Interview with Fuzznip

Interview by bland . Flavor by Lady Salamence. Art by elcheeso and tcrfelton.

As I step off the plane and look around, I find myself wondering how in the world the interview organizers managed to fly both my and my interviewee out to some island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I look at my papers. Supposedly, it's some island called Japan. I look around for my interviewee, and spot him after a couple of minutes. After walking to a coffee shop, he implies he's ready, and I start the interview.

Hello, Fuzznip! Congrats on reaching the Grand Slam Finals, and winning the UU Open!

Thank you :)

What has been your highlight of the Grand Slam this season?

It was definitely winning the UU Open. I had absolutely no idea I was capable of such a thing, and it was definitely my first accomplishment in any of Smogon's official tournaments thus far. It was fun being the underdog throughout this season and being predicted against, only to the shock of some people.

Haha, I'd have thought so! I want to pry into that particular tour finals, but I've been told not to.

Don't listen to them!

If you don't mind opening up, we can certainly pry a little!

Fuzznip's mouth is drawn into a large smile, clearly still happy about his win in the UU Open.

Your choice!

You know I'm the daring type, right?

You're as bland as they come, bud.

And you have fuzzy nips.

We both laugh for a bit, and I take his eyes staring into the distance as a quick chance to check my notes and prepare for the real questions.

We'll take a poke under that rock I think. A lot of people think that the UU Open final was a poor excuse for a match. As a player actually playing in it—how do you feel it went?

So I heard. To be honest, it definitely could've went better. In our first match, both of our teams were based off of spreading paralysis and taking advantage of it, so it ended up turning into an utter hax-fest on both sides. I was on the losing end since my team was pretty Heracross weak, but I managed to prevent myself from being swept by it (I guess DestinyUnknown choked) and ended up with a win. The second match was fine for the most part, except the fact that he disconnected late-game and didn't come back.

Did you ever have a game plan to get into the finals, or did it just happen?

Well, I didn't really have any game plan. It was my first time playing in Grand Slam. I just went with the flow and it kinda just happened that I'd do well in the Opens and end up being in the finals. If I had any game plan, it was probably that I'd use my own teams and not someone else's.

Did you discover anything about a tier you didn't play before?

Well, I played all of the tiers bar Ubers before Grand Slam even started, before I even knew about it. But if I was going to say anything about a tier, it's that Jynx and Victini need to be banished from their respective tiers.

Why?

Well, for Jynx, it's simply one of the best, if not the best, sweepers in NU. Between its high Special Attack and Speed, Dry Skin, and powerful coverage moves, nothing is really a safe switch-in. Even the Pokemon that fare well against it, such as Metang and Gyro Ball Wartortle, can be neutered with Lovely Kiss. It's just a very defining Pokemon and basically forces the tier to be built around it.

Fuzznip pauses to recite a quick rap on the evils of Jynx, and then continues.

Victini is pretty much in the same boat. It's an extremely versatile Pokemon and an absolute monster with its signature move, V-Create. It can easily be customized to deal with its typical checks and counters, such as Rhyperior. The power of a Choice Band-boosted V-Create is mindblowing as well.

I'll have to take your word about Victini! Is there any particular Grand Slam Open you really enjoyed playing in? Which was your least favorite?

Hmm... There wasn't really any particular Open I enjoyed playing in. All of them were equally exciting and fun for me. Except one—Ubers.

Fuzznip shivers slightly, then continues.

I haven't stepped foot into it prior to grand slam. Making teams for it and learning the metagame was painful. It's a very different metagame, one that I'm just not used to or thoroughly enjoy.

Surely you must've retained something from playing and/or participating in CAP?

I'm not really sure if what I gained out of the CAP Project helped me in anything specifically. It was nice learning about the metagame and its ins and outs, but that was not in Gen 5, a very different metagame than what Gen 4 was.

Gen 4 was indeed a long time ago.

Fuzznip sits there for a bit, enjoying the nostalgia of his old Gen 4 days, and then signals to continue.

Who was your nemesis throughout the slam? That one name you never wanted to see your name paired against in each new thread?

The one and only Bloo. I wanted to save him for the finals—the final finals.

Aha, of course. Which tiers do you see yourself beating him in?

If I was against him in the finals, I would probably think I'd overcome him in LC/NU/RU with some newly made teams. He'd crush me in Ubers of course, and he's a menace in UU as well.

You'll have to organize a series of battles to test if your predictions are true!

Haha, indeed!

We'll wrap things up—is there anyone you'd like to thank?

Of course! well I'd like to thank Plus first and foremost for his support and helping me make some sick teams and my buddies tab and Bloo for believing in me.

Any advice you want to confer onto any future users who have their sights on getting into the finals next year? Will you be making another attempt at obtaining the Trophy?

If you have the willpower and determination, you will be surprised at what you're capable of doing. I will absolutely be making another attempt at that trophy!

I wish you the best of luck next year!

Thank you so much! I look forward to being interviewed again as the winner of Grand Slam 2014 :D

I look forward to doing it!

We both get up, pay for the seven cups of coffee and three donuts—on The Competitor's credit card of course—and step out. I head towards the airport as Fuzznip walks towards what seems to be a dojo. I assume he is training for the Grand Slam battles, and laugh under my breath as I step into the airport.