for the weekend and came back to a metric fuckton of snow, here is a pic of my ride for reference. I guess you've seen your fair share of snow since you live in Illinois though =P

Weather problems aside, I'm having a good time in college. I'm not partying or anything because that's not my type, nor would I really consider NYU to be much of a party school, but the overall atmosphere of the place is a lot more chill than in high school--the people there are a lot nicer and classes are relatively enjoyable if not sometimes a little boring.

I'll give you a 9/10 for generally being a cool guy and helping me with Pokemon ~5-6 years ago and Calculus ~1-2 years ago. However, it seems nowadays all we ever talk about is the past, though I gotta say that hanging out on Doug's CAP server was one of the highlights of my early teenage life. Do you still talk to seph or tacho? Last I heard from tacho was about 3 weeks ago and we didn't really say much, I think he's got his own agenda going on now.
 
Hey, I know your busy and I probably should post in another thread, but, I need help building or re-building my OU team. I suck at team building and I'm not sure what I'm worse at; building or competitive battling. I'm trying to center my team around Weavile and Mega Aggron. I've been using some Pokemon that probably should be in UU, but, I haven't found anything that works well. If you have the time, maybe we can discuss it later.
 

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is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis an Artist Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Hey, I know your busy and I probably should post in another thread, but, I need help building or re-building my OU team. I suck at team building and I'm not sure what I'm worse at; building or competitive battling. I'm trying to center my team around Weavile and Mega Aggron. I've been using some Pokemon that probably should be in UU, but, I haven't found anything that works well. If you have the time, maybe we can discuss it later.
lol sorry I didn't even realize my thread was still alive. If you're not dead you can catch me on IRC (#mentor) or message me on Skype / Smogon PM or something.

1. Have you ever watched anime?
2. If not, any particular reasons?
3. How did you get into Pokemon, or competitive Pokemon?
4. Favorite TV show?
5. Favorite movie?
6. And lastly, can you rate my team? http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/dual-core-ou-team.3505562/

P.S. I apologize if any of these questions were already answered.
1) Yes, I'm not a weeaboo but I have watched most of the classics and then some. Here's my list if you want to check it out, I probably missed a few and I haven't updated it in a while sooo yeah. Favorite anime goes to Samurai Champloo with Bebop a close second.
3) I played Pokemon Blue version when I was 5 years old, then when I was 6 I played Pokemon Stadium 2 with my Pokemon from Silver and I got fucking wrecked in Round 2 of the Master Cup I think. I went on GameFAQs for help and I noticed some hardcore shit with things like Curselax and Hidden Powers that I really didn't understand, but I kept lurking on GameFAQs for about 4-5 years until DP came out in April 2007, I was 12. By then I decided to step into competitive battling by downloading Shoddy Battle and started toying around with stuff.
4) I don't watch much TV, but I think that Breaking Bad was one of the best shows I have ever watched.
5) Can't really think of any off the top of my head, but since you asked an anime question earlier I'd have to say my favorite anime movie was the Cowboy Bebop one, Knocking on Heaven's Door. Other anime flicks I like are Grave of the Fireflies (real tearjerker), most Miyazaki films (Spirited Away is easily the best though), and I'll give the Prince of Tennis movie a nod because Tezuka fucking killed the dinosaurs lmao.
6) sure
 

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