"Spinarak Is Nothing to Be Ashamed Of" ft. Emily's Pins and Packs | TRAINER'S EYE #199

Emily's Pins and Packs 0:00

My name is Emily with Emily's Pins and Packs, and this is my Pokemon story

David Hernandez 0:42

Welcome to As The Pokeball Turns, where every trainer has a story. I'm David Hernandez, and I'm joined by Emily from Emily's Pins and Packs, here to share her Pokemon story. Emily, welcome to As The Pokeball Turns. How are you doing today?

Emily's Pins and Packs 0:58

Good. Thanks for having me, David. I appreciate it. How are you doing today?

David Hernandez 1:02

Oh, I'm doing well. We both talked about how we had to clean up our pets' messes. If That is the struggle of being a pet owner, I will say

Emily's Pins and Packs 1:09

Oh, absolutely. But we love them still

David Hernandez 1:11

Without a doubt. Now, Emily, I wanna start off with a fun question to start this interview, and the Okay. be this one, okay? You wake up tomorrow and discover that every Pokemon pin you've ever collected has transformed into the actual Pokemon. How chaotic is your place gonna be?

Emily's Pins and Packs 1:29

Oh my goodness. I can guarantee that my cat is gonna be hiding. She's gonna just be scared out of her mind, even though she's usually, like, the one of those cats that's, like, all up in your business. But I don't think they'd all fit where I live. I have so many that I think I'd be overwhelmed. they'd probably be all up and down the street It would be so cool, though. So cool. I'd be very excited. I've always dreamed of them becoming alive. Like, I wish Pokemon were real

David Hernandez 1:58

Really? So you've always imagined like if they were actually real out in the real world and you'd see like Squirtle, Bulbasaur, whatever Pokemon have you

Emily's Pins and Packs 2:05

Oh yeah, like when they brought out the, Detective Pikachu movie, I was ecstatic because it felt, even though it was just a movie, it felt like I was living in a world where Pokemon could be real. that was one of my biggest dreams as a little kid

David Hernandez 2:18

You know, you mentioned the Detective Pokemon movie, and at first, I was kinda scared because you think of anything anime or video game related, action just seems kinda awkward, especially when it comes to Pokemon 'cause we don't, we're not used to seeing that. But it actually kinda met my standards on what I would want a Pokemon movie to be. It felt like it was a combination of realism while still being quirky, if that makes sense

Emily's Pins and Packs 2:39

No, I'd have to completely agree with you. Like, I was extremely nervous about that movie coming out. Like, I didn't even go see it in theaters 'cause I was like, "I don't wanna waste my money on it. I don't know how I feel about it." And I remember I was getting ready to start law school, and it had just come out on DVD, and so I brought it home, and I was like, "Well, what could be worse than what I'm already doing in school right now?" And sure enough, I was very impressed, with how they were able to do something like that and, like you said, keep some of the quirkiness, but not completely. I mean, there are, of course, millions of ways you can improve movies and things like that. But with what they had, I don't know. I think it did pretty well to my expectations

David Hernandez 3:22

And I will say, if you ever have not listened to the most saddest rendition of the Pokemon theme song, you've gotta listen to Ryan Reynolds when he was singing it as Pikachu.

Emily's Pins and Packs 3:31

my gosh

David Hernandez 3:32

sad, but it was so hilarious at the same time. It was perfect

Emily's Pins and Packs 3:35

Oh, I was so excited about Ryan Reynolds being Pikachu and, like, there were different stories floating around that he only took it so he could make fun of, like, the Pokemon stuff, But I think he did such a great job with it, and Ryan Reynolds is one of my, like, favorite actors to watch. I love him as Deadpool, all those different things. So yes, as you were saying with the whole Pikachu singing the theme song, ugh, such a gut-wrenching spot. I'm like, dang, if you weren't depressed, you are a little bit now.

David Hernandez 4:09

Well, you mentioned how, you grew up with Pokemon. That was your dream to see real Pokemon growing up. So what was that first experience of Pokemon like for you growing up?

Emily's Pins and Packs 4:17

Gosh, I couldn't tell you a time when I didn't know what Pokemon was. Like, I was very little when I was exposed to it. Like, my mom, I don't know what she, how I ever got exposed to it, honestly, but my mom introduced me to Pokemon when I was, before I was even two years old, and That was, like, my obsession. You know how little kids just have that one thing that they're obsessed with? Pokemon was mine. And I just remember, like, I had the sheets, I had the pillows, I had all of the different VHS tapes. Yes, I watched VHS. I know what that is. and it was my, like, comfort zone for so long. I loved it. I had all the different toys. My grandparents shipped hundreds of figurines from Japan for me. Like, yeah, it was a huge, it was a big piece of my childhood. My mom's always been someone that like introduces you to a bunch of different things to see what you like and don't like. And, like, I loved Disney. That was also one of my big childhood loves, hence my page and what I run. But it was probably on a cartoon station when I was a little kid, and I was probably intrigued, and that was that. And my mom always says, even to this day, that before I was even two, I could name all the first like 150 Pokemon. Like, that, I could name all the... Yeah, I was, I was obs- I was a little obsessed. I remember going to like my first Pokemon convention in my hometown and my mom tried to like spike up my hair to make like Pikachu ears, and she has p- pictures of it, and I'm standing next to this like giant Lugia statue and everything. I was probably four or five years old at that point, but it was a really, it's one of my favorite memories I can still think about

David Hernandez 5:58

there is something I need to ask to segue off a little bit, 'cause people who maybe love Disney would be curious. What is your favorite Disney movie? Just out of curiosity

Emily's Pins and Packs 6:07

So it's such a hard tie between Tangled and Mulan. those are like my big two comfort movies like back to this obsessive personality a little bit I've got, that when I was in high school, I watched it so many times that I then started watching them in Spanish and learned the movies in Spanish. I would do my homework, 'cause I did hours upon hours of homework, and they would just be playing in the background, so I would pick up a lot of the words were, the lyrics, all of that. So those were my two, like and to this day are still probably like my biggest favorites. I do have a lot of newer ones that I love as well, but those will always have a special piece in my heart.

David Hernandez 6:47

Now bringing it back to Pokemon, Okay how, you know, your mom, did the whole spiky hair at the Pokemon conventions. You were growing up watching the anime. Did you ever play the games or the cards or anything else like that?

Emily's Pins and Packs 6:58

So I wasn't as big on the cards. Like, I have a bunch of the older cards, and I've been going through more and more of them recently, trying to just sort them cause I've been going to a lot more card shows. I did some of the games. my first game that I ever owned was Crystal. I loved that one. I remember my grandparents, they had this, like, special little yellow Pikachu case, and inside it was my first Game Boy Color. It was green, I think it came with the game is why it was, like, this whole package deal, and it had Crystal in it. And that was, the first time I got to play an actual Pokemon game. Now, one that I actually went through and, like, completed first was FireRed. I remember like opening that on Christmas morning, and I went for like a straight week hammering at that game. so like I loved the games. My biggest thing with Pokemon was the show. I loved the show as a kid. Like, My parents, like, if they just wanted me to go sit down and be quiet, they just put on a Pokemon episode That was

David Hernandez 8:02

distracted when you were kinda getting on her nerves, I bet

Emily's Pins and Packs 8:04

Oh, absolutely. And like my mom would go, I knew how to put it in the VHS myself. Like she would just go say like, "Go put on a Pokemon show." So I'd go put on one of the movies or one of like the VHS tapes with like multiple episodes, and I'd sit in my room and I'd play with my figurines or whatever else I had, and that was what I would do.

David Hernandez 8:24

What made you resonate with the anime as much as you did? do you think it was just the characters, the story building, the Pokemon itself?

Emily's Pins and Packs 8:31

I think some of it was like the Pokemon, but I loved like the characters even though like some of the characters were maybe weird or like over the top sometimes. I loved them. Like, there was one year for Halloween, my mom created from scratch a whole Ash Ketchum Halloween costume for me. Yeah, so like I'll never forget going around to different Walmarts and Targets and stuff, like picking up little pieces to try and create this costume, 'cause she didn't wanna go pay, even though it probably would've been cheaper in the long run just to go buy one of those store-bought ones. She thought it would be really fun to like go pick up the different items. Like, we cut the gloves, we cut all the different things to like make it look just like Ash, and it was really fun. So I think, part of it was the characters for sure

David Hernandez 9:15

You know, you mentioned earlier how your mom made you pig tails and a Pikachu. Now you mention how your mom was able to make you a, basically a homegrown Ash Ketchum costume. What does that mean to you when you reflect on it, how much your mom engaged your interest in that way to the point to where she even created a costume?

Emily's Pins and Packs 9:31

I loved it and I so appreciate my mom for doing that because I know not every parent will do that, and I know there's many parents who will do that. it depends on how you're growing up. And I think it's funny 'cause, like, my mom and I didn't really get along when I was younger. We were, we were so similar that we butted heads a lot.

David Hernandez 9:49

Yep

Emily's Pins and Packs 9:50

um, we, having these moments to look back on, it's like she loved me even though we fought a lot. She loved me, and she just wanted to support me in whichever way she could with whatever I loved, even if she didn't understand it. And to this day, She knows a few of the Pokemon. She has her favorite, things like that. But then especially, too, with my younger brother, when he came around and he fell in love with Pokemon, too, she was like, "Well, I'm glad I learned some of this because now I've got two of you that love it." So it's fun 'cause yeah, even to this day, I'm a lot older now and she still comes most of the times to these Pokemon card conventions with me 'cause she gets so excited of how excited we are. So it's just something that we love to do together, even if she doesn't completely understand it.

David Hernandez 10:37

you introduce your brother now 'cause you said he's younger and, you're growing up and being more into Pokemon. Did y'all connect with Pokemon either or was it kind of something y'all kept separate at the time?

Emily's Pins and Packs 10:46

We've kinda gone in waves. I remember Pokemon wasn't his first love like it was for me, I remember as he was starting to get older, I was like, "Mom, I'm gonna introduce him to Pokemon." And she's like, "Let him grow on his own." I'm like, "No, I'm gonna introduce him to it." And I, I basically did. And so I remember, like, living in the house together, if I was having a hard day, he'd come knocking on my door with like a bowl of popcorn or mac and cheese, and he'd be like, "Which Pokemon movie do you wanna watch with me?"

David Hernandez 11:16

Aw.

Emily's Pins and Packs 11:16

and, like, cheer me up. And he'd alway- he'd always pull out the ones that he knew I didn't like. And he's like, "Okay, I'm not gon- I know you're not gonna wanna pick this one." And he'd usually present me one of my favorites.

David Hernandez 11:28

I'm curious. Like, what movie do you not like that's Pokemon?

Emily's Pins and Packs 11:31

Sometimes, it's not necessarily that I don't like them, but it, I watched them so many times that I got burnt out, and I was like, "I can't do it again. Like, please no." Like, I don't like the ones from Unova. I don't like those at all. I know the Darkrai movie is really good, but there was a point where I was sick of it because we played it so much, and so he stopped, like, presenting that as, like, an option for, to watch 'cause he just knew my answer was gonna be no.

David Hernandez 12:01

See, I think for me, the one that I didn't care for, it's the one with the Latios and Latias and Genesect.

Emily's Pins and Packs 12:06

Oh, okay. Okay

David Hernandez 12:08

why is because I think the Latias always said, "I wanna go home. I wanna go home," so many times it drove me mad that I can't e- I don't even wanna listen to the mo- I don't even wanna watch it. I don't even wanna see the s- the title of it. Just annoyed the heck out of me just seeing that one setting. That's about it

Emily's Pins and Packs 12:26

That's completely understandable. I think I reached that point with Darkrai eventually. I was like, "If you show me this movie one more time, I'm gonna lose my mind." It's a great movie, and I've gotten a little bit over that, but it's one of those burnouts of I just can't look at it anymore. And then I just have a strong grudge against Unova, so I don't wanna touch it. Oh.

David Hernandez 12:49

why Unova? I know we're skipping a little bit, but why Unova? Like, what do you have against it?

Emily's Pins and Packs 12:53

so I actually started this thing at the beginning of the year because my brother and I would like I wouldn't say bicker, but we'd have disagreements back and forth of like which series were better, and he always told me I was biased because I love I'm a huge Gen 1 and Gen 2 fan. And so he was like, "I'm not gonna validate your opinion until you've watched all of it." And so I was like, "Fine, I'll go watch all of it." So I started all the way from the beginning and went through... Did I go in actual order? No, I messed it up a little bit. But, I actually just recently finished up, Galar, and he was like, "Okay, now what do you think?" And I'm like, "Unova is like, I can't stand how Ash does. I can't stand like, I don't feel like he makes the connections with the Pokemon like I'm used to." Like, that was where always my favorite parts of the anime growing up. And the only thing I, I will say about Unova is I loved how Team Rocket had a little bit more of like an actual story plot and not just the one-off every episode kind of deal. That was cool to see. But otherwise, like I'm not a huge fan of the Unova anime.

David Hernandez 14:02

See, so for me it's the opposite, 'cause I actually did the same thing you did. I was actually trying to go from episode one to, present day at the time, and I got through, the first four regions. But when I got to Unova, and then, was it they said, "Ash is still continuing his journey." I think he was still 10 years old. And I'm like, "Okay, they did a reboot. As long as they don't acknowledge the past stuff." And then I was, next scene you see Cynthia, you see his past adventures, and I literally turned off my computer and I was like, "Nope, I can't do this. This pissed me off." And then I tried to watch it again, then you see Ash get his butt kicked by Snivy, and then

Emily's Pins and Packs 14:36

Mm-hmm

David Hernandez 14:36

you said, he didn't have that connection with the Pokemon of that generation to me, compared to, like, other ones. You think of Pidgeot, you think of Heracross, you think of, Sceptile. He had, to me, more of a c- emotional connection to the prior generations than he did to Unova. I don't know what it was, but it just didn't seem like the same Ash that I knew

Emily's Pins and Packs 14:54

That's exactly what I was trying to talk to him about was just like I miss the connections. Like, that was like the heart of the first four seasons 'cause that's around Unova is when I stopped, but Unova is one of his favorites 'cause that's around the time when he really got into it. And so that's his first generation and so I understand his perspective with that. it was hard to see like the constant rotation and be like, "Okay, what Pokemon does he actually have this episode, and what did he do with the rest of them?" But like you said, I think they were just trying to reboot it and it just didn't fly with some of our generation.

David Hernandez 15:29

Now, you grew up playing the games, so what do you remember about playing the Johto games? 'Cause you said, Kanto and Johto, the first two generations, are your favorite

Emily's Pins and Packs 15:36

Yeah, absolutely. I'm a huge Kanto and Johto fan. It's actually, like, really hard for me to narrow down all of my favorites 'cause those were what I grew up on. And so I remember picking out, like, especially with like FireRed, getting to start out, my starter is Squirtle. I love Squirtle. He will always be my like Kanto starter. You can't change my mind unless, like, an Eevee pops up, then we're gonna have some issues.

David Hernandez 16:04

Let's go Pikachu, we're looking at you probably.

Emily's Pins and Packs 16:06

Yeah, that, that was I was like, "Oh, oh no," like, "I don't know what to do." But, you can't get me to change my mind of Bulbasaur or Charmander. It's not gonna happen. picking out like Squirtle and playing those different games and some of the teams. And I remember like playing through Kanto and being a little confused because they had some other generation Pokemon in it, and I was like, "Wait, what? This is Kanto. Like, why do they have other Pokemon in it?" not fully comprehending as a kid. I couldn't tell you what my teams were. I really don't remember my teams per se. I just remember leveling up. Like, of course my starter Pokemon was my powerhouse. I was that child, and I All of my Pokemon, they didn't keep like their defensive moves or anything like that. Like, I was going for the power hitter moves. All of my Pokemon had the power hitter moves. Didn't care about strategy 'cause I was gonna demolish the gym anyways. So

David Hernandez 16:59

with some swag on that. I like it

Emily's Pins and Packs 17:01

a little bit I was like, "I'll go train some more before I go add these stupid defensive moves." I didn't realize at the time it was part of the strategy, but I was like, "No, those are lame. I don't I'm sick of them. I wanna attack you."

David Hernandez 17:12

Well, I mean, at that age you're like, "Oh, I just need attack moves. Like, why would I waste a turn if I could just attack again, make up for it?"

Emily's Pins and Packs 17:17

Exactly.

David Hernandez 17:18

at the time. Yeah

Emily's Pins and Packs 17:19

Exactly, and I didn't think about that at all. And so Squirtle was my, like, starter for Kanto. And for Johto one of the few times I pick grass is with Johto. I love Chikorita. I love, love, love Chikorita. I'm, I adore that little Pokemon. I love I think part of that, my love for that was from the anime. I loved Ash's Chikorita a lot, even though it was, like, this stubborn little, guy.

David Hernandez 17:44

It was

Emily's Pins and Packs 17:45

it

David Hernandez 17:45

a doubt

Emily's Pins and Packs 17:46

was a little sassy, but I, I loved it, and I had this, like, toy where it was a, it was a, Chikorita toy, and, like, you could spin the top head of it off, and so that also just contributed to my love of Chikorita, and I loved it going all the way to Meganium. Whereas with Cyndaquil, I love Cyndaquil, but I'm not a Typhlosion fan. So it would, I would wanna keep it Cyndaquil the entire time, which just isn't feasible for the games. So that was my thought process was, "All right, we're gonna go Chikorita here."

David Hernandez 18:16

Now, you mentioned the first two generations. Do you have a favorite Pokemon at all?

Emily's Pins and Packs 18:19

So my favorite Pokemon's kind of an oddball, but it is Spinarak

David Hernandez 18:24

Ooh, I like that this is going. Let's go

Emily's Pins and Packs 18:27

Yes. So outside of Spinarak, I do love Eevee as well. Like, those are my top two. Absolutely adore them, which is why earlier I made the comment of when they introduced Eevee as a starter, I was like, "Oh no, what's gonna happen to my Squirtle?" But but yeah, Spinarak is my favorite. it all started as a little kid. back to, I guess, my mom a little bit. She had bought this toy for me, and it was Spinarak, and the Spinarak shot webs out of its butt. And so I used to run around the house saying, "Spinarak, Spinarak," and I'd shoot my family members with these webs. I was like Spider- I would act like Spider-Man and have this Spinarak on my wrist, 'cause it was like the size of like my hand or like an adult hand, I would say.

David Hernandez 19:13

Yeah

Emily's Pins and Packs 19:14

I'd just like attach it to my wrist as best as I c- I'd kind of like hold it to my wrist and pretend that I was like Spider-Man with Spinarak's assistance. And so that Pokemon, like whenever my mom sees it, she's like, "It's so cute." And then, so that's part of it, and then the other irony of it is, is I am deathly terrified of spiders. And so I like, I am, I will, I fling chair. Like it's, it's gotten better, but I'm pretty terrified of spiders, and here I am with my favorite Pokemon being a spider. So that's just my love for Spinarak, and I'm actually working on a master set in the trading card world through Spinarak. And so some of the same vendors like know exactly what I'm gonna come ask, 'cause I've been going to several more of them now trying to finish this, and they're like, I got a Spinarak card." We're like, "Hey, I heard this one does over here," 'cause they already know what I'm gonna come ask.

David Hernandez 20:07

What's your favorite Spin Raid card that you've seen?

Emily's Pins and Packs 20:11

that's really tough because Spinarak doesn't really have any cool, like, illustration rares or special illustration rares. it's actually one of, like, the few that just don't have a ton. There's about, 18 cards, and then there's, like, 30-some-odd different versions of the cards. But, probably one of my favorites is, one of the first cards that ever came out. I can't remember which set that's from. I'm totally spacing at the moment. But it just looks like the traditional Spinarak that I grew up with, where it's not, like, too much of, like, a character cur- chara- caricature. I can't say that word very well.

David Hernandez 20:45

I

Emily's Pins and Packs 20:45

Yeah. You, you know what word I'm trying to say? But it it didn't, doesn't really look like that or like it was hand-drawn, but it looked like it was actually part of, like, the anime itself. And so that's probably my favorite card. But I do think the, Pokemon Go Ditto card is really cool, too

David Hernandez 21:06

So actually for Spinarak, I like Spinarak. It was actually one of my favorite ones from that generation. one of my favorite cards from it, I think it's actually the first card that came out of, gold and silver. It has Spinarak on a green web, and this is before the Pokemon hype. I saw it and I was like, on Amazon, I'm like, "That's kind of a cool Spinarak card." And so I bought it for like maybe I think a quarter or something like that. But it was

Emily's Pins and Packs 21:27

Yeah

David Hernandez 21:28

It was just, it reminded me of what Spinarak would be laying on a web looking at you. That's what I imagined it would be

Emily's Pins and Packs 21:33

Oh, yeah. That's exactly it, and, like, that's the cool thing about trying to master set it is it's not, like, an incredibly expensive one, two master set. There's a few expensive cards, and I've gotten several of them, but most of them, it's just digging through the old bulk that people have on the sales and things like that, finding the 50 cent or dollar cards. And it's fun, too, because when I tell a vendor, like, "I'm master setting Spinarak," they're like, "Oh, that's so unique. I never heard that one." And I love hearing that because li- my boy deserves a little bit of love.

David Hernandez 22:04

He does. He deserves all the love.

Emily's Pins and Packs 22:06

Yes, I would have to agree with that. And it's just fun. I took a hiatus from Pokemon for a while, and so it's been really fun to really, especially this year, dig my toes into that

David Hernandez 22:17

Now, people are gonna wanna know, for example, Spinarak does come to life and you're scared of spiders, how do you think you would respond if you see a real-life Spinarak?

Emily's Pins and Packs 22:26

I sometimes like to think I'm Misty and how she reacted in the anime to bugs. I'd probably be a little scared at first. I'd be like, "Oh. Oh my gosh. Okay." but I would eventually, I'd realize it's my boy, and I would, I would grow to love my Spinarak. I would get over it. I know it would take me a hot minute, but, I'd figure it out cause that's something I'd always want. now would I ever evolve into Ariados? No. I really don't want to. I have zero desire

David Hernandez 22:54

You

Emily's Pins and Packs 22:55

doing that. Nope. Nope. Which like, and it's so funny like going to the different vendors and like, "Oh, do you want Ariados too then?" I'm like, "Nope, absolutely not. Just Spinarak."

David Hernandez 23:08

I love it. That's how I am with Fennekin. Um, I

Emily's Pins and Packs 23:11

Okay

David Hernandez 23:11

Do I like the evolutions? Hell no. I just love Fennekin. I just want the cute fox. That's it.

Emily's Pins and Packs 23:17

Well, that's exa- that's, yeah, Cyndaquil, like I could care less about Typhlosion and Quilava or Quilava, yeah. I want, I would just like having Cyndaquil. so it's hard to like have them in the game when they're like, "You gotta evolve them," and all this stuff. I'm like, "No, I don't want to."

David Hernandez 23:32

you mentioned how you left Pokemon for a brief period. When did you come back, and what made you wanna come back?

Emily's Pins and Packs 23:38

So it's kind of like a long story as to like what led to the hiatus, but it's like kinda coming back into it. the start of this year, I just kind of like, really the s- highlight of this year, I really told myself, like, I just need to be open with my love for Pokemon. I don't need to hide it. I don't need to be ashamed of it. Like, it's, it's a very common thing, and like I would talk about it with like my close friends and things like that, but I wouldn't be like very public about it, that I love Pokemon. And so started kinda going to this year, and then a friend of mine sent me this Magikarp shirt, and It looks like the Jaws poster, but it's Magikarp, and I thought it was hilarious. And I messaged her back and I said, "That's funny. I actually really don't like Magikarp. I think it's kind

David Hernandez 24:27

Whoa!

Emily's Pins and Packs 24:27

I know, I know that's a hot take on that.

David Hernandez 24:30

That is h- probably the highest stake I've had on this podcast in 200 episodes.

Emily's Pins and Packs 24:34

Yeah, and it's funny too, 'cause my most valuable card is a Magikarp, Magikarp card. Which it's only kept its pristine because I know I didn't like that Pokemon as a kid. Like, did... Yeah, that's a whole thing. And so I told her, like, "That's, that shirt's hilarious." And so a month later, I was by her and she's like, "So I have an early birthday present for you." And I'm like, "What?" And she was like, she had bought the shirt for me, like to troll me.

David Hernandez 25:03

Oh,

Emily's Pins and Packs 25:04

like, and I was like, "This is actually hilarious. I will wear this." And so now I wear it all the time, and I get so many compliments on it. People think it's hilarious. But then part of the thing too is I go to shows and they're like, "Oh, are you like looking for Magikarp then?" And I'm like, "Absolutely not." And so like she had got me that, and I'm so grateful she did because it opened that last little floodgate of being publicly honest about my love for Pokemon. And so started, I went to like a card convention with my brother. It was his very first one this year. I was so excited to take him and get to watch him do his first trade with a card and just getting more back into that realm, seeing how excited he was, and it was becoming like our thing together to like as even adults now of going to these card shows and opening packs together and like I've, had a few episodes with him on my TikTok page where he and I are opening packs together and like it feels like we're back in our childhood a little bit just going into that. And so that's what's really brought me out of my hiatus. And then I ran my TikTok page for a little while, had to take a hiatus from that, for some medical reasons and stuff. And so, decided, I was like, you know what? I'll make it a Disney and Pokemon page, and we'll see where it goes. And it's been a lot of fun, and it's, feels like I'm not stuck doing one thing or the other. If I want it to be a Disney day, it can be a Disney day. If it's a Pokemon day, it's a Pokemon day. And I've just had a lot of fun, and that's how I came across your podcast. So I'm just really grateful I did that.

David Hernandez 26:34

it's crazy how Pokemon still sticks with you even though, it's lays dormant. It's like a little seed that just doesn't let you go. I can resonate with being embarrassed because for the longest time it was embarrassing to be a Pokemon fan, but nowadays it's kinda the cool thing or the every person does it, be like, "Oh, who hasn't heard of Pokemon at this point?"

Emily's Pins and Packs 26:52

Right. And that's, exactly how it was. I mean, like when I reached like that middle school point, that's where I started to feel that shame of being a Pokemon lover. I can still remember like the specific instance where I swore I wasn't gonna go into it again, I went to a really small K through 8 school. so I'd grown up with most of my classmates. A lot of them knew I loved Pokemon and things like that, it had been a part of my life. And I was sitting, I was sitting and there was this group of boys behind me, and they loved to just tantalize me, whatever they wanted to do. And usually I was okay with it, but there was this one particular day, and I don't know why, they started to actually like mock me and like try and say like Pokemon names incorrectly or just like trying to see if they could get me to react. And I remember just sitting there and trying not to cry, trying just to like listen to like lecture or whatever you wanna call it at the time. And I remember going home that day and I was like, "I'm not touching anything Pokemon related for... I'm done." And so it was just crazy 'cause then years go by and of course Pokemon Go comes out. And it's funny to like, I remember like seeing all these dudes and these gals like that I knew like posting like, "Oh my gosh, I'm playing Pokemon Go. It's so fun." And I'm like, "You bunch of hypocrites." Like, "You guys used to literally mock me about this, and now you guys think this is like the coolest thing ever because Pokemon Go is out." And I am grateful for Pokemon Go, 'cause it started to bring me back out into like the Pokemon world. I kinda like was like a in the closet, Pokemon lover of playing Pokemon Go. I still play it to this day. but especially as like the several years have gone by now, like I've been a little bit more like open with certain friends, and then now, especially this year, I'm like, "You ask me, I'm gonna just talk about it." And it's been a lot of fun. Like now, I started dating a guy this year and like that was one of our first conversations was about Pokemon and I'm like, "I'm so happy that I can just like talk about it now." So that's just like, not to get like too like trauma dumpy I guess, but that's essentially what led into that season

David Hernandez 29:01

Welcome to As The Pokeball Turns. We do trauma dumping all the time. You're in perfect hands.

Emily's Pins and Packs 29:07

Good. I'm glad to hear, I guess.

David Hernandez 29:10

Well, one thing I wanted to ask, so, you mentioned how after the bullying it put, forced you to put Pokemon down because you felt like it wasn't worth it at the time to be picked on, to be bullied about something you generally did love. Do you feel like coming back after Pokemon Go, we're talking probably 10, maybe 15 years, that you were robbed of those years that you could have still engaged with something you love?

Emily's Pins and Packs 29:30

Sometimes I do, like especially 'cause like my brother like loved it still during that time, and I'd still watch like some of like the movies with him 'cause it was just him and I. but I felt... Well, I, I sometimes have actually like felt that way recently of like I wish I'd kept up with even some more of like the cards during that age. Not just because of like the monetary value, but also like there were some really cool cards that came out, and now like the prices are atrocious, so it's like I can't go do that now. But It's mainly like that time with him of like just opening packs together and enjoying something together instead of me feeling ashamed about it or anything like that. and I mean, the anime's still here. Like I'm glad I've been able to go and like rewatch it and things like that to where like those years that I missed, like it was still there and available for me. but yeah, sometimes I do feel like it, but I'm like, everything happens for a reason. I needed to step away for a reason, and I can't go back and change that

David Hernandez 30:26

you mentioned how you started the TikTok, and you do both Disney and Pokemon. What led you to wanna start a TikTok, especially around cards and especially pins? Why those two out of everything else?

Emily's Pins and Packs 30:36

Yeah. So it's funny you mention it. So I started my TikTok page back around 2020, so you can guess what was going on during that time.

David Hernandez 30:45

Oh, something going on around the world, some little dangerous thing that was going

Emily's Pins and Packs 30:49

Yeah.

David Hernandez 30:50

Yeah, I m- I, I remember bits and pieces. It kind of

Emily's Pins and Packs 30:52

Yeah.

David Hernandez 30:52

in my dreams.

Emily's Pins and Packs 30:53

it was, it was no big deal. It was fine. No, it was no shutdowns or anything like that.

David Hernandez 30:59

yeah

Emily's Pins and Packs 31:00

Yes. And So, like, my grandmother and I are very close and that's also something, like, I've had since I was a little kid is Disney pins, and we used to do a lot of unboxings together of, mystery pins or just pins that she found online or from trips and things like that. So that's always been, like, a huge collection of mine. And so when COVID came, I used to just send her videos of, "Hey," like, "this is what I got," since I couldn't be there with her in person. And one of my friends had suggested, like, "Why don't you just post it on TikTok?" Like, "Why not? You're already making the videos. Like, you don't even have to go edit them if you don't want to. Like, just go post them online." And I was like, All right. If it brings someone else joy during this chaos, like, I'll open some. I'll put these on there for them." And so for, I was putting them on there for a few months, and all of a sudden, it was, like, July, I think, of 2020, and one of my one of my videos just blew up. I have no idea to this day what caused it. I don't know if it was, like, a algorithm from the gods or what it was, but all of a sudden, like, I went to bed one night, and I woke up the next morning, and it was, I had over 100,000 views. I was like, "This is weird." And then I think to this day, there's, like, 400 or 500,000 views on this video. And I was like, "Okay," like, "let's just see where this goes." And so for a while it was just, Disney pins and things like that. I did these little, Disney figurines and all that kind of stuff. so I did that page for about two, two and a half years and started just to really feel some burnout, and I was having a lot of, personal issues going on at home, trying to get ready for the bar exam 'cause I'm actually a licensed attorney outside of, this kinda world. And so I was like, "I'm just gonna step away." And I didn't really go on my page for almost four years. And so when, I decided to reboot this, I was like, "I don't wanna just do Disney." Like, I wanna be a part of the Pokemon community now that I'm trying to be more open and honest about it. And so I started that back up a few months ago, and I'm like, "Let's just see where this goes." I'm having fun with it. I'm doing this with my brother anyways, and it's kinda like that same ideology of just, if someone can enjoy it, great. If not, that's totally cool, too. I'm not here to, I guess, please the masses on that. I just wanna have fun with my Pokemon, and if I can enjoy that with other people too, like that's a bonus in my opinion

David Hernandez 33:29

Now you mentioned how you open packs, and I assume you collect the cards now. Do you have an approach of, like, what cards to collect? Do you try to do master sets? Obviously, you have your Spinarak card collection. Like, what's your... What do you try to collect whenever you go to card shows?

Emily's Pins and Packs 33:41

Yeah. So after my first one, I realized I needed to have a narrowed focus or I was gonna be spending way too much money.

David Hernandez 33:48

Oh yeah. Struggle's real on that one

Emily's Pins and Packs 33:50

the struggle's real. And so for me, I try to pick out cards that are from some of my favorite Pokemon. So like I mentioned, I love Eevee, so if I see, within reason, 'cause Eevee is a very expensive Pokemon, within reason, I try to find ones within like that realm or Vaporeon or some of the Eeveelutions. One of my like all-time favorites is Lugia, so I do have a good little collection of Lugia going on. Love like finding those kinds of cards. I love what I call the legendary birds, so, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno. and then I love Entei and Suicune. And just honestly, if there's a card that sticks out to me, like I literally-- I picked up a Fennekin card just this weekend, and, I love Fennekin, and so I don't have like a huge Fennekin collection, but I really liked the card, so I was like, "I'm just gonna get it," and that was that. and then for my mom, I look out for Sudowoodo. That's her absolute favorite. her name's, Teresa, and some of her friends used to call her Tree. And so Sudowoodo looks like a tree, and so that's her reasoning for loving Sudowoodo. and I'm like, "Okay, whatever you wanna do." And she has several of the cards like displayed at her work desk and all of that. So I look out for those for her if she wants them or not. She's really picky on them. But, That's usually what I try to go look for

David Hernandez 35:11

Well, Emily, we're coming to the end of your story to present day, and I wanna finish on this last question, You mentioned earlier how you were bullied younger for probably Pokemon that caused you to kinda stay away.

Emily's Pins and Packs 35:21

Mm-hmm

David Hernandez 35:21

you to take yourself back to that place the day that you were bullied and you decided to step away from Pokemon. What would you tell your younger self at that moment that you need to hear?

Emily's Pins and Packs 35:30

That it won't be like this forever, that things will change, and you just have to keep going and give it time. This won't be your forever, and you're gonna be just fine. I think that's probably what I... It'd be something along those lines that I'd say to myself.

David Hernandez 35:49

Thank you for listening to As The Pokeball Turns, where every trainer has a story. If this episode resonated with you, share this episode with a fellow trainer and follow the podcast for more voices, more journeys, and more memories. I'm David Hernandez, and remember, your next Pokemon adventure begins here!