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Welcome to the Random Battles Community Interview! The goal of this project is to interview well-known members of the Randbats community every month and learn more about them. These members may include players who’ve been successful in tournaments, high-ladderers, format/forum contributors, and more! Check out past interviews here!
Without further ado, let’s move on to the interview itself:
Syrinix
Firstly, thanks for agreeing to do this interview! Let's start off with an interesting question about yourself. What is your favorite video game of all time?
odr
Oh man you're dropping a big one on me right away huh? Pokemon is obviously a big game for me but if i had to pick an all time fav it would be Mario Kart. I think gaming is the most fun when done with friends and I have the most vivid memories of playing Mario Kart with different roommates, friends, and siblings over the years. All my best friends live in different cities so we can sometimes still connect by playing Mario Kart on video call and just having that friendly competition together.
Syrinix
Ahah, that definitely was a hard question to start off with I suppose. Mario Kart is a great choice! Always fun to sit back and play though it can get a little competitive at times... Are you more of a casual Mario Kart player or are you the player that your family and friends find hard to beat?
odr
I'm definitely someone people find hard to beat! Back when the Wii version was the main one I used to play with my brother nearly every day. It was his favorite game too, so we both got pretty good. Although I haven't logged the same amount of hours on the Switch, I can still definitely hold my own and it's always a good race with my friends because they're all the same way.
Syrinix
The Wii version was one of the most fun ones honestly. Speaking of competitive games, Pokemon Showdown coincidentally has a lot of those! When did you first discover the website and how did you get involved in the Random Battles community from there?
odr
I believe I first discovered Showdown around 2013, though I didn't get involved in the forums until 2014. I say involved, but I really just made an account so I could play an NU ladder tournament. I think I lost in the quarterfinals or something and then didn't touch the forums again for a few years. During that time not using forums I would just ladder Randbats in my free time in college and decided I didn't have time to get involved with tournaments. I eventually found myself playing a lot and topping the ladder so I started to get involved with the Randbats community when I signed up for rbtt2 back in 2019.
Syrinix
Topping the Randbats ladder is no easy feat and I'm sure many players remember seeing your name being up there consistently. Do you have any advice on maintaining a high ladder ranking and GXE for players looking to improve their skills?
odr
It really just comes down to experience. If you wanna be good you have to play a lot. As someone who used to be at the top of the current gen ladder all the time, I can tell you that you'll often be facing the same names over and over again and the best players have tons of games logged and have been playing for years. Also, use the damage calculator! I always have the calc open when I'm laddering.
Syrinix
I'm sure that experience helped you out in tournaments such as RBTT! You have two RBTT title wins under your belt. How much stress/pressure (if at all) do you experience playing high-stakes battles in tours such as RBTT and do you have any methods to help you keep calm and collected while you play?
odr
I'd say I'm often able to stay pretty calm for big tournaments, and I'd like to think I win more than I lose, especially in playoffs. I didn't actually check the numbers but I've made it to the playoffs of every RBTT I've participated in so just having that experience, and being in that high-pressure situation so many times now helps me a lot. In recent years I've also become more of a stoner and to be honest I'll often smoke weed before I play in a tournament. I don't know if it's something I'd recommend to everyone, but it does help me to stay calm. I've found myself making some pretty silly mistakes though since doing this, so it's definitely a double-edged sword haha.
Syrinix
I didn't expect you to use that method but I respect it haha. If it works it works! In the latest iteration of RBTT, you surprised a lot of people (including myself) by opting to play Gen 8 Randdubs. You also ended up with the best record out of the other Randdubs players on the tour. Why did you choose to play this format and how much experience did you have in it prior to the tour starting?
odr
I was introduced to doubles at first by playing in tournaments like Smogon Snake Draft and SCL, where I had teammates playing Doubles OU. I was always fascinated watching doubles games and had a lot of respect for doubles players for being able to navigate such a complex battlefield. I started laddering Randdubs near the end of gen 8, and my only regret was that i didn't do it sooner! I realized that dynamax in a doubles setting adds all kinds of layers of new strategies you can pull off, and I quickly fell in love with the format. I had also had some rough seasons playing in the pool of gen 8 singles, where there are many strong players, and so I decided to shake it up and play doubles. I'm really glad i did and I would say this was one of my favorite iterations of RBTT thus far.
Syrinix
Being skilled at doubles is no easy feat and you truly had an impressive run. What would you say is your most memorable/favorite moment in RBTT throughout the years?
odr
I think nothing beats that first RBTT win for me! Being drafted to Team Hoopa for my first RBTT was awesome. I met tons of people and many of them have continued to stick around over the years. It was right around the time I was really getting involved in the Randbats room on Showdown and everything was fresh and new for me. Winning the tournament with a positive record and getting so involved was just a very happy time for me and I'd definitely say it was the most memorable. It's pretty cool that Team Hoopa has continued to be a strong team in this tournament every year and I was really happy to be back on the team again this past year.
Syrinix
Team Hoopa is a staple of RBTT and it was nice to see you playing for them again in RBTT VI. How often do you play Random Battles nowadays and do you have any plans on aiming to top the Gen 9 Random Battles ladder?
odr
I'm kinda in my retirement phase now and so I don't plan on getting too heavily invested into gen 9. I haven't played many singles at all and I just started dabbling into doubles now that it's recently been put out on the ladder. I don't know what half the mons do LOL but tera is cool and fun so I'm sure I'll figure out what I'm doing before too long. I've stopped playing other tournaments on the site and am back to just laddering Randbats in my free time but realistically I'm trying to stop playing the game so much and focus on my real life. I think it's very likely that I'll stick around and keep playing tournaments like RBTT and a handful of others but my community involvement is definitely at an all time low right now and I don't see myself making any serious effort to topping the ladder anytime soon.
Syrinix
That's completely fair! We're always excited to watch you in RBTT and I hope we can for many more iterations of the tour. Before we wrap things up here, what are a few of your favorite Pokemon to roll in Random Battles (any generation)?
odr
I feel like I'm having trouble coming up with stuff here haha! But Latias is something that stands out to me as being really scary and can win games fairly easily. Buzzwole is another one that's terrifying since it can collect attack and speed boosts so easily. You get to see some cool Gmax forms in Randdubs and I really like Kingler and Centiskorch.
Syrinix
Some interesting choices indeed. Latias and Buzzwole are very fun to use with Dynamax. On the flip side, what’s your least favorite aspect of Random Battles (an individual Pokemon’s set, a broader situation you sometimes encounter, an entire format, etc)?
odr
I guess the only thing I really have to complain about is when you roll an unwinnable or very difficult matchup in a tournament setting and there isn't really anything you can do to outmaneuver your opponent without a lot of luck. Those games can be pretty lame, but it is simply a part of the format.
Syrinix
Yeah, some matchups can definitely be annoying but I suppose we can't do much about that. That about wraps up this interview! Thank you so much for your time and well-thought-out responses! We're glad to have you on board this project
odr
It was my pleasure! I have a lot of respect seeing the effort that gets put into projects like this so keep up the great work!
Thanks to odr for the great interview! Feel free to ask them any further questions in this thread and keep an eye out for future interviews!
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