Doubles OU Player of the Week #41 - Stax

ryo yamada2001

ryo yamada2001
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
art by 13ulbasaur ♥
approved by Stratos, Arcticblast and Level 51
previous thread by Ultimathunder

Doubles OU Player of the Week!
Welcome to Doubles OU Player of the Week! This is a project where I (Meloetta) interview users that are well-known in the Doubles community to learn things about them, how they battle, what they think of the metagame and more! The goal is to know people better, and for the high level players to give insight to the players of this community to hopefully create a better overall experience in the Doubles OU metagame! If you feel like there's someone you want to be interviewed, whether it be your friend or yourself, you can just send me a PM! I already have a list of at least 15 people who I'd like to interview though, so that might take a little while \o/
Archive
This is where all the previous interviews are stored, at the moment there are none because this thread is just posted!
#1 - Mizuhime
#2 - Pocket
#3 - Level 51
#4 - Braveirus
#5 - Pwnemon
#6 - Darkmalice
#7 - Audiosurfer
#8 - Arcticblast

Interviews done by me:
1: Hi! Who are you and where do you come from?
A:
Sup, I'm BLOOD TOTEM. I live in England, and I'm a psychology graduate. I currently work in HR in the NHS which is basically the big health organisation in the UK.

2. Where did you get your name from?
A:
My name comes from an incredible shitposting event that a few of you may remember from a while back. For those of you who never saw it, watch it here.
Most of you probably know me as Rei on PS. That comes from Neon Genesis Evangelion where Ayanami Rei is best girl
3. What is your favourite Pokémon in-game, and what is your favourite Pokémon to competitively use? And why is that?
A:
My favorite Pokemon in game is probably Larvesta. I'm a fan of Bug-type Pokemon and Larvesta is easily the cutest. There are a whole bunch of Pokemon I love to use competitively. Forced to pick just one I think I'd go with Mega Gardevoir. It has a great balance of power and support that you don't find in a lot of Mega Pokemon. I love cleaning up matches or tearing big holes by just clicking Hyper Voice a bunch of times, but I'm also comfortable busting out Gardevoir's support options my personal favorite being Ally Switch. Whimsicott is a bro too :3

4. When did you start playing competitively and why?
A:
I joined Smogon around the time that Pokemon XY was announced (late 2012 maybe?) after seeing replays posted elsewhere online. I've been a fan of the series since I was a kid but I had no grasp of the competitive side so I was naturally pretty terrible. In my first ever game of BW OU I remember leaving a Tentacruel in on an Excadrill not Poison was weak to Ground :>

5. How do you feel ORAS plays compared to XY?
A:
ORAS and XY are a different metagame, not least because new Pokemon were introduced, but also because the Doubles playerbase has got so much better. A lot of people rip on the ladder but I remember back when we were a new tier there weren't even half as many competent ladder players as we have now. In terms of meta changes, I feel like Landorus-T isn't quite what it once was and the most powerful archetype at the moment is sun. The most popular Mega Pokemon is probably Diancie, that's reflected in sets like Finally's HP Steel Mega Gengar

6. What is your favourite playstyle to use?
A:
I love Hyper Offense, particularly with surprise sets. A lot of my favorite Pokemon are frail heavy hitters like Weavile and Deoxys-A and these Pokemon naturally provide a great deal of offensive pressure to hammer down on your opponent. Hyper Offense often finds itself struggling against quite a lot of stuff, particularly Heatran and Choice Scarf Landorus-T so it's necessary to run something that can catch them out.

7. What is in your opinion the most annoying strategy to face?
A:
Anything that involves Defense boosting. There's nothing quite as frustrating as KOing all of you opponents Pokemon bar one Clefable that just sits there at +6 +6 slowly picking off your Pokemon whilst you pray for a crit.

8. Is there anything you feel suspect-worthy? Something that you think is broken?
A:
Nope. There's often talk of suspecting Diancite, Kyurem-B, and even Rock Slide floating about but I'm pretty comfortable with all those things in the meta. Doubles may be centralized but it's really balanced and there's still room to be creative so it's pretty much perfet as far as I'm concerned. If anything I think a Salamencite suspect should be top priority.

9: Who is in your opinion the favourite to win Seasonals?
A:
There's a bunch of really hot picks still in the winter seasonal so it's hard to say. Obvious options include Stratos and Finally, but users that don't main Doubles like Tokyo Tom have really impressed me. Quality Content has also being looking strong so I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it further than people might be expecting.

10: If there is anything you would change about Doubles OU, what would it be?
A:
Nope, Doubles OU is a swell tier.

11. Do you have any advice for new players to the tier?
A:
Play a lot. That's all there is too it. Whilst I don't ladder much anymore back in the BW era I had alts with over 500 matches. Those early games provided me with a vast wealth of experiences which I can still draw on today. Prediction in Doubles is a really complex matter and there's a lot more to it than "which Pokemon do I protect with" sometimes it's just about how big your balls are qB^)

12. What is your favourite metagame outside of Doubles, and why? It can be any generation =)
A:
ORAS OU I guess. A few of you may have seen my OST run and over that time I grew to enjoy the metagame. I had a lot of cool people helping me out and it was fun to practice with them. ORAS OU gets a lot of hate for being so matchup reliant, but I think that is an issue every tier faces to some extent. My biggest qualm with the tier is CM Clefable, that thing is so irritating.

13. Are there any "goals" you still want to reach on Smogon? Such as winning SPL?
A:
Smogon is a great place and I've met some great people on here. I'd be perfectly happy to keep using it the way I am and making more friends and learning more about how to play Pokemon. I'd be lying if I said I don't want to be part of SPL, of course I do, but it isn't the end of the world if I don't make it to that level.

14. Could you provide a sample team that reflects your playstyle for new players to use with a brief explanation of it?
A:

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Ally Switch
- Protect

Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Low Kick

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick

Jirachi @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 80 SpD / 108 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Follow Me
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 48 HP / 252 SpA / 208 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

Dual Sash HO ft redirection + SubTran. Scarf Rotom-W is there to get rid of Landorus-T as soon as possible. Scarf WoW lets you cripple big threats like Mega Kangaskhan early and Trick screws CM Cresselia which is obnoxious in the current metagame. Dark And Ghost are such powerful offensive STAB types so Gengar and Weavile are sashed to make the most of it. Neither have protect because my balls are pretty big. Gardevoir uses Ally Switch because it's the best option for HO imo. Jirachi with TWave and Iron Head is a nice win condition if you're a skillful player. SubTran is Subtran, what els ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Interviewee of the Week #2 - finally
1. Hi! Who are you, and where do you come from?
A:
Howdy, I'm finally and I hail from Dallas, Texas.

2. What is your favourite Pokemon overall, and which is your favourite one to use competitively, and why?
A:
Overall my favourite is dusclops. I love his bulkiness and cool moveset and just grew attached to him in my gen 3 runthrough. Competitively, it is Kyurem-Black as evidenced by my incredibly high usage of him in all my games. I switch between the scarf set and the substitute set so often that it is hard for my opponents to beat it (considering that scarf and sub have different counters!)

3. When did you join Pokémon Showdown!, and why did you?
A
: I was at school and I saw my friends doing random battles and I wanted to play with them. It was years since I last touched the ingame pokemon games, and to play it again on the computer was a blast from the past. This was back when PS only had 30 users and there were more bugs than correct mechanics.

4. How do you feel ORAS plays compared to XY?
A
: I like oras a lot more because I think diancie and metagross balance out the metagame a lot more. Diancie helps rain against sun. Metagross smashes fairies. Overall I like gen 6 is a ton because of all the mechanic changes gamefreak added to balance the power creep from gen 5.

5. Is there anything you feel is suspect-worthy?
A:
I've pushed for more clauses to take hax out of the game: remove flash, remove confuse ray, remove brightpowder. Pokemon-wise, nah I freakin love the meta.

6. How do you go preparing for tournament matches? Is there any specified thought process, any preparation?
A:
Usually I will either 1) use an old and tested team or 2) make a completely new team in 7 minutes. If I do 1), then I just go into the match, but if I do 2) then I test a bunch with Hashtag and theorymon with KyleCole. Overall, I build teams a ton, something like 4 a week if I'm not playing leaguu~

7. Out of the people in Winner's Bracket, who do you think is going to win Seasonals? Do you feel like the favourite to win Losers Bracket?
A:
DEOMOUTO. and ofc, im finna make Stratos hold this dick a second time. Me and deo are gonna have the grand finals eZ

8. If there is anything you could change about the Doubles OU tier, what would it be?
A
: Make the forum more active, do a suspect test of rock slide like UU did of scald, have a Doubles Frontier, Doubles CAP.
actually scratch doubles cap

9. Will there be a Smogon Doubles Premier League hosted soon?
A:
Nah, I'm handing that torch to xzern and he's probably gonna host it in March 2016.

10. Why are you going to "hand that torch" to xzern? Is there a particular reason why you don't want to do it, were you bored of hosting it?
A:
I don't really like hosting tournaments, the posting rounds, getting rosters, posting activity. All of it was more boring than actually playing in it, which I wanna do. And xzern is the best host to ever grace this planet.

11. What is your favourite tier outside of Doubles, and why?
A:
5v5 Summoner's Rift Gen 4 OU. I like to play it with other doubles friends and I like to think I'm decent at the tier.

12. What is your favourite playstyle/strategy to use?
A:
It's between regular offence (not hyper offence) and semi-trick room. I think regular offence has enough pressure, switch opportunity, and general power to overcome matchup issues and I just like the offencive legendaries. Semi-trick room is a call I make against people who are weak to trick room in tournaments: read kylecole. I also think it's fun to eliminate all of the enemies slow pokemon and then surprise them with tr and win.

13. Could you provide a sample team for new players which reflects your playstyle, and could you give a brief explanation of what the team does?
A:
our demons (Gengar) @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
qsns in bed (Kyurem-Black) @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Protect
WATER BEAR (Azumarill) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Protect
mouse de therian (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
victorious H.O.T. (Heatran) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 48 HP / 252 SpA / 208 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
thebagman (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Roar
- Protect

I mean if it's a finally team, it's gotta have keldeo and kyub. Seriously though, this is a regular offence team which tries using the resistances of the team members to pivot and gain an advantage early game. You can not pivot too much, because these mons aren't cress, but the idea is that you pivot and hit enough to spiral you into a win position. The mega-gengar would normally be hp steel qB^), but I already have diancie checks so it's boring will o wisp sigh duck.
Tips: don't belly drum early because no redirect, try mega evolving gengar early, trap do nothing mons to set up a sub with kyub or a belly drum with azumarill. Roar is something that I developed to specifically counter kyle in all our test games. It beats azumarill and cresselia because they literally always set up belly drum, calm mind, or trick room. Roar>taunt to beat belly drum transform protect sheanigans.

14. Do you have any advice for new people to the tier?
A:
Aspiring artists draw everyday: through hell and high water, sickness and 12 hour work days. Aspiring doublers should build a new team everyday. Most of them will be bad, but some of them will be good and these are your masterpieces and all the bad teams you made will be worth it for this one good team. #bobthebuilder

15. How does/did it feel to be a meme?
A:

16. What is your favourite League of Legends champion, and why?
A:
Right now, probably Jarvan IV. I absolutely adore jungling and his ganks are dirtier than qsns. that e-->q-->r-->w oml it's 2 eZ. Although I trap my friends sometimes ;]

17. Do you have any advice for new people to League of Legends?
A:
Watch streams and replays of pros. It really helps you know what good things to do since there are just so many bad things you can do.

18. And finally the last question; what do you think of the user Meloettaaa?
A: Should stay up later to play league with me imo.

Meloettaaa: lmao
+finally: also s/o to Rewer and FUCK KALE
Meloettaaa: thanks for the interview man :)
+finally: <3
+finally: i want to make the forums more active too
+finally: so i thought this could hlep


Le fin

Thanks finally for a cool new week of Doubles Player of the Week =)!

If you have any ideas who to interview next and what kind of questions to ask him you can always PM me, or contact me via Pokémon Showdown.

Well, because I kinda have to find a way to find all my interviews back, I'm just storing them here. You can also see who I have interviewed so far:
#1 BLOOD TOTEM - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-player-of-the-week-30-lohgock.3537370/
#2 finally - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-player-of-the-week-30-lohgock.3537370/
#3 SpaceBass - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-2#post-6226156
#4 Stratos - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-ou-player-of-the-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-2#post-6237896
#5 KyleCole - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-3#post-6248786
#6 kamikaze17 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-3#post-6262549
#7 shaian - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-4#post-6276056
#8 Memoric - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-4#post-6288057
#9 deoxys speed - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-5#post-6299245
#10 Hashtag - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-5#post-6310047
#11 Arcticblast - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-6#post-6321801
#12 Audiosurfer - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-7#post-6347360
#13 qsns - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-7#post-6360060
#14 Laga - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-8#post-6383397
#15 Level 51 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-9#post-6394132
#16 Mizuhime - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...e-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-9#post-6406368
#17 Electrolyte - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-10#post-6417680
#18 13ulbasaur - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-10#post-6441526 by Yoda2798
#19 iliketrains11 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-10#post-6450855 by Yoda2798
#20 checkmater75 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-11#post-6464247 by Yoda2798
#21 Pastelle - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-12#post-6473132 by Yoda2798
#22 xzern - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-13#post-6480578 by Yoda2798
#23 TGMD - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-14#post-6509005 by Yoda2798
#24 shrop05 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-14#post-6520389 by Yoda2798
#25 Nido-Rus - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-15#post-6536687 by Yoda2798
#26 n10sit - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-15#post-6549025 by Yoda2798
#27 Yellow Paint - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-16#post-6562943 by Yoda2798
#28 Croven - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-16#post-6572308 by Yoda2798
#29 GiraGoomy - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-17#post-6582417 by Yoda2798
#30 Lohgock - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-week-30-lohgock.3537370/page-17#post-6597520 by Yoda2798
#31 talkingtree - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-18#post-6697263
#32 TUO - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-18#post-6730522
#33 MajorBowman - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-19#post-6782859
#34 SamVGC - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-19#post-6793305
#35 Yoda2798 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-20#post-6832370
#36 clius - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-20#post-6850832 by Yoda2798
#37 n1n1 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-21#post-6902367
#38 Braverius - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-21#post-6922974
#39 Dawgie - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-22#post-6949352
#40 miltankmilk - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-22#post-7000506 by Yoda2798
#41 Stax - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...the-week-41-stax.3537370/page-23#post-7009060
 
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shaian

you love to see it
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Landorus-T is obviously a very potent Pokemon in the doubles ou metagame, being easily the best Intimidate user, the best scarf-user, pivot, etc. All of that, and it has the ability to spam Rock Slide to fish for flinches. Some would say that it is overcentralizing and should be suspected, others would say that it shouldn't be, and that it's Rock Slide which should be because it can keep people who were thoroughly outplayed in a game and even win them said game by virtue of flinches. You've been in Doubles long enough that you've seen this happen a few times, so my question is: who's better, Captain Karen or Aya?
 

tape

i woke up in a new bugatti
totem is a cool guy

except for liking the worst girl (confirmed by Word of God)
 

finally

how can you swallow so much sleep?
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
do you always make such risky plays or do you just do that in friendlys
what's your favorite slice of life anime
why do you always hax me and pwnemon

also, meloetta i would recommend not centering the text as it makes it difficult to read

otherwise good read you 2!
 

Haruno

Skadi :)
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
akright on skype when you were busy talking about your various fetishes and fantasies, you mentioned that you used to have a girlfriend. How'd you meet her, why'd she fuck you, and why'd you break up with her? This is a very important question
 

BLOOD TOTEM

braine damaged
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
who's better, Captain Karen or Aya?
karen, aya is a little bitch
Do you actually, seriously, truly, deeply consider two dimensional women more attractive to your eyes than actual women?
3D porn is gross but I don't love 2D women kek
do you always make such risky plays or do you just do that in friendlys
what's your favorite slice of life anime
why do you always hax me and pwnemon
I love making risky plays, I probably do it more often than I should even when the payoff isn't that big. I just find the feeling of not making a huge play is so disappointing when i t would have worked so I make it every time :^)
Favorite SOL is Yuyushiki
b/c you're both so easy oml
akright on skype when you were busy talking about your various fetishes and fantasies, you mentioned that you used to have a girlfriend. How'd you meet her, why'd she fuck you, and why'd you break up with her? This is a very important question
Fuck you cocksucker, you think I go round talking about hentai synopses in real life? I'm actually fairly sociable.
FUCKING NORMIES REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
 

apt-get

it's not over 'til it's over
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Why are you posting normies meme when you're actually a normalfag

What's your waifu (rei is a shit and doesn't count)

What's your rarest pepe

How do I into doubles
 

BLOOD TOTEM

braine damaged
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Why are you posting normies meme when you're actually a normalfag
What's your waifu (rei is a shit and doesn't count)
What's your rarest pepe
How do I into doubles
Sry i can't be a little Moroccan power user neet like you
My waifu is a monstergirl :^)
do u rly think i'd post my rarest pepe and devalue it??/?//?/?
just watch KyleCole vids, he taught me everything I know!!! : - )
 

BLOOD TOTEM

braine damaged
is a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
9. Will there be a Smogon Doubles Premier League hosted soon?
A:
Nah, I'm handing that torch to xzern and he's probably gonna host it in March 2016.
fuck, dommed from the start

qs
1. why did you unironically play pay 2 win memestone
2. what does kyurem-b outspeed, i usually only invest 148 to beat breloom - kek didnt even notice it was scarf oLo
3. how come you never drop by the race war planning room anymore
4. why do i never see you using fun™ megas, do you think its a waste of time building mega-pidgeot teams?
5.
or
 
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finally

how can you swallow so much sleep?
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
fuck, dommed from the start

qs
1. why did you unironically play pay 2 win memestone
2. what does kyurem-b outspeed, i usually only invest 148 to beat breloom
3. how come you never drop by the race war planning room anymore
4. why do i never see you using fun™ megas, do you think its a waste of time building mega-pidgeot teams?
5.
1. it was a lot of fun doing card combos until i realized it has as much hax as pokemon. i mainly played with school friends but then they stopped playing so i stopped
2. choice scarf kyub outspeeds landorus-t. sub kyuremb outspeeds jolly breloom so yeah 148 investment
3. i got tired of persecuting black people and shrop's your mom jokes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
4. i use mega pinsir and mega chandelure and mega wynaut
5.
 

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