Project PU Player of the Week - HJAD (Week 3)

TJ

Banned deucer.
is the Smogon Tour Season 34 Championis a Past SPL Championis a Two-Time Past SCL Champion

Favorite Pokemon: Spritomb
Most used Pokemon: Ferroseed
Most known for: Council, Douche, Ex NU player, Driver, Bad ladder sets connoisseur
TJ: Hi HJAD how are you tonight?
HJAD: Not too bad. Just been relaxing and playing some CoD with some mates, having a good time. Yourself?
TJ: Cool. Im doing well thanks for asking [:

TJ: Could you tell us more about yourself outside of Smogon? What are your hobbies and things you enjoy?
HJAD: Im an 18 year old student from the United Kingdom. I'm currently studying Business Mathematics & Statistics, and am an avid gamer, footballer and F1 fan. Im also a huge traveller, whether that be an adventure abroad or somewhere close by I find going places I've never been quite fascinating.

TJ: Where did you get your name from?
HJAD: So I get asked this question a lot, and a lot of the time I get the "Did you just smash your head into your keyboard and come up with that name?" And to tell you the truth its not far off. I had spent a good portion of my early playing "career" on Pokemon Showdown playing under several alts like shucklestime69 and warboss32 without ever registering since I never thought anyone would remember me anyway, so there was no point. When it came down where I was playing this game on a semi-consistent basis I decided to register a username on both PS and Smogon Forums. When it came down to typing it I decided that, to be edgy of course, I would close my eyes, turn caps lock on and type randomly. So yeah it has no warstory and isn't an abbreviation for anything (unfortunately).

TJ: How and when did you get into competitive battling?
HJAD: I think it was the summer of 2013 when I was getting spanked by a few friends, and then I decided enough was enough, I had to improve my epik mono-water team that I had so carefully raised to lvl 57 each. I knew the game pretty well mechanically at this stage but I thought, hey, every game has a competitive scene, lets see if I can find some competitive movesets for my Pokemon. So I searched up competitive pokemon and obviously found Smogon and from that I also found PS which I also found super cool. With the help of Smogon sets, my epik mono-water team did triumph over all of my friends, and soon did the rest of anything I ever built. With that, my friends became less of a challenge so I decided to go to PS for the first time to test this crazy new Shuckle set I found online. I remember it being Rest Sleeptalk Shell Smash Toxic with Contrary, which, to my naive mind sounded totally amazing and would be impossible to kill. Soon after playing a lot and talking to all the people in the Strategys room on PS (rip), I began to take a particular fondness for both BW NU and OU, with the later dieing out because I could never win consistently. And with that, HJAD was born (unfortunately).

TJ: Can you name any up and coming players showing good potential?
HJAD: Taskr and LordST are the big "up and coming" PU players because of both of their strong showings in PU vs tour players in PUPL. I trust either of them to hold the PU flag high when they begin to settle in to the tour community and beyond. As far as lesser known players, I was extremely impressed with Mysterious M during trials before PUPL and throughout, I hope he can make some waves in the upcoming PU seasonals. I also think jklioe who has been an exemplary PU presence up until this point and of course GenZeon who made it to finals of PU Unopen also have great potential to do well, I will be watching them closely in the upcoming seasonal to see how they perform.

TJ: Who do you look up to / admire most as a player and as a person in the PU scene?
HJAD: I'd have to say user galbia because of how he conducts himself in front of people and his general aura. Hes been around for a long time and it definately comes off whenever he talks, hes a classy guy. I obviously respect Teddeh immensely, he will remain as one of the only people who will speak their mind and nothing but that. Hes a fantastic player and I hope he can recapture his old, literally unbeatable form. I also admire Haund because hes always in a jovial mood which is really nice and fun whenever your on PS / Discord / Smogon, I generally don't like it when people are downers. Hes a funny guy and I can appreciate that massively.

TJ: How does it feel being on the PU council?
HJAD:
There isn't really a feeling associated with being on council apart from relief that you've been recognised enough by the powers that be to give you a role where you can take action if you don't like something about the tier. I feel like its an important role because of the impact of a decision made by the PU tier leader(s) and the Council can change the metagame immensely with a simple change. I was desperate to be involved in this process having sat on the sides in NU and not really being able to voice my opinion properly and to have it considered.

TJ: What are your thoughts on the Pokemon that will have access to Defog in USM PU?
HJAD: Altaria will be a very interesting Defogger considering how much role compression you can fit with it. Hopefully it can make maintaining hazards control much more viable on Balance archetypes in particular thanks to its overall bulk and ability to compress a ton of roles into 1 Pokemon, big hopes for this one. The Oricorios will be interesting defoggers however I don't see any of them running Defog, they all generally prefer offensive sets compared to defensive ones apart from Pompom, so I wonder how that one will perform. It will also be interesting to see how Pa'u will perform, since Defog gives it a niche different from all the other psychics in the tier. Don't expect too much from Drampa or Combusken since Drampa suffers from 4MSS on non choice sets, and Combusken doesn't really want defog. You want Hazards up, but it could be a cool tech on balance teams if you might need hazards gone in a pinch. Rotoms will be interesting, Fan in particular can wisp rockers that try to set them up, so I expect that to be good. I expect fridge to sorta fall off even with Defog because it doesnt really gain much utility from going defensive, fan just does it better. Murkrow gets prankster defog but that gets completely blocked by any dark types so I expect this one to remain a meme.

TJ: Since you're pretty comfortable in the PU community, what advice would you give to someone new in the PU community?
HJAD: If you are someone new and want to get into PU, I always suggest going onto ladder and finding your comfort zone in terms of teams. I'd start out with the samples or teambuilding lab teams, or any dumps from PUPL and after you feel settled. I'd try and build on your own and see what success you can get out of it. How I started playing PU was like this and eventually I managed to develop a unique style which allowed me to win games consistently (some vs good players). You can also sign up for PU tours like seasonal, if you make a good run in a seasonal, thats a surefire way to get recognised and validate any opinions you have.

TJ: Lastly, could you share one of your favorite PU teams and explain it?
HJAD:

Servine @ Eviolite
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Mirror Coat
- Synthesis

Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Gyro Ball

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin

Dugtrio-Alola @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Tangling Hair
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
- Toxic

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt


This is one of my favourite PU teams currently and it revolves around SpDef Mirror Coat Servine with FerroSpikes Hazards Core. The idea is to bait in or lure anything used to break Balance with Servine and Mirror Coat them so that Ferroseed is essentially unpressured and can be the annoying son of a bitch it is, and get up seeds / full hazards. Servines bulk is amazing in the fact it can live Specs Pyroar Fire Blast 93.7% of the time from full as well as other cool hits like Supersonic Skystrike from Swanna or Specs Fire Blast from Drampa and the list goes on forever, honestly. Its a good example how I like to make my Balance types with a certain flare so that these types of Pokemon which usually have an excellent matchup can be traded in my favour often by the end of turn 1.

Thanks for your time! As always, if you guys have any questions feel free to ask them!:toast:
 
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Aaronboyer

Something Worth Fighting For
is a Contributor to Smogon
What was your favorite NU meta (doesn't have to be SM)?
Favorite letter of the alphabet?
Favorite flavor of ice-cream?
Do you think Pluto should be relabeled as a planet?
Which is phrase is worse? Ah oober skitteh, disconut putl, or bati boosh ka?
Favorite Pixar movie?
Have you ever traveled outside of Europe to another continent? If so which? If not which one would you like to visit the most?
Favorite Taylor Swift song?
Favorite Puzzle Video Game?
Favorite Pokemon Champion Cynthia possesses besides Spiritomb?
Favorite Other Meta to play?
Which would you prefer? Being told the truth or being told what you want to hear?
 
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Favourite AV user?
If u were stuck on a desert island and could choose 1 pokemon to help u escape, what would it be? and why?
also, 1v1 me on cod fam
s/o dibs
-sandslash
-alakazam, so i dont need to think about it
-yes
s.o dibs
How high would your squeal be if Spiritomb dropped back to PU?
screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Favorite anime?
How come Britain always loses when it gets in a war with the US?
Favorite current F1 driver and favorite driver of all time?
Favorite Italian?
Favorite American?
Why do you play uncultured games like COD?
-Not really a fan of anime, but I did like watching Deathnote, so that would probs be my favourite
-Not too sure, maybe our 18th century tactics weren't "smesh" enough
-Currently I'd have to rep my boy Lewis Hamilton being a Brit ofc. All-time would be between Senna and M. Schumacher, but leaning towards Schumacher since I was actually alive when he was racing and made up a large portion of my childhood.
-Haund is the only Italian that would come on at 4am to play monotype randbats bo5 or bo7 with me, so defo him
-TONE because he helps me a lot with my maths exercises ;w;
-As opposed to super cultured and edgy games like Pokemon amirite?
1. You say you like to travel. What are some of the most interesting places you've been to?

2. Link some songs that you enjoy.

3. Draw me (i need a new Smogon avatar!) :heart:
-I've been to Tokyo which was super cool for me, Japanese culture is so much different compared to Western styles and generally the people there are more chill, which is fun. I've also been on quite a long trip through Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco and Northern Africa. That was super exhausting but the heritage and history was immense.
-
- no lmao
What was your favorite NU meta (doesn't have to be SM)?
Favorite letter of the alphabet?
Favorite flavor of ice-cream?
Do you think Pluto should be relabeled as a planet?
Which is phrase is worse? Ah oober skitteh, disconut putl, or bati boosh ka?
Favorite Pixar movie?
Have you ever traveled outside of Europe to another continent? If so which? If not which one would you like to visit the most?
Favorite Taylor Swift song?
Favorite Puzzle Video Game?
Favorite Pokemon Champion Cynthia possesses besides Spiritomb?
Favorite Other Meta to play?
Which would you prefer? Being told the truth or being told what you want to hear?
-Probs BW NU since it taught me the basic fundamentals behind building and playing and all that good stuff
-X, i use it often
-Hazelnut Chocolate if u wanna be specific :eyes:
-Nah
-They are all trash apart from disconut putl
-Cars original, the feels mang
-You can probs read the above stuff on my reply to MoM, I've been to Asia, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Haven't ventured to the Americas yet but thats certainly on my list, be warned.
-Red
-i dont know, fucking Minesweeper
-Garchomp (2nd favourite poke)
-love GSC OU
-being told the truth because im not a super emotional guy, these things dont rlly affect me too much
 

dibs

double iron bashes
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Hell yeah Aruarian Dance is the best song
Also ty for maintaining the torch of British POTW, we scored a turkey.

Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?
Hailstorm or Boomburst spam?
When are you banning Ferroseed?
Will you drink with us if we ever did a PU Brit meet?
 
who do u fuckin hate in smogon
whos the shittiest player uve played

any tipes for newcomers?
Also what do you think is the absolute worst low ladder meme
- Rwby
- dundies
- if u wanna improve play as much as you can initially, then try to play as much as you can vs good players so when it comes to a tournament setting u dont feel out of your depth or under any pressure to perform.
-i hate playing against that assist meowstic bullshit, its just pointless since its still awful
Thoughts on scarf magearna
Asking for a friend
excellent set that is perfect for catching unsuspecting hjads off guard in monorandbats.
Hell yeah Aruarian Dance is the best song
Also ty for maintaining the torch of British POTW, we scored a turkey.

Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?
Hailstorm or Boomburst spam?
When are you banning Ferroseed?
Will you drink with us if we ever did a PU Brit meet?
-I dont like tea (shocker), and I hate bad hot chocolate, but I dont mind bad coffee, so coffee.
-Hailstorm, boomburst spam is a wannabe meme for tryhards who lowkey wanna actually win but make u look stupid too so...
-Depends when people realise its broken enough to be worth banning :eyes:
-wouldnt drink, but i would meet fo sure hun
 

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