January 1, 2025 • 26 mins
In this Pokemon interview, we are joined by Kuixotic, A Pokemon Trainer who blogs on Tumblr and is an aspiring artist.
Kuixotic's Pokemon Journey starts with Pokemon Diamond & Pearl where he experience the Sinnoh Region. He shares what he enjoyed about the game and some of his favorite Pokemon from that region. He also gives his opinion of the remakes with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Kuixotic nexts talks about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and how the plot of Pokemon keeps him engaged with the franchise. He also shares his favorite Dragon Pokemon.
Finally, Kuixotic gives insight in developing his artistic skills by copying the Pokemon Cards artwork.
Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
Connect with Kuixotic: Tumblr | Bluesky
Connect with David Hernandez: Linktree
E-mail Me: asthepokeballturnspodcast@gmail.com
Join Our Discord Community!
https://discord.gg/AqAbD7FbRt
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kuixotic (00:00):
I'm Quixotic, and this is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:41):
Welcome to, As the Pokeball Turns, where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez.
And today I'm joined byQuixotic.
Quixotic, welcome to As thePokeball Turns.
Kuixotic (00:54):
Thank you for having me.
David Hernandez (00:56):
Absolutely.
And before we dive into yourPokemon story and your
experience, you have a veryunique username.
You know, we were having to goover like how to say it
appropriately.
Can you give us like the insightand origins of where it came
from?
Kuixotic (01:08):
Yeah, so, I've told this story a couple times to
some people.
first and foremost, when I wasyounger, like in high school, I
was a band kid.
so I actually got the usernamefrom a organization that's kind
of, easiest explanation is like,Marching Band on Steroids.
One of their show's themes wascalled Quixotic, as of like,
this book called Don Quixote.
the word kind of means like,overzealous, wishful thinking,
(01:31):
things like that.
Just kind of like wishfulthinking, romanticizing things.
And at the time, I wanted tojoin that group, but I didn't
realize how much of a skilllevel was needed to join it, and
how much it would actually costme to get there and do
auditions.
Not even knowing that I wouldget in or not because a lot more
people had better experiencethan I did at the time so I kind
of use that as a Like, I own itagainst myself, but I also
(01:53):
started to own it.
It's like, yeah, I kind of seethings a little too on the
bright side, but that's fine.
David Hernandez (01:59):
so you also identify with the word that it's
like overzealous and it soundslike it's also passionate and
optimistic.
Is that kind of what the wordmeans?
And
Kuixotic (02:07):
yeah, so it's kind of just like wishful thinking, a
little too much on theromanticizing side of things.
That was when I was obviously alittle bit younger.
Now I'm older, so now I canlevel it out and so I'm, I like
to think that I'm more groundedin the reality of situations but
I still like to have a littlebit of like wishful thinking,
have a little bit more hope forthings that are going on than
(02:28):
how they seem and I just kind oflike try to push that on people.
It's like, don't, don't thinksomething bad's gonna happen,
just make it work.
It's gonna be fine.
You're gonna be good.
David Hernandez (02:36):
I like that because it's such difficulty to
kind of have a good balance.
Because for me, I was actually anatural born pessimist.
I always believed the worst thatcould happen.
I believe the worst in people.
It was hard for me to beoptimistic because it's like,
well, if something is goodhappens, something is eventually
going to go wrong.
And that's kind of always what Itold myself.
And it took me years to kind oflike what you said, ground
(02:56):
myself to have more optimisticand more of a positive viewpoint
of life.
To kind of have a balance that Ido sometimes I still lean to the
or to me.
It's like something bad isreally going to happen.
But, you know, I lean moretowards the positive side than I
did when I was younger.
Kuixotic (03:10):
Alright, yeah, it, it was definitely like a bit of a
switch on my end, cause I kindof flip flopped between the two
of them, as time went on, I'mlike, why am I being negative if
I think everything else isalready negative, let me just
fight that back with trying tobe positive about something,
even just the smallest littlething, and it's like, okay, I
saw a bird outside today.
Really nice bird.
Liked that bird.
Even though my Jake has gone toshit.
(03:31):
It's like, hey, but I saw abutterfly today, so that makes
everything fine.
David Hernandez (03:35):
Oh, that's so great.
We need more people like you inour lives because sometimes, you
know, you need that person whocan kind of just see the bright
side of things and just see thesmall, you know, positive things
like, oh, yeah, my life wasshit.
But at least I saw the butterflytoday, or at least I saw a bird.
You know, those small thingsreally matter
Kuixotic (03:51):
Yes, they really do, honestly.
David Hernandez (03:54):
now, turning it around to pokemon.
So what is your first experiencewith this franchise?
Kuixotic (03:59):
There was this one time, I think, late 90s, early
2000s, that they had like acereal box promotion or
something with like littlepencil toppers.
And like I tell people, I'mlike, you know, I got this like
little spiky purple thing, andI, I look back and I'm like, I
think that was like a littleNidoran.
Like, or a Nidorino, like,pencil topper that I got.
And that was like my firsttechnical brush with the series.
But from that point on, I wannasay, I remember seeing a couple
(04:21):
of the old episode reruns fromlike the Indigo League, like on
Cartoon Network growing up, butI didn't really get to do
anything with the series untilDiamond and Pearl.
Those were my first games.
I think, in the times like whenWalmart and all that had like
those little game stations thathad like demos, I think I was
playing FireRed and LeafGreen,like just on the little demo
(04:43):
Game Boy that they had.
But Diamond and Pearl was thefirst time that I've been, like
I was finally having my prayersanswered by my parents every
time I tell them, Can I pleaseget a Pokemon game?
Can you guys please buy me one?
David Hernandez (04:54):
Was a Pokemon game, like on your Christmas
list or birthday list, likeevery year, they just couldn't
give it for you basically.
Kuixotic (04:59):
like, I would just, like, ask, like, Oh, can I get
this game?
And they're like, No, youalready have games.
And the games that I had weretwo Mario games that I had for,
like, Eight years by that point.
I think it was a little bit of amoney thing, but also just,
like, At the same time, I hadn'tfinished those games, but at the
same time, It was hard for me tofinish those games, so.
David Hernandez (05:16):
Uh, why was it hard for you to finish them?
Kuixotic (05:18):
For me, when I was younger, it was the time limits.
I would freak out when I'd getlike the low timer music on the
Mario games, and I'm like, okay,I can't play those anymore.
David Hernandez (05:28):
it'd be too like, uh, anxiety driven, like,
Oh my gosh, this is about to runout.
I'm about to not make it orsomething like that.
Kuixotic (05:34):
Yeah, I would actually like throw my Game Boy across
the room when it happened.
David Hernandez (05:37):
Oh my gosh.
It reminds me of, uh, when Iused to play smash brothers, the
original, and I'd always getfrustrated with the like card
bosses because it just felt likeit was this cheating move.
And my mom be like, quit yourcrying.
You know, if you don't want toplay the game, then turn it
Kuixotic (05:52):
just a game.
It's just a game.
It's like, it's not a game.
David Hernandez (05:56):
I'm trying to beat it.
I'm trying to conquer thisworld.
Like, you don't understand, Ma.
Kuixotic (05:59):
But yeah, that's basically the gist of how it
felt with those.
David Hernandez (06:03):
so when it came to, like, Pokemon Diamond and
Pearl, what do you rememberabout playing those games?
Mm hmm.
Kuixotic (06:08):
man, those were, I was probably like in fourth grade
when they had come out, and Iremember when people were doing
kind of like the, not like themystery events hadn't come out
yet, but people werespeculating, like before like
datamines were like really, um,apparent I guess is the word I'm
looking for.
I used to go like on Serebii.
(06:28):
com to find information aboutlike events and all.
And I'd be like, oh, there's anew Pokemon that's being
released?
In Japan?
They already have it?
They're having a movie already?
So like being able to anticipateall that information and just
waiting for it to come statesidewas always a joy for me.
Especially because a lot of thetime, like, back then, I was
really the only kid who hadinternet access it felt like.
(06:51):
A lot of my friends were like,younger siblings.
So I would come in on Fridays,because Fridays were like our
free days, we could just dowhatever we wanted to in the
afternoon.
So I would be the one thateveryone went to to get help
with their games.
So, like, someone's like, oh, Iwant to catch Rotom, but I don't
know how to do it.
And I'm just like, oh, let me doit.
Let me just change your time onyour DS real quick.
And I'd help people out.
(07:11):
I'd help, people trade.
And just the excitement thatcame from just knowing different
things.
was really what sold thatexperience for me.
like, I remember a lot of peoplebeing hyped at the little hints
for Gen 2 remakes, like, Jasminebeing in Sunyshore, and like,
different music cues, like, oh,this sounds like a song that's
used in the end credits of, um,Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and
(07:33):
things like that, or like, how alot of the, um, Pokemon that got
evolved forms in Gen 4.
Or Gen 2 Pokemon, initially.
So it was always nice to be ableto, have that new experience,
and being able to experience,like, a return for nostalgia
that many other people that Iknew were already experiencing.
David Hernandez (07:51):
so every Friday, it sounds like everybody
was at your place trying to kindof advance the game, and you
were kind of, like, almosthaving, like, a Pokemon game
night.
Is that fair to say?
Kuixotic (07:59):
Kind of, yeah, like, it would happen at the school,
so, like, they would, um, theywould reserve, like, the last
hour of, like, the school day,like, a recess, but we could
actually bring in our games, wecould do them.
Basically whatever we wanted to,we didn't have to play outside.
So everyone would bring theirDSs and we'd be trading and
battling and I had the Diamondand Pearl guidebook so I would
bring that with me and it'sperforated pages, I kept falling
(08:20):
out.
David Hernandez (08:22):
Because it got a lot of use out of it.
I bet.
Kuixotic (08:24):
Yeah, I don't know why they made that book with like
perforated pages, I'm like theyknow kids are probably handling
this thing, those pages aregonna fall out at some point.
David Hernandez (08:32):
That's what happened with me with the, I had
the fire red leaf green one andI used it so much that the pages
kept slipping out.
I'm like, they did not thinkthis through.
Like, it's not good for commonuse over and over and over.
Kuixotic (08:43):
I think I have my Platinum one still in good
condition.
I only really used that a coupleof times because it was same
storyline, just surprise,there's Giratina, surprise,
there's Shaymin.
Like, that's really all the, thenew features that there were
there.
David Hernandez (08:56):
And then just like what you said, you were
looking at Japan, they get allthe events, they get all like
the releases.
And I remember like when I wasthat age trying to like, when
can we get something right?
Like, when can we get like somekind of limited Pokemon over
here on this side instead of ushaving to, I don't remember if
we went to GameStop at the time,but I remember that we had to
wait for like, the downloadscoming in, like, especially when
Darkrai and I think, a lot ofthe mythical ones eventually
(09:18):
were available via download onthe Wi Fi, but it took a while
to get that.
Kuixotic (09:22):
Oh yeah, I, I was actually cleaning my room the
other day, and I had like aunder bed space, and I found a
calendar that I had that I, Ijust kept because it was like,
nice Zodiac art or something onit, and I'm looking through all
the little entries, and I sawthat I had written every single
GameStop event that washappening, when it started, when
it ended, and I was like, man, Ireally made my, I really drove
my family crazy asking them togo to GameStop for like 10
(09:44):
minutes just so I can do thisone little thing and then leave.
David Hernandez (09:48):
Well, when it came to Diamond and Pearl, what
was your choice?
Out of the three starters ofTurt, wake, Chi,
Kuixotic (09:53):
By technicality, I will say Chimchar.
What had happened was I hadgotten all the way to the end of
the game my first playthrough.
I think I was in the Elite Four.
I don't know if I had alreadygone to Cynthia at that point.
But for whatever reason,something in my 10 year old
brain was like, this is toohard.
Did not think to just, oh, justlose and just train up the team
(10:14):
again, like in Victory Road.
No, I just Started the game allover again, deleted the file and
everything.
So then I went through my firstentire playthrough with Turtwig.
David Hernandez (10:23):
Oh, okay.
So are you, you're more chimpchar, but you actually beat the
game first time with Turt Week,it sounds like.
Kuixotic (10:29):
Yes, when I got, Brilliant Diamond, I ended up
picking Chimchar again, so.
David Hernandez (10:34):
Ooh, nice.
What other Pokemon would you addon your team?
Kuixotic (10:37):
My friends will laugh if they ever hear this, because
they already know my answers.
I'm very much a fan of dragontypes, so if I could have an
entire dragon type team, Iwould.
my particular favorite isNoivern.
Darkrai used to be my favoritePokemon in general, but now
Noivern has slowly been creepingto take that top spot for me.
So
David Hernandez (10:57):
What about Norvrin, like, makes it your
favorite dragon Pokemon?
Kuixotic (11:00):
I just like the theme of it.
I started to particularly likebats as an animal in general,
like a couple of years ago.
Always found them interesting,like how many different kinds
there are and different thingsthat they do in their natural
habitats.
And I've always particularlyliked music, so being a boombox
dragon essentially is, like, thetop tier combination for me.
David Hernandez (11:22):
I could see that.
I could see you potentially,like, if you were to be a Gym
Leader, you could be like aBatman almost, but instead, not
cheesy, but to where, like, theactual serious Gym Leader, you
have nothing but bat Pokemon asthe Pokemon you use, like
Dolbat, Gorobat, and then, ofcourse, Nerevan, and, uh, what's
the other one?
The psychic one?
I can't remember what it'scalled.
Kuixotic (11:39):
Um, Swoobat?
David Hernandez (11:40):
Swoobat, there we go.
Swoobat, So that, yeah,
Kuixotic (11:42):
Just opened the gym at night.
David Hernandez (11:45):
only nighttime.
That'd be, that'd be cool.
Kuixotic (11:48):
He's like, sorry, you can't come in today.
Everybody's asleep right now.
David Hernandez (12:39):
Well, I was going to ask.
So what is it about the dragontype that appeals to you so
much?
Kuixotic (12:42):
See, I wasn't even sure at the beginning.
I just because when I wasgrowing up, I didn't really
favor a particular type.
I was kind of like, oh, thisPokemon looks cool.
But then I started looking moreat, like, the designs of them,
the themes that go around them.
I really like how a lot of,like, the endgame Legendary and
Mythical Pokémon in the recentgenerations are all Dragon type
in some degree.
(13:03):
And I connect to that, like, Iconnect that to my friends,
like, hey guys, you know, solike Ultra Necrozma and, like,
Eternatus are all Dragon types,and like, you're onto something
there.
David Hernandez (13:13):
Yeah, dragon types have definitely had a lot
of legendaries, for sure.
Kuixotic (13:17):
Yeah, I just really like them, and it's like, the
trainers are always fun too whenit comes to Dragon type, I feel.
I like that they all end up insome form or another having some
sort of cape going on with them.
David Hernandez (13:27):
it's part of the requirement of the dragon
training.
You have to wear a cape at somepoint.
If you don't wear a cape, you'renot really a dragon trainer.
Kuixotic (13:33):
Truly, though.
Or at least something that'slong and flowing, because I
don't think Drazen has a cape,but sure, if she has a dress,
it's close enough.
David Hernandez (13:41):
Yeah, it's kind of close.
It's like two capes at once.
Kuixotic (13:43):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (13:44):
I gotta ask this, so you mentioned, uh,
Brilliant Diamond and, ShiningPearl.
What did you think of theremake?
Since you grew up on Gen 4, thatwas your first game.
How did you like the remakescompared to the originals?
Kuixotic (13:54):
Well, I know like a lot of people were kind of like
trashing on them.
I was fine with them, to behonest.
It's like, I do wish that theykinda added more of the
Underground's features.
Like, I was really sorelymissing the Underground's, like,
Capture the Flag features and,like, the base traps that you
could build.
And I, I definitely missed the,uh, Wi Fi Plaza from Platinum.
(14:14):
That was, like, an extremelyhigh highlight for me when I was
growing up.
But as a like pure Diamond andPearl remake, I think it was
fun.
It was more like a remaster thananything else in my eyes.
But I like, I kind of wish thatthey added some details of
Platinum, like some of thequality of life changes and like
the storyline.
But, can't win them allsometimes, I guess.
(14:35):
We did get Legends Arceus out ofit, so it's like, I'll take
that.
David Hernandez (14:38):
That's true.
And then, going back to thecapture the flag part, I only
got the chance to play that withmy friends and it was so much
fun.
And that's one thing I waslooking forward to with the
underground because I was like,this is perfect.
Like when Gen 4 gets remake,it'd be perfect if they just do
the underground, just like theydid.
Don't mess with it.
But unfortunately they didn'tbring the kid back to capture a
flag.
It would have been, I think, avery fun mini game, in my
opinion.
Kuixotic (14:57):
Yeah, as well as like the base decoration, I kind of
felt a little miffed about that,considering all we have is just
the statues, and it's like, Imiss, you know, going to the
department store in the game andbuying plushies and decorations
and all that.
David Hernandez (15:11):
makes it your own space, right?
You can decorate it, you have tobuy some stuff from the store.
That's what I enjoyed by ORAS,because ORAS actually kept to
it, to where you can do thedecorations, but unfortunately
it just didn't transfer over forwhatever reason to BDSP.
Kuixotic (15:24):
Yeah, I think that was like my biggest gripe about
anything in the game.
I didn't even care about like,the chibi, overworld sprites or
anything like that.
I was like, man, why'd they messwith the underground like that?
David Hernandez (15:33):
You know, after Gen 4, did you still play the
series afterwards?
Like, did you play Gen 5 and Gen6?
Like, how far did you keepplaying Pokemon?
I don't know.
Kuixotic (15:40):
Oh yeah, I've still been playing since then.
I did take a little breaksometime around Gen 6.
I don't remember getting thosegames right as they came out.
I think I even got, Omega Rubybefore I got, Y.
But then after, after those twogames, then I, got, Gen 7 as it
came out, and I've been playing,like, steadily since then.
David Hernandez (16:00):
When it comes to playing the Pokemon games,
like how do you approach thegame?
Do you just go to finish thestory to experience it?
Do you shiny hunt?
Like
Kuixotic (16:07):
I'm mostly a storyline fiend.
it's like, battle, I don't, it'swhatever.
I don't, I'm not really caringabout that.
Pokédex.
I've never completed a singlePokédex in my life, and people
ask me, Hey, you have theopposite version of me, you want
to trade?
I'm like, I'm not, I'm nothunting for exclusives, sorry.
Just find somebody else to tradewith, I'm not the person to go
to.
David Hernandez (16:26):
I probably only had the Pokemon you're looking
for, to be honest.
Kuixotic (16:28):
You're right.
David Hernandez (16:30):
Well, what stories do you stick out to you
from the ones you play?
Like, what is some of yourfavorites that you enjoyed?
Kuixotic (16:35):
hot take, but I really, really, really enjoyed
Scarlet and Violet's storyline.
A lot of people, Keep giving,like, you know, their grievances
with the graphics and whatever.
Me, personally, I grew upplaying things on low poly
settings anyway, so this isnothing new to me.
David Hernandez (16:53):
You were an Wow.
Kuixotic (16:57):
the game froze, and I'm just like, listen, Final
Fantasy couldn't even run on mycomputer.
Without the audio distorting andnot even loading, a frame per
second.
This is nothing for me.
guys are weak.
Oh
David Hernandez (17:11):
Get good.
What was it about the Scarletand Violet story that you
enjoyed?
Kuixotic (17:15):
the ending in the Zero Lab was just peak for me.
I really liked how you're ableto blend, the synergy with all
of your considered rivalcharacters throughout the other
storylines before going to theZero Lab.
Like, I know X and Y, they didtry to have, like, the multiple,
rival situation going on.
It didn't really work out.
hit as well.
And Black and White kind oftried it.
(17:36):
They didn't really like, go toodeep into it.
From what I remember, I haven'treplayed in a while, so I could
be speaking out of my ass fromthat point.
David Hernandez (17:44):
Okay, fair enough.
Kuixotic (17:44):
But I really did like how, um, Gen 9, they kind of
just combined all the storylinesand made like, something out of
it at the very end for, thebattle with the Professor.
And it's like, yeah, you couldsee it coming.
They already put the hints downthat they've passed on, but it's
like, You don't really get tohear that in a Pokemon game,
that they say outright thatsomebody just fucking died, let
alone 2A Pokemon.
David Hernandez (18:06):
I mean, you bring up a good point because I
remember X and Y and that was mybiggest grout because there was
a lot of text with allfriendship and everything that
it kind of got choppy.
And, you know, with Scarlet andViolet, we had the battle with,
uh, Nimona.
We had the storyline with,Arvin.
trying to heal his Pokemon.
And then you were trying to, youknow, complete the league.
Yeah.
And you have all this stuffcoming together, and they kind
(18:27):
of really tied it in, you know,graphics aside, they really all
tied it in, and it was all kindof very thematic, kind of cool
them all come together.
Oh, and then Team Star, howcould I forget Team Star?
Kuixotic (18:35):
Oh, absolutely, with that banger of a battle theme,
too.
David Hernandez (18:38):
Oh my gosh, that's probably one of my
favorite themes outside of TeamPlasma.
Team Plasma, and that one's atleast number one and two.
Kuixotic (18:44):
It's like, I don't usually go back and listen to
music from the games themselves,but the Sadaturo battle, that is
a theme that I constantly loopat any given point of the day.
because I do know, like, ofcourse, it had Toby, like, Toby
Fox's hand played into it,Everyone knows him for his
Undertale motifs and how hespread, like, the different
themes across the soundtrack,and it's like, you hear one
(19:06):
thing and you're like, oh,that's referencing this other
part.
And then just hearing him dothat again for Scarlet and
Violet and being like, oh, theTerra battle theme is in here.
Oh, this kinda, this kinda hurtsa little bit.
speaking of that, I did reallylike Era Zero in itself.
I liked how it was kinda builtup the entire game.
And then you're finally able togo into it, and it's just, like,
(19:26):
a time capsule of complete,like, untouched.
There's nothing there aside,like, wild Pokemon that you
haven't even seen people haveyet.
And it's like, I just reallylike the atmosphere that they
built with Area 0.
I don't like it.
quite recall them doing anythinglike that with anything else.
Like, I know we had, like,specific locations, like, the
distortion world in Gen 4, orlike, um, the ultra, like, what
(19:49):
is it?
Ultra Necropolis?
Is that it?
David Hernandez (19:52):
Yeah, the ultra I know you're talking about
Pokemon Sun and Moon or
Kuixotic (19:56):
Yeah, where, wherever you, wherever you fight in Ultra
Necrozma, those, like, hiddenlocations, I really enjoyed
those.
I really liked how they stillkept it mysterious, too, because
there's, like, a lot of, Partsin Area Zero that no one really
knows what's going on with them,like the cave that you can get,
um, Roaring Moon, and I want tosay the Paradox Gardevoir Glade.
(20:21):
Like that hidden cave, there'slike a whole like intricate
marking on the floor orsomething.
Nobody knows what's going onwith that.
Then there's the plaque that'sabout a little bit before you
hit the crystals on the bottomfloor, and it's like Nobody
knows what's going on with thateither, there's no story hints
or anything regarding those.
So it's kind of like, we'restill having that mystery.
(20:41):
We're probably not going to beable to revisit it, But kind of
like having those still there,it's I like that.
I like having the loose ends,personally.
David Hernandez (20:49):
so as we keep moving forward, you also run a
blog called Doc and Ass Blog onTumblr.
How has Pokemon been able tokind of influence, you know, you
and your artistic creativity?
Kuixotic (20:59):
Oh man, I've, I didn't realize how long I've been
drawing until I kind of lookedback.
I was like, I started drawinglike seriously when I was like
14 and I think about like, Yeah,that's, that's, that's pretty
young.
that's a long time.
David Hernandez (21:11):
It's been a few years, yeah.
Kuixotic (21:12):
Yeah, like I would collect the cards for the art.
Like, I never learned how toplay game.
David Hernandez (21:17):
Oh, so you try to like, draw the art of the
cards, basically?
Oh,
Kuixotic (21:21):
That's what I used to do in order to practice drawing.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (21:25):
that's fun.
do you remember any Pokemoncards that you remember trying
to draw?
Kuixotic (21:29):
I feel like there's one that was like an Entei card
from a long while back that itwas like part of like a multi
art piece that it had Entei andthen the foreground you can see
like a couple of Tauros and aTauros was part of that on that
same set.
And then there was one of the,uh, I think a Darkrai level X
card, when they were still doinglevel X.
(21:49):
Like, I still have all my cardsfrom back then, and I have like
my promos in a binder that Ikeep close by.
it really did influence a lot oflike how I tried to draw.
I didn't really have much of afandom experience outside of
Pokemon, I would say.
Nothing really caught myattention, nothing, there wasn't
really any community that Icould get myself into as like a
(22:09):
12, 13 year old in the wild westof the internet before it became
what it is now.
So it was like, I would draw, Iused to post on DeviantArt when
I had one.
I would build community there.
I had Tumblr beforehand and Iwas like, you know what?
Let me try an art Tumblr, let mejust see what's going on.
And I think I started that blogin 2019.
(22:30):
But it didn't really take offuntil the pandemic hit because
everyone else was also at homewith nothing else to do.
So that's when things startedmoving.
David Hernandez (22:38):
I feel like everybody dived into some either
art activity or got into verymore artistic adventures during
that pandemic, for sure.
Kuixotic (22:45):
Oh, yeah, and I was working at the same time too.
So I was like, I needed anoutlet.
David Hernandez (22:49):
Were you an essentials, what they call it,
an essential worker at the time?
Kuixotic (22:53):
A quote unquote essential worker.
I'm like, I don't know how muchessential work I can do.
Putting up stock in aconvenience store pharmacy.
So yeah,
David Hernandez (23:03):
I'm still waiting.
So, but anyway, you're saying,so when you were 14, you were
trying to draw Pokemon cards andhow did you can progress to what
you do now?
Like it just kept trying toimprove and stuff like that.
Kuixotic (23:16):
yeah, like back in the day Like I would say 14 is like
when I started taking my artseriously, of course, I was
drawing beforehand But I waskind of like la di da a little
doodle on a notebook piece ofpaper have it stored somewhere.
I don't wanna wear but But backthen that was when I was really
like, okay.
I want to get better.
I want to learn more But I neverwas the type to, um, like,
(23:36):
study, like, anatomy books, or,like, I didn't take art classes,
really, in high school, or,like, any schooling in general.
I just I knew the basics.
But the cards and seeing, like,how different artists did what
they did to represent the samePokémon, because there's so many
different cards out there, andso many different artists, they
have the same renditions ofdifferent Pokémon, that it's,
like, Oh, I like how they didthe colors on this one.
(23:57):
I like how this one looks like apaint, like, it was painted.
I like how This one's 3D, andthings like that.
So it just kind of progressedfrom there, and I, just kind of
like started daydreaming as mostkids do.
And I was, I just kind of like,you know what, I want to make my
own little thing using thisseries that I really like, and
tying in things that matter tome.
David Hernandez (24:17):
Well, Kuixotic, thank you for coming on the
podcast before we go and askthis final question.
And because dragon type Pokemon,your favorite Pokemon, I want
you to give me a team of sixdragon Pokemon you would use in
a Pokemon battle.
Kuixotic (24:30):
Ooh, okay.
off the top of my head,Neuvern's gonna be one of them
for sure.
because I want to be thatasshole.
Mega Rayquaza.
David Hernandez (24:39):
There you go.
Kuixotic (24:40):
The one Pokemon that had to have its own tier for
competitive.
Just the Mega Rayquaza, anythinggoes
David Hernandez (24:46):
Anything goes, yeah.
Kuixotic (24:48):
all right, there's Neuvern.
Rayquaza.
I really do like Reshiram.
I feel like I'm a very unfairgym leader at this point.
Not even gym leader materialthere.
David Hernandez (24:57):
say, I didn't even say Jim Lee, I just
somebody was gonna
Kuixotic (24:59):
Oh, battle theme?
David Hernandez (25:00):
Yeah.
So if they don't wanna, yeah,you try to teach them not to
mess with you, basically.
Kuixotic (25:06):
As long as there's no fairies, then I'm good.
So, let's see.
Noviern, Rayquaza, Reshiram.
Garchomp.
I do love me a I'd probably sayKoma O.
I think that one can be useful,or at least good for punches.
And I gotta go classicDragonite.
David Hernandez (25:21):
course.
You can't leave out theclassics.
Kuixotic (25:23):
Absolutely not.
I need that Hyper Beam and aDraco Meteor to be sure.
David Hernandez (25:27):
Let's go.
All right.
I'm down quick side.
Thank you for coming on as thepokeball turns before you go.
If people want to connect withyou, if they want to check out
your artwork and they go by allmeans, please plug away.
Kuixotic (25:39):
so you guys can find me on, as Quixotic on BlueSky.
I'm starting to post a littlemore on there.
Tumblr, same name.
I think I have a pinned postwith all my different blogs on
there.
So it's like, I have a writingblog there, I have an art blog
that I update religiously at themoment.
Getting an update like everyday, Tuesdays to Fridays.
those are really my only spots,yeah.
I'm Quixotic, and this is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:41):
Welcome to, As the Pokeball Turns, where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez.
And today I'm joined byQuixotic.
Quixotic, welcome to As thePokeball Turns.
Kuixotic (00:54):
Thank you for having me.
David Hernandez (00:56):
Absolutely.
And before we dive into yourPokemon story and your
experience, you have a veryunique username.
You know, we were having to goover like how to say it
appropriately.
Can you give us like the insightand origins of where it came
from?
Kuixotic (01:08):
Yeah, so, I've told this story a couple times to
some people.
first and foremost, when I wasyounger, like in high school, I
was a band kid.
so I actually got the usernamefrom a organization that's kind
of, easiest explanation is like,Marching Band on Steroids.
One of their show's themes wascalled Quixotic, as of like,
this book called Don Quixote.
the word kind of means like,overzealous, wishful thinking,
(01:31):
things like that.
Just kind of like wishfulthinking, romanticizing things.
And at the time, I wanted tojoin that group, but I didn't
realize how much of a skilllevel was needed to join it, and
how much it would actually costme to get there and do
auditions.
Not even knowing that I wouldget in or not because a lot more
people had better experiencethan I did at the time so I kind
of use that as a Like, I own itagainst myself, but I also
(01:53):
started to own it.
It's like, yeah, I kind of seethings a little too on the
bright side, but that's fine.
David Hernandez (01:59):
so you also identify with the word that it's
like overzealous and it soundslike it's also passionate and
optimistic.
Is that kind of what the wordmeans?
And
Kuixotic (02:07):
yeah, so it's kind of just like wishful thinking, a
little too much on theromanticizing side of things.
That was when I was obviously alittle bit younger.
Now I'm older, so now I canlevel it out and so I'm, I like
to think that I'm more groundedin the reality of situations but
I still like to have a littlebit of like wishful thinking,
have a little bit more hope forthings that are going on than
(02:28):
how they seem and I just kind oflike try to push that on people.
It's like, don't, don't thinksomething bad's gonna happen,
just make it work.
It's gonna be fine.
You're gonna be good.
David Hernandez (02:36):
I like that because it's such difficulty to
kind of have a good balance.
Because for me, I was actually anatural born pessimist.
I always believed the worst thatcould happen.
I believe the worst in people.
It was hard for me to beoptimistic because it's like,
well, if something is goodhappens, something is eventually
going to go wrong.
And that's kind of always what Itold myself.
And it took me years to kind oflike what you said, ground
(02:56):
myself to have more optimisticand more of a positive viewpoint
of life.
To kind of have a balance that Ido sometimes I still lean to the
or to me.
It's like something bad isreally going to happen.
But, you know, I lean moretowards the positive side than I
did when I was younger.
Kuixotic (03:10):
Alright, yeah, it, it was definitely like a bit of a
switch on my end, cause I kindof flip flopped between the two
of them, as time went on, I'mlike, why am I being negative if
I think everything else isalready negative, let me just
fight that back with trying tobe positive about something,
even just the smallest littlething, and it's like, okay, I
saw a bird outside today.
Really nice bird.
Liked that bird.
Even though my Jake has gone toshit.
(03:31):
It's like, hey, but I saw abutterfly today, so that makes
everything fine.
David Hernandez (03:35):
Oh, that's so great.
We need more people like you inour lives because sometimes, you
know, you need that person whocan kind of just see the bright
side of things and just see thesmall, you know, positive things
like, oh, yeah, my life wasshit.
But at least I saw the butterflytoday, or at least I saw a bird.
You know, those small thingsreally matter
Kuixotic (03:51):
Yes, they really do, honestly.
David Hernandez (03:54):
now, turning it around to pokemon.
So what is your first experiencewith this franchise?
Kuixotic (03:59):
There was this one time, I think, late 90s, early
2000s, that they had like acereal box promotion or
something with like littlepencil toppers.
And like I tell people, I'mlike, you know, I got this like
little spiky purple thing, andI, I look back and I'm like, I
think that was like a littleNidoran.
Like, or a Nidorino, like,pencil topper that I got.
And that was like my firsttechnical brush with the series.
But from that point on, I wannasay, I remember seeing a couple
(04:21):
of the old episode reruns fromlike the Indigo League, like on
Cartoon Network growing up, butI didn't really get to do
anything with the series untilDiamond and Pearl.
Those were my first games.
I think, in the times like whenWalmart and all that had like
those little game stations thathad like demos, I think I was
playing FireRed and LeafGreen,like just on the little demo
(04:43):
Game Boy that they had.
But Diamond and Pearl was thefirst time that I've been, like
I was finally having my prayersanswered by my parents every
time I tell them, Can I pleaseget a Pokemon game?
Can you guys please buy me one?
David Hernandez (04:54):
Was a Pokemon game, like on your Christmas
list or birthday list, likeevery year, they just couldn't
give it for you basically.
Kuixotic (04:59):
like, I would just, like, ask, like, Oh, can I get
this game?
And they're like, No, youalready have games.
And the games that I had weretwo Mario games that I had for,
like, Eight years by that point.
I think it was a little bit of amoney thing, but also just,
like, At the same time, I hadn'tfinished those games, but at the
same time, It was hard for me tofinish those games, so.
David Hernandez (05:16):
Uh, why was it hard for you to finish them?
Kuixotic (05:18):
For me, when I was younger, it was the time limits.
I would freak out when I'd getlike the low timer music on the
Mario games, and I'm like, okay,I can't play those anymore.
David Hernandez (05:28):
it'd be too like, uh, anxiety driven, like,
Oh my gosh, this is about to runout.
I'm about to not make it orsomething like that.
Kuixotic (05:34):
Yeah, I would actually like throw my Game Boy across
the room when it happened.
David Hernandez (05:37):
Oh my gosh.
It reminds me of, uh, when Iused to play smash brothers, the
original, and I'd always getfrustrated with the like card
bosses because it just felt likeit was this cheating move.
And my mom be like, quit yourcrying.
You know, if you don't want toplay the game, then turn it
Kuixotic (05:52):
just a game.
It's just a game.
It's like, it's not a game.
David Hernandez (05:56):
I'm trying to beat it.
I'm trying to conquer thisworld.
Like, you don't understand, Ma.
Kuixotic (05:59):
But yeah, that's basically the gist of how it
felt with those.
David Hernandez (06:03):
so when it came to, like, Pokemon Diamond and
Pearl, what do you rememberabout playing those games?
Mm hmm.
Kuixotic (06:08):
man, those were, I was probably like in fourth grade
when they had come out, and Iremember when people were doing
kind of like the, not like themystery events hadn't come out
yet, but people werespeculating, like before like
datamines were like really, um,apparent I guess is the word I'm
looking for.
I used to go like on Serebii.
(06:28):
com to find information aboutlike events and all.
And I'd be like, oh, there's anew Pokemon that's being
released?
In Japan?
They already have it?
They're having a movie already?
So like being able to anticipateall that information and just
waiting for it to come statesidewas always a joy for me.
Especially because a lot of thetime, like, back then, I was
really the only kid who hadinternet access it felt like.
(06:51):
A lot of my friends were like,younger siblings.
So I would come in on Fridays,because Fridays were like our
free days, we could just dowhatever we wanted to in the
afternoon.
So I would be the one thateveryone went to to get help
with their games.
So, like, someone's like, oh, Iwant to catch Rotom, but I don't
know how to do it.
And I'm just like, oh, let me doit.
Let me just change your time onyour DS real quick.
And I'd help people out.
(07:11):
I'd help, people trade.
And just the excitement thatcame from just knowing different
things.
was really what sold thatexperience for me.
like, I remember a lot of peoplebeing hyped at the little hints
for Gen 2 remakes, like, Jasminebeing in Sunyshore, and like,
different music cues, like, oh,this sounds like a song that's
used in the end credits of, um,Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and
(07:33):
things like that, or like, how alot of the, um, Pokemon that got
evolved forms in Gen 4.
Or Gen 2 Pokemon, initially.
So it was always nice to be ableto, have that new experience,
and being able to experience,like, a return for nostalgia
that many other people that Iknew were already experiencing.
David Hernandez (07:51):
so every Friday, it sounds like everybody
was at your place trying to kindof advance the game, and you
were kind of, like, almosthaving, like, a Pokemon game
night.
Is that fair to say?
Kuixotic (07:59):
Kind of, yeah, like, it would happen at the school,
so, like, they would, um, theywould reserve, like, the last
hour of, like, the school day,like, a recess, but we could
actually bring in our games, wecould do them.
Basically whatever we wanted to,we didn't have to play outside.
So everyone would bring theirDSs and we'd be trading and
battling and I had the Diamondand Pearl guidebook so I would
bring that with me and it'sperforated pages, I kept falling
(08:20):
out.
David Hernandez (08:22):
Because it got a lot of use out of it.
I bet.
Kuixotic (08:24):
Yeah, I don't know why they made that book with like
perforated pages, I'm like theyknow kids are probably handling
this thing, those pages aregonna fall out at some point.
David Hernandez (08:32):
That's what happened with me with the, I had
the fire red leaf green one andI used it so much that the pages
kept slipping out.
I'm like, they did not thinkthis through.
Like, it's not good for commonuse over and over and over.
Kuixotic (08:43):
I think I have my Platinum one still in good
condition.
I only really used that a coupleof times because it was same
storyline, just surprise,there's Giratina, surprise,
there's Shaymin.
Like, that's really all the, thenew features that there were
there.
David Hernandez (08:56):
And then just like what you said, you were
looking at Japan, they get allthe events, they get all like
the releases.
And I remember like when I wasthat age trying to like, when
can we get something right?
Like, when can we get like somekind of limited Pokemon over
here on this side instead of ushaving to, I don't remember if
we went to GameStop at the time,but I remember that we had to
wait for like, the downloadscoming in, like, especially when
Darkrai and I think, a lot ofthe mythical ones eventually
(09:18):
were available via download onthe Wi Fi, but it took a while
to get that.
Kuixotic (09:22):
Oh yeah, I, I was actually cleaning my room the
other day, and I had like aunder bed space, and I found a
calendar that I had that I, Ijust kept because it was like,
nice Zodiac art or something onit, and I'm looking through all
the little entries, and I sawthat I had written every single
GameStop event that washappening, when it started, when
it ended, and I was like, man, Ireally made my, I really drove
my family crazy asking them togo to GameStop for like 10
(09:44):
minutes just so I can do thisone little thing and then leave.
David Hernandez (09:48):
Well, when it came to Diamond and Pearl, what
was your choice?
Out of the three starters ofTurt, wake, Chi,
Kuixotic (09:53):
By technicality, I will say Chimchar.
What had happened was I hadgotten all the way to the end of
the game my first playthrough.
I think I was in the Elite Four.
I don't know if I had alreadygone to Cynthia at that point.
But for whatever reason,something in my 10 year old
brain was like, this is toohard.
Did not think to just, oh, justlose and just train up the team
(10:14):
again, like in Victory Road.
No, I just Started the game allover again, deleted the file and
everything.
So then I went through my firstentire playthrough with Turtwig.
David Hernandez (10:23):
Oh, okay.
So are you, you're more chimpchar, but you actually beat the
game first time with Turt Week,it sounds like.
Kuixotic (10:29):
Yes, when I got, Brilliant Diamond, I ended up
picking Chimchar again, so.
David Hernandez (10:34):
Ooh, nice.
What other Pokemon would you addon your team?
Kuixotic (10:37):
My friends will laugh if they ever hear this, because
they already know my answers.
I'm very much a fan of dragontypes, so if I could have an
entire dragon type team, Iwould.
my particular favorite isNoivern.
Darkrai used to be my favoritePokemon in general, but now
Noivern has slowly been creepingto take that top spot for me.
So
David Hernandez (10:57):
What about Norvrin, like, makes it your
favorite dragon Pokemon?
Kuixotic (11:00):
I just like the theme of it.
I started to particularly likebats as an animal in general,
like a couple of years ago.
Always found them interesting,like how many different kinds
there are and different thingsthat they do in their natural
habitats.
And I've always particularlyliked music, so being a boombox
dragon essentially is, like, thetop tier combination for me.
David Hernandez (11:22):
I could see that.
I could see you potentially,like, if you were to be a Gym
Leader, you could be like aBatman almost, but instead, not
cheesy, but to where, like, theactual serious Gym Leader, you
have nothing but bat Pokemon asthe Pokemon you use, like
Dolbat, Gorobat, and then, ofcourse, Nerevan, and, uh, what's
the other one?
The psychic one?
I can't remember what it'scalled.
Kuixotic (11:39):
Um, Swoobat?
David Hernandez (11:40):
Swoobat, there we go.
Swoobat, So that, yeah,
Kuixotic (11:42):
Just opened the gym at night.
David Hernandez (11:45):
only nighttime.
That'd be, that'd be cool.
Kuixotic (11:48):
He's like, sorry, you can't come in today.
Everybody's asleep right now.
David Hernandez (12:39):
Well, I was going to ask.
So what is it about the dragontype that appeals to you so
much?
Kuixotic (12:42):
See, I wasn't even sure at the beginning.
I just because when I wasgrowing up, I didn't really
favor a particular type.
I was kind of like, oh, thisPokemon looks cool.
But then I started looking moreat, like, the designs of them,
the themes that go around them.
I really like how a lot of,like, the endgame Legendary and
Mythical Pokémon in the recentgenerations are all Dragon type
in some degree.
(13:03):
And I connect to that, like, Iconnect that to my friends,
like, hey guys, you know, solike Ultra Necrozma and, like,
Eternatus are all Dragon types,and like, you're onto something
there.
David Hernandez (13:13):
Yeah, dragon types have definitely had a lot
of legendaries, for sure.
Kuixotic (13:17):
Yeah, I just really like them, and it's like, the
trainers are always fun too whenit comes to Dragon type, I feel.
I like that they all end up insome form or another having some
sort of cape going on with them.
David Hernandez (13:27):
it's part of the requirement of the dragon
training.
You have to wear a cape at somepoint.
If you don't wear a cape, you'renot really a dragon trainer.
Kuixotic (13:33):
Truly, though.
Or at least something that'slong and flowing, because I
don't think Drazen has a cape,but sure, if she has a dress,
it's close enough.
David Hernandez (13:41):
Yeah, it's kind of close.
It's like two capes at once.
Kuixotic (13:43):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (13:44):
I gotta ask this, so you mentioned, uh,
Brilliant Diamond and, ShiningPearl.
What did you think of theremake?
Since you grew up on Gen 4, thatwas your first game.
How did you like the remakescompared to the originals?
Kuixotic (13:54):
Well, I know like a lot of people were kind of like
trashing on them.
I was fine with them, to behonest.
It's like, I do wish that theykinda added more of the
Underground's features.
Like, I was really sorelymissing the Underground's, like,
Capture the Flag features and,like, the base traps that you
could build.
And I, I definitely missed the,uh, Wi Fi Plaza from Platinum.
(14:14):
That was, like, an extremelyhigh highlight for me when I was
growing up.
But as a like pure Diamond andPearl remake, I think it was
fun.
It was more like a remaster thananything else in my eyes.
But I like, I kind of wish thatthey added some details of
Platinum, like some of thequality of life changes and like
the storyline.
But, can't win them allsometimes, I guess.
(14:35):
We did get Legends Arceus out ofit, so it's like, I'll take
that.
David Hernandez (14:38):
That's true.
And then, going back to thecapture the flag part, I only
got the chance to play that withmy friends and it was so much
fun.
And that's one thing I waslooking forward to with the
underground because I was like,this is perfect.
Like when Gen 4 gets remake,it'd be perfect if they just do
the underground, just like theydid.
Don't mess with it.
But unfortunately they didn'tbring the kid back to capture a
flag.
It would have been, I think, avery fun mini game, in my
opinion.
Kuixotic (14:57):
Yeah, as well as like the base decoration, I kind of
felt a little miffed about that,considering all we have is just
the statues, and it's like, Imiss, you know, going to the
department store in the game andbuying plushies and decorations
and all that.
David Hernandez (15:11):
makes it your own space, right?
You can decorate it, you have tobuy some stuff from the store.
That's what I enjoyed by ORAS,because ORAS actually kept to
it, to where you can do thedecorations, but unfortunately
it just didn't transfer over forwhatever reason to BDSP.
Kuixotic (15:24):
Yeah, I think that was like my biggest gripe about
anything in the game.
I didn't even care about like,the chibi, overworld sprites or
anything like that.
I was like, man, why'd they messwith the underground like that?
David Hernandez (15:33):
You know, after Gen 4, did you still play the
series afterwards?
Like, did you play Gen 5 and Gen6?
Like, how far did you keepplaying Pokemon?
I don't know.
Kuixotic (15:40):
Oh yeah, I've still been playing since then.
I did take a little breaksometime around Gen 6.
I don't remember getting thosegames right as they came out.
I think I even got, Omega Rubybefore I got, Y.
But then after, after those twogames, then I, got, Gen 7 as it
came out, and I've been playing,like, steadily since then.
David Hernandez (16:00):
When it comes to playing the Pokemon games,
like how do you approach thegame?
Do you just go to finish thestory to experience it?
Do you shiny hunt?
Like
Kuixotic (16:07):
I'm mostly a storyline fiend.
it's like, battle, I don't, it'swhatever.
I don't, I'm not really caringabout that.
Pokédex.
I've never completed a singlePokédex in my life, and people
ask me, Hey, you have theopposite version of me, you want
to trade?
I'm like, I'm not, I'm nothunting for exclusives, sorry.
Just find somebody else to tradewith, I'm not the person to go
to.
David Hernandez (16:26):
I probably only had the Pokemon you're looking
for, to be honest.
Kuixotic (16:28):
You're right.
David Hernandez (16:30):
Well, what stories do you stick out to you
from the ones you play?
Like, what is some of yourfavorites that you enjoyed?
Kuixotic (16:35):
hot take, but I really, really, really enjoyed
Scarlet and Violet's storyline.
A lot of people, Keep giving,like, you know, their grievances
with the graphics and whatever.
Me, personally, I grew upplaying things on low poly
settings anyway, so this isnothing new to me.
David Hernandez (16:53):
You were an Wow.
Kuixotic (16:57):
the game froze, and I'm just like, listen, Final
Fantasy couldn't even run on mycomputer.
Without the audio distorting andnot even loading, a frame per
second.
This is nothing for me.
guys are weak.
Oh
David Hernandez (17:11):
Get good.
What was it about the Scarletand Violet story that you
enjoyed?
Kuixotic (17:15):
the ending in the Zero Lab was just peak for me.
I really liked how you're ableto blend, the synergy with all
of your considered rivalcharacters throughout the other
storylines before going to theZero Lab.
Like, I know X and Y, they didtry to have, like, the multiple,
rival situation going on.
It didn't really work out.
hit as well.
And Black and White kind oftried it.
(17:36):
They didn't really like, go toodeep into it.
From what I remember, I haven'treplayed in a while, so I could
be speaking out of my ass fromthat point.
David Hernandez (17:44):
Okay, fair enough.
Kuixotic (17:44):
But I really did like how, um, Gen 9, they kind of
just combined all the storylinesand made like, something out of
it at the very end for, thebattle with the Professor.
And it's like, yeah, you couldsee it coming.
They already put the hints downthat they've passed on, but it's
like, You don't really get tohear that in a Pokemon game,
that they say outright thatsomebody just fucking died, let
alone 2A Pokemon.
David Hernandez (18:06):
I mean, you bring up a good point because I
remember X and Y and that was mybiggest grout because there was
a lot of text with allfriendship and everything that
it kind of got choppy.
And, you know, with Scarlet andViolet, we had the battle with,
uh, Nimona.
We had the storyline with,Arvin.
trying to heal his Pokemon.
And then you were trying to, youknow, complete the league.
Yeah.
And you have all this stuffcoming together, and they kind
(18:27):
of really tied it in, you know,graphics aside, they really all
tied it in, and it was all kindof very thematic, kind of cool
them all come together.
Oh, and then Team Star, howcould I forget Team Star?
Kuixotic (18:35):
Oh, absolutely, with that banger of a battle theme,
too.
David Hernandez (18:38):
Oh my gosh, that's probably one of my
favorite themes outside of TeamPlasma.
Team Plasma, and that one's atleast number one and two.
Kuixotic (18:44):
It's like, I don't usually go back and listen to
music from the games themselves,but the Sadaturo battle, that is
a theme that I constantly loopat any given point of the day.
because I do know, like, ofcourse, it had Toby, like, Toby
Fox's hand played into it,Everyone knows him for his
Undertale motifs and how hespread, like, the different
themes across the soundtrack,and it's like, you hear one
(19:06):
thing and you're like, oh,that's referencing this other
part.
And then just hearing him dothat again for Scarlet and
Violet and being like, oh, theTerra battle theme is in here.
Oh, this kinda, this kinda hurtsa little bit.
speaking of that, I did reallylike Era Zero in itself.
I liked how it was kinda builtup the entire game.
And then you're finally able togo into it, and it's just, like,
(19:26):
a time capsule of complete,like, untouched.
There's nothing there aside,like, wild Pokemon that you
haven't even seen people haveyet.
And it's like, I just reallylike the atmosphere that they
built with Area 0.
I don't like it.
quite recall them doing anythinglike that with anything else.
Like, I know we had, like,specific locations, like, the
distortion world in Gen 4, orlike, um, the ultra, like, what
(19:49):
is it?
Ultra Necropolis?
Is that it?
David Hernandez (19:52):
Yeah, the ultra I know you're talking about
Pokemon Sun and Moon or
Kuixotic (19:56):
Yeah, where, wherever you, wherever you fight in Ultra
Necrozma, those, like, hiddenlocations, I really enjoyed
those.
I really liked how they stillkept it mysterious, too, because
there's, like, a lot of, Partsin Area Zero that no one really
knows what's going on with them,like the cave that you can get,
um, Roaring Moon, and I want tosay the Paradox Gardevoir Glade.
(20:21):
Like that hidden cave, there'slike a whole like intricate
marking on the floor orsomething.
Nobody knows what's going onwith that.
Then there's the plaque that'sabout a little bit before you
hit the crystals on the bottomfloor, and it's like Nobody
knows what's going on with thateither, there's no story hints
or anything regarding those.
So it's kind of like, we'restill having that mystery.
(20:41):
We're probably not going to beable to revisit it, But kind of
like having those still there,it's I like that.
I like having the loose ends,personally.
David Hernandez (20:49):
so as we keep moving forward, you also run a
blog called Doc and Ass Blog onTumblr.
How has Pokemon been able tokind of influence, you know, you
and your artistic creativity?
Kuixotic (20:59):
Oh man, I've, I didn't realize how long I've been
drawing until I kind of lookedback.
I was like, I started drawinglike seriously when I was like
14 and I think about like, Yeah,that's, that's, that's pretty
young.
that's a long time.
David Hernandez (21:11):
It's been a few years, yeah.
Kuixotic (21:12):
Yeah, like I would collect the cards for the art.
Like, I never learned how toplay game.
David Hernandez (21:17):
Oh, so you try to like, draw the art of the
cards, basically?
Oh,
Kuixotic (21:21):
That's what I used to do in order to practice drawing.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (21:25):
that's fun.
do you remember any Pokemoncards that you remember trying
to draw?
Kuixotic (21:29):
I feel like there's one that was like an Entei card
from a long while back that itwas like part of like a multi
art piece that it had Entei andthen the foreground you can see
like a couple of Tauros and aTauros was part of that on that
same set.
And then there was one of the,uh, I think a Darkrai level X
card, when they were still doinglevel X.
(21:49):
Like, I still have all my cardsfrom back then, and I have like
my promos in a binder that Ikeep close by.
it really did influence a lot oflike how I tried to draw.
I didn't really have much of afandom experience outside of
Pokemon, I would say.
Nothing really caught myattention, nothing, there wasn't
really any community that Icould get myself into as like a
(22:09):
12, 13 year old in the wild westof the internet before it became
what it is now.
So it was like, I would draw, Iused to post on DeviantArt when
I had one.
I would build community there.
I had Tumblr beforehand and Iwas like, you know what?
Let me try an art Tumblr, let mejust see what's going on.
And I think I started that blogin 2019.
(22:30):
But it didn't really take offuntil the pandemic hit because
everyone else was also at homewith nothing else to do.
So that's when things startedmoving.
David Hernandez (22:38):
I feel like everybody dived into some either
art activity or got into verymore artistic adventures during
that pandemic, for sure.
Kuixotic (22:45):
Oh, yeah, and I was working at the same time too.
So I was like, I needed anoutlet.
David Hernandez (22:49):
Were you an essentials, what they call it,
an essential worker at the time?
Kuixotic (22:53):
A quote unquote essential worker.
I'm like, I don't know how muchessential work I can do.
Putting up stock in aconvenience store pharmacy.
So yeah,
David Hernandez (23:03):
I'm still waiting.
So, but anyway, you're saying,so when you were 14, you were
trying to draw Pokemon cards andhow did you can progress to what
you do now?
Like it just kept trying toimprove and stuff like that.
Kuixotic (23:16):
yeah, like back in the day Like I would say 14 is like
when I started taking my artseriously, of course, I was
drawing beforehand But I waskind of like la di da a little
doodle on a notebook piece ofpaper have it stored somewhere.
I don't wanna wear but But backthen that was when I was really
like, okay.
I want to get better.
I want to learn more But I neverwas the type to, um, like,
(23:36):
study, like, anatomy books, or,like, I didn't take art classes,
really, in high school, or,like, any schooling in general.
I just I knew the basics.
But the cards and seeing, like,how different artists did what
they did to represent the samePokémon, because there's so many
different cards out there, andso many different artists, they
have the same renditions ofdifferent Pokémon, that it's,
like, Oh, I like how they didthe colors on this one.
(23:57):
I like how this one looks like apaint, like, it was painted.
I like how This one's 3D, andthings like that.
So it just kind of progressedfrom there, and I, just kind of
like started daydreaming as mostkids do.
And I was, I just kind of like,you know what, I want to make my
own little thing using thisseries that I really like, and
tying in things that matter tome.
David Hernandez (24:17):
Well, Kuixotic, thank you for coming on the
podcast before we go and askthis final question.
And because dragon type Pokemon,your favorite Pokemon, I want
you to give me a team of sixdragon Pokemon you would use in
a Pokemon battle.
Kuixotic (24:30):
Ooh, okay.
off the top of my head,Neuvern's gonna be one of them
for sure.
because I want to be thatasshole.
Mega Rayquaza.
David Hernandez (24:39):
There you go.
Kuixotic (24:40):
The one Pokemon that had to have its own tier for
competitive.
Just the Mega Rayquaza, anythinggoes
David Hernandez (24:46):
Anything goes, yeah.
Kuixotic (24:48):
all right, there's Neuvern.
Rayquaza.
I really do like Reshiram.
I feel like I'm a very unfairgym leader at this point.
Not even gym leader materialthere.
David Hernandez (24:57):
say, I didn't even say Jim Lee, I just
somebody was gonna
Kuixotic (24:59):
Oh, battle theme?
David Hernandez (25:00):
Yeah.
So if they don't wanna, yeah,you try to teach them not to
mess with you, basically.
Kuixotic (25:06):
As long as there's no fairies, then I'm good.
So, let's see.
Noviern, Rayquaza, Reshiram.
Garchomp.
I do love me a I'd probably sayKoma O.
I think that one can be useful,or at least good for punches.
And I gotta go classicDragonite.
David Hernandez (25:21):
course.
You can't leave out theclassics.
Kuixotic (25:23):
Absolutely not.
I need that Hyper Beam and aDraco Meteor to be sure.
David Hernandez (25:27):
Let's go.
All right.
I'm down quick side.
Thank you for coming on as thepokeball turns before you go.
If people want to connect withyou, if they want to check out
your artwork and they go by allmeans, please plug away.
Kuixotic (25:39):
so you guys can find me on, as Quixotic on BlueSky.
I'm starting to post a littlemore on there.
Tumblr, same name.
I think I have a pinned postwith all my different blogs on
there.
So it's like, I have a writingblog there, I have an art blog
that I update religiously at themoment.
Getting an update like everyday, Tuesdays to Fridays.
those are really my only spots,yeah.
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