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Interview Xayah

Could you please provide a brief introduction of your experience on Showdown and Smogon?

I began playing on Pokémon Showdown back in 2011 after I saw it on Adamant Ditto. I was your typical low-ladder Ubers player, not using a single status move because 'why would I Swords Dance instead of just attacking twice?' After half a year of playing or so, I took a break for 5 or 4 years, coming back in August 2016. I began making some videos for a now-dead YouTube channel and was drawn to LC, as I tried to get my hands on some analyses. Due to how new I was and how I wasn't very familiar with the meta yet, I obviously failed, but when Sun & Moon was released a few months later, I tried again. I quickly picked up on how to write them and made my way into the QC team and got a badge in a few months of hard work. I kept it up for about half a year, but I grew bored of LC. By now, I've all but completely quit that meta, but I still really appreciate that community for giving me a chance and am still an analysis writer at my core.

What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of Pokémon?

I am a 19-year-old second year mathematics student at the Delft University of Technology, which is one of, if not the, biggest universities in the Netherlands. I play badminton, though I haven't been able to recently due to injuries, and game a lot. I play everything from platformers like Celeste, Nintendo games like Mario, Zelda, and of course Pokémon, visual novels like Danganronpa, and whatever online game is popular at the moment, like League of Legends, Overwatch, or Fortnite.

What led to your association with the ZU tier and when did you join?

Interestingly, the same YouTube channel that got me into LC also drove me to ZU. I wanted to make a video on Ursaring, and I happened to find out about the existence of a tier below PU where it was actually viable. With help from 5gen and Froasty, I built my original TR team (which ended up having some variant as a sample for many months) and made a post about it on our third-party forums. I kept up activity and got onto the Rotating Council, becoming the major advocate for Crabominable's ban, and Council once ZU exited beta. Two months later, our former TL Chinese Pooh stepped down right before the release of USM, and 5gen ended up offering me the spot.

In your opinion, what separates ZU from other non-official OMs and official tiers alike?

Compared to all other metas, ZU is growing incredibly quickly, which provides an interesting dynamic within the community. Everyday, new people join the room and the Discord, who are then offered information by some of our voices. Some of those remain with us and continue to show activity. Then, a few weeks later, they are the ones offering information to new users. This can go faster in ZU than anywhere else because of the constant flow of new users.

What are some of the challenges you personally face as a Room Owner for your tier?

My biggest struggle is probably to actually remain serious. I tend to joke around more than I actually fulfill my duties as an RO and I have to actually push myself to be serious enough to keep the room under control fully. Luckily, our staff is real good, so I'm not alone.

What differentiates you from your fellow Room Owners?

Outside of my time zone being quite different, meaning I'm on at very different times, I am a Room Owner that doesn't say a lot. I respond to questions and give tours when asked, but most of the time I'll be quiet.

What are some of the characteristics that you search for when recruiting new staff members?

The main things I look for in voices are metagame knowledge and willingness to help. If they aim to become driver, I expect them to show a high level of maturity and activity. I expect my drivers to be some of the most relevant members in the room and it's hard work to become that.

What do you enjoy most regarding the room? Moreover, are there any moments that stand out to you?

My favorite thing is seeing new users join and enjoy the tier that I, the other ROs, and our staff put so much work into. It's an incredibly rewarding feeling to see people enjoy the fruits of that effort, and I'm very happy that it's a possibility.

Another thing that has been really fun have been the ZU OM tours that Aaronboyer has been hosting recently. I've personally seen ZU AAA, ZU Mix and Mega, and ZU 1v1, but I also believe he's been doing other ones, and I really enjoy them. They're a great way to look at the meta in a bit of a different light.

What are your future plans for ZU and what do you hope to accomplish in the near future?

The most important thing to do right now is expand ZU's resource library. Especially Diagnostic and Froasty have been putting in a ton of effort towards that goal and I'm very thankful, as it has been making it much easier for new people to join. Otherwise, the main thing we're doing is enjoying our tier and helping others enjoy it in whatever way we can!

To cap things off, would you mind sharing a team for all these readers?

Yeah, sure. This is an offensive teams built around my new favourite Pokémon of all time, and one of the newest drops: Komala. Triple Choice item and Z-Move Floatzel is pretty cool.

Interview Kalalokki

Could you please provide a brief introduction of your experience on Showdown and Smogon?

Joined in 2013 but didn't start becoming active on PS until 2014, when I started hanging around in the Wi-Fi room and its subroom Breeding. Climbed through the ranks and eventually became RO of both of them in 2015, started to contribute to Smogon's YouTube in early 2016 and later got the Social Media badge around the same time I first got promoted to global driver on PS. Later left Wi-Fi and Breeding in 2017 but stuck around as global staff and eventually got promoted to mod at the end of the year.

What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of Pokémon?

Gaming and watching YouTube mostly, also photography and mountain biking.

What led to your association with the ZU tier and when did you join?

I heard from my buddy Quote in late January of this year that some guys from the ZU community were asking on how they could request a private room on PS for their community. I had dabbled in gen 7 PU when it was still in alpha but never really stuck around, so I figured I could try to get invested in ZU instead and help them with their room situation. Using my incredible connections, I made the ZU private room happen in early February with me as co-RO, and the rest is what has led us to here today.

In your opinion, what separates ZU from other non-official OMs and official tiers alike?

Seeing as the room has been such an integral part of the tier and community's growth, I think that we have staff and tier leaders who are equally invested in all facets of ZU, be it the room, our Discord, or our forum thread. Usage-based tiers are also fairly straightforward in how they work, so we have that edge over other OMs.

What are some of the challenges you personally face as a Room Owner for your tier?

As the only RO, or even staff member for that matter, with any major prior experience to staffing and policy, it's often up to me to help my fellow staff in all sorts of matters that are second nature to me at this point. I also laid down some of the policies that we staff follow regarding everything from promotions, basic room rules, or just how we as staff should act within the room.

What differentiates you from your fellow Room Owners?

Beside being the one with the most experience, I also stand out as someone that isn't a tier leader. In fact, I haven't actually even played a single game of ZU yet (!). I think I just never got around to it with me just wanting to run a room again and now it has become a running joke that I can't bring myself to end.

What do you enjoy most regarding the room? Moreover, are there any moments that stand out to you?

I think seeing the growth has been the most fun for me, I always wanted to rival my former room of Wi-Fi. Back in early July when the room had just been made public and was promoted through a news post, we managed to surpass the amount of users in Wi-Fi and peaked around 240 users or so.

What are your future plans for ZU and what do you hope to accomplish in the near future?

I'm going to keep helping my fellow ROs out with all things policy related and making the room run smoothly. As for the tier itself, having a permanent ladder instead of the rotational one we have now would be a great step forward.

To cap things off, would you mind sharing a team for all these readers?

While I haven't played any of ZU, I do have a pretty heat team I made for gen 6 PU a long time ago that I've just updated slightly with gen 7 mechanics. It's bad but it's really fun when it works.

Interview 5gen

Could you please provide a brief introduction of your experience on Showdown and Smogon?

I came across Pokémon Showdown when Pokebattle was dying out and I basically shifted over to PS like everyone else. I was never really into anything Smogon-related until some time in Gen 6 when Yosp, an old PS! friend from PU, convinced me to write a post on the forum. I never really got too invested on Smogon aside from the PU forum, so I stuck around quietly.

What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of Pokémon?

Basketball is the first thing that comes to mind. I've been playing it my whole life but never really took it to a club level, more focusing on my individual game and to stay in shape. I'm rusty now since I haven't played in some time, but I definitely would like to play it more in uni. My other hobbies include listening to music and reading (manga or books). I don't play many other games outside of Pokémon.

What led to your association with the ZU tier and when did you join?

The first meta I became invested into was Gen 6 PU. From there, I was invited to the FU Discord, which was trying to revive the tier under Charles A. Theist and Slar Flar. Fast forward a few weeks or so and Slar Flar steps down and I'm chosen as his replacement because I was contributing to the tier's resources and active in the tier. This was all in the summer of 2016, back when Gary was still in the server and could give pointers whenever we had a question.

In your opinion, what separates ZU from other non-official OMs and official tiers alike?

I can't speak for other tiers or non-official OMs since I'm not too familiar with them, so I would say that ZU differentiates itself through its "freshness". The community and metagame itself still have lots of room to grow, and as we look to become bigger, we create more opportunities for ourselves and for our playerbase. Hence, we can create different tours, forum projects, and ladder achievements with the goal of expanding our community and strengthening the player base. Another thing that separates us from non-official OMs and official tiers is that we, much like PU did in gen 6, have the ability to affect Smogon's tiering in the future.

What are some of the challenges you personally face as a Room Owner for your tier?

Time. I worked 8am to 4pm all summer and would get home past 6pm, then most days I would be out of the house due to irl things. As such, finding the time to play mons or even be in the room was a challenge for me. Thankfully, I've got over a week before school starts, so I can have more time for the room.

What differentiates you from your fellow Room Owners?

In terms of Pokémon, I've been TL the longest out Diagnostic, Xayah, and myself. I also used to be a PU guy and still dabble in it from time to time (mainly ORAS PU since I was eliminated from Seasonal). In terms of the ZeroUsed room, I'm fairly laid back and I tend to hear people out fully before responding. Typically that means I'll engage with a user before giving a warning. Other than that, I feel I still have space to grow as a Room Owner, and I'm always willing to learn and accept constructive criticism.

What are some of the characteristics that you search for when recruiting new staff members?

In a nutshell, it's being a good contributor. Personally, I also see if someone is mature and willing to put away their ego to accept criticism or just how they deal with situations where they have to defend their point-of-view.

What do you enjoy most regarding the room? Moreover, are there any moments that stand out to you?

What I enjoy most regarding the room is simply the process of becoming a good leader in the chat. As RO, you run the room. Simple as that. For me though, I never really want to "run" the room as much as I want it to be a great place to be for users to come in and enjoy their time. Hence, I most enjoy growing as an RO so I can better lead our staff and userbase. The moments that stand out to me were when the room was first created and the first time we lost the rotational ladder. We went from an absurd amount of users to around 100 users throughout the day. This was expected, but at the same time shows how important it is that we keep the room fun and interactive for the playerbase.

What are your future plans for ZU and what do you hope to accomplish in the near future?

My future plans for ZU is to become more learned on room policy and Smogon policy, upping the skill level of the playerbase, and expanding/refining our resources. The former is self-explanatory, but the latter two depend on whether ZU gets a permanent ladder and how much work our staff and contributors are putting in.

To cap things off, would you mind sharing a team for all these readers?

Older team from when Kecleon first dropped. Team is fairly simple and is solid in my experience. Watch out for Monferno, Rapidash, and Pawniard.

Interview Diagnostic

Could you please provide a brief introduction of your experience on Showdown and Smogon?

Pokémon has always been one of my hobbies since my childhood days. A former girlfriend introduced me to Pokémon Showdown, and we both learned the ropes that came with clause and format rules, which differed from the norms that took place in Wi-Fi battles. The first two tiers I got myself into were ADV OverUsed and Monotype, then I slowly shifted to the side server scenes and focused on the wide variety of Other Meta and League-based activities that existed on those alternate servers. I always valued the social experience gained from indulging in the community.

What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of Pokémon?

Outside of Pokémon, I enjoy taking on development roles for other games such as Maplestory Private Servers and use those platforms to increase my knowledge in the coding field. My other hobbies include mentoring other youth and learning how to analyze and apply newfound knowledge to life scenarios, exploring new-age trends including memes, and just kicking back and going with the flow of opportunities that come my way.

What led to your association with the ZU tier and when did you join?

I actively partook in the tier that was FU in hopes of it potentially being more than just an idea in the PU subforums. I enjoyed the idea of using the "bottom of the barrel" and being able to showcase strategies that were otherwise neglected such as Gravity and other niche strategy compositions. The tier has constantly fluctuated with activity, and once we tried introducing it to the side server with the leading Princess High and other notable names, it underwent a name change to ZU. Following that event, the tier went through a cycle of capable tier leaders including Slar Flar and Chinese Pooh Bear, and now I've been granted another opportunity to help lead the tier once again with our new TL, Xayah, and the familiar face, 5gen.

In your opinion, what separates ZU from other non-official OMs and official tiers alike?

ZU is an idea branching from the trend following other single tiers such as Overused which allows it to stand out from the other OMs that now exist. As much as most of us enjoy playing our favorite tier, there are times where we seek a new change of pace, and the idea of playing a tier where even the worst Pokémon can have a role provokes the curiosity in both competitive and non-competitive players alike. It's essentially the "new toy" syndrome that helps attract players to what we have to offer.

What are some of the challenges you personally face as a Room Owner for your tier?

Patience and tolerance. I cannot stress it enough how difficult it is as someone holding a higher authority to face defiance from your playerbase or your staff members when they show a lack of attention to priorities that need an effective group effort. Everyone has their own opinions, and that may lead to arguments that delay fairly easy tasks. Other than that, maintaining an active presence has become difficult when you have real life endeavors to handle.

What differentiates you from your fellow Room Owners?

I consider myself the Librarian of ZU. My forte lies in providing tier-related information to both staff and players while being one of the more stern Room Owners when it comes down to organization and optimization. Out of the four of us, I would be considered the "overachiever" and have a bad habit of trying to surpass my own capabilities when I'm passionate about something, which would include my responsibilities here with ZU.

What are some of the characteristics that you search for when recruiting new staff members?

I follow an acronym called "P.A.P.E.R.", which stands for Passion, Activity, Personality, Effort, and Reliability. Those who seek progression in the tier will develop all the above and will offer our current staff with other variations in perspective along with their own skills that allows them to aid others while using ZU as a platform.

What do you enjoy most regarding the room? Moreover, are there any moments that stand out to you?

The community has and still remains my favorite part of the room. The bonds you form with your fellow staff along with the opportunity to build connections with other established names and communities is an important factor to growth as both a staff member and an individual in the Showdown community. Some moments that stand out to me are when there are arguments between the playerbase and I view how they can get together and resolve those situations and use that experience to move forward and form positive attitudes with the ability to compromise for future cases.

What are your future plans for ZU and what do you hope to accomplish in the near future?

The "big picture" for ZU involves us adapting to official policies and potentially becoming an official tier in the future if things bode well for our staff and the community. As it stands, we are working on revamping our resources and trying to offer events and opportunities for players to increase their skills within the tier and leading towards the goal of gaining a permanent OM ladder.

To cap things off, would you mind sharing a team for all these readers?

Here is a hazard stack team featuring Komala and Floatzel, two new drops to ZU. Roselia and Golem form the hazard stacking core, and acts as necessary Grass-, Normal-, Electric-, and Water-type checks respectively. Komala acts as the special wall and clears away hazards with Rapid Spin. Floatzel and Silvally-Fighting are the wincons for the team, and provide much of the fire power for the team. Lastly, Choice Scarf Rotom-S rounds out the team, acting as a revenge killer and pivot.