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E14 // Cutting us off a slice of HomeSliceHenry!
112 Plays7 months ago
Join us for this episode of Tap Tap Cast where we chat with the man who broke the Twitch chat when he began casting, HomeSliceHenry! HomeSliceHenry is currently one of the most known Pokemon Go pvp content creators and was recently added to the Play! Pokemon casting roster. The crew discuss Henry and Amanda's Iowan roots, the best pvp region and his breakout moments on YouTube.
Follow the crew!
Amanda // www.twitter.com/Lundberger
Martijn // www.twitter.com/InadequancePOGO
Special Guest // www.twitter.com/HomeSliceHenry
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Transcript
Introduction by Hosts
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, welcome to another episode of Tap Tap Cast. My name is Martijn, you may also know me as an eloquence, and I'm joined by... Can you introduce yourself one more time? You bet. I am Amanda, also known as Lumberger.
Pokémon Go PvP and Community Day Events Discussion
00:00:14
Speaker
And yeah, we're here for another week of tapt Tap Tap Pass, talking a little bit about Pokemon Go, mostly PvP, but some of the stuff that's also going on in the regular Pokemon game. ah First thing I have for you, Martin, is how was your recent community? day Oh, no, I wanted to ask you the question. because I did not do a lot you know because it's like it was like a week after Go Fest and I went pretty hard on Go Fest and I was like okay next weekend there's nothing right and someone told me but wait there's a community day so you know the morning of the community day I had a local which I swept I used a bus
00:00:53
Speaker
Yeah, I remember we were talking about it a little bit later, so that's a spoiler for a talk about it. The video, I believe, is coming up before this episode, so it should be a fall.
Insights on Dynamo Community Day and Relevant Pokémon in PvP
00:01:04
Speaker
Stan Stan was actually there again. He's back from his, I think, like a two or three-ball break or something, so it was fun to see him again. And then, what we're talking about, Dynamo Community Day. not a very PvP relevant Pokemon, um but the Shiny itself. I saw the spawn, I was like, well, not super exciting. Electro is different though, so I do like how that looks like. but um Yeah, I mean, you can rarely tell ah that the you caught the Shiny. I played just a little bit around Antwerp. I didn't really join up with any groups or anything. but
00:01:37
Speaker
um I have a really, really nice park in Antwerp that's like right outside my place. So it's able to you know do a couple laps of that, get a couple things. But yeah, like you said, it's not super PvP relevant. It's not like a Pokemon that is super popular either. For a while I was really chasing it because it was just so hard to find and I couldn't even evolve my first one. But then after you know I put it in the decks, I kind of forgot about it for a while. It's a Pokemon I can maybe humiliate my locals again. I think the only person excited about this game today was Captain Charizard. We don't see him a lot anymore, but he he was a big eel fan.
00:02:13
Speaker
um But yeah, that that that was that community day. um I hope the next one will be Oplio. Primarina could be pretty good for maybe Ultra League a little bit, depending on the move set, and for Mass League, of course, with Hydro Cannon. Yeah, definitely. It's already pretty... I mean, not not good, but it's not bad. It's definitely a pick that you see in Mass League already. Yes, exactly. So I think that, I mean, we can potentially see a little bit more of that. I mean, for sure, we're going to see a little bit more of it right after Community Day because that's when people like to try out the new Pokemon. Yeah. Maybe we'll see it around. oh Yeah. Yeah. But that's not the only events that are coming me up because there's actually quite a few more of
Upcoming Pokémon Events and Rare Candy XL Opportunities
00:02:55
Speaker
them. One of them happening the same day that the podcast is being released and one that probably Nighttime Clasher is very excited to hear about.
00:03:03
Speaker
yeah i'm also super excited for this because it's triple dust strength of steel togodomaru this shiny release but again triple dust um i'm just gonna be i will actually i haven't played like four weeks ago fest like taking it easy a little bit but uh with this event yeah i'm going to Deadpool on Thursday so i might just uh walk a little bit downtown before that and uh get a maybe get a good Togodomaru as well. it Maybe with Foldswitch, it could be good, like get a Magnezone treatment one day, right? Could be pretty similar in its role. Sure, Yeah, I know, I don't definitely don't want to give that Pokemon too much credit because I think Eric would be way too happy. But JoJoGoGoDancer also did really well with it in one of the Pokemon Go regionals last season. So I mean, there is, I mean, I definitely think it has its niche picks and
00:03:54
Speaker
Definitely players who are used to playing a little more spice can maybe find some utilization out of that as well. But again, if it gets full Twitch someday, again, it it would be almost the same as Magnezone, but you have Fel Stinger instead of Mirror Shot. So I don't know, i would I would get one just in case. And if you cannot play much of the events, I know you're always on holiday and eating fancy dinners and everything. But there's a spotlight hour that Tuesday following up with Toguna Maru, so you can get a lot of them as well, um which is pretty cool. And then um another pretty exciting event. and And I have to see if this is actually happening, Amanda. i know Mega Lucario Raid Day. And the blog post says you get a guaranteed Red Candy XL when you catch Lucario. if Amanda, if this is true, ah the gyms in Rotterdam will not be safe anymore. Yeah, no, this is going to be huge. I think everyone in the community is hoping this is not some sort of typo or just miscommunication, but rare XL candies are so hard to get
Mega Lucario Raid Day Excitement
00:04:52
Speaker
in the game. Like you maybe get one or two on on the rare occasion when you're doing raids, but I've guaranteed rare QD XL is they do. What are you planning on using yours on? Is there anything you still need to build up or are you one that saves it for your roots and your things that you can't actually.
00:05:07
Speaker
power up very easily. I yeah i recently built my Zerood actually. Oh, did you? Okay. I'm also the most unlucky person when it comes to the IVs of my Mythicals. So the Pokemon like Zygarde, Meloetta, Marshadow, they're all like 10, 12, 11 IVs or something. So I'm like, well, that sucks. Yeah, the game hates Martine. My Victini powers up, I think it's 1462. and goes above. And then also my big teeny board, uh, feel wanted to power it up for ultra league also does the same thing. It's like 14 or 24, 60 goes up to 25. Oh, something. So it's, it's like, I'm always just that one bad power up away on all of mine as well. So I have similar bad luck, but not for master league, I suppose. Cause those wouldn't even be viable there.
00:06:00
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's fair. And then another exciting event, Amanda, that's coming up. Before Worlds, one week before Worlds, we get another rate. or it's It's a shadow Pokemon event. I don't know yet if frustration will be able to be TMs away, but I'm hoping I'll offer it. Yeah, right and not normally it is that that usually happens. Of course, we can't make any guarantees about it. But I think that's what a lot of competitors, probably yourself included, are hoping for because with the rise of like Shadow for Alligator, Shadow Quagsire, that was just you guys. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of nice for people who want to maybe get a new Pokémon and test it out before it rolls. I got our rank 24 Shadow Gyarados just now, I'm just saying. And Zweilos won one of my practice tournaments for the third time, but I only put it on the graphic for the first time now.
00:06:47
Speaker
ah So, yeah, exciting Pokemon. And then the last thing that I just want to notice, Niantic just released an update for Android, which somewhat, or so I've heard, fixes frame drops, which is big for many players.
Guest Intro: Home Slice Henry and His Content Journey
00:07:02
Speaker
That would be absolutely huge. Maybe we'll see To playing again. That'd be cool. um Our guest today, Amanda, is also an Android player, someone who has been really advocating to fix those frame drops. um He's a really well-known name. and and One of my favorites, honestly. he He made an absolute show of his first gusts. Yeah, absolutely. He, a man of many towns, a man from a wonderful area of the world as well. Just going to go ahead and say that what's that. Let's go ahead and get straight into it. We've got Home Slice Henry.
00:07:41
Speaker
10 minute monologue, blaspheming th though, but I guess I can cut that down. if No, no, definitely. I actually just started recording, too. So that's to keep that in. So not only is it home slice, Henry, it is literally a bit of a slice of home for me in general, because this guy is from Iowa just like me. Welcome in home slice, Henry. Thank you so much for having me. Wow. ah Interesting fact that you knew about it. Very excited from your from your home state. All I'm saying is play Pokemon just definitely needs to hire more Iowans at this point so we can slowly just take over. Yeah, or more Dutch people. That'd be cool. Welcome. welcome in hostlus henry um Thank you for joining us today. kit For those who don't know you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I tap my phone.
00:08:37
Speaker
really And I record myself tapping my phone and I talk over footage of myself and others tapping their phones. Makes sense that you're on the tap tap because then...
00:08:52
Speaker
Yeah, that's ah that's a very accurate description of of ah of of how we play the game here, yes. You're you're known for being a pretty big YouTuber, in my opinion, maybe the biggest Pokémon Go, PvP YouTuber right now. If I'm not mistaken, maybe Zeonik comes close. um Yeah, and I must say, what do you say about how... So here's the thing that I know is about you, Henry. right you You say it in a silly way, how you how you describe what you do. But one thing that sends out from your content to me is that you like do it in a very relaxed way, even though videos are like very sped up. You still talk in a very relaxed way that's still... good to follow. How how did you learn to do this? Is this something that you just learned over time making videos? I would say that finding my voice so to speak with regards to casting definitely took some time because getting started with making content I feel for a lot of people there will always be kind of the nagging fears and doubts of like what if I do it and I'm bad at it and When you do it the first time, you're probably going to be bad at it. That's just par for the course. But the important thing is just getting those reps in like a lot of the things that you do. And over time, you end up kind of finding your voice, you find your niche, you find what you enjoy, you get better at it just with time. And you can yeah continue to find like with my goal currently, it's just trying to articulate what is happening in a way that
00:10:28
Speaker
someone could theoretically look away from the battles and still have an understanding of what's going on. But as well, do it in an engaging way. And break down some more high level concepts along the way as well, because obviously there's making it exciting. But there's also you want to have a bit of a teaching element as well, which is something that I that i actually enjoy about your content. Mr. Inadequance, I don't know if I'm using first names or not on this. So I'm just going to say, Mr. Inadequance from the Inadequance YouTube channel, where he he does a very good job of explaining like some some very high level stuff in his battles. And you obviously see it in his in his regional play. Obviously, the most famous one, of course, being that beautiful CMP sack swap, where he throws a shadow claw, waits the turn. So
00:11:21
Speaker
that takes three of the four turns, switches on the fourth and then clicks the move to perfectly catch and throw his move winning to charge attack priority. It was a beautiful play. Twitch chat lost their absolute minds. That is true. That is true. When I woke up, I already saw i saw you already made a video of it. It was so fast. I was like, wait, I didn't even get to talk with myself about it. Hey, as new as you lose, Martaj, that is a literal definition of it. yeah I saw that play and I was like, people have to know about this. This is absolute insanity there.
00:11:57
Speaker
And then just I do have to ask, I mean, I know i'm I'm the guest, but I can interview the host a little bit here. There had to have been a certain moment of getting all of those lead calls right in a row where you had just been like, okay, so I am just. Completely like I have established like full residents. We have like in this guy's head I've set up utilities starting a family like that was just Brutal lead call after lead call and then at some point he was like, okay a slash wins every lead and then he leads it into the Talon and he's just gotta be kidding me you've absolutely gotta be kidding It was a little bit of a state of mind I think after I beat ejb and
00:12:41
Speaker
ah which was a pretty difficult matchup, especially FT beat Skafo, right? With almost the same team. I don't know, it just felt like some sort of locked in feeling, right? And at that point, I just always had a plan, even though people are like, you're you're just calling his lines, right? I'm like, no, I just always say Sush Grisselia. And well, I win the lead. He swaps in WishKesh. I just had it, man. I just had the Pokemon there. And then I was just thinking of which Pokemon haven't I used yet. I'll try this Pokemon before I change. Yeah. but That's how actually, As simple as it went, and yeah, I was a bit fortunate, I guess. Poor Pablo, though. You just saw him getting more demoralized at every single start of the new battle. He was just like, are you kidding me? This is going on. I felt sorry for him, yeah. Oh, no. Yeah.
00:13:25
Speaker
But he's world's qualified, so maybe he can get some revenge against you and Honolulu, perhaps. We'll have to see how those will turn out. But yes, anyway, we're going to we're going to switch it back over to you, Henry, because you talked a little bit about what you make your content about. but What got you started in making content for Pokemon Go? Like, how did your Pokemon journey even begin? So my Pokemon journey as a whole began with the
Henry's Pokémon Go Journey and Content Creation
00:13:52
Speaker
game's release. I hadn't played zero Pokemon games prior to Go's release. I knew nothing about Pokemon other than like, you could have asked me and I would have been like, Pikachu. I know that that exists because it's like the mascot. Must be an Iowan thing.
00:14:06
Speaker
Yeah. And then my my college roommate at the time when it dropped, we were at the Summerfest Music Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when it dropped. And he was like, yo, this app is fire. You have to download it. And I was like, okay, I'll download it. And so I download it and it asks for a username. And I try like my usual username and I have a very boring standard name. that I'd normally incorporate into it and it was taken because it's a boring standard name. So I was like, I just need to come up with with some random BS. So I was like, okay, I like alliterations, home slice Henry. This will have no impact on my future life in any meaningful way. I'm probably going to delete the app in a week. And then he stopped playing after like two months and I'm still here playing.
00:14:53
Speaker
Did you never take a break? I took a bit of a break in like maybe like 2018 or something. So but since since go battle league came out, I've pretty much not taken a break like it came out and I tried it. And I was really, really bad at it. And that was right in and around the time when when the pandemic started. So my job ended up being like turning to remote and we were in this tiny little little apartment that didn't have room for a desk so I was literally had my laptop on top of a dresser trying to work from home and I was just like completely stir crazy because I couldn't really do anything like creatively because it was just like work in insurance for eight hours and then just watch Netflix because we couldn't really go anywhere because of the pandemic
00:15:41
Speaker
So I was like, I'm going to start making content on this because I'm playing a lot. I'm very bad at it. I'm losing a lot. So I may as well like this could be something where if I'm just going to play this and lose, I may as well try and make content on it. And so it started as literally just something to stop me from going crazy during the pandemic. And then it kind of just grew from there.
00:16:07
Speaker
So you say you were garbage at the beginning, but you are obviously not bad at the game now. When when did it like when did it snap for you? You were like, oh, i'm I'm getting better at this, or I'm actually kind of good now. I'm beating this. oh i'm I hit veteran expert, or oh, I hit legend for the first time. Was it any of those big ah milestone moments for you? The interesting thing is, is I feel like even the time that I first hit legend, I was still very bad at the game. Like the, the overall skill level then compared to now is night and day. Like me being able to hit legend in, I think it was season three, I think. And then I hit it like the morning of the new season. So it was like an absolute buzzer beater type finish, but hmm.
00:16:56
Speaker
I really think that's probably like finishing the season at like 2k elo now skill level like the the skill gap has dramatically improved and I was lucky enough to where since I don't live near like a massively big city or near a place with amazing internet.
PvP Strategies and Skill Development
00:17:15
Speaker
Even when I was learning the game, which I do want to give a tremendous shout out. The only reason that I started getting better at the game was because there was I encountered this YouTube channel. It was it was a at at the time, there weren't really massive go battle league YouTube channels because it kind of had just started. It was the Swedish guy.
00:17:35
Speaker
and his his username was galax kovoltan and he was showcasing like basically i basically credit him as being the first person that i ever saw to look at abb strategies where he would run like i i believe it was meganium reggie steele Registeal Bastiodon as his ABB style strategy. This was so early on, Toxicroak wasn't out yet. And then he ended up having to switch it because Toxicroak ended up getting released. But it was it was Meganium Registeal Bastiodon and talking about like, you should switch out of here to bait out the counter. And it was this like, at the time for me, it blew my it blew my mind.
00:18:15
Speaker
So I tried to learn and get better from that. And then once we got around to the point of a couple of years later, like charge move timing and stuff like that. And I was like, a lot of NA players were able to do the sneak and deny thing. I could never do that very consistently because I live like, I jokingly say I live in a cornfield, but I could walk like 500 feet and there would be a cornfield. I so I never really had the ability to do that. So I had to try and learn proper charge attack timing. And that ended up being something that was very beneficial when they actually even the playing field and patched it, because we saw a lot of players suddenly struggle a lot more. And I didn't really have that because I to a certain degree had learned it, but still wasn't amazing at it. But one of my faction is teammates Matt attack was
00:19:06
Speaker
I asked him at one point, like there's been a couple of times where where I've asked people like, what can I do to get better? What's like a weak point in my game? And he was like, charge attack timing. And that was kind of the thing that took me from someone who was able to hit legend, but not really move past it to someone who is like in these last seasons, been able to Pretty consistently hit page one, like it matters. Like one turn in a game, like you could be like, that's literally 0.5 seconds, but that can win or lose you a game. Like I still remember the best example of this was, I think it was the bracket reset of.
00:19:39
Speaker
of the dancing Rob worlds. It was it was two two and it was him versus I think it was golden hot I want to say. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And then he ended up outpacing by a singular turn with his Altaria to have a bracket reset. And I was like, that is the biggest example of just this game can be decided by actual 0.5 seconds. Would you say that that is your, like, if someone is just starting out now or is at that level where they're like, okay, well I understand typing and I understand the concept of PVP, would would that be the first thing that you say, you should really learn this to be able to be competitively good? Like if someone wants to join the Play Pokemon regional and say, okay, what's what's my first real step to being competitively viable?
00:20:26
Speaker
Charge attack timing will, like, I i would argue, and I'd be curious to hear inadequacy's thoughts on it. I would argue that it's the the largest defined skill gap in the game. Like, knowing it is a truly massive difference, and it's something that we especially see quite a bit in regionals. It's obviously in in earlier rounds, there's everyone who could potentially be shown on the stream, but the players who more consistently can succeed and do very well are are the players who are very mechanically precise. One player who was very, very new, I mean, not not not new to competing in show sex, he did a lot of grassroots, but new to the tournament scene was SJ.
00:21:10
Speaker
And he was, for one of the most like mechanically precise battlers that I've seen, I believe it was Indianapolis that he won, and even with switch-ins, his charge attack timing was flawless throughout. like I don't remember seeing a single inaccuracy with with regards to that. And granted, he's a very good player for many reasons, but that was one of the most, like from a player who I hadn't really seen battle a lot, it was absolute poetry to watch how just mechanically precise he was throughout all of it. It was it was incredibly done. Yeah, SJ, I ah know umve I played a couple in some... Do you know Unified? Those tournaments that No-Pain used those. I think I played him a couple of times in that tournament. So I know how much up top he he's there because definitely one of the players to watch out for Worlds is where I just how precise he is and just seems so so clear in everything he does, right? There seems to be a plan behind everything.
00:22:03
Speaker
And he looks so calm constantly. like there's like you just can't get a He's got the best poker face. yeah I think, though, Auburn is the best at that. Auburn is like, you can talk to him. He's just not going to reply. He just flat out ignores you. I'm playing a game. Hold up. We'll talk after. Auburn's the best at that. But but about like the skill gap in charge stack timing, I don't know if that's like the first thing you kind of want to know when you start playing PvP immediately. It might be one of those things that might be overwhelming if you're not too familiar. with it just yet but I should say you notice immediately when someone doesn't or is not aware of how charge attack timing works right at like a regional tournament they throw in alignment and for players that are experienced like oh they're new to the game it's it's one of those things I don't think it's always decisive the player I'd like to
00:22:52
Speaker
And like it's no shade to them. I think they're really good. DoubleTMGo, his team composition and um prediction is insane. And I think if he also did Charsec timing, he could definitely win a tournament. Like, no kidding. that I think that's the one thing he's lacking, right? um it's It's just notable notable when he throws an alignment, um but it doesn't make him a bad player. He still knows all the other things of the game, typing, what what the other person might use, what's good against me, ah what should I use ah to counter that. He's really good at that kind of stuff, but he is missing some Charsec timing. I would say it's a component.
00:23:32
Speaker
in the whole thing of it, but if we're talking about hitting Legends, um maybe maybe not as necessary. Again, it's maybe easier said than done, though. Obviously, if you're trying to hit it within three weeks, yeah, you're going to need that. It's like the the final three days of the season, whoever was at 24, 2500 might now be at Legend because everyone's just keep pushing on. so Or they've dropped down so much. i Some people also like ah like to do that route too.
Developing Local Pokémon Scene and Casting Motivation
00:24:07
Speaker
No, i just so yeah I just kind of wait. I tried to take that easy route. yeah yeah I do want to say this season, no, or maybe it was last season.
00:24:17
Speaker
I mean, I did beat home slice Henry in a go battle league. We did face off. So I mean, and I waited a turn on an incinerate user on a Skeletor's to be able to ah knock out his Gligar so I could throw the shadow ball at whatever was in the back. So I mean, granted his team was really weird. I was like, I don't even I don't even know what this Pokemon learned. You were running us. Oh, so bad. Yeah. I was like, I know what this is running. So see henry you lose once to her she will always keep reminding you of it no you wouldn't know because i've i don't know i did beat you in a rehearsal battle a rehearsal battle four out of five times
00:25:01
Speaker
Oh, yeah. but yeah no not Not in any real setting. I don't think I've ever beat you. And I don't i don't think I've ever even played ah Henry for it for real. Although if I'm in Iowa next year, you know, and there's these local cups and challenges. They host them in Iowa City. Yes, yeah I am. I'm working on on improving the the local scene down here. because for a lot of it it's myself and my wife which i was i was i was very happy with she she played like quite a bit in twenty twenty but being a teacher obviously doesn't have a ton of spare time but with a lot of trading and and a lot of me like finding something good ivy and then be like quick i gotta sign in for her She has a full team of like six, like a a competitive team, and it does have Empoleon on it, which is her favorite Pokemon. I do want to give a big shout out to Memmi, who is a terrific battler from from South America, who I asked him and I was like,
00:25:56
Speaker
I know you run a lot of Empoleon. Do you have a really good Empoleon show 16? And then he was like, I want some cups with this. So we managed to build it and and she's been quite enjoying that. But a lot of the time it's us and then two TCG people who they just have. So we have the full four, but we had more people last time. And it turns out there's a couple of people who are like an hour-ish away who were like, I would drive to do this. And I'm like, let's go. Cause I mean, I had drive a half hour to, to the cups myself. Yeah, I mean, yeah, listen, I'm I'm in Des Moines. I think it's a little bit longer of a drive. Hour and a half. Yeah, it's doable. It's doable. I'll make it there. oh It's doable. I'll make you in Iowa City. ah Oh, let's go. Are you going to the US? I'll smack you down face to face. Are you going to the US soon again, Amanda? No, I'm going in March. So yeah, maybe ah maybe ah we can try to set something up then. oh Terrific. Well, they have they've been pretty consistently hosting them every month. So Awesome. That's that's really cool. it's It's exciting to see that the, you know, show six pick reformat is growing and more people are getting involved. ah My goal is that I want them to get to the size and the competitive level that that I lose one. That would honestly be a terrific day. I would very much enjoy that. i Last year, without leaving the state, I ended up, I think it was two cups, two challenges, and I was a quarter of the way qualified to Worlds. because of the 250s and the 250s, I was at 130 and 500 and I'm like, okay, we ah like there's a lot of points on the table here. So if if people who are in Iowa are interested in competing, like they're hosted through through the Iowa City Discord, but there's a lot of points on the table for people who might potentially be looking to qualify for World's Wars. I am literally just doing it out of out of a love of the game, basically, where I don't i have no desire to qualify for World's. I have a tremendous amount of fun casting.
00:27:46
Speaker
And i I enjoy being at a level where my my goal with the casting is I want to have an understanding of the game and damage values to where I can understand the particular matchups. Like one when Chargibug was very popular was like understanding the interplay of the Vigoroth Chargibug matchup. Understanding that Vigoroth can win the ones straight slam, which feels counterintuitive because the Rock side is super effective. understanding those matchups to where you can communicate that into your casting and explain exactly the things that the competitors are thinking you through, probably one of the best examples of this. And again, this podcast might just turn into an hour of me being like, wow, Martin is terrific, because I look up a lot to him as a battler and a caster. He's awesome. Because he has been he's like he, he
00:28:38
Speaker
He competes at a high level as well, which is very cool. But I believe it was one of the Tomahawk games in Bologna, if I'm not mistaken, where there was one game where I believe he switched in Cress and Or like the the opponent switched in Kress and he brought in something and the Kress lived on 1 HP. So the next game he stayed in with Altaria to do like one more Dragon Breath and Martine called that out instantly. And I was like, that is unbelievable game knowledge there. That was so good. That was just... And it was the grand finals, I think, I guess. Yeah, it was an unbelievable understanding of of the game and and the again, zero point five second adjustment that Tomahawk made just so that way with that one extra dragon breath. I believe it was like a charge bug into Chris Elliott and like the super hiring Chris Elliott lived it. But with the extra dragon breath there, the X's are actually knocked out.
00:29:36
Speaker
and you called it out instantly you didn't even wait to like see that it would care you're like oh he stayed in for slightly longer here and that recognition is like a level that I think that like, if if we're able to get to as casters, that's kind of the gold standard there, because that's that's that's understanding what the player is doing as they're doing it. And that's, and it's so good. It's so good. Yeah, I will say that um that is the one thing that completely that I think Martijn does better than any, and that's no shade to any of the other casters, because everyone- I like this both casters.
00:30:11
Speaker
actually being nice to you for one sound too. But no, it is true. It's like even um other players who are good competitors ah don't vocalize it in the same way. It's just in the way that your brain thinks and that you automatically talk about something in a ah way that's very accessible for everyone who's watching. That makes it seem like, oh, yeah, of course. ah um Why didn't I notice that? yeah you know Because it it just comes so naturally. It's not like, you're like, well, actually, because he didn't know. turning it into a long ordeal. It's like something that you notice in a split second. You point it out and then it can move on to another exciting point in the battle. It is it is being able to understand the incredibly nerdy thing that happened, communicate the incredibly nerdy thing that happened in a very exciting and non-nerdy way.
00:31:01
Speaker
Because as you mentioned, if you go, well, actually, 0.5 seconds for a dragon breath. like Yeah, exactly, exactly. And people have now muted the stream.
00:31:14
Speaker
It's sometimes pretty difficult to record. They're very easy to miss, right? And I've had that myself as well, that someone makes a catch or something and I just, I don't know, just slip sometimes, right? Yeah. I mean, that's why you were two people, so usually you miss less. Yeah. Yeah, no, that that is something that helps. I think also my gameplay, right? I think one of the things that most top competitors tries to look at. So if you like see same lines and Tomok just lost or it was like similar, I'm not sure it was similar. If it's like similar scenario, yeah it was it was same lead and swap for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was similar. Right. And to see how someone would adapt. Right. Because
00:31:57
Speaker
That is probably something I would do myself if I was sitting in that chair, right? You get a good lead, you you get a decent swap in, and you still lose. Huh? I need to change that. So yeah I think that's just something that comes with my own gameplay as well, just looking at ahead. um But talk about gameplay. and are you When are you actually going to compete? We had this cooper conversation between the two of us, but let let let's elaborate a little bit. Zoom in a little bit further. To be honest, I genuinely like it's something that I think that I'm at a level where I could at least do okay there because I have like mechanically I'm in a pretty good spot. My weakest spot is definitely I don't have a tremendous amount of show six experience in particular.
00:32:40
Speaker
like when it comes to go battle a league I've played that basically more or less every battle for years so when it comes to like being in a game and identifying a wincon the majority of the time if I'm seeing familiar pokemon like I know how these matchups play out like periodic mistakes can occur but When it comes to the actual show sex aspect of it and understanding like, what could my opponent potentially use? That's something that I'm trying to get a little bit better at. I've gotten some very useful advice from Lyle that helped with regards to picking my own lines, which I have found very helpful.
00:33:21
Speaker
But when it comes to trying to figure out what the opponent brings, that's still, I think, a little bit of a weak point for me. but like So it's something that like I could compete, but genuinely, I have an incredible amount of fun casting. And I feel like there's a lot of terrific battlers and a lot of battlers who are better than me. But I feel like... the best way that I can add to the scene is by elevating those plays in an exciting and informative way through casting. Because also, playing seems so stressful and casting is never stressful. That's a secret. We are never stressed. We are having the time of our lives back there. Yeah, okay. That that that makes sense. just just um one You sound a little bit like you feel insecure about your gameplay. Where where does it come from? You you say you hit
00:34:07
Speaker
On one side, you hit ah page one on the leaderboard frequently, and on the other side, you feel like you're new in show six. Do you not feel like GBL translates well to show six? I think when you're in the actual game, GBL translates quite well. But when it comes to trying to identify certain certain threats that your opponent could bring and how you can best structure a line to neutralize it, I feel like that is a separate like skill and identification. That's something that I don't necessarily have a lot of practice in. Like when I'm in an actual game, I feel pretty confident that the vast majority of the time I won't just drastically throw games with with a certain exception that I'm not allowed to talk about until later. To be continued. be continued.
00:35:02
Speaker
Okay, but well, I appreciate what you say because I feel the same, although I don't even think that I'm at the caliber that you are of a battler. But I do have much more fun on the casting side of it. And there are incredibly talented battlers who will, I think, unless I really, really applied myself to get better are always going to be just a little bit a step ahead. Um, but how did you actually get into casting? Because I think your debut was probably the one that blew up the Twitch chat the most out of anything globally.
Reflections on First Casting Experience
00:35:36
Speaker
When hope slice Henry joined the team, the crowd went nuts. And that was like being able to hear the kind comments, just even via discord from fellow casters. Like I know a couple.
00:35:52
Speaker
A ah couple of people who I might be chatting to here were ah were hitting me up as as it was happening to be like, hey, it's it's going well, like you're doing great. But it's. It's something that I wanted to do for quite a while, like with the videos that I make, obviously I'm casting over stuff, but it's it's something that. Oh, man, it. It matters a lot more to me than I was expecting it would and to finally be given that opportunity. And then I had so many nerves going into it. And then just to actually be like, okay, no, this is the game that I've put literally tens of thousands of hours into and tens of thousands of battles. Like I know what to do. I can communicate this. I was a little, ah i was i was I was pretty stressed at first, but having a Mormon mat commit crimes with shadow Latinos around one, help, help calm the nerves a little bit to now we're just looking forward to the new season. I don't know. ah There's just not even nerves anymore. I'm just excited. Cause I was, I was brought on for the two kind of mid season in January. And then I've kind of just got to wait and anticipate. And I can't wait for this 25 season, but it was, it was having that level of support was honestly something that I felt
00:37:13
Speaker
I felt very almost out of place in like I was undeserved like on it was unexpected and I felt like I didn't really deserve it but it was very it was very appreciated because it's it's something that um man it means more humble and bigger content creators I would not see why you would not deserve it but This is actually what people were waiting for. There's a big difference between live battles and YouTube battles. YouTube battles, yeah, you can be excited. But all the time I've already seen the battles, they've been my own. So it's hard to get hype about it. But when they're live on action, and we've seen that from you, I think it was GBLA and maybe a couple more. That's where you can get that element out the most. So I think it only made sense for you.
00:37:59
Speaker
to come on at some point. And obviously everyone's stressed for the first time, right? I remember with Amanda and then Amanda keeps making jokes about me, right? So I'm like, I'm kind kidding. but But like, it felt like, wow, this has to be super strict, professional. I have to be careful and everything. And then at some point, I think like the Internet or something went down and we just did like an AMA or something like the producer brought a laptop to us. I'm like, wait, just ah stream it was actually really funny yeah
00:38:30
Speaker
think Yeah, I think getting getting a handle on that and just like oh I can just have fun with it and relax who will be very good And I definitely felt like the one part that threw me a little bit was in Charlotte, they were like, so so we're doing interviews now. And for some reason, I got way too in my head over over that. And I was like, I have to be the most I i have to be God's most professional interview. And then Like watching, I'm like, you could just have fun with it. And so that's something that I'm excited to get to do again, purely from obviously the casting is the part that I'm there for the most, but just to have fun with the interviews as well. Because I was, I was, I was over here trying to be like a, a strict BBC reporter that tough a news anchor. And that's, and and that is just not, not needed. That is just not needed whatsoever.
00:39:21
Speaker
Yeah, I think the interviews are some of the most fun parts, sometimes especially with someone you know. a um How do I say this in English? I just like to not take the piss with them, but you know just just try to to reach a line right with with with them to just make it funny enough um think for both viewers and for them. Yeah. yeah So just like you were talking about how you would recognize charge attack timing as an important aspect of being a good PVPer, what are some tips or things that ah that you've learned along the way as you are a content creator, you are a caster?
Advice for Aspiring Casters
00:40:00
Speaker
that would maybe help someone who was looking to take that route as well. Like, oh, I'm actually more interested in this aspect of it. But, oh, just like he said, I didn't even realize that, yeah, I should develop a persona or be able to do interviews a certain way or want to be able to, you know, be this type of caster. Yeah. When it comes to casting battles, I think a lot of it is is's just kind of a little bit like learning, like taking, taking shots on a goal in hockey. It's like, it's about just getting some reps in to kind of feel out what feels comfortable to you. And then you can kind of come into your own with your own unique casting style and your own unique delivery. And that's something that can definitely take time. But I think just getting like trying things.
00:40:49
Speaker
And over time, eventually you'll be able to come into your own voice where we have a lot of people on our casting team. and And I feel like a lot of them, like everyone kind of has their own unique style and ways of doing it, which has been really nice to see. One person who I thought kind of joined rather late, but had a very like immediate, terrific impact right right from the start was was actually Fareed or Tomahawk. Like him from from the jump, I think, EU, y'all have just an insane roster of casters. Can I take a moment? Y'all have some absolute beasts over there. My goodness. Whoever whoever is scheduling y'all, that is an embarrassment of riches to decide between right there. That is y'all are like, I
00:41:38
Speaker
i I don't want to talk about what it does to my sleep schedule when y'all have a regional because I will be there half asleep still like watching along because y'all do an amazing job. Y'all do an amazing job. That actually makes a good question that ah from because you've probably watched a lot of the NA ones as well since it's more time-friendly and as a caster next season or is there anyone that you're hoping to pair, I guess, across the whole regions, you know, because there's international championships, there's worlds to to play for as well. Is there anyone you're hoping that you can cast with?
00:42:15
Speaker
I would say from NA, I think a duo of myself and Speedy would would be absolute fireworks. I think that'd be a lot of fun because Speedy is definitely an energy guy and I'm an energy guy and I feel like we will bounce off each other in a really good way. EU as like one one EU caster. I mean, I am a self proclaimed a little bit of a Martin fanboy. So i I would have to say it probably of myself and Martin, I think that would be a very fun duo. And we'll come on over we'll ah we'll we'll get we'll try to get you in.
00:42:51
Speaker
And then, oo I mean granted, i don't I was going to do the ah the ah like but ah Brazilian regionals as well, but unfortunately I don't speak Portuguese, but they have some, like their their battles and stuff are so engaging that me who speaks zero Portuguese, I watch a lot of the GB Lindo stream, even though they stream entirely in Portuguese, like I watch, I mean, Marto streams entirely in Spanish, and I watch Spanish. So that's one thing that I do want to bring out there is even if you don't necessarily speak the language of the battler who's battling, the battles themselves and the reactions are pretty universal. And they had some- Marto's very expressive. Yeah. andd And they have some absolute
00:43:35
Speaker
like absolute incredible just machines of battlers in uh in uh latin america and and brazil it is it is incredible to watch it's incredible to watch and i'm excited because i am i am uh as part of my honeymoon i'm going to world suspectator and i'm really excited to get to meet a lot of these players as well i have been lucky friends with with one mr galax who bolton for i don't even know how many years i'm excited to i've file I'm excited to finally get this lucky trade done. we we've been We haven't discussed what we're trading, but I've been lucky friends with him for years and I'm like, the odds that I end up in Sweden are not super high, but it is it it it is finally going to happen and I can't wait. But just being able to get to meet
00:44:18
Speaker
So many people. And that's what I really liked about getting to go to the regionals that i that that I did get to cast, which was Portland and Charlotte was getting to meet so many of these people went in this community that we've largely built online. And now that unlike a global scale of like getting to meet all of the people from like central and South America, from Europe, from Asia, even even people from like Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, like all over the world, these amazing battlers. like it's gonna be incredible. And and the the field itself, I would have to argue, like it it it it feels like a very top heavy field. like I feel like there is a lot of battlers who have done incredible, incredible things this season, and it's hard to establish a clear favorite. like One could say Dune, because he's won a lot of regionals, but then again, we've had a lot of people have some monstrous, monstrous success. So it's gonna be very interesting.
00:45:17
Speaker
All I know is that EU, I know both of y'all live there, the European region, we need y'all to be in top three
Global PvP Competition Insights
00:45:26
Speaker
because the roast from NA will not cease if y'all aren't at least top three again. We we need bootcamps, we need people screaming. Y'all gotta have someone in the top three this year. Come on, man, all three. a we We are actually going to have to we're actually gonna have to start calling, throwing on alignment EU timing if y'all don't know.
00:45:49
Speaker
Hold up, hold up, hold up. Those are two separate things. I just need to get past last time, okay? Last time was scary. Last world, they were not super good. I think it was only Elcha in top 32. But he didn't. He did go top 40, don't do that. Yeah, crazy, actually. But they have so many scary players, too. Those are the players I feed the most, because they also have an aggressive play style. And when I play someone, I want to be the one playing aggressive if they do it they just walk over me usually oh this this is an interesting question for for you both but if you had to pick a region that you think is favored to win worlds you personally i would probably go latem because watching their play
00:46:35
Speaker
They have an incredible depth of battlers, but also at the top, like watching, I mean, specifically just from NAIC, like Hargeth and Steiner. yeah They are just incredibly gifted mechanically. And they just do something that we see a lot of the top battlers do, which is they just don't make mistakes. And it's really hard to beat someone with flawless mechanics who just doesn't make mistakes. My money, it's all on Paola. Paola, okay. Yeah, except when I beat her. Then all my money's on me, but... she's been I don't know, I feel like we already know what she does. It's the same old now. Still wins with it. Yeah, what do you do against it right at that point?
00:47:25
Speaker
I already have the reputation of jinxing Europe because I talk them up so much in the silver finals. So yeah, so I don't know. At this point, everyone is kind of joking around about it. I will say I completely like, uh, I cast LAIC last year and just even the hype that they all bring is like, it really almost shakes the room in itself. And I can imagine if you're playing against a player too, who has that much support behind them and it's probably pretty intimidating even if you know you're a really good battler and I think there's definitely a lot of qualified players that are coming from the Latin America region so and also getting like what was it third and fourth at NAIC they're coming to play obviously Europe I enjoy watching Europe the most because I know the players more personally because I see them at almost every like regional or event or you know just
00:48:21
Speaker
We're in the same time zone, so it's much easier to communicate. But North America? I mean, they they did get top three last year. They do have a lot of record breakers like Ryze with, you know, the only person three seasons to win a title. Doonbug won three in one season, got second at UIC. It's going to be hard to take down North America. I just want to point out that all those players you name didn't do well at any IC. So it might mean it's only simple on the new meta, which means more opportunities for Europe to shine.
00:48:56
Speaker
yeah And then, oh, we can't even forget, though. I mean, there's like the games of the people we don't even get to see very often, like ah the Japanese players. ah Yeah, like, I mean, yeah, they're scary. Yeah. Yeah. I it is. It has been basically two full years and I still remember Crescent's absurd catches. He's so good. He's so good. Like, my I mean, like it will be interesting, though, like if you really think about He really stood out to me at the very first worlds because his charge attack timing was just perfect. Like he was, he was always on point. He always remembered. And now I think we're at a level where most top players do that as well. But it will be interesting to see how it continues to evolve and how his gameplay has gotten better and better as well. I think he's one of the only who has qualified from Japan. He's the only one who has qualified roles in a row from Japan. That is an incredible accomplishment. And as well, I think it'll be interesting to see specifically what what those battlers from Japan end up bringing because something that has has been a bit of a phenomenon across a couple of of the Pokemon games is obviously different regions have different takes on the meta.
00:50:08
Speaker
So it'll be interesting to see because obviously we we get to see a lot of regionals from NA, from Europe, from Latin, time but we really only had, I believe, the one streamed like PJCS as an opportunity and in which we didn't necessarily get to see all of the rounds. So it'll be very interesting to see what strategies they end up bringing to Worlds because they may have some ideas that we just haven't necessarily had an opportunity to see yet. Yeah, it's true, it's true. Yeah, exactly. I'm very excited for Worlds. It's probably the toughest place for Europe to to go to, but in my experience, Worlds is always... You know, have you been to an IC before to spectate Henry? I have not, no. My ah only experience going to Regionals were the two that I casted. Yeah, yeah Regionals are great, but ICs and Worlds are...
00:50:59
Speaker
like you think if you watch the broadcast because it's it's like a similar stream but maybe with an extra day but it's it's so much bigger and I love it like NAIC is probably one of my favorite events to go to um unfortunately New Orleans is also a bit tough to get to all the delayed flights um but like I had a great time there uh the first time NAIC was great in Columbus Worlds over and over first time I think qualified but still spectating was fun, you know Just with our all your friends then like like almost everyone that like all of the people, you know That place shows six or are just around spectate. They're all around. They're all there so it's really Really is going to make a great event. Yeah I know the Henry you said you were really excited to to meet meet him right Alaska Bolton You haven't met him face-to-face ever before
00:51:48
Speaker
correct yes yeah he was someone who taught me a lot about the game during the early part of COVID just as in like this is There is, there is a definite skill to this. It isn't just throwing three Pokemon together and hoping for the best. Like you could have a strategy and that can win out. And that was kind of one of the first early, like one of the first early skill gaps in the game. And so being able to actually meet him in person is, is going to be a lot of fun. And I, I was again, just the, the biggest fan boy ever watching him with his leaf tornado superior, just dominate the field. And then I was doing an adequate.
00:52:28
Speaker
And then he, uh, he is stopped by stream and he is, he is so funny. I asked him, I was like, what did you like about leaf tornado superior? His, his two word response was the consistency
00:52:43
Speaker
I was like, okay, okay. and And your wife, is she also happy that you guys are spending a portion of your honeymoon being Pokemon Go players and spectators? Yes, yes. So we are, we are... from the 9th through the 16th we are on a different island and then we are flying into Honolulu and then we kind of have the weekend to end it out. So we have a full week of non-Pokemon related activities but then like we we had already planned on going to Hawaii and then they announced the worlds in Hawaii and then it was like oh well this is
00:53:19
Speaker
I mean, we could probably just schedule it to make it happen with, nice but I'm, I'm very excited to her for her to get to go to home one of the events. Cause she be being the teacher and with the events taking place in January, she obviously wasn't able to go with, but it'll be, it'll be fun for her to, to just get to meet a lot of the people that she has seen me watch on streams over the course of my shoulder for for the past couple of years. It'll be, it'll be a lot of fun. Like I, I cannot wait. It is going to be an absolute blast. Yeah. and And congratulations on your marriage as well. Because I mean, if you look at to the Twitter followings and every like everyone was it so excited to have you as a content creator and as a caster. And then all of a sudden you're like, taking a break because I'm getting married. I don't know. when ah Do you see yourself ah making a lot of ah content in the future?
Commitment to Content Creation and Future Plans
00:54:07
Speaker
Definitely, yeah. It's something that i'm I'm working on recording because when I travel, I'm with the exception of a day when I like the the day after I was in the emergency room due to getting COVID, I have not missed the day of uploading in like three years. And it's something that I think is in a large part attributes to the growth I've had on that platform. So it's something that I will definitely continue to do because also it's just a very helpful daily routine for me because this is what I do full time. So having that kind of structured routine when I'm when I like work for myself and set my own hours is very helpful.
00:54:45
Speaker
And in in addition to that, so I've been working a lot on recording videos in advance, so there'll still be daily content for the 10 days when I'm away, including trying out kind of a bit of a newer style of video where it's basically showcasing like very, very like impactful or very famous like Pokemon Go tournament runs. in the lead up to Worlds. like And these are runs that I haven't covered myself personally. So unfortunately, Inadequance is 17 and 0, Domination with Giratina. I've already made a video on. It was a consideration, but I was like, I've already covered that one. But but stuff like El Shae at Worlds. like I feel like we still kind of need to go over the fact that he was fifth with, sorry, either fifth or fourth. Fourth, yeah. Fourth with five Pokemon.
00:55:37
Speaker
Just unreal. And then we have Hargif and his 17-0 at Curitiba. Like, there's some just truly incredible... I don't get footage back from that, no? Because it was on the Copac stream.
00:55:52
Speaker
i did exhaust I did actually get the footage for that. And then, you know what's funny? I was saying, you know what? I'm gonna look at, and and this is way back. Last chance qualifier, I was like, the cultural impact of Stone Collection's Samurai. So I went back and I scrubbed through the footage. Would you believe one best of three was all that was shown of Stone and his Samurai? I was heartbroken. I was like, there's no way. It had to have been more footage shown. One singular best of three. Yeah. That's all that was shown. It was kind of like, it was kind of again, the the last dis qualifier, because they they didn't stream everything. They streamed like all of it, it seems.
00:56:33
Speaker
Yeah, and they escape a lot of runs. I remember there was like big technical difficulties because yeah Caleb and Butters had to vamp for like, I think an hour and something because the tournament are like they couldn't get everything ah going at the beginning. And that sounds like a nightmare when it's like that your second ever actual cast. And they're like, ah just here. Yeah. Yeah. that That is it. I think it went until like 10 p.m. that tournament. Yeah. So and considering stream probably ended at six or five, maybe maybe seven. but That still went on for a couple hours, right? Yeah. that That was just I think we had the older phones as well at the time, which was tough. But yeah, that was. Yeah. Wasn't even. Yeah. For me, too. More of that one.
00:57:19
Speaker
I like the lore. but i have I'm down to hear it again. I'm down to hear it again. I've lost to a shadow swanner there. and Well, it was this this too so there's two sides to it, yes? I lost to the guy, I'll say. But there was so much stuttering on those phones. It was infuriating. and in the like In one game, I could have flipped Switch, but because of that, I couldn't. than another game I didn't and I think the third one I lost CMP between Shadow Venus or Shadow Swampers.
00:57:52
Speaker
ah But like one of those games, I actually rage quit. So I just top left. I was like, I'm not going to play this anymore. Oh, no. Then the judge said, wait, wait, don't do that. I wasn't already too late. And they kind of sort of pressured him softly into like rematch as a gentleman's rematch. Right. I don't think he said a little bit hesitant, but he was like, OK, well, if I have to. um And I like I don't blame if he takes the win. Like, like yeah, rules are rules. Yeah. um Right. Yeah. That is one hard thing that I think overtime there hopefully will become a better standard for because The the rule as it is in the play Pokemon circuit is it's a rematch So even if you would have won like guaranteed there's it's always gonna be a rematch unless the person Says themself and says okay. No you would have won but that's that's a much harder thing and I can imagine being in that competitive seat when you're like
00:58:46
Speaker
I've either swept the series or now I have to give them a chance to come back. And that's hard to be like, no, I can't give you the win. And so sometimes if if that's how you feel, you've got to be blunt like like a Dutch person. Sorry, you don't get the win. It's also situational, right? But what but how do you would would you give someone the win on our time? Absolutely. And I've done that before. I can't remember which one, but I mean, one game. I'm i'm not trying to put just with the rest yeah i'm not trying to put you on the spot. I'm i'm just saying that's I can imagine as a competitor because you have a lot on the line yourself and you obviously want to win. It's hard to say, OK, I'm going to give you a win for something. Look, it's situational. And here's the thing about it, right? If I give someone that game, there's no guarantee that someone else would do the same. Right. Exactly. Right. So it's definitely something I wouldn't blame. One hundred percent of someone would do that.
00:59:37
Speaker
ah take take a game that they probably would have lost otherwise. so But if I was in that chair, I would be raging probably. ah So I can imagine the spot someone would be in if their last charge stack doesn't pop up and I went ah i get my charge stack off before them. Infuriating, isn't it? I would give them that game, yes. I've also had rematches where I was strongly arguing against it. uh my my guy swapped uh bashed onto my obstacle and wanted to opt for a rematch i'm like are you out of your mind this is not a rematch this is the way it's not rematchable right so those cases also have been there i don't remember which one it was i think it was
01:00:18
Speaker
Was it the first Stute Guard? I don't remember. But I think I gave one game because... Was it the first match in Liu, actually? It was one of the first matches in Liu. Yeah, because I got my Charsec off with... Medicham over his Venusaur, I believe. And I was like, no, I don't i don't i don't like i don't win this game. You have this. Let's just play the third one. Right. Because that tied up the score to 1-1. And realistically, I was never going to win that. So it's situational. if if If I think that they also had a chance and it was not decided, just dispute. Right. I encourage yeah disputing if someone thinks. And also from my side, I also dispute the game once that I actually in hindsight at at that time, I was just upset. I missed two counters. Right. It was rules, actually, against Elcha.
01:01:06
Speaker
And I was upset, I missed two counts. I was like, yeah, but I could have ah made a different plan. And looking in hindsight, I would have gotten obliterated in that game. I had no chance. But like, he was nice. He was like, yeah, he miscounted, and just rematched. It was like a zoom roll into Dunsport's GFS backline or something. And like, in hindsight, he left with like four charge stacks. I had never never had a chance. But, you know, that's just that moment. Yeah. Yeah. And in in the end, it's I think it's up to the judge to. Yeah. Well, and I mean, all right. So it's more to dispute things in any way. Like, I mean, I use the trip Tondo one, for example, from any I see, like where he said himself he what he asked was is um
01:01:46
Speaker
the damage registration error thing, is this actually disputable? And there was not a direct answer from the judges was the judges comment was, would you like to make a dispute? Or, you know, and and so then it's a big lie, right? Yeah, yeah because because they they can't say yes or no, either, you know, because they have they they're not the one making a call. It's, you know, usually a team or exactly stated in the rules. Yeah, I know. I think that DRE is not this Like it might be, I would say no, but like, yeah, it's an official tournament. There's prize money involved. Yeah. um It has to be. And we can't even technically acknowledge the area where we shouldn't. Right. So I mean, like it can't be like, hey, is this is disputable, but like it doesn't exist. Yeah, it's it's a very that's a very gray area. And I cannot imagine like the the the rage you sometimes get from shadow over you if if like
01:02:42
Speaker
in their eyes, that kind of dispute should not be. Everyone in chat is a genius. yeah I mean, everyone in chat, they know exactly how it should have gone. and no but But like either the judge or the player disputing is always, they always get so much anger over them, right? Either if if it's a bad call or if it's a dispute, they shouldn't dispute in their opinion. So it's It's tricky. It's tricky. No fun. It's no fun. And it's and it's something that I've tried to a little bit at least combat in the chat is like when there's a dispute and then like they judge grants a rematch, then trying to foster a little bit of positivity there in in terms of like even if it's something just as simple as like w judging, like something to to be like okay they lagged they looked at it they were like yeah lag happened like making sure to try and apply praise when it's done right I think is something that's good as well because a lot of the time with just refereeing in general is you only hear about it when people feel like they've made a mistake and that's not often a very like if someone's watching it being like huh maybe I want to judge one day and then all they hear is like man these judges suck I'll tell you that like they're like why would I exactly Why would I judge it? So I think like there are there's sometimes going to be calls that we disagree with and that's just like sometimes it comes down to judgment calls and my understanding of it as well is like Judges are looking at a specific moment rather than an entire battle at least my understanding of it whereas sometimes it can be a bit tougher when
01:04:20
Speaker
like if you're being shown one particular instance like I don't envy them being put in that position of having to look at one particular instance of a battle and not having the context of that full battle like that's that's a very tough decision to make and they still get the vast majority of them right which is seeing the seeing like the judging get to the quality that it has had has has been really nice like I feel like year over year it's getting It is getting more and more accurate, which I think is, is, is a really nice thing to see. Yeah. It is is not something that I'd wish on, on my worst enemy, having to try and make those calls with like thousands of people watching. Sorry, go ahead. of it No, no, I was, I was going to say that I was like, I just think as we continue to grow.
01:05:06
Speaker
hopefully there'll be some more defined rules of specific scenarios that we see more often than not and one example I'm thinking of is like if you have the same mere lead and all of a sudden you know you miss a turn and it's at the beginning of a match like that that like to me that just feels like that should be like an auto restart Uh, because that, that's not fair, but in a lot of scenarios, they're like, no, because there's still so much of the game left to play out. It was happened so early on. It's not impactful, but I mean, you can, it is yeah you can completely argue the flip side that it's completely impactful because then the person will reach their charge attack first, or now, you know, someone has to decide if they want to try to make a catch or swap out or use a shield. and Yeah.
01:05:46
Speaker
It would be great if we just you know removed those inconsistencies. Next question. I have another question for you, Henri. I have another
Platform Decision: YouTube vs. Twitch
01:05:55
Speaker
question for you. Why did you go for YouTube streaming over Twitch streaming? Well, ah it was it it started out as I had a very small audience. And when you have an audience of like 100 people, cross-promoting is essentially pointless in my view. or at least it was for me, cause I was like starting out. So I was like a brand new channel and I wanted to stream. You were saying what I'm doing is pointless. Martine, you have an audience that's a lot larger than than like, like, like I had, I had like, and ah and I'm talking about like total people who knew who home slice Henry was, was 100 people, like total subscriber count on YouTube, 100 people. So I would have like,
01:06:42
Speaker
somewhere between like three to five concurrent viewers. So I did it on YouTube because that idea of having to, every time I went live, make a community post, it seems terrible. And then I would risk losing so like the couple of people who knew where I was, like who I was, making them go to their platform. So I just always did it through YouTube and it ended up like, it was a lot of months of just making content and I didn't really see a ton of traction up until Greninja's release. And then that one, I was still like working remotely at that time, but I literally went out on my lunch break the the the day that it released and I saw a froaky silhouette and I was like, oh shit. So then I i went out and I caught a froaky and I still have the Greninja here.
01:07:31
Speaker
I'm finding it here. And the frokey was a zero 1413. It only gets the it only gets to 1480. But I was like, yo, I'm gonna use all the rare candy i have in my bag to build this and try it. And I'm someone who like my biggest video ever at the time was maybe like 700 to 1000 views. so And it got like 1000 views in the first hour. And I was like, that's what they won is happening. That's like, and it and it ended up like I went from like, many, many months of grinding to get a total of 300 subs, which I was really happy with to I got to 1000 subs in the 48 hours after posting that video. And that a little bit started the arms race of now when stuff drops, people just want to try it right away. Because that's kind of what catapulted me from
01:08:23
Speaker
like a lot of work to get a little bit of traction but like well-earned traction like 300 subs to like tripling my sub count in 48 hours just because it was the first video of a fan favorite Pokemon release and it just went absolutely like that's that's still I think in my top 20 most viewed videos ever which is wild for for for when in my career it was posted but yeah it was It was and then from so from there I had been in an area where I had streamed for many months was getting like maybe like at at that point like 10 concurrence and all of a sudden it blew up there and I really didn't want to like I felt like I couldn't fumble that opportunity by pivoting to twitch even though twitch obviously has yeah
01:09:09
Speaker
Like at the time it had the substantially better framework, it had prime subs. I think YouTube has put in a tremendous amount of work in terms of making it a better streaming platform, which I've really appreciated to see. And they're they're very good at like receiving feedback from YouTube streamers and implementing it, which I've liked. So now it's just kind of gotten to an increasingly large sunk cost fallacy of moving my audience just seems like it it's genuinely not worth the hassle at this point. Like it does in a little bit isolate me and my viewers from, like there's a tremendous amount of YouTube viewers who just have no idea that Pokemon Go Twitch exists. And that's something where I do, I'm trying to get better about collaborating with people, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, uh, uh, GVL lock duo, uh, GVL Nuzlock duo stream with Mr. Inadequance this Saturday as the time of recording it.
01:10:02
Speaker
And I hosted like a tournament which ended up having a ah player count so large that it that every every time a round went live, it, uh, it crashed poor Draco. Really? Yeah. We had, I can't remember how many. Oh, that's awesome though. I would have to look it up, but I know it was, it was, it was deep into the 100s in terms. Yeah. just a practice one That's good. that's good just a practice tournament and I ran a team that was five times weak to Azumarill and I got my ass beat. It was terrible. You'll see that if there's like six Azumarill in the tournament, you will face all six of them. I did! That was the thing! We ah we ah went through usage after the fact. Azumarill was like 15th in usage and i so and I faced all of them. And I...
01:10:50
Speaker
i I think lost every round to one and I had to have some of the most unbelievable plays to even get one win out of those rounds. I was at such a calm disadvantage every time because my thought with show six was like I want to run because a lot of my go battle league stuff is like I wanted to get good enough to the point where I can run objectively bad Mons and win anyway, just off of outplaying. And that's kind of realistically what I enjoy. Like, like when Amanda ran into me with my swoob ad, obviously the swoob ad didn't turn out as well as I hoped. But it's like, running interesting things that shouldn't work, but trying to make them work anyway.
01:11:32
Speaker
It's one of my favorite things to do, too. Yeah. Then at Locals. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And you still end up winning against like really talented trainers like Stadastan and Dotectical and Prince Ando. Since this episode won't be up until ah next Thursday, I will be trying out Buzzwole this weekend. oh It has absolutely no play in an anonymous maverick meta. We're going to make it work. And Stadastan will be there, too. So i I'm going to i'm goingnna tell Trip. I'm messaging him right now. He won't be at Saturday. Oh, all right. All right. All right. Doesn't matter. Ooh. Buzzhole's a fun one. But yeah, so and then i I decided after hearing Pocket mention after NAIC where he was like, I always wanted to be the one trying unique and interesting things. And then for NAIC, I just tried to run what I thought was good. So then for a tournament that I can't that i Well, I guess I can't really go into specifics, but there was a tournament that was held that I was a part of where I was like, you know what, I'm just going to try and run what I think is good. And then that ended up, I had more consistency across my results with that tournament. I can't speak to the results of the tournament as they're not public, but I had more consistency across the results with that tournament.
01:12:45
Speaker
So it's something where I do want to get to the point in show six where I can just run fun stuff. But it's something where I also need to get those reps in in terms of like being able to analyze two teams of six, identify what's good for me, what's their counter play, what's good for them, because that's I feel like is the area where I think I need the most work because I'm not always as good at identifying what my opponent's strategy is going to be. I think that might come with experience as well. Yeah. And you're talking about getting reps in. I think that, exactly. Yeah. I think one one of the oldest tricks in the book, for example, if I see a Gligar on the opposing team and my only answer is for alligator, they say switch Gligar. Yeah. It's a 100% thing. This is how it works, right? That's one of those things. It just comes with experience. Yeah, because they ah just know that Gligar up 0.5 seconds. And very comfortable. And somehow they think that you don't know.
01:13:43
Speaker
They're very comfortable. They're very comfortable. Yeah, so Henry We're getting to the point in the podcast and you did admit to us before that you are not super familiar So you're not sure what our staple question is going to be.
Rising Stars and Top Players in Pokémon Go
01:13:58
Speaker
Are you so embarssed ready for it? um It's a two-parter Okay. Two-parter. Oh, I have to remember stuff as well. Oh, man. So question number one is, who in the PVP community do you consider a crebrawler? And this is someone who is maybe not super well-known within a PVP, but you think that they're really good and that they're going to be like an up-and-comer, probably would could qualify for Worlds or be like an underdog kind of person. And then, okay. Well, we can answer right away. It looks like you have an answer. Okay.
01:14:31
Speaker
I'm actually going to give a two-part answer to this because I think who embodies Crabrawler the Pokemon and who embodies the description are different. Crabrawler the Pokemon is Nighttime Clasher.
01:14:46
Speaker
He's actually, completely completely elaborate people have actually said that about him, but for the other reason. so Elaborate, please. I will not elaborate. for riler The Pokemon is nighttime clasher as a person. All right. As, as for someone who is, who is like up and coming, I will, I will, I don't have an instant answer for that one. So I will, I will think through a couple options while you list out part two of your question. Okay. Martine, take it away. Part two of our question is, similar to the crap roller, now we have the mad champion. This person will be someone who already is well known, is really good, could be me, your world champion. But it's probably not. So basically, right, the crap roller is someone who's not super well known just yet, but could be up and coming, and the champion is someone who will be your mad champion. If you had to pick one person to win Worlds or win next year Worlds, or be number one best GBL player ever.
01:15:46
Speaker
I think for the champion, I would probably have to go currently with a Steiner.
Steiner's Competitive Play and Strategic Depth
01:15:51
Speaker
Not me. s Steiner is Steiner does does things with like His Vigoroth play is unbelievably good. Unbelievably good. And I so strongly believe that Vigoroth is winning Worlds. Like, I know how strong a zoom world is, and it's very good at shutting down Vigoroth, but man, Vigoroth is just... It's easy easy to build with as well, right? Like, does it really charge a bug, like, or just purpose? You already have the four BBML picks of Open Grid. Exactly, yeah. He is just...
01:16:28
Speaker
And he's good with them. Yeah, the one recent play of note that that that really stood out was I think it was versus whoever had had carving. I think it was Elam who had carving in NAIC. And there was one matchup where he had, I believe, one lead with a pretty healthy vigoroth. And then he had like a slam loaded. And and then Elon brings in Karbink to do the smart thing, which is soak the energy and rock throw it down. And he just farms up to a hundred energy and just switches out. and then And in that instant you're like, oh, he just instantly wins this game because nothing is beating a hundred energy, a hundred energy vigor off. And it was just a really nice, ah pardon me, sorry. I hit a frog in my throat there for a second.
01:17:13
Speaker
Okay, we're back. It was it was just a a really nice example of non-linear gameplay in terms of, oh, you win the lead. You're setting up your back line to win off alignment. And he's like, no, I'm playing for a more energy-focused play style where I'm not going to let you neutralize this energy because Rock Slides from Vigoroth are going to do nothing to Karbink. But he he ended up going for a less linear and more aggressive play style, which is something that Martai brought up earlier with a lot of the DB Lindos and how they end up playing very aggressively. And that was just a really, really nice play. Yeah. Yeah. I also want to point out LAIC, uh, he got third place there. I think third year or fourth. No, I think you got fourth place there. Yeah, he got fourth. Um, but he lost to someone that got knocked him down to the loser side of the bracket who was running a carving. So I think also in his mind, he was like, all right.
01:18:05
Speaker
Listen, I have to have a game plan around this one stupid Pokemon in case someone brings it. Funny thing, because I played against Steiner in a Brazilian competition last week. Do you know what he played? Carving? Carving. Interesting. Really? He came the villain. It's coming full circle. oh Maybe we'll see it at World Cup. Oh, wait. I think was that the one that you uploaded? Yeah, I made a video. I watched that video. Did you like it? I did. I enjoyed it. No, he means physically. Did you give it the thumbs up? He needs those comments and views. You know what? I ah gave him the more valuable thing. I gave him the ah the average view duration of the entire video. That is good. That's good. Let those ads play through. Oh, yeah. All right. And I would say for the crib roller, the up and coming player, I would say it's actually another person from Latin, but Spadoid.
Spadoid's Performance in Latin American Tournaments
01:19:04
Speaker
us Spadoid is someone who- Did she get like third place at- Yes. Which one was it? Goyanya? I think it was that one. I believe it was Goyanya, yeah. And then she had previously top cut in one of her other originals as well, but just a phenomenally talented battler. She ran Guzzlord to third place in a regional. And then just her... like in in in go battle league she still manages to to leaderboard despite having queued against her her really horrific lag in a lot of games so a little bit playing on on a hard mode as far as go battle league happens but it it was it was very fun to see her because i think she's
01:19:48
Speaker
I think she's only done two tournaments and top cut them both. And then the suppressive the most most recent one managed to get third, but just another battler, like when we talk about just how stacked Latam is, just they have unbelievable depth of like, I feel like you ah you can like cross off 30 names and they still have some absolute like killers as as far as battling ability.
Global Skill Evolution in Pokémon Go
01:20:14
Speaker
I just wonder where would a player like that be with equal opportunity? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Or or it is it these opportunities that are make them so good, you know, because they've had to play through some crappy Wi-Fi, some crappy things that have been like, OK, it's like, you know, running with like the lead vest on and then when you take the lead vest yeah off, you're like, I'm so much better than everyone else.
01:20:32
Speaker
I mean, honestly, that's how I felt about the 2022 worlds with NA not having a great showing was that was not too far removed from Fast Move denial being fixed. And it really felt like the rest of the world who had to consistently learn these mechanics and consistently had to try and overcome like I mean, this was a ways back, but back when like Lapras was meta in the ultra league, like you could switch a Lapras into a Lapras and then, and, and a player could sneak and deny and then win that shit. And it was just horrifically bad. So like they had to overcome these really, ah these really awful situations. So being able to not have to deal with that anymore, just put them in a really good position where we ended up having yet a finals versus like Europe and versus Asia. And it was nowhere to be found. Luckily. And a, and they got a shit together for a 23. I figured it out eventually. So we'll see what 2024 world champion is bringing. So I think we all said a different, no, I didn't give a full answer. I will say NA if you're going to say that a little jinx and just because we can play off of each other, you know, Henry says LA, Latin America, you say Europe, I'll say NA. We'll see after Hawaii. Maybe you can come back on. on the You're just skipping a you're get skipping APEC again. Yeah, no. yeah That was the whole thing, right?
APAC Region's Rising Talent
01:21:52
Speaker
incredible if uh if if if panics able to attend worlds i think panic is is going to be a serious dark horse he is he is incredibly he's great i have i have i've gotten to battle him and bj uh i i think it's bj pawat is is the full username a couple times as well and obviously panic streams so so i get to watch him play consistently but he is consistently like well-pushing boards in running just a wide variety of just Mons that have no business. Enemorous, yeah. do we conumous No one else on the planet has anemorous and he's a mirror once to make it work, yeah. And I once queued into him where he was
01:22:38
Speaker
i I believe that I had like an Incinerate user into a team that like his best Incinerate counter was Empoleon, which is not an Incinerate counter in the twos, and he still managed to outplay and win. like They have in in that region, I know I'm mainly highlight highlighting Malaysia because those are the battlers that I'm more familiar with, but like I've gotten to see... because I've gotten to see some of them play and they're just absolutely incredibly talented. So I'm excited. I'm i'm hopeful that a lot of those players are are able to make it to Worlds because I know that getting visas into the US isn't always the easiest, but I'm hopeful that as many of those players get to come as possible. Because this is like from a a top down perspective, this this easily, in my view, has has to be the most stacked Worlds field ever, purely just from the fact that the level of competition continues to climb.
01:23:29
Speaker
where like, I think there are probably 50 battlers who are at the skill level now where you could take them and they would be able to win Worlds 2022 because the game continues to evolve and grow. and that's And that's no shade to obviously people who did well in 22, but it's just the the skill level continues to increase and it's harder and harder to play and succeed at a top level, but that's what makes succeeding at that top level so impressive is just continuing to push yourself further and further.
Anticipation for Worlds 2024 and Off-Stream Battles
01:24:03
Speaker
So I am incredibly excited. It should be an unbelievable experience. My my low key goal
01:24:09
Speaker
which I'm not gonna be able to to to get away with. There's absolutely no way they're going to let me do this. But I want to just purely as a spectator, just and I didn't get one of the fancy content creator passes because they they had a little footnote saying that that if you get denied for it, you can't get a spectator pass. And I was like, I am not gonna i'm not gonna throw away my chance at going to Worlds since I've already been there. So I just have a regular spectator pass. But I wanna try and film some of the off-stream battles. I'll be quiet, but just having a record of like, obviously, if you're not there, you won't get to see any of the table battles. But being able to see that environment, I think, would be very cool.
01:24:49
Speaker
You might be I did that at Worlds the first year. OK, I had I had like a media pass type of thing. ah But yeah, I think you have to ask. i No, we I don't know. you So you cannot stream like when they're playing at the tables, but sometimes at the sides of the tables, they put like TVs and you might be able to record those. Ah, OK. That is that is good. Yeah, because my my thought was is I wouldn't necessarily be streaming it, but just having an ability to like reference record some of that yeah because it's it's something where like my my greatest sadness about world's 2023 and when i saw the round one pairings was i saw weedle versus axon and i'm like that game will be unbelievable and axon described it i think in his recap as like
01:25:39
Speaker
he He said like his, his I can't remember the terminology he used, like his closest or his like sweatiest battles were that round one where he ended up winning them by like one HP two times. And I'm like, the fact that that is just not something that we have access to the footage of breaks my heart. Because what an unbelievable round one and what a miserable luck in terms of pairing on that one, having Weedle versus Axon. But after Axon beat, be weedel It kind of makes sense that that he was able to go the whole way because that was but like those kind of games and then like in Worlds 23 like human catcher bug ended up losing super early and then making a dramatic run to day two and unfortunately none of his games were were ever broadcast and that's
01:26:23
Speaker
I would call it lost media, but it wasn't ever broadcast, but having an ability to try and, as you mentioned, even if it is on a TV, record that TV. So there's some manner of like. preservation of those battles because there's going to be some incredible battles that aren't on stream and and having an ability to preserve that I think is might be a slightly odd thing to have that be my main goal going into worlds but I want an ability to kind of share some of those battles with the world because there's going to be some really cool battles off stream I know it the field is too good
01:26:58
Speaker
Yeah, but just having that ability to have that and and even if it's in slightly scuffed quality Like I think that would be very cool Yeah, I agree. That'd be that'd be cool.
Conclusion and Future Competition Outlook
01:27:10
Speaker
I think from these TVs you can definitely record. Yeah All right um Thank you Henry for coming on on this episode it was great to to have you on and I to have our stream soon tomorrow. Yes, sir. yeah go recording and then It'll be the past now but for those who are listening in. But yeah, it's been a pleasure talking more with you. I hope you guys have a lot of fun at the tournament as well. And I guess after Worlds, we'll see who is the correct person. And maybe it'll be none of us and it'll be someone from the APAC region winning. But the yeah, we'll we'll see. I'm always in for a good competition. And everyone who's listening,
01:27:51
Speaker
Don't forget to join in for the next episode of Tap Tap Cast coming out on Thursdays. Bye.