GOAO
Banned deucer.
Favorite Pokémon: Darkrai
Most used LC Pokémon: Cottonee
Most known for: 34k on LCPL, currently 3-1 in SPL and awesome builder.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a college student studying chemical engineering and originally from everybody's favorite state, New Jersey! Outside of schoolwork, I spend a lot of time watching movies, listening to music, and playing soccer. Other than that, I guess I'm a pretty normal guy doing normal guy things.
How and when did you get your start in LC? Do you remember your first team?
I'm a college student studying chemical engineering and originally from everybody's favorite state, New Jersey! Outside of schoolwork, I spend a lot of time watching movies, listening to music, and playing soccer. Other than that, I guess I'm a pretty normal guy doing normal guy things.
How and when did you get your start in LC? Do you remember your first team?
I started playing LC way back in the early days of Pokemon Showdown. At the time, they held ladder challenges in different tiers and if you met the requirements, you would get global voice. I missed the weeks for all the tiers but LC, which was the last tier on the list. I picked up the metagame in order to get voice and, lo and behold, actually enjoyed playing it. For the rest of BW2, I was an LC ladder hero, competing with Kingmidas / Axisotaku for the top spot. I got a lot better at pokemon in general by doing this.
My first team was Evio Mienfoo / Curse+RestTalk Lickitung / Evio Larvesta / Sash Abra / Scarf Cyndaquil / RestTalk Duskull. In hindsight, it was really bad, but it served its purpose of getting me into the meta.
What is your favorite aspect of LC?
My first team was Evio Mienfoo / Curse+RestTalk Lickitung / Evio Larvesta / Sash Abra / Scarf Cyndaquil / RestTalk Duskull. In hindsight, it was really bad, but it served its purpose of getting me into the meta.
What is your favorite aspect of LC?
At the moment, I really like the diversity within the metagame. There are so many viable pokemon and different team structures. You can build around anything, even C-D ranked mons, and still have a team that can win vs most playstyles (see Mambo for lessons).
As for the tier itself, I like that items add another layer of depth that can't be found in higher tiers. Keeping certain mons from being knocked off takes a lot of strategy and skill. Item choice completely changes how certain pokemon play during a match (Evio RestTalk Chinchou vs BJ Chou vs Scarf Chou). It's something truly unique.
Is there any mon, playstyle, etc that you feel is underrated in LC?
As for the tier itself, I like that items add another layer of depth that can't be found in higher tiers. Keeping certain mons from being knocked off takes a lot of strategy and skill. Item choice completely changes how certain pokemon play during a match (Evio RestTalk Chinchou vs BJ Chou vs Scarf Chou). It's something truly unique.
Is there any mon, playstyle, etc that you feel is underrated in LC?
Shellder for sure. It's one of the most potent sweepers in the tier and isn't stopped by most conventional shell smash checks, like fighting-type priority, Cottonee, and Sash Abra.
Anything you find overrated?
Anything you find overrated?
Personally, I think Pawniard is overrated, but I think I'm in the minority here. By no means is it a bad mon, but it can struggle to break past common checks like Mienfoo, Timburr, and Ponyta and doesn't provide enough defensive utility for my tastes. I can go more in-depth at request but I think this will suffice for now.
If you could change something about the current metagame, what would you change?
If you could change something about the current metagame, what would you change?
I'd ban Diglett. It puts a lot of strain of teambuilding, more so than any other mon in LC. Not being able to rely on anything weak to ground as a sole check to a pokemon is more than annoying. In a competitive tour setting, it's niche moves come out and you have to watch for stuff like LO Sludge Bomb for Cottonee. Beyond that, it's insanely fast and relatively strong, so it can clean lategame and trap most weakened mons (60% Mienfoo / Snubbull, etc.). The meta would be healthier without it.
What players do you look up to / are good friends with?
What players do you look up to / are good friends with?
I could list a lot of people here (mad0ka, tahu, levi, etc.) but I'll just say ThatCrazyRussian and keep it short because we've been friends since before either of us were on smogon; he even got me to make a smogon account in the first place.
Whats your favorite tournament, Official or Unofficial, that you’ve participated in?
Whats your favorite tournament, Official or Unofficial, that you’ve participated in?
SPL's been pretty fun so far but I've got to give it to my first LCPL. I was really motivated and our team dynamic was really nice.
What's your favorite playstyle and why?
What's your favorite playstyle and why?
I prefer teams that aren't passive and have some semblance of a defensive structure. Naturally, I guess I lean towards bulky offense and balance in general but I've dabbled in just about every playstyle extensively since XY. If I'm playing with a fat stall-ish team, expect spikes+spinblocker to make up for the do-nothing nature of the team. If I'm playing with a hyper-offensive team, expect it not to autolose to anything while still maintaining high pressure.
How do you go about preparing for tournament matches? Does the process differ depending on the tournament?
How do you go about preparing for tournament matches? Does the process differ depending on the tournament?
For SPL, late rounds of the LC Open, and other serious tours, I scout my opponents and look for trends in their teambuilding. I try to find pokemon / cores that look troublesome for their usual playstyle and build something solid around that. For example, in my week 4 SPL match vs OP, I built around Scraggy+Goth because he hasn't used Fletchling once in the past 2 months and relies heavily on Foongus to check fighting types. On the flipside, I also analyze my own teams in the same way, looking for weaknesses / trends in my own teambuilding to make sure they aren't exploited.
For subforum and other less serious tours, I just try to bring a solid team and play well.
Is there any advice that you'd like to pass on to new LCers?
For subforum and other less serious tours, I just try to bring a solid team and play well.
Is there any advice that you'd like to pass on to new LCers?
1st: Play and teambuild a lot. It's how you learn what works and what doesn't and what's good and what isn't.
2nd: Don't be afraid to ask good players for matches or teambuilding help. Most of us are pretty nice people and don't mind too much if you're polite.
3rd: Don't be a jerk. Nothing sucks more than having to shake a bad reputation later on.
Lastly, do you have a team you'd like to share with us?
2nd: Don't be afraid to ask good players for matches or teambuilding help. Most of us are pretty nice people and don't mind too much if you're polite.
3rd: Don't be a jerk. Nothing sucks more than having to shake a bad reputation later on.
Lastly, do you have a team you'd like to share with us?
Here's my week 3 spl team which features the standard core of Shellder+Diglett:
endgame (Shellder) @ Eviolite
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 116 Def / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard
- Shell Smash
graceless (Magnemite) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Analytic
Level: 5
EVs: 240 SpA / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ground]
runaway (Foongus) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 160 Def / 160 SpD
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Spore
uprising (Timburr) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 156 Def / 236 SpD
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up
young blood (Diglett) @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Memento
royals (Vullaby) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Roost
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 116 Def / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard
- Shell Smash
graceless (Magnemite) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Analytic
Level: 5
EVs: 240 SpA / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ground]
runaway (Foongus) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 160 Def / 160 SpD
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Spore
uprising (Timburr) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 156 Def / 236 SpD
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up
young blood (Diglett) @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Memento
royals (Vullaby) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Roost
I started with Shellder because, as stated earlier, I think it's really potent in this metagame. I added Diglett next because it can effectively trap nearly every Shellder check (Magnemite, Chinchou, Pawniard). From here, I added Vullaby to cover the shared grass weakness and provide a U-Turn lure to help get Diglett in safely vs steels. At this point, I still needed a fighting resist, pawn check, and shell smash check, so I added Foongus+Timburr. I filled 5/6 team slots and had no flying resist, so a hard-to-trap bird check was needed. I went with Scarf Magnemite because it pairs well with Diglett and really helps against Abra and Gastly, which could be problematic. After some testing, Diglett was switched to Eviolite because it allows it to trap Magnemite and Pawniard much more easily.
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