Project PU Player Of The Week - Jklioe (Week 7)

[TJ]

jklioe
Favorite Pokemon: Tapu Koko
Most used Pokemon: Drampa
Most known for: Being the leading example of an exemplary new user (according to most people)
​

TJ: hey jklioe, how are you tonight?
Jklioe: I'm well, thanks. I'm particularly graceful for finally having the opportunity to become an uncle for the first time ever as of yesterday :).

TJ: Awesome [: Could you tell us more about yourself outside of Smogon? What are your hobbies and things you enjoy?
jklioe: I would say that there are two sides of me outside of smogon: one of which being a carefree hedonistic womanizer who always jumps for an opportunity to travel and one who drinks coffee and alcohol like their water, and the other side of me is that of a young chess and graphic design enthusiast who is also trying to become a better writer. I also enjoy anime and manga and would be more than happy to look over recommendations. I also enjoy baseball, tennis, and riding my bike, all while making the occasional visit to the gym. I also love video games in general.

TJ: Where does your username come from?
jklioe: There's no particularly interesting backstory behind it. I kind of just decided one day to think of a username in gibberish with no real intention of sticking with it, but then I really liked its PS color so I stuck with it.

TJ: How and when did you get involed with the PU community?
jklioe: This is the question I'm quite possibly asked the most, as to quite a few people I'm depicted as "this user who just came into PU out of nowhere and became exemplary over a short period of time". I've lurked among PO for quite some time while still actively playing Smogon tiers in my spare time, and the PU community seemed like the community I would find myself most comfortable trying to integrate into because of how accessible it was without being excessively clique-ish. It was a breath of a fresh air for me considering I was turned off from PO precisely because of its clique nature, and it also helped that I've taken so much of a liking to Pokemon like Oricorio-G, Raichu-Alola, and Type: Null, all solid Pokemon in their respective right that was so much fun to use. I do plan to take an interest in other tiers in the near future, but as of now, due to the aforementioned reasons, I've always gotten a soft spot for the PU community.

TJ: Who do you look up to / admire most as a player and as a person in the PU scene?
jklioe: I've never really been the type to "look up" to anyone as I hold the personal belief that one should follow their own values and behaviors that they feel best suits them as a person, but the user I've had the most respect for is 2xTheTap as, given his proactive demeanor, deep knowledge, and one who always presents a well-composed attitude, I've always seen him as the ideal user that newer PU users should strive to become more like. He put a lot of thought into his analysis on the metagame, and his teambuilding capabilities show that he puts a lot of effort into establishing a solid framework for building a competent PU team. I consider galbia to be another mention, as he carries with him such a big responsibility, but still manages to be a well-composed, friendly, and entertaining individual. He's also the first PU user I've recalled speaking to about getting involved with PU, and since then I've never once regretted him accepting me as an active member.

TJ: Can you name any up and coming players showing good potential?
jklioe: Heh, this is such an awkward question for me to answer because most good mentions have been around slightly longer than I have, and of course, this question eliminates the satisfaction of answering "jklioe" since I'm the one being asked. In any case, GenZeon's a swell individual who has been obviously making moves in the community like a pro, and I enjoy reading his posts as they provide a lot of insight, and I enjoy seeing him do well in tournaments. allstarapology's analyses are a pleasant read, and btw grats on room voice! I haven't had the time to actively look out for other new users due to my recent stint of activity, but I definitely look forward to that soon.


TJ: What are some underrated and/or unexplored Pokemon you have been liking lately?
jklioe: Two main mentions that usually deviate from my preferred playstyle would be Altaria and Clefairy. Prior to getting Defog, Altaria probably wasn't /that/ terrible, but it kind of just "sat" there, which made it a lot more inferior to other options that checked a lot of the same Pokemon that it already does. Now with Defog, it actually provides very functional roles for fatter teams, and its natural typing and bulk, combined with its ability to solidly check two premier balance breakers in Magmortar and Eelektross regardless of whether it is Physically (to check things like Passimian, Primeape, and Agility Kingler better, as well as allow it to stall out Regirock better with Toxic+Roost) or Specially Defensive (to blanket check a lot of special attackers like Pyroar and Mesprit even better), all while having an ability that basically lets it beat other defensive Pokemon fairly easily makes it quite an underrated choice in my opinion. Clefairy was also initially less seen compared to other stuff, but it honestly is an extremely solid special wall with a superb support movepool, with an ability that makes it function so consistently at what it does all while invalidating a ton of defensive Pokemon. I haven't tried Calm Mind but I'm sure it's a functional win con for bulky teams as well since it's good at checking certain Fighting-types and Me First Pinsir better. Lastly, I would reference Pinsir as between its Z-Me First and Mold Breaker SD sets, majority of teams truly lack surefire responses to it, and in spite of it being relatively unseen, its threat level is not to be underestimated.

TJ: Any advice for newer players?
jklioe: As someone who's in a unique position regarding this question, PU has become almost second nature to me due to having a good overview of the main sources such as Viability Rankings, Speed tiers, Roles Compendium, etc, and just having a natural feel of how battles are competitively played. Trying to build around a certain Pokemon can often be tricky, but when in doubt, don't hesitate to check out the teambuilding lab, as they can be trusted to provide you a decent framework on how teambuilding works around that particular Pokemon. From a more general standpoint, try to understand how risk-reward works, how to think about the game long-term, how to win the lead match-up, and how you can probably set up win conditions. On the opposite side of things, I think our best approach to making the PU forum more friendly to new users is to focus on creating quality content in our more relevant sources (VR, etc.) and not take too much time investing into the miscellaneous sources. Sure they're important to stay active too as they are meant to be fun and to keep others interested, but making sure that we're able to stay on top of the main stuff first and foremost in terms of activity and quality is always most important if we want to help efficiently.

TJ: Lastly, could you share a team with us and briefly explain it?
jklioe:

Importable

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Punch
Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
Drampa @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 136 HP / 252 SpA / 120 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
Togedemaru @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic
- U-turn
- Encore
- Zing Zap
Carracosta @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Rock Slide
- Knock Off
Oricorio-Sensu @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hurricane
- Substitute
- Revelation Dance

Here's a build that I worked with 2xTheTap. To get an idea of how I like to function as a player, it's all about generating momentum effectively and overwhelming the opponent once I've obtained that advantage, which this team aims to do. Drampa and Oricorio-G are two amazing Pokemon for abusing those situations. They form such a strong wallbreaking core together because Drampa wallbreaks a vast amount in its path, and Oricorio takes advantage of the few decent responses to it, as Type: Null is unable to touch it, Clefairy never breaks its sub at +1, and Fighting-types are often forced out. Hitmonchan is a solid blanket check for special attackers, and is good at forcing many things in and out due to its immediate presence on the field and access to hazard removal. Mesprit and Toge are good at messing with thing due to their respective utility, resistance, and speed control capabilities, and can U-Turn out into the main team's wallbreakers. Carracosta sets up rocks and cripples things with Knock Off and Scald. This team has a simplistic formula, but I consider it to be very effective at it because there are very few that stands in the way of Drampa and Oricorio-G's combined wall-breaking abilities and the rest of the team are pretty good at supporting them. This team is currently undefeated in tournament and against good players I've faced.

Thanks for your time [: and if you guys have any questions ask them below!​

 

[Sk3no]

How did you become a PU voice so fast?! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!!!

 

[asa]

Congrats, it was only a matter of time!

Any Pokemon you feel is overrated atm in PU?
If you could drop any BL4, which would it be?

edit bc you deserve more questions and stuff: Anything you're hoping for with the upcoming tier shifts?

 

[Inferno Monferno]

do you think anything is banworthy rn?

 

[Aaronboyer]

Do you pronounce Akir like Akeer or Occur?
Do you pronounce Haund like Hound or Haunt?
Who is the cutest Brit?
Can you convince Yogi not to leave on hiatus?
What's more important in your eyes for PU when it comes to tier shifts? What NU is taking or what NU is dropping?
Best JRPG?
Favorite American President?
Favorite Pokemon Exclusive Move?

 

[2xTheTap]

Which video games do you play, other than Pokemon?
If you were a gym leader, which type would you use primarily and why?
Which Pokemon would be your 'spirit animal?'
What kind of music do you listen to?
Which anime do you watch currently / can you list a top 5 for your favorite series?
Do you feel the viability rankings reflect the current meta well? If not, what changes would you make?
Since you've been cooking more lately, do you have any favorite recipes that you'd be willing to share?