Kev
Part of the journey is the end
Approved by Eien , Acast & Vid
Based off of OU PotW and Gen 6 Mono PotW
Based off of OU PotW and Gen 6 Mono PotW
During this project, I will be interviewing some of the most influential players in Monotype today whether it be based on their exceptional contribution to the metagame or their outstanding performance in tours. If anyone has suggestions on who should be interviewed next, feel free to PM me your ideas.
This week I have Seasonal Playoffs Winner, Monotype room and forum Moderator and leader of Monotype's C&C QC team.
This week I have Seasonal Playoffs Winner, Monotype room and forum Moderator and leader of Monotype's C&C QC team.
Can you tell us a bit about your life outside of Smogon?
- I'm a Computer Science student graduating from UCLA this very weekend and I'm off to join the rat race later this summer. As for hobbies, I unsurprisingly love to play video games. I hadn't actually gotten a new console since the Wii, but I went home last winter and apparently my little brother got a PS4. Mostly been scrambling to play all the games I've been missing out on for like 7 years in my free time now lol.
What are you most known for?
- I'd guess I'm probably most known for either being one of the unfun Monotype room moderators that always cracks down on rulebreakers or a corrupt Steel-using council member. Hopefully, though, I'm more known for leading Monotype's C&C QC team, which is what I'm definitely most proud of!
What made you play Pokemon competitively? What got you into Monotype and made you want to stay?
- I started playing Pokemon competitively because I loved the games as a kid and, well, you're not gonna really be playing uncompetitively online too much. I played completely on my own on the ladder for a month or so every year from like '07 to '14. A friend I used to play Mafia with got me back into Pokemon in '15 and that was the first time I was ever part of a community. It just so happened he brought me to Monotype, so here I am! The community is really what's kept me here. I've spent way too long playing Pokemon on my own and I know for sure if it weren't for everyone I'd definitely be long gone for the some 8th time. Being able to discuss the metagame and make friends really makes this a much more fun game. I'll definitely be sticking around until I've paid you all back for being such a welcoming and awesome community.
What is your favorite Pokemon in general and favorite one to use competitively?
- Mew is my favorite to use competitively, as probably guessed by all the Psychic builds I made. You can't really guess if it's going to be double dance + Genesis Supernova or a stallbreaker set, and some people even use it for utility. It is just a really fun Pokemon to build with because I can choose to build around it or use it as a glue. You'll see it on every single Psychic team I build without question. It also doubles as my favorite Pokemon overall too (with Heracross as a very close second) because it's just damn cute. I really dislike Mega Heracross, sadly!
What is your favorite type?
- That's actually a pretty hard question this generation. I have a soft spot for my CM Magearna Steel team from early-SM and have been making a lot of Steel builds since then, but Psychic takes the crown now. There's so much freedom; so many different Pokemon can be used, each with multiple sets, fitting onto multiple archetypes. It's so versatile and can be played in "your way" no matter what. I will admit playing Ice is reaaally fun, and if you challenge me, there's like a 75% chance I'll load one of my Ice teams up.
How about your favorite play style?
- When it comes to standard Monotype, it's balance for sure. I like my teams to have a defensive backbone I can pivot with. I'm obviously super familiar with HO given the HO Psychic team I RMTed and the crazy HO Steel team Paleo made with me, but it's just not as fun to play to be honest. I will warn you, though. In Mono OMs I just can't be bothered to build real teams, so all you'll see is really terrible stall teams because that's all that's challenging enough and interesting to build for me.
What are your thoughts on Monotype OMs? Do you think they deserve a presence in competitive monotype or do they simply belong in occasional room tours?
- I think Mono OMs are a ton of fun. They bring a flame to building Monotype that sometimes dies a little. I often play the real metagames for fun with a few OM friends. However, I don't think Mono OMs are competitive at all. Certainly they can be balanced and people can invest time to develop the metagames. Most of them will always just be a casual, fun thing for me because I can't really back metagames with stuff like Extreme Speed Mega Mawile and Aerilate-spam Flying. Mono OMs are almost always highly centralized around the very broken teams because that's just how that's going to end up. Certain types are able to capitalize more on the mechanics of each OM, and that's something we can't really fix without significant effort (see ORAS Mono LC's Fighting and SM Mono Ubers's Fairy). As a result, I'd be happy to play them in tournaments and I'd even support Mono OM forum tours here, but I believe moving them away from MPL was the best decison. If enough people put in the time and effort, perhaps they'd be worth having a highly competitive tour in the future, though. I won't rule that possibility out.
What are your thoughts on the current SM Monotype metagame? Are there things you think deserve a suspect, to be banned or unbanned? How does it fair compared to ORAS?
- I think Monotype as a metagame hasn't ever been as balance as it is right now. I'm overall quite happy with the results of the council quickbans, and I guess that shows because we haven't really brought back anything to resuspect yet. While we have a definitive trio at the top of the metagame, I think there's great diversity in the metagame. We saw literally 17/18 of the types represented in the regular season of MPL 3. Even the ladder is also much more diverse than ever in my opinion. The difference between the high and middle tier types is not massive, which is why I think we can see this sort of metagame.
I do think there are some things that should be closely watched. I won't make a conclusive statement on what should be suspected, but I believe that Magearna, Tapu Koko, and Shadow Tag are incredibly powerful for many reasons. It is a bit of a shame that posts that call for a Magearna suspect are almost without exception uncompelling. I don't necessarily disagree with their spirit, but I cannot agree with their arguments, and as a result end up looking like I'm defending Steel or whatever. Tapu Koko is a Pokemon I feel like somehow slips under the radar that is possibly even more problematic than Magearna. Shadow Tag is something I've been against since ORAS. I don't think it's as bad right now, but it's definitely at the top of my watchlist right now.
I find it hard to compare SM to ORAS directly because I was rather unsatisfied by the end of ORAS. I've made my opinion on Hoopa-U public many times, but I absolutely believe it made the metagame much worse. If it weren't for exactly that one Pokemon, I would almost certainly ORAS more. Building ORAS for my MPL teammates was really fun and reminded me how much I missed the metagame. That being said, Hoopa-U is just such a black mark on the otherwise white canvas of ORAS that I have to say I prefer SM.
Do you have any advice for people new to Monotype or people who are trying to improve?
- Don't be afraid to just play games. If you see a tournament like one of our seasonals, join it and do your best. If you see good players just chilling, most of them are usually down to play a game. That also means don't be afraid to ask for help. The best players are those that are always trying to get ahead of the metagame and learn more. This is a community that absolutely thrives on supporting each other. If you ask for help, almost nobody will turn you down. A lot of respected users learned from those that came before them, so there's no shame at all in admitting you need help. That being said, no one can do your work for you. In the end, it's up to you to get your name known the right way. That doesn't just mean getting known as a good player. That also means understanding how to lurk until you've got a good grip on the metagame. You can't lurk too much if you're using that time to learn. I effectively lurked for 8 years after all!
Being the MPL host, what are your thoughts on the season as a whole? This season has been controversial to say the least; does that affect the role you’d list to take during the next MPL? Would you consider hosting again? Or maybe be a manager?
- Oh boy. Yeah this season has really been a rollercoaster. Last year, I was just a player and wasn't really part of the community yet, so I didn't see a lot of what happened in the background. This year I really got to see how badly certain people wanted to win. I am grateful to the managers and players that participated with integrity. In the end, as the host, it's my fault if the managers I chose are unscrupulous and willing to do anything to win. I did my best to not let the drama and things formerly very close friends said affect me, but I very much wish things hadn't gotten so grimy. I actually didn't want to host in the first place, but I ended up cohosting as a result of scpinion's unexpected departure. I'm definitely not hosting again next year. The drama does contribute, but it's just not something I enjoy or want to do, so I think I wouldn't want to host next year either way. I didn't manage this year because that didn't seem like something I wanted to do. I wouldn't say what happened this year would affect my decision, but I'm almost certainly not managing next year either. I have the most fun just playing as just another player. I've learned a lot about how MPL should be run, so even if I'm not hosting, I wouldn't mind helping with the planning as part of the moderating team (if I'm even still around!) I hope next year we have a much cleaner season.
Who do you think are the top 5 SM monotype players right now?
- I think the top five players are TheThorn, 1 True Lycan, Paleo, Clearly, and rnbs in somewhat of a real order. Not only are they all top battlers, they are all top builders. They're all always at the top of any tournament play and almost never lose without some serious hax combined with matchup. TheThorn is more or less agreed to be the best player right now and that really just can't be disputed. 1 True Lycan is another titan whose skill can't be argued either. He never plays badly and is one of the best at playing from behind in matchup. Paleo is the only one on the list who didn't play in the highly competitive SM Bo3 format in this year's MPL 3 but don't let that fool you. He was behind the Meteor Falls Minior's SM success and would have had a perfect record without some bad luck. Clearly's innovative building backs up his top tier skill and somehow always pulls out a new crazy-looking build that just wins. rnbs has always been a really consistent player and somehow never fails to just randomly bring something like Hidden Power Mega Diancie to ruin your day.
What motivates you to be so involved in the development of the monotype metagame? Whether it be moderating the forums, writing and correcting write ups for the Smogon Dex and so much more.
- The biggest thing for me is that I was a new guy in Monotype not even two years ago, so I easily remember what it's like to not know what's up or down or what's left or right. I used the OU, UU, and Ubers analyses a lot back then to sort of figure out sets, but that's not always going to be relevant to Monotype. As a result, contributing to C&C is something that I have personal drive for because I remember a time when I needed that resource and it wasn't there. This is my way of giving back, and every time I do !analysis <name> in the Monotype chat for someone, I'm grateful we have this opportunity. I think Monotype has a bit of a bad reputation and my goal is to turn that reputation around in any way I can. For me, that means dedication to the on-site content we produce and trying to make Monotype as balanced of a metagame as possible.
Finally, can you showcase a team that you think represents your style as a player and provide an explanation on how to use it?
-This is the balance Psychic that I brought vs 6ti in MPL recently. The team is all about keeping up momentum and pressure. I originally built this during the Mega Medicham suspect, but it has transitioned quite well since then. Choice Band Victini is my favorite wallbreaker in the metagame due to its insanely powerful V-create. Since I'm not using Choice Scarf Victini, I had to choose between Latios and Meloetta for my revenge killer. I wanted to run non-Defog Mew, which pretty much meant that Defog Latios was the only real choice here. The choice between stallbreaker and Genesis Supernova Mew came down to wanting to improve my matchup against defensive teams. Mega Slowbro stonewalls offensive teams quite well and Choice Scarf Latios's Speed is great, so I chose to run stallbreaker to make Water, Normal, and Poison much easier to handle. This team pretty much needed Gothitelle to even have a chance at beating Steel, and I chose to run Energy Ball to support Mega Slowbro against Ground by trapping and removing the Water-immune Pokemon. Finally, Stealth Rock is a must, so I picked Jirachi to make the Fairy matchup even better. Overall, the team plays exactly my style. Pivot with Mew and Jirachi to bring in Victini and Gothitelle to remove any threats and go for a late-game sweep with Latios or Mega Slowbro. Not much to it, just make the appropriate doubles and click V-create at will.
This concludes my interview with Eien. A huge thanks to him for taking time out of his day and replying with such detailed and thoughtful answers! Feel free to now ask your own questions to our Player of the Week.
- I'm a Computer Science student graduating from UCLA this very weekend and I'm off to join the rat race later this summer. As for hobbies, I unsurprisingly love to play video games. I hadn't actually gotten a new console since the Wii, but I went home last winter and apparently my little brother got a PS4. Mostly been scrambling to play all the games I've been missing out on for like 7 years in my free time now lol.
What are you most known for?
- I'd guess I'm probably most known for either being one of the unfun Monotype room moderators that always cracks down on rulebreakers or a corrupt Steel-using council member. Hopefully, though, I'm more known for leading Monotype's C&C QC team, which is what I'm definitely most proud of!
What made you play Pokemon competitively? What got you into Monotype and made you want to stay?
- I started playing Pokemon competitively because I loved the games as a kid and, well, you're not gonna really be playing uncompetitively online too much. I played completely on my own on the ladder for a month or so every year from like '07 to '14. A friend I used to play Mafia with got me back into Pokemon in '15 and that was the first time I was ever part of a community. It just so happened he brought me to Monotype, so here I am! The community is really what's kept me here. I've spent way too long playing Pokemon on my own and I know for sure if it weren't for everyone I'd definitely be long gone for the some 8th time. Being able to discuss the metagame and make friends really makes this a much more fun game. I'll definitely be sticking around until I've paid you all back for being such a welcoming and awesome community.
What is your favorite Pokemon in general and favorite one to use competitively?
- Mew is my favorite to use competitively, as probably guessed by all the Psychic builds I made. You can't really guess if it's going to be double dance + Genesis Supernova or a stallbreaker set, and some people even use it for utility. It is just a really fun Pokemon to build with because I can choose to build around it or use it as a glue. You'll see it on every single Psychic team I build without question. It also doubles as my favorite Pokemon overall too (with Heracross as a very close second) because it's just damn cute. I really dislike Mega Heracross, sadly!
What is your favorite type?
- That's actually a pretty hard question this generation. I have a soft spot for my CM Magearna Steel team from early-SM and have been making a lot of Steel builds since then, but Psychic takes the crown now. There's so much freedom; so many different Pokemon can be used, each with multiple sets, fitting onto multiple archetypes. It's so versatile and can be played in "your way" no matter what. I will admit playing Ice is reaaally fun, and if you challenge me, there's like a 75% chance I'll load one of my Ice teams up.
How about your favorite play style?
- When it comes to standard Monotype, it's balance for sure. I like my teams to have a defensive backbone I can pivot with. I'm obviously super familiar with HO given the HO Psychic team I RMTed and the crazy HO Steel team Paleo made with me, but it's just not as fun to play to be honest. I will warn you, though. In Mono OMs I just can't be bothered to build real teams, so all you'll see is really terrible stall teams because that's all that's challenging enough and interesting to build for me.
What are your thoughts on Monotype OMs? Do you think they deserve a presence in competitive monotype or do they simply belong in occasional room tours?
- I think Mono OMs are a ton of fun. They bring a flame to building Monotype that sometimes dies a little. I often play the real metagames for fun with a few OM friends. However, I don't think Mono OMs are competitive at all. Certainly they can be balanced and people can invest time to develop the metagames. Most of them will always just be a casual, fun thing for me because I can't really back metagames with stuff like Extreme Speed Mega Mawile and Aerilate-spam Flying. Mono OMs are almost always highly centralized around the very broken teams because that's just how that's going to end up. Certain types are able to capitalize more on the mechanics of each OM, and that's something we can't really fix without significant effort (see ORAS Mono LC's Fighting and SM Mono Ubers's Fairy). As a result, I'd be happy to play them in tournaments and I'd even support Mono OM forum tours here, but I believe moving them away from MPL was the best decison. If enough people put in the time and effort, perhaps they'd be worth having a highly competitive tour in the future, though. I won't rule that possibility out.
What are your thoughts on the current SM Monotype metagame? Are there things you think deserve a suspect, to be banned or unbanned? How does it fair compared to ORAS?
- I think Monotype as a metagame hasn't ever been as balance as it is right now. I'm overall quite happy with the results of the council quickbans, and I guess that shows because we haven't really brought back anything to resuspect yet. While we have a definitive trio at the top of the metagame, I think there's great diversity in the metagame. We saw literally 17/18 of the types represented in the regular season of MPL 3. Even the ladder is also much more diverse than ever in my opinion. The difference between the high and middle tier types is not massive, which is why I think we can see this sort of metagame.
I do think there are some things that should be closely watched. I won't make a conclusive statement on what should be suspected, but I believe that Magearna, Tapu Koko, and Shadow Tag are incredibly powerful for many reasons. It is a bit of a shame that posts that call for a Magearna suspect are almost without exception uncompelling. I don't necessarily disagree with their spirit, but I cannot agree with their arguments, and as a result end up looking like I'm defending Steel or whatever. Tapu Koko is a Pokemon I feel like somehow slips under the radar that is possibly even more problematic than Magearna. Shadow Tag is something I've been against since ORAS. I don't think it's as bad right now, but it's definitely at the top of my watchlist right now.
I find it hard to compare SM to ORAS directly because I was rather unsatisfied by the end of ORAS. I've made my opinion on Hoopa-U public many times, but I absolutely believe it made the metagame much worse. If it weren't for exactly that one Pokemon, I would almost certainly ORAS more. Building ORAS for my MPL teammates was really fun and reminded me how much I missed the metagame. That being said, Hoopa-U is just such a black mark on the otherwise white canvas of ORAS that I have to say I prefer SM.
Do you have any advice for people new to Monotype or people who are trying to improve?
- Don't be afraid to just play games. If you see a tournament like one of our seasonals, join it and do your best. If you see good players just chilling, most of them are usually down to play a game. That also means don't be afraid to ask for help. The best players are those that are always trying to get ahead of the metagame and learn more. This is a community that absolutely thrives on supporting each other. If you ask for help, almost nobody will turn you down. A lot of respected users learned from those that came before them, so there's no shame at all in admitting you need help. That being said, no one can do your work for you. In the end, it's up to you to get your name known the right way. That doesn't just mean getting known as a good player. That also means understanding how to lurk until you've got a good grip on the metagame. You can't lurk too much if you're using that time to learn. I effectively lurked for 8 years after all!
Being the MPL host, what are your thoughts on the season as a whole? This season has been controversial to say the least; does that affect the role you’d list to take during the next MPL? Would you consider hosting again? Or maybe be a manager?
- Oh boy. Yeah this season has really been a rollercoaster. Last year, I was just a player and wasn't really part of the community yet, so I didn't see a lot of what happened in the background. This year I really got to see how badly certain people wanted to win. I am grateful to the managers and players that participated with integrity. In the end, as the host, it's my fault if the managers I chose are unscrupulous and willing to do anything to win. I did my best to not let the drama and things formerly very close friends said affect me, but I very much wish things hadn't gotten so grimy. I actually didn't want to host in the first place, but I ended up cohosting as a result of scpinion's unexpected departure. I'm definitely not hosting again next year. The drama does contribute, but it's just not something I enjoy or want to do, so I think I wouldn't want to host next year either way. I didn't manage this year because that didn't seem like something I wanted to do. I wouldn't say what happened this year would affect my decision, but I'm almost certainly not managing next year either. I have the most fun just playing as just another player. I've learned a lot about how MPL should be run, so even if I'm not hosting, I wouldn't mind helping with the planning as part of the moderating team (if I'm even still around!) I hope next year we have a much cleaner season.
Who do you think are the top 5 SM monotype players right now?
- I think the top five players are TheThorn, 1 True Lycan, Paleo, Clearly, and rnbs in somewhat of a real order. Not only are they all top battlers, they are all top builders. They're all always at the top of any tournament play and almost never lose without some serious hax combined with matchup. TheThorn is more or less agreed to be the best player right now and that really just can't be disputed. 1 True Lycan is another titan whose skill can't be argued either. He never plays badly and is one of the best at playing from behind in matchup. Paleo is the only one on the list who didn't play in the highly competitive SM Bo3 format in this year's MPL 3 but don't let that fool you. He was behind the Meteor Falls Minior's SM success and would have had a perfect record without some bad luck. Clearly's innovative building backs up his top tier skill and somehow always pulls out a new crazy-looking build that just wins. rnbs has always been a really consistent player and somehow never fails to just randomly bring something like Hidden Power Mega Diancie to ruin your day.
What motivates you to be so involved in the development of the monotype metagame? Whether it be moderating the forums, writing and correcting write ups for the Smogon Dex and so much more.
- The biggest thing for me is that I was a new guy in Monotype not even two years ago, so I easily remember what it's like to not know what's up or down or what's left or right. I used the OU, UU, and Ubers analyses a lot back then to sort of figure out sets, but that's not always going to be relevant to Monotype. As a result, contributing to C&C is something that I have personal drive for because I remember a time when I needed that resource and it wasn't there. This is my way of giving back, and every time I do !analysis <name> in the Monotype chat for someone, I'm grateful we have this opportunity. I think Monotype has a bit of a bad reputation and my goal is to turn that reputation around in any way I can. For me, that means dedication to the on-site content we produce and trying to make Monotype as balanced of a metagame as possible.
Finally, can you showcase a team that you think represents your style as a player and provide an explanation on how to use it?
Slowbro-Mega @ Slowbronite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Slack Off
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Trick
Victini @ Choice Band
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Trick
Gothitelle @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Thunder Wave
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 156 SpD / 104 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Slack Off
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Trick
Victini @ Choice Band
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Trick
Gothitelle @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Thunder Wave
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 156 SpD / 104 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
-This is the balance Psychic that I brought vs 6ti in MPL recently. The team is all about keeping up momentum and pressure. I originally built this during the Mega Medicham suspect, but it has transitioned quite well since then. Choice Band Victini is my favorite wallbreaker in the metagame due to its insanely powerful V-create. Since I'm not using Choice Scarf Victini, I had to choose between Latios and Meloetta for my revenge killer. I wanted to run non-Defog Mew, which pretty much meant that Defog Latios was the only real choice here. The choice between stallbreaker and Genesis Supernova Mew came down to wanting to improve my matchup against defensive teams. Mega Slowbro stonewalls offensive teams quite well and Choice Scarf Latios's Speed is great, so I chose to run stallbreaker to make Water, Normal, and Poison much easier to handle. This team pretty much needed Gothitelle to even have a chance at beating Steel, and I chose to run Energy Ball to support Mega Slowbro against Ground by trapping and removing the Water-immune Pokemon. Finally, Stealth Rock is a must, so I picked Jirachi to make the Fairy matchup even better. Overall, the team plays exactly my style. Pivot with Mew and Jirachi to bring in Victini and Gothitelle to remove any threats and go for a late-game sweep with Latios or Mega Slowbro. Not much to it, just make the appropriate doubles and click V-create at will.
This concludes my interview with Eien. A huge thanks to him for taking time out of his day and replying with such detailed and thoughtful answers! Feel free to now ask your own questions to our Player of the Week.
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