With his abrupt departure from the competitive Pokemon world, CALLOUS will go down as one of the most polarizing and controversial figures in the game's history--a far cry from how he wanted to be remembered, surely. Though he was and will continue to be dismissed by many as what the internet layman refers to as a "meme," it would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the good that CALLOUS did during his time spent in our realm. As many of you know, I was critical of certain aspects of his personality, such as his comical hyperbole and attempt to ostracize Lord Ninjax; however, I believe these were a result of his somewhat admirable passion for the game, which I will discuss shortly.
I first heard of CALLOUS in 2013, when he was a regular on the main Pokemon Online server. He frequented it mainly to stumble upon games worth narrating and play ADV. At this time his channel was largely unknown, though he had done a bit of networking with the likes of M Dragon, who supposedly trained him a great deal. CALLOUS started out narrating ADV games, but dabbled into RBY and GSC as well, though he was markedly biased towards games held on Smogon. For example, despite participating in previous Pokemon Online tournaments he openly buried a World Cup game he was narrating, saying something along the lines of, "The PO World Cup isn't as important as the one on Smogon." Even if it was true, even I can admit that PO was held in higher esteem five years ago. Moreover, I found that remark disrespectful to the players involved, as they possibly may have done some serious preparation for the game. A more egregious display of his Smogon favoritism was his catchphrase, "SPL level," which was obviously scrutinized and made him seen as a gimmick by many people.
CALLOUS knew who I was when I messaged him on Pokemon Online for the first time, and expressed interest in narrating my RBY games, presumably because I was the #1 ranked player on its ladder and thus had many intriguing games to choose from. I showed him my game against Conflict in the semi finals of the Pokefans RBY tournament, hoping he would narrate it, but it fell through because I didn't have the full replay. I had to settle for posting the video on YouTube myself along with writing my own "war story" for it (we called them war stories back then). Fair enough--who wants to narrate a game that doesn't start on turn 1? Most wouldn't, I think.
CALLOUS would continue to narrate games for a good while. I never made any subsequent attempts at reaching out to him as I was content with uploading games on my own channel, and that was that. CALLOUS would disappear for about two years; when he returned, SmogonJr was dead and he needed a new home. Thus, the working relationship between CALLOUS and Pokemon Perfect was born. CALLOUS narrated a few ADV Master Tournament games and was also a manager in PPL 2, which he nearly won. In this tournament CALLOUS exhibited his passion and knowledge for the game, as he made some excellent choices in the auction and ended up nearly winning the tournament. Despite his busy schedule, CALLOUS continued to narrate games as well, showcasing his dedication which is something I would personally like to see more of from other people. Dedication in this game is mainly limited to people seeing who can act like the most socially inept buffoon on the Smogtours discord server, but CALLOUS was interested in things such as professionalism and statistics. I have the same mindset in this regard.
Unfortunately, while we started on at least neutral terms, when CALLOUS came back he displayed some kind of grudge against me for reasons which were never clear. While watching a game on Pokemon Showdown he wrote something like, "GGFan and danilo can go on island together." I didn't understand why CALLOUS saw me in the same light as his mortal enemy, though this came back to bite him rather harshly as when we were both in the ADV Master Tournament, I won my first-round set whereas CALLOUS lost to Lord Ninjax. This would mark the beginning of CALLOUS's reputation for being on the receiving end of karma's fangs, though I must admit that, before the PPL auction started, CALLOUS actually sent me a private message and apologized for how he felt about me, feelings which were undoubtedly stirred by some gimmicks on Smogon (I was banned on Smogon at the time and thus viewed as their enemy). I respected him for apologizing, as most people would never do that, even if it's clear they were wrong. It's for this very reason that I don't want to only focus on his negatives, for he showed me that he was, perhaps, more complex than I previously thought. There was a normal person in him who wanted to come out.
However, what made CALLOUS so polarizing on Pokemon Perfect was his attitude that he believed he knew how the site should be run, and clearly his obsession with Smogon was the impetus for his behavior. I disagreed with his views on Pokemon Perfect, especially considering this is a site that strives to be as much of an alternative to Smogon as humanly possible, given its emphasis on old-gen tournaments and a more mature atmosphere. Instead of seeing Pokemon Perfect as an opportunity, CALLOUS viewed it as inferior and as a site that needed to emulate Smogon. This was a bone of contention amongst many people and resulted in some unsavory words exchanged between CALLOUS and Disaster Area. CALLOUS would end up leaving Pokemon Perfect once more, but not before saying something utterly ridiculous while embroiled in the argument over how the WCOPP should have been structured: "Leave it to people like me who have a degree in math and think logically." Whenever CALLOUS tried to present himself seriously, he tended to follow up his arguments and reasoning with laughable statements like these.
Sometime after he left Pokemon Perfect (or before, I'm not sure), CALLOUS made his most infamous video: "Why Lord Ninjax is awful." I never confronted him about it because I felt it would have been a waste of time, but I discussed this with some of the older players (I won't give names out of respect), and we all agreed that the only thing awful was the video itself. Here CALLOUS was, a good 10 or 12 years older than this kid, going out of his way to make a long, detailed video about why he was a bad player. A long message on Smogon or Pokemon Perfect would have sufficed, not a cold-blooded attempt at ostracism. However, once again, karma's fangs bit CALLOUS fiercely, as Ninjax would go on to win the ADV World Championship by beating the winner of the CALLOUS Invitational in the finals, which was a great achievement. CALLOUS, meanwhile, would get bought in SPL, the tournament he obsessed over more than any other.
CALLOUS found himself in SPL. The narrator whose catchphrase was "SPL level" and evaluated players' skill by how likely they would get to play in SPL was bought by a team. No doubt CALLOUS was elated and eager to prove how knowledgeable and good he was at ADV, and he had a chance to make an example out of Skeptics, who he had been throwing subtle taunts at on his personal discord. The two would end up having a sort of grudge bo3 which Skeptics actually won, and was even posted on YouTube. Once again, CALLOUS didn't obey Competitive Pokemon 101: never trash talk. Thankfully, for his sake, he kept quiet during the majority of the tournament, but there wasn't much he COULD say either. He definitely didn't have much to say against Ugly Duckling, who he had been critical of in the past. Now adversaries on the battlefield, UD defeated CALLOUS in the most bizarre yet poetic way possible: with Weezing. CALLOUS was consumed and beaten by Smogon, who he wanted to prove his worth to for the longest time.
In week 6, CALLOUS was placed on the bench. While that wasn't surprising, CALLOUS deleting all of his videos on his YouTube channel and removing his discord certainly were. The main rumor is that CALLOUS did this out of disgust for being benched. If this is the case, then he did not leave the game as a man, but as a child who threw an unnecessary temper tantrum against not only himself, but his team. I sincerely hope the rumors are not true and that CALLOUS left for other reasons, but given his extreme passion and opinion of himself ("top 20 ADV players in the world!"), it seems that he indeed tarnished both his legacy and reputation over something that most would see as trivial.
I feel bad for CALLOUS to an extent. I think that him removing all of his videos was tantamount to a writer tearing his manuscripts and throwing them into a fire. Even if CALLOUS may not have been seen as a great player, he was important in fostering awareness for both the game and professionalism. I dislike this game's culture and feel it could change if we had more people like CALLOUS minus the tendencies to be a gimmick. Ultimately, his trash talking, inflated opinion of himself, and obsession with Smogon led to a sudden and tragic demise for the man who once had lofty and ambitious goals. I respect how much time and money CALLOUS put into his invitational tournament, and appreciate that he held it on Pokemon Perfect instead of Smogon. Sadly, this man's man was too often in the shadows of a child who was desperate to be "SPL level."
I first heard of CALLOUS in 2013, when he was a regular on the main Pokemon Online server. He frequented it mainly to stumble upon games worth narrating and play ADV. At this time his channel was largely unknown, though he had done a bit of networking with the likes of M Dragon, who supposedly trained him a great deal. CALLOUS started out narrating ADV games, but dabbled into RBY and GSC as well, though he was markedly biased towards games held on Smogon. For example, despite participating in previous Pokemon Online tournaments he openly buried a World Cup game he was narrating, saying something along the lines of, "The PO World Cup isn't as important as the one on Smogon." Even if it was true, even I can admit that PO was held in higher esteem five years ago. Moreover, I found that remark disrespectful to the players involved, as they possibly may have done some serious preparation for the game. A more egregious display of his Smogon favoritism was his catchphrase, "SPL level," which was obviously scrutinized and made him seen as a gimmick by many people.
CALLOUS knew who I was when I messaged him on Pokemon Online for the first time, and expressed interest in narrating my RBY games, presumably because I was the #1 ranked player on its ladder and thus had many intriguing games to choose from. I showed him my game against Conflict in the semi finals of the Pokefans RBY tournament, hoping he would narrate it, but it fell through because I didn't have the full replay. I had to settle for posting the video on YouTube myself along with writing my own "war story" for it (we called them war stories back then). Fair enough--who wants to narrate a game that doesn't start on turn 1? Most wouldn't, I think.
CALLOUS would continue to narrate games for a good while. I never made any subsequent attempts at reaching out to him as I was content with uploading games on my own channel, and that was that. CALLOUS would disappear for about two years; when he returned, SmogonJr was dead and he needed a new home. Thus, the working relationship between CALLOUS and Pokemon Perfect was born. CALLOUS narrated a few ADV Master Tournament games and was also a manager in PPL 2, which he nearly won. In this tournament CALLOUS exhibited his passion and knowledge for the game, as he made some excellent choices in the auction and ended up nearly winning the tournament. Despite his busy schedule, CALLOUS continued to narrate games as well, showcasing his dedication which is something I would personally like to see more of from other people. Dedication in this game is mainly limited to people seeing who can act like the most socially inept buffoon on the Smogtours discord server, but CALLOUS was interested in things such as professionalism and statistics. I have the same mindset in this regard.
Unfortunately, while we started on at least neutral terms, when CALLOUS came back he displayed some kind of grudge against me for reasons which were never clear. While watching a game on Pokemon Showdown he wrote something like, "GGFan and danilo can go on island together." I didn't understand why CALLOUS saw me in the same light as his mortal enemy, though this came back to bite him rather harshly as when we were both in the ADV Master Tournament, I won my first-round set whereas CALLOUS lost to Lord Ninjax. This would mark the beginning of CALLOUS's reputation for being on the receiving end of karma's fangs, though I must admit that, before the PPL auction started, CALLOUS actually sent me a private message and apologized for how he felt about me, feelings which were undoubtedly stirred by some gimmicks on Smogon (I was banned on Smogon at the time and thus viewed as their enemy). I respected him for apologizing, as most people would never do that, even if it's clear they were wrong. It's for this very reason that I don't want to only focus on his negatives, for he showed me that he was, perhaps, more complex than I previously thought. There was a normal person in him who wanted to come out.
However, what made CALLOUS so polarizing on Pokemon Perfect was his attitude that he believed he knew how the site should be run, and clearly his obsession with Smogon was the impetus for his behavior. I disagreed with his views on Pokemon Perfect, especially considering this is a site that strives to be as much of an alternative to Smogon as humanly possible, given its emphasis on old-gen tournaments and a more mature atmosphere. Instead of seeing Pokemon Perfect as an opportunity, CALLOUS viewed it as inferior and as a site that needed to emulate Smogon. This was a bone of contention amongst many people and resulted in some unsavory words exchanged between CALLOUS and Disaster Area. CALLOUS would end up leaving Pokemon Perfect once more, but not before saying something utterly ridiculous while embroiled in the argument over how the WCOPP should have been structured: "Leave it to people like me who have a degree in math and think logically." Whenever CALLOUS tried to present himself seriously, he tended to follow up his arguments and reasoning with laughable statements like these.
Sometime after he left Pokemon Perfect (or before, I'm not sure), CALLOUS made his most infamous video: "Why Lord Ninjax is awful." I never confronted him about it because I felt it would have been a waste of time, but I discussed this with some of the older players (I won't give names out of respect), and we all agreed that the only thing awful was the video itself. Here CALLOUS was, a good 10 or 12 years older than this kid, going out of his way to make a long, detailed video about why he was a bad player. A long message on Smogon or Pokemon Perfect would have sufficed, not a cold-blooded attempt at ostracism. However, once again, karma's fangs bit CALLOUS fiercely, as Ninjax would go on to win the ADV World Championship by beating the winner of the CALLOUS Invitational in the finals, which was a great achievement. CALLOUS, meanwhile, would get bought in SPL, the tournament he obsessed over more than any other.
CALLOUS found himself in SPL. The narrator whose catchphrase was "SPL level" and evaluated players' skill by how likely they would get to play in SPL was bought by a team. No doubt CALLOUS was elated and eager to prove how knowledgeable and good he was at ADV, and he had a chance to make an example out of Skeptics, who he had been throwing subtle taunts at on his personal discord. The two would end up having a sort of grudge bo3 which Skeptics actually won, and was even posted on YouTube. Once again, CALLOUS didn't obey Competitive Pokemon 101: never trash talk. Thankfully, for his sake, he kept quiet during the majority of the tournament, but there wasn't much he COULD say either. He definitely didn't have much to say against Ugly Duckling, who he had been critical of in the past. Now adversaries on the battlefield, UD defeated CALLOUS in the most bizarre yet poetic way possible: with Weezing. CALLOUS was consumed and beaten by Smogon, who he wanted to prove his worth to for the longest time.
In week 6, CALLOUS was placed on the bench. While that wasn't surprising, CALLOUS deleting all of his videos on his YouTube channel and removing his discord certainly were. The main rumor is that CALLOUS did this out of disgust for being benched. If this is the case, then he did not leave the game as a man, but as a child who threw an unnecessary temper tantrum against not only himself, but his team. I sincerely hope the rumors are not true and that CALLOUS left for other reasons, but given his extreme passion and opinion of himself ("top 20 ADV players in the world!"), it seems that he indeed tarnished both his legacy and reputation over something that most would see as trivial.
I feel bad for CALLOUS to an extent. I think that him removing all of his videos was tantamount to a writer tearing his manuscripts and throwing them into a fire. Even if CALLOUS may not have been seen as a great player, he was important in fostering awareness for both the game and professionalism. I dislike this game's culture and feel it could change if we had more people like CALLOUS minus the tendencies to be a gimmick. Ultimately, his trash talking, inflated opinion of himself, and obsession with Smogon led to a sudden and tragic demise for the man who once had lofty and ambitious goals. I respect how much time and money CALLOUS put into his invitational tournament, and appreciate that he held it on Pokemon Perfect instead of Smogon. Sadly, this man's man was too often in the shadows of a child who was desperate to be "SPL level."
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