What's the article about? For the purposes of this proposed article, let's use a term I have encountered to describe the low ladder: Elo hell. I plan to write a (mostly entertainment) piece talking about the dark magic of this hell: anything from the quintessential (non-mega) Charizard in Ubers, to Aerial Ace being slapped on where it really, really, shouldn't (I'm looking at you, Volcarona).
Lower ladder is a Kafkaesque hell, and it's unmistakable. There are a few signs to watch out for, and I plan to pinpoint them, and share what I see and have seen.
What does it relate to? What do you know about the topic?...these article submissions are private, right?
Okay. I'm sure we all know about showderp, the private room about as taboo as the website it originated from, correct?
Their original purpose is, as far fewer people know, to assemble random, bizarre assortments of Pokémon to challenge the OU ladder -- and in winning, demonstrate that the "smogon-approved" teams, sets, and strategies, don't make a free ticket to the skilled player train.
Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Due to the disjunct between 4chan users and users who can ladder well, what we end up with is random stuff versus random stuff. Kind of like an attention-deficit kid who's on his way to do something important but gets distracted by a shit stain in the hallway.
The result gives us a huge insight into the mind of the Elo hell player. While it isn't as egregious in lower tiers (Ubers and OU are, not very surprisingly, the worst offenders), it's everywhere.
And it's everything from hilarious to lowering my opinion of the human condition.
That said, even though I come from this background, any half-decent player can without a doubt relate - and share a few laughs. Perhaps a little insight as well. It's a wild, wild world.
I'm aware that articles such as Electrolyte's, poking fun at "bad" usernames on PS!, have worked before -- I certainly hope this one clicks as well.
Lower ladder is a Kafkaesque hell, and it's unmistakable. There are a few signs to watch out for, and I plan to pinpoint them, and share what I see and have seen.
What does it relate to? What do you know about the topic?...these article submissions are private, right?
Okay. I'm sure we all know about showderp, the private room about as taboo as the website it originated from, correct?
Their original purpose is, as far fewer people know, to assemble random, bizarre assortments of Pokémon to challenge the OU ladder -- and in winning, demonstrate that the "smogon-approved" teams, sets, and strategies, don't make a free ticket to the skilled player train.
Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Due to the disjunct between 4chan users and users who can ladder well, what we end up with is random stuff versus random stuff. Kind of like an attention-deficit kid who's on his way to do something important but gets distracted by a shit stain in the hallway.
The result gives us a huge insight into the mind of the Elo hell player. While it isn't as egregious in lower tiers (Ubers and OU are, not very surprisingly, the worst offenders), it's everywhere.
And it's everything from hilarious to lowering my opinion of the human condition.
That said, even though I come from this background, any half-decent player can without a doubt relate - and share a few laughs. Perhaps a little insight as well. It's a wild, wild world.
I'm aware that articles such as Electrolyte's, poking fun at "bad" usernames on PS!, have worked before -- I certainly hope this one clicks as well.
