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Interview FINCHINATOR

What is your favorite thing about the section(s) you lead? Is there anything you wish were different about the section(s)? — Ryota Mitarai

As for the OU forum, I know that my moderation team has such a large amount of influence on new players who are hoping to get started on Smogon and in OU, which is easily the most popular starting destination. I love making a positive difference and knowing that I can impact countless people in engaging in a hobby they can grow to love. Even if only a handful of them follow through with it and climb the ladder on Smogon or in tournaments, then I know that I have not only given back to the community as a whole but also helped shape the experiences of great people that make up this community. As for differences, I wish that more experienced players and contributors cared about the roots of the community and gave back to the OU forum. I feel that a lot of people underestimate the value of this forum when it comes to maintaining the longevity of Smogon and even Smogon tournaments; everyone has to start somewhere after all.

As for the OU tier, I think that my favorite thing about leading OU is being able to shape the central metagame of Smogon to the best of my abilities. Knowing that I am trusted with such a responsibility is an honor, knowing that I am (thus far) doing a solid job with unprecedented circumstances (the way in which Pokémon/moves are being released in such a fragmented fashion), and knowing that I will continue to give my best effort towards making SS OU the best tier possible are all good feelings. Overall, serving this community in this regard is my honor and I look forward to working with more people to better SS OU moving forward. As for differences, I wish that the council were a bit more active and we would be able to look into our philosophy towards holding suspects a bit more, but this is more of a systematic change and internal change that I will not elaborate much more on in a public arena.

As for the NU tier, I love the sense of community that NU brings alongside it. While it may not have the same size or brand as OU, NU is a place I love calling my second "home" on Smogon, and I will always enjoy shaping the experience of many dedicated players and contributors through leading the tier and running the VR in NU. I urge people looking for a tier to get into and contribute towards to give NU a go! We are very welcoming and always looking forward to dealing with fresh faces.

How are you able to juggle your responsibilities on Smogon as well as everyday life? — BP

I have very good time management for Smogon-related things. I do so much and I enjoy doing most of it, so the time honestly flies when it's all said and done. I am currently involved with leading multiple tiers, hosting multiple tournaments, being on multiple QC teams, playing in over a dozen different tournaments, and countless other facets of Smogon/the competitive Pokémon community as a whole, and yet I still have time for more due to quarantine. I am actually actively ready to take on more responsibilities at anytime because I love to give back and help better the community around me. I happen to be a graduating senior in college and I tend to be pretty efficient with my school work, too, but now it is winding down and I will likely not start work for a handful of months due to the pandemic, so I am putting lots of time and effort into the community that has always been there for me over the years!

When you go to a restaurant and ask for Coca Cola, is Pepsi really okay? — Estronic

It is ok because the difference is trivial, but Coca Cola is preferable.

If you could end world peace by never likewhoring again, what would you post about such situation in order to get the most likes out it? — Estronic

Ending world peace seems like starting a period of unpeaceful world relations, but I assume you mean achieve world peace, so...

What's your favorite READ you've made on an opponent? It can be tournament play, ladder play or just for fun, in any tier or generation. — Empress Mobile

In my game 1 of Smogon Tour 26 finals against z0mOG, I made a really good read on turn 17 that I still refer to whenever someone asks me questions like this. Unfortunately, I still fell short in the game because of an early critical hit against my Rotom-W and my opponent senselessly risking his Forretress multiple times before he had an idea of my Garchomp set paying off, but the game went from being absolutely lost to being won if I hit consecutive Focus Blasts due to this play. What happened was, I revealed Encore on Alakazam against a Substitute Heatran that clicked Protect to scout out my move on that turn, which meant that I could potentially Encore him into Substitute and then render him essentially useless. Of course, this means that he is likely to switch out, expecting me to click another Encore or at worst go for a Focus Blast or Psychic to deal significant damage. His Landorus-T was at full health and felt like a Choice Scarf set, as he had nothing else that was particularly fast, and it survived either of those moves easily, especially because the aforementioned Forretress sequence prevented me from setting Stealth Rock. Because of this, I predicted a greedy midground from my opponent and clicked Hidden Power Ice into the Heatran behind a Substitute and hit the Landorus-T, KOing it and giving me some semblance of life in what seemed like a lost game. From there, I played my outs and unfortunately missed a Focus Blast, but I was exceedingly happy with how I played this game on the big stage despite getting very unfortunate. That turn had potential to be an amazing turning point in a comeback had I connected, but regardless I like having positive takeaways, so despite losing, I find it to be a very good read.

What keeps you going even when the going gets tough (this can be in general or with respect to Smogon)? — Rabia

As a lot of people on here know, I actually had a really rough late 2019/early 2020, so this is a really good question. I tend to focus on all of the people that care for me—both on here and IRL. I know that they want to see me succeed, they want to see me happy, and they go out of their way to express this, be it directly or indirectly. Because of this, I know that even if I am not feeling it at any given point in time, there is still always reason to put my best foot forward and keep going. I hope that everyone else feels this way, too. There is a lot of negativity and limitations within the world we currently live in, but better days are ahead for all of us, and I think we should all keep striving to be our best selves both on Smogon and IRL!

How do you feel about Generation 8's metagames overall? — ThatRandomPerson42

In desperate need of a long stretch without (impending) major changes. The fragmented drops of moves, Pokémon, etc. that Game Freak keep rolling out honestly stunts tiering decisions and metagame growth drastically. I hope for a stretch of long-term stability so we can strive to improve metagame quality without fear of it all being futile in the immediate aftermath. OU and NU are fun right now, but we can and will achieve even better metagame states eventually!

How did you get into Pokémon? — LaBalladeDesCieux

I was a late bloomer; my friends played the games, so in the third or fourth grade I decided to hop on the hype train, getting a DS and Pokémon Pearl. I have not looked back since!

Thought on the fact that National Dex allows thing like Z-Moves? — LaBalladeDesCieux

Indifferent. I have no real comments or thoughts on this format currently.

whos the shittiest player uve played — Ruft

Probably some 1000 ladder player who was using a team full of sub-level 100 Pokémon that are not even viable in any tiers and forfeited by turn 7.

Which generation do you think brought the worst Pokémon to use competively? (Not including jokes like Delibird, Magikarp, etc) — Jerry the great

Probably GSC, where a lot of Pokémon you now consider pitiful (Miltank, Golem, Jynx, and Marowak, for example) and strictly viable in RU/NU/PU in recent generations are mainstays in the OU metagame. However, this is a hard question, as you can argue it being an early generation limits it and makes this an inevitability.

Most broken Uber Pokémon? — Jerry the great

This generation I am unsure, as I know very little about Ubers (yet to play a single game), but probably Necrozma-DM.

Best evil Pokémon team? — Jerry the great

Tie between Team Galactic and Team Rocket.

On the average week, about how many hours do you spend in competitive Pokémon battles? — sumwun

Probably around 7-10 hours playing the game itself each week and countless hours on Discord discussing it, teambuilding, and/or preparing.

Favorite song that you would never recommend to anyone else & why? (note: this doesn't mean guilty pleasure per se, rather "idk how my brain works for making me like this") — Lumari

Harry Styles — Falling

Interview TONYFLYGON

What is your most valuable memory from your "career" as a tournament player and why? — Ryota Mitarai

Winning SPL 9, though that was technically as a manager and not a tournament player. The whole team was in call watching the deciding tie break game and ABR getting us across the finish line was just such a euphoric moment. I had lost the Smogon Snake Draft and World Cup of Pokémon finals before that SPL, so I was really worried about going 0/3 after all those months of effort. Especially given the way we lost the potentially deciding BW game against BKC... It was such a relief and a great feeling when we finally won. Trosko completely losing his mind in Spanish as we were all dying through that final game will always stay with me. Awoooooooo!

What's it like being an above average player? — BP

I suppose above average is about as generous as we can go here, but I'll take it. I find myself applying those skills to just have fun playing in tournaments and messing around with the friends I make along the way. The social side of being a tournament player is what makes this so fun for me. Being perceived as a good enough player has helped with that enormously, as I've always had a spot in essentially any tournament I wanted to play in.

What was the last thing you ate? If you added a pinch of salt to it, would it be better or worse? — Estronic

I last ate strawberries, so I'd hate the thought of adding a pinch of salt to those.

What is your opinion on sandals? — Estronic

I'll consider sandals if I ever become a dad; sandals are a father-exclusive choice of footwear.

What's the best read an opponent has ever made on you? — Empress Mobile

Perhaps it's not so much an insane read as a perfectly set-up combination that completely foiled me, but years ago when I played my first ever tournament game in NUPL 2016 I got downright violated by Ren-chon. He Tricked a Ring Target onto my Skuntank with Rotom, which meant that his Musharna now hit Skuntank for super effective damage with Psychic. After a few turns of it setting up with Calm Mind and Barrier, I had absolutely nothing for Musharna and got disposed of quickly. My dear friend and manager at the time, Omfuga, was Not Amused, and I found my way onto the bench shortly after. Smashed.

What video game genres do you play, and what's your favorite video game(s)? — ThatRandomPerson42

I have waaaaaaaay too many hours into the FIFA franchise.. It's always regrettable, and I always buy the new one every year. I'm not too much of a gamer outside of Pokémon and FIFA, though. I went through a Forza Motorsport phase a long time ago, but that has since passed. Mirror's Edge is an all-time favorite game of mine because of how beautifully it's made. I bought a Switch for Sword and Shield so I have some exploring to do there. I'm about halfway through Odyssey and intend to play BotW still, too.

Ultra Necrozma or Eternamax Eternatus? — LaBalladeDesCieux

Neither? I truly don't really feel anything for either. Sorry!

Thoughts on 1v1? — LaBalladeDesCieux

Oh boy.. For those of you that don't know, I've had a short but torrid affair with 1v1. My friends SoulWind, CrashinBoomBang and I had one of those "let's learn a new tier" moments, and we decided to try our hand at 1v1. SoulWind and I especially really got into it, so much so that we immediately started dominating the 1v1 tournaments. I went 3-0 as we won 1v1 WCoP, and SoulWind and I faced each other in the final of 1v1 Classic not long after. I also made semis of the 1v1 Seasonal, which resulted in me going as the overall most expensive player of 1v1PL that year despite only having played for a few months.

I just wanted to build some DPP 1v1 teams and enjoy myself, but instead I was expected to hard carry our team. This in combination with bad experiences with the 1v1 community as a whole quickly turned me off the format entirely. I haven't played any 1v1 tournaments since. I still like 1v1 as a concept and will probably play it again in the future, though I'll probably steer clear from the 1v1 community as things stand.

Why is ketchup so overrated? — Zneon

Because Curry is lethal from 3 and a unanimous mvp.

Most broken Pokémon in OU that has yet to be suspected? — Jerry the great

Jirachi in DPP OU. I don't think anything should be tested in SS until we get the new DLC additions.

What is it like to moderate the forums? — Jerry the great

Moderating in itself is really not that special. It's answering questions about how to do certain things and deleting the odd rogue thread or post. I love the policy side of being a Tournament Director, though. Improving old formats and rules, etc.

Question to everyone! What do you think about Draft Format? I am asking because Smogon players just started out pretty recently to compete in bigger Draft Tours. Do you think it could have a more serious competetive future and what do you think about the format in general in a competetive environment? — Astoria

I've always had some interest in it, but never quite made the time for it. Maybe one day? There's just so much to do with the time I have.

All of you have been involved in some or several sections during your time here; is there anything in particular that has prompted you all to branch out as much (or as little) as you have, and do you still see yourself spreading yourself out more in the future? — Lumari

My answer here is similar to what I've explained above; trying new formats is really fun for me. That said, Tournaments will forever be my home, as it is the competition aspect that really drives me to compete. I could 100% enjoy myself on Discord with the friends I've made regardless, but I really want to win as well.

Interview AUTUMN

Once more: Which badge is the best/worst looking out of them all? Similarly, is there any badge you would want but wouldn't realistically obtain? — Kalalokki

I think the best looking badge is Tutor because it's so simple and pretty. It would also be the one I couldn't realistically obtain because I'm not the best in terms of actual playing, and I'd never want to give anyone bad or incomplete advice.

How is the quarantine going for you? Any hobby or activity you started to do because of it? — Estronic

Quarantine has been okay for me because I didn't really have much to do in terms of plans anyway, but a few events have been canceled that I'm upset about. I've been using my time trying to talk to more people and socialize in new ways because I can't just go outside and do that anymore. I haven't really picked up any new hobbies though; I've just been around on here and Discord.

How do you feel about Generation 8's metagames overall? — ThatRandomPerson42

I've only really played SS OU and UU, but I find OU somewhat stale even though I have seen a lot of cool tournament games with creative ideas and sets working out. SS UU is pretty fun; it's not liked too much but I like tiers with a lot of breakers and fast-paced play.

Why is ketchup so overrated? — Zneon

It's not. Maybe I'm a child at heart but I love it a lot.

Best evil Pokémon team? — Jerry the great

The message of Team Plasma really makes you think in some ways, which I like to do because you can consider other points of view. I like Team Rocket because they're the original bad team and their ideas were often simples than those that the newer games have. Team Skull was also funny to me playing through SM, because some of them were a lot more relatable than "I just want to be evil" like some other teams.

I think (or at least hope haha,,) that no one would ever expect themselves to end up in a high-ranked staff position when first starting out on the site. How did you experience your rise to prominence / have you ever felt the need to pinch yourselves? — Lumari

I only started GP checking on here because I enjoyed grammar and I was reading all the forums and saw an opportunity that would be interesting for me to increase my knowledge as well as contribute in a meaningful way. I never expected to become leader of GP, let alone the whole of C&C after learning UU and becoming a QC member then moderator for the section, but I've really enjoyed every moment of it, and I'm happy that I'm in a position to help out so much.