OU Player of the Week #6: KratosMana

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maybe this is heaven
is a Tournament Directoris a Forum Moderatoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a defending SPL Championis a defending SCL Champion

Welcome to the SM version of OU Player of the Week! This project will feature interviews from some of the most accomplished and influential users in the tier so that we can learn more about them.
If there is a user that you would like to see interviewed be sure to let me know.

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KratosMana
most known for: Being a creative team builder, having consistent team tournament records, having good knowledge of about every OU gen, and also popularizing the infamous phrase "im gay"(lol)
favourite pokemon: Competitive-wise: Mew, otherwise Absol.
most used pokemon: Apparently I used heatran in almost every SPL team, not sure why. I guess i just loved how most of it's checks are passive and easy to switch into. Other than that, Tangrowth, Keldeo and Latias.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself outside of Smogon?
I'm currently an 18 yo brazilian college student who lives alone and absolutely loves music. Not really doing much outside of just going to college for now because i just started it, but i plan on learning french(trying to know 5 different languages until i'm 25, kind of a dream of mine) and getting back to the gym soon. I'm currently learning more about myself and life in general, because it hasn't been 3 months since I actually started living without my parents, so for now i'm just taking every single day as a learning lesson for later on. I have a lot of things in my mind and a lot of goals to pursue, but yeah, just studying and playing pokes/speaking with internet friends for now. I also watch anime and play video games sometimes.

Where did you get your name from?
From the game Tales of Symphonia, my favorite game of all time. Honestly trying to just change it to anti(which was the name i used on PO and how people call me in general), but the user has a badge and stuff so i can't and don't rly want to use dots or w/e so stuck with this for now.

How and when did you get into competitive Pokemon?
Around 2009 while searching for a way to play pokemon online. Found PO and played whenever i felt like it. Also made some dumb posts on PO forums until i quit. Then i found the brazilian forums and started playing regularly there, until i got the opportunity to play WCOP. After that i basically left the br forum and started being active on smogon instead.

What’s your favourite generation of OU and why?
Used to be DPP until i started thinking machamp is horseshit and couldn't stand dynamicpunch/twave spam teams anymore so it's one of the metagames i hate the most nowadays, lol. But yeah it's GSC, i think it's the most balanced metagame and i absolutely love playing it and watching it because even when the games take a while there's just a lot of thinking. Lots of those games have that "domino effect" thing where if one poke falls everything starts falling apart and the game gets fast, which i find dope.

What’s your favourite playstyle to use and why?
Used to be offense but it's probably bulky offense now, because it's just the way i play at my best, i love knowing i have decent checks to most of the metagame and even if i don't i can play aggresive to make up for it.

What are your thoughts on the current metagame? How do you feel about SM in comparison to ORAS?
I love SM right now and think it's still open to a lot of creativity. I like SM way better than oras, and dislike ORAS after the mega sableye ban. I think it got way worse after that, but that's my opinion anyway.

How do you feel about the Mega Metagross ban?
I honestly don't know how people thought the poke was ok, like building for it was so stupid, whenever i had a mega that wasn't scizor in SPL i literally needed to have defensive tangrowth there otherwise it was weak to metagross(unless you used something that wasn't really "worth" using, like slowbro or alomomola, because imo they didn't really check much early-sm at least), unless you bank on something like ferrothorn and no hammer arm lol. I was surprised the result was even as close as it was and i think building got way, way more fun now.

Are you happy with the recent ban of Baton Pass? Do you believe it should also be banned in ORAS?
I tried playing with BP myself and it wasnt that great, it just really isnt consistent, but there were definetly matchups where it basically autowon from team preview, so im glad to see it out of the tier. Id get why it would get banned in oras as well due to how it is unhealthy at times, but I think that Baton Pass based teams are/were way more potent in the SM metagame, due to different factors such as the addition of Necrozma/Magearna and the fact that pokes like Tyranitar(who imo was a pain for BP in oras) is way less common now. So I think there could be some kind of action on it, but don`t think that it is as necessary as it was in SM in the slightest.

Do you believe that anything else deserves a suspect test in the near future?
I would love seeing Medicham get suspect tested just because of how hard it is to actually prepare for it; kind of similiar to metagross but not as badly because unlike metagross it can't boost speed so it's easier to check; but i don't see it happening anyway. I honestly don't mind protean greninja but i think the battle bond set could possibly be way too much for the metagame, don't really care about what happens with it either though. Honestly i think i just don't care too much about anything that happens in the future after metagross got banned, but yeah there's probably a few things that deserve a suspect test.

During SPL, you were recognised as a successful player and teambuilder for SM. How were you able to adapt so quickly to the new metagame?
Mainly a lot of testing with fantastic SPL partners, but also building a lot in general. You can kind of know which mons are getting better with the way the metagame shapes itself if you build a ton, so yeah.

Who is your favourite to win Smogon Tour 23?
Really hard to tell, but i think SoulWind's gonna be hard to take down, especially with his BW game being on point right now after a hot BW Cup win.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone trying to break into the tournament setting?
Just try to not be obnoxious or mean and you'll eventually get there. Join the many different smogon tournaments and learn through playing vs the dudes with more knowledge. Following official tournaments is also a big thing, because you learn a lot through watching good players collide. I think i learned most of what i know from old gens just by following the SPL games, lol.

Who are some of your favourite people in the Smogon community?
FLCL McMeghan TDK John ABR CrashinBoomBang -Tsunami- Ojama Ice Tea Blue_Star Jirachee blunder Jayde BKC Mazinger SoulWind Poek Kingler12345 teal6 Tony R!cardo Pearl rozes ez PDC Finchinator aim Zamrock Sam UD Rewer Accelgor GOAO FAJI Nails Afro Smash Star Danilo MetalGro$$ obii dice Isa CTC cosine180 Meru Kaori Analytic Zebraiken Pohjis Lord Moet Bad Ass Jsaok3 Floppy Mael Aeroblacktyl Coconut New Breed Memoric Stax Tamahome mad0ka Mizuhime Sabella GOD MARTH FlamingVictini craing ;_; Croven Heysup Navy atomicllamas Arifeen Welli0u kokoloko Hikari soulgazer Void ADVANTAGE Tom Bus BOUFF High Impulse Tesung TheEnder reyscarface Stathakis roscoe Nedor daftmau5 Gingy

Finally, can you provide us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle, with a brief explanation of how it works?

Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Def / 108 SpD / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Will-O-Wisp

Celesteela @ Rockium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpA / 192 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Autotomize
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast

Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Toxic

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Defog
- Nature's Madness

Serperior @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Giga Drain
Pretty straightforward. Zygarde+Hera to break and Celes+Scarf Serp for offense. Has enough checks to most of the meta(pinsirs annoying though) so it does p fine in almost any game tbh. The celes set is just something i've been trying out lately with the increase of zapdos usage, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone i'm just insane. Just a fun team with a few unusual stuff(kind of how my teams generally go)
 

njnp

We don't play this game to lose.
is a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
Who is your least favorite player to face in tour?

How did you prep for your spl matches this year?

and...most importantly

When are your watching HxH?
 
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Bonjour,

favourite MPB artist ? favourite brazilian songwriter or band outside of MPB ?
favourite album & brazilian album ?
favourite place in Brazil ?

I guess there should be some pkmn questions so hmm
Opinion on current PS timer ?
Best memory during a world cup ?
Any unorthodox and really strong team you want to share whatever the tier ? (moderate fan)
 

Posho

local gaymer weeb
is a Tiering Contributoris the Smogon Tour Season 23 Championis a Past SCL Champion
As you did in last WCoP, are you planing on trying new tiers for upcoming tournaments? If so, which ones? and do you think you're able to adapt yourself in any tier you pick up?

What do you think is your secret to be so consistent in tournaments in general?

Will you try learning Spanish? ajajajaj
 

bruno

is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
World Defender
Who is your least favorite player to face in tour?
People who can go from being super safe all game to super agressive in any single turn, not because they are playing bad but because like every single turn is just tricky in general. For example, facing Joey in SPL was a pain(cool challenge though) because as somebody who has seen most of his spl/wcop matches i knew he had the guts to make any play if he felt it was the correct one. Some examples:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ubers-33580 http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ru-112610
Don't get me wrong though i love seeing joey play, just gotta keep a distance lol.

How did you prep for your spl matches this year?
First off i made sure to not have a single real SM game myself before week 1 so that not only would my week 1 opponent have no idea what i could bring but just every single week people could only base off my building from past SPL matches. And i prepared completely differently for every single opponent, which basically meant counterstyling me was close to impossible. As to my opponents, i prepared based on their trends and ways to play tournament games in general. For example, i basically didn't prepare for stall at all for Joey because I knew he basically never brings it on big matches/it would probably suck for the upload too(lol), I noticed ABR generally doesn't run more than 2 water resists which made me go off the idea of using Specs Keldeo, I noticed obliviate generally enjoys having a little bit of defensive backbone and then some way to beat Stall so i tried to make something fat enough but with a little bit of firepower, etc.

When are your watching HxH?
i will one day my dude but not for now

favourite MPB artist ? favourite brazilian songwriter or band outside of MPB ?
Adriana Calcanhoto. Her voice is something else man. Here are some favorites
Titãs. This song has a special meaning to me as well.

favourite album & brazilian album ?
God this is hard. I'd say either this or good ol nujabes. In the court of the crimson king is also definetly close to the top, but good luck finding that lmao.
Br-wise perfil. This is my favorite br song though.

favourite place in Brazil ?
Lmao I have legit been out the country way more whenever I can, and when i can't i just stay with my parents/relatives so yeah. but hm "aguas de lindoia" was quite amazing, it's the dopest hotel i've been on prob.

Opinion on current PS timer ?
Sounds fine to me but probably should be changed for doubles matches.

Best memory during a world cup ?
Watching this game live on the year we won WCOP, i don't know how the fuck did that game end on a win but the fact that the paralyzed 17% kyurem-b was such a threat is the funniest thing ever. What a fucking game.

Any unorthodox and really strong team you want to share whatever the tier ? (moderate fan)
Thanks! Most of my shit's just straight up outdated though and whatever isn't i'd rather keep it hidden for some more time. Hope you don't mind.

As you did in last WCoP, are you planing on trying new tiers for upcoming tournaments? If so, which ones? and do you think you're able to adapt yourself in any tier you pick up?
Probably wanna give the new lower tiers a try but not anything too special. I think anyone's able to adapt but i personally don't feel that motivated nowadays.

What do you think is your secret to be so consistent in tournaments in general?
Not sure. Maybe just experience+building+always trying to not lose a single game, as well as always trying to agree with every play i make. I think that something more important than winning the match is agreeing with yourself that what you did were the best possible plays in every scenario. But probably just hard work+exp.

Will you try learning Spanish? ajajajaj
Not really tbh :x. Aiming more towards french german and more in-depth japanese for now.
 
how many women do you kiss on a daily basis? how many boys?

im gonna finish FMAB asap recommend some shit to watch after to me!!!!!

Edit so there like one useful q: what tour game would you say was your worst performance of you think you just played v badly? Interested to see the answer
 
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Ricardo

Banned deucer.
What was/were the best tour games/s you've ever played and why?

1 underrated mon and 1 overrated mon in sm ou? if you have any then why?

What will you do for your beautiful oupl team if we win and get you the trohpy nothing?

Some players to look out for in future tournaments?

When will you travel to Lisbon? :]
 
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Who do you hate on smogon?
Who is the shittest player you ever played?
Does your mom know you are gay?

Favorite player to watch?
Any tips for me on how to be a better player?

Your kawaii and I look up too you :3
 
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watashi

is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Three-Time Past SPL Champion
World Defender
top 10 most hated users on the site?

top 10 worst players in your opinon?

when will u give in to romance anime
 
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bruno

is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
World Defender
how many women do you kiss on a daily basis? how many boys?
0. 5000.

im gonna finish FMAB asap recommend some shit to watch after to me!!!!!
If you want something similiar, Shingeki No Kyojin, Code Geass, Jojo or Fate/Stay. Otherwise Cowboy Bepop is imo a must watch, Death Note is a classic, and uh Bakuman, Mawaru Penguindrum, NHK and Tatami Galaxy are p good. If you don't mind old stuff Monster and Neo Genesis Evangelion as well.

what tour game would you say was your worst performance of you think you just played v badly? Interested to see the answer
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-33591

This was my second SPL game ever and i was nervous as hell. I kept overthinking about every single turn(like switching clef t4 fearing Iron Tail), i had a way to check everything, and i just couldn't think through the matchup. I should've went for Stealth Rock T1 because even if he is taunt infernape it doesn't hurt me to try and get them up, and as you'll see later in the game he didn't even have taunt, he had Endeavor which caught me off guard and basically ended my chance of winning(would you look at that, 2 spl games lost because of endeavor). Granted the Fire Blast burn sucked a lot and i honestly think i could've pulled it off without it, but this being my only SPL loss that i regret out of the 4 just sucks a lot.


What was/were the best tour games/s you've ever played and why?
so i wasted like almost an hour trying to dig some replays and i can barely find anything due to playing most of my tour matches on alts(that i don't remember anymore) and almost all of my replays on my main being hard to find if they are older than like 10 months. So i'll just drop 2 decent ones.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-ou-145533
i consider this one of the funniest replays ever. So i basically had to bank on zard not being eq otherwise i lost, and it was. On to plan b which was bluffing scarf keldeo, which worked. I was still extremely behind especially after i spore forgetting something's sleeping already. Then i had to get every single play correctly otherwise i lose to one of his mons, and well that's what happened. Few missplays but i still love this replay cuz i remember wanting to forfeit and then i was like "eh lets just play it out"

https://pastebin.com/cGT3zf2y
Unfortunately not a replay but this was my second rby game for spl and i had to play marco, prepped a lot in a tier i never played b4 that week and managed to pull it off which was rly cool.

1 underrated mon and 1 overrated mon in sm ou? if you have any then why?
underrated: charti qd volc
overrated: defog tapu fini, tapu koko

What will you do for your beautiful oupl team if we win and get you the trohpy nothing?
jack shit but at least some of you guys are getting in wcop because of it, which is awesome.

Some players to look out for in future tournaments?
Yourself, nedor, k3nan, Deej, ez, and Jaystaice.

When will you travel to Lisbon? :]
idk but hopefully some day :toast:.


Who do you hate on smogon?
No one tbh but i remember having beef with reymedy for a while, nothing against him nowadays though.

Who is the shittest player you ever played?
90% of the ladder.

Does your mom know you are gay?
my gf told her yeah.

Favorite player to watch?
The mencemeat aka mrjamvad. bro fist as well.

Any tips for me on how to be a better player?
you're already doing great man just keep joining tours and like i told u watch the replays where u lose and figure out where did u fail.
our kawaii and I look up too you :3
:heart:

when will u give in to romance anime
when i find a good waifu.


Top 3 OU pokes currently?
Zygarde, Greninja, Tapu Lele.

Name a hidden gem in the current meta.
electric seed hawlucha alongside koko.

Thoughts on Reflect/Light Screen?
usable but too matchup-related and easy to play around.
 

Mur

If you're not first you're last
What's your favorite color?

Most important thing you've learned while living w/o your parents thus far?

First Pokemon that you ever caught?

I guess some competitive questions should be in here too...

What is, in your opinion, the most important trait to have to be one of the best players?

I think I asked this to ABR as well whenever he got interviewed, but w/e. How does one go from the "can rip the ladder but can't get past round 1-2 in tours" stage into being a more consistent tour player. Everyone develops differently so I'm asking more for general mistakes that you see by players at this level, but if you remember anything more specific from our OST series that I kept doing wrong I won't be opposed to gaining that knowledge either lol n_n

When you are in situations where there is no objective best play, how do you typically work through the situation?
 

bruno

is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
World Defender
What's your favorite color?
black

Most important thing you've learned while living w/o your parents thus far?
at the end of the day u're gonna have to be the one that needs to get shit done

First Pokemon that you ever caught?
zigzagoon i think.

What is, in your opinion, the most important trait to have to be one of the best players?
Always being able to take up a loss and learning from it.

I think I asked this to ABR as well whenever he got interviewed, but w/e. How does one go from the "can rip the ladder but can't get past round 1-2 in tours" stage into being a more consistent tour player. Everyone develops differently so I'm asking more for general mistakes that you see by players at this level, but if you remember anything more specific from our OST series that I kept doing wrong I won't be opposed to gaining that knowledge either lol n_n
I think you played that series fine man. I think the biggest mistake is always thinking games were lost because of "matchup" or w/e, unless you got lucked you generally lost because either you played bad or your team was bad(unless you're using a team that relies on "good matchup"). You just gotta endure it and keep trying until your chance comes.

When you are in situations where there is no objective best play, how do you typically work through the situation?
I try to either find a midground or go through whatever play hurts less, or i just go with my gut. Depends on the situation i guess.
 
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