Sakito: Hello everyone! I'm joined today by Golden Gyarados, who's known as a Driver and a tour host on RoA room. How are you doing today?

Golden Gyarados: I'm doing well, thanks, how are you?

Sakito: I'm doing well too, thanks. So to start, can you tell us more about yourself?

Golden Gyarados: Sure. I'm definitely one of the older players here on Smogon - I'm in my early 30s and played RBY on cartridge when they first came out! I work as a consultant, and as a hobby I'm a competitive dancer - both of which keep me on the road a lot.

Sakito: Fantastic! When did you discover Showdown? And how many years have you been playing on the simulator?

Golden Gyarados: I've been playing on the simulator for over 5 years - I played a liiiiiittle bit on NetBattle, then migrated over to Pokemon Online, and then finally made the switch to Showdown when the Gen 1 mechanics were stabilized.

Sakito: I'm guessing you're a RBY enthusiast, is it your favorite generation? Can you sort all the generations from the one you like the most to the one you like the least?

Golden Gyarados: Haha I am almost exclusively a Gen 1 player :) I dabble in Gen 2 competitively because I love the GSC cartridge games, and I host GSC Tuesdays, but it's a meta that has never really grabbed me as much as I would have hoped. Beyond that, my only real exposure to the later gens is through Random Battles. I'll join any Random Battle tournament I see and will hop on those ladders, too - I like being "aware" of what's going on in the later generations with new Pokemon and mechanics, but Gen 1 is really where my heart is at.

Sakito: So you sticked to Gen 1 since the beginning :o What's the story behind your username?

Golden Gyarados: I was active on Pokemon message boards back when Gen 1 and 2 were new (places like The Pokemasters), and in previews for the release of Gold and Silver we saw screenshots of the shiny Gyarados - it was never identified as being "red" specifically and the colorization of the Game Boy Color, plus the sparkle, led everyone to assume it was golden. I was a kid and thought that was rad as hell so I picked the name Golden Gyarados as my forum handle. When I came into the Pokemon scene competitively way later and had to pick a name, I couldn't think of anything better, so I just re-used that, ha.

Sakito: Ohh i see! Do you have a favorite battle? you can share a replay if you have.

Golden Gyarados: That's a great question, and I don't have replays on hand unfortunately - but my favorite and most memorable battles were definitely some of my earliest victories: in my first team tournament, the 2014 Pokemon Online World Cup, I beat Isa in the finals which was also the match that clinched the win for my team, that felt great. Winning against Lutra and then Crystal_ back-to-back to win Pokemon Perfect's first World Championship. And the first time I beat Bedschibaer - he has always been my toughest match-up so winning versus him is always exciting. I think the logs for at least some of those exist deep in the forum archives.

Sakito: Who are the closest people you've met during your journey? Since you frequented a lot of forums and stuff, maybe you miss some?

Golden Gyarados: There are tons of great and supportive people in this community.  I miss the occasional opponent who doesn't show up anymore - folks like Raish, who was always just a great guy to battle or chat with - but surprisingly most of the folks I met from the beginning are still around.

Sakito: I heard that you're leaving the scene soon, is that true ?

Golden Gyarados: Yeah, I'll be "retiring" soon but I definitely won't be leaving completely - at least not right away. Mostly I will just be drastically reducing the number of tournaments I join, stepping down from hosting tournaments and the room night, spending less time on the forums and in the room, etc. I will probably still join the occasional big tour - like the annual RBY Cup or the RBY Global Championship - but I just can't keep up the pace I've been at.  I might even make a new alt and ladder quietly. I'm not exactly sure yet!

Sakito: Understandable, I see! what is your favorite Pokemon theme in the game?

Golden Gyarados: Oh man so many. Pretty much the entire RBY and GSC soundtracks define my childhood. I love the Goldenrod theme/cycling theme from GSC. Pallet Town's theme is beautiful. I can't pick!

Sakito: Haha I understand, it's so hard to pick only one. I think I went around everything, unless you wanna add something?

Golden Gyarados: Just that I've been involved in Smogon for a long time, and I'm really happy to see just how much RoA has improved and found focus under leadership from people like Jellicent and Lutra. From engaging and relevant posts in the forum, to renewed interest in old-gen tournaments, to the revitalization of the RoA room on Showdown with room tour nights and other events. It's been a blast hosting GSC Night - there are always some really enthusiastic players who show up every week to make it fun. I hope you all keep up the great energy and I'm excited to hop in every now and then to see how things keep improving :)

Sakito: Thanks for your time and answering questions :D It was a pleasure!

Golden Gyarados: Thank you as well!