Interview Archive
Interview with Spire - Written by
Terywj
[collapse=The Interview]
I transitioned into sunglasses as I walked down the street. It was a hot, humid day, and I didn't like the heat. As I approached the address written down, I felt slightly nervous, seeing as I've never done this before. I rang the doorbell, and waited. "Hello," a man answered. "Hi, I'm here to see...Spire?" I said quietly. The man seemed to think about that for a minute before saying, "Oh. His room is the second of the left up the stairs." I wonder what he thought of me, a young high-schooler with nothing but a pencil and pad of paper. I thanked the man and followed his directions. On the door, was a roman numeral III carved in the center, only scratched out and being subsequently being followed by a IV, V, VI, and VII. This was definitely his room. I rapped lightly on the door before entering. The room was air conditioned and neatly decorated, with numerous Legend of Zelda and art books on the bookshelf, to various paintings on the walls. Ween was playing lightly in the background, and a man was sitting at his laptop with his back turned toward me. The browser was on Smash World Forums, and as the man noticed me he exited out, displaying a Slowbro wallpaper.
"Hey, Spire." I said. "Hey man. Grab a seat." Spire responded. There was a bit of awkward silence between us before I stated, "Well. Let's get this started, then." Spire nodded.
I pulled out my pad of paper, leaned back in my chair, and began to write.
Terywj - Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Like name, location, education, that sort of stuff?
Spire VII - Of course. My name is Benjamin, 19. I live in Houston, TX, and I'm currently studying Painting and Art History. I've been interested in art for really my whole life, mostly due to my mother being an art teacher and my father being a musician.
Terywj - Awesome. Since many members of the Smash World Forums are familiar with your art, do you paint your art that you display here in real life and then take a photo of it, or do you use a computer tablet?
Spire VII - I make the majority of my work with a Wacom Tablet in Photoshop and ArtRage Studio. Every blue moon I'll do a painting traditionally, but it costs money for the canvas, paints, and other supplies so only for special occasions do I work in that fashion.
Terywj - Ahh. As everyone is aware of, you're a Super Moderator and one of the Moderators assigned to the Pokemon Center and Legend of Zelda boards on Smash World Forums. How did you discover Smash World? And how did you come about to be a Moderator?
As I stated the question, I accidentally fell over backwards in my chair. I guess I haven't learned my lesson quite yet.
Spire VII - I discovered Smash World Forums through a link in the description of a youtube video back in February after Brawl was released in Japan. I had been keeping up with the Dojo every day, but had never heard of SWF, so naturally once videos of all the new characters and such were released, I stumbled onto the forums. I joined sometime in March as the member majorojam but I hated the name, so I made a new account in April, Spire III. I hung around General Brawl Discussion at first, because I wasn't interested in the competitive scene, just well, general talk. I soon found the Poké Center and thus my niche in the boards. It was our own little island, with no real moderation. We weren't out of control (though the occasional troll would make its way in), and we all had bountiful creative ideas to share, including the legendary Custom Pokémon Shop that Firus, bowser king and I started. Before I was a moderator and before the Legend of Zelda forum existed, we had the single General Zelda Discussion thread that SkylerOcon started in the Light House. I kind of rose as the unofficial leader of the thread, with the most posts and a lot of enthusiasm researching the timeline, theorizing and such. Back in... June or July of '09, the idea of a whole forum arose, so the regulars all wrote up petitions in Forum Support. I think by the end of the month (whichever one it was), we had our forum, so I continued as the unofficial leader of the room, even after Skyler was modded to it. Around this time, Zook was already modding the Poké Center, so when he decided to leave Smashboards, I asked if he wanted me to take over his position and that's how I got the job.
Terywj - Speaking about Pokemon, you have said many times that you only sprite and never battle. Have you ever tried competitive battling? If not, why don't you?
Spire VII - Well, I wouldn't say that I only sprite, in fact I never sprite anymore. I enjoy playing the games at my own leisure and ever since Gen 1, I just haven't enjoyed the multiplayer aspect of Pokémon. Rather, I enjoy the concepts behind the series and the creatures themselves, which is why I've devoted so much time to studying their designs, background information, and making my own creations based off of the given material. I have never tried competitive battling and I don't see myself doing so anytime in the future. I'm a very visual person and the series is lacking visually for me to enjoy the romance that a battle should be. Static sprites of cartoon creatures staring down one another, somehow casting off obviously better looking effects for attacks at eachother just doesn't appeal to me in a competitive sense. As a designer, it feels like a slap in the face. We're in a totally new age of gaming than we were back in '98 and the graphics of the games really break them in too many regards to keep me hooked outside of a strictly casual experience.
Terywj - In more regards to the PokeCenter, you've been around the PokeCenter for a long time. What do you think of the PokeCenter today and how it has evolved from back in 2008?
Spire takes a sip of Mountain Dew, thinking before continuing.
Spire VII - It has been through some rough times in my opinion, especially in early '09. I took my leave during that time because it was becoming too competitive-centric for me to even enjoy, and the Custom Pokémon Shop was going down the drain with countless arguments happening within it (even leading to it being closed for a while). Though if I were to compare the PC as it is right now to how it was back in May-June of '08, I love it even more. We may not have the same creative substance that we had back then, but we still have the spark and it seems to burn even brighter now. Though the flame that burns twice as bright may burn only half as long, I'll see to it that the moment it burns out, we get another candle lit. There are so many projects going on in the PC, it can get cluttered at times, but that is a wonderful thing, especially given that we're still trying to restructure the forum greatly to accommodate the interests of the public. I like to see the PC continue to thrive with open arms to all newcomers so that our collective consciousness can progress more and more.
Terywj - About the members there, if you could meet any three of the other PokeCenter members in person, who would you meet up with and why?
Spire VII - No offense to anyone because I'd surely love to meet you all, but without a doubt I'd like to meet Firus, Mewter, and Zook. Because simply, I've spent the most time with them in my stay in the PC and outside of the forum.
Terywj - Random questions - Do you like Sonic? Favorite ice cream flavor and album?
Spire VII - I like Sonic enough to not dislike him. I really don't like ice cream that much at all, so I'm just gonna go with French Vanilla. So creamy and worth that rare craving for ice cream. And oh man, favorite album. "The Pod" by Ween. It's the most lo-fi, brown, gritty, dark, mystical, sleezy, vulgar, and outright absurd album I've ever heard and I've listened to it more than anything else. I wouldn't even go so far as to recommend it for people when trying to introduce them to Ween as it's major make it or break it, but I can surely attest to it being the perfect album for me.
I take note that all the songs played in the background during this time have all been songs by Ween.
Terywj - What's your view on intelligent extraterrestial life?
I could almost hear The Wrath of Koarin snicker from faraway.
Spire VII - I could write a book about it, but I'll give you my short answer. It's out there and anyone who denies it is backwards and in denial. I could even go so far as to say that the so called "gods" of old world mythologies were in fact aliens, beings who 'descended from the skies'. Go figure.
Terywj - And now for the grand finale...what is your favorite Pokemon?
Spire VII - Let me take a moment to think about this...
I take the moment to glance around at the Legend of Zelda memorabilia and mythology books scattered on his bookshelf. My eyes drift over to a wooden Humpty Dumpty figurine on one side of the room.
Spire VII - I can't say I have any single favorite, but my current favorite family is the Togepi family. Togepi exemplifies Gen 2 and thus, the first batch of new Pokémon. Back when I was around 8-9 years old and I found out about Togepi, Ampharos, Snubbull, Marill, Ho-oh, Donphan, Bellossom, Slowking, and Hoothoot (I believe), which were all the first Gen 2 Pokémon unveiled, it changed my life. I was so in love with the idea of new Pokémon and their designs absolutely blew me away. I love the idea of the Togepi family being based on this strange patterned egg and loosely on the bird/fairy and the way they all evolve just rings a great bell. Togepi exemplifies not only Gen 2 and the first batch of new Pokémon, but also evolution itself. All Pokémon able to breed hatch from eggs, and Togepi is an egg. It is archetypal in design and its movepool is wonderful. With my affinity for Humpty Dumpty, no wonder I love Togepi.
Terywj - That's awesome. Thanks for having me, Spire.
Spire VII - No problem dude.
I thanked Spire's parents and headed off to the airport. I had an interview to publish when I got back home. I definitely had a good time, and looked forward to meeting the other members of the PokeCenter soon.[/collapse]
Interview with Zook - Written by
Terywj
[collapse=The Interview]
I looked around. North Conway, New Hampshire was a quiet, rural place. The White Mountains were in the background, and I scurried about, trying to head for the stand I was looking for. "Dungeons and Dragons Books" was plastered at the top of the stand, and I could see various books about the said game cluttered here and there. There was only one person at the stands, wearing jeans and a Swinub T-shirt. His glasses gleamed a bit in the sunlight as he turned towards me. "Tery? Where's the free books and coupons you were talking about?" the boy questioned. I pulled out two chairs and notioned for him to sit down. "Actually," I grinned, "There are no free books or coupons. I came here to interview you." The boy frowned. "Why'd you bring me out to North Conway, then?" "Why, because it's just a cool place." I said.
I pulled out my notebook and pen. "Isn't that right, Zook?"
Terywj - So Zook, it's typicaly of us as a community to ask - do you mind sharing some personal details? You know, name, age, location, etc.?
Zook - Of course not. Let's see... My name is Chris Mitchell, and I'll be turning 18 this July. I live in an obscure town called Weare in an obscure state called New Hampshire. I've lived here pretty much all my life.
Terywj - New Hampshire, huh? How do you like the environment there? And have you traveled to other parts of the country?
Zook - I love it. Look at that scenery.
Zook pauses and gestures to the White Mountains in the background.
Zook - The farthest I've travelled from here is Washington, D.C. for my 8th grade D.C. trip. It can be a bit dull here, though; we aren't exactly diverse in culture, and there isnt a ton to do.
Terywj - Speaking of things to do, what are some of your hobbies and interests?
Zook - I love creative activites, such as drawing and writing. I also enjoy playing video games, obviously (recently I've been hooked on Monster Hunter Tri, Super Metroid, and Super Mario Galaxy), reading fantasy/sci-fi books, and theatre.
Terywj - Moving along, when did you join Smash World Forms? How'd you find it, and what was your motivation to join?
Zook - In the summer of 2005, my parents bought me a copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee for my birthday. I had been wanting it for quite some time, but because it was rated T, then wouldn't let me have it until I turned 13. In that month's issue of Nintendo Power, there was an article on the SSBM community, and a link to Smash World Forums. I thought I was really good at the game and wanted to get better, so I joined it the day after my birthday.
Terywj - An intriguied beginning! Where'd you start off posting, and where did you find your early homes?
Zook - My very first post was in the Poke Center, but I made a fool of myself and avoided that room for a while. I also posted a lot in the Debate Hall and Pool Room, which were both definately my first SWF homes.
Terywj - How'd you come back to the PokeCenter? And can you describe the times leading up to your promotion to Moderator?
Zook - For me entire SWF carrier, I've been visiting the PC. What made me stick, though, was that upon buying Pokemon Emerald version, I realized that I was actually quite good at Pokemon Battling, and I wanted to learn more by battling tons of people. I knew that would be very hard in such a rural setting, so I turned to the internet: there I found Netbattle, and I started posting in the PokeCenter again to learn about the competitive scene.
Zook paused.
Zook - The times leading up to my promotion was a little hectic. The duo that was modding the PokeCenter left (for seperate reasons), and a lot of users felt that the administration were placing people who didn't really "know" the PC in leadership positions. One day an administrator asked me if I wanted to mod the PC, I said yes, and that was that.
Terywj - And as members of the older generation of PokeCenter members know, you stepped down from the Moderator position months ago. What were the reasons behind it? Do you think you'll ever go back to Modding the PC?
Zook - My reason for stepping down was that I felt that Modding was simply taking up to much of my time. At the time, I had just gotten my first girlfriend and I was letting my grades in school slip, and I was almost on the brink of not being able to graduate this year. I took a step back, thought a bit, and decided that I would have to cut myself off from SWF for a while. I'd love to Mod the PC again in the future.
Terywj - Ahh yes. Since you brought up grades, you're a Senior, right? What're your plans after high school / graduation?
Zook - I'm going to take a few classes at the New Hampshire Technical Institute for a year while I figure out what I really want to go to college for- I have an anxiety disorder which makes making major decisions incredibly stressful for me, so I have trouble figuring out what I want to do with myself.
Terywj - Oh my, I almost forgot about this question: What's your favorite Pokemon?
I eye his Swinub shirt carefully, which only stares back with a slight grin.
Zook - Of course! Well, I'd have to choose Dunsparce. His design is absolutely bursting with personality, his name is very unique, and I just love him.
Terywj - And as you know, the PokeCenter members are working on SmashCAP 3, which is acting as a tribute to you. Your thoughts on that and how it might turn out?
Zook - I didn't think you were actually being serious when you told me you'd do this, but I'm excited to see how it will turn out. Personally, I've always pictured myself with a Ghost/Normal support-role, but a wall-breaking Special Attacker is pretty sweet, too. It'll be cool to show my friends when it's completed.
Terywj - Bringing back some favorites - what's your favorite type of music, band, color, and video game of all time? Quickly, before Kanye interrupts us.
Zook - Indie and folk, Nuetral Milk Hotel, cerulean, and-
Some kid walked by, blasting Heartless by Kanye West out of his earbuds. Zook gives me a look before finishing.
--...Super Metroid.
Terywj - What are your thoughts on the PokeCenter from the 2007-2008 era until now? Where do you think the PokeCenter is headed with its current members?
Zook - I'm amazed by how much the PC has changed in the past 3 years. It's hard to believe that a single thread has basically revived an entire forum. I see the PokeCenter becoming more and more community-oriented as time goes on; with such creative and warm members, I can see the PC becoming a pretty good-sized hub of Pokemon-related projects (such as SmashCAP) in the future.
Terywj - Have you ever met anybody from the PokeCenter or SWF? If so, who, and if not, who would you want to meet?
Zook - I haven't yet, but I certainly would like to. The members I would most like to meet are Meta-Kirby and Firus.
Another kid walks by, and I can discretely pickup Ween from his iPod. Like a lightbulb, I remember something for my last question.
Terywj - If you could have lived in an old world civilization, which would you choose and why?
Zook - Hmm, that's a tough one. Probably pre-Columbian America, because its culture would be so drastically different than ours. That, and I have a yearning for the simple life.
Terywj - Thanks for doing the interview with me, Zook.
Zook - Not a problem.
He smiles.
We fold the chairs and put them against the stand and we part our separate ways. Before I leave though, I asked Zook one final question. "Zook!" I call out. Zook turns around, "Hm?" I point at his shirt, "Swinub?"
Zook flashes me a thumbs-up, and gives me a very Captain Falcon worthy "Yes!"
As I boarded the bus back home, a man handed me a slip of paper that was drafted for me. I unfurled the paper, and read aloud: Zook always wins.[/collapse]
Interview with Firus - Written by
Terywj
[collapse=The Interview]
The weather wasn't really suited for a beach day, but I had already rescheduled numerous times, so we decided to show. Hampton still had a lot of people, and knowing that I found my way over to a dining sector and waited for the interviewee to show up. I saw a kid around my age with a Sonic shirt and duct-taped shoes and mentioned him over.
"So Firus, how we doing today? Drive wasn't too bad?" I asked. "Nah. Fairfield is far but not too far," he laughed. A waitress asked for drinks, Firus got a Code Red Mountain Dew and I got a Sprite. I pulled out my notebook entitled "Interviews" and started writing.
Terywj: So Firus, could you tell us about yourself? Name, age, general stuff like that?
Firus: Sure. My name is John Adams (yes, like the president). I'm 17, turning 18 this October and am a Junior in high school (soon to be a Senior). Not quite sure what I want to study in college yet, but I'm thinking of majoring in Communications at the moment.
Terywj: As we know, you joined Smashboards in early 2008. How'd you find the site, and what was your motivation behind joining?
Firus: Well, in September 2007, I had joined Nintendo's NSider Forums as a way of anticipating Brawl in a community. When those got shut down, I ended up lurking YouTube for videos and using that for discussions of the game. I met someone there who I talked to a bit, and he mentioned SmashBoards a little bit. At the time, I was very anti-competitive, intending to tell competitive players how silly they were (on top of actually discussing the game, of course), but shortly after I joined I wound up realizing how silly I was being.
Terywj: Why did you choose the name Firus?
Firus: Back in 2006, I had joined the forums from a site called The Mystical Forest Zone, host of the sprite comic InSONICnia -- and the site that got me started on spriting. While starting on spriting, I decided I wanted to make my own fan Sonic character, to give myself an internet nickname, as the one I had currently adapted was the username from my Runescape account, Pyro8maniac, and I wasn't particularly fond of it. I ended up making a hedgehog similar to Shadow, with longer spines, an overall red color, and blue stripes. I had created him to be a sort of fire-y character, and when trying to come up with ideas for the name, someone suggested "Firus". I liked it, and I adapted the name "FirustheHedgehog" -- and more recently, Firus -- as my nickname for...pretty much everything, except in real life.
Terywj: Where did your SWF career start, and how did you come about to the PokeCenter?
Firus: I started off posting exclusively in the Brawl forums, mostly the General Brawl Discussion. About a month after joining, once I had developed a disappointment in Brawl, I started moving to other parts of the forum. Having been a long-time Pokémon fan, I was a little surprised I hadn't posted in the Poké Center before, and I started lurking and posting. I immediately fell in love with the community and all of the creative ideas that people -- most notably, Spire -- were putting out about how the games could be improved.
Terywj: You later started the Custom Pokemon Shop, along with Spire VII and other members. Looking back on it know what do you think of it? What of its impact on the PokeCenter?
Firus: Looking back, The Custom Pokémon Shop was...well, it was great for its first few months. Once the summer ended, the spriters stopped spriting as regularly, we started having to implement rules to stop the overflow of requests which we had been able to handle during the summer, and that's ultimately where things started to go downhill. However, I view its first few months in the summer as being absolutely amazing. We built up a great community with the Shop, I made friends with people and become social, rather than posting awkwardly like a robot as I had been before; and while it eventually did have to be shut down, I think it did have a positive impact on the PC.
Terywj: Speaking of spriting, what made you get a start on spriting? And what is your favorite sprite?
Firus: Sometime while looking up things about Metroid Fusion, I stumbled upon The Spriter's Resource's sprite section for the game. I really loved manipulating the sprites, just putting on a background, laying out objects, and setting up a scene with them. One day I visited that page and realized that it was a part of a larger site with an entire archive of sprites. I moved to the Sonic section and began to want to sprite with those, starting with recolors of Knuckles and Shadow (before I realized that you didn't have to do pixel-by-pixel recoloring). One day I found a site on Google explaining how to fuse Pokémon together and I immediately loved the idea of it and taught myself how to.
My favorite sprite would have to be Spire's Regimagma. It is the most creative, beautiful sprite I've seen, and even though it is far too realistic to fit into a Pokémon game, I love it.
I swear I heard a seagull say "That's right!"
Terywj: What about your favorite Pokemon(s)?
Firus: I'd have to say that Cubone and Tropius would have to tie for my favorite Pokémon. I've taken so many personality tests telling me that I'm most like Cubone that I eventually took a liking to it -- realizing that I am actually pretty similar to it. Tropius was a Pokémon that I initially considered to be forgettable and odd, but as I've realized how much I love third gen and realized how much Tropius is a symbol of Hoenn, I've come to love it.
Terywj: With the newest batch of Black / White Pokemon revealed yesterday, what do you think about the Fifth Generation of Pokemon so far?
Firus: I'm slightly conflicted on that matter at the moment, because I feel like I won't be able to fully come to a conclusion on the matter until I've gotten used to them and potentially even seen them in game. Right now, however, I'm pretty impressed. The Pokémon are all pretty different from what we've seen before, which I love.
Terywj: Straying away from Pokemon, the most annoying video game moment in history to you is?
Firus: Hm, that's a tough one...I'm probably forgetting something at the moment, but the first thing that comes to mind is the ending of Donkey Kong Country. I recall playing the Game Boy Color version at my grandparents' house once, and beating K. Rool. Proud of myself, I put the game down while the credits rolled. I came back to it a few minutes later to find that K. Rool was not, in fact, dead, and he killed me before I could do anything.
Terywj: Aside from video gaming, what other hobbies do you have?
Firus: My main hobby besides video gaming would probably have to be writing. I love writing, although I have a lot of trouble writing if I don't have inspiration. Listening to music is another hobby I have -- it seems odd to call it a hobby, but I love listening to music so much that I consider it to be one.
We sipped our drinks quietly as the waves crashed against the sea. People were noisy today, but that's just what the beach is.
Terywj: What type of music do you listen to, any favorite musicians or groups you'd like to recommend?
Firus: I tend to focus around Alternative Rock, but I really love a bit of everything -- Pop, Metal, JPop, Video Game Music, Electronic, Classic Rock, etc. The Ataris would have to be either my favorite band or close to it, if only for their work on So Long, Astoria; and recently, I've really gotten into Tool's music, specifically their 10,000 Days album.
Terywj: Favorite color, book, and frozen pizza?
Firus: Blue, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and...I actually haven't eaten frozen pizza in years (oddly enough), so it's hard to say.
Terywj: What do you think of the PokeCenter community in its current stage? And what'll happen when Black / White hits Japan?
Firus: I love it right now. The PokéCenter Member Pokédex is a testament to how many people we have from different time periods of the PC -- people who disappeared for periods of time have come back, people who have been there for years are still there. I feel like we have a great balance of general discussion, projects, and competitivity, so no matter how you play and discuss the games, you've got a place in the community. As for when Black and White hit Japan, I imagine we're going to get somewhat of an influx of members. I'd say the PC would get more active, but the PC at the moment is far more active than I ever remember it being, so it's hard for me to imagine that.
Terywj: If you were to have dinner with a member of the PokeCenter and anyone currently living, who would you pick?
Firus: Man, that's a tough one. I'd have to say Spire and my AP US History teacher, Mr. Dasher (he's an awesome teacher) -- but if I could host a Poké Center party with everyone from the PC, I would do it in an instant.
Terywj: And as a final question; I heard you like Mudkips?
Firus laughed before answering.
Firus: You must've heard wrong.
He smiled.
Terywj: Thanks for the interview, Firus.
Firus: No problem! Thanks for interviewing me, it was fun!
On the road home, I knew these interviews would be a great insight onto the awesome members of the PokeCenter, and couldn't wait to interview someone else.[/collapse]
Interview with Umbreon - Written by
Riddle
[collapse=The Interview]
At a local sandwich shop in Maryland, I was enjoying a drink when a seemingly random figure sat down across from me. I noted the "Prof." tag labeled on his jacket and smiled. I took out my laptop and got right to it.
Riddle: Okay can you tell us a bit about yourself? Name, age, location, etc.
Umbreon: My name is Max. I'm 24 and I'm from the East Coast
Riddle: How did you find Smashboards?
Umbreon: Mew2king told me about it. Just something friends share I guess. From there I made an account and got flamed every day for posting stupid ****.
Riddle: What brought you to the PokeCenter specifically?
Umbreon: I liked Pokemon and have for a long time now, so when I first went there, I saw people posting bad things. And there was this hurt deep inside. It was maddening! I had to correct them! The pain was unreal. Sometimes when I think back, I remember someone said that Miltank was better than Blisset and I cry myself to sleep.
Riddle: Haha, so on to more specific Pokemon related questions. It might be obvious, but it has to be asked: what is your favorite Pokemon?
Umbreon: Metagross. Enough said.
I frowned.
Umbreon: Umbreon is more of a personal reflection of who I am, so I am Umbreon. But Metgross is my favorite.
Riddle: What is your favorite Generation in terms of games / Pokemon / competitive metagame? Take that as three separate questions.
Umbreon: Generation II: 200+ turns. No **** ups, so few people understand what it's really like. Newer pokemon is: "It's okay I can sacrifice this because I still have this Pokemon." Generation II doesn't let you waste resources. You let Snorlax get to +2/+2? You're ****ed.
Riddle: It's definitely a different game now. I've always liked Generation II.
Umbreon: Generation II is like the opposite of Generation V.
I frowned again upon the mention of the new Generation,
Umbreon: Generation II is coordinated and calculated. Even reading Generation V for me is like slamming my **** in an oven.
Riddle: What about your favorite in-game and designed Pokemon per Generation?
Umbreon: Gold / Silver / Crystal was the ****. As was Umbreon and Skarmory. Many of my favorite Pokemon were top tier during Generation II. I ended up with a top tier team purely thorugh my own personal playtesting with favorites.
Riddle: What is your favorite team type and why?
Umbreon: Either Dark or Ground, and I haven't decided why. But probably Dark. Dark-types are forced to play to their strengths, but are always effective when used correctly. Although at the moment, I wouldn't suggest Dark-type to anyone playing to win. "Used correctly" is too difficult of a qualifier in the more recent games since they are so chaotic.
Riddle: What's your favorite team style, like stall, heavy offense, balanced, etc.?
Umbreon: For which Generation?
Riddle: Uhh, Generation IV.
Umbreon: In Generation IV, I like a mix of bulky offense which sides towards more offense.
Riddle: If you had to pick a team style to be the most effective, which would you pick?
Umbreon: I only use a minimal amount of bulk to counter common strategies. Hmm. Maniaclyrasist, a friend of mine, told me that he makes teams by picking the #1 lead, #1-4 of the most used Pokemon, and Suicune. That's the most effective thing I can think of.
Riddle: What makes a good Pokemon battler?
Umbreon: Pokemon is a game based on imperfect information. Of course, if a player had perfect information, that player would always win. The best strategy is to eliminate as much of that imperfect information as possible. Continuously put the opponent into positions that force a loss. A major part of why I don't use stealth rock is because I want my opponents to switch and show me their Pokemon so I can prepare some kind of trap situation. Stealth Rock kills switching and reduces my knowledge of the opponent for the mid-game.
Riddle: Which is more important, the team or the battler? Why?
Umbreon: The team, sadly. Newer games offer fewer turns for the opponent to respond. Even if the opponent is a poor one, you must still deal with whatever they do. If you want an open example of this, use Choice Band Garchomp vs. any UnderUsed player. Even with things like Froslass that were once in UU, the match is already horribly one-sided. The only redeeming part of this argument is that everyone in Generation IV plays broken ****. So it's less obvious and has a lesser impact.There are many more examples: How many teams use Heatran as the "glue" of the team? How many Tyranitar run Babiri Berry solely for Scizor? The game is definitely more team dependent than player depenedent.
Riddle: What is your favorite Umbreon set in Gen. IV?
Umbreon: Umbreon is non-viable in Generation IV, but if you're making me pick one, I'll say the Curse set, except the 200 Attack EV go into Defense so he can set up on a locked Scizor. It's stolen directly from Articanus but it works.
Riddle: Okay. And finally, courtesy of UltiMario: Give 3 reasons why Gen. V is bull****.
Umbreon: How lame. Uhh. (1) Evolution stone: Chansey > Blissey, Rhydon in Sandstorm comes in as a +1/+2 and already has good Attack and HP stats. Porygon2 walls ****ing Life Orb Groudon. Why. Dusclops didn't need an evolution and now he REALLY doesn't need one. (2) Tail Glow Manaphy. (3) Nattorei or whatever that **** is, is almost strictly better than Forretress, the choice physical wall of
Ubers. Stall is dead. Like, 100% dead. Oh, and the Pokemon look ********. So even if the mechanics sucked, at least they could make cool Pokemon, but no. They just look bad. Oh how about Mischevious Heart? That's pretty stupid. Inconsistent is pretty stupid too. Ononokusu with base 147 Attack isn't helping. I will openly admit that I haven't played Generation V, and seeing it on paper, I have no desire to play it at all.
I looked up after writing everything down and prepared to ask my next question, but Umbreon cut me off.
Umbreon: I'm not done. Gen. V is too stupid to answer everything in just 10 minutes. How about the male trainer. The DPPt male trainer sprite looked pretty gay and everyone hated it, so how did they fix it? They added a hat, and everyone still hated it. So for BW they took his **** away too. I also like the Water-type starter's evolution line and how much they don't look related at all. Just ask anoher question. Oh yeah and they screwed up on Rotom's typing. Good job Nintendo, Overheat really needed STAB. Having half of the new Pokemon with a BST of 540+ is ******** too. That's okay because most of the new Pokemon say "CHOICE ME." in their base stats somewhere. Not that it matters when Porygon2 can still wall them.
Mow made a suicidal gesture, so I proceeded with the next question.
Riddle: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Umbreon: Oh hey, let's take a Pokemon everyone likes: Scizor, and give it Technician! Wow, this is really gay...what happens if we give something that's already gay Technician? Oh hey Breloom.
Riddle: I thought the suicide gesture meant you were done, haha.
Umbreon: Oh hey Fire/Ghost-type that has a minor name change every 3 weeks. Base 140 Special Attack? Why not. I'll teach you to have Pokemon on your team under 262 Speed.
Umbreon: Anyway, in 5 years I expect to be old, filthy rich, married, and somehow more bitter.
Riddle: Where do you see the United States in 20 years?
Umbreon: The US will probably have a lower standard of living than some of the countries now with explosive growth rates such as China and India. Otherwise I expect it to be in the North and Western hemispheres.
Riddle: What are your musical tastes like?
Umbreon copied the following links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xdVxe4BRMU, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfxEozU4GJo, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-tTmSY4m4M.
Umbreon: Usually no vocals or the vocals are submissive to the background music. Most of my activities tend to take up a lot of time for one reason or another so I like seamless or environmental music.
Riddle: If you could have dinner with any 3 people from the past or present who would you pick?
Umbreon: If past, Andrew Jackson 3 times. If present, probably my woman, Mew2king, or by myself. M2k because I used to raid his kitchen and make huge *** bowls of Fruity Pebbles. I mean like, those big *** salad bowls. And using a full box of cereal. So good haha.
Riddle: That sounds delicious.
Umbreon: It makes you sick as ****.
Riddle: And for the real grand finale. Do you love Wave?
Umbreon stared blankly at me.
Umbreon: What the **** is a Wave.
Riddle: Annoying1357 changed his name to Wave. He wants to know if you love him.
Umbreon: Wow, what a ludicrously gay approach. Both to name changing and just as an approach. I guess if he brushes his teeth I'll **** his mouth, or make his Pokemon faint. That's as close as he's getting.
Riddle: Thanks for the interview Umbreon!
Umbreon: Mow. Don't get hit by a bus.
Riddle: I will attempt to avoid that fate.
On the ride home, I pulled out my laptop and sent Terywj a PM. He was going to edit the entire damn thing anyway. Might as well send to him now.[/collapse]
Interview with Wave - Written by
Riddle
[collapse=The Interview]
At a Starbucks in Ames, I approached a young Asian male with a Psychology book sitting to the side. I ordered a drink, and sat down across from him. "Alright, you ready?" I asked. No response. I was confused and asked again. Finally, he seemed to notice me.
Riddle: Hey Wave! Thanks for agreeing to this interview. I'm excited to learn more about you.
Wave: I never thought I'd be interviewed, to be honest. Hopefully I'm not too terribly boring.
Riddle: Haha, you'll be fine. Care you tell us a bit about yourself? Name, age, location, etc.
Wave: My name is Greg. Born and raised in the suburbs of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, though my parents are from a city in China called Kunming. I'm currently a freshman majoring in chemical engineering at Iowa State University. Chem E. majors are awesome. I'm also minoring in Psychology and Economics.
Riddle: Chemical engineering? That's pretty intense stuff. What do you hope to do as a career?
Wave: I'm not sure if I want to go to graduate school, it's more than a little bit Intimidating. Hurr hurr see what I did there. According to some statistics, grad. school doesn't improve a chemical engineer's salary all that much. It's more for research opportunities. If I can't do that, I'll probably work for some kind of biorenewables company.
Riddle: GyaRADos school. Best pun.
Wave: You truly are a master of puns, Riddle.
Riddle: Okay. Let's jump right into the Pokemon/Smashboards related questions. How did you discover Smashboards?
Wave: I remember when I was a kid, I'd go to my local library to check out books once a week or so. I'd always take a peek at Nintendo Power. Already being a fan of Super Smash Bros. Melee, I found an article that mentioned "wavedashing" a few years ago. I remember it being described as an advanced technique where you jump and fall to the ground. It goes without saying that when I went home to try it out, I was a bit confused. A few Googles later, and I found Smashboards.
Riddle: What did you do in your early days on Smashboards? I know you were a member of the Melee Ness community for instance. When did you first discover the Poke Center?
Wave: I went through the basic "new member" phase that most people undergo. Posting all of the place with little to no content, necroing random threads, getting the occaisional infraction. I found a home in the Ness boards, or the Melee Ness boards, as they're now called. I also posted frequently in the Melee Discussion forum, more often stupidly than not. Being fairly bad a Melee, I wandered from character to character, from Game and Watch to Samus to Ganon. In the end, I chose Ness. In the transition from Melee to Brawl, I "joined" the Brawl Ness boards a bit late. I felt as if I didn't really fit in. This, combined with my general dislike of Brawl, drove me to abandon Smashboards for a while. My foray into the Poke Center is much less interesting. I'd noticed the subforum a long time ago, and assumed it was a small community of three people who posted a lot. Being the bored self that I often was, I looked around. I was shocked and overwhelmed. Natures and EVs, teambuilding and movesets, sacrifice and predicting, I was amazed by both the depth and breadth of my childhood crush, Pokemon.
Riddle: Around when did you start posting in the Poke Center? How did you get involved?
Wave: I can't say for sure when, I'm sure the History of the Poke Center of thread knows. I know that I chatted in Ye Olde Snorlaxe Roome, The Custom Pokemon Shop. After that, I slowly posted more, learned about Pokemon, and joined the community. It's a boring story.
Riddle: Whats your favorite Pokemon?
Wave took 2% damage in recoil and horror.
Wave: Oh god. I don't even. Choosing just one... Well, my favorite Pokemon in terms of design would be Flygon. Competitively, it's a tie between Jirachi, Shuckle, and Cacturne. In terms of unbearable cuteness, it's Erufuun.
Riddle: Good answer. Except for Shuckle.
Wave: WHAT. SHUCKLE IS A BEAST YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.
A few people sitting nearby turned and looked at us before returning to their activities.
Riddle: In terms of competitive play, what is your favorite type of team and why? As in stall, heavy offense, balanced, bulky offense, etc.
Wave: I've had the most success with bulky offense. It's as cliche as CroCune, but it just works. Just like CroCune. In terms of having fun, hyper offense. Or that "heavy" offense thing that some douche on Smogon made up to sound cool.
Riddle: Do you consider yourself a better teambuilder or a better battler?
Wave: I'd say I'm pretty bad at both, but if I had to choose, I'd say teambuilder. I don't want to pull a Tery and say I'm horrible, but, well, I'm pretty bad at laddering.
Riddle: You should get a tutor next round. What was your opinion of the season finale of Panty and Stocking?
Wave: My first reaction was "Oh man, you had me going to a second that, GAINAX! Good one!" But then, after realizing that the show had a major lack of plot, I was more "Uh, well, I guess this is okay". I can't say I have an opinion either way. I know that it'll be good, though.
Riddle: Oh nah nah, what is NJzFinest's name?
Wave: Rumpelstiltskin? Uh. Can I have a hint? Or we could play Twenty Questions, that's a fun game. ARE YOU AN ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, OR MINERAL?
Riddle: I DONT KNOW! BECAUSE I AM NOT NJzFINEST.
Wave: NEXT QUESTION?
Riddle: JUST GUESS A STEREOTYPICAL BLACK NAME. I SUGGEST MARQUIS OR TYRONE.
Wave: DEFINITELY TYRONE. FINAL ****ING ANSWER
By now, pretty much everyone in the Starbucks were giving us extremely weird stares. I continued.
Riddle: Do you partake in sexual relations on first dates?
Wave: I usually **** before I go on dates, it can be awkward sitting in the bathroom while my date is waiting.
Riddle: What is your earliest gaming memory?
Wave: Playing Super Smash Bros. at someone's house. I don't even know who it was. I can't say it's my first game, but it's the first one that made an impression on me. Even if that impression was how fun mashing B with Pikachu was.
Riddle: Did you ever get into any other Pokemon related stuff? Cards, anime, etc.
Wave: I got into the TCG the same as many other people got into it. Looking at the badass pictures and the big numbers. I had a Teryble deck, rarely played, and knew only a few other people who also played. I got "into" the anime the same way. As in, I watched it when I was 8 years old. I'm not sure what you mean by the et cetera, but I can say that I played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Pokemon Rumble. Fun games, though the former is better. The latter is fun if you don't want to think and just want to mash buttons and kill a ton of Pokemon. It's like a ****ing bloodbath, but with Pokemon. I imagine it's a lot like Dragon Warrior or something, I know they made like fifty of them.
Riddle: Sounds awesome. Do you like Nattorei? One word answer.
Wave: Flareon. Wait, I take that back. Magcargo.
Riddle: Not allowed. Finally. Describe yourself in 9 words and 42 letters exactly.
Wave blinked a couple times.
Wave: **** that.
Riddle: Wave--dumb, lazy ******* who happens to play Pokemon! Thanks for the interview!
Leaving Starbucks, I think I was still getting stares from other people. Oh well, nothing else to do but to go home and send everything to another member for editing. Suck it, Tery.[/collapse]
Interview with Gates - Written by
Riddle
[collapse=The Interview]
I was walking around Sesame Street and I saw a trashcan rattling randomly. I walked up to it, curious, and removed the lid. A young man stared up at me. “The ****?”, the man started. “There you are,” I laughed. I took out a pen and a notebook and started writing.
Riddle: Thanks for doing this interview with me Gates!
Gates: Oh shut up, you probably just wrote an intro that made me look terrible.
Riddle: Can you tell us a little about yourself, such as name, age, etc.?
Gates: My name is Ryan Gates, I go by Gates on SWF. I'm 22 years old and I currently live in an Eastern Michigan University dorm room in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I like long walks on the beach, romantic comedies, and spooning.
Riddle: Ypsilanti is an awesome town name!
Gates: Yeah, I think it's Native American or something. It's outside of Ann Arbor, like, right across the river.
Riddle: How did you find Smashboards?
Gates: I'm not completely sure actually. Sometime around 2006 or so I started wanting to get better at Smash because I think Brawl was announced around then. So I looked at SWF for some tips on how to be good. It kind of led to how I picked my Melee main too. I saw a tier list and I was very surprised because Peach was ranked 5th or so (at the time)
I liked Peach already for comedy value and because she's faptastic, so I decided to pick her up. Then around the time Brawl came out I started lurking more again. Then I eventually started running the Dedede Boards matchup thread and well here I am.
I blinked a couple times after seeing a few ******* in orange jumpsuits dash by. I continued.
Riddle: How did you discover the Poke Center in particular?
Gates: Well I had a passing interest in Pokemon from time to time largely because of nostalgia. Then one day the Dedede boards decided to have a 8-man Pokemon tourney, so I sought some help with it. Before the tourney I actually contacted SniperNightOwl who won some real life Pokemon tournaments in the RSE era to help me with a team. Looking back she was totally trolling me because she recommended **** like Curse Quagsire. But yeah, eventually she got annoyed with me asking her for advice and I got tired of talking to her so I started becoming more active in the PC. That was around the time HGSS was released in Japan.
Riddle: Can you give us a brief history of your involvement in the Poke Center? Like, once you joined the Poke Center, what did you do?
Gates: Troll. I pretty much just trolled up until now. Nah, but seriously, I entered some tournaments and scrubbed out of most of them until I got in my groove for Ubers Cup. I posted teams from time to time too and rated a couple teams and now I'm hosting Ubers Cup II which is going to be an amazing tournament that everyone should sign up for. But yeah, mostly I've just been a total ******* who hasn't contributed anything useful. At least that's what UltiMario wants me to say.
Riddle: I think you’re a good contributor. What's your favorite Pokemon?
Gates: I knew you were gonna ask me this question and I've been trying to think of one. But the thing is I really don't have one. There are Pokemon that I like and Pokemon that I use a lot but nothing really stands out.
Riddle: Do you have like some Pokemon that are definitely in the top 10?
Gates: For example, from a design perspective I think Poliwrath is perfect. And I like the ability Shadow Tag, so Wobbuffet, Wynaut, and Shandera are close to my heart. But in terms of what I use the most, I just realized the other day that Giratina-O is on all of my Uber teams. He's so great: spinblocks, STAB Dragon-type attacks, STAB Ghost-type priority physical attack; just the perfect things that anyone would ever want in Ubers. If I could pick one specific set that was the best set in Ubers for versatility, it would have to be standard Giratina-O as a mixed spin-blocker. Is there any other kind that's viable?
Riddle: Substitute Calm Mind maybe?
Gates: Yeah that's true. Substitute is really good, but the problem is you need a recovery move. But Giratina-O has no item. Pain Split fixes that I guess.
Riddle: What’s your favorite generation in terms of Pokemon/competitive/games themselves? That’s three different questions.
Big Bird danced by, singing the Alphabet Song backwards.
Gates: In terms of Pokemon, I'm not sure but definitely not Gen. V cause those Pokemon look like ****. I guess I'll go with Gen. I because of nostalgia? In terms of competitive, well I only started playing competitively with Gen. IV so I'll go with that since Gen. V has a laundry list of problems and if I were Mow I would go into them. In terms of the games themselves, Gen. I because there was none of this ridiculous breeding **** and getting IVs right for Hidden Power and all that nonsense. It was just a matter of teaching your Pokes the moves, leveling them up, and that's it. No overly complex breeding chains, no grinding for EVs and resetting when you accidentally kill the wrong thing, just pure power. To be honest that's why I quit Pokemon after Gen. II, I hated breeding.
Riddle: What’s your favorite type of team?
Gates: Well I always like Stall as a default since it can just randomly wreck stuff by having tons of entry hazards and paralysis hax, but it rarely works in an unknown meta and even in known meta there's a good chance it won't do so well. I guess you could say I like Bulky Aggro the most. At the very least I always put a really bulky supporting Pokemon on all my aggressive teams like Groudon. As far as gimmicky stuff goes like weather and Pass, I never can really do well with those kinds of teams. Or at least I couldn't until Gen. V when weather stopped being a joke and started being absurdly powerful. I rarely use weather in Ubers but I almost always use a weather user since you need one to compete in that tier.
Riddle: What makes a good Pokemon player?
Gates: Luck. Pure luck, that's all it is. Nah but for reals, prediction is important, teambuilding is important, knowing the metagame is important. I don’t know which is the most important, but I try to constantly improve myself in all 3 areas regardless.
Riddle: Why did you start playing Ubers/What made you start?
Gates: I don't remember exactly how. I think that something was happening in the PC that was Ubers related and I got into it because of that. And I got to where I am all on my own without any help from anyone. Because I'm amazing and there's nobody in the PC who's as good as me in Ubers.
Riddle: Which Pokemon is number 208?
Gates: STEELIX, haha. For my next avatar, I want a picture of Steelix's head coming out of Oscar The Grouch's trash can.
Riddle: Okay, on to non-Pokemon related questions. What is your favorite video game?
Gates: See, this is another question I can't really answer because there are so many that I like. But I'll run through a few quickly. I really love Super Mario Galaxy and its "sequel", they're probably my favorite 3D platformers of all time. Metal Gear Solid 3 is amazing because of the story, the tone, the setting, and the tense gameplay. Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI are probably my favorite RPGs of all time. There's a lot more that I can't think of now. I like the Bioshock games but they have zero replay value unfortunately aside from multiplayer, which I don't play because I suck at FPS multiplayer. Oh, and Advance Wars. I loved the first 3 games. But they ****ed it up with Days of Ruin. You could say they...RUINED it. HAR HAR HAR.
Riddle: All of those games are awesome, but, that pun was not awesome.
Gates: You're not awesome. Oh, and Resident Evil 4. That was a great game.
Riddle: What’s your favorite movie?
Gates: See, this question I can actually answer within reason. Pulp Fiction. From a filmmaking standpoint, it does just about everything right. It had great acting, a good if somewhat derivative story, and great cinematography. You can find something absolutely incredible in almost every scene. Everyone should watch it.
Riddle; What is your favorite artist/musical group?
Gates: This is hard for me to answer because I don't listen to that much music, haha. I have a bunch of artists I like though. Obviously I like Lady Gaga given that I just had an avy related to her not long ago. She's probably my favorite pop artist out now, but I hate pop music so that's not saying much. I used to like classic rock a lot, particularly The Rolling Stones and The Who. I'm a bit more into classic metal now, I've been listening to Iron Maiden, Ozzie, and especially Metallica. In terms of rap, I like the Wu-Tang's old albums like 36 Chambers and also their mid-2000s stuff like Iron Flag and The W. Their last album I didn't like though because every other track was just The RZA talking about the Nation of Islam. And I'm also a sucker for cheesy songs from the 80s. Journey, Bon Jovi, etc. I also listen to the BlazBlue soundtrack quite a bit because I'm a huge nerd.
Riddle: That’s a pretty diverse selection of music you got there.
Gates: Blood Pain is a great song and it's pretty damn badass, I like Nu's theme because she's my main, and of course I love the Bang Install music because how can you not? BANG BANG BANG BANG BAAAAANG. BANGUU DAMASHII.
Gates slammed the lid of the trashcan multiple times for major emphasis points.
Riddle: That brings me to my next question: What other games do you/have you played competitively?
Gates: In terms of going to tournaments and stuff, currently I play none because I don't have a car and can't go to tournaments. But I used to play Brawl until I got tired of losing to Falco as Dedede. And I tried to get a Smash64 scene going in Michigan but it never really picked up because there was a split between those who wanted to use N64 and those who wanted to use Wii Virtual Console.
Riddle: What games would you play competitively if you had a car?
Gates: If I had a car, I would play Super Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, and especially Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 when it comes out. Not having a car or knowing people I can play within walking distance and having a ****ty Internet connection in your dorm is like the perfect storm for being too lazy to practice any games competitively. Oh, and I also like Street Fighter II HD Remix. I just kinda mess around in that game though.
Riddle: What is your favorite non Panty and Stocking anime?
Gates: I actually am such a nerd, I organize my favorite anime by decade. 1980s - Fist of the North Star. Think of every Shonen show you've ever loved. They ripped off Fist of the North Star in some way. This anime has everything a Shonen series would want - amazing fight scenes, a badass main character who is essentially undefeatable, and a plot that makes no sense and is only there to get from one fight to the next. 1990s - Cowboy Bebop. I've often told people that anime as a whole genre sucks and that they shouldn't bother with any of it...except Cowboy Bebop. This series is almost perfect in every way. There is not a single thing that I can think of in the whole series that is bad. It's just that good. 2000s - Azumanga Daioh. You know how everyone loves K-On! now and before that everyone loved Lucky Star? Both of those blatantly ripped off the character archetypes in Azumangah Daioh down to the letter. Azumanga was a brilliant original comedy series at the time that bucked a lot of the trends most comedy series had when it came out. It was a step forward in the comedy genre. So obviously people ripped it off by remaking it only with otaku, musicians, and moeblobs. If you liked Lucky Star or K-On! but hated the moeblob waifu bull****, you'll love Azumanga Daioh. 2010s - Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. For starters, it's the only series so far this decade that I've watched to completion. For a second thing, it's ****ing incredible. In a rare moment of clarity and drunkenness (and I'm not kidding about the drunkenness, seriously look it up) Gainax made an anime that had the best elements of FLCL and Gurren Lagann while being able to simultaneously parody magical girl anime, American animation, and a bunch of other things. The plot, the premise, the characters, the jokes, and the series as a whole are outstandingly funny and after the cliffhanger ending I can't wait for season 2. Out of those 4 though, I'd have to say Cowboy Bebop is my favorite.
Riddle: I'm not really an anime fan, but maybe I'll have to check some of those out. Now for the grand finale: What do you think of the new Steelix avatars?
Gates: Haha, I love them. I hate to sound like I'm johning, but Ubers is one of those formats where random things can wreck you if you don't prepare for them. And of course you won't prepare for them because they're random. I think some scrub whose name started with an “R” once got really high on the Ubers ladder with Rock Polish Aggron. That kind of shows you how Ubers can be.
Riddle: Wait, actually I lied. Describe yourself in 9 words and 42 letters exactly. THAT’S the last question.
Gates: Steelix the steely Steelix on the shiny Steelix. Wait, that's 8 words. ************. Steelix the steely Steelix on top of the Steelix. SHAZAM.
Riddle: That is not 42 letters haha. Oh well. Thanks for the interview!
Gates: YES IT IS.
As I thanked Gates for the interview, I heard a rumbling noise from behind. Lo and behold, a Steelix towered above me. With an ear-splitting roar, the Steelix slammed me through a few buildings with an Iron Tail.
And then I woke up.[/collapse]
Interview with Articanus - Written by
Terywj
[collapse=The Interview]
Way down in Texas Georgia, I was looking around for someone on a street plaza. A young man approached, dressed in a Marill costume. Shocked, I realized this was Articanus. We exchanged greetings and he drove me to a neat little apartment. Once inside, and settled with a cup of tea, I began.
Terywj: Alright, Articanus. Thanks for doing this interview. Could you tell us about yourself? The basics like name, age, stuff like that.
Articanus: My name is Branden. Branden. Branden. My last name is Zipperer. I live in Savannah, Georgia. I'm 19 years old, in my first year of college. Currently a mathematics major, soon to be changing to an education one.
Terywj: So let's jump right into it: How did you discover Smashboards and / or competitive Smash in general?
Articanus: Actually I kinda fell into Smashboards by mistake. I remember I used to do a lot around Newgrounds in middle school, and somewhere in the forums someone posted Shined Blind. It basically taught me to shine spike. And when I played my friend in seventh grade for the first time, I did it to him, and then we found SWF, and we learned more. And now he *****, he being Druggedfox. I still suck at Smash. Working on that, though.
Terywj: Where did you start posting, and which forums / subforums did you come to frequent?
Articanus: Well originally I posted just around the Melee Discussion forums, completely sucking. I mained Samus at the time, which would eventually go to Mario and then to Falco. I remained a Falco main for years to come, and recently (last year or so) I've mained Marth. All of this in Melee. For the PokeCenter it was a different story: I was a pretty big battler back in Advance, but really didn't try too hard. Rather, I found it more stimulating and fun to just take people by surprise with gimmick sets, especially my Hidden Power Ground Skarmory and SubSalac Magneton. When DP came out, I started posting in the PokeCenter where big names such as Leafgreen365 or whatever took the spotlight at the time. As time went on we had people like Wii4Mii join the ranks as well as 0rly, and I believe this is the era dawned as the "golden age" of the PokeCenter where we also had Umbreonmow and JesiahTEG posting around as well. I remember my name became more well-known in that particular forum after I 6-0ed wii4mii with my Calm Mind Misdreavus. Time came, I posted on Smogon a lot, I got better at Gen. IV as a whole, and I did something I have regretted since: I supported and actually got voting rights to vote against Garchomp being in OU. And well, everything after that was history.
Terywj: What happened when Brawl rolled around? And Pokemon Black and White?
Articanus: I played Brawl for a month and quit with Druggedfox to play more Melee. The Brawl variants, especially Brawl Minus were more interesting. As for BW, I've been keeping tabs on it and looking into it because I feel it has the potential to have a great metagame to it. Nothing so far, though.
Terywj: Why is Sami in the Melee Back Room but you're stuck here doing interviews in the PokeCenter?
Articanus: Because Sami's cool and I suck. If Pink Reaper asked me that question in a room with him, Bin Laden, and Hitler, and all I had was a gun with two bullets...I'd shoot Pink Reaper three times. Nah I don't really care, though. Sami has put more effort into Melee in general, which is why he's in the Back Room and better than me.
Terywj: What is your favorite Pokemon?
Articanus: As you know, it would have been Azumarill. Nowadays I want a baby Dratini.
Terywj: You brought up how you are a member on Smogon University's forums. Exactly how involved have you been / are you over there?
Articanus: Nowadays I post never; I used to be an official tutor over there for the DPP metagame, and had inside access to most parts of the forum. I even continued to have it after the removal of my badge through some glitch haha! But I posted somewhere for lawls and they took that away.
Terywj: Why don't you post more awesome warstories?
Articanus: Because I never get any awesome battles.Why post a sucky warstory on a sucky battle? I only write those on matches that make me shake, and I haven't had one in all of Gen. V.
Terywj: Would you participate in another PokeCenter podcast should one arise?
Articanus: I would if I could but I hate Skype so much.
Terywj: Other than Pokemon and Smash, what are some other video games you enjoy?
Articanus: I play Starcraft 2 and Magic the Gathering, mostly. I'm trying to get pro at those as well, but being good at four games is hard. I'm not even good at one yet.
Terywj: Why do you play Standard?
Articanus: I actually prefer Legacy myself; Standard requires too much investment of time and money to keep up with and Vintage is meh because I don't like the degree of brokeness in it. Personally, I think there should be a tier below Legacy that we should play, where the speed of the game is brought to an even lower degree for more viable strategies and fun and stuff. Basically that's me hating ANT for being able to kill me on T1 so much and forcing me to want to use FoW or have an even faster deck to beat it.
Terywj: Video games aside, what are some of your hobbies and interests?
Articanus straightened rigidly.
Articanus: Does not compute. Jokes aside, I have a girlfriend I've been going out with for about 3 years now. You've spoken to her; she mentioned Mudkips, heh. But yeah nothing much asides. God I'm a loser.
Terywj: Do you listen to music? What genres or artists?
Articanus: I listen to everything at this point. I had like a random month where all I did was listen to music and look for artists; I'm especially partial to Greek techno.
Terywj: If you could pick the next interviewee, who would you pick and why?
Articanus: I dunno. You because I'd like to see you work that at both angles, haha.
Terywj: You're having lunch with four people from the PokeCenter tomorrow. Who are they.
Articanus: Gates, Pink Reaper, Ultimario, and any of the Moderators. Sit back and watch the chaos.
Terywj: I like that answer. Where do you see the United States in 50 years?
Articanus: ...do I give a ****?
Terywj: Another good answer. If you saw Kirbyraeg in person, how hard would you blow him?
Articanus: I'd blow him
this hard.
At this point, a girl entered the room. Extremely confused, she asked Articanus, "Branden, why is some random Asian kid in my house?" Articanus and I exchanged stares.
Terywj: Why are we in your girlfriend's house again?
Articanus: Because I'm always here. And I invite all my friends here.
Terywj: Have you really been far as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
Articanus: I am so confused by the question, I don't know how to explain it.
Terywj: Thanks for doing the interview, Articanus!
Articanus: No problem!
Realizing the interview was over, Articanus' girlfriend kicked me out of the house. I laughed, and left.[/collapse]
![Terywj [태리]](/data/avatars/l/71/71007.jpg?1555906021){kind=avatar}
