bongo

[introductory questions]
Hi owo could you tell us about yourself?

How did you come to pick your username?

How did you get into competitive Pokemon and what made you play and stick with Doubles?

[competitive questions]
Congratulations on winning the coveted Invitationals ribbon in your first year! How does it feel? Did you ever expect to be so successful in your debut year?

You really went through the gauntlet for Invitationals, can you walk us through some of your thought process and expectations for your sets against Nido-Rus, Feyy, zee, and of course the fated finals against qsns?

OSDT III was another remarkable high point of success for you, with a major top 16 finish until losing against Feyy. This being your first successful individual tournament, what was the preparation and thought process like throughout? Your set against SMB was voted as Best DOU match of 2023; do you feel in hindsight this was your favorite set, or do you prefer another one?

What do you feel you did wrong against Feyy to lose in top 16; do you feel like overcoming this loss helped you improve?

With DPL 10 looming around, prospective mock drafts have rated you very high (around a 28k average); how do you feel about this? Does it add on to a pressure to perform, or does it feel good to be rated amongst the most valuable players? What does your optimal DPL team / experience look like?

Speaking of DPL, one of your breakthrough tournaments was DPL 9 where Memoric drafted you for the Tohjo Tramplers's DUU slot. What was your team tournament first experience like?

Your post-DPL team dump made it look like you carried a heavy building burden, combining the duties of delivering several SV DOU teams while also figuring out the nebulous DUU metagame; did you feel satisfied with your building and performance, or do you feel like fewer duties would've made you perform better?

The inaugural Doubles Derby saw you debut as a manager with big pichu for the Twinleaf Turboblaze. What was your experience managing like? Did you feel satisfied with your draft and preparations? The Turboblaze ended up self-buying you for 13k, but you never found a consistent rhythm, playing 4 different tiers to varying success; what happened?

What was your SCL experience like, initially starting out as Meminger21's support but being promoted to starter? Did you feel a lot of nerves, or were you confident you could perform on this biggest stage?
[unofficial dou]
It wasn't just DOU you found success in this year, but your DUU Invitationals win and 17-7 record made you a standout in our premier lower tier as well. What kind of differences are there between DOU and DUU playing- and building-wise; what was the reason you stood out in this field in particular?

How are you feeling about SV DOU right now, is it in a good place or are there any problematic elements you'd like to see tiering action on? How do you reflect on pre-Home SV DOU; do you feel like the tier has improved since?

Besides your successes in current generation Doubles, you were also a key figure in especially the starting days of DPP and subsequently got nominated as one of the tier's best players of 2023; what is compelling about DPP specifically and how do you enjoy it when compared to SV DOU?

You were also a mainstay in the scheduled old gens room tournaments; can you rank your favorite to least favorite old gens tiers, and explain why?

https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ss-dous-last-dance-mayhem-minitour-no-johns-won-by-yobuddy.3710455/page-3#post-9394491 (RIP REPLAYS)
Do you recall your first Doubles set, any memory what it was like? Did you fall in love with Doubles from the start?

Throughout 2023 you played an immense 100 sets and 207 games. What would you say were your favorite matches to play, your favorite ones to prepare for, and the most intimidating players you have faced thus far? If you were to point one set or game in particular, which has been your proudest?

You also won DOU's Best Builder award, have constantly provided influential team dumps, and have been a mainstay in the sample teams rotation. What is your approach to building like that makes you so strong in this part of the game? And what has been your proudest and/or favorite team you've built this year?

Awards, ribbons, and trophies came showering down on you this year, as you unsurprisingly were crowned Best New Player. However, quite interestingly you were a major name in all of the ladder categories as well. As you said you managed over 7000+ ladder games this year I'm wondering: how much do you feel like laddering helped you improve as a player? Did it make for a strong basis when you started, and do you feel like you're still improving from it now?

You somehow managed to win Rookie of the Year *and* Most Improved Player; I'm not sure how that works but it does speak on your standing within the community, as do all of the shoutouts in dozens of winposts across the forum. Who and what have been the key influences and helpers that have inspired your meteoric rise to success? If a new player were to try to emulate your success, what would you suggest they do?

Despite such a busy first year and ribbon success you're showing no signs of stopping, still gaming on every day. It's clear you want more, so I'm wondering: do you have any set goals for the future?

You've also joined the Doubles council, have become a part of the analysis writing crew, and have been dropping major metagame posts all across the forum. From your positions, do you have any goals for contributing this year?

Just over a year doesn't seem that long, but speaking for myself it definitely feels like I've known you for longer than that. It's been a busy year with many achievements for you, so I'm curious about what you feel like were your favorite moments in 2023 Doubles? What have been your favorite parts of being in the community so far? And if you could change anything about Doubles, what would you do?

Are there any other tiers you're interested in playing? I heard rumbles about bagel in VGC :eyes: can we expect you to be poached by that other side of Doubles? And have you ever thought about playing singles tiers?

What is the best random Pokemon format?

What are your favorite Pokemon from a competitive and personal perspective, respectively?

Unfortunately, amongst all your confusion, it turns out Invitationals doesn't reward a custom avatar anymore. Though if it did, what would your ideal CA look like?

As a fan of both the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, if you had to pick one team to go the distance for a ring, which one do you choose?

Speaking of which, how do you feel about the recent Pascal Siakam trade, wherein the Pacers gave up Bruce Brown and assets? With Tyrese Haliburton's surge to stardom, would you capitalize now and make win-now trades, or do you believe in the developmental flexibility of the roster?

More importantly, do you believe Kelly Olynyk moves the needle for an OKC championship run? Where do you, as a clearly non-biased viewer, stand on the rookie of the year debate between Wembanyama and Holmgren? What would you like to see the OKC do with their mountain of assets?

Can you present us a 3x3 of your favorite anime, the ones that have made the biggest impact on you, and explain why we all should watch it/what it means to you?

Similarly, can you make us a 3x3 of your favorite characters? Interpret 'favorite' however you want...

What do you think about lesbians?

Why are your Twitter likes what they are?

Madoka?

Half the time you're online you're listening to J-rock and stuff; what are your favorite bands we should definitely check out? What's the best music to win Pokemon games to?

What is the agriculture like around there? What is your top 4 vegetables? And your top 3 fish?

Do you own an airfryer? What are your favorite snacks to grill in them?

Arcticblast was wondering: what is your preferred cream cheese?

Mizuhime was asking: what is your favorite holiday, and why?

Fritz420 is dying to know: bagels or donuts?

If you could add one emoji or sticker to DOUcord, what would it be?

What are your favorite Chirch memes?

With 2023 wrapping up soon, how do you look back on your year? What do you think has been your best moment, either personally or Pokemon-related? (whichever you find more comfortable)

Who would you like to see get interviewed next?

In our closing words I'd like to congratulate and thank you for an incredible year of Doubles OU and also a friendship. It was very exciting to keep up with your rise as a player, seeing all of your hard work pay off with such an immense victory in the end, it honestly got me a bit emotional. So I'll be continuing to root for you next year, and I'm sure everyone in the Doubles community will be rooting for you too! Do you have any closing words, any shoutouts you would give to people, to those in the community?