Retro Pokesprites takes us on a journey through his deep-rooted Pokemon passion, starting with the iconic Pokemon Gold and Silver games. He reveals how his career as a veterinary technician and wildlife biologist fuels his creative spark and strengthens his connection with Pokemon. Learn how Retro Pokesprites brings nostalgia to life, reimagining classic Pokemon in Game Boy Color-style sprites. From his early love for pixel art in Pokemon GSC to his growing online store filled with unique products, this episode dives into how his art combines the worlds of Pokemon, nature, and retro design.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
RetroPokesprites (00:00):
I am Adam Retro pokey Sprites, and this is
(00:02):
my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:42):
Welcome to, as the Pokemon Ball Turns, where we
interview people about theexperience with Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez I'mjoined by Retro Pokey Sprites, a
pixel artist redesigning newerPokemon on retro game boy color
style sprites.
When he isn't creating pixels,you can find him either as a vet
or a wildlife biologist.
(01:04):
welcome to ask the PokemonTurns.
RetroPokesprites (01:06):
Hi.
Thanks for having me.
David Hernandez (01:07):
Absolutely.
And you know, you have a veryunique skillset on one set.
You sound like you're very intothe science animal side of
things.
On the other side, you're alsointo the artist.
Talk to us a little bit aboutyour experience as a biologist
and a vet.
Like how did you get into thatand how does that relate to
Pokemon?
RetroPokesprites (01:23):
Yeah.
you know, I think that myinterest in Pokemon and wildlife
biology and animals more broadlykind of, coincide.
So I've always liked animals.
I've always liked learning aboutnew animals, new, wildlife,
things like that.
and so as I was growing up and Iwas introduced to Pokemon and I
could relate what I saw in thereal, real world to what I could
catch and train in the game, I,I really like those connections.
(01:44):
and I've just kind of grown fromthere.
David Hernandez (01:46):
So when you were growing up, what kind of
animals were you interested?
Like were you insects, reptiles,like dogs.
RetroPokesprites (01:52):
whew.
That's a tough one.
I don't know.
pretty much anything i, I couldlearn about.
I was, focused on dinosaurs, Ithink is a, a common one for a
lot of people, and that wasdefinitely an era of my
childhood that, contributed tomy interest in Pokemon, I think.
David Hernandez (02:04):
You're primarily a vet, I think by
career, but you, I guess youdabble in while, life biologist.
Is that kind of how it
RetroPokesprites (02:10):
Yeah, my, my degree is in wildlife biology.
right now I'm a veterinarytechnician.
I didn't mean to fall into it,but it's, it's kind of what
happened.
during Covid there were some jobchanges and, so I've done a bit
of both, but yeah, right now I'ma vet tech.
David Hernandez (02:22):
for those who aren't familiar, what does it
mean to be a wildlife biologist?
Like what does that kind ofencompass?
RetroPokesprites (02:28):
Yeah, it depends on the, degree that you
have.
But right now I have a, abachelor's degree in wildlife
biology.
So, a lot of what I did inundergrad and probably could do
with this degree is do likefield work and field research
for, PIs and people with upperlevel degrees.
But unfortunately those jobs aremostly seasonal and, they're not
a lot of benefits in security.
(02:48):
So this is a, a more safe spotright now?
David Hernandez (02:51):
Hey, we all gotta go where the money's at
RetroPokesprites (02:52):
Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
David Hernandez (02:54):
I guess going, returning it back to Pokemon, so
clearly you were in a Pokemonwhen you were younger.
What was the first experiencefor you with the franchise?
RetroPokesprites (03:01):
so I think what in like, it was either 2005
or 2006.
my.
Grandpa gave me a copy of,Pokemon Silver and, you know,
it's not like he was playing it.
He worked for Parks and Rec andhe found it at one of the race
tracks he was cleaning.
he, he just found someone'sabandoned copy and a, game boy,
game Boy advanced, like glaciercartridge, whatever that that
(03:23):
is.
David Hernandez (03:23):
Was it like that clear one?
Like that transparent where youcan see the insides
RetroPokesprites (03:26):
Yeah.
Kind of purpley.
yep, yep.
And it didn't have a, a batteryback, so sometimes the batteries
would fall out and yeah.
So that was my first, firstexperience.
David Hernandez (03:34):
Oh, that must have been annoying.
'cause I always imagine, know,those back, if you didn't have
the back of the game, boy it waseasy for the batteries to come
out.
RetroPokesprites (03:41):
Yep.
David Hernandez (03:42):
that you probably had a little bit of a
struggle with that.
RetroPokesprites (03:44):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I ended up putting some tapeover it to, to make sure it
didn't fall out, but then itbecame a pain to change'em out
and all that stuff.
So.
David Hernandez (03:51):
so when you were playing Pokemon Silver and
you know, your grandpa gave itto you, what do you remember
most about those games?
Like were you, going throughJodo and then Canto and like
what started, did you choose
RetroPokesprites (04:01):
Yeah, so
David Hernandez (04:02):
so.
RetroPokesprites (04:03):
I, I can't, I remember, so I have a very
specific story, but I can'tremember if the file had already
been started, Or what the dealwas.
'cause I can't imagine thatwithout a handbook anyone would
really know how to delete a savefile.
So I, I think it was alreadystarted, but it was in New Bark
Town, whatever file had beenstarted, had a chickita.
and so that was my firststarter.
(04:23):
Don't remember if I chose it forsure.
but that was my first everPokemon, so.
David Hernandez (04:27):
It reminds me of when I got one of my
cartridges.
I wanna say it was like maybeeither gold or silver.
No, it had to be silver'cause itwas a used one
RetroPokesprites (04:33):
Hmm.
David Hernandez (04:33):
and I, I opened it up just to see what was
inside of it.
And I remember I got literallyan aero blasts, celibate aero
blasts, lugia, and an aeroblasts mu two.
And now clearly they werehacked, but
RetroPokesprites (04:48):
Right.
David Hernandez (04:48):
young year old eight or 9-year-old self was
like, oh my gosh, they can learnaero blasts.
This, this is amazing.
RetroPokesprites (04:54):
Not quite.
Not quite.
David Hernandez (04:56):
No, no, no, no.
But it was just kind of cooljust to kind of, I feel like
whenever you get something thatyou didn't open, it's almost
like opening a.
Memory box, I guess in a senseto where you find out like how
did they get to this point inthe game?
I think there's some fun intogetting a used game and just
seeing where they progressed andhow they got to that point,
don't you think?
RetroPokesprites (05:14):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I actually, at, some point I hadbought a Japanese copy of White,
I think, and it had a, a filethat was almost completed.
They'd done all the gyms and gotinto the Elite four.
I couldn't read anything, but I,I managed to translate enough
to, beat the game.
And so I, I've now, you know,moved those Pokemon up into
newer games and just like usethem.
And I, I wanna know what theirstory is, but I'll never know.
David Hernandez (05:37):
Ooh.
Tell me though, like how did youget into that Japanese side?
'cause I think you have to get aspecific, me if I'm wrong, I
think you have to give specificregion Ds to play
RetroPokesprites (05:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And a few years ago, I hadbought a Ds, I think an Etsy, a
refurbished one, and thankfullyit was compatible, so I can play
it that way.
but even then, it sometimes hasproblems like loading and, it
is, it is a real copy.
So.
Yeah, I don't know.
I'm grateful that I was able toplay it'cause I didn't read the
description, which said thatthe, you know, the game is
(06:06):
region locked and you can onlyplay it on certain dss, but
thankfully it worked out.
David Hernandez (06:10):
Now, of course, you know, you played through gen
two.
What do you, was it just yourinterest in animals that you
think kept you engaged with thefranchise that let you go on?
Did you keep going on with thegames at that point?
RetroPokesprites (06:20):
Yeah.
so I was in this like summerprogram kind of daycare type
thing, in elementary school.
And so I.
the kids that I hang hung outwith while I was there were all
playing Pokemon, but in 2006,seven they were already playing
Gens three and four.
So I would watch them play andkind of like, not envy'cause I
really liked Silver, but likelook forward and you know, I
(06:42):
would ask for games for,holidays and birthdays going
forward.
And yeah, I just kind of keptwith it.
David Hernandez (06:46):
Do you have a particular favorite region that
you enjoyed playing so far?
Yeah,
RetroPokesprites (06:50):
Yeah, I think I, it's, it's kind of just that,
you know, gens two and threewere my beginnings and I, I feel
like I had the most, significantexperiences during those times,
which is kind of how I came to,you know, do these, these
sprites in the way that I do andall that.
So I think those are probablymy, my favorite regions to
revisit'cause they have the mostnostalgia.
David Hernandez (07:09):
I feel the same way because, and I was falling
through Pokemon for years.
And there was the one point towhere gen three was going to gen
four.
And the Nintendo DS I hadhappened just to break, I was
cut off from playing PokemonDiamond and Pearl and I went
back to playing Gen three,Pokemon, Ruby, Safron, and
Emerald.
I played those games probablymore than any other generation.
(07:29):
I think I played those for likesix years or five years.
I don't know how long the timeperiod would
RetroPokesprites (07:33):
Right.
David Hernandez (07:34):
it's because I spend so much time with them, I
have so much more memories withthem compared to other
generations.
RetroPokesprites (07:39):
Yep.
And everything was new.
There wasn't, you know, thereweren't leaks that I was attuned
to and, I didn't use theinternet.
And so anytime that I foundsomething new, it was fresh.
And I can't really replicatethat feeling now, which is fine.
I've come to accept that.
But that it makes it more kindof magical in a way to, to
revisit those.
David Hernandez (07:56):
And then plus you had like, with Gen three
specifically, you had TeamMagma, team Aqua, then you have
Gru.
On Kegar.
You felt like you were literallyfor the first time, saving the
world.
You
RetroPokesprites (08:05):
Right, right.
David Hernandez (08:06):
were more just trying to save a little small
region.
This one you felt like, oh mygosh, the world's about to end.
RetroPokesprites (08:11):
Yeah.
Much larger scope.
David Hernandez (08:12):
Do you have a particular favorite Pokemon at
all?
RetroPokesprites (08:14):
Yeah.
I tend to say my favoritePokemon is Volpi.
that one's been a consistent.
Throughout.
and I think the, the reasonbeing is like, actually before I
got an, had any games, when Iwas really young, someone had
given me a volpex, card fromlike the D Neo Destiny set.
the illustration is it'ssleeping under a tree and I, I
still have that card and.
just think of it fondly.
(08:35):
I, I dunno.
Volpi has, has been a, aconsistent one, but I, I have
some, like honorable mentions,Ryon, flagon, Sile, Torra.
I tend to really like grasstypes.
so I'll, I, I like a lot ofthem.
so
David Hernandez (08:47):
I'm looking at it right now.
This picture of a volpi fromNeil Destiny is very soothing
'cause it's just like, it'swrapped up like a little dog
RetroPokesprites (08:56):
right.
David Hernandez (08:56):
or curled up like a little dog and you have
it under a tree and it's justsitting there.
It's a little 50 point 50 hitpoints with the ember.
RetroPokesprites (09:02):
Yeah.
Yep.
That's it.
David Hernandez (09:04):
it.
so, you know, you said Volpi isyour favorite Pokemon.
What do you think about a Lowenvolpi?
Do you have little similarconnection or do you still
prefer the original?
RetroPokesprites (09:11):
it's hard to say whether I prefer one or the
other.
I think the release of Sun andMoon and AOL Limb Vol kind of
came at, an interesting time forme.
So I was in college at the timestudying wildlife biology,
learning about evolution, and,like how evolution really works,
which is not how it works inPokemon, you know, it's more
like a, a metamorphosis.
but this, the, the regionalvariants were Kind of a course
correction into making somethingsimilar to, to real life
(09:33):
evolution where you have twosimilar species, I guess
technically they're the samespecies and game, but that, have
evolved in separate locationsand have different traits.
And so for volpex to be one ofthe flagship, Pokemon, that got
that treatment, that was justsuper, super thrilled and for it
to be like fire to ice type, Ithink that's just really cool.
David Hernandez (09:51):
It is, and I think that, I'm glad Pokemon has
added regional variants in away, because like you said, you
shouldn't expect one region tohave the same type of Pokemon in
a specific same, in another one.
And, you know, you had Volpi,you had Grr, I think you had
Executor and a couple otherPokemon just debuted in those
generations.
And it also kind of gave areason for Pokemon to Reccon
classic Pokemon without actuallycalling Reccon, if
RetroPokesprites (10:13):
Right, right.
Give them, give them a new, anew spotlight, a new fresh coat
of paint and.
Send'em off.
David Hernandez (10:19):
If you were to have like a different variant of
volpi, do you have like an ideaof what you would wanna see?
RetroPokesprites (10:23):
Ooh.
I surprisingly have neverthought of that.
I, it'd be
David Hernandez (10:26):
neither.
RetroPokesprites (10:27):
Yeah, no, that's a really great question.
I know that like gray foxes, arevery, like arboreal.
They, they climb trees.
So I think it'd be cool to havelike a, I don't know, maybe like
a longer skinnier pic that.
It's maybe a grass type.
'cause I love grass types andit's like up the trays and
stuff, but they, they do a lotof foxes and so yeah, we'll see.
We'll see if it ever happens.
David Hernandez (10:45):
it would be like a gray, or would it be like
a brown or like what color arewe thinking?
RetroPokesprites (10:49):
Yeah.
I mean the real fox is kind of agray to rusty, like the outer
edges of the fur more rusty.
So, I don't know.
Probably more gray if you wannadiversify it a bit.
David Hernandez (10:59):
You know, they could even make it like a grass
dark type.
Just that way it counteractsagainst the, ice ferry of volpi
RetroPokesprites (11:04):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (11:05):
I think that'd be kind of cool.
RetroPokesprites (11:06):
Yeah, that'd be great.
David Hernandez (11:07):
to it.
Yeah, game for, you're listeningto it, A thank you and B, like,
get on it.
RetroPokesprites (11:14):
Maybe one day.
David Hernandez (11:15):
so you know, we come back through Pokemon was
there any point where you juststopped or you just kept playing
the games over and up untilpresent day?
RetroPokesprites (11:22):
I've been pretty consistent throughout,
but there was definitely apoint, at, you know, at the end
of elementary school into middleschool where it became less cool
to, to play Pokemon.
So I.
You know, kind of isolatedmyself a little bit and didn't
get as much into Gen Fivethough, you know, retroactively.
I love those games.
They're great.
The Sprite animations, theSprite designs are like peak.
(11:43):
like I'm, I'm glad that I didn'tdrop off completely and I
managed to find my way back'cause it's such a, an important
part of my life now.
David Hernandez (11:49):
There was just that weird period where it
wasn't, I guess, acceptable tobe a Pokemon fan.
RetroPokesprites (11:55):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (11:55):
You have the older generation who really
frowned upon still sticking tothings that when you were as a
kid, you had the other societalaspect to where.
You know, you're a nerd, which Idon't know, I just felt like
it's more, it was more, it'smore acceptably be a nerd now
than it was back in those days.
RetroPokesprites (12:11):
sure.
David Hernandez (12:11):
you kind of had like different directions of
where you shouldn't be a Pokemonfan, if that makes sense.
Right.
RetroPokesprites (12:18):
right.
Or it was like a kid's game.
You know, all my, my friends areplaying Call of Duty or you
know, first person shooters, andI was like, not as into that.
And I just wanted to, to catchmy monsters and, you know, catch
'em all.
So,
David Hernandez (12:28):
Yeah, I, I'm sure I annoyed my friend the
most because he was always intothe first career.
Now he never made fun of methough,
RetroPokesprites (12:34):
yeah.
David Hernandez (12:34):
was into those first person shooters.
'cause that's just whateverybody was around those my
age.
But I was like, I just playedPokemon.
Every time he came to my house,he obliged with me and we played
Pokemon together.
But I know that deep down, hewas the first person shooter
kind of guy.
So.
RetroPokesprites (12:47):
well, at least he played with you.
That's, that's a, a good friend.
David Hernandez (12:50):
Oh, absolutely.
He was a very good friend.
I had very fond memories of him.
Both him and my other one.
We just played Pokemon, but Iknow that, you know, I was very
obsessed with the Pokemonfranchise.
Still am to this day,considering I have a podcast.
RetroPokesprites (13:02):
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
David Hernandez (13:49):
now the one thing that I want to touch on is
your Sprite, art, specifically,you know, you talked about how
gen two and gen three is whereyou focus your art on.
Is that kind of fair to say?
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (13:58):
Yeah.
Yep.
David Hernandez (13:59):
What made you kind of wanna dive into doing
pixel art?
RetroPokesprites (14:02):
Yeah.
so August, 2020 is when I, whenit started, that's kind of the
covid stuff.
I was looking for new things todo.
I'd played through Sword andShield enough and needed some
fresh, fresh perspective, Ithink.
And so I had done, a playthrough of the virtual console,
gen two games and I hadforgotten just how great the
sprites were.
and, but also how simple theywere.
(14:23):
You know, I never realized thatthey were just, you know, two
unique colors plus black andwhite, so four colors total.
And I just thought that that waslike this amazing.
Graphical thing.
And so I, I looked up a, a videoon YouTube by substitute, which
I know that like other pixelartists with the same style of
us have also watched.
And I just kind of learned howto, put the pixels together and,
(14:44):
never really stopped.
So,
David Hernandez (14:45):
So when you were going into this, you had no
artistic experience whatsoever.
You just happened to just wantto dive into it and just try to
relive that kind of era ofPokemon.
RetroPokesprites (14:53):
no, no digital art experience, you know, I'd
done odds and ends.
Just growing up and, and throughcollege and stuff, but never
anything, digitally.
David Hernandez (15:01):
No.
When you were trying to practicetrying to get, you know, develop
your pixel art, did you everfeel like maybe this wasn't a
right fit for you?
'cause it's kind of an odd ornot even odd jump, I would say a
far reach for you to be morescience-based to all of a sudden
want to do pixel art.
RetroPokesprites (15:17):
yeah, I don't think there was a point where I
thought that it, it wasn'tsomething I wanted to keep
doing.
I think the, the more Ipracticed, the like.
More, I would realize that oldersprites just like needed a nice
touchup.
You know, like my first, my, thefirst Sprite I ever made was
tco.
I was trying to, you know, staynumerical and so the, the next
step would be to go to Hoen andtco.
(15:37):
The first Sprite I ever made,looking back on it is just
laughable.
is so bad.
But, but I look at it fondlybecause I'm like, wow, I can't
believe you know, what this isand where I am now.
and so I think.
you know, there would be pointsin time where I'd make a Sprite
and I would realize somethingthat would make it look a lot
better, and then I would look atold sprites and think that they
need work.
but every time that I, I didsomething good, I was encouraged
(16:00):
by it and just kept going andgoing and touching up old ones.
And, now I feel like I'm at agood spot, or I'm not doing as
much of that.
So it, it's more consistent now.
David Hernandez (16:09):
Well, I mean, even just looking at what you
post on Instagram and I see thehard work that you put into it.
'cause it's so detailed andwe're not just talking.
The older Pokemon, we'll getinto a little bit later.
We're talking, you're doingSprites for even the newer
Pokemon.
You think of like the Megas, youthink of Pokemon that never got
that Sprite treatment afterblack and white
RetroPokesprites (16:28):
Right.
David Hernandez (16:29):
doing and they come out amazing.
RetroPokesprites (16:31):
Yeah, I'm, I'm excited now.
So I'm working through Gen five,And obviously that's the last,
Sprite generation, and so I.
You know, moving into six andbeyond in the, in the next year
or two.
I'm very curious to see how alot of those turn out because
I've, I've done a handful, forlike commissions and things,
but, yeah, I haven't done manyconsistently.
And I think that, you know, withthe, introduction of 3D models,
(16:54):
there's, there's a huge bump inlike, complexity of sprites, or,
and, and just Pokemon designs ingeneral.
So I'm curious to see how thattranslates to such a limited,
like graphical Sprite.
David Hernandez (17:04):
I do wanna highlight one that you've done.
It's the manga, AMRO, andobviously that didn't have an
original Sprite, so clearly youhad to do something that's, I
guess, original in a sense.
RetroPokesprites (17:14):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (17:14):
was the hardest part about doing Mega Amro
specifically?
Because it didn't have theoriginal, I guess, Sprite from
the previous generations.
RetroPokesprites (17:22):
Yeah, so I, I broke a couple of rules, so like
that one.
it, it's not limited by the, the56 by 56 Sprites that are found
in the gold, silver, and crystalgames.
and then I also have, I think,three colors.
I added red so I could give itlike the red, head orb.
But, Yeah, just the level ofdetail.
kind of like I said earlier,when, when they made the jump to
3D models, especially with megaevolution, they just poured like
(17:45):
a ton of extra detail that theycouldn't accommodate with
Sprites, into their models.
And so trying to, capture all ofthat with such a limited color
palette was a difficult task.
But I, I think that onedefinitely came out Well.
I like that one a lot.
David Hernandez (17:56):
It did, it came out amazing.
That's when I saw that one.
I was impressed.
And I've also seen a lot of theones you've done on Gen five.
I think that's where I first,discovered your Instagram page.
'cause I saw, I'm a huge fan ofGen five.
That's probably my secondfavorite generation.
If not my first, like dependson, depends on, what day I'm
feeling.
I always jump between that andgen three, but
RetroPokesprites (18:15):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (18:15):
just love that art because I feel like you
capture the idea of.
I feel like your artistic style,and you might, you can put input
on this, fits more with gold,silver, and crystals sprites.
And I feel like you catch thoseperfectly when you just look at
your work.
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (18:30):
Yeah.
I haven't, dug too deep into anyother.
Sprite style, which is, youknow, maybe to my detriment
because it's such a niche,niche, style type, like I feel
like the audience I'm reachingmost of the time they, they
can't, understand like thegraphics of the gold silver
crystal, which is totally fine.
but yeah, that's kind of what Itry to emulate most often is
just that, game boy color,style.
David Hernandez (18:51):
I mean, why would you say that as a
detriment?
You don't think that would belike a strength because now you
just focus on like onegeneration instead of having to
pick and choose
RetroPokesprites (18:58):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (18:58):
one, two, and three?
Well,
RetroPokesprites (18:59):
Yeah.
I, I, I guess, I mean, adetriment more to, or more of
like a, an obstacle for, forlike younger Pokemon players to
relate to, because, you know,they probably see it and they
don't understand, the meaningbehind it, the, the limitations
of it, which again, is totallyfine.
Like, I support whatever yougrew up with, you know?
a Pokemon fan is a, is a Pokemonfan to me.
but I think.
(19:19):
compared to 3D models or eventhe, the sprites of the kind of
middle generations, they're alot less graphically complex and
maybe don't appear ascomplicated as they actually are
to make
David Hernandez (19:30):
I can understand that because I
remember during Pokemon Goesearly days, there was one event
where Niantic did a.
Nod to Pokemon fans to wherethey released the Gen three
sprites in the inventory and allthe
RetroPokesprites (19:43):
mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (19:43):
and there was just so much, I guess I'll say
outrage from being in real lifethat people didn't understand
it.
They were like, I don't knowwhat these Pokemon are now and I
don't like this and I don't,
RetroPokesprites (19:55):
I know.
David Hernandez (19:56):
I appreciate it 'cause I'm a Pokemon fan, that's
gen three.
That's my favorite generation.
But I can kind of see how youcan get that kind of pushback to
where people can't make thatconnection compared to what
we're used to.
RetroPokesprites (20:04):
Yeah, I think that is crazy.
I feel like, you know, other,long lived franchises that have
made the jump from.
pixel art to, to 3D models.
It, it doesn't quite hit thesame.
you know, there's so manyPokemon, so many characters that
have made that transition and,you know, some of them better
than others, I think.
but yeah, I, I could totally seenewer Pokemon players not, not
(20:25):
quite understanding what thepoint of the sprites is or like
why, why they exist.
But yeah, I, I love talking topeople who have had that
experience and, appreciate themin the same way.
David Hernandez (20:34):
Now outta curiosity, how long does, on
average, how long does it takeyou just to make one Pokemon to
the Sprite that you're doing?
RetroPokesprites (20:42):
probably a couple hours on average.
'cause some of the more simpleones I can do pretty quickly
depending on how distracted Iget with other things.
but then like some of the morecomplex ones that fill up the
whole, 56 by 56 pixels can take,more time.
But it also just, yeah, reallydepends on my motivation for the
day and, how I can limit thedistractions I have.
So.
David Hernandez (21:01):
That's always a struggle.
That's how I feel aboutpodcasting.
Some days I'm like, my dog, likewe need to go touch grass.
And I'm like, I need to recordan episode and edit.
And I'm like, we gotta go touchgrass.
I'm like, God dammit.
So I got two dogs.
So they always keep me, theykeep me from being a hermit, so.
RetroPokesprites (21:16):
Yeah.
Yep.
David Hernandez (21:17):
so you started your Instagram page in February
of 2021, and eventually youopened up your own site called
retro pro sprites.com, wherepeople can kind of buy stickers,
they can buy ornaments and vinylfeaturing the different types of
Pokemon, such as Erdos andCynical and of course in many
other Pokemon.
what led you to wanna open yourstore and what do you kind of
hope it becomes?
RetroPokesprites (21:35):
so.
My, partner has a ton ofstickers that she, she's just
accumulated over the years and Iwas like, how can I, I guess
sell my product.
I mean, I, I've, I've started toreach a few thousand people by,
late 2021, early 2022, and like,can I sell this?
Is there any way to like, makeany money on this?
and honestly, because it's sucha niche thing.
(21:56):
There aren't a lot of productsthat I feel.
Would sell well.
and so I was like, I, I couldmake stickers.
and so I, you know, I got allthe stuff to make the stickers
myself.
you know, went through a wholelot of trial and error with that
and just kind of decided thatthat was a, something that I
could reasonably do whilekeeping my full-time job.
'cause it, you know, it's not myintent to have this be a
full-time thing.
Just a, just a hobby.
David Hernandez (22:17):
project.
Really.
RetroPokesprites (22:18):
exactly, exactly.
Something, something to make,you know, some value of it,
outside of just, discussion,online.
So.
David Hernandez (22:24):
Is there anything that you want to kind
of eventually add that you don'thave when it comes to the store?
Like you, like I said, you gotthe vinyl stickers and the
ornaments.
Is there anything like you hopeto maybe see in the future that
you would like to do with your,your pixel art?
RetroPokesprites (22:36):
Yeah, I had, I, I don't remember if it's up
still, but I had a, I.
A map of Hoen that was, yeah,with, with, gold and silver tile
set.
which I'm, I'm really happy withhow that turned out.
and I, I think it, it didn'tsell super well, but I think
that's also because of the,like, niche value of it.
Like people who didn't playthose early games may not
appreciate the, the value oflike, what it is that it was
(23:00):
changed into.
But that's totally fine again.
but one thing that I have beenkind of.
Toying with is doing, those likeruins of elf puzzles.
I've been posting a fewrecently.
I've gotten into like linocutting and print making.
So I've been considering tryingto make like actual tiles or
coaster type things that havethose prints on them that I
like, you know, press with ink.
(23:22):
but I'm still in like the trialphases of that.
But that's something that I'mthinking of incorporating into,
the, the website later.
David Hernandez (23:28):
I mean, it's kind of cool because I saw that,
page you have of the, Ho in, youhave an entire map made of like,
not just the oval world, butalso the, underwater, I think
you had the inside of the cave,you had the like actual mountain
of going to Mount chimney.
RetroPokesprites (23:44):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (23:44):
so is that kind of like a vinyl to where people
can purchase and it's like apainting they can put in frame
or like what is that?
If you don't mind
RetroPokesprites (23:50):
Yeah, yeah, it's a, it's a poster.
I can't remember the dimensionsof it, but yeah, I, it prints a,
a poster and it's, it'srelatively large.
so it's not like, you know, oneof those eight and a half by 11,
prints.
'cause I, I want people to beable to see the detail in them.
David Hernandez (24:04):
My last question, just in regards to
just your store.
You've mentioned how you wantyour pixel art to kind of evoke
the feelings of comfort.
That's what it means to you.
What is it about pixel artspecifically that evokes that
kind of emotion to you?
I.
RetroPokesprites (24:18):
Yeah, I think.
Just, it's, it's a lot of mychildhood and a lot of like,
experiences that I shared withmy younger friends and like
experiences that I had withmyself.
it's just extremely nostalgic tome.
And I, I think the simplicity ofthe graphics themselves is also
what draws me.
Like, I, I just can't believehow amazed I was with the games
(24:40):
at the time, in, in, you know,any of those early generations.
I was just like enthralled Withall of those and seeing monsters
for the first time, and, onlyrecognizing as an adult that
it's just a collection of,colored squares that are
together.
it was just an amazing,realization for me.
So I like to try to recreatethat.
David Hernandez (24:55):
And then especially just how you said, I
think you said it's just twocolors and then you got the
black and white and you canliterally make it in paint if
you actually know what the
RetroPokesprites (25:02):
Yeah, that's, that's what I do.
And I, I know there are likebetter pixel art programs out
there, but I, I just haven'ttaken the time to, to get to
them.
So yeah.
I've got my MS paint open allthe time.
David Hernandez (25:14):
Really, so you do everything in Microsoft
Paint.
RetroPokesprites (25:17):
yeah.
Yep.
All of my, my spreading I do inpaint,
David Hernandez (25:20):
That is amazing to hear because I've, I know
some of the bright like,software out
RetroPokesprites (25:25):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (25:26):
that you're doing it in paint just shows how
much dedication you have as bothan artist as well as just an
retro appreciation of Pokemon I,I applaud you for that.
Dedication is great.
RetroPokesprites (25:36):
thanks.
It, it took a lot of learning,but we're here.
David Hernandez (25:39):
Now, obviously, you know Pokemon, as it's
progressed, it transitioned awayfrom the pixel art into the 3D
models that we have
RetroPokesprites (25:46):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (25:46):
what do you think about the transition?
Do you enjoy, do you kind ofmiss the pixels at times?
I.
RetroPokesprites (25:51):
I definitely miss the pixels.
I'm not opposed to the models.
I think that, in gen six whenthe, the model system kind of
was first incorporated, thereagain were some, that fared
better than others in theirtransition.
generally though, I felt likethey were all pretty washed out.
I really.
Like the, the vibrant colors ofthe earlier generations.
I feel like they just pop a lotmore, but they've made some
(26:13):
improvements.
You know, they've given tylo inhis flames while he is battling
instead of that whatever it usedto.
David Hernandez (26:18):
completely
RetroPokesprites (26:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That the sad Sprite that he was,yeah.
And then like I, I've alwaysthought, I guess that the, new
Pokemon that are introducedoriginally as 3D models have
looked really, really good.
because they were designed to bethat way, you know, so.
they always look really good.
It was just some rough startswith some of the earlier Pokemon
that started at Sprites.
David Hernandez (26:40):
That's what I've kind of noticed as well
because I'm a huge fan of the,of the Sprites.
RetroPokesprites (26:43):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (26:44):
lo I've come to appreciate it more and more as
I've done mainly this podcast,but even now it's just playing
Pokemon Scarlet Light.
Not that I have a problem withthe 3D models, but I've always
felt.
I guess specifically with theolder Pokemon, that they've kind
of lost the personality thatcame
RetroPokesprites (26:57):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (26:58):
to the pixel art.
And part of that probably justneeds to be adjustment because
you know, this is gettingfreaks, full initiative, trying
to do 3D models, but also it'sjust the reality of what happens
when you switch from one, Iguess, style to
RetroPokesprites (27:10):
Right, right.
David Hernandez (27:11):
that makes
RetroPokesprites (27:11):
Yeah, for sure.
And I think
David Hernandez (27:12):
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (27:13):
it was weird, you know, in, in gen six when
they had all the models, I, Ireally didn't like all of the,
the ones that had to be flying.
You know, I feel like theyreally ran out of ideas with how
a Pokemon can fly.
because they had those skybattles that were, Kind of
implemented weird.
so there are a lot of thosesprites where I'm like, I, I
don't like them.
In fact, I like, like some ofthe Pokemon that I liked that
(27:35):
flew, once I saw the models, I,like, I, I didn't interact with
'em as much because I justdidn't wanna have to look at
them too much.
David Hernandez (27:42):
it
RetroPokesprites (27:43):
but,
David Hernandez (27:43):
you.
RetroPokesprites (27:43):
but, you know, we're coming around.
I can appreciate them for whatthey are and as long as I see
improvements, like yeah, I'm,I'm for any of'em, yeah.
David Hernandez (27:52):
Outta curiosity, what Pokemon gave
you.
I gotta know like what Pokemonkind of gave you that feeling
RetroPokesprites (27:57):
So there are two?
David Hernandez (27:58):
Just the sky
RetroPokesprites (27:59):
Yeah, yeah.
two that come to mind.
that I just think are not goodue, because I don't like the way
that it just kind of floatsthere.
I don't know.
David Hernandez (28:08):
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (28:08):
just something weird about it.
And then ztu, I, it just needsto be standing.
I don't need it to be flying.
It's, it's a totem pole.
It's supposed to be holdingstill.
I don't know.
Those two, are the ones thatcome to mind.
David Hernandez (28:18):
see, I see the same problem with Pokemon Go.
I feel like Swell just has itswi wings open.
It's
RetroPokesprites (28:22):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (28:22):
you know, like those giant fans where people
are just like gliding inside alittle like wind tunnel.
I guess
RetroPokesprites (28:27):
Yep.
David Hernandez (28:28):
what it always reminds me whenever I see it.
RetroPokesprites (28:30):
Yeah, it, it's, it's rough for swallow,
but I hope, hope it gets anupgrade soon.
David Hernandez (28:35):
Well, retro poker Sprites, thank you for
coming on as the poker ballturns.
I wanna finish this interviewwith this last question.
if somebody's gonna challengeyou to a Pokemon battle, a six
on six, what six Pokemon wouldyou bring?
RetroPokesprites (28:46):
Oh, geez.
I mean, I guess I'll have to gothrough some of my favorites.
So I, I had mentioned Ryon,flagon, Torra probably, I had, I
had a, a team that I used nottoo long ago that I really
liked.
I have come to really likeriper, which is odd.
I know a lot of people don'tlike it.
But, that won't be on it.
What's that for?
Probably in a lowland ninetales, just for some fairy ice
(29:08):
diversity.
Oh God, it's tough.
I don't know what I would choosefor my sixth.
Hmm.
We'll just go with Sile'causethat was one of my other
favorites.
David Hernandez (29:18):
Before you go, if people want to check out your
content, if they want to evenjust buy something from your
website, where can they go?
By all means, please plug away.
RetroPokesprites (29:25):
Yeah, so my Instagram app account is, retro
pokey sprites.
and then my website is ww dotretro pokey sprites.com.
there's a shop there, there'smore information about me and
kind of how I got started.
I am Adam Retro pokey Sprites, and this is
(00:02):
my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez (00:42):
Welcome to, as the Pokemon Ball Turns, where we
interview people about theexperience with Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez I'mjoined by Retro Pokey Sprites, a
pixel artist redesigning newerPokemon on retro game boy color
style sprites.
When he isn't creating pixels,you can find him either as a vet
or a wildlife biologist.
(01:04):
welcome to ask the PokemonTurns.
RetroPokesprites (01:06):
Hi.
Thanks for having me.
David Hernandez (01:07):
Absolutely.
And you know, you have a veryunique skillset on one set.
You sound like you're very intothe science animal side of
things.
On the other side, you're alsointo the artist.
Talk to us a little bit aboutyour experience as a biologist
and a vet.
Like how did you get into thatand how does that relate to
Pokemon?
RetroPokesprites (01:23):
Yeah.
you know, I think that myinterest in Pokemon and wildlife
biology and animals more broadlykind of, coincide.
So I've always liked animals.
I've always liked learning aboutnew animals, new, wildlife,
things like that.
and so as I was growing up and Iwas introduced to Pokemon and I
could relate what I saw in thereal, real world to what I could
catch and train in the game, I,I really like those connections.
(01:44):
and I've just kind of grown fromthere.
David Hernandez (01:46):
So when you were growing up, what kind of
animals were you interested?
Like were you insects, reptiles,like dogs.
RetroPokesprites (01:52):
whew.
That's a tough one.
I don't know.
pretty much anything i, I couldlearn about.
I was, focused on dinosaurs, Ithink is a, a common one for a
lot of people, and that wasdefinitely an era of my
childhood that, contributed tomy interest in Pokemon, I think.
David Hernandez (02:04):
You're primarily a vet, I think by
career, but you, I guess youdabble in while, life biologist.
Is that kind of how it
RetroPokesprites (02:10):
Yeah, my, my degree is in wildlife biology.
right now I'm a veterinarytechnician.
I didn't mean to fall into it,but it's, it's kind of what
happened.
during Covid there were some jobchanges and, so I've done a bit
of both, but yeah, right now I'ma vet tech.
David Hernandez (02:22):
for those who aren't familiar, what does it
mean to be a wildlife biologist?
Like what does that kind ofencompass?
RetroPokesprites (02:28):
Yeah, it depends on the, degree that you
have.
But right now I have a, abachelor's degree in wildlife
biology.
So, a lot of what I did inundergrad and probably could do
with this degree is do likefield work and field research
for, PIs and people with upperlevel degrees.
But unfortunately those jobs aremostly seasonal and, they're not
a lot of benefits in security.
(02:48):
So this is a, a more safe spotright now?
David Hernandez (02:51):
Hey, we all gotta go where the money's at
RetroPokesprites (02:52):
Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
David Hernandez (02:54):
I guess going, returning it back to Pokemon, so
clearly you were in a Pokemonwhen you were younger.
What was the first experiencefor you with the franchise?
RetroPokesprites (03:01):
so I think what in like, it was either 2005
or 2006.
my.
Grandpa gave me a copy of,Pokemon Silver and, you know,
it's not like he was playing it.
He worked for Parks and Rec andhe found it at one of the race
tracks he was cleaning.
he, he just found someone'sabandoned copy and a, game boy,
game Boy advanced, like glaciercartridge, whatever that that
(03:23):
is.
David Hernandez (03:23):
Was it like that clear one?
Like that transparent where youcan see the insides
RetroPokesprites (03:26):
Yeah.
Kind of purpley.
yep, yep.
And it didn't have a, a batteryback, so sometimes the batteries
would fall out and yeah.
So that was my first, firstexperience.
David Hernandez (03:34):
Oh, that must have been annoying.
'cause I always imagine, know,those back, if you didn't have
the back of the game, boy it waseasy for the batteries to come
out.
RetroPokesprites (03:41):
Yep.
David Hernandez (03:42):
that you probably had a little bit of a
struggle with that.
RetroPokesprites (03:44):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I ended up putting some tapeover it to, to make sure it
didn't fall out, but then itbecame a pain to change'em out
and all that stuff.
So.
David Hernandez (03:51):
so when you were playing Pokemon Silver and
you know, your grandpa gave itto you, what do you remember
most about those games?
Like were you, going throughJodo and then Canto and like
what started, did you choose
RetroPokesprites (04:01):
Yeah, so
David Hernandez (04:02):
so.
RetroPokesprites (04:03):
I, I can't, I remember, so I have a very
specific story, but I can'tremember if the file had already
been started, Or what the dealwas.
'cause I can't imagine thatwithout a handbook anyone would
really know how to delete a savefile.
So I, I think it was alreadystarted, but it was in New Bark
Town, whatever file had beenstarted, had a chickita.
and so that was my firststarter.
(04:23):
Don't remember if I chose it forsure.
but that was my first everPokemon, so.
David Hernandez (04:27):
It reminds me of when I got one of my
cartridges.
I wanna say it was like maybeeither gold or silver.
No, it had to be silver'cause itwas a used one
RetroPokesprites (04:33):
Hmm.
David Hernandez (04:33):
and I, I opened it up just to see what was
inside of it.
And I remember I got literallyan aero blasts, celibate aero
blasts, lugia, and an aeroblasts mu two.
And now clearly they werehacked, but
RetroPokesprites (04:48):
Right.
David Hernandez (04:48):
young year old eight or 9-year-old self was
like, oh my gosh, they can learnaero blasts.
This, this is amazing.
RetroPokesprites (04:54):
Not quite.
Not quite.
David Hernandez (04:56):
No, no, no, no.
But it was just kind of cooljust to kind of, I feel like
whenever you get something thatyou didn't open, it's almost
like opening a.
Memory box, I guess in a senseto where you find out like how
did they get to this point inthe game?
I think there's some fun intogetting a used game and just
seeing where they progressed andhow they got to that point,
don't you think?
RetroPokesprites (05:14):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I actually, at, some point I hadbought a Japanese copy of White,
I think, and it had a, a filethat was almost completed.
They'd done all the gyms and gotinto the Elite four.
I couldn't read anything, but I,I managed to translate enough
to, beat the game.
And so I, I've now, you know,moved those Pokemon up into
newer games and just like usethem.
And I, I wanna know what theirstory is, but I'll never know.
David Hernandez (05:37):
Ooh.
Tell me though, like how did youget into that Japanese side?
'cause I think you have to get aspecific, me if I'm wrong, I
think you have to give specificregion Ds to play
RetroPokesprites (05:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And a few years ago, I hadbought a Ds, I think an Etsy, a
refurbished one, and thankfullyit was compatible, so I can play
it that way.
but even then, it sometimes hasproblems like loading and, it
is, it is a real copy.
So.
Yeah, I don't know.
I'm grateful that I was able toplay it'cause I didn't read the
description, which said thatthe, you know, the game is
(06:06):
region locked and you can onlyplay it on certain dss, but
thankfully it worked out.
David Hernandez (06:10):
Now, of course, you know, you played through gen
two.
What do you, was it just yourinterest in animals that you
think kept you engaged with thefranchise that let you go on?
Did you keep going on with thegames at that point?
RetroPokesprites (06:20):
Yeah.
so I was in this like summerprogram kind of daycare type
thing, in elementary school.
And so I.
the kids that I hang hung outwith while I was there were all
playing Pokemon, but in 2006,seven they were already playing
Gens three and four.
So I would watch them play andkind of like, not envy'cause I
really liked Silver, but likelook forward and you know, I
(06:42):
would ask for games for,holidays and birthdays going
forward.
And yeah, I just kind of keptwith it.
David Hernandez (06:46):
Do you have a particular favorite region that
you enjoyed playing so far?
Yeah,
RetroPokesprites (06:50):
Yeah, I think I, it's, it's kind of just that,
you know, gens two and threewere my beginnings and I, I feel
like I had the most, significantexperiences during those times,
which is kind of how I came to,you know, do these, these
sprites in the way that I do andall that.
So I think those are probablymy, my favorite regions to
revisit'cause they have the mostnostalgia.
David Hernandez (07:09):
I feel the same way because, and I was falling
through Pokemon for years.
And there was the one point towhere gen three was going to gen
four.
And the Nintendo DS I hadhappened just to break, I was
cut off from playing PokemonDiamond and Pearl and I went
back to playing Gen three,Pokemon, Ruby, Safron, and
Emerald.
I played those games probablymore than any other generation.
(07:29):
I think I played those for likesix years or five years.
I don't know how long the timeperiod would
RetroPokesprites (07:33):
Right.
David Hernandez (07:34):
it's because I spend so much time with them, I
have so much more memories withthem compared to other
generations.
RetroPokesprites (07:39):
Yep.
And everything was new.
There wasn't, you know, thereweren't leaks that I was attuned
to and, I didn't use theinternet.
And so anytime that I foundsomething new, it was fresh.
And I can't really replicatethat feeling now, which is fine.
I've come to accept that.
But that it makes it more kindof magical in a way to, to
revisit those.
David Hernandez (07:56):
And then plus you had like, with Gen three
specifically, you had TeamMagma, team Aqua, then you have
Gru.
On Kegar.
You felt like you were literallyfor the first time, saving the
world.
You
RetroPokesprites (08:05):
Right, right.
David Hernandez (08:06):
were more just trying to save a little small
region.
This one you felt like, oh mygosh, the world's about to end.
RetroPokesprites (08:11):
Yeah.
Much larger scope.
David Hernandez (08:12):
Do you have a particular favorite Pokemon at
all?
RetroPokesprites (08:14):
Yeah.
I tend to say my favoritePokemon is Volpi.
that one's been a consistent.
Throughout.
and I think the, the reasonbeing is like, actually before I
got an, had any games, when Iwas really young, someone had
given me a volpex, card fromlike the D Neo Destiny set.
the illustration is it'ssleeping under a tree and I, I
still have that card and.
just think of it fondly.
(08:35):
I, I dunno.
Volpi has, has been a, aconsistent one, but I, I have
some, like honorable mentions,Ryon, flagon, Sile, Torra.
I tend to really like grasstypes.
so I'll, I, I like a lot ofthem.
so
David Hernandez (08:47):
I'm looking at it right now.
This picture of a volpi fromNeil Destiny is very soothing
'cause it's just like, it'swrapped up like a little dog
RetroPokesprites (08:56):
right.
David Hernandez (08:56):
or curled up like a little dog and you have
it under a tree and it's justsitting there.
It's a little 50 point 50 hitpoints with the ember.
RetroPokesprites (09:02):
Yeah.
Yep.
That's it.
David Hernandez (09:04):
it.
so, you know, you said Volpi isyour favorite Pokemon.
What do you think about a Lowenvolpi?
Do you have little similarconnection or do you still
prefer the original?
RetroPokesprites (09:11):
it's hard to say whether I prefer one or the
other.
I think the release of Sun andMoon and AOL Limb Vol kind of
came at, an interesting time forme.
So I was in college at the timestudying wildlife biology,
learning about evolution, and,like how evolution really works,
which is not how it works inPokemon, you know, it's more
like a, a metamorphosis.
but this, the, the regionalvariants were Kind of a course
correction into making somethingsimilar to, to real life
(09:33):
evolution where you have twosimilar species, I guess
technically they're the samespecies and game, but that, have
evolved in separate locationsand have different traits.
And so for volpex to be one ofthe flagship, Pokemon, that got
that treatment, that was justsuper, super thrilled and for it
to be like fire to ice type, Ithink that's just really cool.
David Hernandez (09:51):
It is, and I think that, I'm glad Pokemon has
added regional variants in away, because like you said, you
shouldn't expect one region tohave the same type of Pokemon in
a specific same, in another one.
And, you know, you had Volpi,you had Grr, I think you had
Executor and a couple otherPokemon just debuted in those
generations.
And it also kind of gave areason for Pokemon to Reccon
classic Pokemon without actuallycalling Reccon, if
RetroPokesprites (10:13):
Right, right.
Give them, give them a new, anew spotlight, a new fresh coat
of paint and.
Send'em off.
David Hernandez (10:19):
If you were to have like a different variant of
volpi, do you have like an ideaof what you would wanna see?
RetroPokesprites (10:23):
Ooh.
I surprisingly have neverthought of that.
I, it'd be
David Hernandez (10:26):
neither.
RetroPokesprites (10:27):
Yeah, no, that's a really great question.
I know that like gray foxes, arevery, like arboreal.
They, they climb trees.
So I think it'd be cool to havelike a, I don't know, maybe like
a longer skinnier pic that.
It's maybe a grass type.
'cause I love grass types andit's like up the trays and
stuff, but they, they do a lotof foxes and so yeah, we'll see.
We'll see if it ever happens.
David Hernandez (10:45):
it would be like a gray, or would it be like
a brown or like what color arewe thinking?
RetroPokesprites (10:49):
Yeah.
I mean the real fox is kind of agray to rusty, like the outer
edges of the fur more rusty.
So, I don't know.
Probably more gray if you wannadiversify it a bit.
David Hernandez (10:59):
You know, they could even make it like a grass
dark type.
Just that way it counteractsagainst the, ice ferry of volpi
RetroPokesprites (11:04):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (11:05):
I think that'd be kind of cool.
RetroPokesprites (11:06):
Yeah, that'd be great.
David Hernandez (11:07):
to it.
Yeah, game for, you're listeningto it, A thank you and B, like,
get on it.
RetroPokesprites (11:14):
Maybe one day.
David Hernandez (11:15):
so you know, we come back through Pokemon was
there any point where you juststopped or you just kept playing
the games over and up untilpresent day?
RetroPokesprites (11:22):
I've been pretty consistent throughout,
but there was definitely apoint, at, you know, at the end
of elementary school into middleschool where it became less cool
to, to play Pokemon.
So I.
You know, kind of isolatedmyself a little bit and didn't
get as much into Gen Fivethough, you know, retroactively.
I love those games.
They're great.
The Sprite animations, theSprite designs are like peak.
(11:43):
like I'm, I'm glad that I didn'tdrop off completely and I
managed to find my way back'cause it's such a, an important
part of my life now.
David Hernandez (11:49):
There was just that weird period where it
wasn't, I guess, acceptable tobe a Pokemon fan.
RetroPokesprites (11:55):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (11:55):
You have the older generation who really
frowned upon still sticking tothings that when you were as a
kid, you had the other societalaspect to where.
You know, you're a nerd, which Idon't know, I just felt like
it's more, it was more, it'smore acceptably be a nerd now
than it was back in those days.
RetroPokesprites (12:11):
sure.
David Hernandez (12:11):
you kind of had like different directions of
where you shouldn't be a Pokemonfan, if that makes sense.
Right.
RetroPokesprites (12:18):
right.
Or it was like a kid's game.
You know, all my, my friends areplaying Call of Duty or you
know, first person shooters, andI was like, not as into that.
And I just wanted to, to catchmy monsters and, you know, catch
'em all.
So,
David Hernandez (12:28):
Yeah, I, I'm sure I annoyed my friend the
most because he was always intothe first career.
Now he never made fun of methough,
RetroPokesprites (12:34):
yeah.
David Hernandez (12:34):
was into those first person shooters.
'cause that's just whateverybody was around those my
age.
But I was like, I just playedPokemon.
Every time he came to my house,he obliged with me and we played
Pokemon together.
But I know that deep down, hewas the first person shooter
kind of guy.
So.
RetroPokesprites (12:47):
well, at least he played with you.
That's, that's a, a good friend.
David Hernandez (12:50):
Oh, absolutely.
He was a very good friend.
I had very fond memories of him.
Both him and my other one.
We just played Pokemon, but Iknow that, you know, I was very
obsessed with the Pokemonfranchise.
Still am to this day,considering I have a podcast.
RetroPokesprites (13:02):
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
David Hernandez (13:49):
now the one thing that I want to touch on is
your Sprite, art, specifically,you know, you talked about how
gen two and gen three is whereyou focus your art on.
Is that kind of fair to say?
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (13:58):
Yeah.
Yep.
David Hernandez (13:59):
What made you kind of wanna dive into doing
pixel art?
RetroPokesprites (14:02):
Yeah.
so August, 2020 is when I, whenit started, that's kind of the
covid stuff.
I was looking for new things todo.
I'd played through Sword andShield enough and needed some
fresh, fresh perspective, Ithink.
And so I had done, a playthrough of the virtual console,
gen two games and I hadforgotten just how great the
sprites were.
and, but also how simple theywere.
(14:23):
You know, I never realized thatthey were just, you know, two
unique colors plus black andwhite, so four colors total.
And I just thought that that waslike this amazing.
Graphical thing.
And so I, I looked up a, a videoon YouTube by substitute, which
I know that like other pixelartists with the same style of
us have also watched.
And I just kind of learned howto, put the pixels together and,
(14:44):
never really stopped.
So,
David Hernandez (14:45):
So when you were going into this, you had no
artistic experience whatsoever.
You just happened to just wantto dive into it and just try to
relive that kind of era ofPokemon.
RetroPokesprites (14:53):
no, no digital art experience, you know, I'd
done odds and ends.
Just growing up and, and throughcollege and stuff, but never
anything, digitally.
David Hernandez (15:01):
No.
When you were trying to practicetrying to get, you know, develop
your pixel art, did you everfeel like maybe this wasn't a
right fit for you?
'cause it's kind of an odd ornot even odd jump, I would say a
far reach for you to be morescience-based to all of a sudden
want to do pixel art.
RetroPokesprites (15:17):
yeah, I don't think there was a point where I
thought that it, it wasn'tsomething I wanted to keep
doing.
I think the, the more Ipracticed, the like.
More, I would realize that oldersprites just like needed a nice
touchup.
You know, like my first, my, thefirst Sprite I ever made was
tco.
I was trying to, you know, staynumerical and so the, the next
step would be to go to Hoen andtco.
(15:37):
The first Sprite I ever made,looking back on it is just
laughable.
is so bad.
But, but I look at it fondlybecause I'm like, wow, I can't
believe you know, what this isand where I am now.
and so I think.
you know, there would be pointsin time where I'd make a Sprite
and I would realize somethingthat would make it look a lot
better, and then I would look atold sprites and think that they
need work.
but every time that I, I didsomething good, I was encouraged
(16:00):
by it and just kept going andgoing and touching up old ones.
And, now I feel like I'm at agood spot, or I'm not doing as
much of that.
So it, it's more consistent now.
David Hernandez (16:09):
Well, I mean, even just looking at what you
post on Instagram and I see thehard work that you put into it.
'cause it's so detailed andwe're not just talking.
The older Pokemon, we'll getinto a little bit later.
We're talking, you're doingSprites for even the newer
Pokemon.
You think of like the Megas, youthink of Pokemon that never got
that Sprite treatment afterblack and white
RetroPokesprites (16:28):
Right.
David Hernandez (16:29):
doing and they come out amazing.
RetroPokesprites (16:31):
Yeah, I'm, I'm excited now.
So I'm working through Gen five,And obviously that's the last,
Sprite generation, and so I.
You know, moving into six andbeyond in the, in the next year
or two.
I'm very curious to see how alot of those turn out because
I've, I've done a handful, forlike commissions and things,
but, yeah, I haven't done manyconsistently.
And I think that, you know, withthe, introduction of 3D models,
(16:54):
there's, there's a huge bump inlike, complexity of sprites, or,
and, and just Pokemon designs ingeneral.
So I'm curious to see how thattranslates to such a limited,
like graphical Sprite.
David Hernandez (17:04):
I do wanna highlight one that you've done.
It's the manga, AMRO, andobviously that didn't have an
original Sprite, so clearly youhad to do something that's, I
guess, original in a sense.
RetroPokesprites (17:14):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (17:14):
was the hardest part about doing Mega Amro
specifically?
Because it didn't have theoriginal, I guess, Sprite from
the previous generations.
RetroPokesprites (17:22):
Yeah, so I, I broke a couple of rules, so like
that one.
it, it's not limited by the, the56 by 56 Sprites that are found
in the gold, silver, and crystalgames.
and then I also have, I think,three colors.
I added red so I could give itlike the red, head orb.
But, Yeah, just the level ofdetail.
kind of like I said earlier,when, when they made the jump to
3D models, especially with megaevolution, they just poured like
(17:45):
a ton of extra detail that theycouldn't accommodate with
Sprites, into their models.
And so trying to, capture all ofthat with such a limited color
palette was a difficult task.
But I, I think that onedefinitely came out Well.
I like that one a lot.
David Hernandez (17:56):
It did, it came out amazing.
That's when I saw that one.
I was impressed.
And I've also seen a lot of theones you've done on Gen five.
I think that's where I first,discovered your Instagram page.
'cause I saw, I'm a huge fan ofGen five.
That's probably my secondfavorite generation.
If not my first, like dependson, depends on, what day I'm
feeling.
I always jump between that andgen three, but
RetroPokesprites (18:15):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (18:15):
just love that art because I feel like you
capture the idea of.
I feel like your artistic style,and you might, you can put input
on this, fits more with gold,silver, and crystals sprites.
And I feel like you catch thoseperfectly when you just look at
your work.
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (18:30):
Yeah.
I haven't, dug too deep into anyother.
Sprite style, which is, youknow, maybe to my detriment
because it's such a niche,niche, style type, like I feel
like the audience I'm reachingmost of the time they, they
can't, understand like thegraphics of the gold silver
crystal, which is totally fine.
but yeah, that's kind of what Itry to emulate most often is
just that, game boy color,style.
David Hernandez (18:51):
I mean, why would you say that as a
detriment?
You don't think that would belike a strength because now you
just focus on like onegeneration instead of having to
pick and choose
RetroPokesprites (18:58):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (18:58):
one, two, and three?
Well,
RetroPokesprites (18:59):
Yeah.
I, I, I guess, I mean, adetriment more to, or more of
like a, an obstacle for, forlike younger Pokemon players to
relate to, because, you know,they probably see it and they
don't understand, the meaningbehind it, the, the limitations
of it, which again, is totallyfine.
Like, I support whatever yougrew up with, you know?
a Pokemon fan is a, is a Pokemonfan to me.
but I think.
(19:19):
compared to 3D models or eventhe, the sprites of the kind of
middle generations, they're alot less graphically complex and
maybe don't appear ascomplicated as they actually are
to make
David Hernandez (19:30):
I can understand that because I
remember during Pokemon Goesearly days, there was one event
where Niantic did a.
Nod to Pokemon fans to wherethey released the Gen three
sprites in the inventory and allthe
RetroPokesprites (19:43):
mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (19:43):
and there was just so much, I guess I'll say
outrage from being in real lifethat people didn't understand
it.
They were like, I don't knowwhat these Pokemon are now and I
don't like this and I don't,
RetroPokesprites (19:55):
I know.
David Hernandez (19:56):
I appreciate it 'cause I'm a Pokemon fan, that's
gen three.
That's my favorite generation.
But I can kind of see how youcan get that kind of pushback to
where people can't make thatconnection compared to what
we're used to.
RetroPokesprites (20:04):
Yeah, I think that is crazy.
I feel like, you know, other,long lived franchises that have
made the jump from.
pixel art to, to 3D models.
It, it doesn't quite hit thesame.
you know, there's so manyPokemon, so many characters that
have made that transition and,you know, some of them better
than others, I think.
but yeah, I, I could totally seenewer Pokemon players not, not
(20:25):
quite understanding what thepoint of the sprites is or like
why, why they exist.
But yeah, I, I love talking topeople who have had that
experience and, appreciate themin the same way.
David Hernandez (20:34):
Now outta curiosity, how long does, on
average, how long does it takeyou just to make one Pokemon to
the Sprite that you're doing?
RetroPokesprites (20:42):
probably a couple hours on average.
'cause some of the more simpleones I can do pretty quickly
depending on how distracted Iget with other things.
but then like some of the morecomplex ones that fill up the
whole, 56 by 56 pixels can take,more time.
But it also just, yeah, reallydepends on my motivation for the
day and, how I can limit thedistractions I have.
So.
David Hernandez (21:01):
That's always a struggle.
That's how I feel aboutpodcasting.
Some days I'm like, my dog, likewe need to go touch grass.
And I'm like, I need to recordan episode and edit.
And I'm like, we gotta go touchgrass.
I'm like, God dammit.
So I got two dogs.
So they always keep me, theykeep me from being a hermit, so.
RetroPokesprites (21:16):
Yeah.
Yep.
David Hernandez (21:17):
so you started your Instagram page in February
of 2021, and eventually youopened up your own site called
retro pro sprites.com, wherepeople can kind of buy stickers,
they can buy ornaments and vinylfeaturing the different types of
Pokemon, such as Erdos andCynical and of course in many
other Pokemon.
what led you to wanna open yourstore and what do you kind of
hope it becomes?
RetroPokesprites (21:35):
so.
My, partner has a ton ofstickers that she, she's just
accumulated over the years and Iwas like, how can I, I guess
sell my product.
I mean, I, I've, I've started toreach a few thousand people by,
late 2021, early 2022, and like,can I sell this?
Is there any way to like, makeany money on this?
and honestly, because it's sucha niche thing.
(21:56):
There aren't a lot of productsthat I feel.
Would sell well.
and so I was like, I, I couldmake stickers.
and so I, you know, I got allthe stuff to make the stickers
myself.
you know, went through a wholelot of trial and error with that
and just kind of decided thatthat was a, something that I
could reasonably do whilekeeping my full-time job.
'cause it, you know, it's not myintent to have this be a
full-time thing.
Just a, just a hobby.
David Hernandez (22:17):
project.
Really.
RetroPokesprites (22:18):
exactly, exactly.
Something, something to make,you know, some value of it,
outside of just, discussion,online.
So.
David Hernandez (22:24):
Is there anything that you want to kind
of eventually add that you don'thave when it comes to the store?
Like you, like I said, you gotthe vinyl stickers and the
ornaments.
Is there anything like you hopeto maybe see in the future that
you would like to do with your,your pixel art?
RetroPokesprites (22:36):
Yeah, I had, I, I don't remember if it's up
still, but I had a, I.
A map of Hoen that was, yeah,with, with, gold and silver tile
set.
which I'm, I'm really happy withhow that turned out.
and I, I think it, it didn'tsell super well, but I think
that's also because of the,like, niche value of it.
Like people who didn't playthose early games may not
appreciate the, the value oflike, what it is that it was
(23:00):
changed into.
But that's totally fine again.
but one thing that I have beenkind of.
Toying with is doing, those likeruins of elf puzzles.
I've been posting a fewrecently.
I've gotten into like linocutting and print making.
So I've been considering tryingto make like actual tiles or
coaster type things that havethose prints on them that I
like, you know, press with ink.
(23:22):
but I'm still in like the trialphases of that.
But that's something that I'mthinking of incorporating into,
the, the website later.
David Hernandez (23:28):
I mean, it's kind of cool because I saw that,
page you have of the, Ho in, youhave an entire map made of like,
not just the oval world, butalso the, underwater, I think
you had the inside of the cave,you had the like actual mountain
of going to Mount chimney.
RetroPokesprites (23:44):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (23:44):
so is that kind of like a vinyl to where people
can purchase and it's like apainting they can put in frame
or like what is that?
If you don't mind
RetroPokesprites (23:50):
Yeah, yeah, it's a, it's a poster.
I can't remember the dimensionsof it, but yeah, I, it prints a,
a poster and it's, it'srelatively large.
so it's not like, you know, oneof those eight and a half by 11,
prints.
'cause I, I want people to beable to see the detail in them.
David Hernandez (24:04):
My last question, just in regards to
just your store.
You've mentioned how you wantyour pixel art to kind of evoke
the feelings of comfort.
That's what it means to you.
What is it about pixel artspecifically that evokes that
kind of emotion to you?
I.
RetroPokesprites (24:18):
Yeah, I think.
Just, it's, it's a lot of mychildhood and a lot of like,
experiences that I shared withmy younger friends and like
experiences that I had withmyself.
it's just extremely nostalgic tome.
And I, I think the simplicity ofthe graphics themselves is also
what draws me.
Like, I, I just can't believehow amazed I was with the games
(24:40):
at the time, in, in, you know,any of those early generations.
I was just like enthralled Withall of those and seeing monsters
for the first time, and, onlyrecognizing as an adult that
it's just a collection of,colored squares that are
together.
it was just an amazing,realization for me.
So I like to try to recreatethat.
David Hernandez (24:55):
And then especially just how you said, I
think you said it's just twocolors and then you got the
black and white and you canliterally make it in paint if
you actually know what the
RetroPokesprites (25:02):
Yeah, that's, that's what I do.
And I, I know there are likebetter pixel art programs out
there, but I, I just haven'ttaken the time to, to get to
them.
So yeah.
I've got my MS paint open allthe time.
David Hernandez (25:14):
Really, so you do everything in Microsoft
Paint.
RetroPokesprites (25:17):
yeah.
Yep.
All of my, my spreading I do inpaint,
David Hernandez (25:20):
That is amazing to hear because I've, I know
some of the bright like,software out
RetroPokesprites (25:25):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (25:26):
that you're doing it in paint just shows how
much dedication you have as bothan artist as well as just an
retro appreciation of Pokemon I,I applaud you for that.
Dedication is great.
RetroPokesprites (25:36):
thanks.
It, it took a lot of learning,but we're here.
David Hernandez (25:39):
Now, obviously, you know Pokemon, as it's
progressed, it transitioned awayfrom the pixel art into the 3D
models that we have
RetroPokesprites (25:46):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (25:46):
what do you think about the transition?
Do you enjoy, do you kind ofmiss the pixels at times?
I.
RetroPokesprites (25:51):
I definitely miss the pixels.
I'm not opposed to the models.
I think that, in gen six whenthe, the model system kind of
was first incorporated, thereagain were some, that fared
better than others in theirtransition.
generally though, I felt likethey were all pretty washed out.
I really.
Like the, the vibrant colors ofthe earlier generations.
I feel like they just pop a lotmore, but they've made some
(26:13):
improvements.
You know, they've given tylo inhis flames while he is battling
instead of that whatever it usedto.
David Hernandez (26:18):
completely
RetroPokesprites (26:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That the sad Sprite that he was,yeah.
And then like I, I've alwaysthought, I guess that the, new
Pokemon that are introducedoriginally as 3D models have
looked really, really good.
because they were designed to bethat way, you know, so.
they always look really good.
It was just some rough startswith some of the earlier Pokemon
that started at Sprites.
David Hernandez (26:40):
That's what I've kind of noticed as well
because I'm a huge fan of the,of the Sprites.
RetroPokesprites (26:43):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (26:44):
lo I've come to appreciate it more and more as
I've done mainly this podcast,but even now it's just playing
Pokemon Scarlet Light.
Not that I have a problem withthe 3D models, but I've always
felt.
I guess specifically with theolder Pokemon, that they've kind
of lost the personality thatcame
RetroPokesprites (26:57):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (26:58):
to the pixel art.
And part of that probably justneeds to be adjustment because
you know, this is gettingfreaks, full initiative, trying
to do 3D models, but also it'sjust the reality of what happens
when you switch from one, Iguess, style to
RetroPokesprites (27:10):
Right, right.
David Hernandez (27:11):
that makes
RetroPokesprites (27:11):
Yeah, for sure.
And I think
David Hernandez (27:12):
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (27:13):
it was weird, you know, in, in gen six when
they had all the models, I, Ireally didn't like all of the,
the ones that had to be flying.
You know, I feel like theyreally ran out of ideas with how
a Pokemon can fly.
because they had those skybattles that were, Kind of
implemented weird.
so there are a lot of thosesprites where I'm like, I, I
don't like them.
In fact, I like, like some ofthe Pokemon that I liked that
(27:35):
flew, once I saw the models, I,like, I, I didn't interact with
'em as much because I justdidn't wanna have to look at
them too much.
David Hernandez (27:42):
it
RetroPokesprites (27:43):
but,
David Hernandez (27:43):
you.
RetroPokesprites (27:43):
but, you know, we're coming around.
I can appreciate them for whatthey are and as long as I see
improvements, like yeah, I'm,I'm for any of'em, yeah.
David Hernandez (27:52):
Outta curiosity, what Pokemon gave
you.
I gotta know like what Pokemonkind of gave you that feeling
RetroPokesprites (27:57):
So there are two?
David Hernandez (27:58):
Just the sky
RetroPokesprites (27:59):
Yeah, yeah.
two that come to mind.
that I just think are not goodue, because I don't like the way
that it just kind of floatsthere.
I don't know.
David Hernandez (28:08):
Yeah.
RetroPokesprites (28:08):
just something weird about it.
And then ztu, I, it just needsto be standing.
I don't need it to be flying.
It's, it's a totem pole.
It's supposed to be holdingstill.
I don't know.
Those two, are the ones thatcome to mind.
David Hernandez (28:18):
see, I see the same problem with Pokemon Go.
I feel like Swell just has itswi wings open.
It's
RetroPokesprites (28:22):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (28:22):
you know, like those giant fans where people
are just like gliding inside alittle like wind tunnel.
I guess
RetroPokesprites (28:27):
Yep.
David Hernandez (28:28):
what it always reminds me whenever I see it.
RetroPokesprites (28:30):
Yeah, it, it's, it's rough for swallow,
but I hope, hope it gets anupgrade soon.
David Hernandez (28:35):
Well, retro poker Sprites, thank you for
coming on as the poker ballturns.
I wanna finish this interviewwith this last question.
if somebody's gonna challengeyou to a Pokemon battle, a six
on six, what six Pokemon wouldyou bring?
RetroPokesprites (28:46):
Oh, geez.
I mean, I guess I'll have to gothrough some of my favorites.
So I, I had mentioned Ryon,flagon, Torra probably, I had, I
had a, a team that I used nottoo long ago that I really
liked.
I have come to really likeriper, which is odd.
I know a lot of people don'tlike it.
But, that won't be on it.
What's that for?
Probably in a lowland ninetales, just for some fairy ice
(29:08):
diversity.
Oh God, it's tough.
I don't know what I would choosefor my sixth.
Hmm.
We'll just go with Sile'causethat was one of my other
favorites.
David Hernandez (29:18):
Before you go, if people want to check out your
content, if they want to evenjust buy something from your
website, where can they go?
By all means, please plug away.
RetroPokesprites (29:25):
Yeah, so my Instagram app account is, retro
pokey sprites.
and then my website is ww dotretro pokey sprites.com.
there's a shop there, there'smore information about me and
kind of how I got started.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!