High and Low? Elite and Mediocre?

[Reignited'Light]

Couldn't think of a good title lol. I don’t know how to start of this topic, so I’m just gonna write what comes at the top of my head.

1. So I've heard a lot of talk about people beating me in this competitive game we call Pokemon. Why is everyone so high and mighty all of a sudden when one defeats me? By everyone, I mean the people that participate in this battling environment and the people who think they are hot shit by beating me. Like... ok? A few games does not prove how good one is, especially against me. I'm not that person who you should gauge to see how well or improved you are. If you want to see how "good" you are, use the Look for a battle button on Showdown.

2. I should also talk about how I feel about this, if I haven't done so in my other paragraph. I think someone would tell me, "Hey, you should be happy that people use you as a way to see how good one is, it means you're good". Honestly, I don't see it like that. I don't like when people compare me with other players. It can also get to the point of cockiness, which I probably have shown that attitude myself, being in this community for a year now. It's messy, and I'd appreciate it if people don't get to excited when people beat me. If you want, try to battle other users. I made a few posts in this topic about various players and their skill range. Of course, those are my opinions when I faced them, so don't take everything I say in that topic as a fact.

3. Now I'm not saying that I'm a terrible player. I for one think that I'm a solid player who has great team building skills, I like to think. I also have peaked PO ladder at one point, and peaked Reborn multiple of times, facing high leveled players in the process like @Dark Desire, @Void, (Kamina), and @Moony. However, I'm not going to act like a fireball, and get heated up when I beat any of them. I do like to think I get better every time I get better when I win against them, but I'm not the best in the world just by winning a few games. For every winner, there is a loser. Simple as that. I had my fair share of losses, just like everyone else playing this insane game.

4. Also, let's not try to be salty when we lose. Be a good loser. Don't be a whiny insufferable loser. Like I said, for every winner, someone else has to lose. Be graceful, say gg, and move on. Nobody wants to hear about that one critical hit or that one miss that potentially costed your game. It shows poor sportsmanship, and it's also something that I myself have to work on, to be a better player.

I guess if you guys want a TL;DR version, it's that you guys shouldn't be surprised when one beats me. I think I'm a good player, but it's not like you're fighting against a trophy. I'm just a girl trying to have fun playing a game with friends. ^^

Feel free to ask me any questions.

[Ikaru]

I hope this doesn't have anything to do with those random people that show up like "lol shes a girl i bet she can't beat me come on fight me" because let me tell you about those people:

As for "you should be happy that" stuff, if that's not how you see it then you do you; other people can't tell you what you should think about something lol.

[Guzam]

Feel free to ask me any questions.

What? An ask me anything in disquise?!? I thought I would never see the day...... No but I'm honestly sorry for you. Especially because I feel like a catalyst, after what me and sparky said in our battle yesterday. Obviously you shouldn't be used as a way to gauge skill because anyone could be better than anyone. It all comes down to whether they want to and can.

[Reignited'Light]

No, I will never make those garbage AMA topics. Too hyped right now.

Seriously, No one is to blame right now.
All we should do is remember this, and try to learn from our actions. I hope this topic helped people out, somehow.

[Felicity]

Skitty, my win ratio against you is like 1:10. You are the equivalent of a dark souls boss to me. Ergo, it's satisfying if I manage to win. That's it xD

[Pixl]

Y'know Skits, you're pretty okay

[Antilegend]

Satisfaction comes with victory; people like to win. In one aspect or another, we've all got a competitive desire to achieve victory. It's an old instinct we've got that makes us more suitable mates. Whether it's sports, debates, or games, everybody wants to come out on top. Freudian ideology makes some interesting points here:

• Id is the part of the psyche, residing in the unconscious, that is the source of instinctive impulses, that seek satisfaction in accordance with the pleasure principle and are modified by the ego and superego before they are given overt expression.
• ego is the "I" or self of any person, a persons thinking, feeling and willing, and distinguishes itself from the selves of others. A part of the psyche, that experiences and reacts to the outside world, and thus mediates between primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.
• superego the part of the personality representing conscience formed early in life by internalizing standards of parents or other role models.

These points are possible indicators why some people are very competitive, and when the competitive "high" is achieved, it's done when the subconscious part of ourselves is stronger than the conscious self.

This doesn't excuse the sore winners, however. Gloating is obnoxious and is a telltale sign of someone that has little or no self control when the endorphin release from victory is achieved. Generally, when the pleasure part of the brain lights up, it's all they can focus on.

Just some food for thought, I suppose.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Antilegend

[Kamina]

It is only natural that newer players feel a huge sense of accomplishment when they beat someone who they idolized. That being said, as you stated, winning one game against someone does not serve as an ultimatum that you are better then them. There is a lot more then just skill that goes inside one pokemon match. Sometimes your opponent could have a slight matchup advantage which would mean that you would have to win more 50/50s. Rarely are there ever matchups where both sides are exactly evenly matched. Even in mirror matchups (where both people have the same teams) there are 50/50s and things the players cannot control like critical hits or secondary effects from moves (such as burn from scald or flinch from iron head). The only hax that can be controlled are the moves that people teach their pokemon; even so, there are moves like stone edge and playrough which are not 100% accurate and do not have viable alternatives to them. In essence, unless you beat someone consistently, there is no point in gloating about one, two, or even three wins.

[Jelly]

yea i used to think kam was good all the time and now im like 30 up on him

he hasnt won since like last november

[Shamitako]

TL;DR Even I've beat Skitty in the past, it's nothing to call home about owo

(In case you don't know, I'm P bad and generally only win because #GoddesOfLuck)

[Flux]

I just want to point out how much I love the fact that Kamina is the one who pointed out the effects RNG can have on a battle.

[Darvan Korematsu]

Well I'll try to answer these questions honestly and derived own personal experience about these matters. I literally used to have all the same problems you have at my school in my freshman year, except apply it to Yugioh moreso than Pokemon. Not saying there were no good Pokemon players at my school, but it took me a while to realize that I was amongst the top.

Every player on Showdown is different in terms of a skill level and team they use. Setup can mean everything too. Format can be another factor. Not everyone is good at multiple formats. I believe I am one of the few people on Reborn who will bother touching Rotation battles, and uses VGC a lot of the time.

No two matches are the same often. Some excel in a format, which I guess on the server, the gold-standard would be OU singles. That's not a difficult format, but the people who bitch about the lack of skill needed to slap together a team in a format are wrong. It takes careful planning to check or counter potential threats thrown at you. We get a sense of pride when we get it right and flatten our opponents, and we wonder what went wrong when we played.

People feel this way because when a lot of us realize we suck at something and know we can try better, we try harder, and it fuels the fires of pride.

Like Ikaru says about the happy junk, you can't force your mind on others. Say you and your family gets in a car crash (sorry for extreme instance). Your family dies but you are alive, and you wanna pimp-slap the first person to say "be happy you aren't dead too". People shouldn't force their mindset on you unless it's for your own good, which it is usually not.

[Joker]

Fight me, Skitty. :I

[Reignited'Light]

When luck determines a win or loss, and the opposing player gets cocky afterwards, that is the worst thing to encounter. You just want to beat the player up for that, but play it cool, say gg, and fly away.

Anyway, I appreciate Darvan's post, because it does not only apply to Pokemon, but other competitive games and sports. I just thought it would be important to know that it's more of a human instinct, I guess.

[laggless01]

Well, if you're ranked pretty high, then, how wrong it is and how bad it sounds, people might see it as an obstacle that they thought they couldn't overcome, perhaps. They shouldn't act like how you described, though, but there would be a possible reason why.
If not, well, I guess some people really need the self-esteem boost... :/
I've never experienced it, though, but I only played some AAA for fun...I suggest to try that tier out, it gets really crazy sometimes.

[Reignited'Light]

Bumping this because we still need to learn how to be good winners and losers, myself included.