1. Hello there! Who are you and could you give us a little introduction of yourself?
Hi! My name is talkingtree and I'm a 20 year old student from the Saint Louis area. I'm studying computer science (just like everyone else) and I'm also on the swim team at my college.

2. Where did your username come from and why did you stick with it?
Well irl I'm 6'7" (or 2m for you imperial users out there), and kind of built like a tree and uh... I talk? Basically it was a nickname / username I had come up with that's just kinda catchy, and it also reminds me of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, which is always great

3. When did you start playing competitive Pokémon, when did you start playing competitive Doubles, and why did you stick around?
I started messing around on Pokemon showdown in the summer of 2014 when one of my friends showed it to me and we threw teams together just for fun. I didn't really start dedicating time to it until maybe March-ish of 2015, when I was really sick and bored with nothing else to do. I had always enjoyed the double battles in-game way more than the regular ones, and after messing around in the tournaments room to find out which tiers I liked, Doubles just really clicked for me. So I came to the doubles room, entered a few roomtours, did decently well and got help with my team (thanks @Yellow Paint). I started laddering with that team and doing fairly well so I entered the summer seasonal. In that seasonal I was very lucky to make it all the way to the top 8, and along the way started talking to a bunch of the room regulars and getting a better feel for the community, so now the Doubles room is kinda like my family n_n

4. What is your favourite Pokémon to use competitively and why? What is your favourite Pokémon overall and why?
I really like Heatran, it's fairly versatile but also the standard sub set is so solid that you can kinda make up for mistakes along the way. Heat Wave misses make me cry but otherwise I find myself adding Heatran to so many teams due to how inherently sun-weak my builds otherwise seem to be. My favorite Pokemon overall is probably Empoleon - my first run through in a Pokemon game was Pokemon Diamond, and it was my first starter. I had this idea that the starter was supposed to be the star of the show, and so I leveled it up to level 88 before I even got to the elite 4, and solo'd the whole league with that one pokemon. i did have 5 others, but they were all about level 40. Its design is also totally badass.

5. Do you think there's a Pokemon or set that is currently underrated in the meta?
Yeah there are a few that come to mind - I really like Terrakion, Taunt / Quick Guard always come in handy and it can beat Thundurus which I otherwise hate facing. It's been dropping in viability and usage but I feel like it never should have dropped. Also, Mega Lucario hits like a truck and is super fun to use.

6. Do you believe there is anything broken or suspect worthy in the current metagame?
I know a bunch of people want Jirachi out, and some were calling for a Diancite suspect as well, but honestly this metagame feels very balanced to me. I can understand where people are coming from but I feel like Jirachi and Diancie help the meta more than they hurt it.

That being said, BAN TWAVE

7. Could you give us a team that resembles your playing and building style and give a little explanation about it?
http://pastebin.com/wj7mwqCY
I tend to build around a specific win-con or offensive core, and in this case that was Sky Drop Mega Aero + Belly Drum Azumarill. Sky Drop is usually a surprise and can open up lots of setup opportunities, and Azu is just great, especially with redirection. Electrics and Waters were obviously a problem and I wanted a way to OHKO Kang, so I added Virizion, also with Quick Guard to help Azu avoid opposing priority. Then, Jirachi worked pretty well as a redirection option once Azu was set up, and TWave is broken so I added a set that outspeeds max speed Heatran so that it can get off a paralysis before the sub. Weathers in general were a bit of a rough matchup, so sub Kyube and Rotom-H fill out the team pretty well, also helping remove the Grass types that can trouble Azu. I tend to use mostly viable mons, but I've noticed my choices are more on the unorthodox side of viable, and even within that I try to throw a curveball or two into every one of my teams to keep the opponent guessing.

8. If you could change anything about Doubles, what would it be and why?
One of the great things about the community is that we don't take ourselves too seriously and poke fun at each other the way that only close friends usually would. That being said, that attitude and atmosphere can make it difficult for new players to feel accepted so being able to transition from that joking attitude to a more helpful one situationally would be great. Also maybe free Skymin but I'm not as convinced it should come back as I first was.

9. How is it to be a member of the Quality Control team?
I love it so much it's actually amazing.
One of the great things about analyses is that I don't have to worry about choking or hax, and just working on creating the best guide possible as a team is really interesting because you get to see different metagame opinions come together and come up with ideas you hadn't before. I'm also kind of obsessed with EV's to the point where it might not be healthy, so coming up with new or more efficient spreads for a different Pokemon is a lot of fun.

10. What do you play outside of Doubles, what are your favourite metas and why?
I used to only play Doubles metagames, dabbling in both DUU and DUbers while still focusing on DOU. Recently, however, I entered Battling 101 and got tutored in LC, which has been a lot of fun. The EVs and rolls are totally different and it's also a fairly balanced metagame that doesn't have to deal with crazy shifts like many of the singles tiers out there. Also the little mons are freaking adorable.

11. What do you think of this Seasonals, who do you think is going to do well and why?
Well this Seasonal is very interesting to me in that seeding has been introduced. Obviously this has lots of benefits, and I fully support the idea, but it will change a lot. I just learned the hard way not to underestimate an opponent just because they're seeded lower than you, as @Hiro97 fully outplayed me. This seeding thing will help some of the newer players potentially come out of the woodwork in the loser's bracket especially, and will hopefully make for some interesting matches in winner's bracket between seasoned pro's. I know @Stratos is going to be gunning for the win this seasonal and he definitely has the skill to go all the way, but the only question is whether he has the luck and the focus. Other people I'd like to see do well include @Yoda2798 and @n10sit, because their results thus far don't really show how great I know they are. I'd also be excited to see @Hiro97 continue to do well, he's a great guy and it will be interesting to see if he can keep this momentum going. And as always I'll be hoping for a @Pastelle victory or two :>

12. Who do you think is going to win the Fall Seasonal? Flame Road or TUO, and why?
@Flame Road is a good friend who has been testing with me for a while, and someone who definitely has the creativity and skill to pull this out, so I'm hoping for and looking forward to a win for him. That being said, it's not easy to predict against @TUO, who has had an amazing run so far.

13. What do you think of the players in the Smogon Premier League right now? Do you see yourself in that tour in a year?
I really look up to all of the SPL players - I may have been unconvinced of a few players at the beginning (MajorBowman being the obvious one), but they have all proven why they deserve to be there and Bowman in particular has exceeded all my expectations. That's definitely a tour I would love to participate in next year, I did not feel ready at all this year but considering that I've only been around for about a year, one more year could make all the difference.

14. How do you feel about Smogon Doubles Premier League? Do you think you'll get drafted?
I'm super excited for SDPL, I think it'll be a great way to get even closer to a bunch of the people in the community. I certainly hope I'll be drafted, although my recent performance hasn't exactly been stellar I do have experience in all of the tiers due to my time in the [b]prestigious[/b] Fall Cup tournament. My main hope is that people stay motivated throughout the tour, as I heard last year that was not the case.

15. What are your hobbies outside of playing Pokemon? What are you interested in?
Well as I said I'm on the swim team, which has been a big part of my life for a while and I can't really imagine not swimming. I'm also a member of an a cappella group at college, and I really enjoy arranging music for them.

16. Is there anything else you would like to say or speak about?
I guess I'll take this time first of all to thank you for the interview, I'm honored to be here. Also, if there are any new players out there who are looking to get involved in the tier, please don't be intimidated. I'd be happy to answer any questions or test teams at any time, so please don't hesitate to ask! On the rare occasion that I can't, I'll probably be able to refer you to someone else who can help.

17. Is @Yoda2798 a literal eggnog?
I can honestly say I've never met anyone who is more of an eggnog