PS! from the Perspective of a Newbie

Introduction

Pokémon Showdown! is a pretty big place full of information and people from all around the world. All of these things can sometimes be overwhelming for a new user. In this article, we'll be talking about my—a newbie's—perspective of PS! in the first few days after I joined, sharing some first impressions and reactions, and trying to relate to new users and explain some problems they may have during their first days/weeks on PS! in a simple and humorous way.

First reactions

Remember, everyone was a newbie at some point, not only in PS!, but other games, forums, etc. I remember when I just found out about PS! and joined it, and the first room that I entered was, of course, the Lobby. What I saw at the moment was disgusting. Oh, the horror. The disturbing messages of a spammer were the first things that I experienced, and at first I thought that I should just leave this seemingly evil place, but after the user got muted by a staff member a few moments later, I decided to stick around.

After that, seeing that the Lobby was pretty lively and it was hard to keep up with multiple conversations, I decided to try out some other rooms. And so the series of me saying "hi" and not getting a response from anyone started. It was somewhat depressing, to say the least. I've decided to take the room Survivor as my "home," as it was the first room that I got a response in, and the whole room felt pretty warm and newbie-friendly.

What actually happened was that I was online at a time when no living souls existed in the chat rooms that I visited, and it just so happened that someone was active in the Survivor room. But my silly brain decided to think that I was a failure with no friends and that the best thing I should do is jump off a cliff and shorten my pain.

The environment and the effects of a welcoming community

At first, I was surprised at how most of the people in the chatrooms were quite welcoming and friendly, ready for any questions that you have about the chatroom or the game itself, or redirecting you to another room which would be more suitable for any questions you have. It was really great, to say at least. It was so beautiful, it was like the universe was telling me that I don't have anything to worry about, and that there was a magical force that… Whoops, I got a little carried away there. As I was saying, the whole place was impressive and pretty well-organised.

A bunch of spam messages from a troll isn't really the best initial impression when entering PS for the first time, because it might make one leave in horror. Fortunately, those things don't happen often thanks to the staff. The welcoming community of PS! makes it easier for a new user to get used to the environment and get a hold on of the basic things they should know about PS!

Having a helping hand to guide a new user on their first few days of interacting with the Pokémon Showdown! community can affect the user's future in PS! quite a bit. Everyone should think about that when talking with a newbie and helping them out. We've all had a moment where a seemingly new user appears in the chat attempting to start a conversation and ask questions even though nobody is answering. Some people would simply ignore the user, as I noticed quite a few times—in some rooms, at least—but take the time to explain to a user the answer to their question, even though they might repeat the question quite a few times because they don't understand. Once they get the hang of everything, the user that you've helped could be a great contributor to the PS! community.

Trying to fit in

Fitting in with the new environment can be a difficult thing for some newbies at the start of their journey. On several occasions, I just couldn't join in on the conversations of other users, simply because I had no idea what they were talking about. And I'm not talking about the battling conversations, which I still don't quite understand sometimes, since competitive battling isn't my strongest side, but rather, the kind of conversations where people talk about random stuff, nothing special or fancy. But I just couldn't think of anything that would help me interact with them. It's somewhat unexplainable. But I gradually started to understand everyone, and I was able to have enjoyable discussions at any time. So to any new users out there with the same problem, don't worry: everything should work out in the end, or this is just happening to me because I'm socially awkward and shouldn't be approached by anyone.

You should try to stay on the subject that people are talking about, share some opinions on it if you have any, and try to have some meaningful conversations with other users. After a while, you'll be sure to become well-respected among other users.

We naturally try to fit in with the latest things that people are doing, following, repeating, or even imitating the things that other users do. But you don't need to do that; just be yourself and try to have fun!

Fears of making mistakes, being afraid to ask questions

I'm pretty sure that most of the new guys are sometimes hesitant to ask questions for many reasons. One of them is that you might get laughed at. At those times, you should know that everyone went through all of the things you are doing now, and it's only natural to have questions. PS has a big community that, as I mentioned before, is pretty welcoming, and you'll be sure to find someone to answer your questions.

I remember when I first joined a tournament without even having made a proper team for the format that was being hosted. So as the tournament started, I left. I remember someone saying that it's sad how I had taken the place of someone who might have used it better, and he was right. There were also a few "lol n00b" shoutouts after that, but that's not the point. I really felt bad for quite a while after that, since I needed to pay more attention to what I was doing. This mistake made me be more careful about what I do in the future, though, so don't be afraid if you do something wrong, as it can happen to anyone. You can always learn from your mistakes and do something good later so that you can feel better.

First competitive battle(s)

Once you've joined the PS! community, sooner or later, you'll have to play your very first competitive battle. When I did my first one (it was a random battle), I won it easily and I got pretty ahead of myself, thinking that it wasn't that hard. After that, I got swept 3 times in a row, so that pretty much taught me a lesson.

I'm not attracted to competitive battling too much, but for those who are, this community is a great place to start learning! The Competitive Tutoring room and the Battling 101 project are great to help you out on your battling journey. Even though I'm useless when it comes to battling, I still enjoyed all of the battles that I've had, except for the ones where I lose really bad. Really really bad. And if I enjoyed them, I'm sure that anyone will, too.

Meeting new people

One of the most important things about PS! is the people. Meeting them and making new friends is one of the good things that comes with the whole PS experience. I've been here for around a month and I've already met loads of great guys and had some pretty fun conversations with them.

Every room, despite its original purpose, has its moments when users just hang out and talk about everything and nothing. It's one of those times when you can just enjoy talking with others, and it's one of my favorite things about this place. It's… beautiful.

Goals and ambitions, contributing to PS!

So, by this time you've probably set some goals for yourself, and if you haven't, then you should! It's important to have something for you to strive for, as there's no point if you don't, right? There are many ways that you can contribute to the community, like writing analyses and articles, creating artwork, and many other things. For me, writing this article represents a big step up and achieving one of my goals. But that's enough about my goals, it's important that new users stay strong and always follow the goals that they've set out for themselves. No matter what your ambitions are (becoming a Voice, a mentor, an artist, a writer, etc.), you can achieve them if you try hard enough.

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