April 30, 2025 • 31 mins
When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Pokémon GO could have easily been forgotten. Instead, it became something more. It became a lifeline of hope and community for Pokemon Trainers living in Ukraine.
In this episode of As The Pokeball Turns, we meet the Community Ambassadors of Pokémon GO Ukraine as they share how they rebuilt their shattered local communities, found moments of peace during wartime, and used Pokémon GO as a way to support each other through unimaginable challenges. From organizing safe meetups during curfew to fundraising for frontline soldiers, their story shows the true power of Pokemon, friendship, and hope.
Listen now to hear how Pokémon GO continues to make an impact far beyond catching Pokémon.
🔗 Pokemon Community Leader Episodes
Discover the stories of Pokémon Community Leaders who are building inclusive spaces, hosting events, and inspiring the next generation of Pokemon fans!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (00:00):
We are the community ambassadors in
(00:02):
Ukraine,
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (00:02):
and here is our story.
David Hernandez (00:42):
Welcome to As the Pokeball Turns, where we
interview people's experienceabout Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by the communityambassadors from Ukraine here to
share their experience withPokemon.
How they built their PokemonGood community and how Pokemon's
kind of helping them with what'sgoing on in the world.
I'm excited to dive into thisepisode.
Welcome to the episodes both ofy'all.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (01:04):
Thank you for inviting us.
David Hernandez (01:06):
And first off, thank You'all for being the
community ambassadors.
I know it's not an easy job.
and I can't imagine like howdifficult it is to do it this
time.
But I want to ask like, when didy'all start playing Pokemon?
Go.
Let's start there.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (01:18):
Okay.
my story, could be like a bitlong.
Maybe, maybe we should startlike with Nikita and, uh, go
from there.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (01:26):
So.
Story can be long too.
as many of, uh, as many, uh,like Pokemon Gold players, I
started playing in 2016.
I dunno about you guys, but thefirst week of, the game.
and Ole we can talk about, gamein Ukraine.
(01:47):
It'll be similar to otherworldwide communities before, I
don't know, maybe before covidtimes.
And maybe in Covid times, likein any other country, we had
pandemic issues and we weresitting at homes and maybe we
can talk about something that itis in Ukraine that no other
(02:07):
country Like, Ole, do youremember February, 2022 and
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:16):
Yeah.
Yeah, I, I remember, um, the.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (02:19):
the third day of the full scale
invasion and rocket heatingresidential house in here in Tiv
and Tanks, uh, storming iv.
everyone in the world werecatching Corsola, Heracross and
we were sitting at homes inpanic and fear and like you had
no, time even to open PokemonGo.
(02:42):
Just scroll and doom, scroll anduse it
David Hernandez (02:46):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (02:46):
a really, really crazy time.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:48):
I had
David Hernandez (02:48):
Yeah.
I.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:49):
for, uh, and,
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (02:50):
too.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:51):
didn't know what to do with it.
But, I should say like, goodthing about, Niantic because, as
Nikita said.
Full invasion in Ukraine startedlike several days before this
Johto a lot of trainers havebought tickets for, uh.
This event.
And
David Hernandez (03:07):
And when the.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (03:08):
Niantic actually refunded all of these
tickets, to Ukrainians.
we were very appreciated for it.
And they also shown, us that,Niantic know about us.
Like despite the fact like, thegame is not released here
officially.
They know
David Hernandez (03:22):
They know.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (03:23):
Ukrainian, Player base.
they know we are like buying,buying stuff, they know our
political, let's say, situation,our issues.
They can, uh, refund, tickets,uh, before, like they actually
know that we, can't, play, playthis event.
And, I still remember this.
And, uh, it shows, us that,Niantic supports us.
David Hernandez (03:46):
It's gotta be kind of, I guess, startling
because for me, I remember JohtoTour.
It was a time when I met with myfriends here in the States where
we just went and traded likeanother day.
But for y'all, y'all remember itso differently'cause it's the
time where.
Y'all gotta deal with Russia,invading Ukraine.
How did y'all kind of, I guess,come to terms with playing
Pokemon Go while also dealingwith the conflict that's going
(04:07):
on right now?
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:08):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (04:09):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:09):
was the time when I, uh, moved from Kyiv.
I'm not originally like from IVand, uh, not originally from
Kyiv.
I am, from the south of Ukraine.
David Hernandez (04:19):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:20):
hometown is, uh, now occupied by, Russians.
But when the war started, like Iwas, living in Kyiv.
Have a study there.
I was a part like of Kyivcommunity.
we had like no ambassadors for,that time.
and I'm not sure if we, did knowlike, each other with Nikita.
(04:40):
but, I think we like, the sameevents.
David Hernandez (04:43):
but.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:44):
don't think we knew each other like
personally.
And that wa that was the time,when I moved to Liv.
Liv is a small, uh, geographiclesson.
it's on the west of Ukraine.
like considerate, relativelysafe, place.
'cause it's like far from theeastern border.
It's, Like very close to thePoland, like European, union
(05:05):
border.
It's like 100 kilometers fromhere.
So it's, uh, consideredrelatively safe and, that's why
we can like, play here with livealmost, how it gets like,
normal, lives and, be, thankful,for this, opportunity and, let's
say privilege.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that was the time when Imoved here and, started playing
(05:26):
here and meeting Local playersit became like, I guess we I
guess will talk
David Hernandez (05:32):
we'll, we'll talk.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (05:33):
it, transformed into me being, here,
David Hernandez (05:36):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (05:36):
when I am even originally from, from w.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (05:40):
If I can add a little, Pokemon
David Hernandez (05:42):
By all means, go for it.
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (05:44):
helps us to forget a little, a little,
a little about, everything thatwe read in youth, like in the
first month of, invasion, youcouldn't, think about anything
else.
Our first Community day, it wasSand slash Community Day in
March, and it was first, sunDays, uh, warm days.
(06:06):
And me with my girlfriend, time,walked into a nearby park.
We saw like two or three otherpeople, no, not PokemonGo
players.
And uh, it was our maybe first,uh.
Time when we tried to forget foran hour about the war and, just
played and it was different,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (06:26):
Yeah, I see,
David Hernandez (06:27):
I see.
I.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (06:27):
the same like, with our, players in IV
when they attend events, it'slike, Some kind of, relief.
Like it's an opportunity tospend several hours, like
normally play a game like, let'ssay real law at rest.
have a coffee together, with,uh, community, discuss the news
maybe.
(06:48):
And, it's not always about thegame.
it's more about, uh, thecommunity and, having time
together
David Hernandez (06:56):
When it comes to just playing Pokemon Go and
you're setting up the events,what made y'all wanna become
community ambassadors and howhas that role changed with
what's going on now to back wheny'all first started?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (07:07):
Like, Ole said he moved from Kyiv at
the beginning of the full scaleinvasion, but he was not alone.
A lot of people from east ofUkraine and from Kyiv moved to
the West and from Ukraine,immigrated to Europe or us.
We lost a lot of people and ourcommunities were shattered
(07:28):
basically.
for maybe one and a half years,community war we had no, like
big central community, I dunno.
But in the beginning, at thebeginning of 2024.
started to see many faces in ourtelegram group were asking like,
(07:50):
where to go to play Pokemon, goin Kyiv, do you rate, where do
you spend community days?
And I started to think like,Hmm, maybe I can, gather these
people in one park to help themto rate, to catch some new
Pokemon We began creating ourcommunity from scratch.
(08:12):
but then I saw news aboutambassador program and I
thought, let's try,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (08:19):
Yeah, my, path, started even earlier
because when I moved here toleave, first time, I wasn't
interested in playing.
I had like other issues like, toleave, job, like a lot of other
issues.
My family My family was like onoccupied of, at the at the time
uh, uh, a lot of otherpriorities, uh, I guess except
(08:40):
the game and a
David Hernandez (08:41):
and
Pokemon GO Ukraine (08:43):
who had like, uh, the same situation.
and several.
when everything was established,job was okay.
I.
My family was safe.
I decided to uh, like, uh, whatwe have in here, like in w what
is the player base and stuff.
at that time there like, uh.
(09:03):
There are like several, severalchats.
Several chats, but were not veryactive.
Like as I said, people havedifferent priorities, like
different issues.
And, player base wasn't veryactive.
at the time I, uh, met severalplayers.
from became like, core playersof our community during e now,
(09:28):
they, they are the core players.
And we started like, gatheringfor radars and read events.
I remember, some kind ofliterate, in 2022.
Maybe Hoopa.
Hoopa.
That was Yeah.
uh, our Yeah.
like, let's say huge, whiquotes, gatherings.
we had like seven, maybe eightpeople.
(09:50):
That was like huge gathering inViiV at the time.
And then we started likeconsistently doing rate hours
and the different, rate eventsfor, for some reason, reason.
our community.
Uh.
Always bothered like about race,like community days.
We are not really communitydays, uh, uh, raid events.
(10:12):
Uh, uh, I, me like to, togather, uh, like for raid
events.
and we did it consistently,let's say for a, for a year,
then Then I.
the community ambassador programI looked through the description
for, through the requirements,and, I said, oh, we already
doing this.
Let's, let's apply.
(10:33):
it didn't even change anythinglike in our events.
playing, hosting, like remainsthe same.
but we started to took photosbecause like, for application.
you need like several photos ofevents.
you have hosted, there arerequirements.
Like you, you should have like10 people.
for that event.
And, honestly, I didn't expectlike from those, that
(10:57):
application because at thattime, game wasn't released,
officially.
Like we didn't, have anyambassadors and, I had no,
expectation from it because.
Come on, would they, uh, uh,accept, uh, a community
ambassador in the country?
They didn't even have officiallyreleased game, but it happened.
How it happened for some reason,uh, me and Nikita accepted.
(11:22):
and then, then.
uh, we have three for now,ambassador in Ukraine.
Right?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (11:26):
Yes, yes.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (11:27):
and we have, uh, several communities in
different cities, who also ontop apply.
I try to, to help them, to gothrough the process.
So waiting like for ourcommunities to grow
David Hernandez (11:40):
It's interesting'cause you've
mentioned how you can officiallyget Pokemon Go in Ukraine.
I remember, I think Pokemon Goceased, support in Russia.
Did that also co, I know thatcovered also part of Ukraine,
right?
Is that kinda what you'realluding to or?
I guess, can you gimme someinsight on what you're talking
about when you can't physicallyget Pokemon going in the area
you got?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (11:59):
No, no, no.
David Hernandez (12:00):
Yes.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (12:01):
in Ukraine, in Ukraine, in any
city, you can play Pokemon.
Go catch Pokemon, look forpocket stops.
Even in those cities thatcurrently under occupation,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:12):
yeah.
you can download the game fromUkrainian App Store, app store
and uh,
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (12:17):
You
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:18):
Play.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (12:18):
in our, uh,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:20):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (12:20):
Yeah, so
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:21):
are problems with downloading the game and,
don donating like, uh, makingpayments inside the game.
but it works when you downloadit.
David Hernandez (12:31):
It is gotta feel weird starting a community
Pokemon Go no less.
During wartime, what kind ofreaction did you get from people
trying to do this?
Like were people for it againstit, indifferent.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:43):
I can't say they.
against it because, this,community and this gatherings,
are needed for a lot of people.
For example, here in Liv,because as I said, can be called
like a relatively safe, city.
There are many refugees andpeople who moved here, like
people who moved here from othercities as I did.
(13:05):
And, those people, maybe don'thave like a lot of connections
here.
maybe don't have like enough,social let's say, except their
jobs and something.
Joining any kind of community,even if it's, Pokemon Go
community, it's, an opportunityfor them, like to communicate,
to socialize.
It's not, not even about thegame.
(13:26):
It's, about, having a communitywhere you can.
Go, like every Wednesday you canjoin an event.
You, you can grab a coffee, likewith those people, discuss
something.
it became, a tight circle ofclose people which can go to the
bar together.
they can travel together withsome.
We had, several, trips itbecame, a community of people.
(13:50):
I can invite them for mybirthday, we can go to the bar
sometimes after events.
We have some kind of after partywhen we can go somewhere.
Even like, without the game.
Yeah.
So, I, think it has, positivereaction.
And, for those people whodecided not to play during the
war, there are a lot of thembecause like people have, their
(14:11):
spouse, personal issues and gamelike is not a priority.
They just don't play.
And, uh, that's it.
And, it could happen that theyreturn and they always know
where to go because, we havethose, events.
eventually people People comeback and.
didn't play, since the beginningof the war.
now I decided like I want tojoin.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (14:32):
Interesting enough that, we are something
different from iv.
We don't like, raiding too much.
mostly gather on community daysor Saturday or Sunday, meetings.
almost every time I see face,like some someone, uh.
Just started playing.
(14:53):
Like a goes on our meeting and,Someone like, Having time to
play Pokemon Go And, next daythey are, going to the front
lines.
our community is not like, closecircle of friends.
We have, many people, likesomeone we know closer, some,
someone is like first time.
(15:15):
almost everyone said that,community ambassador program is
a big deal for Kyiv because ifthere were no ambassador
program, wouldn't know that byanyone in Kyiv place.
They would have no motivation togo on rate days or community
days.
(15:35):
And I can say maybe 75% of ourplayers that go to our meetings
joined us just because ofambassador problem.
David Hernandez (15:44):
I want to ask, Nikita, from what your, a
colleague here said, he saysthat you're very big into the
PVP side of things.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (15:50):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (15:51):
What do you enjoy about PVP and how is the
PVP seen over in Ukraine?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (15:55):
Okay, let's dive in some history.
we started our, PVP tradition,in 2019, when PVP was introduced
in Pokemon Go and, Silph Arenawebsite was created.
began our tournaments everymonth.
Our first tournament had maybe10 people playing and I won the
(16:18):
tournament.
Um, yes.
Yes.
and, uh, we had every month, oneand maybe two tournaments, and
our biggest tournament was,February, 2020, weeks before
shutdown, and we had 50 players.
Six winners of the tournament,five of them, for them.
(16:40):
It was very first victory in,PVP tournament.
So our community was growinglike, crazy.
But after pandemics, had no lifein person tournament.
We had some online tournaments,but, playing in person is, not
like playing online.
But after shutdown downs, we hadour first tournament, the
(17:04):
tournament on January, 2022.
We had 30 people.
Some, players from other citiescame to our tournament.
And it was very fun tournamentand we wanted to start a new
tradition and play every monthfrom that.
But we had full scale invasionand from that our, PVP, uh,
(17:26):
in-person tournaments stoppedfor a bit.
But, For me, the mostinteresting thing is not to win.
I won a lot of tournaments.
I was talked to players inUkraine for years.
Me and the other guy were like,messy and Christian Ronaldo in
football, if you know, uh, whatI'm, what I'm talking about.
(17:49):
Um,
David Hernandez (17:50):
I know what you're talking about.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - (17:51):
excellent, excellent.
David Hernandez (17:54):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (17:55):
Yes, and we were, uh, winning, uh, me
winning half of tournaments andhe winning another half.
But it was not that I wanted tobring, for me, the most
interesting thing was to teachother players how to play some
techniques, some tricks, someuh, little PVP magic.
(18:16):
And I was, and I'm still theonly one.
Content creator Pokemon Go,Ukrainian speaking content
creator.
When I talk about PVP, about DPPokemon, some players were
saying that, this really changedtheir, skill.
Uh.
Especially when they wereplaying against me for the first
(18:38):
time and I was catching theircharged moves and they were
react like, what, what are youdoing?
How, how?
And I, after the game can talkwith them.
Like saying, you know, I, notjust tapping, I am counting
something while tapping.
Whoa.
It blows their mind.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (18:58):
Yeah, it,
David Hernandez (18:58):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (18:59):
blow my, my mind when I watched one of your
videos.
Yeah, I, I will, I was also, uh,them.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (19:08):
We had, Ukrainian based, faction.
and we called it, uh, power ofBorsch.
You know, Borsch is trulyUkrainian dish and every other
opponent, when saw our namingsaid wa, it's is the, the best
name of the team that we canimagine power of Bosch.
(19:28):
And we played really good.
uh, gathered.
Every top Ukrainian player.
But, after full scale invasion,some of them stopped playing and
after Silph shut down, morestopped playing.
But, we continued playing withour Faction and, our Faction was
(19:48):
disbanded, because we had, Someproblems in Ukraine, with,
electricity, after bombing wehad no electricity, no internet
connection, and it was tough toplay a lot PVP, especially when
you have to with someone fromother countries.
I can say right now from seventop players, maybe three or four
(20:11):
of them are active players.
If we talk about, onlinetournaments right now, it's not
our main focus.
my main focus right now is our,ambassador events, and a lot of
people that I saw for the firsttime, and most of them are
casual players, you want to playPVP competitively.
(20:33):
have to spend a lot of time justin one or two hours, maybe a day
playing, go back leagues,studying, watching something,
thinking.
it's really almost like aprofessional sport.
David Hernandez (21:31):
I wanna switch gears and I wanna come back to
the community ambassador inPokemon Go and Ukraine in a
little bit.
What is each of y'all's favoritePokemon?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - N (21:38):
Favorite Pokemon.
My favorite Pokemon is Lucario.
for me, best fighting and I lovefighting PVP some challenge.
And for me, is my, uh, numberone Pokemon.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (21:52):
How, how it is ranked in PPI, I'm sure like,
uh, Pokemon should be veryuseful in.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (22:00):
you trust in your favorite Pokemon,
it is number one for you.
David Hernandez (22:05):
Oh, the heat is a fire.
I love it.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (22:09):
It's not the matter of its size and with the
species, it's a matter of howyou use it, right?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (22:13):
Yes.
Yes.
In.
David Hernandez (22:15):
There's a lead four member who says A battle
with your favorite, so that'swhat he's leaning against right
now.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (22:19):
We have our one PVP player, uh,
that said that there are no badPokemon, there are bad trainers.
David Hernandez (22:27):
what about you?
Um, uh, O'Hare,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (22:31):
Honestly, it's not about favorite Pokemon
anymore for me, I liked, uh, I,I always liked always like, type
Pokemon, mm-hmm.
Hmm.
starter Pokemon, like I likedwool bazo.
I liked gr, I liked.
almost all grass starters, buthonestly, I can choose one
(22:51):
because this game is not aboutfavorite Pokemon, uh, for me
anymore.
And, not even about goals,goals, or challenges.
It's about It's about thecommunity, organizing events,
host events, About, helpingother communities to grow and,
building building somethinglike, how to.
(23:12):
I would I would like to, becobecome a platform to do
something good, good things.
mean, I mean, we uh, sometimesdo giveaways of, uh, different
prize, prices things, and,gather some some money for
charity.
For the Army or for humanitarianaid or like that.
(23:36):
I think, I think if we have,have privilege, like to live
live normal during these, hardtimes have ability to play, and
do something good, we, we shoulddo it.
for example, as Nikita said, wesaid the same situation.
One of situation, one of ourmembers Army now.
And we and to.
him.
for example, one of ourgiveaways, let's say, we were,
(23:59):
gathering money for him.
Because, uh, they had, uh, someissues with their, uh, car,
which was blown somewhere nearthe front.
uh, we uh, because of the, itwas like more than we expected
with some.
Like not very prices.
some of them were handmade.
We have one girl in ourcommunity who, who does like
(24:21):
handmade, toys, I I, ourcommunity to become, become a
platform to do similar or evenbetter things.
So hello.
about, my favorite Pokemon is
David Hernandez (24:35):
I think that's such a very good message to send
because it's so easy for us whodo have privilege, whether we're
in peace times, whether maybe wehave more money or whatever it
looks like for us to kind ofjust surround ourselves and
pretend that problems don'texist.
But the fact that, you know, yourecognize that yes, you know you
are in war times, but yourecognize that you're in a
peaceful area.
(24:55):
That you want to give back tothe areas that are both war
stricken as well as who arefighting for y'all.
I think it's a very noble causeand I applaud you for trying to
build something beyond justPokemon and go the game, but
into something that is real andtangible.
I,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (25:10):
Yeah, and I was talking about, goals.
I, gauged catch my desktop, alot of a lot of times.
these events and Mm-hmm.
Uh, I I.
sacrifice something.
for example, when it's, Bigevent happening, like, GOFest,
tour, uh, to have to simplifyof, some of gaming experience
(25:31):
sometimes, for organization.
somebody is late like messagingme and instead of playing this
beautiful event, I should answerthem like playing the route and,
and stuff.
And, this is maybe a message forpeople who want to become, a
community ambassador that it's.
Not Not always about.
(25:51):
like hardcore or player.
It's It's uh, about aboutsomething for the community.
because, during these big big.
I rarely like, play as, as muchas I want.
and instead of this, I am likedoing organization stuff.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (26:11):
I agree.
the main goal.
being community ambassador isnot for your personal gain.
It's not beating your, heart.
Like saying, I am theambassador.
I am, the leader.
Follow me.
No, no, no.
It's about helping other people.
You are employee for them.
You do what they need and notfor your game.
Like for the people, for thecommunity.
David Hernandez (26:32):
Spoken like true ambassadors And you know, I
hope y'all two continue to dowhat y'all are doing with
Pokemon and go, you know, thefact that y'all are here this
far is testament to how strongthey are as Ukrainians as a
nation.
having y'all play a role asPokemon Go Community ambassadors
so important, especially duringtimes like these.
And I applaud y'all for all thework y'all have done.
I appreciate y'all even givingus insight into what it's like
(26:55):
to play over there.
'cause I think a lot of peoplewe don't know.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (26:58):
We are playing Pokemon Go like you
are in Texas, but
David Hernandez (27:01):
I know, but people you think people know.
You think people know this overhere.
Okay.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (27:06):
But one, one thing, we can't play
Pokemon at night.
We have curfew and we
David Hernandez (27:11):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (27:12):
on the streets playing Pokemon in
2:00 AM This is the onedifference.
All right.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:18):
the second one is that you can download
from the app store, right?
Because, because, uh, like, Ilike to joke that, like they
have a campfire, right?
Campfire
David Hernandez (27:30):
Sure.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:30):
is needed.
Like, uh, they, um.
The,
David Hernandez (27:35):
The, uh, marketing, like,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:37):
app for finding a community to find a
community in Ukraine is, uh,easier than find the campfire in
Ukraine because it's also notavailable like in, in the app
store.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (27:48):
know,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:49):
Uh.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (27:49):
I have few players that, uh, find
our community in campfire.
They downloaded campfire, openedmap, and saw we have a meeting
and came to our meeting.
I have some players.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:01):
we, we also had them, but uh, usually, uh,
those people download it, itabroad
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Ni (28:07):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:08):
in Poland or, uh, in Europe.
They played like there then, uh,came back to Ukrainian Ukraine
and, uh, let's see what we haveon Kim file and found our, our
David Hernandez (28:20):
Um, look, I love this interview.
This is the most illegal legalshit I've ever heard.
I love it.
That have made the links y'allare going to, to play Pokemon
Go.
I'm, this is not an insult, bythe way.
This, I love this, so,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:32):
I'm, I'm not talking about, I mean, people
are traveling
David Hernandez (28:36):
oh, I know, I know it, it sounds illegal, but
it's legal.
That's what I meant.
Like it comes across as likethey're doing something shady.
But no, y'all actually doingstuff that you can actually do.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:45):
Yeah.
we sometimes have troubles like,how to download Campfire and,
people like, say I can't do it.
It's too tricky.
I said, how, how you downloadedthis game?
Uh, I just was in Poland and Idownloaded it and I play it,
David Hernandez (28:58):
Yes.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:58):
I, I don't know how to do it again.
Yeah.
So.
wish, I wish we have, we, wewill have like, uh, the game
release they can file releasedbecause it, will make,
everything like much more,easier.
also want like, to have, wouldbe nice to have Ukrainian, like,
uh, in game.
I mean, we can play in English.
(29:19):
That is what
David Hernandez (29:20):
mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (29:21):
but I would love to, to play in my native
language, and, regional pricesare also a, a thing like other
countries have, like, India,Turkey, whatever, like they have
like prices, much slower,because, uh,$1 in, uh, United
States, it's, not the same$1 inUkraine.
I guess our minimal salary is,Less than$200.
(29:43):
It's hard to, be, how to say,not free to play player, uh,
this crisis.
So So guess I'm not guess I'm,I, I'm, I'm sure, uh, a lot of,
uh, people are ready to, to pay,to donate, to buy those tickets,
pocket coins, if you will haveregional prices.
if they,higher than othercountries like India, Turkey,
(30:06):
already just, gives themability.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (30:10):
Just wanted to say thank you for
everyone who is still thinkingabout Ukraine, about our people
and who supports us, until thisday, and I think we'll support
us for to come.
Big thank you for all.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (30:26):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (30:27):
right.
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (30:31):
who listened to this moment and, managed to
understand us because Iunderstand how our English is
not, is not very good as, and asI joked with David, already, uh,
the Ukrainians like to, to, uh,speak in English even if we
don't know English.
Very good.
David Hernandez (30:51):
And just to let y'all know, I offered them a
Ukrainian translator.
They said no.
Okay.
So don't be going like, David.
Why don't you offer a translatorat the other guy?
No, I offered him translator.
He declined it.
Okay.
We are the community ambassadors in
(00:02):
Ukraine,
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (00:02):
and here is our story.
David Hernandez (00:42):
Welcome to As the Pokeball Turns, where we
interview people's experienceabout Pokemon.
My name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by the communityambassadors from Ukraine here to
share their experience withPokemon.
How they built their PokemonGood community and how Pokemon's
kind of helping them with what'sgoing on in the world.
I'm excited to dive into thisepisode.
Welcome to the episodes both ofy'all.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (01:04):
Thank you for inviting us.
David Hernandez (01:06):
And first off, thank You'all for being the
community ambassadors.
I know it's not an easy job.
and I can't imagine like howdifficult it is to do it this
time.
But I want to ask like, when didy'all start playing Pokemon?
Go.
Let's start there.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (01:18):
Okay.
my story, could be like a bitlong.
Maybe, maybe we should startlike with Nikita and, uh, go
from there.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (01:26):
So.
Story can be long too.
as many of, uh, as many, uh,like Pokemon Gold players, I
started playing in 2016.
I dunno about you guys, but thefirst week of, the game.
and Ole we can talk about, gamein Ukraine.
(01:47):
It'll be similar to otherworldwide communities before, I
don't know, maybe before covidtimes.
And maybe in Covid times, likein any other country, we had
pandemic issues and we weresitting at homes and maybe we
can talk about something that itis in Ukraine that no other
(02:07):
country Like, Ole, do youremember February, 2022 and
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:16):
Yeah.
Yeah, I, I remember, um, the.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (02:19):
the third day of the full scale
invasion and rocket heatingresidential house in here in Tiv
and Tanks, uh, storming iv.
everyone in the world werecatching Corsola, Heracross and
we were sitting at homes inpanic and fear and like you had
no, time even to open PokemonGo.
(02:42):
Just scroll and doom, scroll anduse it
David Hernandez (02:46):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (02:46):
a really, really crazy time.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:48):
I had
David Hernandez (02:48):
Yeah.
I.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:49):
for, uh, and,
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (02:50):
too.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (02:51):
didn't know what to do with it.
But, I should say like, goodthing about, Niantic because, as
Nikita said.
Full invasion in Ukraine startedlike several days before this
Johto a lot of trainers havebought tickets for, uh.
This event.
And
David Hernandez (03:07):
And when the.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (03:08):
Niantic actually refunded all of these
tickets, to Ukrainians.
we were very appreciated for it.
And they also shown, us that,Niantic know about us.
Like despite the fact like, thegame is not released here
officially.
They know
David Hernandez (03:22):
They know.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (03:23):
Ukrainian, Player base.
they know we are like buying,buying stuff, they know our
political, let's say, situation,our issues.
They can, uh, refund, tickets,uh, before, like they actually
know that we, can't, play, playthis event.
And, I still remember this.
And, uh, it shows, us that,Niantic supports us.
David Hernandez (03:46):
It's gotta be kind of, I guess, startling
because for me, I remember JohtoTour.
It was a time when I met with myfriends here in the States where
we just went and traded likeanother day.
But for y'all, y'all remember itso differently'cause it's the
time where.
Y'all gotta deal with Russia,invading Ukraine.
How did y'all kind of, I guess,come to terms with playing
Pokemon Go while also dealingwith the conflict that's going
(04:07):
on right now?
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:08):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (04:09):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:09):
was the time when I, uh, moved from Kyiv.
I'm not originally like from IVand, uh, not originally from
Kyiv.
I am, from the south of Ukraine.
David Hernandez (04:19):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:20):
hometown is, uh, now occupied by, Russians.
But when the war started, like Iwas, living in Kyiv.
Have a study there.
I was a part like of Kyivcommunity.
we had like no ambassadors for,that time.
and I'm not sure if we, did knowlike, each other with Nikita.
(04:40):
but, I think we like, the sameevents.
David Hernandez (04:43):
but.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (04:44):
don't think we knew each other like
personally.
And that wa that was the time,when I moved to Liv.
Liv is a small, uh, geographiclesson.
it's on the west of Ukraine.
like considerate, relativelysafe, place.
'cause it's like far from theeastern border.
It's, Like very close to thePoland, like European, union
(05:05):
border.
It's like 100 kilometers fromhere.
So it's, uh, consideredrelatively safe and, that's why
we can like, play here with livealmost, how it gets like,
normal, lives and, be, thankful,for this, opportunity and, let's
say privilege.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that was the time when Imoved here and, started playing
(05:26):
here and meeting Local playersit became like, I guess we I
guess will talk
David Hernandez (05:32):
we'll, we'll talk.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (05:33):
it, transformed into me being, here,
David Hernandez (05:36):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (05:36):
when I am even originally from, from w.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (05:40):
If I can add a little, Pokemon
David Hernandez (05:42):
By all means, go for it.
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (05:44):
helps us to forget a little, a little,
a little about, everything thatwe read in youth, like in the
first month of, invasion, youcouldn't, think about anything
else.
Our first Community day, it wasSand slash Community Day in
March, and it was first, sunDays, uh, warm days.
(06:06):
And me with my girlfriend, time,walked into a nearby park.
We saw like two or three otherpeople, no, not PokemonGo
players.
And uh, it was our maybe first,uh.
Time when we tried to forget foran hour about the war and, just
played and it was different,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (06:26):
Yeah, I see,
David Hernandez (06:27):
I see.
I.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (06:27):
the same like, with our, players in IV
when they attend events, it'slike, Some kind of, relief.
Like it's an opportunity tospend several hours, like
normally play a game like, let'ssay real law at rest.
have a coffee together, with,uh, community, discuss the news
maybe.
(06:48):
And, it's not always about thegame.
it's more about, uh, thecommunity and, having time
together
David Hernandez (06:56):
When it comes to just playing Pokemon Go and
you're setting up the events,what made y'all wanna become
community ambassadors and howhas that role changed with
what's going on now to back wheny'all first started?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (07:07):
Like, Ole said he moved from Kyiv at
the beginning of the full scaleinvasion, but he was not alone.
A lot of people from east ofUkraine and from Kyiv moved to
the West and from Ukraine,immigrated to Europe or us.
We lost a lot of people and ourcommunities were shattered
(07:28):
basically.
for maybe one and a half years,community war we had no, like
big central community, I dunno.
But in the beginning, at thebeginning of 2024.
started to see many faces in ourtelegram group were asking like,
(07:50):
where to go to play Pokemon, goin Kyiv, do you rate, where do
you spend community days?
And I started to think like,Hmm, maybe I can, gather these
people in one park to help themto rate, to catch some new
Pokemon We began creating ourcommunity from scratch.
(08:12):
but then I saw news aboutambassador program and I
thought, let's try,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (08:19):
Yeah, my, path, started even earlier
because when I moved here toleave, first time, I wasn't
interested in playing.
I had like other issues like, toleave, job, like a lot of other
issues.
My family My family was like onoccupied of, at the at the time
uh, uh, a lot of otherpriorities, uh, I guess except
(08:40):
the game and a
David Hernandez (08:41):
and
Pokemon GO Ukraine (08:43):
who had like, uh, the same situation.
and several.
when everything was established,job was okay.
I.
My family was safe.
I decided to uh, like, uh, whatwe have in here, like in w what
is the player base and stuff.
at that time there like, uh.
(09:03):
There are like several, severalchats.
Several chats, but were not veryactive.
Like as I said, people havedifferent priorities, like
different issues.
And, player base wasn't veryactive.
at the time I, uh, met severalplayers.
from became like, core playersof our community during e now,
(09:28):
they, they are the core players.
And we started like, gatheringfor radars and read events.
I remember, some kind ofliterate, in 2022.
Maybe Hoopa.
Hoopa.
That was Yeah.
uh, our Yeah.
like, let's say huge, whiquotes, gatherings.
we had like seven, maybe eightpeople.
(09:50):
That was like huge gathering inViiV at the time.
And then we started likeconsistently doing rate hours
and the different, rate eventsfor, for some reason, reason.
our community.
Uh.
Always bothered like about race,like community days.
We are not really communitydays, uh, uh, raid events.
(10:12):
Uh, uh, I, me like to, togather, uh, like for raid
events.
and we did it consistently,let's say for a, for a year,
then Then I.
the community ambassador programI looked through the description
for, through the requirements,and, I said, oh, we already
doing this.
Let's, let's apply.
(10:33):
it didn't even change anythinglike in our events.
playing, hosting, like remainsthe same.
but we started to took photosbecause like, for application.
you need like several photos ofevents.
you have hosted, there arerequirements.
Like you, you should have like10 people.
for that event.
And, honestly, I didn't expectlike from those, that
(10:57):
application because at thattime, game wasn't released,
officially.
Like we didn't, have anyambassadors and, I had no,
expectation from it because.
Come on, would they, uh, uh,accept, uh, a community
ambassador in the country?
They didn't even have officiallyreleased game, but it happened.
How it happened for some reason,uh, me and Nikita accepted.
(11:22):
and then, then.
uh, we have three for now,ambassador in Ukraine.
Right?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (11:26):
Yes, yes.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (11:27):
and we have, uh, several communities in
different cities, who also ontop apply.
I try to, to help them, to gothrough the process.
So waiting like for ourcommunities to grow
David Hernandez (11:40):
It's interesting'cause you've
mentioned how you can officiallyget Pokemon Go in Ukraine.
I remember, I think Pokemon Goceased, support in Russia.
Did that also co, I know thatcovered also part of Ukraine,
right?
Is that kinda what you'realluding to or?
I guess, can you gimme someinsight on what you're talking
about when you can't physicallyget Pokemon going in the area
you got?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (11:59):
No, no, no.
David Hernandez (12:00):
Yes.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (12:01):
in Ukraine, in Ukraine, in any
city, you can play Pokemon.
Go catch Pokemon, look forpocket stops.
Even in those cities thatcurrently under occupation,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:12):
yeah.
you can download the game fromUkrainian App Store, app store
and uh,
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (12:17):
You
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:18):
Play.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (12:18):
in our, uh,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:20):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (12:20):
Yeah, so
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:21):
are problems with downloading the game and,
don donating like, uh, makingpayments inside the game.
but it works when you downloadit.
David Hernandez (12:31):
It is gotta feel weird starting a community
Pokemon Go no less.
During wartime, what kind ofreaction did you get from people
trying to do this?
Like were people for it againstit, indifferent.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (12:43):
I can't say they.
against it because, this,community and this gatherings,
are needed for a lot of people.
For example, here in Liv,because as I said, can be called
like a relatively safe, city.
There are many refugees andpeople who moved here, like
people who moved here from othercities as I did.
(13:05):
And, those people, maybe don'thave like a lot of connections
here.
maybe don't have like enough,social let's say, except their
jobs and something.
Joining any kind of community,even if it's, Pokemon Go
community, it's, an opportunityfor them, like to communicate,
to socialize.
It's not, not even about thegame.
(13:26):
It's, about, having a communitywhere you can.
Go, like every Wednesday you canjoin an event.
You, you can grab a coffee, likewith those people, discuss
something.
it became, a tight circle ofclose people which can go to the
bar together.
they can travel together withsome.
We had, several, trips itbecame, a community of people.
(13:50):
I can invite them for mybirthday, we can go to the bar
sometimes after events.
We have some kind of after partywhen we can go somewhere.
Even like, without the game.
Yeah.
So, I, think it has, positivereaction.
And, for those people whodecided not to play during the
war, there are a lot of thembecause like people have, their
(14:11):
spouse, personal issues and gamelike is not a priority.
They just don't play.
And, uh, that's it.
And, it could happen that theyreturn and they always know
where to go because, we havethose, events.
eventually people People comeback and.
didn't play, since the beginningof the war.
now I decided like I want tojoin.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (14:32):
Interesting enough that, we are something
different from iv.
We don't like, raiding too much.
mostly gather on community daysor Saturday or Sunday, meetings.
almost every time I see face,like some someone, uh.
Just started playing.
(14:53):
Like a goes on our meeting and,Someone like, Having time to
play Pokemon Go And, next daythey are, going to the front
lines.
our community is not like, closecircle of friends.
We have, many people, likesomeone we know closer, some,
someone is like first time.
(15:15):
almost everyone said that,community ambassador program is
a big deal for Kyiv because ifthere were no ambassador
program, wouldn't know that byanyone in Kyiv place.
They would have no motivation togo on rate days or community
days.
(15:35):
And I can say maybe 75% of ourplayers that go to our meetings
joined us just because ofambassador problem.
David Hernandez (15:44):
I want to ask, Nikita, from what your, a
colleague here said, he saysthat you're very big into the
PVP side of things.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (15:50):
Yeah.
David Hernandez (15:51):
What do you enjoy about PVP and how is the
PVP seen over in Ukraine?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (15:55):
Okay, let's dive in some history.
we started our, PVP tradition,in 2019, when PVP was introduced
in Pokemon Go and, Silph Arenawebsite was created.
began our tournaments everymonth.
Our first tournament had maybe10 people playing and I won the
(16:18):
tournament.
Um, yes.
Yes.
and, uh, we had every month, oneand maybe two tournaments, and
our biggest tournament was,February, 2020, weeks before
shutdown, and we had 50 players.
Six winners of the tournament,five of them, for them.
(16:40):
It was very first victory in,PVP tournament.
So our community was growinglike, crazy.
But after pandemics, had no lifein person tournament.
We had some online tournaments,but, playing in person is, not
like playing online.
But after shutdown downs, we hadour first tournament, the
(17:04):
tournament on January, 2022.
We had 30 people.
Some, players from other citiescame to our tournament.
And it was very fun tournamentand we wanted to start a new
tradition and play every monthfrom that.
But we had full scale invasionand from that our, PVP, uh,
(17:26):
in-person tournaments stoppedfor a bit.
But, For me, the mostinteresting thing is not to win.
I won a lot of tournaments.
I was talked to players inUkraine for years.
Me and the other guy were like,messy and Christian Ronaldo in
football, if you know, uh, whatI'm, what I'm talking about.
(17:49):
Um,
David Hernandez (17:50):
I know what you're talking about.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - (17:51):
excellent, excellent.
David Hernandez (17:54):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (17:55):
Yes, and we were, uh, winning, uh, me
winning half of tournaments andhe winning another half.
But it was not that I wanted tobring, for me, the most
interesting thing was to teachother players how to play some
techniques, some tricks, someuh, little PVP magic.
(18:16):
And I was, and I'm still theonly one.
Content creator Pokemon Go,Ukrainian speaking content
creator.
When I talk about PVP, about DPPokemon, some players were
saying that, this really changedtheir, skill.
Uh.
Especially when they wereplaying against me for the first
(18:38):
time and I was catching theircharged moves and they were
react like, what, what are youdoing?
How, how?
And I, after the game can talkwith them.
Like saying, you know, I, notjust tapping, I am counting
something while tapping.
Whoa.
It blows their mind.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (18:58):
Yeah, it,
David Hernandez (18:58):
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (18:59):
blow my, my mind when I watched one of your
videos.
Yeah, I, I will, I was also, uh,them.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (19:08):
We had, Ukrainian based, faction.
and we called it, uh, power ofBorsch.
You know, Borsch is trulyUkrainian dish and every other
opponent, when saw our namingsaid wa, it's is the, the best
name of the team that we canimagine power of Bosch.
(19:28):
And we played really good.
uh, gathered.
Every top Ukrainian player.
But, after full scale invasion,some of them stopped playing and
after Silph shut down, morestopped playing.
But, we continued playing withour Faction and, our Faction was
(19:48):
disbanded, because we had, Someproblems in Ukraine, with,
electricity, after bombing wehad no electricity, no internet
connection, and it was tough toplay a lot PVP, especially when
you have to with someone fromother countries.
I can say right now from seventop players, maybe three or four
(20:11):
of them are active players.
If we talk about, onlinetournaments right now, it's not
our main focus.
my main focus right now is our,ambassador events, and a lot of
people that I saw for the firsttime, and most of them are
casual players, you want to playPVP competitively.
(20:33):
have to spend a lot of time justin one or two hours, maybe a day
playing, go back leagues,studying, watching something,
thinking.
it's really almost like aprofessional sport.
David Hernandez (21:31):
I wanna switch gears and I wanna come back to
the community ambassador inPokemon Go and Ukraine in a
little bit.
What is each of y'all's favoritePokemon?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - N (21:38):
Favorite Pokemon.
My favorite Pokemon is Lucario.
for me, best fighting and I lovefighting PVP some challenge.
And for me, is my, uh, numberone Pokemon.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (21:52):
How, how it is ranked in PPI, I'm sure like,
uh, Pokemon should be veryuseful in.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (22:00):
you trust in your favorite Pokemon,
it is number one for you.
David Hernandez (22:05):
Oh, the heat is a fire.
I love it.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (22:09):
It's not the matter of its size and with the
species, it's a matter of howyou use it, right?
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (22:13):
Yes.
Yes.
In.
David Hernandez (22:15):
There's a lead four member who says A battle
with your favorite, so that'swhat he's leaning against right
now.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (22:19):
We have our one PVP player, uh,
that said that there are no badPokemon, there are bad trainers.
David Hernandez (22:27):
what about you?
Um, uh, O'Hare,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (22:31):
Honestly, it's not about favorite Pokemon
anymore for me, I liked, uh, I,I always liked always like, type
Pokemon, mm-hmm.
Hmm.
starter Pokemon, like I likedwool bazo.
I liked gr, I liked.
almost all grass starters, buthonestly, I can choose one
(22:51):
because this game is not aboutfavorite Pokemon, uh, for me
anymore.
And, not even about goals,goals, or challenges.
It's about It's about thecommunity, organizing events,
host events, About, helpingother communities to grow and,
building building somethinglike, how to.
(23:12):
I would I would like to, becobecome a platform to do
something good, good things.
mean, I mean, we uh, sometimesdo giveaways of, uh, different
prize, prices things, and,gather some some money for
charity.
For the Army or for humanitarianaid or like that.
(23:36):
I think, I think if we have,have privilege, like to live
live normal during these, hardtimes have ability to play, and
do something good, we, we shoulddo it.
for example, as Nikita said, wesaid the same situation.
One of situation, one of ourmembers Army now.
And we and to.
him.
for example, one of ourgiveaways, let's say, we were,
(23:59):
gathering money for him.
Because, uh, they had, uh, someissues with their, uh, car,
which was blown somewhere nearthe front.
uh, we uh, because of the, itwas like more than we expected
with some.
Like not very prices.
some of them were handmade.
We have one girl in ourcommunity who, who does like
(24:21):
handmade, toys, I I, ourcommunity to become, become a
platform to do similar or evenbetter things.
So hello.
about, my favorite Pokemon is
David Hernandez (24:35):
I think that's such a very good message to send
because it's so easy for us whodo have privilege, whether we're
in peace times, whether maybe wehave more money or whatever it
looks like for us to kind ofjust surround ourselves and
pretend that problems don'texist.
But the fact that, you know, yourecognize that yes, you know you
are in war times, but yourecognize that you're in a
peaceful area.
(24:55):
That you want to give back tothe areas that are both war
stricken as well as who arefighting for y'all.
I think it's a very noble causeand I applaud you for trying to
build something beyond justPokemon and go the game, but
into something that is real andtangible.
I,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (25:10):
Yeah, and I was talking about, goals.
I, gauged catch my desktop, alot of a lot of times.
these events and Mm-hmm.
Uh, I I.
sacrifice something.
for example, when it's, Bigevent happening, like, GOFest,
tour, uh, to have to simplifyof, some of gaming experience
(25:31):
sometimes, for organization.
somebody is late like messagingme and instead of playing this
beautiful event, I should answerthem like playing the route and,
and stuff.
And, this is maybe a message forpeople who want to become, a
community ambassador that it's.
Not Not always about.
(25:51):
like hardcore or player.
It's It's uh, about aboutsomething for the community.
because, during these big big.
I rarely like, play as, as muchas I want.
and instead of this, I am likedoing organization stuff.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (26:11):
I agree.
the main goal.
being community ambassador isnot for your personal gain.
It's not beating your, heart.
Like saying, I am theambassador.
I am, the leader.
Follow me.
No, no, no.
It's about helping other people.
You are employee for them.
You do what they need and notfor your game.
Like for the people, for thecommunity.
David Hernandez (26:32):
Spoken like true ambassadors And you know, I
hope y'all two continue to dowhat y'all are doing with
Pokemon and go, you know, thefact that y'all are here this
far is testament to how strongthey are as Ukrainians as a
nation.
having y'all play a role asPokemon Go Community ambassadors
so important, especially duringtimes like these.
And I applaud y'all for all thework y'all have done.
I appreciate y'all even givingus insight into what it's like
(26:55):
to play over there.
'cause I think a lot of peoplewe don't know.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (26:58):
We are playing Pokemon Go like you
are in Texas, but
David Hernandez (27:01):
I know, but people you think people know.
You think people know this overhere.
Okay.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (27:06):
But one, one thing, we can't play
Pokemon at night.
We have curfew and we
David Hernandez (27:11):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (27:12):
on the streets playing Pokemon in
2:00 AM This is the onedifference.
All right.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:18):
the second one is that you can download
from the app store, right?
Because, because, uh, like, Ilike to joke that, like they
have a campfire, right?
Campfire
David Hernandez (27:30):
Sure.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:30):
is needed.
Like, uh, they, um.
The,
David Hernandez (27:35):
The, uh, marketing, like,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:37):
app for finding a community to find a
community in Ukraine is, uh,easier than find the campfire in
Ukraine because it's also notavailable like in, in the app
store.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Niki (27:48):
know,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (27:49):
Uh.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikita (27:49):
I have few players that, uh, find
our community in campfire.
They downloaded campfire, openedmap, and saw we have a meeting
and came to our meeting.
I have some players.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:01):
we, we also had them, but uh, usually, uh,
those people download it, itabroad
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Ni (28:07):
Mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:08):
in Poland or, uh, in Europe.
They played like there then, uh,came back to Ukrainian Ukraine
and, uh, let's see what we haveon Kim file and found our, our
David Hernandez (28:20):
Um, look, I love this interview.
This is the most illegal legalshit I've ever heard.
I love it.
That have made the links y'allare going to, to play Pokemon
Go.
I'm, this is not an insult, bythe way.
This, I love this, so,
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:32):
I'm, I'm not talking about, I mean, people
are traveling
David Hernandez (28:36):
oh, I know, I know it, it sounds illegal, but
it's legal.
That's what I meant.
Like it comes across as likethey're doing something shady.
But no, y'all actually doingstuff that you can actually do.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:45):
Yeah.
we sometimes have troubles like,how to download Campfire and,
people like, say I can't do it.
It's too tricky.
I said, how, how you downloadedthis game?
Uh, I just was in Poland and Idownloaded it and I play it,
David Hernandez (28:58):
Yes.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (28:58):
I, I don't know how to do it again.
Yeah.
So.
wish, I wish we have, we, wewill have like, uh, the game
release they can file releasedbecause it, will make,
everything like much more,easier.
also want like, to have, wouldbe nice to have Ukrainian, like,
uh, in game.
I mean, we can play in English.
(29:19):
That is what
David Hernandez (29:20):
mm-hmm.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (29:21):
but I would love to, to play in my native
language, and, regional pricesare also a, a thing like other
countries have, like, India,Turkey, whatever, like they have
like prices, much slower,because, uh,$1 in, uh, United
States, it's, not the same$1 inUkraine.
I guess our minimal salary is,Less than$200.
(29:43):
It's hard to, be, how to say,not free to play player, uh,
this crisis.
So So guess I'm not guess I'm,I, I'm, I'm sure, uh, a lot of,
uh, people are ready to, to pay,to donate, to buy those tickets,
pocket coins, if you will haveregional prices.
if they,higher than othercountries like India, Turkey,
(30:06):
already just, gives themability.
Pokemon GO Ukraine - Nikit (30:10):
Just wanted to say thank you for
everyone who is still thinkingabout Ukraine, about our people
and who supports us, until thisday, and I think we'll support
us for to come.
Big thank you for all.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (30:26):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (30:27):
right.
Yeah.
Pokemon GO Ukraine (30:31):
who listened to this moment and, managed to
understand us because Iunderstand how our English is
not, is not very good as, and asI joked with David, already, uh,
the Ukrainians like to, to, uh,speak in English even if we
don't know English.
Very good.
David Hernandez (30:51):
And just to let y'all know, I offered them a
Ukrainian translator.
They said no.
Okay.
So don't be going like, David.
Why don't you offer a translatorat the other guy?
No, I offered him translator.
He declined it.
Okay.
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