Hello and welcome back to OM Interviews! This round we've got...
The Thinkerino Statue!
Hello Thinkerino and welcome to OM Interviews! How are you doing today?
I'm doing great! Today's my last day before I drive home for winter break, so that's exciting
That's awesome!! I hope you enjoy the break. Starting off, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?
It's no problem! I'm a second year uni student (premed majoring in biology), and I live in an apartment w/ a roommate around four hours away from home. With everything going on in regards to the pandemic, adjusting to online school has been a challenge for sure, but we pulled through. Outside of PS, I tend to spend a lot of time reading--whether it's novels, manga/webtoons, or dictionaries (yes, really), it's one of my favorite hobbies for sure! I also play several instruments, but most frequently I practice the drums and the cello Music is a huge part of my life because everyone in my family either sings, plays an instrument, or both, so that's a ton of fun As for my experience on PS, even though I've actually never played a single second of any cartridge pokemon game, a friend introduced me to it at the beginning of high school and it's stuck ever since. I tend to spend a lot of time just hanging out on showdown--even when I'm doing other things.
And how did you get into OMs? What are some of your favourite metas to play?
I got into OMs as a result of wanting to be able to use mons without being relegated to standards like ou/uu, which I was honestly tired of at the time. Aside from that, I really wanted to be able to contribute to oms in some way, so eventually getting into a council/leading a tier was always a goal for me--aside from PS-staff related goals, obviously Some of my favorites are Almost Any Ability (duh), Last Will, Godly Gift, and Camomons.
Speaking of AAA, you've recently come into leading it! What are your thoughts on the current meta trends? Does anything worry you?
Wow, there's a lot to unpack there To start with, right now the meta is in a state where there are
a lot of viable offensive threats (which I've even posted about on the thread) and arguably limited means to deal with them defensively without there being some glaring weaknesses. Regardless, competitive AAA matches seem to rarely have unwinnable matchups for either side, and it's certainly worth noting that AAA is by no means a "fat" meta right now. A particularly noteworthy trend is Zeraora showing up on seemingly every other team. Its near-uncontested speed tier and impressive coverage makes it excellent at both crippling and cleaning up teams. Additionally, it's now become no surprise to see Blissey on virtually every team, namely because it compresses hazard control in the form of Magic Bounce while retaining its position as a top tier specially defensive wall newly enabled with pivoting in the form of teleport. Blissey and Zeraora aren't the only culprits, either--they're just two of the most notable. Something that concerns me is that although no single element seems to
shout "broken" or "unhealthy" as of right now, teambuilding for the current meta can be difficult--as I said earlier, it's not always easy to defensively cover for powerful attackers like Kyurem, Spectrier, Victini without giving up some kind of advantage in return. That said, I'm hoping that after the OM World Cup, the council will be able to fully devote our attention to examining which factors of the metagame require observation and which might need to be suspect tested/banned.
I see! And how have you reacted to these meta trends when building? Anything new or interesting you like playing with? Any teams you'd like to show off?
My reaction has mostly been to try and adapt by making the most of the tools available and also watching other people's games to better understand how they're tackling all of the changes that came with DLC II. Another potentially odd habit I have is taking teams from completely different metas and adapting them into AAA teams. I've done it with MnM, Camo, OU, and even UU teams in the past--it's quite fun :] In terms of interesting stuff worth giving a try, it's honestly difficult to come with "heat" sets when there's already such a large amount of experimentation going on, but something that was brought to my attention recently is Modest Sheer Force Genesect, running BoltBeam coverage, Shift Gear, and Leech Life. It takes out quite a few common defensive cores (many of which include Blissey) and deals a ton of damage by taking advantage of boltbeam utility As of right now there's really only one team that I've can say is my "favorite," and it's this one:
https://pokepast.es/b88ddf860d11f123 I built it a week or two ago, and it's the definition of straightforward and simple: The gameplan is to spam pivoting moves until Victini can get in to kill something with Choice Band Tinted Lens V-create, featuring spdef Blissey and Tyranitar. Other than that, I tend to spend quite a bit of time vacillating over my options in teambuilder, so sometimes several days will pass and a team
still won't be finished, but I can say without a doubt that labbing things in teambuilder is definitely something I do for hours on end
(Oh I forgot to add in my answer to the first question that my name in real life is in fact Isaiah--same as on discord)
It's great to see such a detailed look into your teambuilding process! How have you been enjoying the WCoOM games so far? Anything you'd like to talk about regarding their teams or plays?
When it comes to tournament gameplay, it's really easy to pass judgment on decisions that players make while enjoying the safety of being on the outside and looking in. I've been a culprit of this many times, and I'd say I do it pretty much everytime I watch a tour game while chatting with friends. That being said, the [AAA] WCoOM games have been entertaining to watch thus far, mostly because it gives me an idea of what people think competitive AAA should look like. In terms of teams and plays, it should be noted that barring a match featuring both a Chansey and Blissey on the same, the teams used tend to forgo worrying about having direct answers to every threat and instead seek to incorporate wincons that are equipped with the tools to take advantage of their checks. One of the easiest examples of this to explain is Triage Tapu Bulu. On paper, it seems as though the obvious answer is to just pack intimidate/dauntless and/or a steel type, but Bulu's coverage of Close Combat + Darkest Lariat actually gives it the potential to beat would-be answers like Dshield Mew and Skarmory or even Corviknight by Swords Dancing up and blasting right through them. We saw an example of this at the end of a game in Week 1 where Ham was able to break through a Corviknight quite easily by getting +4 Attack in front of it and just killing it. Bulu is able to recreate similar scenarios versus things like Doublade and even Zapdos as well given the proper positioning--and this really just points to the direction of the meta right now. People seem to be favoring pokemon like Tapu Bulu, Zeraora, and even Garchomp (rozes managed to cram all three onto the same team in week 1 as well!) because they're able to either achieve their intended goal of exerting offensive pressure or cripple their own checks using the utility of their movesets.
This approach to building when combined with the standard AAA building mentality of cramming as many pivoting moves as possible onto every team is both parts entertaining to watch but also indicative of just how offensive the meta seems to be right now. That may change in the coming weeks, but I wouldn't be surprised if the trend continues until the very end of the tournament
Moving on, how do you feel about last will / godly gift / camomons? Why do they interest you, and what do you consider each's "greatest pressure" to build around?
For me, what made Last Will particularly fun was just the sheer audacity of a meta where your pokemon execute their last moves before fainting. There were so many ways to get last minute chip or intentionally sack a mon to kill another, and for someone who up until that point had only really experienced OU, it was a huge change for me. One of the hardest things to deal with in that meta was figuring out endgame plans while in the midst of mons leaving behind presents left and right. It got somewhat hectic sometimes but was still loads of fun! As for Godly Gift, my interest in that was mostly because it gave me a way to use 150 Base HP Mega Scizor by way of Giratina, and for whatever reason at the time I became infatuated with running Giaratina with Mega Scizor in the HP slot. I can't say I ever got to the point where I ever started seriously building Godly Gift teams, but something that often gave me trouble was Deoxys-Attack HO, which just turned two mons into offensive machines capable of breaking through nearly everything
Camomons is awesome! Changing up typings is a dream come true if anything. Mons like Mew enabled to become whatever one needs them to be adds so much flavor to the realm of possibilities! I think the most attractive aspect of camo is knowing that no matter what would-be coverage moves I want to run on a mon, I can find a way to give it a STAB boost or defensive typing that'll be to its advantage in some way. In standard tiers you have to just deal with the [pokemon] cards you're dealt, and sometimes that just isn't enough to allow for a teambuilding experience that's as interesting. Something I've noticed in Camo games I've watched is that there's a lot of pressure on teams to have a way to deal with mons who gain poison type by running toxic, and that was really easy to overlook when I first started out. As someone who loads up teams with poison heal mons willy-nilly in AAA, it was definitely something I had to get used to
Awesome Moving from mons related things, what are some books you've enjoyed recently and would recommend?
Hmm, most recently what I've read is Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (it's #4 in a series) and also The First Law trilogy. I'd definitely recommend both series to anyone interested in fantasy.
As Well, would you like to talk about your experience with playing music? How did you get into it? What's your relationship with it right now?
I took an interest in playing the drums because I was impressed by what I saw from professional players on Youtube but primarily musicians performing during services at church when I was around 8 years old. With a father who both plays piano and has experience as a choirmaster, I guess it's not the biggest surprise that I ended up taking an interest in music. In intermediate school (5th grade) I picked up the Cello and since then I've also learned Piano and Guitar (I don't play either of those anymore, however). For me, playing any kind of music--especially on my Cello--is a form of escapism: I don't have to think about anything but producing the sounds I want to hear. No need to focus on stressful college classes, the pandemic-induced lockdown, or anything else that would normally occupy one's mind. Even now, 11 years after I initially took interest in playing the drums, I still play/learn music on my cello when I have free time and spend a lot of time at church playing the drums whenever I'm home on break
Awesome. Can you think of any memorable moments you've had in OMs?
The first two that come to mind are kind of cheesy but they're significant to me so I'll mention them: Getting AAA Tier Leader was and still is a big deal to me because as I mentioned earlier, leading a meta is something I've always looked forward to and there are certain personal reasons I won't go into that make it a cherishable achievement; secondly, getting room driver in the OM room was cool because one of my PS specific goals is to try and become global staff Outside of those two, I think my most memorable moments in OMs are those that most people probably take for granted: Specifically, when I'm playing a test game versus a friend and one of us reveals an unexpected set--the ensuing reactions from both parties are always worth the hilarity that ensues. This can also happen while watching games, and I can say with full confidence that two of the best perpetrators of those moments are TheCoastsOfToast and Jrdn, because they're ALWAYS cooking up something CRAZY in the builder (
cough steam engine stored power slowbro
cough)
And what do you think your future holds in OMs? Any suspects, tours, or community aspects you have plans for?
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about this but I assume it's not a big deal. Starting sometime in the near future I'll be launching OM Theorymon, where people will be able to discuss how OMs would be impacted by changes to core aspects of how pokemon works as a game--this is something I think will be loads of fun as long as plenty of people participate, so I hope it works out :D As for AAA, after OMWC the plan is to update the VR and look into updating the sample teams as well. If anyone has any teams they think are or could be sample worthy (especially in the coming weeks), they should post in the AAA thread! Additionally, the AAA council will be looking into addressing some of the issues regarding balance between offensive/defensive options in the meta--so hopefully everything goes well
Anybody you'd like to shoutout?
Shoutout to stresh for joining my theorycrafting antics all the time and shoutout to TheCoastsOfoast for being a wonderful presence all around :]
Finally, any last words to the readers?
[This applies to every OM really] don't be afraid to post your thoughts/findings on the different metas you play on the forums! I see so many discussion-worthy opinions brought up in the OM room that don't make it any farther than the subsequent activity it spurs on PS. It adds depth to metas when player posts on the forums show that people are actually playing them, so those contributions are always welcome
Feel Free To Ask More Questions Below!