Player of the Week 46: Joltage

Coconut

W
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LC Leader


Favorite Pokemon: Joltik
Most Used Pokemon: Drilbur
Known For: Never Talking
Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a soon to be 21 year old (thank fuck) heading in to my senior year at George Mason University where I major in Psychology. I also officiate intramural sports, and particularly enjoy reffing basketball. Other than that I'm just a pretty reserved guy in general which explains why I pretty much never talk despite being online 24/7.

How and when did you get your start in LC?
I started in LC shortly after I started competitive battling which was a bit after XY came out because I got tired of OU. Don't remember if I played in Tangma but I definitely played in Swirlgar, and was seriously garbage, like if you ever want a good laugh find my oldest LC replays, it's embarrassing. But anyway, after Gligar got the boot I moved on to the level 100 tiers, mainly UU, and would only come play LC occasionally. I fully came back to LC after ORAS around SPLC a much better player than my first go round, but not good enough to get picked up unfortunately. Anyway since then, LC has been my primary tier.

What is your favorite aspect of LC?
I like how the tier hardly ever goes through big changes so I don't have to constantly relearn the metagame. Which is nice when you play as little as I do.

Is there any mon, playstyle, etc that you feel is underrated in LC?
Love Natu. Solid coverage, U-turn, decent typing, and great ability. Seriously the mind games alone caused by Magic Bounce make it worthwhile. My only gripe with it is that it has to speed tie with stuff like Archen, and Mienfoo. If Natu hit 18, I would probably use it on like every team. Honorable mention to Frillish

Anything you find overrated?
I truly don't think Timburr is that good, like yeah it's a threat, but seldom do I identify Timburr as the biggest threat on a team. It never scares me like a Snivy, or a Drifloon, or even a Scarf Magnemite does. (side note: scarf Mag is ridiculous right now. It's such a bitch to deal with in team building for me, like yeah I could run Chinchou or Numel on every team but Diglett exists and it just really bothers the shit out of me)

What players do you look up to / are good friends with?
Well I don't talk so I wouldn't say I'm good friends with anybody. There are definitely people I respect a great deal in the community though. Chief among them being Heysup for his sheer veteran status and ability as a player and builder. Levi is another dude I've looked up to both as a team builder and a battler, cause I remember him always topping the ladder when I was super new and thought the ladder was important. Don't really feel like going beyond these two, but pretty much all of our LC regulars seem like pretty decent people and players. Maybe one day I'll actually try and get to know y'all. Oh special shout out to ZoroDark, really enjoyed your SPL performance after the first few weeks.

What's your favorite playstyle and why?
Bulky Offense. It's the most consistent in terms of performance and most versatile in terms of team composition imo. I also just can't really build HO or normal offense these days either for some reason.

What are your thoughts on Drifloon in the current metagame? Do you think the metagame would be healthier without it? Why?
Alright so Floon is really annoying and will completely just win games for people, but I don't think it's broken or anything. You need to bring stuff to check it just like you need a Pawn check, or a Fletch check. The only real difference between them is that Floon destroys your life by being annoying and not dying rather than just killing everything. Would the meta be better without it? Maybe. I don't really know. But I don't really think we need to have a meta without it

Any predictions for Sun & Moon?
Starters will blow as always, barring good Hidden Abilities of course. Pikipek completely rekt that dudes Popplio in the gameplay demo and is cute so I have hope for the little guy. Stakeout seems like an insane ability so maybe Yungoos can be decent, though I'm not holding my breath. And Grubbin is gonna be irrelevant like all of the bugs that came before.

Will you become an active part of LC UU in the next generation?
I'll try. I had fun with it this gen.

With LCPL coming to a close, do you have any predictions?
them coco NUTS.

Is there any advice that you'd like to pass on to new LCers?
This is more just general advice, but just play the game and learn as much as possible. Watch people who are better than you (they exist I promise) and look at what they do. Review your battles, both wins and losses and see where you may have misplayed, or not made a prediction you could have. You got haxed out? Try to find a scenario in which that wouldn't have mattered. Just try and constantly be looking for ways to improve your game and you'll get there eventually.

Do you have a team that you could share with us, with a short explanation of how it works?
Larvitar @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 188 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Crunch

Croagunk @ Berry Juice
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
EVs: 52 HP / 116 Def / 188 SpA / 116 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Sludge Bomb
- Vacuum Wave
- Shadow Ball

Spritzee @ Eviolite
Ability: Aroma Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 212 HP / 196 Def / 12 SpA / 76 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

Pumpkaboo-Super @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
Level: 5
EVs: 204 HP / 116 Def / 156 SpD / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Synthesis

Numel @ Eviolite
Ability: Simple
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 36 Atk / 116 Def / 156 SpA / 156 SpD
Calm Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Flame Charge
- Stealth Rock

Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Def / 236 SpD / 36 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird

I built this team around April of 2015, and if I were to build something around the same concept today, I highly doubt it would resemble this, so I think its cool as a showcase of my evolution as a builder. But anyway, this team never saw any action until the 2nd Diglett suspect, during which i decided to dust it off, and try it out cause guess what; it responded really nicely to the metagame shift caused by Dig's absence. It's pretty weak to Pawn, and really fuckin weak to Archen. But it really did well with the increased usage of stuff like Ponyta, and other Ground weak mons, as well as Drifloon(unrelated to Dig's absence I know, but still). And by did well, I mean, Larvitar was actually useful in most games, which is pretty cool. Anyway, I don't recommend using this team in a Dig enriched environment, but if you must, remove 80 SpAtk EVs and put 76 in Speed so you outspeed Dig after a Flame Charge. It's also just probably better regardless, but whatever. This team is pretty fun, and fairly straightforward in terms of playstyle, so it can grab you some wins even though it's not the best.
 
I feel like I should answer these before the game ends so
Cavs or Warriors
I want the Cavs, but expect the Warriors to win
who's your favorite basketball player?
Gilbert Arenas was my dude back in the day, and I've always had a soft spot for Kobe. As far as current players go... I don't really have one, probably John Wall or Damian Lillard if i had to say somebody
Career goal?
D1 NCAA ref. Would love to ref during March Madness, though I've got a long way to go before that
 

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