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Welcome to OU's Player of the week, a project
where I interview well known players to gain insight on how they battle, as well as get to know some things about them. The goal of this thread is to have these high level players give insight to other players in this community in hopes of creating a better overall experience in the OU environment. As always, if there's someone you'd like to see interviewed, feel free to shoot me a PM. So without further ado, lets get to it!
-Tsunami-
Most Known For:
Going 15-1 in SPL + World Cup 2013, being lucky, being unable to say 'r', annoying countless people, doing a lot of battles for OLT, repeating many phrases in an endless loop in calls, doing bad play analyses, saving Molk and the RU tier, creating VoD, but most of all, for being the best Pokemon and TagPro player of all time.
Favorite Pokemon:
Arcanine
Most used Pokemon:
Jirachi
Where did you get your name from?
So my first name on here was steeleagle17, which is my youtube account. That was when I first joined Smogon. Soon after I changed my name to The Master Of Oz, a yugioh card, but I eventually got bored of that too. I made my name ShakeItUp after that, which is what pretty much everyone calls me, but I never used that name on IRC or Showdown because I thought it was dumb. So finally, I changed my name to Tsunami, which was my best friend on IRC's alt name a couple years ago, and was and still is my IRC alt today. Unfortunately, some guy from ages ago has 1k posts on the name Tsunami, and aids sacks like Oglemi refused to delete his account (unfortunate). So, here I am, forced to live with these dashes.
How and when did you get into competitive battling?
My first Pokemon game was Leaf Green, which I liked a lot. Afterwards, my parents bought me Pokemon Emerald and then Pokemon Diamond. Soon after, I realized I could play online, but didn't really have a means to do it. That's when I came across "Friend Code Videos" on YouTube, where people just posted their friend codes and you would PM them yours to play them. One of the first people I played was Haydunn actually, when he had like 0 subscribers. Soon after, I came across the channel of the legendary Uutton, who was talking about his clan Draco Alliance on PurpleSurge. Intrigued, I went there and met a lot of cool people, some of whom I still talk to today (DittoCrow, Squirrel, Joey, Darren, etc.). I clan hopped a lot, but eventually, PurpleSurge started dying, and I migrated over to Smogon along with some people like Moo. I tried out for US Central back then to be with my friends Metabeast and Babies (Squirrel), but Lonelyness is biased against Indians so unfortunately I didn't get on a team. But since then, I started contributing, playing more tournaments, and here I am today.
How do you feel about how ORAS plays compared to XY?
The main ORAS tier I play is RU, but being an SPL manager, I've seen a lot of the OU games that have happened as well as the countless innovations created by my players, namely Anti, ben gay, chimpact, and of course, the Based Lord. At this point, I definitely feel that the end of XY was a much better metagame than current ORAS, which I personally feel is a great deal more dictated by matchup and still has overpowered threats (see: Mega Metagross). One cool thing about ORAS is there's still a lot of innovation to be done, so it's interesting seeing all of the new threats coming out every week due to SPL. RU is also worse than XY RU in my opinion, but I'm sure it will get better as time passes.
What are your thoughts on the Megagross suspect test currently going on? Is there anything else you feel is suspect worthy?
Mega Metagross definitely needs to be removed in my opinion. I don't necessarily think it's as overpowered as other banned Pokemon such as Greninja, but I feel as if for the metagame to advance to a better state, it really needs to be removed. It's really bulky, has great coverage, and even has Tough Claws-boosted Grass Knot to catch "counters" such as Slowbro off guard. Outside of that, I'm not really sure what else is suspect worthy. Landorus-I is one thing that comes to mind, but I'm not sure if I would ban it; suspecting it couldn't hurt, though.
What’s your favorite playstyle and why?
"Hyper Offense is the best style." - my words from ages ago which are constantly quoted by gr8astard. During my first real SPL and World Cup, when I went 15-1 as I mentioned before, I pretty much solely used Hyper Offense. I'm pretty sure I used a grand total of 12 Pokemon through 6 World Cup Games, a testament to my unwillingness to change. However, for most of XY, I mainly used balance, as I thought I needed a change to avoid being a bit too predictable; balance was really solid then, too. After World Cup, the only team I used was an Alomomola + Goodra team made by gr8astard, and I didn't change teams again till about 3 months later. The one playstyle I have never used is stall...that used to be a fact, until I played Dice in World Cup, where I brought it since we needed a win to stay alive and I knew it would have great matchup. Despite all of this, HO is still my favorite playstyle to use since you can end games quickly; it's also a lot more fun to use compared to stall, where you have to switch out all day long, although some people like SilentVerse get enjoyment out of that for whatever reason.
What's your favorite generation of OU and why?
I actually liked XY OU the best, before ORAS. Since that doesn't really exist as a tier now, I'd have to say DPP actually. I'm legitimately not really good at the tier; I consider myself decent when given a team, and I definitely have 0 capability of building in it, but I just find it fun to play and watch, especially in SPL and World Cup. My main problem with BW is how matchup oriented it is, and this is less of a problem in DPP. If I had to pick one to play in an tournament game, though, it would still be BW.
Favorite and least favorite moments of SPL?
I have two least favorite moments. The first being in the SPL 4 auction, when DittoCrow was unfortunately not present, and Limitless chose Jason, who had used Scarf Jolteon in World Cup, over me for his team, the Wolfpack. I really wanted to play on the Wolfpack, and I almost didn't get drafted at all; the Sharks actually drafted someone else and had to ask Fabbles to allow them to switch their pick to me. The gods repaid Limitless heavily though, as Jason reported him for attempting to ghost and got him banned for the rest of that SPL. My other least favorite moment of SPL was in the same season, when Jorgen of the Wolfpack beat Conflict, who was on the Sharks, my team, and ended our season. That was very unfortunate, especially because it was during the last day of Spring Break. Not to mention, I went 10-0 that season and we lost in the semifinals. Sigh. It's ok though, because we got revenge against the Wolfpack last season in the SPL 5 semis. This ties in with my favorite moments. After beating the Wolfpack, we played the Cryonicles in the finals. With the series tied 5-5, we had two games left: Malekith vs. Cased Victory and Conflict vs. Picollo. My two favorite moments were when Malekith used Thunder Wave on Cased's Ludicolo, Thunderbolted his Klang switch, and then outsped it and KOed it with Focus Blast to make the game a great deal easier to win. My second favorite moment was in the subsequent game, when Conflict beat Picollo and we got the long-awaited trophy.
If you could change one thing about OU, what would it be and why?
I'm not particularly sure, outside of banning Mega Metagross. I'm interested to see how the metagame develops after that.
Do you have any advice for newer players, and for Smogon in general?
If you're trying to go for a badge, don't worry if you think your work isn't being noticed. I had this problem originally, but don't worry, it will all work out in the end. There's a lot of people watching you...As for tournaments, if you want to get in SPL and World Cup, the best ways are just to do well in other tournaments such as Smogon Tour or just to make friends. Becoming friends with people is the easiest way to get chosen for World Cup and SPL, if you're interested in those. Don't start talking shit and bugging people to get drafted, since this usually will just make managers and captains use the ignore feature on IRC.
If you could change one thing about Smogon as a whole to make it better, what would it be and why?
I think that having cash prizes for every official tournament to give people more motivation to play, expand the community, and make the tournaments even more competitive would be a good idea. A ridiculous amount of people have already signed up for the Doubles Winter Seasonal, even though the first place prize is only $20.
What players do you look up to / are good friends with?
I'm not really sure who I look up to, to be honest, lol. I suppose I'm not very great at teambuilding in general, so people who can do that almost effortlessly can amaze me. As for friends, I'd say all of IDM, East, the Classiest, the Sharks, the RU chan, and of course, the VORTEX OF DECIMATION.
Finally, can you provide us a team that’s a good fit for this metagame and reflects your playstyle, with a brief explanation of how it works?
Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rock Polish
- Focus Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Roost
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rock Polish
- Focus Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Roost
This team utilizes a great deal of speed in order to be effective in the metagame. Sand can be very effective when used correctly, and in tandem with Rock Polish HP Ice Landorus to KO Gliscor, which can otherwise be a pain for Landorus and Excadrill, the team can muscle its way through the opposition. Talonflame is another revenge killer, which is useful for when sand isn't up, as is Mega Manectric. Tangrowth is a bit of a surprise Pokemon, but due to its already solid Defense, great HP, and very good Special Defense after the boost from Assault Vest, it can be a good switch in to most attacks, giving me more freedom later in the game. Having this much speed can help stop many of the set-up sweepers in the tier, such as DD Mega Altaria. Overall, I think this team works pretty well in the current metagame. Oh, and shoutouts to my nigga T for the team btw, haha.
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There it is. If you have any questions for Shake, leave them down below. I'd like to thank him for doing this, and I'll see yall next week!
