“I’m here to win. That’s why I’m here.”
☆ NintendObs Weekly – Monday, July 11, 2016 – Sunday, July 17, 2016.
Aaron Traylor Takes the Lead
Pokémon VG Masters Division semifinalist Aaron Traylor sits down with us Sunday morning before his big match.
July 03, 2016
Aaron Traylor has been playing competitively for quite some time, but this year is different—a new focus, new goals, and a team he trusts has propelled him to the semifinals of the 2016 Pokémon Video Game National Championships. We caught up with him prior to his semifinal match.
Pokemon.com: After you won your top-8 match on stream, you were obviously extremely relieved. What was going through your mind?
Well, when I play at high level competitions like Nationals, I try to have as much fun as possible. When I’m having fun playing Pokémon, I’m in my element. But I also can get really stressed out, and I knew Cedric [Bernier] had a good matchup against my team. He’s one of the smartest guys I know, so at the end I was really in shock. It didn’t really hit me until my post-match interview when I thought, “Oh man! I’m in the Top-4!”
With that win, you’ve earned a Day 2 invitation and Travel Award to the Pokémon World Championships, which is a huge accomplishment. Does that change your perspective on winning a National Championship?
I’m here to win. That’s why I’m here. I’ve been saying that to myself. I often don’t take that approach at tournaments, but this year it feels like every other word out of my mouth is “I’m here to win.” If you go back and watch me on stream you can see me talking to myself, and that’s mostly just me saying “I’m here to win” over and over again.
You’re playing a Groudon and Xerneas team. Can you give us a brief description of how it came together?
When you’re building a team using Groudon and Xerneas, it’s very easy to fall into picking the six usual Pokémon, and maybe swapping one or two out and running with it. When I went into building my team, I started from the bottom. I knew I wanted to start with Groudon and Xerneas, and then I had to ask myself what other Pokémon are going to be the best around them. It played out that it looked a lot like other teams, but the way I did it is why I think my team is so strong.
This approach really gives each Pokémon a purpose on my team. Salamence has the job of protecting Groudon, Groudon has the job of taking out Steel-type Pokémon to protect Xerneas, and on. Those might be things that people think about during a game, but when I did that during team building, that’s where I think my team’s strength comes from.
One of the big differences on your team is that instead of running two Pokémon that could potentially Mega Evolve in Kangaskhan and Salamence, you’re running two Pokémon that can use Trick Room in Bronzong and Cresselia.
Having two Trick Room Pokémon is the same theory as having two Mega-Evolved Pokémon on your team, in that only one is really effective each game, so you only bring one. I really felt like this gave me more options on my team.
Why do you think your matchup against Cedric in the quarterfinals was difficult?
Well first, Cedric had just watched my last match on stream. [laughs] The second thing is that when you fight a Groudon and Xerneas team against your own Groudon and Xerneas team, you never know how it’s going to go. It’s a toss-up. You have to hope and you have to make some reads.
Do you consider yourself a player who makes good reads?
This tournament is a little different for me. Normally I go in with a team where I have to make good reads to win. I go in with a bunch of Pokémon that are offensively oriented with high offensive and Speed stats, and not much in defense. With a team like that you have to make good reads, and have to always be two steps ahead of your opponent. This year, all of my Pokémon are very defensively oriented. It’s a real step out of my comfort zone, but this is the best I’ve ever done in a tournament. As far as reads go, I feel comfortable making them. But the goal is always to move the game state around to where you don’t have to make reads—you’re the aggressor and in control.
What are some of the more interesting matches you’ve had over the course of the competition?
I’d say Day 2, Round 2 against Alberto Lara. That was a good one because he’d beat me in Swiss on the first day, and pretty solidly. I don’t even know if I saw his Benched Pokémon. And then on Day 2 I got myself into good game states and I got a little lucky.
The other match that was interesting was against Kamaal Harris. It was the last round of Day 2. Kamaal took game 1 from me. In game 2, we fired a bunch of Hypnosis at each other without Gravity in effect, which essentially made it anyone’s game. I was eventually able to take that game, and I played pretty well in game 3.
Did you run into any teams that really diverged from the standard metagame, and how did you handle them?
Yeah, Gary Qian, for one. Gary’s team surprised me. It was the only team to reach the top cut that included Talonflame. Going back to what I was saying about reads, Gary’s team is one where you have to make good reads. I saw some of his play and I knew that even if he made a good read, I’d still be OK.
One thing about Nationals this year is we have a full night before the semifinals begin, giving you a chance to get a much better idea of your upcoming opponents than at other times during the tournament. Can you give some thoughts on the other semifinalists and their teams?
I’m actually really upset about these three players making it this far because each of their teams tries me in a different way. [laughs]
Grant Weldon is my first opponent, and his Thundurus and Bronzong are very challenging for me to deal with. I have Trick Room on two of my Pokémon, and he has Imprison and Trick Room on his Bronzong—that’s bad. He has Imprison with Skill Swap on Kyogre—that’s also bad. I’m going to have to outplay him pretty hard.
Alan Schambers’ team was built to counter mine. His path through the top-12 has been against Groudon, Xerneas, and Bronzong the whole way and he keeps winning. I already know his path to beating me and I hope it doesn’t happen. I haven’t really started thinking about how to beat him; I’m just focused on getting past Grant first.
Chase Lybbert has a team that’s very similar to mine, and as I mentioned before, these Groudon and Xerneas head-to-head matches can really go either way. At that point it’s down to making your reads and getting lucky with boosts from Moody. Chase gave me my second Swiss loss on Day 1, right after Alberto did. So I gotta think about what I have to do to beat him.
Before we met up for this interview, you were still in your hotel room playing a few more matches. What does that do for you? Is it just to warm up, or are you still working on strategy?
I like to have a pre-tournament routine. I always like to have a few practice games. When you wake up you’re not as comfortable with your team. But yeah, there’s always more to learn. I also go on a run every morning before I get playing. It’s great to get fresh air and get away from everyone for a while. Then when I sit across from someone I feel much more prepared.
It’s hard right now to be looking forward to the Pokémon World Championships when you’re preparing for your next matches, but how much do you think what you’ve seen at the National Championships will carry over to Worlds?
Well, the reason I brought Groudon and Xerneas to Nationals is because it’s the best and you can’t beat it. Up until the final match, I think I’ll be right. Alan’s team makes me think that someone might have an answer, and I expect to see a lot more teams like it at Worlds. However, if maybe I had another Pokémon other than Cresselia or Kangaskhan in my last slot, I think I could give his team a run for its money.
I think Groudon, Xerneas, Smeargle, and Salamence are the best Pokémon in the 2016 Championship Series. There’s no way around it. The only way to beat those Pokémon is with those Pokémon, or by going overboard in countering them. So going into Worlds… I’d watch out for those Pokémon.
Thanks, Aaron, for taking time out from your morning preparations and speaking with us. And congratulations and good luck to all our semifinalists for their hard-fought battles here in Columbus.
Be sure to check Pokemon.com/Strategy for more event coverage and analysis after the conclusion of the 2016 US Pokémon National Championships.
— Pokémon News
Source: Pokémon.
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