Project ZU Player of the Week: Week 9 - DurzaOffTopic

[Oathkeeper]

DurzaOffTopic a.k.a. pitches♪
Favorite ZU Pokemon: Pawniard
Most used: Exeggutor
Most known for: Moderator, 1st ever ZUPL Champion, Literally every old gen ZU council member​

Oathkeepre: Hey there Durza, how are you doing today?
Durza: I'm doing great, thanks!

Oathkeepre: Could you please tell us more about yourself?
Durza: Sure! I'm a 18 year old music composition major from the East Coast US in my first year of university. I'm also really good at playing the piano. I play a lot of different tiers on Smogon and am most likely primarily known as an RU main even though my best tier is probably NU and I'm playing UU in Snake Draft. ZU obviously has a very special place in my heart though.

Oathkeepre: Could you please tell us the origin of your name?
Durza: My smogon name is kind of a funny story, I came from another forum where I was banned where the social community was known as "Off Topic". "DurzaShade", which takes its name from a character from the Eragon series which I was reading at the time, and is one of my favorite books (the movie is trash). I knew very little about Pokemon but I made a PS! account when a randbats tournament was held on the other forum. I used that old forum mostly for mafia, and when my alt account was eventually found out and banned I just wanted a mafia fix so I got hooked in the PS Mafia room. I played there exclusively for a while and didn't have anything to do with Pokemon but I eventually got bored and started playing on the Mix and Mega ladder with a bad team that I just wanted to play around with, which kinda jumpstarted me into competitive Pokemon. pitches is just a name I came up with since I wanted a music related name and it looked kinda cool.

Oathkeepre: How did you get into ZU and its community?
Durza: Another funny story. Me being the annoying and nosy user I used to be (I've improved, I promise), I was lurking around the OM subforum and I saw that ZU had just put a suspect test on Musharna right after shifts, which seemed really weird to me at the time since the meta had not had time to develop. I made a dumb callout post and then Xayah kinda guilt tripped me into playing the tier. I felt kind of bad for making a rude post where I didn't belong and started to actually really enjoy the tier and the community. In hindsight, I was just being a jerk, but I'm glad it got me into the community!

Oathkeepre: Besides utilizing the Viability Rankings, what advice would you give newer players to the meta?
Durza: Speak up! Ask for advice, I know for sure that any of the good or experienced players in the community would be happy to help anybody who wants to learn. ZUPL Replays are also a really good resource and I would definitely recommend checking them out.

Oathkeepre: I just want to say congrats on winning the first ever ZUPL! You and your team did a fantastic job. BloodAce0107 and our Hakamo-os put up one heck of a fight in the finals. Any thoughts you wanted to get out there along with any shoutouts?
Durza: Thanks for the great games! I suppose I'll do a few shoutouts since I've been given the platform and my team keeps nagging me to boost their egos. Finchinator and Teddeh, thanks for putting up with me for like our millionth subforum team tour in the past 2 years, you guys are always a huge pleasure to work with and I trust you guys to the end of the world and back. Jarii, thanks for staying motivated and being super clutch! Especially in your finals game, I was so proud of how you were piloting teams to wins. Your week 5 game though... Sabella and snaga, thanks for being so willing to play for me and learn a new tier. You both did great and I hope you guys continue to do well in Snake! Ren-chon, I thought you were self-sufficient but I have no idea how we managed to put together a team every week. You did great despite my relatively insecure feelings about the BW meta and you're an awesome person to team with. Kushalos, how did you manage to be the laziest mf ever and still do amazing? the chef is truly unrivaled and you were worth every penny. I'm still kinda mad about your scheduling in finals though... Heysup, I didn't have you in my original draft plans but you were my most exciting draft pick for sure. After you farmed wins off me in PUPL finals to steal best record, I knew that you'd pick up DPP ZU with ease. I'm sorry I refused to test with you so much, I hope you forgive me! The Goomy, I know you're probably not as happy as you wanted to be with your record, but you always helped in chat and were there to sub in when needed. Thanks for being a part! 5gen and @Ho3nConfirmed, you guys are absolutely instrumental for the Flamencos. As many people predicted, I kinda burned out on building teams for the entire team and you guys came in super clutch during the end of Week 5/Finals. I'm eternally grateful and definitely couldn't have done it without you guys. Another shoutout to all the cheerleaders: -Tsunami-, HJAD, and honchkrow!

Oathkeepre: What are your thoughts on the state of the old gens for ZU right now?
Durza: Old gens is kind of a mess right now and definitely needs a revamp of VR and all resources. I'm pretty happy with how the metagames have developed and ZUPL has definitely given us a great look into what the tiers should actually look like viability wise.

Oathkeepre: Are there any up and coming users you have your eye on right now?
Durza: I think that he's starting to get more recognition deservingly, but uhuhuhu7 is definitely someone who I think has a ton of potential to be a top player. eifo is making a clean transition to ZU and I think he has a lot of great ideas to bring to the tier.

Oathkeepre: Do you think the current meta is fine the way it is or do you think anything needs to be brought back/tested/etc?
Durza: Shiftry is broken in my eyes. It has too little counterplay and it has too much counterplay to any of its checks and counters. It destroys fat teams with SD or just its powerful Knock Off and Leaf Storm combo, and Sucker Punch rips through offensive teams. It's making Swanna nearly unbearable to play against as well, but Shiftry is definitely the main perpetrator in the current meta. I am definitely advocating for a suspect test right now.

Oathkeepre: You mentioned majoring in music composition. What do you hope to do with it? (working with big name companies, etc)
Durza: I'm still kinda young but I'm kinda just writing music for whoever wants me to write for them right now. I've looked into writing music for Film or video games but theres still a lot of time before I need to decide exactly what I want to do. It's really my passion though and I love creating music!

Oathkeepre: I'm simply asking this question because I know Tack will later, but who is the cutest ZU user?
Durza: I hate this question and am boycotting it. Tack :]

Oathkeepre: Who are some of your favorite people in the community?
Durza: The verified and confirmed least active ZU driver / council member with a scholarly 3.2 GPA, LPY has numerously gone on to prove himself worthy of being the teacher (先生) for his middle school weeaboo debate club. Though his students are only interested in Love Live, he remains a steadfast im@s fan. Jokes aside, LPY is without a doubt my closest friend in ZU and he's a super awesome dude and a great player. I consider 5gen and uhuhuhu7 to be very good friends of mine as well. I've become pretty attached to Ho3nConfirm3d too, he's a great presence and a super good guy. czim is without a doubt my least favorite person in the community, however.

Oathkeepre: Lastly, could I ask that you share a meaningful team to you and explain what it does?
Durza:

Importable

Pyukumuku @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Innards Out
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Toxic
- Counter
- Memento

Avalugg @ Choice Band
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Avalanche
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Superpower

Altaria @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 172 HP / 136 Atk / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Power Whip

Mawile @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch

Rotom-Fan @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick

While probably not the most serious of teams, my favorite team I've built is by far the hyper-stall team I built for Teddeh to use against TJ in ZUPL. It's built to look like stall from preview but function like bulky offense, and it's really funny when it works. Innards Out Pyukumuku is actually a super cool tech and should be seen more on offensive teams.

Oathkeepre: Alrighty. Well Durza, thank you so much for your time and your answers because you were a great interview. I hope you have a great day!
Durza: Thanks so much! :messi: :veryflushed:​

 

[Tuthur]

Who's the most cringe user?
Favorite Eggy's set?
Thoughts on french smogon players?
Why is Corsola that good?

 

[DurzaOffTopic]

Who's the most cringe user?

oh god thats so hard, probably aaron tho when it comes to consistency of cringe but his cringe is a lot less bad than some other cringe offenders

Favorite Eggy's set?

block giga drain flash sub with starf berry harvest

Thoughts on french smogon players?

oh my lord ojama is the goat

Why is Corsola that good?

it blanket checks like every special attacker in the tier and synergizes with every grass type and has rocks and regenerator and scald and reliable recovery which are the four most broken things in the game

 

[Greybaum]

Thanks for the shoutout Durza, I'm glad to call you a friend.

- How do you think counterplay to Swanna could be developed in a post-Shiftry metagame?
- How much of an influence do you think Torterra will have on Golem's viability a few weeks from now?
- Are there any sets or Pokemon you wanted to bring to ZUPL but never had the opportunity to?
- Assuming we have another ZUPL, do you think you'll be able to get away with the same drafting strategy? Or do you think the other ZUPL leaders will work towards gaining a greater knowledge of potential candidates from other tiers in the weeks leading up to the draft?

- What animated movie had My Generation by The Who as their opening song?
- Would you rather watch Love Live or iDOLM@STER? Best song of each?
- You mentioned that you were an annoying user in the past. Do you think anything in particular encouraged you to become less-annoying or was it just natural growth?
- Are there any shows from the upcoming Fall season that you're looking forward to? AOTS predictions? Best girl predictions?
- Lastly, top 5 anime openings, only one from each franchise, go. 10 if it's easier for you.

 

[Tack]

​

Durza: I hate this question and am boycotting it. Tack :]

So i'm the cutest user then?

Favorite band/Album?
grats on zupl btw, you got a fucking nutty team that i could see being nutty on like, your second player.
how long till we completely revamp DPP/BW since it's super needed?

 

[TTK]

Why you keep saying TTGL is bad you nooblord
I already know your favourite anime so what's the worst you've seen?
Why do you think HxH is so good? You already know I gave a 6/10 and honestly its overhyped.

 

[DurzaOffTopic]

uhuhuhu7

- How do you think counterplay to Swanna could be developed in a post-Shiftry metagame?

more offensive water types and offensive pokemon in general that don't get bodied by sucker punch

- How much of an influence do you think Torterra will have on Golem's viability a few weeks from now?

golem is dead

- Are there any sets or Pokemon you wanted to bring to ZUPL but never had the opportunity to?

yeah i actually wanted to bring a shed stall somewhere along the line but I didn't have the time to create a really solid build, and the one i did make had way too many flaws and was impossible to pilot

- Assuming we have another ZUPL, do you think you'll be able to get away with the same drafting strategy? Or do you think the other ZUPL leaders will work towards gaining a greater knowledge of potential candidates from other tiers in the weeks leading up to the draft?

LOL i'll definitely get away with it since ill change my strategy to make everybody think they're upbidding me

- What animated movie had My Generation by The Who as their opening song?

shut the fuck up

- Would you rather watch Love Live or iDOLM@STER? Best song of each?

i watched love live and i dont plan on watching im@s anytime soon, i don't know any im@s songs but Start:Dash and Snow Halitation are both really good songs from love live imo

- You mentioned that you were an annoying user in the past. Do you think anything in particular encouraged you to become less-annoying or was it just natural growth?

glad you asked this question because its a combination of two things.
1) one of my best friends on this website is obii, and when i was at my lowest points struggling with overattachment to this website and irl depression he was always there for me no matter how annoying I got. he helped me stick to a very small group of friends that I could trust and get out all my frustrations or impulses to act stupid just around them (LPY, -Tsunami-, and a few others are a part of that group and i'm super thankful for their friendship despite how awful of a user i used to be)

2) ZU gave me a chance as a staff member and it really gave me something to change for as I had something that I could represent and base myself around. it gave me a huge incentive to change my behavior

- Are there any shows from the upcoming Fall season that you're looking forward to? AOTS predictions? Best girl predictions?

nah i literally couldn't care less about this season, its all sequels of shows im not interested in

- Lastly, top 5 anime openings, only one from each franchise, go. 10 if it's easier for you.

Sakura Mitsutsuki

Spyair

Gintama

Dreamy Date Drive

Chiwa Saito

Owarimonogatari 2nd Season

Nanairo Symphony

Coala Mode

Your Lie in April

ft.		FUNKIST	Fairy Tail
Ring of Fortune		Eri Sasaki	Plastic Memories
sirius		Eir Aoi	Kill la Kill

Colors

FLOW

Code Geass: Lelouche of the Rebellion

Here		Junna	The Ancient Magus' Bride
Hacking to the Gate		Kanako Ito	Steins;Gate
Aimai Moko		Inori Minase	Tsurezure Children
Bloody Stream		Coda	Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

idk here are just 11 random ones i really like, not in any particular order

also this songs goat

oh also ive been listening to the ReLIFE opening lately SOOOO much i really like that

 

[DurzaOffTopic]

So i'm the cutest user then?

Favorite band/Album?
grats on zupl btw, you got a fucking nutty team that i could see being nutty on like, your second player.
how long till we completely revamp DPP/BW since it's super needed?

bet you didn't expect this but this is my favorite piece of music, period


dpp/bw revamp will happen when we initiate it in our secret channel

 

[DurzaOffTopic]

Why you keep saying TTGL is bad you nooblord

Why do you think TTGL is so good? You already know I gave a 6/10 and honestly its overhyped.

I already know your favourite anime so what's the worst you've seen?

of something that I watched seriously probably kakegurui

Why do you think HxH is so good? You already know I gave a 6/10 and honestly its overhyped.

Why you keep saying hxh is bad you nooblord