Turn up for The Studio!
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Art by BlueberryBlanket.
Introduction
Well, well, well. Look who we have here. It seems to us that you are interested in music or the room on Pokémon Showdown! for it. Today might be your lucky day then! We will take you on a text-based tour through the room to familiarize you with the things we say and do! If you, for whatever reason, like The Chainsmokers, The Studio is here to slap some sense into you. Or are you just looking for a room where you can have a quality discussion regarding music? We got you covered. The Studio is exactly what you're looking for!
The Studio is a great way to expand your musical knowledge and overall music tolerance. After staying in the room for some time, you'll find your music knowledge, and perhaps even your music taste, may have developed as a whole. Even the daily discussions that take place in the room can help you expand your knowledge when it comes to the music industry. Whether you like rap, rock, metal, pop, opera, or even jazz, this room has it all! As long as you stick to English in the main chat and just follow the general rules, the staff won't lynch you!
With a dedicated userbase, this room has been rocking since 2013 on Pokémon Showdown!. Variety is the key to not running dry on a genre or artist. Let's get into the specifics, shall we?
The Room's Pursuits
Despite the relatively limited subject that the room centralizes around, there is quite a lot to do for you aside from just chatting. This can range from room-exclusive commands to external websites that simplify the sharing of your music even more! Let's go more in depth into all the things you can expect in this room!
The Chat
Because the chat is rocking an average of 60 users online at each time, you can expect the room to be the opposite of inactive. There always are discussions going on or people just linking their songs. Pokémon Showdown allows its users to share songs through hyperlink, which works on the basis of Google's "I'm feeling lucky" feature. Every user, regardless of room or global rank, has access to this feature, and that is what The Studio takes full advantage of. It's initiated by the following: [[artist -title]]. Alternative ways users of rank are able to share their songs would be through either ".track" or ".lastfm", where the user can show off the very nice art of the album that the song comes from. In other words, there are plenty of options that allow you to share your music taste with the users in the room. Now that you all know how to hyperlink, go out there and let your music shine.
AOTD
AOTD is a term you will probably come across more often during your time in The Studio. The abbreviation stands for Artist Of The Day. This is a room-exclusive feature that only The Studio has access to. You might be wondering what this does. Well, let us explain it to you! AOTD is an event that takes place every single day. The process starts at 5 PM GMT -8. Once the nominations are open, people within the room will be able to nominate an artist that they think should be labeled as Artist Of The Day. Each person's nomination will be publicly displayed. After a certain amount of time, the nomination process will end. The script will then put all the nominations in a raffle and pick a single one at random. The winner has the choice to PM a staff member from the room with a song, a quote, and a picture if they desire it. Those will be included on the AOTD banner. It's a fun and interactive way to spark discussion as well as get the more unknown or overlooked artists in the spotlight. Who knows, you might provide some people with a new artist they might really like. By all means, try it out and judge for yourself!
Song recommendations
Don't worry, we can see right through your mind; you're wondering what the room staff likes to listen to. Well, luckily for you, we can go in detail about that. The Song Recommendations project was originally started by Albert with the intention to showcase the staff's somewhat diverse taste of music. It was then turned into a Smogon thread, as they did not just want to limit it to staff. The project was started as a way to share songs the staff enjoyed. The Song Recommendations are posted every Sunday, so it's a weekly project. To include diversity in songs shared, they decided to add a theme to it to spice things up. Better yet, everyone is able to submit a theme! If no theme was submitted, the staff will come up with a theme on the spot by themselves. So, if you are looking for yet another way to come out of your comfort zone regarding music, this is another option for you!
Meet the Room Owners!
Arrested
Arrested is the newest addition to the Room Owners. He is a 17-year-old who lives in Colorado. As a person of many hobbies, such as snowboarding, hiking, and, most notably, listening to music, he is nothing close to boring. He has a rather broad interest field when it comes to music genres, but preferences go out to hip-hop and rap. His arsenal was expanded with useful tools ever since he got promoted to Global Driver not too long ago. But do not fear—he is the least of your concerns. Behind his serious attitude is a heart of gold that is always willing to spark up conversations in the room. By all means, say hi to him—you won't regret it! I think it's time we go in depth about his experiences with the room!
Interview ARRESTED
How did you get into the room and what caused you to stick around? — Bate335
well, it was mostly my interest in music, i love listening to all different types of music and i loved the room for being so open and having lots of people to talk to about my music tastes, finding out new songs, etc. As for sticking around, a big reason was because i loved the community. i made a ton of friends out of the room. i eventually became staff and it's one of my favorite group of staff and i've come to really like connect and love being a part of staff
What makes The Studio different from all the other rooms? — Amaluna
i think what makes studio different is all of our features we have in the room, such as our aotd plug, our song recommendations page on smogon, our room plug.dj, and again touching on the community, i think they're really mellow and easy to talk to which is always a huge plus in a room
What do you like the most about the room / what are the selling points in your opinion? — Bate335
it's not too big to the point where it's hard to follow the chat and hard to get involved, but it's not too small to the point where you have no one to talk to, i love the users. both staff and regulars users, with a topic that's at times controversial (in terms of likes, dislikes, what's good, what's bad music-wise) i think it's important to respect each other and i think the room does a really good job at doing that. As for the selling point, well who doesn't like music? I'm obviously biased, but what's not to like about a room all about music
What are the most notable differences between when you first joined and now? — Amaluna
i think it's mainly the staff, when i joined the room the staff was entirely different. from the staff that was originally around when i joined, only 5 of them are still in the room as staff today (being Amingo, Brandon, John, Paradise, and Doom Metal), and there are other minor things, such as the re-work that was done to the aotd plug, our not-so-new-anymore smogon page, which actually used to just be posted on our old website, etc. For the most part though, it's still the same room at heart which is why i still stick around and don't enjoy it any less
Where do you see the room in about two years? — Bate335
hopefully still going strong as we are today, i think the room is being operated really strongly and i can only hope that this remains true in the near future and the not so near future, i'm hoping we implement new features / events that will keep our users intrigued and that we remain a fun room where everyone can listen to and discuss music together :)
To close it off, what would you like to the tell the people that are reading this interview? — Amaluna
i encourage anyone reading this to join the studio! it's honestly my favorite room, i love meeting and talking with new users, everyone's welcome. as i've said countless times, the community is awesome and part of what makes the studio great and the community has got to grow! Don't be discouraged if you don't think we'll "like" your music taste. i know that was a minor worry of mine when i first joined, but we really don't bite and i'm sure you'll end up having a good time, also a shoutout to vivalosgoat!
Brandon
The other Room Owner is Brandon. Aside from his love for reading and watching television shows, Brandon has a loving for music. He is a very serious person both in real life and on the simulator. He does not restrict himself to a single music genre thus has a rather varied level of music tolerance. He has been with Pokémon Showdown! since the early months of 2013. He joined the room on and off but has become a regular since 2015. And now we are stuck with him, which we are glad about, because as a Global Driver on the simulator, he has the ability to check your background. Brandon is very approachable and is unlikely to turn his back to you. He is one of the nicest and most active people you're going to find. After all of our praising words, we think it's time that you see it for yourself—cue the interview!
Interview BRANDON
How did you get into the room and what caused you to stick around? — Amaluna
I have always been into music and talking about it with people, and the studio was a place where I could do it. I'd say the atmosphere and the people definitely kept me around, great people and a chill space to be in
What makes The Studio different from all the other rooms? — Bate335
The topic itself separates itself from the rest of the server, as it's the place to talk about the happenings of music whether that be new songs, suggestions, drama, chartings, etc, and of course talking about (almost) any song you'd want to that is old. The atmosphere is also something that I'd say is unique to the room. The history of the room being closely associated with THP and now us kinda doing our own thing is definitely something I'd say that shaped us, Especially with different faces that have frequented the room
What do you like the most about the room / what are the selling points in your opinion? — Amaluna
As I said before, I really enjoy talking about music, and you're able to find people with similar music tastes, which could lead you into exploring artists you maybe never would've found on your own. I think that our community is very friendly and engaging for the most part, and that we are enjoyable to hang out in, we are definitely much more laid back and chill than many other communities on showdown imo
What are the most notable differences between when you first joined and now? — Amaluna
The first thing that comes to mind is definitely the techy stuff that has been implemented, When i joined the room aotd was done by staff compiling a list and using !pick and now there's a script that does it and also archives it for us, and kid a has allowed for flashier ways for ranked users to showcase their songs. The staff has also obviously changed, very few faces that were here when I first joined are still around, but other than that i'd say it's pretty similar
Where do you see the room in about two years? — Amaluna
I see it being probably more techy and with different staff and regs, but about the same as it is now, I think that the laid back environment is something that's going to be with the studio until it's no longer a thing
To close it off, what would you like to the tell the people that are reading this interview? — Bate335
I would say if you're interested in the room, come check us out for yourself, I'd definitely say to just play it cool if people don't immediately speak about the song you post. Sometimes people that listen to certain genres are only on at certain times of the day, definitely try to engage in conversations happening or start one of your own. Current events in any music genre are really good ways to get involved with talking, most of us don't bite!
Conclusion
Well, now that you know how the room operates, the chat activities you can participate in, and the big names that helped get the room to its glory, you probably are going to the simulator and immediately joining the room to share your passion for modern day pop. With the relaxing atmosphere, friendly users and staff, and the upbeat chat activity, this is an easy room to slide into and get comfortable with the ways of the simulator. This is one of the more laid-back rooms you are going to encounter, thus making it very welcoming to newer users. Whether you like to share Green Day: Boulevard of Broken Dreams, discuss why you think Britney Spears is the queen of pop or just want to ask opinions on BadBadNotGood - CMYK, this is the place to be! So what are you waiting for? Get out there and let the room experience your taste of music! See you there!
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Puzzle Page
Art by Bummer.
Welcome to the fourteenth edition of the Flying Press's Puzzle Page! Thanks to all of those who sent in their answers. Congratulations to ScarfWynaut, who earned most points on our last edition! The last edition marked the end of the leaderboard cycle, so congratulations to Bartimaeus on taking home the overall win!
With the release of Volume 14, we are now introducing a new prize given to the winner of each yearly puzzle page cycle, which is a "Puzzles Champion" banner on Smogon! The banner can still be obtained this year, even though the new cycle begins with this page. Good luck to all participants. A huge thanks to all of the members of the puzzle team who helped out with the puzzles in this edition, including Pants, Ryota Mitarai, Valzy, and perry.
Parameters
By using the /dexsearch command on Pokémon Showdown, find out which parameters match only the Pokémon listed. For example, say you are given these Pokémon: Bibarel, Bidoof, Pachirisu, Patrat, Raticate, Rattata, Smeargle, and Watchog. Even though all of them learn both Protect and Substitute, there are many other Pokémon that can as well, so the trick is to try to narrow down your options as much as possible. Parameters may include moves, abilities, tiers, generations, colors, and so on.
- Druddigon, Eelektross, Electivire, Electrike, Exeggutor-Alola, Furret, Genesect, Inkay, Kommo-o, Malamar, Manectric, Noivern, Sentret, Seviper, Silvally, Slurpuff, Swirlix, Watchog, Zoroark (1 param, 1 exclusion)
- Cradily, Diglett, Dugtrio, Dunsparce, Golett, Golurk, Kecleon, Lileep, Mawile, Palossand, Sandygast, Smeargle, Stunfisk (2 params)
- Castform, Gastly, Gengar, Haunter, Kecleon, Latias, Mew, Smeargle (2 params)
Anagrams
Anagrams consist of several Pokémon-related terms whose letters have been scrambled around. In order to solve them, you have to figure out which terms have been scrambled. For example, "Science Spy Hop" unscrambles to Espeon / Psychic.
- Cute Unreliable Car (A Pokémon and its ability)
- A Friendship Always More (A Pokémon and where it can be found in-game)
- Figure This Cogs Gas (An in-game NPC and a Pokémon they use)
Cryptogram
In a cryptogram, every letter used in a message is replaced with a different letter. In order to solve it, you must determine what the original message is. The following phrase is a quote from a character in the main series Pokémon games. For example, a cryptogram of "VDWXQFR REBU AFRSUBKYTCA!" would unscramble to "Pikachu used Thunderbolt!", as each U in the original sentence is swapped for R, each E is swapped for B, and so on.
- "GJRJVMH QLKJXFQ OMKRJKFJKTVB QKG AMNCJT JRJNBTEFKC BMS EJQNG!"
- Grunt
Body Style Puzzles
To solve body style puzzles, you must name the Pokémon in each image from left to right according to the Pokédex. The Pokémon in each puzzle have some relation to one another, whether it be evolutionary line or another classification.
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Bug Pokémon Word Search
For this word search, your objective is to find as many Bug-type Pokémon as you can and denote where you have found them in the puzzle. You can use your mouse to either drag and draw lines in the grid below or click the appropriate squares. Answers can be either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
Leaderboard
- Bartimaeus: 91 points
- Yellow Paint: 84 points
- 6Infernapes: 65 points
- Calm: 51 points
- Max. Optimizer: 43 points
- AWailOfATail: 41 points
- adiass: 25 points
- Someoneelse: 23 points
- Axel Rouche: 21 points
- Heliodor: 16 points
- Mowtom: 13 points
- Saywhaat: 13 points
- Silver_Lucario42: 13 points
- Scarf Wynaut: 12 points
- HikozaruYes: 12 points
- Seito Hakari: 10 points
- Robotjam2: 9 points
- EnemyJurist: 7 points
- baconbagon: 6 points
- {Pokemon_Vigilante}: 4 points
- flygonfanatic: 4 points
- mxmts: 4 points
- Aragorn the King: 3 points
- Martin: 3 points
- SovereignC2: 3 points
- Pax Hamburgana: 3 points
- KnightsofCydonia: 3 points
- LeviticusBrynhildr: 3 points
- Vanillish Wafer: 2 points
Closing Remarks
The answers to the previous issue's puzzles will be posted here, and answers for this issue will be posted with the next issue. As usual, once you've completed one, some, or even all of the puzzles that this page has to offer, send your answers via a private message to Smogon's Flying Press on the forums (a Smogon account is required), with its title as "Puzzle Page: Volume 14". The deadline for answers will be 4 weeks. Good luck to all who dare to participate, and we'll see you again sometime!
Answers
Answers to the previous puzzles:
Parameters
- Whirlwind, !Aerial Ace
- Own Tempo, Iron Head
- Recovery, !Facade / Toxic, !Facade / Rest, !Facade / Sleep Talk, !Facade
Pokémon Mondegreens
- Choice Band Darmanitan
- Metapod used Harden
- Magikarp used Splash but nothing happened
Cryptogram
- "An intense shock runs through your entire body! Bleah! This tastes terrible!"
(From Spinda at Spinda's Cafe, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky)
What's That Sprite?
- Cubchoo
- Nuzleaf
- Qwilfish
Pokémon Link
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