As you walk into the very conspicuous golden trophy-shaped building, you look around at the bright decorations. Medallions and plaques cover the walls, and shiny trophies hang from the high ceiling. Most dazzling, however, are crystal-like curtains forming a circle around the middle of the building. As the varies awards flash from the rotating spotlights, you suddenly hear feedback and cover your ears and close your eyes, cringing. When you open them, the curtains are open and a large blue-white something is on the stage with an amiable-looking man in a cowboy hat. Just as the dude starts tapping the mike, the Pokemon, which you suddenly realize is a snorlax, begins to speak.
“Hi guys, Snorlax here and I will be your extremely lazy and hungry host for this year’s 2016 ASB Awards!”
“CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT! What was that?! ‘This year’s 2016’ really? START OVER!”
“Sheesh! Hi guys, I’m the fat blob blocking the road and welc-”
“CUT! That’s it, you’re fired. Go back to trolling some poor kid without a Poke Flute already. Alright I’ll host these myself. Welcome to the 2016 ASB Awards, home of the greatest end-year friendly competition in ASB!”
“Also the only one, so ‘best’ isn’t really comparing to anything.”
“How have you not fallen asleep from overeating yet? Anyways, this is where the ASB community comes together and compares how they did this year. There are a total of 17 categories this year, ranging from grand things like Best ASBer to fun things such as Nicest User. These categories are split into combat and non-combat, so people who don’t battle often can still have a shot!”
“There’s 2 pokemon categories, which will both obviously go to me. Right? Right? If you don’t vote for me I’ll fall asleep in front of your driveway–with earplugs on.”
“Here’s a poffin ok, now go sit quietly in the corner of this round stage. Sorry about him folks, just ignore him. The time period for something to be valid in our contest here is obviously 2016, so unless stated otherwise, only nominate things starting January 1st or later. We will be accepting nominations until the beginning of December, and the fun part—that's voting—starts December 1st! Without further ado, I present to you the 2016 ASB Awards!”
Suddenly, pedestals start rising out of the ground. One person was even standing on one, and ends up standing above a trophy. People instantly nominate him for fun, breaking into good-natured laughter.
Combat Categories:
Best New Player – This recognizes an outstanding newbie who has recently joined our community. The only hard requirement is that the nominee joined ASB after September 1st, 2015 and is still currently active. This award looks for the person who has accomplished the most in less than 14 months, whether it be in high-stakes arenas such as gyms or tournaments or in less serious things such like fun flavor battles.
Most Improved – This award supports those who weren’t top-notch last year but have made their way up the ranks. Nominees should have evidence of battles from last year as well as this year, showing noticeable improvement in battling skill. Achievements made this year also help prove that someone has improved, especially if they were attempted last year.
Best Match – This award will recognize a single battle as the “best” battle of 2016. There is no set criterion for this one, so any battle with a quality that might make it the best can be nominated. For example, someone might nominate what they think was the closest and most thrilling match. Or maybe someone will like the biggest beatdown or the craziest hax. Regardless why a battle is nominated though, the reason needs to be clearly explained, showing exactly what makes that match the best battle of 2016.
Best Raider – Zarator’s terrain has its own adventurers, and they deserve attention as well. Besides the group that made the most progress, the Best Raider award might go to a player or a team that won the most number of raids, or came up with the best plan, or got the best artifact. The eventual winner(s) were for sure a raider (pair) who knew what they wanted from the Raid Zone, made a plan to get it, and finally achieved their goal or at least made large steps towards it.
Best TLR player – Who got an amazing legendary? Who beat the hardest TLR? Those are the obvious markers for the best TLR player, but playstyles and items have to be looked at as well. Additionally, planning is an important part of being an excellent TLR player. While some catches might have been made using masterballs, others were the result of careful calculations and meticulous planning to squeak out a victory. The winner of this category is the user adjudged to have been the best overall conqueror of The Legend Run.
Best Singles Player – This and its sister awards are rather self-explanatory. The award will go to the player who made the best plays in singles battles. Maybe someone made the best-thought subs, or maybe abused others’ subs very effectively. Victories against other strong players in this field can also count towards this award. Nominations should have evidence to back them up, including links to well-played battles.
Best Doubles Player – Like the Best Singles Players award, this is a self-explanatory award. It will again go to the player who made the best plays in doubles battles. The best player abused sub interactions effectively, had well-synergized teams, or made extremely synchronized orders. Nominations should have evidence to back them up, including links to well-played battles.
Best Triples Player – This award is slightly unusual, because very few battles are actually played in triples. If not for Team Tournament 2, there definitely would not be enough information for such a category. Nominations for this category will focus on results in TT2, though skill shown in other triples matches can definitely be used to show that a player is the best.
Best ASBer 2016 – The grand finale for the battling categories, this will be judged based on how the user performed in the biggest matches there are. The four heavyweights to look at are Gyms, Tournaments, Raids, and TLRs. Performance in the first two, which are competitions between players, will be the most important determiners for the final trophy of the best ASBer 2016.
Non-combat:
Best Policy Contributor – This award searches for a person who was extremely influential in shaping the mechworks of ASB this year. It recognizes good ideas, positive discussion, sound logic, and most importantly hard work. ASB made no small amount of changes this year, and each and every one of them is both the brainchild and the hard work of our best policy contributors. This awards seeks to find the user who combined all of those into an absolute powerhouse in influencing ASB's future.
Best Referee – This award is to recognize the hardworking players that form the backbone of ASB. The best referee is someone who reffed a large amount, held themselves to quality standards, and most importantly, reffed on time. The people worthy of being nominated all help to keep the ASB machine running, and this award will recognize the best of them.
Nicest User – This is a nomination for the player who is nicest. With nice being such an all-encompassing word, nominees will be varied and the reason should be clearly explained. Some ways for a person might be reffing the most training battles, or taking the most facilities, or having the best sportsmanship. Those three definitely don’t cover the entirety of niceness though, so nominate lots of users for lots of reasons!
Biggest Rise in Fortunes (Pokemon) – This looks for a pokemon who used to be unknown and unused but is now well-respected and used. It might've been a previously undiscovered talent that is now used a lot, or maybe new mechanics greatly improved its viability. Major events that might have triggered such a change include the sig item reworkings and the Greninja nerfs.
Best John – This award looks for a player who is the best john, which is definitely an oxymoron. Thus, the definition of such can vary. Is it the person who johned the most without getting DQ’d? What about the person who literally never johned, or the person who johned the longest time? Nominate someone and tell the world why they are deserving of this oxymoronic title.
Biggest Metagame Influence (user) – Which user changed the metagame the most? This award looks for a player who drew attention to a powerful mon, or who redefined a meta with a new strategy. The award will honor a player who managed to alter the general flow of ASB battles by changing the standards and forcing others to respond and be prepared.
Biggest Metagame Influence (Pokemon) – This awards asks for the pokemon that affects the meta the most. Is there a single pokemon that changed most people's game plans? Or maybe a pokemon is just so powerful that everyone's send-ins need to be ready for it lest the match be completely one-sided. This award will go to a pokemon that everyone has to ask themselves before sending in, "Am I ready to beat that thing?"
“So those are our categories. To wrap this up before you all go crazy with your nominations, let's remind ourselves of one very important thing: nominations should always have some form of evidence supporting them, especially when able to source the given match/battle/etc. Nominations start now, and close December 1st. That day is also when voting will begin, and we can finally be rid of some of these trophies.”
“The trophies aren't edible though... Vote for me anyways!"
“Hi guys, Snorlax here and I will be your extremely lazy and hungry host for this year’s 2016 ASB Awards!”
“CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT! What was that?! ‘This year’s 2016’ really? START OVER!”
“Sheesh! Hi guys, I’m the fat blob blocking the road and welc-”
“CUT! That’s it, you’re fired. Go back to trolling some poor kid without a Poke Flute already. Alright I’ll host these myself. Welcome to the 2016 ASB Awards, home of the greatest end-year friendly competition in ASB!”
“Also the only one, so ‘best’ isn’t really comparing to anything.”
“How have you not fallen asleep from overeating yet? Anyways, this is where the ASB community comes together and compares how they did this year. There are a total of 17 categories this year, ranging from grand things like Best ASBer to fun things such as Nicest User. These categories are split into combat and non-combat, so people who don’t battle often can still have a shot!”
“There’s 2 pokemon categories, which will both obviously go to me. Right? Right? If you don’t vote for me I’ll fall asleep in front of your driveway–with earplugs on.”
“Here’s a poffin ok, now go sit quietly in the corner of this round stage. Sorry about him folks, just ignore him. The time period for something to be valid in our contest here is obviously 2016, so unless stated otherwise, only nominate things starting January 1st or later. We will be accepting nominations until the beginning of December, and the fun part—that's voting—starts December 1st! Without further ado, I present to you the 2016 ASB Awards!”
Suddenly, pedestals start rising out of the ground. One person was even standing on one, and ends up standing above a trophy. People instantly nominate him for fun, breaking into good-natured laughter.
Combat Categories:
Best New Player – This recognizes an outstanding newbie who has recently joined our community. The only hard requirement is that the nominee joined ASB after September 1st, 2015 and is still currently active. This award looks for the person who has accomplished the most in less than 14 months, whether it be in high-stakes arenas such as gyms or tournaments or in less serious things such like fun flavor battles.
Most Improved – This award supports those who weren’t top-notch last year but have made their way up the ranks. Nominees should have evidence of battles from last year as well as this year, showing noticeable improvement in battling skill. Achievements made this year also help prove that someone has improved, especially if they were attempted last year.
Best Match – This award will recognize a single battle as the “best” battle of 2016. There is no set criterion for this one, so any battle with a quality that might make it the best can be nominated. For example, someone might nominate what they think was the closest and most thrilling match. Or maybe someone will like the biggest beatdown or the craziest hax. Regardless why a battle is nominated though, the reason needs to be clearly explained, showing exactly what makes that match the best battle of 2016.
Best Raider – Zarator’s terrain has its own adventurers, and they deserve attention as well. Besides the group that made the most progress, the Best Raider award might go to a player or a team that won the most number of raids, or came up with the best plan, or got the best artifact. The eventual winner(s) were for sure a raider (pair) who knew what they wanted from the Raid Zone, made a plan to get it, and finally achieved their goal or at least made large steps towards it.
Best TLR player – Who got an amazing legendary? Who beat the hardest TLR? Those are the obvious markers for the best TLR player, but playstyles and items have to be looked at as well. Additionally, planning is an important part of being an excellent TLR player. While some catches might have been made using masterballs, others were the result of careful calculations and meticulous planning to squeak out a victory. The winner of this category is the user adjudged to have been the best overall conqueror of The Legend Run.
Best Singles Player – This and its sister awards are rather self-explanatory. The award will go to the player who made the best plays in singles battles. Maybe someone made the best-thought subs, or maybe abused others’ subs very effectively. Victories against other strong players in this field can also count towards this award. Nominations should have evidence to back them up, including links to well-played battles.
Best Doubles Player – Like the Best Singles Players award, this is a self-explanatory award. It will again go to the player who made the best plays in doubles battles. The best player abused sub interactions effectively, had well-synergized teams, or made extremely synchronized orders. Nominations should have evidence to back them up, including links to well-played battles.
Best Triples Player – This award is slightly unusual, because very few battles are actually played in triples. If not for Team Tournament 2, there definitely would not be enough information for such a category. Nominations for this category will focus on results in TT2, though skill shown in other triples matches can definitely be used to show that a player is the best.
Best ASBer 2016 – The grand finale for the battling categories, this will be judged based on how the user performed in the biggest matches there are. The four heavyweights to look at are Gyms, Tournaments, Raids, and TLRs. Performance in the first two, which are competitions between players, will be the most important determiners for the final trophy of the best ASBer 2016.
Non-combat:
Best Policy Contributor – This award searches for a person who was extremely influential in shaping the mechworks of ASB this year. It recognizes good ideas, positive discussion, sound logic, and most importantly hard work. ASB made no small amount of changes this year, and each and every one of them is both the brainchild and the hard work of our best policy contributors. This awards seeks to find the user who combined all of those into an absolute powerhouse in influencing ASB's future.
Best Referee – This award is to recognize the hardworking players that form the backbone of ASB. The best referee is someone who reffed a large amount, held themselves to quality standards, and most importantly, reffed on time. The people worthy of being nominated all help to keep the ASB machine running, and this award will recognize the best of them.
Nicest User – This is a nomination for the player who is nicest. With nice being such an all-encompassing word, nominees will be varied and the reason should be clearly explained. Some ways for a person might be reffing the most training battles, or taking the most facilities, or having the best sportsmanship. Those three definitely don’t cover the entirety of niceness though, so nominate lots of users for lots of reasons!
Biggest Rise in Fortunes (Pokemon) – This looks for a pokemon who used to be unknown and unused but is now well-respected and used. It might've been a previously undiscovered talent that is now used a lot, or maybe new mechanics greatly improved its viability. Major events that might have triggered such a change include the sig item reworkings and the Greninja nerfs.
Best John – This award looks for a player who is the best john, which is definitely an oxymoron. Thus, the definition of such can vary. Is it the person who johned the most without getting DQ’d? What about the person who literally never johned, or the person who johned the longest time? Nominate someone and tell the world why they are deserving of this oxymoronic title.
Biggest Metagame Influence (user) – Which user changed the metagame the most? This award looks for a player who drew attention to a powerful mon, or who redefined a meta with a new strategy. The award will honor a player who managed to alter the general flow of ASB battles by changing the standards and forcing others to respond and be prepared.
Biggest Metagame Influence (Pokemon) – This awards asks for the pokemon that affects the meta the most. Is there a single pokemon that changed most people's game plans? Or maybe a pokemon is just so powerful that everyone's send-ins need to be ready for it lest the match be completely one-sided. This award will go to a pokemon that everyone has to ask themselves before sending in, "Am I ready to beat that thing?"
“So those are our categories. To wrap this up before you all go crazy with your nominations, let's remind ourselves of one very important thing: nominations should always have some form of evidence supporting them, especially when able to source the given match/battle/etc. Nominations start now, and close December 1st. That day is also when voting will begin, and we can finally be rid of some of these trophies.”
“The trophies aren't edible though... Vote for me anyways!"
