DPP OU Player Interview:
#2: BKC
Hello BKC, and thank you for accepting this interview! First of all, could you quickly present yourself for (if any) people who don’t know you?
Hi! I'm a 24-year-old Czech-American currently living in Prague. I study psychology. For fun, I like to nerd out over music and movies (and Pokemon, of course). My favorite movie, if it wasn't obvious from my avatar, is Logan.
I've been playing competitive Pokemon since May 2009, which was during the Platinum era. I like all generations, but the fourth is closest to my heart. I started with Wi-Fi battles on YouTube. A year later, I was searching for better competition, so I came to Smogon, which was supposed to have the best. I eventually got into the tournament scene, which is where I made a name for myself.
Initially I wanted to ask you how did you started to play Pokemon competitively, but it looks like you passed me haha. So, you're a "Smogon boomer" now, but can you explain what keeps you on the game for so long?
On one hand, I do really enjoy the game and all its possibilities, which make it almost infinitely interesting. That said, much of my motivation in the past few years has been extrinsic - it's been more about chasing yet another achievement, which is incredibly unhealthy and takes the joy out of what's supposed to be a hobby. I won't delve into the personal reasons that have driven me in that direction, and will just say that it's something I've been wrestling with for a while.
I finally stepped away from playing seriously recently - believe it or not, I'd never really taken a break before - and don't know when/if I'll return. This has allowed me to have fun with the game again, which has been great. I still love building teams, and hanging around on Discord is a blast, especially with these tough times we're all going through, so recently I've been more into managing in team tournaments, which allows me to stay involved with the part of the game I like most without any of the frustration of playing myself.
So, how do you see your future on Pokémon? Are you going to try to manage the next SPL?
Definitely. The SPL trophy has been eluding me since 2012. I've come close(ish) on three occasions, which have consisted of some of my favorite times playing Pokemon, and I'm not ready to give up on that, since I have a newfound enjoyment of managing.
Other than that, I do a lot of stuff on my YouTube channel. It's educational stuff about the old gens, and it's fun to make, which is in line with how I'm approaching the game as a whole right now. It also makes a little bit of money (and I do mean a little bit), which is nice.
I also planned to talk about your channel yeah (which you can find here). You make a lot of battle reviews on it, but is there a battle which especially made an impression on you during this 11 years?
There are many, and I could fill up an entire page with all the great games I've seen over the years, so to keep it brief, I'll mostly focus on those that left a mark on me when I was new.
Earthworm was the first player I looked up to, and nearly every one of his battles I saw inspired me. I could feel just how deeply he understood what was going on from the way he played. His
WCoP tiebreaker against husk was amazing.
I didn't see too much of Gouki in his prime, but his Battle of the Week game against Earthworm, which I recently
recreated on my channel, was another particularly huge one - I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but it is breathtaking and lit a spark in me at a young age.
In a similar vein, this warstory (this is how you know I'm old) of LoveDestiny vs. EW in a simple Salamence suspect ladder game is possibly my favorite battle ever, especially because LD did such an incredible job with his
commentary.
Just so I have some battles that exist in Showdown replay format: I really loved both
SoulWind vs. Sweepage for SPL 7 tiebreak and Jirachee vs. McMeghan for WCoP 2016 qualifiers.
Finally, I am like many others in that the legendary
Marriland vs. Untouchable battle inspired me to play online in the first place.
Some great stuff, I'll watch it! You're probably one of the best builders of all time, but is there a team you're especially proud of?
This is a tough question because I have a lot of teams I hold dear, but if I had to pick just one, it has to be the Protect stall (which I affectionately refer to as I Crawled) that has become the standard stall team in the past few years and shaped a lot of the metagame development we've had since then. That said, I'm also really partial to my SubRoost Aerodactyl stall and my bulky SD Scizor offense. Both are old as hell, but I remember them (and so many others) fondly.
Speaking of the community, is there some players you admire in the community, or some you can consider like your best friends on this game?
I'm lucky to be friends with a lot of great players, but I won't single them out here. I admire players who are humble despite all their success - the best examples are Astamatitos and Philip7086, who are among the best of all time in their respective metagames but are never arrogant. Of course, I also look up to the many modern players who are among the best of all time - SoulWind, Ojama, McMeghan, ABR, Tamahome and Ciele. In the past, for DPP specifically (besides the obvious Earthworm and Gouki), I learned so, so much from the exploits of older legends - husk, imperfectluck, reyscarface, Loki, Atticus and 6A9 Ace Matador come to mind.
You recently left the DPP Council, but how do you feel about the current metagame? (and especially Clefable haha)
I think the current metagame is great. I would either keep everything as is or get rid of Dugtrio, I'm fine with either option. What I would not be fine with is getting rid of Clefable. Before it rose in usage, there were many complaints about how hazard-centric the tier was. I didn't have a problem with that metagame, but I don't think getting rid of one of the few good options of dealing with (Toxic) Spikes abuse (which is already quite powerful even with Clef around) is a good idea. It's not a matter of "broken checking broken" either, because I don't find (T)Spikes abuse to be broken, and Clef certainly isn't - it's "merely" very good. As for other controversial matters, I would not get rid of Jirachi, either - dumb as it can be, I think being able to handle something as unforgiving as it can be, akin to ADV's DD Tyranitar/Aerodactyl, is a good thing for both teambuilding and playing. Finally, I think Latias' return to the tier has been terrific.
I see yeah. Even if it looks impossible to set up, do you think ban Iron Head could create a more competitive metagame, even with the bans it would generate?
I actually had what I thought was a pretty good idea recently - Iron Head being banned on Leftovers Jirachi. Obviously it'd never be approved for policy reasons, but it'd fix what I view as the problem, which is Rachi being even more difficult to take out - you can hit it for a lot of damage, but bulky sets can just flinch their way back to high HP. Scarf and mixed (without Lefties) sets are infinitely easier to handle. I doubt Iron Head on Jirachi or Iron Head as a whole would be on the table either, but I'd be fine with either of those - regarding the latter, nothing else uses Iron Head (haven't seen a lead Metagross using it over Meteor Mash or Scarf Scizor using it over Bullet Punch in a decade), so it'd be fine. Of course, I'm also completely fine with Jirachi being left alone entirely.
Looks really smart to me, but yeah, Smogon policy definitely makes it impossible. A more casual one, what's your favorite Pokemon?
Salamence. The first time I faced Drake in Pokemon Sapphire, I barely managed to take down his first four, then he sent out this monstrous beast of a dragon and I instantly knew I had to have one. It eventually became my first level 100, with a moveset of Fly, Dragon Claw, Fire Blast and Flamethrower.
I'm also partial to Espeon and Umbreon because I love Pokemon Colosseum, and like any normal child, I loved Charizard, although he's been a little ruined for me by Nintendo/Game Freak/whoever constantly, endlessly shoving him in the spotlight for the past seven years.
(
Artist)
"The first time I faced Drake in Pokemon Sapphire" ... Omega Boomer. You talked about music and movies, but do you have other hobbies?
It blows my mind that there are people
sorry, children out there who have played Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but not the originals. I'm not old, everyone else is just too young!
Like everyone, I like to hang out with my friends. I'm lucky enough to live with my girlfriend, which forces me to be an adult sometimes (gross) but is mostly a lot of fun. We binge through a lot of shows together (like the best sitcom ever, 30 Rock). I also try to stay in good shape to offset the amount of time I spend on my ass. There's a basketball court near my apartment, which has made this pretty easy. Finally, I like to read and write, although I don't do either nearly as much as I should. That said, I'm working on a Pokemon movie with some other talented people right now. It's a slow process, but I have faith that the end result will be something anyone with even a passing interest in our beloved franchise will want to watch.
Looks really cool, I look forward to seeing the results! If you had to give 3 tips to the "basic smogon Player" (without real perfs I mean) to improve, what would you say?
1. Study the most successful players' replays and try to understand why they are successful (their teams, their plays). You can potentially even send them a PM asking them to clarify. That said, if you are going to do this, be polite - nobody likes it when somebody they've never spoken to demands a team from them.
2. Play a lot - ladder, official and unofficial tournaments - and try to adapt what those top players do into your own game. Trial and error, both with playing and with trying to build your own teams (which I recommend after you've gotten acquainted with a metagame).
3. Use the timer and use the damage calc. I can't stress enough how important this is. You don't get extra points for clicking fast.
Bonus: Don't be an asshole. It does not make you cool.
The bonus is probably the most important point haha. What's your best experience on Pokemon during these 11 years?
There have been so many, usually relating to team tours, but if I had to choose just one, SPL 8 with the Raiders (still the best team of all time). Despite having the season ruined by the biggest asshole in Smogon history, Mazar, up until that point it was an absolutely ridiculous amount of fun. Everyone on the team got along, and we were winning, which gave us a lot of time to mess with each other. One night, a certain comment from Jayde regarding reyscarface, KratosMana and the expression "im gay" made me laugh so hard tears came to my eyes. Funny moments happen all the time, but I don't think that one in particular has been topped.
I also have to mention VGC 2014 and 15; I didn't play, but went just to hang out, and it was a great time. Nothing like hearing a crowd go nuts after someone got a crit or won with Pachirisu. I was planning on going again this year until Covid ruined everything. I've also been lucky enough to meet a ton of Pokemon people irl. It's just so much more enjoyable to discuss the merits of the best Infernape set that way. Of course, just taking it easy with your pals on Discord (or IRC, if you're old like me) is irreplaceable.
That was the last one, thank you so much giving me some of your time! If you want to add anything, feel free!
I'd like to give mention to all the great people keeping DPP alive; you guys rock. Also, subscribe to my
YouTube channel if you like old gens even a little bit. Finally, stay safe during Covid; 30 Rock is just waiting to be binged, and there's never been a better time to start than now.