As a first-time reader of the Serebii Journal, I will say this:
It was awesome.
First off, I really didn't follow the Guardian Cup much after my loss in round one like almost every tournament I've been in so far. I think the fact that I was at a really big disadvantage from the start was a huge factor, because as of now I hardly have 6 months of experience competitively. I kinda wish I had played better in my second game especially, and my teambuilding skills... yeaahhh. It comforts me to know that Saph~ did indeed win it all. Reading this has actually energized me more to get back (which may be a bad word to put here as a never was really in) into competitive. The pros and cons section helped quite a bit, and with ORAS OU, I'm going to try to make a wide variety of teams that work.
The interview with Saph~ was also very helpful. I am definitely going to try following some of his tips, especially at the end.
Interview said:
BGP: Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get better at battling, especially at the start of this new metagame?
Saph~: I’d grind out the ladder as much as possible. Try to play people who you would consider better than you and gain experience like that so you can learn what sets most people might be running. Test and/or build lots of teams.
I would say that I have gained some respect for Saph~ after this and I look forward to the day when I could battle him again.
I like the featured team idea, but mostly as long as it's more gimmicky so that you don't give people free teams. I personally had no interest in it, but it looked like a cool idea. Maybe add an importable next week so people could use it with ease, just for fun.
The two informative stories/posts/entries were pretty good. It covers nearly everything important about the subject, and overall turned out well.
The ORAS OU new megas section is really great. It helps new people (like me) have a stepping stone to a decent team, and I might actually add substitute to my sceptile set. It went really in-depth and I think this was the best article out of this months journal. Kudos to Clone for writing it.
Overall, this thing is awesome. I think mandatory guild wars should be a thing, but they needs to be tiered in some way. For example, (and I mean no offense) my guild would get crushed by Submerged Embassy. More official leagues is something I would support, as each is a new experience (as well as an article
). Lastly, I would suggest a PM list like some fanfics do, as otherwise I would forget about this awesome thing you guys are doing here. Keep it up!