OU Player of the Week #3: TDK

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maybe this is heaven
is a Tournament Directoris a Forum Moderatoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a defending SPL Championis a defending SCL Champion

Welcome to the SM version of OU Player of the Week! This project will feature interviews from some of the most accomplished and influential users in the tier so that we can learn more about them.
If there is a user that you would like to see interviewed be sure to let me know.

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TDK
Most known for: Being the OU Tier Leader and being one of the more prominent team builders in the Tour community.
Favourite pokemon: Latios
Most used pokemon: SM is Landorus-Therian, across generations is Tyranitar by far.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself outside of Smogon?
I'm a 19 year old college Freshman (soon-to-be Sophomore) majoring in Criminal Justice. Right now I spend most of my time on school, friends, with a side of Pokemon and other frivolous things. I watch anime, play video games, and the like in my free time but I generally don't spend much time on them during the school year, although I do still spend a large portion on Pokemon. Throughout my younger years, most of my time was spent on Sports, video games, and activities with friends. I've played soccer ever since I was 4, and primarily to play right back. Most other sports were mostly pickup games with friends, but I actively played football and basketball for a long time. I've also actively followed the NFL for the past 6 1/2 years, but kinda cooled down with the intensity lately. Video game wise, I was always a Nintendo kid. I've played so many Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon games that it's kinda crazy to think about how much time I've spent on them. Don't have any regrets or anything because spending time on things you enjoy is how you should go about it, but still kinda wild to think about. I've also played some Fire Emblem, which I enjoyed a ton, and plan to play some of the older versions over the summer. I also spent a lot of time in high school as apart of Robotics team where we learnt about engineering related things and the like and competed against other high school teams.

Where did you get your name from?
I originally signed up for a Serebii account in 2013. At the time I had some pretty shitty past online aliases, and being 15 years old I decided to pick something unique and creative. As such, I picked something only a 15 year old could come up with; word play on the Pokemon "Dragonite," forming The DragonKnight. There's no exciting backstory or anything; I just liked Dragon-types the most and rolled with it. Eventually, after prodding from my US East teammates, I conformed alongside my friends BKC and PDC and adopted a three letter name. Admittedly I find the origin of my name somewhat embarrassing, but TDK is incredibly simple and changing your username after being apart of a website for so long is silly, so I have no intentions of adopting another alias anytime soon.

How and when did you get into competitive Pokemon?
I started playing Pokemon when I was about four years old, and was pretty hooked. Although I didn't play competitively, I've always been a super competitive person, and then ran across both PS! and some competitive forums while looking at information for Pokemon XY, which was unreleased at the time. I played some but didn't fully invest myself until I tried out for East in WCoP in 2014, only to be told by my friend that PDC dubbed me "nothing special."

What’s your favourite generation of OU and why?
Sort of a cop out answer but generally I don't have a favorite generation. I really love and enjoy building and playing in Sun and Moon due to how new it is; there's still loads of opportunities for creativity and formulating new standards, but at the same time due to unbalance the tier is quite volatile and very strenuous to constantly build teams aptly. I enjoy BW2 a lot simply because I find it very enjoyable to play in; there are very few circumstances of a "matchup" loss, only those that could be credited to a lackluster team rather than a volatile factor of the tier, meaning the better player will win more often than not. I also very much enjoy playing and building in GSC, despite not being too well versed in it. All in all right now I'd say SM is my favorite but mostly because it's the current generation.

What’s your favourite playstyle to use and why?
Bulky Offense. It's the most consistent playstyle, allows you to play around most every matchup, and gives you both a defensive backbone to fall back on and offensive presence to pressure your opponent.

What are your thoughts on the current metagame? How do you feel about SM in comparison to ORAS?
Right now, SM is in a pretty weird state. While it isn't a perfect metagame, most everything that is absurdly busted has been handled, or is being at the moment. But even with that, the metagame has some unappealing factors. "Cheese" strategies are more common than I've ever seen; stall, Baton Pass, gimmicky strategies like Webs, Rain, Trick Room are all very prevalent in OU. While "cheese" merely existing doesn't mean much, the viability of these strategies, for the most part, is there and adds some unwanted factors. Even though they can be annoying, I also feel like most of the strategies get too much flake or are just simply overrated. Outside of Baton Pass, which isn't nearly as strong as some people make it out to be, all of the aforementioned cheese strategies easily workable with a solid team, and can be played around except for some few obscure scenarios. In general I do enjoy the metagame for the most part; seeing the teams used in important tournament games such as OST finals is really neat, as people produce solid teams that aren't simply just gimmicky cheese that people love to spam in grinding situations.

In general, compared to ORAS, I find SM as a place where creativity is far easier. Between Z moves and the multitude of viable Pokemon, it's really easy to be creative and innovate. ORAS didn't have this to quite the same extent, even towards the earlier portion of the generation. Because of this, I enjoy it more. From a more objective standpoint, at this point in time in Gen 6, I believe SM is far less volatile tier, as at this point in time, 7 months after release, full BP chains were still legal, as well as Deoxys-Speed, Deoxys-Defense, Aegislash, and Mega Mawile. All in all I can say I much prefer the metagame we have in SM at this point in time compared to the one in XY at the same timespan, and it's nigh impossible to tell how the tail-end of the metagame will look like. Comparing SM to ORAS now, ORAS is a very balanced tier where there are very few things that can remotely be sought of as "broken," but at the same time strategies are tried and true and there is little room for creativity left without sacrificing actual viability and delving into silly gimmicks.

What do you think is the most challenging part of being Head of the OU Council? What do you enjoy about it?
It's not really a challenge so to speak but the most annoying aspect of being OU Leader is most definitely all of the whiners. People complain about things all the time no matter what, and people will always complain about things in OU because they think they're always right. While the metagame isn't perfect, people make so many false assumptions, assuming they understand how tiering works and how we should ban things and that they're undeniably right, but in reality are simply fools that have no understanding of how tiering works nor what goes on behind the scenes. The very same people are the ones who complain about the OU council whenever they get the chance. It makes me wonder why I spend time doing something just to be met with nonstop complaints from people who don't understand what's going on at every opportunity.

I enjoy influencing the tier to be the best it can be. Obviously I'm not someone who's been involved in tiering since the early days, but I have a solid understanding of tiering and (hope to) do what I can to create the best tier possible with what's presented to us.

You've already posted your opinion on the Mega Metagross suspect test. Do you believe anything else is suspect-worthy?
I think Greninja, Baton Pass, and something in regards to Stall as a whole all deserve some action from the Council. Greninja, both Ash and Protean, are incredibly threatening and dominant in the OU metagame right now, as everyone knows. Protean has a vast array of options and is very difficult to take on, while Battle Bond is simply incredibly powerful and one of, if not the, scariest Pokemon to face in a late game situation. Personally, I don't have any intentions to vote ban on it, but it does warrant attention and it's probably the most disliked non-BP thing in OU atm. The ever disliked Baton Pass strategy is most definitely the most threatening it's ever been since full BP chains were banned. The addition of Necrozma and Magearna simply put BP on another level; these two Pokemon, with boosted Speed, are incredibly difficult to take on. Necrozma's biggest issues, Dark-types, can be circumvented through the use of Dugtrio, while Magearna is simply a very difficult Pokemon to take on, especially when it can freely get a speed boost. Stall, lastly, is such a strong playstyle right now. Despite a Dugtrio ban not taking place, I still believe Stall will need to be looked at again. I don't believe there's much room for diversity for stall, but the classic Stall build is incredibly menacing that there are next to no single Pokemon that can aptly prepare you for the build and pull its weight vs any other kind of team.

While this is all I can say at this point in time, as should the results of the Mega Metagross suspect test end with a ban, the metagame would change, shortening the game between the top tier Pokemon and those just outside of reach. Potentially I could see some of the things Poek detailed in his POTW interview becoming warranting of action, but at this point in time they simply aren't a priority. Volcarona in particular I find borderline absurd to aptly handle without the use of a Chansey at the moment; between all of its sets and options, it can ignore pretty much every possible check and counter aside from Chansey with Toxic. Inferno Overdriver, Shattered Psyche, Charti Berry, HP Ground, HP Ice, etc.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone trying to break into the tournament setting?
The best way to break into the tournament scene is really just make a name for yourself. The biggest challenge I see people really running into that solidifies their place in the tournament community is recognition, and thus being picked up in team tournaments. I'd be lying if I said only the best players are picked for team tournaments; managers to employ the strategy of picking people they like and offer little over people who contribute greatly to the team. However, for the most part, if someone knows you're good, you'll get picked. Doing well in an official tournament can get you recognized. Consistently performing in a relevant unofficials, such as a Circuit tournaments, will get you noticed. Playing and performing well vs relevant tournament players can get attention. Building solid teams, either used by people in tournaments, on the ladder, or posted on the forum can get you recognized.

For people who wish to improve upon their skills to the point they'll get recognized or for people who want to up their game beyond where they're at currently, the biggest thing I can say is to not get too discouraged and repetition is key. People improving or getting better at 'Mons will make mistakes; trust me, we've all been there. However, it's important not to just give up after a poor performance, regardless the negative publicity. I've had my fair share of poor performances. To be perfectly blunt, I was pretty terrible my first SPL, and nothing really "clicked" until mid WCoP 2015. I made some bad team building choices, I didn't play perfectly, I generally just wasn't a great player. I improved a lot because I wanted to get better and had the drive to improve. However, I've made a big turn around and improved a lot. Part of my improvement, however, is from repetition. I got a lot better at team building because I build a lot of teams; to the point I can really build something solid simply by writing it down on a piece of paper just because I remember most everything necessary while building. Repetition is also huge for playing; the more you play, the more you understand predictions in games and strategies; what to do, when to do it, how to do it.

Who are some of your favourite people in the Smogon community?
I don't want this to be a cheesy shoutout post because I generally really detest writing them, so I'm going to keep names to a minimum, but it'll probably look like one anyway..

Starting out I wanna say I'm very thankful to my original friends on Smogon and that I won't forget them. I very much enjoy talking to all of you and wish some of you were still as active as you used to be. col49, Dallaren, Kid Buu, Gingy, Stathakis, sugarhigh, Tesung, Tokyo Tom. Miss you Jaiho.

I also have met some people, particularly in the tournament community, that I love to talk to and do so on a near daily basis. These are some of the people I stick around for because I wouldn't enjoy Pokemon the same way if they weren't around. BKC, blunder, CrashinBoomBang, FLCL, KratosMana, Jirachee, John, McMeghan, Pearl, Poek, rozes, TheEnder (come back ;_;), amongst many others. Thanks to everyone who makes Smogon and Pokemon enjoyable n_n

Finally, can you provide us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle, with a brief explanation of how it works?
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 56 Def / 8 SpA / 140 SpD / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Soft-Boiled
- Psychic

Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 120 Def / 124 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

Garchomp (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Dragon Claw

Amoonguss (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes
After Pheromosa's ban, I decided to update the team I made for Poek for OST vs NJNP. The team revolves around the core of Zapdos + Defog Mega Scizor + Regenerator, which pressures every playstyle very hard and gives a player means to handle pretty much any type of matchup. Mew was picked due to the fact Scizor teams generally struggle with Lele quite a bit, however, Mew gives the team something reliable to switch into Scarf Lele and forces Specs to predict rather than mindlessly click Psychic. Mew also beats the, at the time, newly released Mega Medicham. Garchomp was the scarfer of choice here, as not only did the team desperately need a Scarfer, it also wanted a Ground-type to help vs stuff like Tapu Koko. Ash Greninja rounds the team out as being one of the few Pokemon that are fast without being equipped with a Choice Scarf and gives the team one of the best cleaners in the game. Ash Greninja basically applies the large majority of the teams pressure, between firing off powerful STAB attacks or getting up Spikes on forced switches. This team, and the original, popularized fast Zapdos, which I find to be the most effective set. While it pretty much has lost its surprise factor, the extra speed and power have proven useful time and time again for me. Toxic are found on both Garchomp and Amoonguss to help with some Pokemon that would otherwise annoy the team, such as bulky Landorus-T, Zapdos, AV Tangrowth, etc.
 
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Leo

after hours
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
MPL Champion
when bp ban

Thoughts on the current state of bp?

e: What would be in your opinion the best Mega Evolution if Metagross got banned?
 
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Finchinator

-OUTL
is a Tournament Directoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Championis the defending OU Circuit Championis a Two-Time Former Old Generation Tournament Circuit Champion
OU Leader
You're known predominantly as a newer generation player and this is unquestionable. However, it is true that you've dabbled a fair amount in older generations, as you've stated in your interview. What have you learned about the game, on a fundamental level, that can be applied to every generation and playing in general from the time spent in older generations and do you feel this has changed your outlook or gameplay in any way in newer generations?

Do you think that, so far, we have done our job well speaking strictly from a generation seven perspective? Do you think the council should have more power than it currently does? Why or why not?

How do you feel in regards to the community isolating and regarding stall, as a playstyle, in the fashion that they do? I feel as if a lot of people take a suboptimal approach in this regard as they treat dealing with it in a foreign, and even linear, fashion when, in my opinion, you can treat it like any other playstyle and account for it in teambuilding, but you do not have to devote a whole slot just to "stall" and facing stall is not only black-and-white, win-or-lose from the start.

How long do you see yourself playing competitive Pokemon for on Smogon and do you have any ultimate goals for the remainder of your time here?

If you could remove any one element -- be it a Pokemon, move, mechanic, etc. -- from the ORAS OU and/or SM OU metagame without any questions or consequences, that you could not justify removing as OUTL, what would it be and why?

You mentioned that you are majoring in Criminal Justice. Do you plan to go to Law School after you graduate or do you intend to pursue a career in the field of Criminal Justice?
 
what's your favorite color

fuck marry kill finch hootie subject18

what'd you think of the recent OST finals? i've seen some people say it was a disappointment cause things were really quickly, but i've also seen others say it was wild, so i wanna know what you think about that o:
 

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
FMK Vinkou Vintei Vincune.

Okay serious stuff. Since I know you like FE stuff I figured I would post with FE related questions since everyone likely will ask Pokemon ones (well okay maybe not everyone).

Favorite class and unit?
Favorite FE game?
Favorite musical piece from FE? You can include Pokemon and other games too. Hell even any music genre.
 
What's your favorite Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon game, respectively?

Favorite anime series?

Your favorite team from BW OU? If that's too hard to answer then favorite team archtype in BW OU?

While everyone else is asking about more obvious suspect-worthy Pokemon, what are your thoughts on some other top tier Pokemon in SM OU such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Mega Mawile? Do you see these as being suspected way down the line? Do you think they affect the meta positively in its current state?
 
Got some teams for me?
Why would you never wear a drop a draco shirt to school?
Why did you bring Donphan?

Favorite player to watch?
What Mega that isn't released yet do you think will impact ou the most?
Who do you think are some up and coming players in the tournament scene?
 
You fuck with Vacuum Wave Kartana?

Will Zygarde ever be looked into the future?

Rank the following items on offensive Volcarona from best to worst: Psychicium Z, Firium Z, Charti Berry. Do you find Hidden Power [Ice] or Hidden Power [Ground] variants easier to support?

What position did you play in high school for Varsity football and basketball? What strength & skill level were you at compared to other players competing for your position?

One of the biggest insecurities in society is how people view others based on their music. Many young male Americans (including my homies who openly admit this to me) are listening to rap for the sole purpose to listening to rap instead of listening to what they like. Obviously, I listen to rap (J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, A Boogie wit da Hoodie,...) because I love it, but it is not something I listen to because it affects how other people view me. For example, I will step out of the box and listen to Alessia Cara and Iyaz for a change, not caring if other people call me "gay" when I switch up the music (plus it pulls hoes hehe). What artists do you listen to and what is your opinion on how hip-hop has radicalized our culture?

Are you annoyed by, indifferent to, or accepting of the saying "fuck TDK tbh"?

Finally, do you have Discord notifications on or off on your phone? If on, explain the emotional tension (no exaggeration) of someone viewing your lock screen. If off, please tell Gary he is a fa*got
 
What are your Favourite fairy types and why?
Do you even like fairies given your historical preference for dragons?
How do you beat a oras clefable when your whole team is paralyzed?

Who is your favourite person on smogon?
Am I crazy?

Really good interview BTW. Good to see you still up and about TDK
 

Ricardo

Banned deucer.
Everyone knows that greninja is going to be suspected eventually. How is the Battle Bond / Protean relation working? Will they be tiered differently or together?

Do you see anything else that isn't talked about (greninja, bp, stall) being a possible suspect later on? Maybe due to the next suspects/bans?

Can you tell me 1 underrated mon and 1 overrated in this meta? and if you can, why?

Which uber would you see yourself and the council possibly dropping down to suspect? If there's any ofc.
 
What do you consider to be the best tournament game(s) you've played?

What tournament games inspired you in the "damn, that guy is the man, I wanna be that guy" way when you were first starting out? In a similar vein, what are some tournament games of others from recent times that you have enjoyed?

Do you think Sun and Moon's changes/additions are capable of creating possibly the best/most balanced OU yet once the overpowered threats and cheesy elements are dealt with?

What are the best strategies for utilizing Nihilego in SM? Obviously a potential Metagross ban helps it a lot but even with it around it's such a cool Pokemon.

Can you give some examples of powerful Trick Room teams and how they generally work in the metagame in regards to general strategy besides "set up TR and hit hard" and matchups? I'm thinking of Crabominable, who was on my ingame team and is very cool.

What are your favorite strategies in DPP, BW and GSC?

What untouched (for you) aspects of the aforementioned three gens are you most interested to explore?

What tiering changes would you make to ORAS, BW and DPP, if any?

I won a game in Smogon Tour because I made my Greninja Modest. This allowed its Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulse to cleanly 2HKO Amoonguss. How do you feel about this?

Are you excited for roscoe and Jayde to roll up to your club and yell out bad EV spreads, knowing you will not be able to help yourself in correcting them?
 

kumiko

formerly TDK
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Four-Time Past WCoP Champion
rate this set

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 132 HP / 32 Def / 252 SpA / 92 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Lava Plume
- Protect
shit meme kid

favourite lower tier and favourite oldgen lower tiers
SM UU and ORAS Doubles. I actively play SM UU and very much enjoy the tier, it's pretty fun with lots of room for creativity while also having lots of old bread and butter strategies, making it pretty simple to build teams in. ORAS Doubles was really enjoyable for me because I enjoyed the transition into playing doubles quite a bit and found ORAS Doubles the most enjoyable. I don't really have a great answer beyond I found it the most fun, but yeah.

who do you fuckin hate in smogon
Hate, to me at least, when used online usually means you'd wish this person ill or simply left. I don't really have anyone that'd fall under this but there are a few people who I'd say are kind a close. To point out, Masterclass and Reymedy. I don't know if many people reading this follow what I usually do on social interactions aside from the forum, but I am very quiet on Smogtours and do not often talk outside of Discord. I find people who are very loud and egotistical to be obnoxious, and Masterclass fits this bill perfectly. He talks trash to a lot of his opponents and tries to act big and tough all of the time while, also hyping himself and his friends up as they typically find themselves to be unsuccessful in their endeavors. Reymedy, on the other hand, is probably the most condescending person I've ever interacted with online. He's always incredibly abrasive and condescending in every facet, whether it be the forums, PS, or Discord, he's talking down to you.

whos the shittiest player uve played
idk, I don't really play in loads of tournaments nor do I keep up with people in this regard; I also do kinda like to avoid call people bad or trash.

bonus: thoughts on adv pu
fun for now, bad tier and will be stale.

Thoughts on the current state of bp?
I pretty much covered my thoughts in the OP and don't have much more to add.

e: What would be in your opinion the best Mega Evolution if Metagross got banned?
Probably Mega Mawile. It's incredibly powerful and difficult to check outside of using bulky Landorus-T on every team, and that gets nailed by Hyper Cutter. Scizor and Sableye provide loads of utility to certain teams and will do so even without Mega Metagross, but they aren't as gamechanging as Mawile or Metagross, so I don't think I'd dub them as "the best".

You're known predominantly as a newer generation player and this is unquestionable. However, it is true that you've dabbled a fair amount in older generations, as you've stated in your interview. What have you learned about the game, on a fundamental level, that can be applied to every generation and playing in general from the time spent in older generations and do you feel this has changed your outlook or gameplay in any way in newer generations?
From a teambuilding standpoint, generally covering every type is important. There are a few exceptions to this between coverage moves and other STABs (ie Ferrothorn checks Water-types but not Keldeo, Terrakion checks Dark-types but not Bisharp, Scizor checks Psychic-types but not Tapu Lele, etc), but generally a good team will cover most types well. A few other important factors are win conditions and breakers. Generally these are two things I kinda ignored at a certain point in my time playing Pokemon, but having something that can either sweep or clean a team really helps you find means to win the game, just as a breaker allows you to break bulkier teams. I don't really think playing any older generation or lower tier has "changed" my view on anything but rather I consider some things about them and look at stealing innovations from them and adapting them to other tiers. Play wise, playing a lot basically gives me an idea of what everything does in pretty much every tier to the point I don't need to look anything up outside of a few obscure situations.

Do you think that, so far, we have done our job well speaking strictly from a generation seven perspective? Do you think the council should have more power than it currently does? Why or why not?
Absolutely. The only common complaint received so far was testing Dugtrio as early as we did, but I really do not have any gripes with it myself. Stall is still ever pressing and as viable as its ever been, but not necessarily "broken." Dugtrio, I believe, is the most crucial facet to Stall and is the part that would require action, rather than something else like Mega Sableye. Aside from that, I think we've done fine. Compare SM OU to XY OU in the same time span and I would much prefer this metagame to one infested with the original BP chains, Deoxys-S and D, Mega Mawile, and Aegislash were all legal.

I think the objectively best system in to have is the one we have now. My personal preference would be to have total council control, because it saves time from Suspects and doesn't leave potential "voter error" should the council as a whole entirely disagree with a vote.

How do you feel in regards to the community isolating and regarding stall, as a playstyle, in the fashion that they do? I feel as if a lot of people take a suboptimal approach in this regard as they treat dealing with it in a foreign, and even linear, fashion when, in my opinion, you can treat it like any other playstyle and account for it in teambuilding, but you do not have to devote a whole slot just to "stall" and facing stall is not only black-and-white, win-or-lose from the start.
People who blatantly ignore stall and treat it as something they'll just avoid, simply put, are fools. It's just as justifiable as any other playstyle. People who complain about someone using stall in particular I find very petty considering it's a legitimate playstyle and not remotely "scummy" in the slightest.

How long do you see yourself playing competitive Pokemon for on Smogon and do you have any ultimate goals for the remainder of your time here?
I see myself playing until I feel content and lose interest, or if I simply do not have the time to commit anymore.

My "ultimate goals" are most definitely solidifying myself within the tournament community. I'm a very competitive person, I do not wish to settle for anything and my ultimate goal is to win individual tournaments and be remembered as one of the best.

If you could remove any one element -- be it a Pokemon, move, mechanic, etc. -- from the ORAS OU and/or SM OU metagame without any questions or consequences, that you could not justify removing as OUTL, what would it be and why?
U-turn/volt switch. Silly moves that reward players for not predicting in certain situations by just being able to switch out and lets you get things in for free. It's not really as prevalent as it was in ORAS but still I am not a fan of them.

You mentioned that you are majoring in Criminal Justice. Do you plan to go to Law School after you graduate or do you intend to pursue a career in the field of Criminal Justice?
I'm not really sure at this point in time; ideally I would like to either attend law school or do something in relation to investigating crime. Whichever I pick depends on what I decide in the coming years.

what's your favorite color
Blue, on the darker side to be specific. Not quite Navy Blue but yeah.

fuck marry kill finch hootie subject18
m hootie f s18 k finch

what'd you think of the recent OST finals? i've seen some people say it was a disappointment cause things were really quickly, but i've also seen others say it was wild, so i wanna know what you think about that o:
I thought the teams lined up were both very interesting and both were quite solid. Unfortunately for ben gay, ABR got pretty much perfect matchup both games and proceeded to win near effortlessly. Overall I'd say all 4 teams used were good or solid, but the games in particular were kinda poor because they were a breeze for ABR. ABR definitely out performed ben gay and did it before the series even started.

Okay serious stuff. Since I know you like FE stuff I figured I would post with FE related questions since everyone likely will ask Pokemon ones (well okay maybe not everyone).

Favorite class and unit?
Hero/Swordmaster. Unit would be Ryoma bc he's absurdly overpowered in Fates.

Favorite FE game?
Unfortunately I haven't played loads of FE games but I'd say Fates; gameplay wise Conquest is the best but the storyline isn't great. Revelation is cool as a mix between the other two versions but inferior in some regards.

Favorite musical piece from FE? You can include Pokemon and other games too. Hell even any music genre.
I'm not good at choosing.
Past Light
Alight (Storm)
You of the Light
Dark Wastes
Dim Moonlight
Paradise (Dark)
A Dark Fall
You of the Dark
Vanity Judge (Roar)
As All Stars Fall
Thorn in You (Roar)
Warmth is Gone
Land Below (Flow)
Destiny by Blood
Coming Demise
Fantastical Feast
Final Elites
Bubbles

What's your favorite Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon game, respectively?
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Mario: Super Mario Galaxy
Pokemon: Colosseum

Favorite anime series?
Tough to say but probably jojo.

Your favorite team from BW OU? If that's too hard to answer then favorite team archtype in BW OU?
This is probably my favorite BW2 team to use right now. I originally made it for rozes to use vs Tesung in OUPL finals tiebreak but I've used it a lot since.

While everyone else is asking about more obvious suspect-worthy Pokemon, what are your thoughts on some other top tier Pokemon in SM OU such as Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Mega Mawile? Do you see these as being suspected way down the line? Do you think they affect the meta positively in its current state?
I feel like Landorus-T has died down a ton since the initial reactions and now I don't think I'd be alright testing it. It's not impossible to handle offensively without sacs and it is incredibly simple with them. Zygarde I can see after the metagame dies down, as running Tangrowth on every team is not an okay thing, but I feel like it's less pressing than something like Volcarona. Mega Mawile I don't think will ever reach the same level it did in XY, as SD simply isn't as good as it was then and that's what made Mawile so broken, in my opinion.

Got some teams for me?
always

Why would you never wear a drop a draco shirt to school?
I'm very weary of wearing anything of the sort in real life because I'm easily embarrassed about some things, however it's not even something I'd be down to embrace and be confident about because I don't really care for the phrase or anything.

Why did you bring Donphan?
dofa.

Favorite player to watch?
Probably John. It's a rare treat to watch the bro fist in action, as such I take pleasure in watching every instance of him taking part in Pokemon combat where he only loses to substantial hax in his opponents favor.

What Mega that isn't released yet do you think will impact ou the most?
most definitely Mega Diancie. The metagame can easily adapt to Lopunny, by using more Clefable, Slowbro, phys def tang etc, but Diancie there really arent any good options.

Who do you think are some up and coming players in the tournament scene?
It's really tough to say about this kind of thing; there are loads of dudes who have ton of potential but it's hard to tell how they'd do in games without actually seeing them play. Players in particular I see that can potentially make an impact in the tournament community or up their game to a high level in the near future are nedor, iloveleague, and yourself in particular.

You fuck with Vacuum Wave Kartana?
no

Will Zygarde ever be looked into the future?
Could be

Rank the following items on offensive Volcarona from best to worst: Psychicium Z, Firium Z, Charti Berry. Do you find Hidden Power [Ice] or Hidden Power [Ground] variants easier to support?
It really depends upon who you play and what fits best for your team, but right now in general I'd go Charti > Firium > Psychicium, mostly due to the drop in Pex usage. I find HP Ground much easier to support because nothing just absolutely hard walls it aside from stuff like Chansey and Mantine.

What position did you play in high school for Varsity football and basketball? What strength & skill level were you at compared to other players competing for your position?
Not sure if you misunderstood but I didn't play those sports for my school; I played them for fun with friends.

One of the biggest insecurities in society is how people view others based on their music. Many young male Americans (including my homies who openly admit this to me) are listening to rap for the sole purpose to listening to rap instead of listening to what they like. Obviously, I listen to rap (J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, A Boogie wit da Hoodie,...) because I love it, but it is not something I listen to because it affects how other people view me. For example, I will step out of the box and listen to Alessia Cara and Iyaz for a change, not caring if other people call me "gay" when I switch up the music (plus it pulls hoes hehe). What artists do you listen to and what is your opinion on how hip-hop has radicalized our culture?
Lots of people most definitely do listen to it because they feel it's the cool thing to do, personally I listen to loads of music from varying genres that I simply enjoy and don't really care what people think of them. I don't openly talk about my music taste a ton but I generally can find something in common with anyone in terms of music tastes, outside of the country fans.

Are you annoyed by, indifferent to, or accepting of the saying "fuck TDK tbh"?
Don't really care, think it was p funny at the start but now it's just whatever to me.

Finally, do you have Discord notifications on or off on your phone? If on, explain the emotional tension (no exaggeration) of someone viewing your lock screen. If off, please tell Gary he is a fa*got
Absolutely not. I'd never turn something like this on because I get highlighted or PM'd a lot and I don't want to a) check my phone constantly b) to have people see the highlight/PM seeing my lock screen. Gary you're gay as hell

What are your Favourite fairy types and why?
Gardevoir. I like its design the most and all of the dex entries and such about it are really cool.

Do you even like fairies given your historical preference for dragons?
I think as a whole it's kinda silly but I do like a lot of Fairy types.

How do you beat a oras clefable when your whole team is paralyzed?
you dont

Who is your favourite person on smogon?
I don't really have one to be perfectly honest. I've had loads of very close friends, some have gone and some still stick around, and they all know who they are because I talk to them all the time, but I don't think I have anyone in particular I'd call my best.

Am I crazy?
not really sure how to answer this, sorry :x

Really good interview BTW. Good to see you still up and about TDK
thanks for the kind words; glad you found me talking about myself interesting.

Everyone knows that greninja is going to be suspected eventually. How is the Battle Bond / Protean relation working? Will they be tiered differently or together?
They'll be handled separately in all likelihood.

Do you see anything else that isn't talked about (greninja, bp, stall) being a possible suspect later on? Maybe due to the next suspects/bans?
I think Volcarona and Zygarde are the closest things but they're not as pressing and I'm not really sure how I feel about them at this point in time.

Can you tell me 1 underrated mon and 1 overrated in this meta? and if you can, why?
Mega Slowbro is underrated. It offers a lot for teams; with Regenerator it can pivot into things like Protean Greninja and Tapu Lele, while also being used to handle Keldeo and CB Zygarde. While Mega evolved, it is also deceptively strong; it has as much Special Attack as Latios.

Overrated I'd probably say Protean Greninja. I simply don't think it's as good as people say it is. I'd even say I prefer Ash Greninja to it in general, I find it far more threatening in a game.

Which uber would you see yourself and the council possibly dropping down to suspect? If there's any ofc.
There really isn't any to be perfectly honest. Stuff we could look at including things like Deo-D, Darkrai, Lando-I all would be absurd in my opinion.

which suspect result would u overturn if u could choose freely?
ORAS Mega Sableye. Aside from ORAS Mega Metagross, this is the only suspect vote that didn't go the way I voted, and I do somewhat regret my vote for ORAS Mega Metagross, as I feel I pretty much just conformed to what the public thought.

me or cash
defo cash.

have you played fe6 or fe10 yet
no but i want to!

why is bkc so sexy
because he's the best

do u want metagross banned or not banned
I voted to ban it. So yeah, I would like it banned.

What do you consider to be the best tournament game(s) you've played?
SPL7 - Week 9 vs IAmGingy
UUPL4 - Week 4 vs Christo
SmogTour 23 - Week 3, Day 2, Round 4 vs Kirigakure
HPL IX - Week 1 vs Bloo
LTPL I - Week 4 vs Eternal Spirit

What tournament games inspired you in the "damn, that guy is the man, I wanna be that guy" way when you were first starting out? In a similar vein, what are some tournament games of others from recent times that you have enjoyed?
I really am not a big guy on envying others; on top of it I don't really recall specific instances of this, although I know there were some for people like yourself, gr8astard, Bloo, and McMeghan when I was first starting out. I guess game wise the biggest on I remember was WCoP IX, bro fist vs Jirachee.

Do you think Sun and Moon's changes/additions are capable of creating possibly the best/most balanced OU yet once the overpowered threats and cheesy elements are dealt with?
I think an optimal SM metagame could very well be one of the best as of late. It depends on how things go but I think it most definitely has loads of potential, but right now it's hard to say it's better than any of the latest gens.

What are the best strategies for utilizing Nihilego in SM? Obviously a potential Metagross ban helps it a lot but even with it around it's such a cool Pokemon.
I think a lot of people kinda stopped experimenting with Scarf at a certain point, and with good reason because it really doesn't have much utility outside of being a good Volcarona answer (aside from Charti). Specs I feel has a lot of unexplored potential, especially in a metagame lacking Mega Metagross. It's quite powerful, nails resists pretty hard, and can even sweep with some lowered SpA EVs.

Can you give some examples of powerful Trick Room teams and how they generally work in the metagame in regards to general strategy besides "set up TR and hit hard" and matchups? I'm thinking of Crabominable, who was on my ingame team and is very cool.
Examples really range from the standard team found on the ladder (basically the first 6 TR mons you'd think of), the NJNP Araquanid HO, and my Sun Room team. Each play differently to an extent; I don't really have a lot to say in terms of what to do in general outside of those matchups aside from play well. Against some teams you'll have to play aggressively with double switches and be very aware of Trick Room turns, but some games it's pretty straightforward get TR up -> send in breaker and claim a life. I think the biggest thing is, in non autopilot matchups, you're gonna have to basically put the game on the line and make an aggressive play at times and understand it comes down to if you can out predict them.

What are your favorite strategies in DPP, BW and GSC?
BW2: Standard Scarf Garchomp sand and Scarf Keldeo Rain offense are my favorite two strategies. They're the most consistent and give me the most room to outplay my opponent and as such I enjoy using them the most.
DPP: Tyranitar + Jirachi bulky offense. It's the easiest to make and the easiest to use, it's pretty simple and these two find their way onto most of my DPP teams. roscoe used ten Jirachis for a reason!
GSC: Not too experienced but my favorite is the double electric teams; I find both Electrics in this generation to be pretty insane and love using both of them.

What untouched (for you) aspects of the aforementioned three gens are you most interested to explore?
BW I feel I've tried a lot in, and there isn't too much left untouched so to speak, but I feel like, at least in the past, I've underutilized Alakazam. It's an incredible force in the metagame and incredibly difficult to take down, but I don't use it as much as some people.

What tiering changes would you make to ORAS, BW and DPP, if any?
In ORAS I would unban Mega Sableye. I don't think it warranted a ban and, personally, I feel the metagame was more enjoyable before it was banned, but even if it came back that might not change.

BW I think Latios is pretty busted. While I'm not sure if I'd actually want it gone it definitely should be looked into; it has no legitimate counters, everything can lose to it someway, but it usually ends up getting trapped by Tyranitar so it's far from perfect.

DPP I think has a lot of issues, but I don't know if I'd really want to do anything to it. Classic parahax teams featuring Jirachi are pretty insane but there's not a single broken link. Breloom and Infernape are nuts to handle but can easily be taken out with a free switch. I don't think I'd do anything to the tier but it could probably be better if some things were to happen.

I won a game in Smogon Tour because I made my Greninja Modest. This allowed its Choice Specs-boosted Dark Pulse to cleanly 2HKO Amoonguss. How do you feel about this?
[2016-04-12, 8:46:18 PM] TDK: pokemon rewards idiots

Are you excited for roscoe and Jayde to roll up to your club and yell out bad EV spreads, knowing you will not be able to help yourself in correcting them?
can't wait to see the man behind the sceenshot of his computer screen alongside his partner in crime.
 
hi fren, you're doin a great job :)

When will the yellow username make a comeback?

Thoughts on ever uploading again?

Thoughts on Cradily stall?
 

Halcyon.

@Choice Specs
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Do you still play Smash 4? If so who do you main? If not, what made you stop?

Which Mega Stone is currently unreleased that you wish they would release?
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Have you seen Shinsekai Yori and, if yes, what are your thoughts on it?

What was your reason for joining Smogon, and what has encouraged you to stay on the site?

If you had to pick, what three meals would you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (respectively) every day for the rest of your life? Max 1 course for breakfast and lunch, max 3 courses for dinner.

What was your first experience with Pokemon? Did you play it as a kid, or were you a late bloomer like I was?

Did you watch much TV as a kid and, if yes, what was your favorite show?

Do you read much?

What's your favorite animal?

What phone do you use, and what browser do you use on your computer?

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
 
Which Mega Stone you wish never existed?

Which Pokemon you wish got an exclusive Z-Move (like Guardian of Alola)?

How do you think Marshadow will adapt to the SM OU Metagame?
 
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