approved by scpinion
based off of other potws
Hello everyone and welcome to the third installment of Monotype's Player of the Week!
This week, I have the Monotype RO, scpinion! Most, if not all, of you probably know him as a good player as well as our RO on PS! Like every other forum that does this, this'll be a weekly thing where I interview well known players to try and see into their mind a bit. If anyone has any suggestions on who I should interview, feel free to shoot me a PM. Anyways, lets get to it!
To start things off, what is your favorite Pokemon?
Well, I really like Slowbro. It is a very versatile 'mon for competitive play, which I think is great. However, the main reason I like it is due to the overall design. I'm probably over analyzing it, but I think Slowbro actually has some depth to its design.
It is meant to be a very 'dense', or unintelligent, Pokemon and is known for its bulk in battle. I view this as a metaphor of many encounters in real life. The people you encounter that you perceive to be 'dense' (to put it nicely) are just as difficult to break or convince of something as Slowbro is to break in a game of Pokemon. Moreover, the unintelligence Slowbro exhibits evolved from a base form that is known for its sloth—another lesson that may be translated into the real world.
How did you come up with your PS! username?
scpinion is just my generic username for all the Internet "stuff" you have to create random accounts for, so when I joined PS! that is what I went with. It is an amalgamation of my uni, initials and name.
How did you first get into Monotype?
I found PS! through Twitch Plays Pokemon and after a month of random battles, I decided to visit some of the chat rooms. Wifi made no sense to me b/c I've never owned a handheld gaming system that connects to the internet. Lobby was...it was just chaos, and I couldn't find any way to get into the chat. Thus, I saw the Monotype room and thought it would be cool to pretend I was a gym leader.
I actually lurked/asked questions on an alt for about a month before gathering the courage to actually talk/contribute in the room on my main account (that is good advice for someone new! just lurk for ~1 week so you don't say something that makes you look silly). In those early days I decided to make Monotype my PS! home because of how friendly the entire room was.
Literally, my first time asking something in the chat I was welcomed by one of the old staff members, MattLikesPie, and my question was politely answered despite being a complete noob question.
Now, as one of the room owners, I try to promote/maintain the welcoming atmosphere that Matt introduced me to. Unfortunately, that has become exceedingly difficult to do by directly talking in chat now that I have a fancy symbol next to my name. However, I work really hard at many of the room events, competitions, and tours because I think those make the general PS! user feel welcome, and important, in the Monotype room.
Fun fact: I actually log in on an alt that no one knows about once every week or two to just talk in chat without having people treat me like one of the auth because I miss being a random person sometimes.
What Pokemon do you use the most?
Recently, Swampert. I've gotten back into playing Water teams and it is a big part of most Water teams I build. Prior to that I really like to run bulky Normal with Mega-Pidgeot.
What are you most known for?
hmm... I don't really know how to answer this because I'm one of the more visible/vocal people that help keep Monotype running. Anything I say I'm specifically known for would be detracting from the team of room staff and council members that make Monotype what it is. I know that answer is a complete copout, but I think I get too much credit for what is very much a group effort. Monotype was awesome before I joined the community and it will be great when I step down from my leadership position. When it is all said and done, I hope I'm remembered as someone who helped move the community forward. :)
Favorite Type?
Water. I've always loved water themed things in most of the games I've played. It helps that Squirtle and Totodile were my starters from the original games and I think Slowbro and Vaporeon are some of the coolest 'mons. Competitively, I enjoy how versatile the type is. I can utilize any playstyle with the Pokemon that I think are cool!
Favorite Playstyle?
Balance/Bulky offense (depend on the type I'm playing). I tend to be a more cautious, cerebral (if I can say that?) player these days, which doesn't always lend itself to a more offensive playstyle. I often chose not to predict my opponent if I don't think it is a risk I have to take. Also, I like to run at least one niche set on all my teams that I build, which helps me gain an advantage when I'm making "obvious" plays. Often, the niche sets are best fit around a balanced build.
That said, if I'm just playing for fun, or looking to counter style my opponent, I've no problems playing more aggressively. Like I said, I often chose not to predict despite knowing the play is there, but I don't have to make that choice! :P
What players do you look up to or are really good friends with?
I don't have one person I really look up to and, unfortunately, I don't think I have any really good friends on PS (kinda comes with the territory of my position :/). However, I do have a number of people across the community whom I respect or consider a good friend:
Death on Wings is probably one of my favorite people in the Mono community. I value his input and opinion on everything that goes on w/ the staff and council. We first started talking over Monotype stats, which something I'm really passionate about to this day. Like me, he also studies physics, which we talk about on occasion. I don't talk with him as much as I used to since I became RO and I definitely miss that.
Barian (formerly PK-Kaiser) is probably one of the people I respect the most in our community. I actually don't respect him for his battling skills, which is probably what most people think about when they see his name. I respect him because I think he wants to see Monotype continue to grow and has been working (with very little recognition) to make that happen for a while. He can come off as rude, which can overshadow what makes him a really cool dude. I encourage people to get to know him before rushing to judgement based on how he used to act in this community. People change.
Others that I think are worth mentioning in this section, but I'm not going to expand upon b/c I realize this is already getting to be too long are Anttya, Stunfisk the Great, Acast, Clearly, All Falls Down, and Laxuy.
If there was anything you could change about Monotype, what would it be?
You mean I can't just mindlessly change policies to be whatever I want already? :P
Serious answer? I'd go back in time and I'd change how the community developed. More specifically, I'd change how the leagues (and all the competitions that come with them) were kept off the main server and out of the main room. Leagues used to facilitate the highest levels of Monotype competition (I think events like MPL are doing that now, but I'm biased :P).
More importantly, that split created a needless rift between the main room staff and the groups of players that really pushed/developed the metagame. Unfortunately, some of that remains today, but I think we've made progress on that front recently.
Moving forward, I'd really like to organize a system where the leagues are able to utilize the resources the main room and Smogon provide to facilitate and develop the competitions that are unique to them.
Any advice for new Monotype players?
Be engaged in the community and have fun! Monotype has become a multifaceted community that all different types of players/people can enjoy.
We have the ladder and standard Mono tours if battling is your thing. With the creation of the subforum, we now have an avenue for fun projects and more discussion on the metagame if you prefer to analyze over battle. We also have all the Mono OMs and other events (like Core Challenges) if you're looking for a change of pace.
Thoughts on this year's MPL? Who is probably going to win? Which players were surprising?
Let's see... I'll go rapid fire with my thoughts:
The level of play/metagame development the Mono Doubles guys have reached in such a short period of time is really surprising to me. It is awesome though!
Do you legitimately find Hoopa-U a threat to the metagame and that it should be banned? Explain.
It is definitely a threat, and you have to prepare for it on every team. I don't think it is broken though. I really agree with Wanka when it comes to explaining why I don't think it should be banned, so I'll just link his post b/c it sums up my thoughts nicely.
That said, I think the pro-ban side has a good argument and I can easily see why someone would vote to ban it. It should be fun suspect test!
Finally, could you post a team with your favorite type and playstyle with a brief explanation on how it works?
Here is a nice balanced psychic team that features some unexpected sets.
The team was built around Sub-CM Latias because I wanted to try it out in the metagame. Given I didn't have Gardevoir or Gallade-Mega to check Dark teams/Bisharp I decided to run a Colbur Berry, specially oriented Victini, and a Hoopa-U set that breaks the standard dark core of Mandi, TTar, M-Sab. Scarf Jirachi helps with Fairies since Latias is just fodder there. Mew and Slowbro are the standard fare for a psychic monotype.
This isn't the type of team I'd bring for a serious tournament because it auto-loses to Volcarona and struggles to beat a well-played Fairy team. However, it does lend itself to my playstyle and is something I've had moderate success with on the ladder (mid-1600s) and in room tours.
Well, that's all for now guys! Thanks again scp and the thread is now open so you can ask your own questions! :)
based off of other potws
Hello everyone and welcome to the third installment of Monotype's Player of the Week!
This week, I have the Monotype RO, scpinion! Most, if not all, of you probably know him as a good player as well as our RO on PS! Like every other forum that does this, this'll be a weekly thing where I interview well known players to try and see into their mind a bit. If anyone has any suggestions on who I should interview, feel free to shoot me a PM. Anyways, lets get to it!
To start things off, what is your favorite Pokemon?
Well, I really like Slowbro. It is a very versatile 'mon for competitive play, which I think is great. However, the main reason I like it is due to the overall design. I'm probably over analyzing it, but I think Slowbro actually has some depth to its design.
It is meant to be a very 'dense', or unintelligent, Pokemon and is known for its bulk in battle. I view this as a metaphor of many encounters in real life. The people you encounter that you perceive to be 'dense' (to put it nicely) are just as difficult to break or convince of something as Slowbro is to break in a game of Pokemon. Moreover, the unintelligence Slowbro exhibits evolved from a base form that is known for its sloth—another lesson that may be translated into the real world.
How did you come up with your PS! username?
scpinion is just my generic username for all the Internet "stuff" you have to create random accounts for, so when I joined PS! that is what I went with. It is an amalgamation of my uni, initials and name.
How did you first get into Monotype?
I found PS! through Twitch Plays Pokemon and after a month of random battles, I decided to visit some of the chat rooms. Wifi made no sense to me b/c I've never owned a handheld gaming system that connects to the internet. Lobby was...it was just chaos, and I couldn't find any way to get into the chat. Thus, I saw the Monotype room and thought it would be cool to pretend I was a gym leader.
I actually lurked/asked questions on an alt for about a month before gathering the courage to actually talk/contribute in the room on my main account (that is good advice for someone new! just lurk for ~1 week so you don't say something that makes you look silly). In those early days I decided to make Monotype my PS! home because of how friendly the entire room was.
Literally, my first time asking something in the chat I was welcomed by one of the old staff members, MattLikesPie, and my question was politely answered despite being a complete noob question.
Now, as one of the room owners, I try to promote/maintain the welcoming atmosphere that Matt introduced me to. Unfortunately, that has become exceedingly difficult to do by directly talking in chat now that I have a fancy symbol next to my name. However, I work really hard at many of the room events, competitions, and tours because I think those make the general PS! user feel welcome, and important, in the Monotype room.
Fun fact: I actually log in on an alt that no one knows about once every week or two to just talk in chat without having people treat me like one of the auth because I miss being a random person sometimes.
What Pokemon do you use the most?
Recently, Swampert. I've gotten back into playing Water teams and it is a big part of most Water teams I build. Prior to that I really like to run bulky Normal with Mega-Pidgeot.
What are you most known for?
hmm... I don't really know how to answer this because I'm one of the more visible/vocal people that help keep Monotype running. Anything I say I'm specifically known for would be detracting from the team of room staff and council members that make Monotype what it is. I know that answer is a complete copout, but I think I get too much credit for what is very much a group effort. Monotype was awesome before I joined the community and it will be great when I step down from my leadership position. When it is all said and done, I hope I'm remembered as someone who helped move the community forward. :)
Favorite Type?
Water. I've always loved water themed things in most of the games I've played. It helps that Squirtle and Totodile were my starters from the original games and I think Slowbro and Vaporeon are some of the coolest 'mons. Competitively, I enjoy how versatile the type is. I can utilize any playstyle with the Pokemon that I think are cool!
Favorite Playstyle?
Balance/Bulky offense (depend on the type I'm playing). I tend to be a more cautious, cerebral (if I can say that?) player these days, which doesn't always lend itself to a more offensive playstyle. I often chose not to predict my opponent if I don't think it is a risk I have to take. Also, I like to run at least one niche set on all my teams that I build, which helps me gain an advantage when I'm making "obvious" plays. Often, the niche sets are best fit around a balanced build.
That said, if I'm just playing for fun, or looking to counter style my opponent, I've no problems playing more aggressively. Like I said, I often chose not to predict despite knowing the play is there, but I don't have to make that choice! :P
What players do you look up to or are really good friends with?
I don't have one person I really look up to and, unfortunately, I don't think I have any really good friends on PS (kinda comes with the territory of my position :/). However, I do have a number of people across the community whom I respect or consider a good friend:
Death on Wings is probably one of my favorite people in the Mono community. I value his input and opinion on everything that goes on w/ the staff and council. We first started talking over Monotype stats, which something I'm really passionate about to this day. Like me, he also studies physics, which we talk about on occasion. I don't talk with him as much as I used to since I became RO and I definitely miss that.
Barian (formerly PK-Kaiser) is probably one of the people I respect the most in our community. I actually don't respect him for his battling skills, which is probably what most people think about when they see his name. I respect him because I think he wants to see Monotype continue to grow and has been working (with very little recognition) to make that happen for a while. He can come off as rude, which can overshadow what makes him a really cool dude. I encourage people to get to know him before rushing to judgement based on how he used to act in this community. People change.
Others that I think are worth mentioning in this section, but I'm not going to expand upon b/c I realize this is already getting to be too long are Anttya, Stunfisk the Great, Acast, Clearly, All Falls Down, and Laxuy.
If there was anything you could change about Monotype, what would it be?
You mean I can't just mindlessly change policies to be whatever I want already? :P
Serious answer? I'd go back in time and I'd change how the community developed. More specifically, I'd change how the leagues (and all the competitions that come with them) were kept off the main server and out of the main room. Leagues used to facilitate the highest levels of Monotype competition (I think events like MPL are doing that now, but I'm biased :P).
More importantly, that split created a needless rift between the main room staff and the groups of players that really pushed/developed the metagame. Unfortunately, some of that remains today, but I think we've made progress on that front recently.
Moving forward, I'd really like to organize a system where the leagues are able to utilize the resources the main room and Smogon provide to facilitate and develop the competitions that are unique to them.
Any advice for new Monotype players?
Be engaged in the community and have fun! Monotype has become a multifaceted community that all different types of players/people can enjoy.
We have the ladder and standard Mono tours if battling is your thing. With the creation of the subforum, we now have an avenue for fun projects and more discussion on the metagame if you prefer to analyze over battle. We also have all the Mono OMs and other events (like Core Challenges) if you're looking for a change of pace.
Thoughts on this year's MPL? Who is probably going to win? Which players were surprising?
Let's see... I'll go rapid fire with my thoughts:
- Week 2 was interesting...
- I'm enjoying how Mono UU is developing—it is a lot of fun to build for and the council are going to work on removing the blatantly broken things this month!
- The ORAS players are really doing a good job representing our metagame
- Some new faces are making a name for themselves. EienSeiryuu jumps to mind.
- It is good to see some old Mono players back in the fray, such as Sae and Animus.
- Mono Dubs is really cool and something I'd like to see more of.
The level of play/metagame development the Mono Doubles guys have reached in such a short period of time is really surprising to me. It is awesome though!
Do you legitimately find Hoopa-U a threat to the metagame and that it should be banned? Explain.
It is definitely a threat, and you have to prepare for it on every team. I don't think it is broken though. I really agree with Wanka when it comes to explaining why I don't think it should be banned, so I'll just link his post b/c it sums up my thoughts nicely.
That said, I think the pro-ban side has a good argument and I can easily see why someone would vote to ban it. It should be fun suspect test!
Finally, could you post a team with your favorite type and playstyle with a brief explanation on how it works?
Here is a nice balanced psychic team that features some unexpected sets.
Latias-Mega @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Dragon Pulse
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Flamethrower
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 144 HP / 252 SpD / 112 Spe
Calm Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
Victini @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blue Flare
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Will-O-Wisp
Hoopa-Unbound @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magician
EVs: 232 Atk / 96 SpA / 180 Spe
Mild Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Drain Punch
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Trick
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Dragon Pulse
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Flamethrower
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 144 HP / 252 SpD / 112 Spe
Calm Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
Victini @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blue Flare
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Will-O-Wisp
Hoopa-Unbound @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magician
EVs: 232 Atk / 96 SpA / 180 Spe
Mild Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Drain Punch
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Trick
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
The team was built around Sub-CM Latias because I wanted to try it out in the metagame. Given I didn't have Gardevoir or Gallade-Mega to check Dark teams/Bisharp I decided to run a Colbur Berry, specially oriented Victini, and a Hoopa-U set that breaks the standard dark core of Mandi, TTar, M-Sab. Scarf Jirachi helps with Fairies since Latias is just fodder there. Mew and Slowbro are the standard fare for a psychic monotype.
This isn't the type of team I'd bring for a serious tournament because it auto-loses to Volcarona and struggles to beat a well-played Fairy team. However, it does lend itself to my playstyle and is something I've had moderate success with on the ladder (mid-1600s) and in room tours.
Well, that's all for now guys! Thanks again scp and the thread is now open so you can ask your own questions! :)
