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Tarrembeau and Syrinix
Without further ado, let’s get right into the interview!
Syrinix
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview! Let's kick things off with a simple question about yourself: what is your favorite food/drink?
pokeblade101
Oh so that's how we are starting it. I'm not some fancy person but I wouldn't say I have a specific favorite food. I enjoy pastries a lot though and my favorite drink is most likely just water.
Syrinix
Water gang
. Do you like to drink or snack on anything while you battle on Pokemon Showdown?
pokeblade101
I don't normally play Showdown while drinking or eating. The most I would do is chat. I have had a bad experience eating while playing a tournament game and that did not end well so I would not try that again.
Syrinix
Ah that's unfortunate. Personally, I like to sip on a glass of water while playing but everyone has their preferences! Now onto the more interesting questions... I've noticed that you're one of the oldest staff members of the Random Battles room. When and how did you get involved with the room and the community as a whole? Were you around during the days when the room was private?
pokeblade101
Well I started out playing tiers and hanging out in the Tournaments room around 2014-2015. Teambuilding was quite difficult to do when you're so young, so a lot of my teams were just sample teams to play in the tours created there. My highlight of being in that room was winning the second BLT held. After bouncing around in tiers and getting frustrated on the Ubers ladder at the time, I decided to screw it and try my hand at the Random Battles ladder, as it did not require a team. I struggled a lot at first, having a bad win/loss ratio and finding it hard to even get into the top 100. After a lot of struggle, though, I finally achieved rank 1 and it felt so good, but it was not going to end there. Getting better and better and achieving rank 1 more often made me more consistent. At one point, it even made people think I was boosting my account to achieve these goals. Because of this, someone had invited me to come to the Randbats room when it was private, I do not remember who. All the staff and regulars were pretty delighted to see me there and strongly encouraged me to sign up for RBTT1. To no surprise, I was the first ever drafted for that tournament. When the room became public, I had a newfound motivation to get staff there as I was actually knowledgeable at Random Battles and so this was the beginning of my journey in the Random Battles community.
Syrinix
That is a very interesting introduction to your story! Achieving the top rank on the Rands ladder definitely didn't end back then, since you've been topping the current-gen ladder throughout the past few years. I'm sure this is a question many people are wondering, including myself: how do you reach and maintain a high rank on the ladder? Do you have any strategies or rituals you perform for good luck? Reveal your secrets.
pokeblade101
Haha you know whenever someone asks me this type of question, I never know how to respond to it. If I had to say something though, there really isn't some secret to this sort of stuff. You just have to be willing to learn and cut out bad habits. Learn the sets and learn how to use your team to its fullest potential. A lot of what I have over regulars though is having stronger knowledge of how set generation works, so I can make valid assessments based on what was revealed by the opponent. To add to this, you can actually gain knowledge from how the opponent reacts to certain Pokemon. Are they being desperate in taking out this certain Pokemon? Why are they going into non-answers each time you send this Pokemon out? That sort of stuff. There are many micro improvements any person can do to make them a lot more consistent on the ladder that they are not aware of. I would say this is what sets me apart from the lower sections of the ladder. Who knows though, maybe I can create a guide later for the community.
Syrinix
A guide written by you would certainly be great ahah. You've listed many helpful tips and I'm sure anyone hoping to top a ladder would make good use of them! Randbats formats are vastly different across the gens, but I think these tips would be beneficial no matter the format you play. Something many players experience is tilting on the ladder, which prevents them from climbing too high. How do you deal with this when you find yourself in this position?
pokeblade101
It's funny you ask that because I am very prone to tilt myself, even though I know very well how to deal with it. Patience is key here. If you find yourself mad that you lost to hax or matchup, stop playing. If you realize you're not even taking the time to think about your moves, stop playing. It is best to ladder in short bursts instead of long ladder sessions which are more prone to tilting. Someone with a small number of games can achieve the same feat as someone with a lot of games if you just play short sessions.
Syrinix
We’re all human after all, even the best ladder players! I think the way you deal with tilting on the ladder is great and is important to consider for anyone aiming to top any ladder on Showdown. It's no question that you play a lot of Rands, but what is your favorite format and why do you enjoy playing it?
pokeblade101
I think I am largely affected by recency bias but my favorite format is either Gen 8 or Gen 9 Random Battle. Gen 8 Randbats might nudge out Gen 9 Randbats just because Gen 8 Randbats is a highly balanced format by Randbats standards, and Dynamax, despite the reputation it has, is a perfect mechanic for the format. It allows expression of skill and thinking that many may not want to do, and no other format is like this. Terastalliation in Gen 9 Randbats is a very fun mechanic to play around with, but I am still waiting a little more in the balance department because the format has potential.
Syrinix
I wholeheartedly agree with this. Gen 8 Rands is also my favorite format and I’m sure Gen 9 Randbats will shine as it matures over time! What is your favorite Pokemon to roll in any Rands format?
pokeblade101
Oh that's a tough one. I would have to say Bellibolt with Electromorphosis in Gen 9 Rands. It is so randomly strong as it takes 50% off your HP just from touching it and it is bulky to boot. However, I absolutely hate facing this thing. Close second is Regieleki in Gen 8 Randbats.
Syrinix
Bellibolt is SUPER annoying to face, I can never KO it :(. An interesting choice nonetheless. On the other hand, what is your least favorite aspect about Random Battles, whether it be a specific Pokemon, format, etc.?
pokeblade101
Hmm my least favorite aspect about Random Battles is actually what makes it unique: the team generation. Over the years the team generation has become better and better but there is still nothing stopping one Pokemon from sometimes destroying your entire team. You can get 3 Pokemon weak to Ice and 3 weak to Dark and they pull out a Chien-Pao and there is almost nothing you can do. It's sometimes annoying especially with how bad it can be in past generations, but it is something we have come to accept.
Syrinix
Yeah, terrible matchups definitely aren't fun to deal with at all. It does however feel nice to pull off a win despite the odds being stacked against you! Before we wrap things up here, which event hosted by the community is your favorite to partake in?
pokeblade101
No doubt it is the Random Battle Team Tournament. It is the time when everyone in the community comes out of their hibernation to have the best players fight against each other. Honorable mention is Rands Slam. It is relatively new but what it has over RBTT is that it allows anyone to shine in several formats and the bragging rights you can get from winning is a pretty nice feeling.
Syrinix
RBTT season is a magical time for the community! Do you have any advice for players looking to get drafted for future iterations of the tour?
pokeblade101
Of course! Two of the best ways to get drafted is to either have good ladder rankings or do consistently well in tours created in the Random Battles Room, whether it is smogon tours or room tours.
Syrinix
Those are some very straightforward ways to get noticed by RBTT managers! Well that's about it for this interview. Thanks again for your time and well-thought-out answers! We appreciate it.
pokeblade101
Glad to be here.
and scene.
Thanks to pokeblade101 for the wonderful interview! Feel free to ask any further questions for them in this thread, and make sure to keep an eye out for future interviews!
