In this Pokemon interview, we are joined by Angelo "Rho" Pagnoa a Pokemon Trainer and podcast host for Littleroot Lessons.
Angelo's Pokemon journey started with the Pokemon TCG where he would learn the Pokemon TCG at his locals. Angelo touches on the early days of competitive TCG and how it was more show up and play compared to the organized play of today.
Angelo dives into his journey into Pokemon VGC and playing the main series games. However, it wasn't until Pokemon Sword and Shield when he started to engage with competitive Pokemon. Angelo shares his progress to become the Pokemon Trainer he is today and what he enjoys most about engaging with the Pokemon community.
Finally Angelo dives into his involvement with Littleroot Lessons and his motivation to do Pokemon interviews of VGC players after certain regionals. And to finish off this interview, we play a game of "What's That Pokemon?"
Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
Connect with Angelo: Twitter | Bluesky
Connect with David Hernandez: Linktree
E-mail Me: asthepokeballturnspodcast@gmail.com
Join Our Discord Community!
https://discord.gg/AqAbD7FbRt
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Angelo (00:00):
Hi, I'm Angelo from Literate Lessons, and this is my
(00:02):
Pokémon story.
David Hernandez (00:43):
Welcome to, as the pokeball turns, where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez I'mjoined by Angelo from little
root lessons podcast.
Angelo.
Thank you for coming on thepodcast.
Angelo (00:57):
Thank you for having me, David.
Uh, this this has been,something that we've been trying
to get done for, a couplemonths.
life gets in the way, but superexcited to be sitting on the
other side of the microphone, soto speak.
David Hernandez (01:08):
Let's give the listeners an idea of how much
work we've had to go to this.
You know, we had to travel bysea.
I had to take a plane, then afire alarm gone off, and then my
dogs went crazy.
And then all of a sudden I hadto eat dinner and then all of a
sudden my mic didn't want towork.
And then all of a sudden I needto take a nap.
It's been exhausting.
We haven't even recorded.
Angelo (01:28):
It absolutely has been, and that's not going the fact
that I had to travel literallythrough space and time to get
here.
I need to catch Dialga andPalkia, we're talking two
versions, to do the trades, alot of work.
David Hernandez (01:42):
And then I had to run a Giovanni and the team
rocket was trying to kidnapPikachu again.
It's just an entire mess.
Just trying to record this oneepisode.
the universe was trying to stopthis from happening.
Angelo (01:52):
But we're here, and it's beautiful, it's going to be a
great episode, I'm excited.
David Hernandez (01:56):
It is, it is now, Angelo, I appreciate you
reaching out to me and, youknow, before we dive into all
your journey and, dive into likeyou being a podcaster, What is
it about you wanting to do apodcast with Pokemon that
started this whole thing?
Angelo (02:10):
So, when you're saying like, starting the podcast, I
got into podcasting, It wasn'tthe direct way a lot of people
do it where, as you were tellingme beforehand David, where you
said, Hi, I want to make thiscontent.
I love Pokemon.
This is the passion project Ican do.
For me, so Literate Lessonsisn't of my own creation.
(02:32):
the creation is from Carl Wilkinand Carter Noble, two VCC
players, and two of my dearfriends.
and a little before COVID, Iwant to say it was February of
2020, the two of them, theyalready had a Magic the
Gathering podcast, but they werereally getting out of Magic,
decided to make a Pokemonpodcast, specifically for
Pokemon VGC.
(02:53):
They end up posting the podcast,2020 Angelo Finds It.
I already knew about VGC, Swordand Shield just came out, and I
was thinking, hey, let me getinto it a little more, and the
podcast was kind of my gatewayinto it.
I joined their community, becomefriends with these guys, long
story short, Carl had his firstkid and wanted to step away from
(03:16):
the week to week recording side.
And since I was already comingin as a guest, I was so close
with these guys we already had.
The rapport you need to do apodcast with multiple guests,
myself and another one of ourfriends jay we joined as two new
hosts along with carter to Havethis new literal lessons.
So A roundabout way of answeringyour question I never chose this
(03:41):
I was kind of Put into this andvery happy I was put into this.
Uh, Being able to spend multiplehours a week talking with my
friends about a game I love somuch, and a game that brought
all of us together, is justprobably one of the best
privileges someone can have.
David Hernandez (04:00):
So what you're saying is the Pokemon podcast,
you didn't choose the Pokemonpodcast life, the Pokemon
podcast life chose you.
Angelo (04:06):
Absolutely.
David Hernandez (04:07):
Okay.
What nickname did he give you?
Angelo (04:09):
it gave me the nickname of Ro, and if you are a Little
Root Lessons listener, or justsomeone in the general VGC
sphere, a little funny story onhow I got that name, in the
Literate Lessons Discord server,Carter's, username for a while
there was Mr.
Missouri, that's the state thatCarl and Carter are from.
And, Everyone was doing Mr.
(04:32):
and then State Name, and it wasall Ms.
And I didn't realize it wassupposed to be a Mr.
M thing.
So I made my name Mr.
Rhode Island because I wanted tobe in on the joke, but I wasn't
actually in on the joke.
And, after a while of that, Iwas just under as Mr.
Rhode Island, or Mr.
R.
I.
that's the state I'm from.
(04:53):
we were in a voice chat, and oneof the other Mods and members of
the Little Lessons community,Swede, Swede's wife asked him
who he's talking to and he said,Oh, I'm talking to Carter and
Ro, shortening Mr.
Rhode Island to just Ro.
And I was like, I like that,that kinda sticks.
And I just rolled with it thatI'm just Ro, and that's what
(05:16):
I've been going by in thePokemon sphere.
Along with my actual name, Idon't make my actual name a
secret.
but yeah, that's kind of how Igot Roe.
It was just a one off thing afriend said to his wife, and
became kind of part of myidentity for the last four and a
half years.
David Hernandez (05:32):
It's kind of cool.
How you said, you know, afranchise you love kind of
brought y'all together and evenmore so it's all through
competitive y'all compete inPokemon, trying to earn your
chance to world to try to be thebest that nobody ever was.
What is it about competitivePokemon that interests you and
made you want to get engaged inthat part of the franchise?
Angelo (05:51):
I am a competitive person.
I was an athlete, in highschool.
I, in middle school, I was along distance runner and I just
loved competing and due to somehealth issues I've had pretty
much ever since I graduated highschool, I wasn't able to keep
that athleticism, that, thatlevel of competition.
(06:12):
And so, I've always been playingPokemon, really not even just
VGC.
going back to when I was very,very young, when I was in middle
school, early parts of highschool.
my brother and I actually playedthe trading card game
competitively.
this was back when there wasn'teven a VGC when we started.
It was, like, Worlds was solelythe card game.
(06:34):
so when I was a lot younger,back in generation 4, I went and
played the card gamecompetitively, my brother and I,
at the local card shops near us.
Uh, it was a lot smaller backthen.
The card game.
That was the only officialcompetitive outlet for Pokemon.
And I loved collecting thecards.
That's one of the ways I gotinto the Pokemon franchise to
(06:56):
start.
And I was one of the kids whoactually read the rule book that
came with the theme decks tofigure out how to play this
game.
And we would go to tournamentsfor that.
my brother and I both step asideplaying the card game
competitively for otherextracurriculars, mainly sports.
And between not being able to,Do the sport that did for so
(07:19):
long and also wanting to getback into playing the Pokemon
that I loved playingcompetitively.
I decided to go with VGC insteadof the TCG because I was already
buying the game and it wascheaper.
And I was thinking, hey, I canjust use the online ladder.
I was never thinking I'd begoing to tournaments.
Or, recording a weekly podcastcovering all these events.
(07:43):
And once I got into it,everything just snowballed.
This was also when the COVIDshutdowns happened as well.
David Hernandez (07:50):
Oh, wow.
Angelo (07:51):
nothing else for me to do.
But listen to Pokemon podcasts,watch Cybertron and Wolfie
videos, and just obsess overPicolytics usage stats to figure
out like which Pokemon I shoulduse.
And it's just something that'slike really, really kept with me
because of the people that I metand the connections and friends
(08:14):
I met uh, play in this game.
David Hernandez (08:17):
At the time when you were into playing
Pokemon TCG.
Was it difficult to kind oflearn by yourself at first or
did you immediately step intotrying to.
Find the locals to kind of helpyou advance in the game.
Angelo (08:29):
So I was a member of a league.
There was a local card shop theyhad both Friday, And Saturday
just free to play leagues youshow up you play your matches
with whoever else was there.
It was a free for all notournament Very fun sort of
thing just play who was aroundif you want to play people like
(08:49):
two three times in a row Youcould do that.
You could switch up decks it'ssomething that We found, and it
was like a really great place tolearn, meet people who just
weren't, in your school or inyour town, that also had this
love of Pokemon.
This was back in that weird timewhere, Pokemon wasn't the cool
thing or the big thing as it isnow.
(09:10):
I don't know.
I always, I wouldn't say I feltembarrassed that I played
Pokemon, but it's not somethingI would bring up at school
because it's like one of thethings where, oh, you still play
Pokemon and you get made fun of.
David Hernandez (09:19):
It was like one of them little secrets that you
didn't really bring the publicbecause at the least for me, I
remember it was more Yu Gi Oh ormore being in the sports.
If you were in a Pokemon, you'relike, what the hell's wrong with
you?
Kind of thing.
Angelo (09:30):
yeah, it was definitely that.
And especially I was in middleschool and every middle schooler
is just awkward.
Uh, so it was one of the thingswhere it was nice where it was
something I was so passionateabout.
And it was a place where I can.
be with people who had this samepassion and enjoyment about
Pokemon as I did.
And I wasn't completely alone.
(09:51):
I have a younger brother whoalso played Pokemon with me and
we would both go to tournamentstogether and we would play
against each other at home andtest decks against each other.
And so I always had that withhim as well.
So not like I was fully, fullyalone, but it was like one of
the things where we had a leaguefunny thing about the person who
(10:13):
owns that card shop, that cardshop ended up getting sold about
15 or so years ago, and one ofthe non Pokemon things I do, I'm
a Freemason.
And one of the days, I'm at mylodge, the building where we
meet, and see this guy here,haven't him at the lodge before,
and he looks familiar, and I goup to him, like, hey, are you so
(10:35):
and so?
Did you used to own this cardshop?
And he looked at me, he's like,Angelo, is that you?
Like, he completely, recognizedme.
And he's like, I remember whenyou were not even twelve, like
ten.
and it's like one of the thingswhere, like, literal full
circle, the person who owned theshop that helped give me this
(10:57):
passion, I now see weekly.
Uh, he met my wife at my largestChristmas party, I said, Babe.
If you want to know why I'm a29, 30 year old man child blame
this man
David Hernandez (11:10):
It's his fault.
Although I'm not complainingthough.
Angelo (11:12):
No No, not at all
David Hernandez (11:16):
It brings actually an interesting story.
I've never shared before.
So back when I was younger andyou know, I saw a commercial
saying like, you should go joinyour local Pokemon league and
I'm like, you can earn a badge.
I'm like, I can be like AshKetchum, but like you, I was
ashamed.
I was like, I don't know what tosay.
I feel kind of embarrassed.
So one day I go to a car shop ina closed down mall called six
(11:39):
it's in Arlington.
and I went inside and there wasa car shop, it was supposed to
be a league and I go to thestore and I'm like, Hey, do I
get to be a part?
I'm like whispering.
How do I get to be a part of thebook?
And because there's guys, youknow, shopping other stuff and
looking around for, you know,whatever that was.
And the guy is like, I cannothear you, man.
And I keep whispering.
(11:59):
I'm like, Hey, I'm just tryingto find out where the Pokemon
league.
And I'm just so embarrassed.
I don't know what to say.
Cause there's people next to me,there's a card owner.
I have no idea what I'm supposedto be asking.
And then eventually I just, hesaid something like, Oh, it's
not happening tonight, and Ijust ran out cause I was just.
So nervous I wasn't comfortablebeing in my own skin asking
about a Pokemon leg, but it'sjust a different time that
thankfully people nowadays don'tget to, thankfully, don't have
(12:21):
to experience.
Angelo (12:22):
Yeah, it is really weird where I think that's one of the
things that really helped it ispokemon go And all of us Nerdy
kids who didn't fall off Pokemonafter Gen 1 or Gen 2.
and now we're just all adultsand we just don't care.
I also think that just thegrowth of Pokemon, it's the
number one media franchise inthe entire world.
(12:44):
Bigger than Star Wars, biggerthan Mario, bigger than Mickey
Mouse.
it's like unavoidable whereyeah, you could say like
everyone knows what it is now.
It's not just this late 90searly aughts fad And everyone's
just cool with it
David Hernandez (13:01):
So obviously you're more involved with VGC
nowadays, but at the time youoriginally started with TCG,
were you not much into the gameside of Pokemon at the time?
Or
Angelo (13:10):
So, I was in a household that was a no video game
household for a while.
My first actual experience withPokemon was back in 99.
and before the kids were pickedup, we would have like a TV
time, and people can bring inVHSs, remember those?
David Hernandez (13:26):
Oh my gosh, people don't even know what
those are anymore.
Angelo (13:29):
Yeah, look it up.
you don't know what it is, lookit up.
But yeah, so, some kid broughtin a Pokemon VHS, and the first
ever experience with Pokemon Isaw, it was the episode that Ash
caught Muk.
And that was my first thing Ithought was cool.
And this was right around whenthe first movie was coming out
as well.
So there were all thesecommercials.
(13:51):
The show was everywhere.
And I think I was at the rightage where I saw the show.
And my dad, he loves collectingcards.
he used to trade Baseball cardsand go to the big baseball card
shows so when he saw that thisinterest I had had a card aspect
to it He would buy me and mybrother packs and we started
collecting in that sense Itwasn't until I was like 9 a
(14:14):
little after fire in the leafgreen came out is When I got a
game boy and I got the Pokemonvideo game But I always kept
that love of the cards becausethat is what Started me with
everything and As I said beforeWhen I we going to leagues and
everything and just playingcompetitively There was no VGC
(14:36):
at the time back in oh six therewas a tournament called the
journey across America That Iwas too young to even understand
what that was.
was, that's kind of what peoplewill point to as one of the
first official competitivedoubles tournaments.
Hulk Hogan was actually thecommentator for finals at Bryant
(14:57):
Park in New York, for thatevent.
that's not a bit, that's real.
Look it up so, yeah, like it, ifI, for me to play competitively,
it was always just.
But I knew when VGC became athing, I knew about it.
I just never dove into it,really.
One of the biggest issues withVGC, especially back then, is It
(15:17):
can be a little daunting to getinto, as someone who is 12 or 13
years old, having to look upEVs, IVs, nature, breeding, and
this was before there werenature mints, before there were
bottle caps, really, like, backin Gen 4 and Gen 5, before there
was even to pass down IVs usingA 6IV ditto and a Destiny knot
(15:41):
like it literally was justrandom and there was so much
work that needed to be done Toget a team that it was just too
daunting to get into
David Hernandez (15:50):
To even add on, there was even before Flame Body
was a thing, because Flame Bodywas only one game in those
generation of games.
So you were literally hatchingthe entire mount.
There was no reductionwhatsoever.
Mm hmm.
Angelo (16:00):
And not to mention needing to get legendaries
having to soft reset there is areally really great youtube
channel i'm a blissey Please Andthey mostly deal with, RNG
manipulation, but what they dois, they'll have a video where
like they went and made thefirst world champion team.
And, they'll be like, I'm gonnamake this team from scratch, I'm
(16:24):
gonna record everything I do,and I'm gonna tell you how long
it takes me to make this team.
And, some of the earlier teams,20, I believe it was like, he
did a video, they did a video onRayRizzo's 2010 Worlds team.
And, it took them well over 5060 hours to make this 6 Pokemon
(16:45):
team.
David Hernandez (16:46):
Only 50 to 60 hours.
Wow Yeah,
Angelo (16:49):
was and now it's you can and now it's a lot easier You
can make a team In two to threehours and honestly, you could
probably do it a lot fasterthere's been times where Before
a local I decide to make two orthree changes on my team And i'm
able to make all those changeswithin 30 minutes or so
David Hernandez (17:10):
you bring up so many points about the archaic
side of competitive on the TCGside You have a point your first
time when you and your brotherjust going and you are just
randomly playing You're not evenlike having to pay an entry fee.
You're not having to be linkedup together Y'all just playing
people who are actually thereIt's just like a little
gathering before nowadays if youplay TCG you have to sign up
(17:31):
you're paired together There's awhole database behind it.
Keep in mind this is even beforecomputers were more advanced to
what they are now You And thenwhen we flip the mirror to both
VGC, VGC, it was difficult toget, the ideal IVs.
You're spending hours trying toget the right Pokemon.
you don't have the items, theabilities are way limited and
the speed of trying to get thatis more, way more grindy than it
(17:53):
is nowadays.
How does it feel to just seeingthat early part of competitive
Pokemon and what it takes towhat it is now?
Angelo (18:01):
I really can't speak to too much of the VGC side, that
would be better for, there's alot of, I, affectionately call
them, a lot of old heads who canspeak to that significantly more
than I can.
I knew the process, I knew aboutit, but even then it's not
something I never reallyattempted to do.
Until I'd say Gen 6, Gen 7 iswhen I first actually tried
(18:24):
starting to even just forspecific natures But I think the
biggest thing was with the TCGIt was always easier to just
play that because worst casescenario if you were missing a
card, you could just buy it WhenI played specifically the cards
really weren't that expensive.
There was only one crazyexpensive card back then a
(18:46):
Luxray G level X Which was, atthe time, an 80 card.
everything else was justcheaper.
there this was the Pokemon Lulz,so there wasn't a 200 300
Pikachu card coming out everyother set.
And you have the Elite TrainerBoxes going for 150, and
Scalpers going crazy.
(19:07):
I played TCG, that wasn't athing whatsoever.
So, if there was a single cardyou needed, if you had the
dollar or two it would take, youcould just buy it.
And that was a lot easiercompared to VGC, where it was a
lot, a lot, a lot of work.
For minimal payout in a lot ofcases, like, honestly, a lot of
(19:29):
things you weren't in controlover.
Nintendo and the Pokemoncompany, they definitely have
looked into trying to fix it.
Every generation it feels likeit becomes easier, or relatively
easier, to Get your Pokemon,Scarlet and Violet had a lot of
good things, but there were afew aspects of Scarlet and
Violet that I think were takingsteps backwards.
In terms of trying to getPokemon, the good things they
(19:52):
did were making bottle capslevel 50 cap instead of a level
100 cap.
it's super easy to get yourPokemon up to level 50.
David Hernandez (20:00):
Very much so.
Yeah.
Angelo (20:02):
with all of the experience candies.
The way Egg Moves work now, youjust need an item, the Mirror
Herb, and it's not like you haveto breed the Pokemon to get the
Egg Move.
You just have the two of them inthe party together, holding this
item, and as long as it has theempty move slot, it just gets
it.
That's something that saves alot of time.
The worst feeling was to hitthat, perfect IV Pokemon with
(20:25):
the nature and everything andthen you look at it and you
realize that you used the wrongparent that Didn't have the egg
move and you got to start thewhole process over again.
I'm not saying I ever did thatMaybe who can say?
But now it's very easy, it's ohI forgot to give my Incineroar a
fake out Well, grab a fake outPokemon and it's here now on the
(20:48):
other side of things and thismight just be a me thing, I
really hate how they havebreeding in generation 9.
I just don't think it's anefficient cycle of getting eggs.
It's probably my least favoritepart of gen 9, is just what they
did to breeding for Pokemoneggs.
And the Terra Shards, especiallyearly on, I Getting 50 Terra
(21:12):
Shards is very, very difficultfor a specific type.
And, in this generation, a lotof times you'll need to change a
Pokemon's Terra type.
for defensive purposes, even forcertain offensive purposes.
Like, Dragonite will run TerraNormal a lot in order for it to
get a same type attack boost onextreme speed.
(21:33):
And they weren't giving out,like, a Terra Normal Dragonite.
So it's not something you couldbring down, you have to change
it, you have to get the 50normal Terror Shards, and if
you're unlucky in terms of yourown raids, and you can't get the
Blizzy raids, or you're notgetting the right online raids,
then you literally might not beable to get that specific thing
(21:55):
you need for your Pokemon.
that would be my biggest, like,downside.
whatever regional gimmick theyhave in Generation 10, I hope
that it's just something that iseasy to slap on.
such as what Dynamax was, or ZMoves, or Mega Evolutions.
Where it was either justavailable from the get go as is,
(22:15):
or an easy to obtain item.
Instead of it being a very toobtain item you need 50 of.
David Hernandez (23:10):
Do you have a particular favorite generation
of games that you enjoyedplaying?
Angelo (23:14):
So gen three and gen four, because those were my
childhood generations.
I think the generation when youwere nine through 12 is the
coolest generation So I have alot of fond memories of playing
those games.
I remember buying my Ds andgetting Diamond and pearl the
same day or like getting heartgold, soul silver with my
brother and playing throughthose games.
(23:36):
And of course the Gen 3 games aswell, getting Sapphire and Leaf
Green for Christmas.
I think every Pokemon fan canremember the Christmas, when
they got their first Game Boyand Pokemon game.
Cause that's probably the bestChristmas you ever had.
But, on a competitive side, I'veonly really played Gen 8 and Gen
9 competitively.
as much crap as Sword and Shieldgets, I do have a really soft
(23:59):
spot for it.
That was the game that reallymade me fall back in love with
Pokemon.
I played the Gen 6 games, Iplayed the Gen 7 games, really
didn't like Gen 7.
I felt like the Alolan gameswere a slog to get through.
And once I beat the Elite Four,I didn't really go back to those
games.
at that point, I'd say, like,Pokemon Go, honestly, was a
(24:21):
bigger part of how I enjoyedPokemon than the video game or
the cards.
And it was Gen 8 and gettinginto VGC that really got me back
into loving the video gameproper.
I know Dexit is controversial.
they were the unpopular games.
(24:41):
I don't know.
I just really, really loveGeneration 8 as a whole.
It's always going to have a softspot in my heart.
Dynamax was a really dumb,competitive mechanic.
David Hernandez (24:53):
yeah,
Angelo (24:54):
I, I will say that I did enjoy it because it didn't
really centralize things in anyPokemon can use it.
as for mechanics overall, I knowI just went in a rant on how
ization made.
Getting your Pokemon difficultrationalization is the best
mechanic out of any of thecompetitive mechanics we've had.
it can be used offensively anddefensively.
(25:14):
Any Pokemon can use it.
at least four of your Pokemonthroughout a tournament run will
use this mechanic.
Some more than others, butyou'll have that usage.
While Dynamax While it could beused defensively because it
doubles your HP, it usually wasreserved for your big sweeper.
my best result was at SecaucusRegionals I finished in 21st
(25:34):
place and I ran a team withDialga and Calrec Shadow.
And I didn't Dynamax Dialga inonly two games.
because the entire team wasbuilt around maximizing the
dynamax alga turns.
And on the other whenever I'vegone to events with
rationalization, I might izethree different Pokemon for
(25:57):
three different reasons I mightneed.
the extra damage output from aTerra Water on Urshifu Rapid
Strike.
I might need the defensiveoutput of a Terra Water on
Amoongus, and it could changegame to game, and different
Pokémon can play those differentroles, and that's the really
cool part Terrastilization.
David Hernandez (26:16):
so I kind of want to go back to when you
became part of little rootlessons, you said you were
listening back in 2020 and youweren't.
Part of the podcast the time,you were just a listener.
What was it about Little RudeLessons that appeal to you as a
listener and made you want toget involved within their
community?
Angelo (26:32):
So, a couple things.
There were other Pokemonpodcasts at the time, and I
think I've said this to Carl andCarter, so when they hear this,
they won't get insulted.
Uh, there was another podcast aswell, that started around the
same time as LittleRootLessons,that I also listen to.
And both LittleRootLessons andthis other podcast would go and
(26:55):
say, Hey, if you wanna part ofour community, join our Discord.
And I thought that the otherpodcast discord was for Patreon
members only.
And Literary Lessons was justfree.
So I said, well, I'm broke.
So looks like I'm going withLiterary Lessons and
David Hernandez (27:13):
I'm sorry.
Angelo (27:14):
no no, come, come to find out that I was wrong and I
was able to join the otherpodcast server, which I did, but
the vibes weren't great, thevibes, I just fit with the vibes
at Literary Lessons, listeningto.
Carl and Carter, even from thestart, it just sounded like
listening to two old friends.
Their banter, because the two ofthem are very close friends.
(27:35):
They've known each other foryears before they even started
recording the podcast.
It just felt very comfortable.
And just being around thecommunity more, again,
especially during the start ofCOVID 19 during lockdown, it
just gave me another communityof, hey, we It doesn't matter if
that we're doing this allonline.
We can't go in anywhere anyways,so I don't know.
(27:57):
It just started with us allhanging out, doing raid nights,
in the Dynamax raids, hostinglittle community tournaments on
Pokemon Showdown, and I justbecame very, very close with
Carl and Carter, throughouteverything, along with the rest
of the mod squad, and Throughall of that, my first appearance
on episode 117 was my, wastalking about my Secaucus
(28:20):
Regionals run And that was thestart of me hopping on the
podcast.
And then as things progressed,specifically when Carl's, wife
got pregnant.
He started trying to step backand any of the days he couldn't
go on, I would just step in.
And then it turned into, Cartermight have had something pop up
(28:41):
that week and he wasn't able torecord, so He's like, okay, well
Angelo's already been steppingin for Carl, have him step in
for Carter.
as we said, the podcast life wascalling me.
then, that's when I became oneof the full time co hosts.
And from that point forward,it's been, as long as I don't
(29:02):
personally have something goingon that week, every Sunday,
sitting down and talking Mons.
David Hernandez (29:07):
What is it like to kind of develop that kind of
social relationship initiallywith Carter and Carl?
Was it kind of awkward to kindof be a part of that duo or did
y'all, you kind of fit in like aperfect glove?
Angelo (29:17):
We fit in perfectly.
Uh, I never asked, Hey, everyonewould joke like, Hey, when are
we going on the pod?
When are we going on the pod?
But I never asked to actuallybecome a full time member of the
show.
I want it to be known.
I did not shoehorn my way into,it, like parasocially, whatever.
We, just had a lot of othercommon interests.
(29:38):
It wasn't just Pokemon.
We loved food.
We loved talking about sports..
And then it just became, okay,we're talking every day.
because of this, honestly, whatended up turning into a mods
group chat meeting of the minds.
we all just would talk in that,even just outside of the Discord
server, daily.
Hey, this is what's going on inmy life, or this is how work's
(30:00):
going for me.
And, it was just kind of likeorganically becoming friends
that way.
And then, when things changedand Carl wasn't able to, Beyond
the pot as much they went side.
Okay.
Well, who can we trust who arelike that?
We have this rapport with andit's okay Well Angelo and J
because we already talk withthem daily we would help them if
(30:22):
they needed ideas for what totalk about We already be saying
hey, maybe you should talk aboutthis or maybe we should go over
this Along with us just hoppingon and being guests on the show
Whenever we were needed anywaysYou
David Hernandez (30:34):
Since you've been a part of it, how has being
connected with both Carter andCarl in Little Root Lessons
affected your journey when itcomes to competitive Pokémon?
Do you think you would still beas involved if it wasn't for
them?
Angelo (30:45):
I think I still would be.
I'm very close to my localcommunity.
the New England locals, I loveall of you.
cause, you're gonna listen tothis cause I'm gonna post it
every single place I see youall.
Um, and yeah, it's like, Ireally, really love my locals.
I'm very lucky the New Englandarea is probably one of the
more, if not one of the mostactive areas.
(31:07):
Thank you very much.
And there's just a lot oftalented players and a lot of us
just got really, really close.
once we had live events return,it just became a thing where we
met and we were able to see eachother in person.
And actually meet other peoplethat we never met before,
because we were actually able toplay the game in person again,
(31:28):
and it just became a massivefamily.
So I think in that sense, Istill will be playing, I'm not
going for my world's invite, Iunderstand that.
the stage I am in my life, Idon't have the time or the
financial freedom in that senseto travel around to regionals to
try to get a world's invite.
my happiness with that is when Isee my friends.
(31:52):
who succeed and they're able tomake worlds up.
Just recently, my friend AnthonyLondrigan who is one of my dear
friends, he is one of themembers of, my team building
group.
And he just had two top cupfinishes, and I saw the amount
of work he was putting intoeverything, and wasn't getting
the results that matched theeffort.
(32:13):
And to just to see my friendhave the effort that he put into
this match the results, and seehis name.
in the top or top 16, which isvery difficult to do.
that in itself is where I'mgetting, I'd say, most of my
competitive joy, outside ofgoing to a local every now and
again.
It's just seeing my friends,people I try to help as much as
(32:36):
I can, succeed at this game.
David Hernandez (32:38):
And you get the chance to highlight them on
little words lessons Is thatkind of the inspiration behind
doing this interview series?
Angelo (32:44):
Yes and no.
So, my first appearance inLiterary Lessons was to cover A
tournament that I was in and oneof the issues, not really an
issue, but one of thecircumstances of us having a lot
more events now, is we'll have alot of weekends where it's back
to back events.
for example, If there wassomeone from Birmingham
(33:05):
regionals that I wanted to talkto, I would have to either push
him back a week later, whichmeans I'm not covering San
Antonio or wait two weeks.
And now it's kind of thatregional is out of the circle,
the meta's already changedbecause it had another regional
right after, and it's kind of amoot point.
So, the Literate Record gave methe opportunity to be able to
(33:28):
pull on from these playerswhere, hey, if there's someone I
want to talk to for BirminghamRegionals, maybe we aren't
recording on the podcast proper,I can get them on Monday,
Tuesday, and on Wednesday,Thursday, I'll be able to get
that.
Video out and so we can havethat immediate impact.
This is what happened right whenit happened interview the week
(33:49):
of the event or at least theweek immediately after the event
instead of pushing it out tothree more weeks.
That and I also just loveyapping with my friends.
A lot of the other guests wereworld's competitors who are my
locals and talking about theirJourney on getting to worlds for
that year.
We had a handful of people dothat and That was also just
(34:12):
really fun to be able to talk topeople who are the top of the
top of this game
David Hernandez (34:17):
And what we learned today is that when Ash
was bragging about being top 16in indigo league He had a very
good reason to brag 16 forobvious reasons
Angelo (34:27):
no, it's it's like Especially now there's many
people at these tournaments PreCOVID, especially the format
immediately before generation,the Sword and Shield started,
uh, that was Ultra Series in2019.
Ultra Series was a toorestricted Pokemon format, uh,
(34:47):
restricted Pokemon for those ofyou who don't know.
It's your box legendary, yourKyogre, your Groudon, so on
David Hernandez (34:53):
You ready you guys?
Angelo (34:55):
No, Regigigas is not a restricted.
David Hernandez (34:57):
Shh, don't tell them.
Don't tell them.
Angelo (34:59):
It's also, it's also bad.
But, but anyways, that was aformat where you would have 40,
50 person regionals.
Because the game was just, atthat point, stale.
People were sick of playing onthe 3DS, they wanted something
new.
And restricted formats, ingeneral, since they are
(35:21):
dominated by these biglegendaries, they aren't super
popular.
And so yeah, making top 16 in anevent like that, not as great.
It's so, yeah, if you make top16, top 32, even making day 2,
and just getting that top 128sphere, you're playing out of
your mind.
this is a tough game, this isnot an easy game to play.
(35:43):
it's so easy to watch a streamon YouTube or watch, whether
it's Wolfie, Or Cybertron orwhichever of the many YouTubers
that do ladder streaming nowPlay and it's oh I could do
that.
No, it's incredibly difficult.
Chess that's mixed with rockpaper scissors And there's a
timer and everyone around you isalso just incredibly talented
(36:07):
the skill level of your averageplayer is a lot higher than it's
been
David Hernandez (36:12):
Well, Angelo, I want to finish on this last
segment before you go.
Angelo (36:16):
Sure.
David Hernandez (36:17):
Now, I gotta ask you, how well do you know
your Pokemon?
Angelo (36:19):
Pretty well.
David Hernandez (36:20):
Pretty well.
So we're gonna test that out.
Returning to the podcast isWhat's That Pokemon?
Where there are over 1, 000Pokemon, but the only one that
matters is the one I'm thinkingabout.
Here's what you have to do.
You have to guess which PokemonI'm thinking about.
Before you have to make thatguess, you have 10 questions you
(36:42):
can ask me, but they have to bein a yes or no format.
After those 10 questions, youhave to guess which Pokemon I'm
thinking out based on theinformation you gathered.
Angelo (36:52):
Yeah.
I'm ready.
David Hernandez (36:54):
So Angelo, what is going to be your first
question
Angelo (37:00):
Hmm.
Is the Pokemon from generationfive or later?
David Hernandez (37:07):
is the Pokemon I'm thinking about gen five or
after.
Got your question?
Angelo (37:11):
Yes.
David Hernandez (37:12):
It is not after Gen 5.
We're on question number 2.
Angelo (37:19):
Hmm.
Is it a normal type?
David Hernandez (37:23):
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of a normal type?
It is not a normal type.
We're on question number 3.
Angelo (37:33):
Is the Pokemon from, hmm, I think I'm, I think I'm
gonna stick with thesegeneration questions first to
try to focus on the generation.
David Hernandez (37:44):
That's bad
Angelo (37:46):
is it from Gen 3 or 4?
David Hernandez (37:49):
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of from Gen 3 or 4?
It is not from Gen 3 or 4.
We're on question number 4,oddly enough.
Angelo (38:00):
Is it a Gen 1 Pokemon?
David Hernandez (38:04):
the Pokemon I'm thinking of from Gen 1?
It is a Gen 1 Pokemon.
Angelo (38:10):
Okay,
David Hernandez (38:11):
We're halfway there.
We're on question number five.
Angelo (38:16):
Is it a water type?
David Hernandez (38:18):
Oh, that's a good question.
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of awater type?
It is not a water type.
we know that it's not after genthree, four or five.
It's not a normal type.
We know it's a gen one Pokemon.
We know it's not a water type.
We're on question number six.
Angelo (38:39):
Is it a flying type?
David Hernandez (38:42):
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of a flying type?
It is not a flying type.
We're on question number seven.
It
Angelo (38:52):
Is it part, okay.
Does the Pokemon And tell me ifthis is too specific, is it part
of an evolutionary family?
So like, does it evolve, is it aPokemon that can evolve, or is
evolved,
David Hernandez (39:08):
is the Pokemon I'm thinking of part of an
evolutionary family?
It is part of an evolutionaryfamily.
We're on question number eightbefore you have to make your
guess.
You got three more questions.
Angelo (39:25):
Hmm, does a Gym Leader or Elite Four member use this
Pokemon?
David Hernandez (39:34):
Does a gym leader or an elite four member
use this Pokemon?
That's your question.
Angelo (39:41):
Yes.
David Hernandez (39:43):
Yes.
A gym leader or an elite fourmember does use this Pokemon.
Angelo (39:48):
Throw open
David Hernandez (39:51):
question.
Number nine, before Angelo hasto make the guess, will he
figure it out?
Angelo (39:59):
Okay, so Just one moment
David Hernandez (40:04):
I
Angelo (40:06):
The pressure on is it a poison type?
David Hernandez (40:13):
Mmmmm.
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of apoison type?
It is not a poison type.
We are on question number 10.
Last question before you have tomake a guess.
Angelo (40:30):
Oh god, I feel like I've gotten nowhere.
David Hernandez (40:34):
Well, you got somewhere we know it's a Gen 1
Pokemon.
We know it's not normal.
We know it's not water.
We know it's not flying.
We know it's part of anevolutionary family.
We know a Gym Leader or an EliteFour member has used this
Pokemon.
And we know it's not poison.
Angelo (40:50):
Yes.
David Hernandez (40:51):
Question number 10.
Last question before you have tomake the guess.
Angelo (40:56):
Pokemon an evolved Pokemon?
David Hernandez (41:00):
For the final question, Is the Pokemon I'm
thinking of an evolved Pokemon?
it is an evolved Pokemon.
Angelo (41:11):
Okay.
David Hernandez (41:11):
So you've used all your questions Angelo.
Before you make your guess, weknow it's Gen 1, we know it's
not a normal type, we know it'snot a water type, we know it's
not a flying type, we know it'snot a poison type, we know it
was used by an Elite Four or aGym Leader, and we know that it
is part of an evolutionaryfamily, and that it is an
(41:32):
evolved Pokemon.
So now, with the information youhave, what Pokemon do you think
that I'm thinking about?
Of
Angelo (41:40):
a minute.
Okay, so Just going through itAnd all the options the number
of options that the rival hasmakes this tough out all this So
just going through everything Ialready know can't be anything
(42:01):
brock uses because they're justbasic pokemon Can't be anything
Misty uses.
Can't be anything Erika uses orKoga uses.
could be Kadabra or Alakazamfrom Sabrina.
Could be Rapidash or Arcaninefrom Blaine.
Could be Raichu from LieutenantSurge.
(42:23):
Dugtrio or Rhydon from Giovanni.
And on the Elite Four side Uh,the only Pokemon it could be
would be either Machamp fromBruno, none of Agatha's, none of
Lorelei's, only Dragonair fromLance.
(42:44):
And then from the rival, Rhydonagain, Arcanine again, Alakazam
again, or Exeggutor.
David Hernandez (42:53):
Lots of choices.
Angelo (42:54):
are a lot of choices, but it's actually a lot less
than I thought.
And Something about Exeggutor iscalling out to me, so I'm gonna
guess Exeggutor.
David Hernandez (43:06):
Hmm.
Is that your final answer?
Angelo (43:09):
my final answer.
David Hernandez (43:11):
So there was one flaw in your logic
Angelo (43:16):
And that was
David Hernandez (43:17):
on question eight.
You asked, did an elite four orgym leader uses Pokemon?
Angelo (43:26):
a champion, and I didn't say champion.
David Hernandez (43:28):
No, you didn't specify which generation
Angelo (43:31):
Oh, you! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
David Hernandez (43:34):
because it also includes Pokemon in gen two, gen
three and beyond.
If they used a Kanto Pokemon,
Angelo (43:43):
Yes.
David Hernandez (43:44):
So, Exeggutor is your choice.
It is a Gen 1 Pokemon.
It's also not a normal type.
It's also not water.
It's flying.
Maybe a regional at some point.
And it is part of anevolutionary family.
And it was used by, Blue.
Is kind of what you were goingoff of.
Angelo (44:05):
And if you want to go by yours, I believe Will, the first
Four member of Gen
David Hernandez (44:11):
Used it as well.
Mm hmm Yep, so it has seen usein both elite four as well as
champion probably not has beenused by a gym leader Oh, no, it
has because it was used in goldsilver and crystal by blue.
Angelo (44:21):
Yep.
David Hernandez (44:22):
So is it executor maybe?
What do you
Angelo (44:26):
it is.
David Hernandez (44:27):
you hope it is?
Angelo (44:28):
I'm sticking with it.
David Hernandez (44:30):
All right, it is not Exeggutor
Angelo (44:35):
Oh no.
What is it?
David Hernandez (44:37):
you really want to know
Angelo (44:39):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, you've, you've, you mademe go through this process.
I definitely want to know.
David Hernandez (44:44):
Does mystery treasures ring a bell for you?
Angelo (44:48):
Mystery Treasures,
David Hernandez (44:49):
mysterious treasures
Angelo (44:51):
Treasures, the That was the second set of the Diamond
and Pearl series.
David Hernandez (44:56):
Any particular card in there?
Angelo (44:59):
Oh my god, it was Alakazam, and the reason
David Hernandez (45:01):
Yeah.
Angelo (45:03):
Okay, so Yusei Mysterious Treasures, that is,
so I went to the MysteriousTreasures pre release and I
pulled that Alakazam
David Hernandez (45:11):
hmm.
Angelo (45:12):
it came up uh, so we didn't get into this really.
the artwork for the Alakazamcard in Pocket is the Mysterious
Treasures Alakazam.
And yeah, that is uh, that isdefinitely a good, poll.
David Hernandez (45:29):
Angelo, thank you before you go.
If people want to connect withyou, if they want to check out
little roots lessons, where canthey go?
By all means, please plug away
Angelo (45:37):
And here we go, everyone, uh, you can find us,
at Literary Lessons on Blue Sky.
You can find me at Rose TintedCheeks, Ro with an R H O, on
Blue Sky as well.
all of our stuff is found on allpodcasters you can find this
podcast on.
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, if thatstill exists, Google Podcasts.
(46:00):
Uh, along with our YouTube page,which is also where you can find
a lot of other great stuff thatwe do.
Including the little record thatI told you about.
We've been putting out weeklypodcasts since, I believe, March
or 2020, and we don't plan onstopping, so every Monday, tune
(46:20):
in to Literal Lessons.
Hi, I'm Angelo from Literate Lessons, and this is my
(00:02):
Pokémon story.
David Hernandez (00:43):
Welcome to, as the pokeball turns, where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez I'mjoined by Angelo from little
root lessons podcast.
Angelo.
Thank you for coming on thepodcast.
Angelo (00:57):
Thank you for having me, David.
Uh, this this has been,something that we've been trying
to get done for, a couplemonths.
life gets in the way, but superexcited to be sitting on the
other side of the microphone, soto speak.
David Hernandez (01:08):
Let's give the listeners an idea of how much
work we've had to go to this.
You know, we had to travel bysea.
I had to take a plane, then afire alarm gone off, and then my
dogs went crazy.
And then all of a sudden I hadto eat dinner and then all of a
sudden my mic didn't want towork.
And then all of a sudden I needto take a nap.
It's been exhausting.
We haven't even recorded.
Angelo (01:28):
It absolutely has been, and that's not going the fact
that I had to travel literallythrough space and time to get
here.
I need to catch Dialga andPalkia, we're talking two
versions, to do the trades, alot of work.
David Hernandez (01:42):
And then I had to run a Giovanni and the team
rocket was trying to kidnapPikachu again.
It's just an entire mess.
Just trying to record this oneepisode.
the universe was trying to stopthis from happening.
Angelo (01:52):
But we're here, and it's beautiful, it's going to be a
great episode, I'm excited.
David Hernandez (01:56):
It is, it is now, Angelo, I appreciate you
reaching out to me and, youknow, before we dive into all
your journey and, dive into likeyou being a podcaster, What is
it about you wanting to do apodcast with Pokemon that
started this whole thing?
Angelo (02:10):
So, when you're saying like, starting the podcast, I
got into podcasting, It wasn'tthe direct way a lot of people
do it where, as you were tellingme beforehand David, where you
said, Hi, I want to make thiscontent.
I love Pokemon.
This is the passion project Ican do.
For me, so Literate Lessonsisn't of my own creation.
(02:32):
the creation is from Carl Wilkinand Carter Noble, two VCC
players, and two of my dearfriends.
and a little before COVID, Iwant to say it was February of
2020, the two of them, theyalready had a Magic the
Gathering podcast, but they werereally getting out of Magic,
decided to make a Pokemonpodcast, specifically for
Pokemon VGC.
(02:53):
They end up posting the podcast,2020 Angelo Finds It.
I already knew about VGC, Swordand Shield just came out, and I
was thinking, hey, let me getinto it a little more, and the
podcast was kind of my gatewayinto it.
I joined their community, becomefriends with these guys, long
story short, Carl had his firstkid and wanted to step away from
(03:16):
the week to week recording side.
And since I was already comingin as a guest, I was so close
with these guys we already had.
The rapport you need to do apodcast with multiple guests,
myself and another one of ourfriends jay we joined as two new
hosts along with carter to Havethis new literal lessons.
So A roundabout way of answeringyour question I never chose this
(03:41):
I was kind of Put into this andvery happy I was put into this.
Uh, Being able to spend multiplehours a week talking with my
friends about a game I love somuch, and a game that brought
all of us together, is justprobably one of the best
privileges someone can have.
David Hernandez (04:00):
So what you're saying is the Pokemon podcast,
you didn't choose the Pokemonpodcast life, the Pokemon
podcast life chose you.
Angelo (04:06):
Absolutely.
David Hernandez (04:07):
Okay.
What nickname did he give you?
Angelo (04:09):
it gave me the nickname of Ro, and if you are a Little
Root Lessons listener, or justsomeone in the general VGC
sphere, a little funny story onhow I got that name, in the
Literate Lessons Discord server,Carter's, username for a while
there was Mr.
Missouri, that's the state thatCarl and Carter are from.
And, Everyone was doing Mr.
(04:32):
and then State Name, and it wasall Ms.
And I didn't realize it wassupposed to be a Mr.
M thing.
So I made my name Mr.
Rhode Island because I wanted tobe in on the joke, but I wasn't
actually in on the joke.
And, after a while of that, Iwas just under as Mr.
Rhode Island, or Mr.
R.
I.
that's the state I'm from.
(04:53):
we were in a voice chat, and oneof the other Mods and members of
the Little Lessons community,Swede, Swede's wife asked him
who he's talking to and he said,Oh, I'm talking to Carter and
Ro, shortening Mr.
Rhode Island to just Ro.
And I was like, I like that,that kinda sticks.
And I just rolled with it thatI'm just Ro, and that's what
(05:16):
I've been going by in thePokemon sphere.
Along with my actual name, Idon't make my actual name a
secret.
but yeah, that's kind of how Igot Roe.
It was just a one off thing afriend said to his wife, and
became kind of part of myidentity for the last four and a
half years.
David Hernandez (05:32):
It's kind of cool.
How you said, you know, afranchise you love kind of
brought y'all together and evenmore so it's all through
competitive y'all compete inPokemon, trying to earn your
chance to world to try to be thebest that nobody ever was.
What is it about competitivePokemon that interests you and
made you want to get engaged inthat part of the franchise?
Angelo (05:51):
I am a competitive person.
I was an athlete, in highschool.
I, in middle school, I was along distance runner and I just
loved competing and due to somehealth issues I've had pretty
much ever since I graduated highschool, I wasn't able to keep
that athleticism, that, thatlevel of competition.
(06:12):
And so, I've always been playingPokemon, really not even just
VGC.
going back to when I was very,very young, when I was in middle
school, early parts of highschool.
my brother and I actually playedthe trading card game
competitively.
this was back when there wasn'teven a VGC when we started.
It was, like, Worlds was solelythe card game.
(06:34):
so when I was a lot younger,back in generation 4, I went and
played the card gamecompetitively, my brother and I,
at the local card shops near us.
Uh, it was a lot smaller backthen.
The card game.
That was the only officialcompetitive outlet for Pokemon.
And I loved collecting thecards.
That's one of the ways I gotinto the Pokemon franchise to
(06:56):
start.
And I was one of the kids whoactually read the rule book that
came with the theme decks tofigure out how to play this
game.
And we would go to tournamentsfor that.
my brother and I both step asideplaying the card game
competitively for otherextracurriculars, mainly sports.
And between not being able to,Do the sport that did for so
(07:19):
long and also wanting to getback into playing the Pokemon
that I loved playingcompetitively.
I decided to go with VGC insteadof the TCG because I was already
buying the game and it wascheaper.
And I was thinking, hey, I canjust use the online ladder.
I was never thinking I'd begoing to tournaments.
Or, recording a weekly podcastcovering all these events.
(07:43):
And once I got into it,everything just snowballed.
This was also when the COVIDshutdowns happened as well.
David Hernandez (07:50):
Oh, wow.
Angelo (07:51):
nothing else for me to do.
But listen to Pokemon podcasts,watch Cybertron and Wolfie
videos, and just obsess overPicolytics usage stats to figure
out like which Pokemon I shoulduse.
And it's just something that'slike really, really kept with me
because of the people that I metand the connections and friends
(08:14):
I met uh, play in this game.
David Hernandez (08:17):
At the time when you were into playing
Pokemon TCG.
Was it difficult to kind oflearn by yourself at first or
did you immediately step intotrying to.
Find the locals to kind of helpyou advance in the game.
Angelo (08:29):
So I was a member of a league.
There was a local card shop theyhad both Friday, And Saturday
just free to play leagues youshow up you play your matches
with whoever else was there.
It was a free for all notournament Very fun sort of
thing just play who was aroundif you want to play people like
(08:49):
two three times in a row Youcould do that.
You could switch up decks it'ssomething that We found, and it
was like a really great place tolearn, meet people who just
weren't, in your school or inyour town, that also had this
love of Pokemon.
This was back in that weird timewhere, Pokemon wasn't the cool
thing or the big thing as it isnow.
(09:10):
I don't know.
I always, I wouldn't say I feltembarrassed that I played
Pokemon, but it's not somethingI would bring up at school
because it's like one of thethings where, oh, you still play
Pokemon and you get made fun of.
David Hernandez (09:19):
It was like one of them little secrets that you
didn't really bring the publicbecause at the least for me, I
remember it was more Yu Gi Oh ormore being in the sports.
If you were in a Pokemon, you'relike, what the hell's wrong with
you?
Kind of thing.
Angelo (09:30):
yeah, it was definitely that.
And especially I was in middleschool and every middle schooler
is just awkward.
Uh, so it was one of the thingswhere it was nice where it was
something I was so passionateabout.
And it was a place where I can.
be with people who had this samepassion and enjoyment about
Pokemon as I did.
And I wasn't completely alone.
(09:51):
I have a younger brother whoalso played Pokemon with me and
we would both go to tournamentstogether and we would play
against each other at home andtest decks against each other.
And so I always had that withhim as well.
So not like I was fully, fullyalone, but it was like one of
the things where we had a leaguefunny thing about the person who
(10:13):
owns that card shop, that cardshop ended up getting sold about
15 or so years ago, and one ofthe non Pokemon things I do, I'm
a Freemason.
And one of the days, I'm at mylodge, the building where we
meet, and see this guy here,haven't him at the lodge before,
and he looks familiar, and I goup to him, like, hey, are you so
(10:35):
and so?
Did you used to own this cardshop?
And he looked at me, he's like,Angelo, is that you?
Like, he completely, recognizedme.
And he's like, I remember whenyou were not even twelve, like
ten.
and it's like one of the thingswhere, like, literal full
circle, the person who owned theshop that helped give me this
(10:57):
passion, I now see weekly.
Uh, he met my wife at my largestChristmas party, I said, Babe.
If you want to know why I'm a29, 30 year old man child blame
this man
David Hernandez (11:10):
It's his fault.
Although I'm not complainingthough.
Angelo (11:12):
No No, not at all
David Hernandez (11:16):
It brings actually an interesting story.
I've never shared before.
So back when I was younger andyou know, I saw a commercial
saying like, you should go joinyour local Pokemon league and
I'm like, you can earn a badge.
I'm like, I can be like AshKetchum, but like you, I was
ashamed.
I was like, I don't know what tosay.
I feel kind of embarrassed.
So one day I go to a car shop ina closed down mall called six
(11:39):
it's in Arlington.
and I went inside and there wasa car shop, it was supposed to
be a league and I go to thestore and I'm like, Hey, do I
get to be a part?
I'm like whispering.
How do I get to be a part of thebook?
And because there's guys, youknow, shopping other stuff and
looking around for, you know,whatever that was.
And the guy is like, I cannothear you, man.
And I keep whispering.
(11:59):
I'm like, Hey, I'm just tryingto find out where the Pokemon
league.
And I'm just so embarrassed.
I don't know what to say.
Cause there's people next to me,there's a card owner.
I have no idea what I'm supposedto be asking.
And then eventually I just, hesaid something like, Oh, it's
not happening tonight, and Ijust ran out cause I was just.
So nervous I wasn't comfortablebeing in my own skin asking
about a Pokemon leg, but it'sjust a different time that
thankfully people nowadays don'tget to, thankfully, don't have
(12:21):
to experience.
Angelo (12:22):
Yeah, it is really weird where I think that's one of the
things that really helped it ispokemon go And all of us Nerdy
kids who didn't fall off Pokemonafter Gen 1 or Gen 2.
and now we're just all adultsand we just don't care.
I also think that just thegrowth of Pokemon, it's the
number one media franchise inthe entire world.
(12:44):
Bigger than Star Wars, biggerthan Mario, bigger than Mickey
Mouse.
it's like unavoidable whereyeah, you could say like
everyone knows what it is now.
It's not just this late 90searly aughts fad And everyone's
just cool with it
David Hernandez (13:01):
So obviously you're more involved with VGC
nowadays, but at the time youoriginally started with TCG,
were you not much into the gameside of Pokemon at the time?
Or
Angelo (13:10):
So, I was in a household that was a no video game
household for a while.
My first actual experience withPokemon was back in 99.
and before the kids were pickedup, we would have like a TV
time, and people can bring inVHSs, remember those?
David Hernandez (13:26):
Oh my gosh, people don't even know what
those are anymore.
Angelo (13:29):
Yeah, look it up.
you don't know what it is, lookit up.
But yeah, so, some kid broughtin a Pokemon VHS, and the first
ever experience with Pokemon Isaw, it was the episode that Ash
caught Muk.
And that was my first thing Ithought was cool.
And this was right around whenthe first movie was coming out
as well.
So there were all thesecommercials.
(13:51):
The show was everywhere.
And I think I was at the rightage where I saw the show.
And my dad, he loves collectingcards.
he used to trade Baseball cardsand go to the big baseball card
shows so when he saw that thisinterest I had had a card aspect
to it He would buy me and mybrother packs and we started
collecting in that sense Itwasn't until I was like 9 a
(14:14):
little after fire in the leafgreen came out is When I got a
game boy and I got the Pokemonvideo game But I always kept
that love of the cards becausethat is what Started me with
everything and As I said beforeWhen I we going to leagues and
everything and just playingcompetitively There was no VGC
(14:36):
at the time back in oh six therewas a tournament called the
journey across America That Iwas too young to even understand
what that was.
was, that's kind of what peoplewill point to as one of the
first official competitivedoubles tournaments.
Hulk Hogan was actually thecommentator for finals at Bryant
(14:57):
Park in New York, for thatevent.
that's not a bit, that's real.
Look it up so, yeah, like it, ifI, for me to play competitively,
it was always just.
But I knew when VGC became athing, I knew about it.
I just never dove into it,really.
One of the biggest issues withVGC, especially back then, is It
(15:17):
can be a little daunting to getinto, as someone who is 12 or 13
years old, having to look upEVs, IVs, nature, breeding, and
this was before there werenature mints, before there were
bottle caps, really, like, backin Gen 4 and Gen 5, before there
was even to pass down IVs usingA 6IV ditto and a Destiny knot
(15:41):
like it literally was justrandom and there was so much
work that needed to be done Toget a team that it was just too
daunting to get into
David Hernandez (15:50):
To even add on, there was even before Flame Body
was a thing, because Flame Bodywas only one game in those
generation of games.
So you were literally hatchingthe entire mount.
There was no reductionwhatsoever.
Mm hmm.
Angelo (16:00):
And not to mention needing to get legendaries
having to soft reset there is areally really great youtube
channel i'm a blissey Please Andthey mostly deal with, RNG
manipulation, but what they dois, they'll have a video where
like they went and made thefirst world champion team.
And, they'll be like, I'm gonnamake this team from scratch, I'm
(16:24):
gonna record everything I do,and I'm gonna tell you how long
it takes me to make this team.
And, some of the earlier teams,20, I believe it was like, he
did a video, they did a video onRayRizzo's 2010 Worlds team.
And, it took them well over 5060 hours to make this 6 Pokemon
(16:45):
team.
David Hernandez (16:46):
Only 50 to 60 hours.
Wow Yeah,
Angelo (16:49):
was and now it's you can and now it's a lot easier You
can make a team In two to threehours and honestly, you could
probably do it a lot fasterthere's been times where Before
a local I decide to make two orthree changes on my team And i'm
able to make all those changeswithin 30 minutes or so
David Hernandez (17:10):
you bring up so many points about the archaic
side of competitive on the TCGside You have a point your first
time when you and your brotherjust going and you are just
randomly playing You're not evenlike having to pay an entry fee.
You're not having to be linkedup together Y'all just playing
people who are actually thereIt's just like a little
gathering before nowadays if youplay TCG you have to sign up
(17:31):
you're paired together There's awhole database behind it.
Keep in mind this is even beforecomputers were more advanced to
what they are now You And thenwhen we flip the mirror to both
VGC, VGC, it was difficult toget, the ideal IVs.
You're spending hours trying toget the right Pokemon.
you don't have the items, theabilities are way limited and
the speed of trying to get thatis more, way more grindy than it
(17:53):
is nowadays.
How does it feel to just seeingthat early part of competitive
Pokemon and what it takes towhat it is now?
Angelo (18:01):
I really can't speak to too much of the VGC side, that
would be better for, there's alot of, I, affectionately call
them, a lot of old heads who canspeak to that significantly more
than I can.
I knew the process, I knew aboutit, but even then it's not
something I never reallyattempted to do.
Until I'd say Gen 6, Gen 7 iswhen I first actually tried
(18:24):
starting to even just forspecific natures But I think the
biggest thing was with the TCGIt was always easier to just
play that because worst casescenario if you were missing a
card, you could just buy it WhenI played specifically the cards
really weren't that expensive.
There was only one crazyexpensive card back then a
(18:46):
Luxray G level X Which was, atthe time, an 80 card.
everything else was justcheaper.
there this was the Pokemon Lulz,so there wasn't a 200 300
Pikachu card coming out everyother set.
And you have the Elite TrainerBoxes going for 150, and
Scalpers going crazy.
(19:07):
I played TCG, that wasn't athing whatsoever.
So, if there was a single cardyou needed, if you had the
dollar or two it would take, youcould just buy it.
And that was a lot easiercompared to VGC, where it was a
lot, a lot, a lot of work.
For minimal payout in a lot ofcases, like, honestly, a lot of
(19:29):
things you weren't in controlover.
Nintendo and the Pokemoncompany, they definitely have
looked into trying to fix it.
Every generation it feels likeit becomes easier, or relatively
easier, to Get your Pokemon,Scarlet and Violet had a lot of
good things, but there were afew aspects of Scarlet and
Violet that I think were takingsteps backwards.
In terms of trying to getPokemon, the good things they
(19:52):
did were making bottle capslevel 50 cap instead of a level
100 cap.
it's super easy to get yourPokemon up to level 50.
David Hernandez (20:00):
Very much so.
Yeah.
Angelo (20:02):
with all of the experience candies.
The way Egg Moves work now, youjust need an item, the Mirror
Herb, and it's not like you haveto breed the Pokemon to get the
Egg Move.
You just have the two of them inthe party together, holding this
item, and as long as it has theempty move slot, it just gets
it.
That's something that saves alot of time.
The worst feeling was to hitthat, perfect IV Pokemon with
(20:25):
the nature and everything andthen you look at it and you
realize that you used the wrongparent that Didn't have the egg
move and you got to start thewhole process over again.
I'm not saying I ever did thatMaybe who can say?
But now it's very easy, it's ohI forgot to give my Incineroar a
fake out Well, grab a fake outPokemon and it's here now on the
(20:48):
other side of things and thismight just be a me thing, I
really hate how they havebreeding in generation 9.
I just don't think it's anefficient cycle of getting eggs.
It's probably my least favoritepart of gen 9, is just what they
did to breeding for Pokemoneggs.
And the Terra Shards, especiallyearly on, I Getting 50 Terra
(21:12):
Shards is very, very difficultfor a specific type.
And, in this generation, a lotof times you'll need to change a
Pokemon's Terra type.
for defensive purposes, even forcertain offensive purposes.
Like, Dragonite will run TerraNormal a lot in order for it to
get a same type attack boost onextreme speed.
(21:33):
And they weren't giving out,like, a Terra Normal Dragonite.
So it's not something you couldbring down, you have to change
it, you have to get the 50normal Terror Shards, and if
you're unlucky in terms of yourown raids, and you can't get the
Blizzy raids, or you're notgetting the right online raids,
then you literally might not beable to get that specific thing
(21:55):
you need for your Pokemon.
that would be my biggest, like,downside.
whatever regional gimmick theyhave in Generation 10, I hope
that it's just something that iseasy to slap on.
such as what Dynamax was, or ZMoves, or Mega Evolutions.
Where it was either justavailable from the get go as is,
(22:15):
or an easy to obtain item.
Instead of it being a very toobtain item you need 50 of.
David Hernandez (23:10):
Do you have a particular favorite generation
of games that you enjoyedplaying?
Angelo (23:14):
So gen three and gen four, because those were my
childhood generations.
I think the generation when youwere nine through 12 is the
coolest generation So I have alot of fond memories of playing
those games.
I remember buying my Ds andgetting Diamond and pearl the
same day or like getting heartgold, soul silver with my
brother and playing throughthose games.
(23:36):
And of course the Gen 3 games aswell, getting Sapphire and Leaf
Green for Christmas.
I think every Pokemon fan canremember the Christmas, when
they got their first Game Boyand Pokemon game.
Cause that's probably the bestChristmas you ever had.
But, on a competitive side, I'veonly really played Gen 8 and Gen
9 competitively.
as much crap as Sword and Shieldgets, I do have a really soft
(23:59):
spot for it.
That was the game that reallymade me fall back in love with
Pokemon.
I played the Gen 6 games, Iplayed the Gen 7 games, really
didn't like Gen 7.
I felt like the Alolan gameswere a slog to get through.
And once I beat the Elite Four,I didn't really go back to those
games.
at that point, I'd say, like,Pokemon Go, honestly, was a
(24:21):
bigger part of how I enjoyedPokemon than the video game or
the cards.
And it was Gen 8 and gettinginto VGC that really got me back
into loving the video gameproper.
I know Dexit is controversial.
they were the unpopular games.
(24:41):
I don't know.
I just really, really loveGeneration 8 as a whole.
It's always going to have a softspot in my heart.
Dynamax was a really dumb,competitive mechanic.
David Hernandez (24:53):
yeah,
Angelo (24:54):
I, I will say that I did enjoy it because it didn't
really centralize things in anyPokemon can use it.
as for mechanics overall, I knowI just went in a rant on how
ization made.
Getting your Pokemon difficultrationalization is the best
mechanic out of any of thecompetitive mechanics we've had.
it can be used offensively anddefensively.
(25:14):
Any Pokemon can use it.
at least four of your Pokemonthroughout a tournament run will
use this mechanic.
Some more than others, butyou'll have that usage.
While Dynamax While it could beused defensively because it
doubles your HP, it usually wasreserved for your big sweeper.
my best result was at SecaucusRegionals I finished in 21st
(25:34):
place and I ran a team withDialga and Calrec Shadow.
And I didn't Dynamax Dialga inonly two games.
because the entire team wasbuilt around maximizing the
dynamax alga turns.
And on the other whenever I'vegone to events with
rationalization, I might izethree different Pokemon for
(25:57):
three different reasons I mightneed.
the extra damage output from aTerra Water on Urshifu Rapid
Strike.
I might need the defensiveoutput of a Terra Water on
Amoongus, and it could changegame to game, and different
Pokémon can play those differentroles, and that's the really
cool part Terrastilization.
David Hernandez (26:16):
so I kind of want to go back to when you
became part of little rootlessons, you said you were
listening back in 2020 and youweren't.
Part of the podcast the time,you were just a listener.
What was it about Little RudeLessons that appeal to you as a
listener and made you want toget involved within their
community?
Angelo (26:32):
So, a couple things.
There were other Pokemonpodcasts at the time, and I
think I've said this to Carl andCarter, so when they hear this,
they won't get insulted.
Uh, there was another podcast aswell, that started around the
same time as LittleRootLessons,that I also listen to.
And both LittleRootLessons andthis other podcast would go and
(26:55):
say, Hey, if you wanna part ofour community, join our Discord.
And I thought that the otherpodcast discord was for Patreon
members only.
And Literary Lessons was justfree.
So I said, well, I'm broke.
So looks like I'm going withLiterary Lessons and
David Hernandez (27:13):
I'm sorry.
Angelo (27:14):
no no, come, come to find out that I was wrong and I
was able to join the otherpodcast server, which I did, but
the vibes weren't great, thevibes, I just fit with the vibes
at Literary Lessons, listeningto.
Carl and Carter, even from thestart, it just sounded like
listening to two old friends.
Their banter, because the two ofthem are very close friends.
(27:35):
They've known each other foryears before they even started
recording the podcast.
It just felt very comfortable.
And just being around thecommunity more, again,
especially during the start ofCOVID 19 during lockdown, it
just gave me another communityof, hey, we It doesn't matter if
that we're doing this allonline.
We can't go in anywhere anyways,so I don't know.
(27:57):
It just started with us allhanging out, doing raid nights,
in the Dynamax raids, hostinglittle community tournaments on
Pokemon Showdown, and I justbecame very, very close with
Carl and Carter, throughouteverything, along with the rest
of the mod squad, and Throughall of that, my first appearance
on episode 117 was my, wastalking about my Secaucus
(28:20):
Regionals run And that was thestart of me hopping on the
podcast.
And then as things progressed,specifically when Carl's, wife
got pregnant.
He started trying to step backand any of the days he couldn't
go on, I would just step in.
And then it turned into, Cartermight have had something pop up
(28:41):
that week and he wasn't able torecord, so He's like, okay, well
Angelo's already been steppingin for Carl, have him step in
for Carter.
as we said, the podcast life wascalling me.
then, that's when I became oneof the full time co hosts.
And from that point forward,it's been, as long as I don't
(29:02):
personally have something goingon that week, every Sunday,
sitting down and talking Mons.
David Hernandez (29:07):
What is it like to kind of develop that kind of
social relationship initiallywith Carter and Carl?
Was it kind of awkward to kindof be a part of that duo or did
y'all, you kind of fit in like aperfect glove?
Angelo (29:17):
We fit in perfectly.
Uh, I never asked, Hey, everyonewould joke like, Hey, when are
we going on the pod?
When are we going on the pod?
But I never asked to actuallybecome a full time member of the
show.
I want it to be known.
I did not shoehorn my way into,it, like parasocially, whatever.
We, just had a lot of othercommon interests.
(29:38):
It wasn't just Pokemon.
We loved food.
We loved talking about sports..
And then it just became, okay,we're talking every day.
because of this, honestly, whatended up turning into a mods
group chat meeting of the minds.
we all just would talk in that,even just outside of the Discord
server, daily.
Hey, this is what's going on inmy life, or this is how work's
(30:00):
going for me.
And, it was just kind of likeorganically becoming friends
that way.
And then, when things changedand Carl wasn't able to, Beyond
the pot as much they went side.
Okay.
Well, who can we trust who arelike that?
We have this rapport with andit's okay Well Angelo and J
because we already talk withthem daily we would help them if
(30:22):
they needed ideas for what totalk about We already be saying
hey, maybe you should talk aboutthis or maybe we should go over
this Along with us just hoppingon and being guests on the show
Whenever we were needed anywaysYou
David Hernandez (30:34):
Since you've been a part of it, how has being
connected with both Carter andCarl in Little Root Lessons
affected your journey when itcomes to competitive Pokémon?
Do you think you would still beas involved if it wasn't for
them?
Angelo (30:45):
I think I still would be.
I'm very close to my localcommunity.
the New England locals, I loveall of you.
cause, you're gonna listen tothis cause I'm gonna post it
every single place I see youall.
Um, and yeah, it's like, Ireally, really love my locals.
I'm very lucky the New Englandarea is probably one of the
more, if not one of the mostactive areas.
(31:07):
Thank you very much.
And there's just a lot oftalented players and a lot of us
just got really, really close.
once we had live events return,it just became a thing where we
met and we were able to see eachother in person.
And actually meet other peoplethat we never met before,
because we were actually able toplay the game in person again,
(31:28):
and it just became a massivefamily.
So I think in that sense, Istill will be playing, I'm not
going for my world's invite, Iunderstand that.
the stage I am in my life, Idon't have the time or the
financial freedom in that senseto travel around to regionals to
try to get a world's invite.
my happiness with that is when Isee my friends.
(31:52):
who succeed and they're able tomake worlds up.
Just recently, my friend AnthonyLondrigan who is one of my dear
friends, he is one of themembers of, my team building
group.
And he just had two top cupfinishes, and I saw the amount
of work he was putting intoeverything, and wasn't getting
the results that matched theeffort.
(32:13):
And to just to see my friendhave the effort that he put into
this match the results, and seehis name.
in the top or top 16, which isvery difficult to do.
that in itself is where I'mgetting, I'd say, most of my
competitive joy, outside ofgoing to a local every now and
again.
It's just seeing my friends,people I try to help as much as
(32:36):
I can, succeed at this game.
David Hernandez (32:38):
And you get the chance to highlight them on
little words lessons Is thatkind of the inspiration behind
doing this interview series?
Angelo (32:44):
Yes and no.
So, my first appearance inLiterary Lessons was to cover A
tournament that I was in and oneof the issues, not really an
issue, but one of thecircumstances of us having a lot
more events now, is we'll have alot of weekends where it's back
to back events.
for example, If there wassomeone from Birmingham
(33:05):
regionals that I wanted to talkto, I would have to either push
him back a week later, whichmeans I'm not covering San
Antonio or wait two weeks.
And now it's kind of thatregional is out of the circle,
the meta's already changedbecause it had another regional
right after, and it's kind of amoot point.
So, the Literate Record gave methe opportunity to be able to
(33:28):
pull on from these playerswhere, hey, if there's someone I
want to talk to for BirminghamRegionals, maybe we aren't
recording on the podcast proper,I can get them on Monday,
Tuesday, and on Wednesday,Thursday, I'll be able to get
that.
Video out and so we can havethat immediate impact.
This is what happened right whenit happened interview the week
(33:49):
of the event or at least theweek immediately after the event
instead of pushing it out tothree more weeks.
That and I also just loveyapping with my friends.
A lot of the other guests wereworld's competitors who are my
locals and talking about theirJourney on getting to worlds for
that year.
We had a handful of people dothat and That was also just
(34:12):
really fun to be able to talk topeople who are the top of the
top of this game
David Hernandez (34:17):
And what we learned today is that when Ash
was bragging about being top 16in indigo league He had a very
good reason to brag 16 forobvious reasons
Angelo (34:27):
no, it's it's like Especially now there's many
people at these tournaments PreCOVID, especially the format
immediately before generation,the Sword and Shield started,
uh, that was Ultra Series in2019.
Ultra Series was a toorestricted Pokemon format, uh,
(34:47):
restricted Pokemon for those ofyou who don't know.
It's your box legendary, yourKyogre, your Groudon, so on
David Hernandez (34:53):
You ready you guys?
Angelo (34:55):
No, Regigigas is not a restricted.
David Hernandez (34:57):
Shh, don't tell them.
Don't tell them.
Angelo (34:59):
It's also, it's also bad.
But, but anyways, that was aformat where you would have 40,
50 person regionals.
Because the game was just, atthat point, stale.
People were sick of playing onthe 3DS, they wanted something
new.
And restricted formats, ingeneral, since they are
(35:21):
dominated by these biglegendaries, they aren't super
popular.
And so yeah, making top 16 in anevent like that, not as great.
It's so, yeah, if you make top16, top 32, even making day 2,
and just getting that top 128sphere, you're playing out of
your mind.
this is a tough game, this isnot an easy game to play.
(35:43):
it's so easy to watch a streamon YouTube or watch, whether
it's Wolfie, Or Cybertron orwhichever of the many YouTubers
that do ladder streaming nowPlay and it's oh I could do
that.
No, it's incredibly difficult.
Chess that's mixed with rockpaper scissors And there's a
timer and everyone around you isalso just incredibly talented
(36:07):
the skill level of your averageplayer is a lot higher than it's
been
David Hernandez (36:12):
Well, Angelo, I want to finish on this last
segment before you go.
Angelo (36:16):
Sure.
David Hernandez (36:17):
Now, I gotta ask you, how well do you know
your Pokemon?
Angelo (36:19):
Pretty well.
David Hernandez (36:20):
Pretty well.
So we're gonna test that out.
Returning to the podcast isWhat's That Pokemon?
Where there are over 1, 000Pokemon, but the only one that
matters is the one I'm thinkingabout.
Here's what you have to do.
You have to guess which PokemonI'm thinking about.
Before you have to make thatguess, you have 10 questions you
(36:42):
can ask me, but they have to bein a yes or no format.
After those 10 questions, youhave to guess which Pokemon I'm
thinking out based on theinformation you gathered.
Angelo (36:52):
Yeah.
I'm ready.
David Hernandez (36:54):
So Angelo, what is going to be your first
question
Angelo (37:00):
Hmm.
Is the Pokemon from generationfive or later?
David Hernandez (37:07):
is the Pokemon I'm thinking about gen five or
after.
Got your question?
Angelo (37:11):
Yes.
David Hernandez (37:12):
It is not after Gen 5.
We're on question number 2.
Angelo (37:19):
Hmm.
Is it a normal type?
David Hernandez (37:23):
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of a normal type?
It is not a normal type.
We're on question number 3.
Angelo (37:33):
Is the Pokemon from, hmm, I think I'm, I think I'm
gonna stick with thesegeneration questions first to
try to focus on the generation.
David Hernandez (37:44):
That's bad
Angelo (37:46):
is it from Gen 3 or 4?
David Hernandez (37:49):
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of from Gen 3 or 4?
It is not from Gen 3 or 4.
We're on question number 4,oddly enough.
Angelo (38:00):
Is it a Gen 1 Pokemon?
David Hernandez (38:04):
the Pokemon I'm thinking of from Gen 1?
It is a Gen 1 Pokemon.
Angelo (38:10):
Okay,
David Hernandez (38:11):
We're halfway there.
We're on question number five.
Angelo (38:16):
Is it a water type?
David Hernandez (38:18):
Oh, that's a good question.
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of awater type?
It is not a water type.
we know that it's not after genthree, four or five.
It's not a normal type.
We know it's a gen one Pokemon.
We know it's not a water type.
We're on question number six.
Angelo (38:39):
Is it a flying type?
David Hernandez (38:42):
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of a flying type?
It is not a flying type.
We're on question number seven.
It
Angelo (38:52):
Is it part, okay.
Does the Pokemon And tell me ifthis is too specific, is it part
of an evolutionary family?
So like, does it evolve, is it aPokemon that can evolve, or is
evolved,
David Hernandez (39:08):
is the Pokemon I'm thinking of part of an
evolutionary family?
It is part of an evolutionaryfamily.
We're on question number eightbefore you have to make your
guess.
You got three more questions.
Angelo (39:25):
Hmm, does a Gym Leader or Elite Four member use this
Pokemon?
David Hernandez (39:34):
Does a gym leader or an elite four member
use this Pokemon?
That's your question.
Angelo (39:41):
Yes.
David Hernandez (39:43):
Yes.
A gym leader or an elite fourmember does use this Pokemon.
Angelo (39:48):
Throw open
David Hernandez (39:51):
question.
Number nine, before Angelo hasto make the guess, will he
figure it out?
Angelo (39:59):
Okay, so Just one moment
David Hernandez (40:04):
I
Angelo (40:06):
The pressure on is it a poison type?
David Hernandez (40:13):
Mmmmm.
Is the Pokemon I'm thinking of apoison type?
It is not a poison type.
We are on question number 10.
Last question before you have tomake a guess.
Angelo (40:30):
Oh god, I feel like I've gotten nowhere.
David Hernandez (40:34):
Well, you got somewhere we know it's a Gen 1
Pokemon.
We know it's not normal.
We know it's not water.
We know it's not flying.
We know it's part of anevolutionary family.
We know a Gym Leader or an EliteFour member has used this
Pokemon.
And we know it's not poison.
Angelo (40:50):
Yes.
David Hernandez (40:51):
Question number 10.
Last question before you have tomake the guess.
Angelo (40:56):
Pokemon an evolved Pokemon?
David Hernandez (41:00):
For the final question, Is the Pokemon I'm
thinking of an evolved Pokemon?
it is an evolved Pokemon.
Angelo (41:11):
Okay.
David Hernandez (41:11):
So you've used all your questions Angelo.
Before you make your guess, weknow it's Gen 1, we know it's
not a normal type, we know it'snot a water type, we know it's
not a flying type, we know it'snot a poison type, we know it
was used by an Elite Four or aGym Leader, and we know that it
is part of an evolutionaryfamily, and that it is an
(41:32):
evolved Pokemon.
So now, with the information youhave, what Pokemon do you think
that I'm thinking about?
Of
Angelo (41:40):
a minute.
Okay, so Just going through itAnd all the options the number
of options that the rival hasmakes this tough out all this So
just going through everything Ialready know can't be anything
(42:01):
brock uses because they're justbasic pokemon Can't be anything
Misty uses.
Can't be anything Erika uses orKoga uses.
could be Kadabra or Alakazamfrom Sabrina.
Could be Rapidash or Arcaninefrom Blaine.
Could be Raichu from LieutenantSurge.
(42:23):
Dugtrio or Rhydon from Giovanni.
And on the Elite Four side Uh,the only Pokemon it could be
would be either Machamp fromBruno, none of Agatha's, none of
Lorelei's, only Dragonair fromLance.
(42:44):
And then from the rival, Rhydonagain, Arcanine again, Alakazam
again, or Exeggutor.
David Hernandez (42:53):
Lots of choices.
Angelo (42:54):
are a lot of choices, but it's actually a lot less
than I thought.
And Something about Exeggutor iscalling out to me, so I'm gonna
guess Exeggutor.
David Hernandez (43:06):
Hmm.
Is that your final answer?
Angelo (43:09):
my final answer.
David Hernandez (43:11):
So there was one flaw in your logic
Angelo (43:16):
And that was
David Hernandez (43:17):
on question eight.
You asked, did an elite four orgym leader uses Pokemon?
Angelo (43:26):
a champion, and I didn't say champion.
David Hernandez (43:28):
No, you didn't specify which generation
Angelo (43:31):
Oh, you! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
David Hernandez (43:34):
because it also includes Pokemon in gen two, gen
three and beyond.
If they used a Kanto Pokemon,
Angelo (43:43):
Yes.
David Hernandez (43:44):
So, Exeggutor is your choice.
It is a Gen 1 Pokemon.
It's also not a normal type.
It's also not water.
It's flying.
Maybe a regional at some point.
And it is part of anevolutionary family.
And it was used by, Blue.
Is kind of what you were goingoff of.
Angelo (44:05):
And if you want to go by yours, I believe Will, the first
Four member of Gen
David Hernandez (44:11):
Used it as well.
Mm hmm Yep, so it has seen usein both elite four as well as
champion probably not has beenused by a gym leader Oh, no, it
has because it was used in goldsilver and crystal by blue.
Angelo (44:21):
Yep.
David Hernandez (44:22):
So is it executor maybe?
What do you
Angelo (44:26):
it is.
David Hernandez (44:27):
you hope it is?
Angelo (44:28):
I'm sticking with it.
David Hernandez (44:30):
All right, it is not Exeggutor
Angelo (44:35):
Oh no.
What is it?
David Hernandez (44:37):
you really want to know
Angelo (44:39):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, you've, you've, you mademe go through this process.
I definitely want to know.
David Hernandez (44:44):
Does mystery treasures ring a bell for you?
Angelo (44:48):
Mystery Treasures,
David Hernandez (44:49):
mysterious treasures
Angelo (44:51):
Treasures, the That was the second set of the Diamond
and Pearl series.
David Hernandez (44:56):
Any particular card in there?
Angelo (44:59):
Oh my god, it was Alakazam, and the reason
David Hernandez (45:01):
Yeah.
Angelo (45:03):
Okay, so Yusei Mysterious Treasures, that is,
so I went to the MysteriousTreasures pre release and I
pulled that Alakazam
David Hernandez (45:11):
hmm.
Angelo (45:12):
it came up uh, so we didn't get into this really.
the artwork for the Alakazamcard in Pocket is the Mysterious
Treasures Alakazam.
And yeah, that is uh, that isdefinitely a good, poll.
David Hernandez (45:29):
Angelo, thank you before you go.
If people want to connect withyou, if they want to check out
little roots lessons, where canthey go?
By all means, please plug away
Angelo (45:37):
And here we go, everyone, uh, you can find us,
at Literary Lessons on Blue Sky.
You can find me at Rose TintedCheeks, Ro with an R H O, on
Blue Sky as well.
all of our stuff is found on allpodcasters you can find this
podcast on.
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, if thatstill exists, Google Podcasts.
(46:00):
Uh, along with our YouTube page,which is also where you can find
a lot of other great stuff thatwe do.
Including the little record thatI told you about.
We've been putting out weeklypodcasts since, I believe, March
or 2020, and we don't plan onstopping, so every Monday, tune
(46:20):
in to Literal Lessons.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
This is Gavin Newsom
I’m Gavin Newsom. And, it’s time to have a conversation. It’s time to have honest discussions with people that agree AND disagree with us. It's time to answer the hard questions and be open to criticism, and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one other. I will be doing just that on my new podcast – inviting people on who I deeply disagree with to talk about the most pressing issues of the day and inviting listeners from around the country to join the conversation. THIS is Gavin Newsom.