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March 12, 2025 87 mins

#6Pokemon1LifeStory 

Alex Dao still pinches himself about being a commentator now. Gifted Pokémon Blue on a family holiday as a child, having his interest rekindled glimpsing a friend's competitive Trading Card Game notes, then achieving fantastic results as a competitor himself before harnessing that knowledge in the way he does now - come take a deep dive into the fascinating journey Alex has been on to reach this point, and of course discover the 6 Pokémon most special to him over the years that he'd choose for his Dream Team... Come hang with Alex & me and let us #MakeYourDayMerry!

Want to get to know Alex even better? Head to my Patreon for his Rapidash Round: 15 or so minutes of bonus quickfire questions he hasn't prepared for - What advice would Alex give to aspiring Pokémon TCG casters & competitors? What are his highlights from his casting career thus far? How would he sell the TCG to a newcomer in 5 words?! Answers to these questions & many more lie in store - let the merriment continue! https://www.patreon.com/Chazingdra

Keep up with Alex's latest and check out the podcast he co-hosts, Spill The TeaCG! https://x.com/DaoTCG

https://x.com/SpillTheTeaCG

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBqdC2vTW4IYSo9vpdlyL2g

And my name's Charlie Merriman - Merri by name, merry by nature - a pleasure to meet you! I'm a host & commentator for the Pokémon Video Game Championships Series and a content creator. You can find me as @Chazingdra on YouTube, X, BlueSky, Instagram & TikTok - I stream Pokémon games *Tues-Thurs 5:45pm GMT* both competitively & casually including Shiny hunting, vlog events I cast, make comedy skits and loads more! Come join in the merriment! https://www.youtube.com/@Chazingdra

https://twitter.com/Chazingdra

https://bsky.app/profile/chazingdra.bsky.social

https://www.instagram.com/chazingdra/

https://www.tiktok.com/@chazingdra

And you can follow the podcast itself on X too @ChazingdraChats: https://twitter.com/ChazingdraChats

If you enjoyed, do give the show a rating & review and let me know in the comments - it would be lovely to hear from you & it really helps! You can also watch the episode on YouTube (link above), where you can see Alex's Dream Team Pokémon and share in the smiles! Leave a comment over there too - I'd love to know your thoughts on what Alex has shared with us, and what your own Dream Team would be... And plenty more episodes where this one came from, so enjoy! Any feedback you have and any suggestions for guests, feel free to get in touch - chazingdra@gmail.com 

And why not join the friendly Merrifolk? Become a member of my Discord community Chazingdra's Chocolate Factory here - if you enjoy all the treats that the Pokémon video games have to offer, competitive or casual, then it's the place for you. It would be a pleasure to welcome you :) https://discord.com/invite/f2ssjED4ke

(N.B. Music for the show coming soon!)

TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome! 02:29 Tunisia & Pokémon Blue 08:58 Alex's 1st Dream Team Pokémon 11:19 Leaning Into & Away From Pokémon 19:25 Alex's 2nd Dream Team Pokémon 22:31 The Ski Trip That Changed Everything 29:01 Alex's 3rd Dream Team Pokémon 32:34 Competitive Career 40:35 Alex's 4th Dream Team Pokémon 43:20 Life Milestones 49:23 Alex's 5th Dream T

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