"When Luxray's Spark Found Me Again" ft. SelfMadeSandwhich | TRAINER'S EYE #196

SelfMadeSandwhich 0:00

My name is SelfMadeSandwich and this is my Pokemon story

David Hernandez 0:04

welcome to As The Pokeball Turns, where every trainer has a story. I'm David Hernandez and I'm joined by SelfMadeSandwich. Now, before you think otherwise, he's not an actual sandwich, but he's someone who loves the outdoors and loves Pokemon. SelfMadeSandwich, welcome to As The Pokeball Turns. How are you today?

SelfMadeSandwhich 0:25

Hey man, I'm doing great. how about you?

David Hernandez 0:27

I can't complain, my friend. I'm always happy to have people share your story. I love how you're an outdoorsman, and that's actually what I want to start this interview. It's just a fun little question to

SelfMadeSandwhich 0:34

Quick.

David Hernandez 0:35

ice, okay?

SelfMadeSandwhich 0:36

Okay

David Hernandez 0:38

if Pokemon suddenly became real tomorrow, which Pokemon would you most want to observe in their natural habitat, and what would you want to learn from it?

SelfMadeSandwhich 0:47

definitely Luxray. Luxray is my favorite Pokemon. something that I would, love to see Luxray doing is how it would interact in the habitat. is it a solitary creature? Is it a creature that's protecting its Shinx or Luxios? Does it function like a lion, where like it has these Luxrays that are very protective over their young, and it's just a bunch of females, or is it just the, the solitary male that's looking to protect its pride? something I did not expect that. I did not expect that, but that's pretty

David Hernandez 1:17

Now what is it about Luxray that makes it your favorite Pokemon? What's the story behind that?

SelfMadeSandwhich 1:21

I've always fell in love with Gen 4. I love Cynthia, I love all those starters, but definitely Luxray. Something that reminds me of cats, and, the love that region. I love cats. it's pretty simple. I think Luxray is a really badass Pokemon that at the time did not get a lot of love, now surprisingly is getting a ton of attention, but just not so much in the TCG, community, which I wish it does get an illustration rare and, fingers crossed. But, yeah, it's super simple, a cat that I love very much and so- and it's an electric Pokemon that should have been electric dark,

David Hernandez 1:57

I was gonna say where you f-

SelfMadeSandwhich 1:58

that's

David Hernandez 1:58

I was gonna say where you fell on that 'cause a lot of people think it should've been the dark type. Do you kinda agree with that?

SelfMadeSandwhich 2:04

I do agree with that. It has so many moves that can go with that. I also play a lot of VGC, too. That's why I fell in love with Pokemon because of Pokemon Yellow. so VGC's always, where I kinda go back to. but definitely, it can use Crunch, Taunt, Swipe. it could use any of those dark moves effectively. I can definitely see it use Dark Pulse, but, missed opportunity, but that's fine. fingers crossed for the near future for a mega evolution where it does turn dark.

David Hernandez 2:31

so no surprise, I actually used Luxray in Pokemon Pearl as well,

SelfMadeSandwhich 2:35

nice.

David Hernandez 2:36

just for the same reason as you did. I just, I liked how Shinx looked. It looked like a lion, looked like a cub, and I was like, "I gotta have this Pokemon on my team." And like you, I kinda thought like, "Oh, it's gonna be a dark type," especially when I battled it, but no, it was pure electric. And I kinda like it as a pure electric, honestly, for my taste, just 'cause I like Pokemon that don't meet the, expectations, if so you will. And, but I love Luxray 'cause I always had good memories of using it in battle, although it was completely useless against the Garchomp of Cynthia. I still loved it in battle and paralyze everything

SelfMadeSandwhich 3:08

It's okay though. I don't know if you had the opportunity to play, Pokemon Arceus, on the Switch where kinda this open world game where you can kinda go around and experience how Pokemon was back then, and how, the relationship between Pokemon and humans were so, chaotic, but also, dangerous but it was this open world game, and you get to the point where you get to the the temple of where Arceus and Giratina, Palkia and Dialga could've been, or where they are. and it's just a bunch of Luxrays. Super mean, dangerous Luxrays, but they're so freaking cute and I had to get myself a alpha. if you haven't had the chance, it's a really fun game and definitely for the Sinnoh lovers. one for, one for the Sinnoh

David Hernandez 3:53

I was actually playing it. I was doing a playthrough on it, and I'm doing a dog team. I love the canine specifically. So I've got the Growlithe obviously. I've got the Eevees, I just didn't know what, how to approach that game 'cause it's so different. So I decided just to, let me do a dog team, 'cause I feel like I, I like the idea of a pack of dogs around me protecting me, you know?

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:12

I agree. I agree. so you think... All right, y- you sparked a question in me. So you think Eevees are dog-like or cat-like or fox-like?

David Hernandez 4:21

Honestly, it's more of a fox, but it's the closest I can do for dogs within the Pokemon sphere. Let me put it that way.

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:28

Okay, I

David Hernandez 4:28

yeah.

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:29

I hear

David Hernandez 4:29

Yeah, it's not actual dog, it's more of you're close enough. You're the distant cousin, so that's why I picked Eevee

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:35

So you get K-9 like, all right, I like that. I can Yeah, and like if I had much... How do you feel about the legendary beast?

David Hernandez 4:41

The cats

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:44

No

David Hernandez 4:44

They're cats. That's what they're described as. You've got the ta- the saber-tooth tiger. You've got...

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:49

Oh.

David Hernandez 4:50

I mean, they're cats. They're legendary cats. They're just called beasts because people thought they were dogs for the longest time. They're cats.

SelfMadeSandwhich 4:56

But it did say dogs.

David Hernandez 4:57

I know. It was an error. Tell me, what is, what kind of dog does Raikou represent? I'm all ears for that. It has whiskers,

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:04

You're right. You're right. I give you Raikou. but Entei's a half and half. Suicune looks like a dog,

David Hernandez 5:11

Suicune's a leopard!

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:12

Can't... no,

David Hernandez 5:14

It's a leopard. Come on

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:16

That's not, though.

David Hernandez 5:18

What kind of dog do you know besides Dalmatians that has spots?

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:23

Well, eh, Dalmatians,

David Hernandez 5:25

It, it's not a Dalmatian though. Nobody calls Suicune a Dalmatian.

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:29

All right, what about, what about, what about Entei and his fluffy ears? what do you think about those?

David Hernandez 5:33

to, I s-

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:34

you seen that before?

David Hernandez 5:35

seen them before, yeah. yeah, I still think it's a cat. It's got the, it's got the little si- it's got the little mustache going.

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:41

yeah, it's a

David Hernandez 5:42

The little ca- the little cat mustache

SelfMadeSandwhich 5:45

Yeah, right. But I, you know, I just love, like, how, the, this inspires, like, conversations and just, arguments and I do think they're beasts. I don't think they're cat-like, but that's okay. You can believe they're

David Hernandez 5:54

Right, right. Well, no, that's the fun part about Pokemon is we all see it differently. you could have people debate about how you say Rayquaza or Rayquaza, or Arceus, Arceus, Arceus

SelfMadeSandwhich 6:05

Pokemon did say Rayquaza.

David Hernandez 6:07

Right, but in the TV show they said Rayquaza, so

SelfMadeSandwhich 6:10

Yeah, right, they did say

David Hernandez 6:11

yeah. So,

SelfMadeSandwhich 6:13

Decide what you wanna do, Pokemon

David Hernandez 6:15

Now in regards to, you said you started with Pokemon Yellow, what was it like in those early days when you were playing, I guess assume when the game came out, that's when you started playing Pokemon Yellow, or was it a little bit later on?

SelfMadeSandwhich 6:25

I didn't play any Red and Blue when it first came out. at that time, I didn't get a Game Boy. I was playing off my brother's, original Game Boy, with the green screen and the yellow, you know, the big yellow, the big gray cartridge. And I remember just taking a bunch of, double A batteries from the remote and sticking it in there to play,

David Hernandez 6:42

You're trying to mix and match them, trying to see what gives you more power? Yeah.

SelfMadeSandwhich 6:46

exactly, and, I played a lot of Super Mario, and at the time, I wanted something different. So, I had asked for Pokemon 'cause I, I watched a lot of the Pokemon show. and I did get it for Christmas, I played a lot of that on the original Game Boy and remember playing, a ton of the Elite Four with my level 100 Magneton Wow. Okay kicking butt with, and I really loved that Magneton so much, and I have, really fond memories of, appreciating Magnemite growing up, where I still have a bunch of old cards from 2000 where, I gotta keep this Magnemite 'cause it reminds me of my Magneton.

David Hernandez 7:18

Really? So you were drawn to Magnemite and Magneton back in the early days?

SelfMadeSandwhich 7:21

Oh yeah, definitely. one of the strongest Pokemon to fight against with Larry, to take on that Dragonite, especially with the, the thunderbolt or the thunder punch. I remember it had a strong electric move, and I kept on getting my butt kicked 'cause I did have, Charizard in my original team. I needed some way to counter that guy, 'cause Dugtrio was n- wasn't cutting it either. Uh, so it's just trying to find, ways to... And I remember as like a 10-year-old trying to figure that stuff out, and not trying so much like back then where you could have bought the book and all that stuff, but trying to figure it on your own, and that was like the appeal for Pokemon for me.

David Hernandez 7:56

You mentioned how you were also collecting cards. Specifically, you were collecting Magnemite and Magneton cards because it reminds you of the in-game. What was your card collection at this point? Were you mostly primarily opening? Were you trying to finish a collection or casual? what did that look like for you?

SelfMadeSandwhich 8:08

It was primarily when I can get it. I had to pretty much choose what I wanted to do or what I could get, and it was either, like, video games or action figures or Pokemon cards. And at the time, I was really big into Power Rangers. was really big at, really big back then. I think it was, like, the, the Beetle Warriors or something

David Hernandez 8:25

Beetle Warriors.

SelfMadeSandwhich 8:26

Oh, yeah. Yeah, those guys

David Hernandez 8:27

Yeah

SelfMadeSandwhich 8:28

Yu-gi-oh! was also a part of it too, but not as much. so yeah, so I have to choose between like cards, like action figures or like video games. Pokemon cards were like on the backseat at that time. It was definitely more of like the VGC component, but I definitely remember picking up, a few, Gym Leader packs, Base, Team Rocket Returns, Sapphire, Ruby packs, Sandstorm EX. Oh, man. So I remember going to a Toys "R" Us and always picking it up from that specific Toys "R" Us, and they always had the best cards. They always had the best hits. Toys "R" Us always had the best hits, but I remember, I have really fond memories of buying Pokemon cards from Toys "R"

David Hernandez 9:06

S- see for me, I always remember those eras, Sandstorm, EX, basically when it got to Hoenn. I always remember seeing the images 'cause I used to... I was subscribed to an anime magazine basically, back when people subscribed to anime magazines, and they would always show the upcoming Pokemon card releases. And I couldn't get those at the time, but I always remember looking at the pictures and "I really want some of these cards," 'cause the art was just spoke to me at that point. Now, I still can't get the cards 'cause they're more expensive now, but nowadays compared to back then. But it was just something unique about just opening the packs, more about seeing the cards, and just kinda seeing the Pokemon, how they kinda presented them back in the day. It was just like more innocent to me.

SelfMadeSandwhich 9:40

I still do happen to have some of those cards from my childhood. So I have, traded a card with my good friend, TCG Arthur. I traded him my Lapras EX that era.

David Hernandez 9:51

Oh, that's a sick one

SelfMadeSandwhich 9:52

have, I have the Muk EX from that era too. And since we're talking about that, I wanna show you as yeah but yeah, man, like I really love that card, and Muk is not one of my favorite Pokemon. I gotta say. It's not, but that card is sick though, and it's something that I... It's, like, really, really, really close and near and dear to my heart, so, I try not to, trade it away unless it's, someone who I really feel comfortable and I know it's gonna go to a good home

David Hernandez 10:17

I mean, I don't know if this is a controversial opinion, I actually like the E-Reader cards. I like the design behind them. I love the idea. I wish they built on top of it, but unfortunately they didn't.

SelfMadeSandwhich 10:25

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez 10:26

it's like something about that era of cards just speaks to me. Like the art, I love it. Like the Muk, it's just flat. That's all you see. You know, the Muk card you're talking about. But it looks like Muk in a way, and plus it has a cool design in the back.

SelfMadeSandwhich 10:38

Absolutely. I think that there was a lot of creativity in that era and freedom. I do have a lot of those cards from that era, and I try to save as much as possible even though they're, like, super damaged or, creased or whatever. I still put them in a top loader, in a sleeve, put them away as much as I can, 'cause I, I appreciate that. and I think the art is super sick. Kensuke Mori's art is still the same. I remember Yuka Mori cards are still from that era too. But I also love seeing the progression of Kensuke Mori or Mushu To, Arita and seeing how their art's, changed over the years. to see from how it was from vintage to modern now, like I, I love that. that's so

David Hernandez 11:16

What's your approach when it comes to collecting the cards? Do you like to focus on sets? Do you focus on certain Pokemon? Like, what's, your approach?

SelfMadeSandwhich 11:22

definitely when I was collecting as much, like definitely now I've taken a backseat. when I'm collecting, I was just getting as much product as I can and ripping with friends and having a good time. when it comes to collecting, I'm really looking for illustration rares. Those are my favorite. I have an entire binder of just illustration rares. cause, I love the evolution of how, the art was like from the small, tiny box and how they've expanded it to the entire card. from that evolution, I'm like, "You know what? That's my favorite. I'm gonna keep it going." but also EXes, like falling in love with those EXes in Sam's store, in the EX, but even appreciate the ones that are so plentiful now. Like I have an entire binder of that too. So picking and choosing the ones that I want, because now it's become so difficult to find product in the wild and be able to rip weekly and with friends and being able to buy it at MSRP. 'Cause Paldean Fates was my set that sparked me to collect and start and I have a binder with it almost complete. I'm missing all the SIRs, the most expensive ones. that set got me through some dark times and, meeting a lot of new friends and being able to trade and that's such a fun set, so.

David Hernandez 12:35

When you say you get together with friends, like what did that look like? Would y'all just buy packs and then just open them together at home? Or would you like go out someplace like

SelfMadeSandwhich 12:42

that time, I was going on live, like on, on Instagram Live a lot and, being able to say, "Hey, like I got some product today, hopefully you get some cards. Maybe we can go on live together and rip together," and being able to share with people in the chat and whoever like wants to come up, and rip cards with us. like that's how I got into the Pokemon content creating space and doing that, and I was buy, buying, Paldean Fates Like I've opened seven ETBs. like I've opened so many, so much of that set. But a lot of that was with friends and sharing those, memories. I pulled the Charizard SIR on live with a friend and

David Hernandez 13:17

Wow

SelfMadeSandwhich 13:19

bananas. I was shaking, Like it was like one of my favorite moments

David Hernandez 13:22

I bet you're excited. You're like, "Ah!"

SelfMadeSandwhich 13:25

man. I was like, "Ah!" I was like... I couldn't... and more recently, like I had a really fun time with my friend, PokemonPo88 and Fuzz, PokeFuzz, and also my partner Caterfly, like we, some cards on a live, I think I wanna say like maybe a year and a half ago. It was a Demigod pack from Prismatic Evolutions. Oh, and I was freaking out. I was like, "Oh my God." Like that, opening a Demigod pack, I haven't opened up a God pack, but opening up a Demigod pack was definitely insane. And then like the very next pack was pulling the Glaceon SIR. that ETB was absolutely insane!

David Hernandez 13:59

Wow!

SelfMadeSandwhich 13:59

But ripping cards and sharing that with friends, whether it's in front of you or even like virtually, like those are the moments that are... that I love.

David Hernandez 14:09

So after Gen 4, did you keep playing or did you kinda stop with Pokemon for a bit?

SelfMadeSandwhich 14:12

I kept playing for sure. Black and White, was like up and down with it. really fell in love with it. Pokemon X and Y. Pokemon Sun and Moon came out, I wasn't a fan of the trials, I really tried, and I decided not to, play it as much, I didn't play, Pokemon Sun and Moon till later. I do wanna try Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, because I know that was a better game, but I haven't had the chance to. then I took a really long break from Pokemon after that. was playing more games like Borderlands and Call of Duty. Borderlands is one of my all-time favorite games. I played Borderlands 2, 3 nonstop. I haven't played 4 yet, 'cause I refuse to buy a PS5 at this time, so I'm waiting for it to come out on the Switch, then I'll be

David Hernandez 14:57

We'll switch to at this point probably. Switch to, yeah

SelfMadeSandwhich 15:00

I have my Switch right now. Yeah, I do have a Switch 2. but yeah, you're right. but definitely, got back into it, when I did get a Switch eventually. I got a Switch Lite and decided to buy, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and that's such a well-made game. I love that game so much and that got me back into it for sure. And then I did play, Scarlet and Violet too.

David Hernandez 15:19

Now you mentioned how Gen Four, specifically Sinnoh's your favorite region it sounded like earlier. What is it about that region compared to all the other ones that makes it your favorite? Like what brings it home to you?

SelfMadeSandwhich 15:30

I feel like the story of like space and time, and how like that like, affects like the entire Pokemon, like the universe. It's like the fourth region that ties everything together. it does bring in, the fact of like time and space, but also of life and death of Arceus and Giratina, so we're talking like really big heavy hitters when it comes to like legendaries, and those really big concepts of like evil and like darkness, along with good and evil, and having like these two legendary Pokemon between like Dialga and Palkia that are very neutral, so you don't know which way they're kinda going. Turtwig, Torterra is one of my favorite starters of all time. I always pick Turtwig when it comes... Like I, I get like Piplup and Chimchar those guys are great, like Infernape and Empoleon, but for me Torterra takes it home. But I know Ice types destroy him. I get it, but love that guy. The design is sick, such a good

David Hernandez 16:21

Such a unique type in two, plus the tree on the shell. How could you beat that?

SelfMadeSandwhich 16:25

Ah, how can you not, man? Such a good... And s- and the Shiny it's not that bad either. I'm, I wasn't a big Shiny collector. I was big into battling and trying to catch every Pokemon and getting everything to like level 100. I was definitely a completionist, and definitely sometimes I still am when I have the time.

David Hernandez 16:42

That's always the struggle, right? The time. We don't have as much time as we used to

SelfMadeSandwhich 16:46

Yeah. But most recently between ZA and Scarlet, I've been able to get them to about 98, 99% for the Pokedex, yeah. 'cause that's the only game, that's the only game I play now. Between that and Overwatch, I try to stick like a very low game pool. but yeah, I play whatever Pokemon I can get my hands on,

David Hernandez 17:05

What motivates you to try to complete a game? Because when you're talking completing a Pokemon game, I'm assuming you're talking Pokedex. It sounds like you level up to 100. Like, why go to that much effort to complete that kind of game specifically?

SelfMadeSandwhich 17:16

I think developing, uh, like a lot of like mini goals throughout the game will kinda help, like being able to get more life out of a game. so I'm not always like looking to rebuy something, but like how, what are some new ways I can enjoy this game? You know, many people talk a lot about ZA and how it's a good game, but it was destroyed with the DLC, which I understand. But like it did make me sad, but like what could I do to help me enjoy this game more? That game is extremely easy to get shinies. So let's try to do the shiny Pokedex. Let's try to complete the shiny

David Hernandez 17:50

Oh, wow. Yeah

SelfMadeSandwhich 17:51

I have most of the Pokemon, in the regular Pokedex and, for a long time, like I was grinding for like a good seven or eight months to complete the shiny Pokedex. I got like maybe 50 or 60% of the way there, which are the most shinies I've ever had in any game. but you know, that was a way that I was able to enjoy that game more and get more shelf life off of it, because of how easy it was to get shinies.

David Hernandez 18:16

Now you mentioned how you came back to primarily Pokemon. You started, Paldean Fates. That was the set that brought you back into it. What was it about that set that made you like, "This is the time that I want to collect Pokemon"? what did you enjoy about that set that you still even try to collect all the, I think you said collect all the IRs, right, in that one?

SelfMadeSandwhich 18:32

Yeah, I do have all the IRs in that set. I have most of the shinies. I am missing the SIRs. but what got me back into that set more was just the hit rates of it. but also, being able to share. at that time I was sharing a lot of, memories with friends. So, that set is something that I really, really super-duper, I cherish a lot because I made a lot of good friends, shared a lot of good moments. and every time I do open it, it's something that it's very near and dear and special, and it reminds me of all those moments where, I got to be with friends. and Paldean Fates is such a good set with all the shinies. The Pikachu shiny is such a good shiny. Mimikyu, Snorlax, Ditto. Shining Fates didn't have... they had some good shinies, but they didn't have, the, the favorites that, Paldean Fates have. with, Snorlax and a lot of, I think it also has Munchlax too. So, things that are popping for, the people who love Pokemon. Not people who love Pokemon, but the ones that are

David Hernandez 19:23

Yeah

SelfMadeSandwhich 19:24

to kinda drag the customer base back into collecting, and I feel like Paldean Fates did do that.

David Hernandez 19:29

we're towards the end of the interview, and it's been fun talking with you. I do wanna finish on one last fun question, okay? It's gonna be an easy one. what six Pokemon would you bring to battle?

SelfMadeSandwhich 19:39

Oh. All

David Hernandez 19:42

you get to choose from, plus you got their forms and everything. No pressure.

SelfMadeSandwhich 19:45

only

David Hernandez 19:46

Only 1,000. You just gotta pick six

SelfMadeSandwhich 19:48

All right, I'm gonna go with my favorites. definitely Luxray, at number one for sure. Tyranitar at number two, that'll be the Pokemon that I would mega evolve. Torterra, at three, as like one of my favorite starters of all time. All right, four I'll have Palkia. Palkia's my favorite legendary of all time. in the non-origin form. I think the origin form looks very silly, but I also understand how really powerful it is. But like the badass Palkia is like sticking with his hands out, ready to fight,

David Hernandez 20:20

Ready to catch these hands, yeah.

SelfMadeSandwhich 20:22

Ready to catch these hands, absolutely. my favorite pseudo-legendary has to be, Metagross. Metagross, such a good solid Pokemon typing. gotta go with my favorite dragon type, for number six, and it's Garchomp, baby. You know it. that guy's such a beast. the Land Shark, it's badass, I love that game. I love those cards, Pokemon's, has brought a lot of life lot of love, for me in these last few years and I'm gonna try my best to like not let go of this hobby as much as I can because you put a lot of love into it, and like just to let it go, it's Don't wanna go through that again,

David Hernandez 20:56

you also said it brought you through a dark time too, right? That's what Pokemon was kinda your light for

SelfMadeSandwhich 20:59

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. definitely going through, divorce and stuff like that was difficult. but having Pokemon and, meeting friends through that experience, definitely helped me get through that process. But definitely it, is helping me still

David Hernandez 21:12

I guess a l- another last question, how important was it to have those friends with Pokemon for you?

SelfMadeSandwhich 21:17

at that time it was super necessary, being able to like offload, what I was feeling at the time, having Pokemon cards as a distraction or having these friends, being able to share these memories and having that be a distraction or like having the courage to talk about, what I was going through and not being able to ignore it and really trying to face it head on and having these, these guys who I were ripping cards with, playing games of Pokemon with, or just having conversations, helped me push through that dark time. and then being able to, accomplish a goal that I've wanted for years. e-every Pokemon person growing up knows about Pokemon Worlds and has always wanted to go to Pokemon Worlds, and I was lucky enough to do that, last year and be able to see all my Pokemon friends. then that was such a full circle moment. I'm just like, "Yeah, man, like I'm really doing what I set out, to do." and it really, helped me through that dark time and really pushed me forward to kinda keep going and keep going with this hobby, no matter how big or small, my involvement in it, And now it's much more smaller, because of how, the inaccessibility of it. at that time I was w- I was working two jobs, I was able to spend a little bit more on it, then feel like I can do some more content on it. But, like, now, I went from, like, it felt like from, trying to become a Pokemon content creator to just, controlling what I can control and being the collector that I wanna be, and that's, a collector that's looking for illustration rares and Luxrays and Shinx and Luxios, and that's all I want at this time. and that's okay, And if I can get to that point where, I am, like, buying cards again, opening packs, and be able to rip it on live, then that's fun too. But for right now, this is what, this is how I wanna collect, and this is why I'm collecting it, and Luxrays and Luxios, I'm coming for you, every single one. I don't care, I love 'em. I love 'em, man. And I have an entire binder of Luxrays, Luxios, and Shinx. I don't have everything. I probably have, a good, maybe 70% most of those cards. But I'm really missing, the ones that are super early on. I do have, like, all the modern ones that are coming out now. I am missing the ones from Perfect Order, 'cause I didn't get to open that set as much. But, that's my goal. And it makes me appreciate, like, all of the, the common cards and then the reverses and trying to get those different copies. cause that's what, to me, that's what collecting is all about, is getting things that, that make you excited no matter if it's, $1,000 or 50 cents, But it's something that gives you joy, and it's the little things, that, that help you

David Hernandez 23:48

you mentioned how Pokemon Worlds was your first time going last year. Tell us about what it was like to actually go. Like, I'm sure there was a lot of emotions at that experience, right?

SelfMadeSandwhich 23:56

Yeah, like you it's for real, it's an... at that time it was a three-day event. It was before, the, the merging of, the Pokemon XP, with the Pokemon, Worlds, Now it was enormous. I went there a bunch of friends, and you kinda get there, and there's just a bunch of trainers. Doesn't matter if it's Pokemon Go, a VGC, a, TCG. It's, Pokemon everything, and this was in, Anaheim, in the Anaheim Convention Center, and it was just like Simulation overload. in a sense where, it was Pokemon everywhere, and, it was such a great experience because Pokemon does a really good job to catering to the fan and being able to be immersed into it. and you can do so many things. at that time, you could've done, like, how to play TCG, how to play VCG, or if you wanna do, Pokemon Go, there were these, instructors around the entire, convention area teaching people how to play Pokemon Go or how to do raids properly. so it was a lot of, entry-level things so that people that were into Pokemon that don't really know the rules or don't really, understand the concept as much, can still get their feet wet and understand the game even more. 'Cause, when you're playing especially Pokemon Go and especially the new things with, the new Megas, and that one person has a Mega, and it drives you nuts. We, we need you to hit that shield, buddy. So, like, you know, like, still, having those kinds of things where, Pokemon is reaching out to teach people more and connect with the fans, that's what Pokemon Worlds is about. but also, once you get into, the stadiums itself, there's a, a lot of, the Pin Rally Challenge. That's, that, that's a big hit, and it got even bigger this past year. also since, the art has become such a really big piece now, there's, a art museum where you can see the different artists and how, their art has evolved from '99 till now. what they did last year that was my favorite they had, this piece of paper where people can draw, their Pokemon. Like, me your Pokemon starter on a Pokemon card, and it was this entire wall of people's drawings,

David Hernandez 26:02

That's awesome.

SelfMadeSandwhich 26:03

silly or some were, like, really intricate and amazing. like, that was super-duper fun, and there were a lot of, lotteries that you can get into, certain things, for the Pokemon Center, which we'll get to that. but, for other, activities, for, speaking with the Pokemon president was one of them, and getting his autograph or learning how to play TCG from a professional Pokemon player, or the same with VCG, where you can do that too, or where you can sign up, and play matches of TCG or VCG, and you gain prizes, and you can go and redeem, those points for prizes and they could be cards, they could be, entry-level points for something else, for VGC, for your ranking. So there was like a lot of different aspects Pokemon had gave to the public and to the people, and you're just there, and it's just so much. It's overwhelming, but it's exciting. Everyone should go to a Pokemon Worlds once. It's once in a lifetime experience. It is three days, so buckle up, buttercup, it does get tiring. When it's like, you get there, everything starts at ten AM. You wanna get there at nine AM. and you're leaving there at seven PM from like all the matches that you see from Pokemon GO to VGC to TCG. And then when you wanna get into the Pokemon Center, that, that's an experience.

David Hernandez 27:29

That's a long wait line

SelfMadeSandwhich 27:31

It's a long wait line. and they do, before you even get into the Pokemon Center you have to sign up get into it, to get in line. So you sign up to get in line, and then once you're doing that, they give the opportunity for lotteries. won the lottery for, Pokemon Black Belt ETB That's from PC, so I was able to buy it at retail. So at that time it was 60 bucks. So, only Pokemon PC box I've ever bought for, for MSRP. and I opened it, I did not keep it sealed. I keep every- I rip everything, I keep nothing sealed. but being able to freely shop in a Pokemon center, like I spent so much money there. It's,

David Hernandez 28:11

You don't look, you don't look at the receipt. That's the rule. You just

SelfMadeSandwhich 28:14

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You don't look at the receipt for sure. But definitely every Pokemon fan should experience Worlds and be able to go to a Pokemon center. I wish everyone could do that. It's l- it's literally the Disney World for Pokemon.

David Hernandez 28:27

So for the final, final, final question

SelfMadeSandwhich 28:31

Okay. That

David Hernandez 28:32

It's all good. So you mentioned how, you had friends who brought you through the dark time. That's what Pokemon helped you through. If you could give a message to those friends who helped you, what would you say?

SelfMadeSandwhich 28:42

I would say thank you. Thank you, for the love. Thank you for the support. Thank you for the encouragement. you know, like, the idea for me to rip cards was never, uh, moving into the direction of Pokemon content creation. Like, you know, it was always something that I, I actually started collecting to trying to sell my Pokemon cards to kinda get through, this tough time. I needed to s- spend a lot of money, for my daughter and that kinda situation, and trying to keep her in a good home and a good, housing situation too. so you know, I was selling parts of my childhood. like I sold-- I remember my first sale was, a reverse holo Rayquaza from Hall of Phantoms from... And that's a Delta Species card, which was, I sold it for 60 bucks, which right now it's going for two sixty.

David Hernandez 29:31

Oh, yeah

SelfMadeSandwhich 29:34

so I was like, "Man, I don't really wanna sell this." So I kinda got on Instagram and saw people, like, selling stuff and that's where I saw these people enjoying the hobby and wanted to reach out, so I did reach out. And being able to have such a warm welcome into the Pokemon community, I will never forget that. And which I thank those people. and if I can keep saying thank you from the bottom of my heart, I wish I can do more, for you at this time. But just know that the appreciation that I have for you is endless, and I'll never forget it. And, they are still my good buddies that I talk to at least once every week. trying to make sure that they're good. there are people who I have to reach out again, and this is a good reminder for me reconnect and say thank you. Thank you Because I wouldn't be the person who I am without meeting those people and taking that chance of communicating and reaching out.

David Hernandez 30:25

Thank you for listening to As The Pokeball Turns, where every trainer has a story. If this episode resonates with you, share the 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!