June 7, 2023 • 20 mins
ScythersKiss reflects on how Pokémon GO played a transformative role in his move from Utah to Austin, forging lasting friendships and even sparking a love story. From his early days with Bug Pokémon and collecting cards with his brother to his involvement in PVP and Wayfarer, this interview dives into the diverse experiences that have shaped his journey in the Pokémon GO community.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
David Hernandez (00:00):
My name is David Hernandez and you're
listening to As The PokeballTurns! Welcome to As The
(00:45):
Pokeball Turns! where thestories are real and people
still play this game.
Known as the live music capitalof the world, the city of Austin
is home to vibrantentertainment, art, and culture,
UT, Hookem horns for you collegefans, and an outdoor experience
that allows people to createtheir own soundtrack.
But wait soundtrack, how do youcreate your own soundtrack?
(01:07):
Well, you may not ask thatquestion because who burned CDs
nowadays?
However, it's fun to imagine howour individual experiences can
turn into different soundtracks.
In the same way, our PokemonGojourney is our own, with its own
unique twist and turns.
Now, here's the question, whattype of soundtrack would we hear
from someone living in Austin,especially in Pokemon Go?
(01:27):
There's only one way to findout.
From Austin, Texas, here is hisorigin story into the world of
Pokemon Go.
This is ScythersKiss! Today I'mjoined by ScythersKiss.
Welcome to the show!
ScythersKiss (01:41):
Thanks for having me.
David Hernandez (01:43):
For sure.
Now I gotta ask like, what's themeaning behind ScythersKiss?
ScythersKiss (01:48):
Yeah, so I actually had to pay tribute to
my favorite Pokemon growing up,Scyther.
I'm all about trying to findlike fun, clicky names.
One day decided to just throwsome different names out there
and, I just kind of imaginedlike Scyther blowing someone a
kiss, I thought that soundedfunny.
I just remember growing upwatching that anime and the
first encounter when ASH meetsthe Scyther and I don't know,
(02:10):
like growing up as a kid too,like I was really big on, the
different insects and collectingbugs and so I, I feel like I'm
more of like a.
Bug trainer deep down.
Scyther just like visually waymore appealing, really
attractive.
I like the evolution with Scizorand now Cleaver.
David Hernandez (02:25):
I'm guessing Scyther would be your ace, and
you said bug Pokemon were yourfavorite.
Right?
ScythersKiss (02:28):
Yeah.
Have an attachment to like bugPokemon.
I think like growing up as akid, you know, I don't know what
class it was, but they did, youhad to like collect bugs for
like science projects and thingslike that and, um, praying
mantis are just really cool.
I was really fascinated with it,so the design was Scyther,
obviously they got a lot ofinspiration there.
David Hernandez (02:45):
If you're like a bug gym leader or an elite
form member, who would be yoursquad?
ScythersKiss (02:50):
I'm a big fan of Scyther, Scizor, Cleaver,
obviously.
And then I really like Genesect.
I like Pinsir.
I like that it can Mega Evolveinto it.
And I also like Pheromosa.
I know that it's like more of aglass cannon, but it does a lot
of damage, so I feel like it'spretty useful.
David Hernandez (03:07):
Now, it sounds like you grew up with Pokemon.
Is that correct?
ScythersKiss (03:10):
Yeah, definitely coming from like a nineties kids
background, I just remembergetting introduced to it through
the Pokemon cards.
My brother and I, we bothcollected back in the day and my
dad would take us to target onthe weekends after collecting
all of our money for, from doingchores and we basically just
waste it into all the Pokemoncards.
So I remember hitting up allthe, you know, targets and then
(03:31):
there was the local card shopsthat we could go to and part of
the craze back in the day, Ifeel like everyone was into
that.
David Hernandez (03:37):
And so you said you and your brother were
playing right?
ScythersKiss (03:40):
Yeah.
Like my brother, he's just a,like three years older than me.
We both like collected the cardsgrowing up and unfortunately,
time changes and we grow olderand, kind of fall apart from it
a little bit.
Back in the day, like with thefirst, Pokemon cards that came
out, my brother was lucky enoughto get a holographic Blastoise,
right?
Back in the day, you know, you'dmeet up at school or with your
(04:01):
friends and show off what youhad and like maybe do some
trades.
One of our neighbors actuallyended up stealing it from him
and, uh, it pretty tragic thinglike years later, like as we
kind of grew up, like we'reactually friends with him, our
neighbor, but he confessed tolike stealing it from him back
in the day.
So yeah, man, it's, bittersweetwith that.
But definitely a fun experience.
David Hernandez (04:20):
Did he ever explain why he stole it?
ScythersKiss (04:23):
I think it's just that shiny effect, Blastoise was
like one of those Chase cards.
I think most people wanted theCharizard, but you know,
Blastoise was right up theretoo, and so, you had to have it,
I guess.
David Hernandez (04:33):
The holographic lured him in it sounds like.
ScythersKiss (04:35):
Yeah, man, it's a good card.
I really love that artwork.
You know, I'm collecting now,which is fun, and like I've got
a really cool Charizard binderthat, I'm putting together.
I know I had a lot of good ones,man, like the vintage and, I
imagine, they've been ripped upor thrown away at some time.
David Hernandez (04:51):
So between when you first were as a child up to
go, did you continue to playPokemon or did you kind of have
to stop at some point?
ScythersKiss (04:57):
The Pokemon card was how I got introduced, it was
really just that, and then goinginto like middle school, it
wasn't really a fad for me atthat time, I kind of just lost
that love.
Pokemon Go, when it came out,like really resurfaced it all
and brought me back with thatnostalgia big time, so kind of
had a big gap in between thatlike I would say 13, 14, I put
(05:18):
it aside and then like kind ofcame back in my late twenties,
so pretty crazy.
David Hernandez (05:22):
When Pokemon Go came back, what about it excited
you?
Because you said it stir up thenostalgia.
Was it the idea of maybe seeingPokemon in the real world?
Was it just the fact that it wasa mobile game?
ScythersKiss (05:32):
I'm a gamer deep down like I've always had A lot
of fun playing the Nintendogames and like some different
app based games.
So I remember just hearing allthe hype about it, one of my
friends told me about the wholelike April Fools thing on
Google, how they, teased,Pokemon, being at different
locations on the map for likeApril Fools.
So he kind of hyped it up for meand then I just downloaded it.
David Hernandez (05:54):
So, you know, let's fast forward to 2016,
right?
Pokemon Go comes out all overthe place, you know, people are
going crazy.
Where did you go to play?
Like, what was it like in yourarea?
ScythersKiss (06:04):
I'm here in Austin, Texas now, but I'm
actually from Utah, I grew up inOrem, Utah, and I just remember
when it first came out, I foundthis like outdoor mall called,
Riverwoods, and that was likethe best place to play.
Whoever played ingress back inthe day had set up a ton of
portals, and so we had like abunch of gyms and stops and so
(06:24):
yeah, that was like the go-tospot, along with some of the
school campuses out there.
Pretty crazy seeing all the,people showing up, news travels
quick, like everyone knew whereall the good spots were when the
game first came out and yeah,Riverwoods was awesome, man.
I love that place.
David Hernandez (06:38):
Since you've been in Austin for a while, like
what are places to go, like,where are the hotspots to go
play?
ScythersKiss (06:43):
I think the most well-known place is the Texas
capital.
That's definitely one of thebest like grind areas, lots of
players there, like communitydays.
The outdoor walking lots of dogparks and stuff by it too.
That's definitely in SouthAustin, the place to go.
But, I'm more in North Austinand there's actually this place
called the Domain.
(07:05):
It's a really great area foroutdoor shopping, lots of bars
and restaurants, also some likeworkspace as well.
So I would say if you're moreNorth Austin, which is where I'm
from, definitely the place to belike, just so many great
Pokestops and gyms and I'veactually added a bunch of spots
to it, so it's grown quite abit.
David Hernandez (07:23):
So what's the community like out there?
Like are there a lot of activepeople like how involved are
people with Pokemon Go inAustin?
ScythersKiss (07:30):
I would say we're extremely passionate, very
strong community here.
When it comes to like the PVPscene, you know, we definitely
have some big names there.
And then like any other part ofthe game, any aspect with raids
or gyms, like, I think we hadlike one of the first raid
players to like hit a billionxp, in Austin like, I think he
was like third or fourth personto do it.
(07:50):
And then I think we have liketwo or three of the top best
Gymmers in the world.
We have a really fun discord aswell, PoGo512, so it's very
active and yeah, I really think,it's a good place to play.
David Hernandez (08:03):
So, what's your favorite way to play?
ScythersKiss (08:05):
I like to consider myself pretty well-rounded, if
I'm being honest with you.
I have different phases wherelike I get really attached to
maybe like raiding or PVP orlike doing some gyms As of
recently, like I'm trying to getthe Wayspot badge platinum, so
I've been submitting a bunch oflike nominations.
I have that Stephen pose that Ireally like, I love to keep that
(08:26):
as my drip in game.
I think as of recent I've kindof lost love for it, just it's
very time consuming and like I'mkind of doing, more of like the
collection part of the gameright now, I'm trying to get
like the lucky dex filled outand focusing more on like hundos
and things like that.
David Hernandez (08:41):
Yeah, that's the fun part about Pokemon Go is
that there's just so manydifferent ways to play and if
you get tired of one way, youcan try something different.
ScythersKiss (08:47):
Yeah, a hundred percent and like, when the
friend system came out, Iremember getting really into
that like, I think at the timewe could only have like 200
friends.
So I was like, all right, I'mjust gonna add a bunch of
people, like all over the worldand try and like get as much XP
from it.
That kind of got old after maybelike three or four months
because you know, you can onlysend hundred gifts a day, and
(09:08):
you can only open like 20 and soif you had like a bunch of other
people, right, like I had likeanother 80 people on my friends
list that I couldn't interactwith like I had to like send
battles to them and we'd justthrow in like 10 CP Pokemon and
make the battles really quick.
So it was pretty intense doingthat.
,But it was actually kind of funbecause I was able to like meet
more of like the hardcoreplayers around the world like I
(09:29):
had the chance to like addBrandon Tan in there and like
some of the other top like XPplayers.
So that was pretty cool, but,definitely not sustainable for
me like I don't like interactingvia battles anymore, but it did
help me gain a bunch of xp.
David Hernandez (11:47):
Earlier you mentioned how you played, other
mobile games before Pokemon Go.
What about Pokemon Go in youropinion, differentiates itself
from those type of games
ScythersKiss (11:56):
I really enjoyed the exploration and the social
aspect of it, so I've met somany cool people from this game,
I've actually met my wifeplaying this game, which is
pretty crazy.
I'll have to tell you aboutthat.
You know, I've been able to meetsome really great people and,
some really good friends, likebeing new to Texas, like I
literally didn't know anybodyand then this game encouraged me
to go out and play and likenaturally just run into people
(12:19):
and just say, Hey, you know,they got their head down looking
at the phone.
You can tell if they're playingor not.
So, I came to Texas right whenthe raid feature came out.
And so that was like a huge liftin the community and social
aspect of it.
You had to like, set up likestart times and like raid times
where like people would gatherand you couldn't do it on your
own, even if you like, maybetried with one or two people,
(12:40):
you needed like six or sevenpeople at least to help you.
So I really liked that part ofthe game, like being able to
meet new people, the communityaspect, and then like also
getting to know parts of Austinand then also Utah where I'm
from like, it's funny, likegrowing up in Utah, like I
stayed to like my area and likethe spots I'd only go to and
then when I played Pokemon Go, Istarted exploring like different
(13:02):
canyons and parks that I'd neverheard of and I had been there
for like 20 plus years, right?
So I really like that part of itlike I really know the area in
Utah and I know Austin so muchbetter now because of it, which
is crazy.
David Hernandez (13:15):
So you talk about how you met your wife
through Pokemon Go, Like how didy'all meet?
ScythersKiss (13:19):
Back in the day, I started to like recruit Instinct
players, so I'm team instinct.
I was all about trying to likeget gym control at that time.
And so I started in the Discordand the local community that I
had, I would just start to likeannounce like lure parties, in
the domain.
And I'd be like, Hey, you know,Tuesday at 7:00 PM we're gonna
meet here.
(13:40):
Whoever wants to join, come outand, you know, let's drop some
Lures and play the game and takethe gyms.
And so I actually met my wifefrom a Lure party.
She just showed up.
I think she joined the Discordand another friend of hers told
her that she should go and weessentially met from a Lure
party and like we'd loop thedomain, the four stop area and
we'd talk about the in-game newsand all the different features
(14:02):
that were coming out and so,yeah, it was just, I don't know,
it just naturally happened andshe was really cool and I really
liked her obviously and sheliked me and you know, we stayed
friends for quite a while andthen, we eventually started to
do like raid trains and I wouldbe a driver a lot of the time,
and so I'd have like maybe threeor four people in my car and I'd
always try to get her to join meand so, you know, naturally, we
(14:22):
just got to know each other alot better that way and then it
evolved from just like playingthe game together like, we'd be
like, let's go get some food orlet's go see a movie.
You know?
And that's how it went, man.
It's pretty great.
David Hernandez (14:33):
So you talked about how you like to explore
your city, but you also gotinvolved with Wayfarer.
ScythersKiss (14:37):
Yeah like, getting so obsessed with this game and
like being a hardcore player,you know, I was all about like,
how do I get a Pokestop where Ilive, right?
Especially with the friendsystem, being able to send a
hundred gifts every day andthen, you know, I'm also lazy
from time to time, I don'talways wanna have to go out.
I was like, how do I make thiswork?
I remember randomly nominating,a garden in my apartment complex
(14:59):
at the time.
You know, it took like maybe sixmonths to a year, I think,
before it showed up, and then itjust showed up one day.
So that feeling man was justreally cool.
I actually lived in an apartmentcomplex in the domain.
So I was like, the domain'salready a great place to play
Pokemon Go.
I want to just build it evenmore.
That's where it kind of startedand then, shout out to
Wayspotters podcast.
(15:20):
I started to listen to themsince they've been doing it.
So I started listening to Jamaland Lachlan and all the tips and
tricks that they'd give andyeah, I kind of just took their
advice and started understandinglike the S-2 cells and all the
different placements and thecriteria and like, you know, I
think at the beginning when youkind of get into Wayfarer, you
kind of nominate a lot of likerandom, They called it coal.
(15:41):
Right?
Just like really bad nominationslike, I didn't really know and
then like, once I honed in onlike the criteria on like, okay,
you know, dog parks, that's afor sure nomination.
You should always do that orlike pavilions, you know, that's
another good one.
So I'd always like you kind oflike flip the switch, right?
Once you kind of understandlike, what could be a
nomination.
And then I just started lookingfor it, man, like wherever I
(16:02):
went, I just got addicted to it.
So yeah, I'm pretty proud ofmyself.
I think a year and a half now,since I've kind of started it,
I've had like 30 Pokestops getapproved and I think, two gyms
in the domain area and I'mtalking about a place that was
already like, fantastic forplaying.
So it just like continued tobuild it.
I like seeing like my in-gamename on the image of the photo
(16:22):
too like, I know not a lot ofpeople probably even notice it
unless they do it themselves.
It is kind of a nice little,satisfaction I guess, knowing
that you have it in there withyour name.
David Hernandez (16:31):
Agreed, like whenever I see the stuff that
I've approved, and I see mytrainer name on it.
Like I know that nobody's gonnanotice it, but it's like the one
of the few things that you cando with this game that nobody
could ever really take awaynominating that stop because
you're the first one to do it.
That's the one part I love aboutWayfarer is that you can
manipulate the game board and hereally builds stuff that maybe
wouldn't have existed if nobodyhad spent the time to do it.
ScythersKiss (16:52):
Oh yeah, for sure.
I think they take it forgranted, like the community,
they love their Pokestops, theylove the gyms, but they don't
really understand how it'shappening, behind the scenes.
And so like, when you get thatgift Or it was like from a
nomination, you put in the gameand they send it to you, it's
just like, oh, there you go,man.
I got you.
David Hernandez (17:10):
So was Wayspotters your primary way to
kind of learn about the Wayfarersystem, or did you look
elsewhere?
ScythersKiss (17:16):
I would say it was just like in Pokemon Go, I
understood like how you couldsubmit it just from the app, but
that was it, like I try tofollow the directions that they
gave you in game.
But yeah, it was mainly thepodcast I think that really
educated me.
I think at the beginning, like Iasked him a bunch of questions,
like I DM Jamal, I'd be like,Hey, how do I get this to show
up?
Or like, what do you recommenddoing here?
(17:37):
And like, he definitely helpedme out.
David Hernandez (17:39):
So you come from the outside looking in, you
don't know anything about thecriteria, you don't know
resources, the only reason whyyou know what you know is
because of the Wayspotterspodcast, right?
In your opinion, what are waysthat Niantic could maybe help
educate or reach out to peoplelike you to better inform you on
what's eligible and what isn't?
ScythersKiss (17:56):
I think, you know, having an app similar to like
Niantic campfire, like I knowthey have like a Wayfarer app
that maybe is coming, so justgiving that full access to
anyone in the public would begreat.
You know, if someone'sinterested in submitting
nominations or wayspots, thatapp could be a really good
resource for them.
But yeah, educating them, I knowa lot of the content creators
(18:17):
could help with that.
I think Pokedaxi has been a goodinfluencer in the space that's
kind of shed some light on thetopic, Maybe getting one of
these other mainstreamYouTubers, it could definitely
help, but it really just comesdown to Niantic on optimizing
their website and like theWayfair login and like being
able to promote it.
There's so many ways that theycan do it.
(18:37):
I like the whole communityambassador thing that they're
doing, like the Wayfarerambassadors.
You know, once it gets to a morepolished state, like we could
get way more people involved andlike, they'd understand how to
submit.
I think the biggest frustrationis like, everyone might have
like, tried it one time and thenlike, it either just got
rejected or just didn't show upin game.
(18:57):
So if there was some claritythat they could give there like
before submitting thenomination, like, hey, just to
let you know, like if you submitthis, you know, it's not gonna
show up.
That would be really helpful.
I don't know how easy it'd be todo that, but something in that
direction.
David Hernandez (19:12):
Well, ScythersKiss, thank you for
coming on the show.
Do you have any last minutewords you wanna leave people who
listen to this episode?
ScythersKiss (19:18):
Yeah, if you guys, want to add me as a friend, feel
free to give me a follow.
I'm on Twitter@ScottieJibz.
Definitely enjoy the game and Ilove helping people.
If you have any questions aboutWayfarer, about Pokemon GO,
happy to, shed some lightwherever I can.
David Hernandez (19:33):
For sure, and I'll make sure to leave a link
to his Twitter in thedescription of today's show.
Thank you for listening to anepisode of As The Pokeball
Turns.
You can subscribe to thispodcast on Apple, Spotify, or
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(19:53):
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Until then, I'll see you nexttime! Here's the sneak peek for
(20:14):
the next episode of As ThePokeball Turns.
My name is David Hernandez and you're
listening to As The PokeballTurns! Welcome to As The
(00:45):
Pokeball Turns! where thestories are real and people
still play this game.
Known as the live music capitalof the world, the city of Austin
is home to vibrantentertainment, art, and culture,
UT, Hookem horns for you collegefans, and an outdoor experience
that allows people to createtheir own soundtrack.
But wait soundtrack, how do youcreate your own soundtrack?
(01:07):
Well, you may not ask thatquestion because who burned CDs
nowadays?
However, it's fun to imagine howour individual experiences can
turn into different soundtracks.
In the same way, our PokemonGojourney is our own, with its own
unique twist and turns.
Now, here's the question, whattype of soundtrack would we hear
from someone living in Austin,especially in Pokemon Go?
(01:27):
There's only one way to findout.
From Austin, Texas, here is hisorigin story into the world of
Pokemon Go.
This is ScythersKiss! Today I'mjoined by ScythersKiss.
Welcome to the show!
ScythersKiss (01:41):
Thanks for having me.
David Hernandez (01:43):
For sure.
Now I gotta ask like, what's themeaning behind ScythersKiss?
ScythersKiss (01:48):
Yeah, so I actually had to pay tribute to
my favorite Pokemon growing up,Scyther.
I'm all about trying to findlike fun, clicky names.
One day decided to just throwsome different names out there
and, I just kind of imaginedlike Scyther blowing someone a
kiss, I thought that soundedfunny.
I just remember growing upwatching that anime and the
first encounter when ASH meetsthe Scyther and I don't know,
(02:10):
like growing up as a kid too,like I was really big on, the
different insects and collectingbugs and so I, I feel like I'm
more of like a.
Bug trainer deep down.
Scyther just like visually waymore appealing, really
attractive.
I like the evolution with Scizorand now Cleaver.
David Hernandez (02:25):
I'm guessing Scyther would be your ace, and
you said bug Pokemon were yourfavorite.
Right?
ScythersKiss (02:28):
Yeah.
Have an attachment to like bugPokemon.
I think like growing up as akid, you know, I don't know what
class it was, but they did, youhad to like collect bugs for
like science projects and thingslike that and, um, praying
mantis are just really cool.
I was really fascinated with it,so the design was Scyther,
obviously they got a lot ofinspiration there.
David Hernandez (02:45):
If you're like a bug gym leader or an elite
form member, who would be yoursquad?
ScythersKiss (02:50):
I'm a big fan of Scyther, Scizor, Cleaver,
obviously.
And then I really like Genesect.
I like Pinsir.
I like that it can Mega Evolveinto it.
And I also like Pheromosa.
I know that it's like more of aglass cannon, but it does a lot
of damage, so I feel like it'spretty useful.
David Hernandez (03:07):
Now, it sounds like you grew up with Pokemon.
Is that correct?
ScythersKiss (03:10):
Yeah, definitely coming from like a nineties kids
background, I just remembergetting introduced to it through
the Pokemon cards.
My brother and I, we bothcollected back in the day and my
dad would take us to target onthe weekends after collecting
all of our money for, from doingchores and we basically just
waste it into all the Pokemoncards.
So I remember hitting up allthe, you know, targets and then
(03:31):
there was the local card shopsthat we could go to and part of
the craze back in the day, Ifeel like everyone was into
that.
David Hernandez (03:37):
And so you said you and your brother were
playing right?
ScythersKiss (03:40):
Yeah.
Like my brother, he's just a,like three years older than me.
We both like collected the cardsgrowing up and unfortunately,
time changes and we grow olderand, kind of fall apart from it
a little bit.
Back in the day, like with thefirst, Pokemon cards that came
out, my brother was lucky enoughto get a holographic Blastoise,
right?
Back in the day, you know, you'dmeet up at school or with your
(04:01):
friends and show off what youhad and like maybe do some
trades.
One of our neighbors actuallyended up stealing it from him
and, uh, it pretty tragic thinglike years later, like as we
kind of grew up, like we'reactually friends with him, our
neighbor, but he confessed tolike stealing it from him back
in the day.
So yeah, man, it's, bittersweetwith that.
But definitely a fun experience.
David Hernandez (04:20):
Did he ever explain why he stole it?
ScythersKiss (04:23):
I think it's just that shiny effect, Blastoise was
like one of those Chase cards.
I think most people wanted theCharizard, but you know,
Blastoise was right up theretoo, and so, you had to have it,
I guess.
David Hernandez (04:33):
The holographic lured him in it sounds like.
ScythersKiss (04:35):
Yeah, man, it's a good card.
I really love that artwork.
You know, I'm collecting now,which is fun, and like I've got
a really cool Charizard binderthat, I'm putting together.
I know I had a lot of good ones,man, like the vintage and, I
imagine, they've been ripped upor thrown away at some time.
David Hernandez (04:51):
So between when you first were as a child up to
go, did you continue to playPokemon or did you kind of have
to stop at some point?
ScythersKiss (04:57):
The Pokemon card was how I got introduced, it was
really just that, and then goinginto like middle school, it
wasn't really a fad for me atthat time, I kind of just lost
that love.
Pokemon Go, when it came out,like really resurfaced it all
and brought me back with thatnostalgia big time, so kind of
had a big gap in between thatlike I would say 13, 14, I put
(05:18):
it aside and then like kind ofcame back in my late twenties,
so pretty crazy.
David Hernandez (05:22):
When Pokemon Go came back, what about it excited
you?
Because you said it stir up thenostalgia.
Was it the idea of maybe seeingPokemon in the real world?
Was it just the fact that it wasa mobile game?
ScythersKiss (05:32):
I'm a gamer deep down like I've always had A lot
of fun playing the Nintendogames and like some different
app based games.
So I remember just hearing allthe hype about it, one of my
friends told me about the wholelike April Fools thing on
Google, how they, teased,Pokemon, being at different
locations on the map for likeApril Fools.
So he kind of hyped it up for meand then I just downloaded it.
David Hernandez (05:54):
So, you know, let's fast forward to 2016,
right?
Pokemon Go comes out all overthe place, you know, people are
going crazy.
Where did you go to play?
Like, what was it like in yourarea?
ScythersKiss (06:04):
I'm here in Austin, Texas now, but I'm
actually from Utah, I grew up inOrem, Utah, and I just remember
when it first came out, I foundthis like outdoor mall called,
Riverwoods, and that was likethe best place to play.
Whoever played ingress back inthe day had set up a ton of
portals, and so we had like abunch of gyms and stops and so
(06:24):
yeah, that was like the go-tospot, along with some of the
school campuses out there.
Pretty crazy seeing all the,people showing up, news travels
quick, like everyone knew whereall the good spots were when the
game first came out and yeah,Riverwoods was awesome, man.
I love that place.
David Hernandez (06:38):
Since you've been in Austin for a while, like
what are places to go, like,where are the hotspots to go
play?
ScythersKiss (06:43):
I think the most well-known place is the Texas
capital.
That's definitely one of thebest like grind areas, lots of
players there, like communitydays.
The outdoor walking lots of dogparks and stuff by it too.
That's definitely in SouthAustin, the place to go.
But, I'm more in North Austinand there's actually this place
called the Domain.
(07:05):
It's a really great area foroutdoor shopping, lots of bars
and restaurants, also some likeworkspace as well.
So I would say if you're moreNorth Austin, which is where I'm
from, definitely the place to belike, just so many great
Pokestops and gyms and I'veactually added a bunch of spots
to it, so it's grown quite abit.
David Hernandez (07:23):
So what's the community like out there?
Like are there a lot of activepeople like how involved are
people with Pokemon Go inAustin?
ScythersKiss (07:30):
I would say we're extremely passionate, very
strong community here.
When it comes to like the PVPscene, you know, we definitely
have some big names there.
And then like any other part ofthe game, any aspect with raids
or gyms, like, I think we hadlike one of the first raid
players to like hit a billionxp, in Austin like, I think he
was like third or fourth personto do it.
(07:50):
And then I think we have liketwo or three of the top best
Gymmers in the world.
We have a really fun discord aswell, PoGo512, so it's very
active and yeah, I really think,it's a good place to play.
David Hernandez (08:03):
So, what's your favorite way to play?
ScythersKiss (08:05):
I like to consider myself pretty well-rounded, if
I'm being honest with you.
I have different phases wherelike I get really attached to
maybe like raiding or PVP orlike doing some gyms As of
recently, like I'm trying to getthe Wayspot badge platinum, so
I've been submitting a bunch oflike nominations.
I have that Stephen pose that Ireally like, I love to keep that
(08:26):
as my drip in game.
I think as of recent I've kindof lost love for it, just it's
very time consuming and like I'mkind of doing, more of like the
collection part of the gameright now, I'm trying to get
like the lucky dex filled outand focusing more on like hundos
and things like that.
David Hernandez (08:41):
Yeah, that's the fun part about Pokemon Go is
that there's just so manydifferent ways to play and if
you get tired of one way, youcan try something different.
ScythersKiss (08:47):
Yeah, a hundred percent and like, when the
friend system came out, Iremember getting really into
that like, I think at the timewe could only have like 200
friends.
So I was like, all right, I'mjust gonna add a bunch of
people, like all over the worldand try and like get as much XP
from it.
That kind of got old after maybelike three or four months
because you know, you can onlysend hundred gifts a day, and
(09:08):
you can only open like 20 and soif you had like a bunch of other
people, right, like I had likeanother 80 people on my friends
list that I couldn't interactwith like I had to like send
battles to them and we'd justthrow in like 10 CP Pokemon and
make the battles really quick.
So it was pretty intense doingthat.
,But it was actually kind of funbecause I was able to like meet
more of like the hardcoreplayers around the world like I
(09:29):
had the chance to like addBrandon Tan in there and like
some of the other top like XPplayers.
So that was pretty cool, but,definitely not sustainable for
me like I don't like interactingvia battles anymore, but it did
help me gain a bunch of xp.
David Hernandez (11:47):
Earlier you mentioned how you played, other
mobile games before Pokemon Go.
What about Pokemon Go in youropinion, differentiates itself
from those type of games
ScythersKiss (11:56):
I really enjoyed the exploration and the social
aspect of it, so I've met somany cool people from this game,
I've actually met my wifeplaying this game, which is
pretty crazy.
I'll have to tell you aboutthat.
You know, I've been able to meetsome really great people and,
some really good friends, likebeing new to Texas, like I
literally didn't know anybodyand then this game encouraged me
to go out and play and likenaturally just run into people
(12:19):
and just say, Hey, you know,they got their head down looking
at the phone.
You can tell if they're playingor not.
So, I came to Texas right whenthe raid feature came out.
And so that was like a huge liftin the community and social
aspect of it.
You had to like, set up likestart times and like raid times
where like people would gatherand you couldn't do it on your
own, even if you like, maybetried with one or two people,
(12:40):
you needed like six or sevenpeople at least to help you.
So I really liked that part ofthe game, like being able to
meet new people, the communityaspect, and then like also
getting to know parts of Austinand then also Utah where I'm
from like, it's funny, likegrowing up in Utah, like I
stayed to like my area and likethe spots I'd only go to and
then when I played Pokemon Go, Istarted exploring like different
(13:02):
canyons and parks that I'd neverheard of and I had been there
for like 20 plus years, right?
So I really like that part of itlike I really know the area in
Utah and I know Austin so muchbetter now because of it, which
is crazy.
David Hernandez (13:15):
So you talk about how you met your wife
through Pokemon Go, Like how didy'all meet?
ScythersKiss (13:19):
Back in the day, I started to like recruit Instinct
players, so I'm team instinct.
I was all about trying to likeget gym control at that time.
And so I started in the Discordand the local community that I
had, I would just start to likeannounce like lure parties, in
the domain.
And I'd be like, Hey, you know,Tuesday at 7:00 PM we're gonna
meet here.
(13:40):
Whoever wants to join, come outand, you know, let's drop some
Lures and play the game and takethe gyms.
And so I actually met my wifefrom a Lure party.
She just showed up.
I think she joined the Discordand another friend of hers told
her that she should go and weessentially met from a Lure
party and like we'd loop thedomain, the four stop area and
we'd talk about the in-game newsand all the different features
(14:02):
that were coming out and so,yeah, it was just, I don't know,
it just naturally happened andshe was really cool and I really
liked her obviously and sheliked me and you know, we stayed
friends for quite a while andthen, we eventually started to
do like raid trains and I wouldbe a driver a lot of the time,
and so I'd have like maybe threeor four people in my car and I'd
always try to get her to join meand so, you know, naturally, we
(14:22):
just got to know each other alot better that way and then it
evolved from just like playingthe game together like, we'd be
like, let's go get some food orlet's go see a movie.
You know?
And that's how it went, man.
It's pretty great.
David Hernandez (14:33):
So you talked about how you like to explore
your city, but you also gotinvolved with Wayfarer.
ScythersKiss (14:37):
Yeah like, getting so obsessed with this game and
like being a hardcore player,you know, I was all about like,
how do I get a Pokestop where Ilive, right?
Especially with the friendsystem, being able to send a
hundred gifts every day andthen, you know, I'm also lazy
from time to time, I don'talways wanna have to go out.
I was like, how do I make thiswork?
I remember randomly nominating,a garden in my apartment complex
(14:59):
at the time.
You know, it took like maybe sixmonths to a year, I think,
before it showed up, and then itjust showed up one day.
So that feeling man was justreally cool.
I actually lived in an apartmentcomplex in the domain.
So I was like, the domain'salready a great place to play
Pokemon Go.
I want to just build it evenmore.
That's where it kind of startedand then, shout out to
Wayspotters podcast.
(15:20):
I started to listen to themsince they've been doing it.
So I started listening to Jamaland Lachlan and all the tips and
tricks that they'd give andyeah, I kind of just took their
advice and started understandinglike the S-2 cells and all the
different placements and thecriteria and like, you know, I
think at the beginning when youkind of get into Wayfarer, you
kind of nominate a lot of likerandom, They called it coal.
(15:41):
Right?
Just like really bad nominationslike, I didn't really know and
then like, once I honed in onlike the criteria on like, okay,
you know, dog parks, that's afor sure nomination.
You should always do that orlike pavilions, you know, that's
another good one.
So I'd always like you kind oflike flip the switch, right?
Once you kind of understandlike, what could be a
nomination.
And then I just started lookingfor it, man, like wherever I
(16:02):
went, I just got addicted to it.
So yeah, I'm pretty proud ofmyself.
I think a year and a half now,since I've kind of started it,
I've had like 30 Pokestops getapproved and I think, two gyms
in the domain area and I'mtalking about a place that was
already like, fantastic forplaying.
So it just like continued tobuild it.
I like seeing like my in-gamename on the image of the photo
(16:22):
too like, I know not a lot ofpeople probably even notice it
unless they do it themselves.
It is kind of a nice little,satisfaction I guess, knowing
that you have it in there withyour name.
David Hernandez (16:31):
Agreed, like whenever I see the stuff that
I've approved, and I see mytrainer name on it.
Like I know that nobody's gonnanotice it, but it's like the one
of the few things that you cando with this game that nobody
could ever really take awaynominating that stop because
you're the first one to do it.
That's the one part I love aboutWayfarer is that you can
manipulate the game board and hereally builds stuff that maybe
wouldn't have existed if nobodyhad spent the time to do it.
ScythersKiss (16:52):
Oh yeah, for sure.
I think they take it forgranted, like the community,
they love their Pokestops, theylove the gyms, but they don't
really understand how it'shappening, behind the scenes.
And so like, when you get thatgift Or it was like from a
nomination, you put in the gameand they send it to you, it's
just like, oh, there you go,man.
I got you.
David Hernandez (17:10):
So was Wayspotters your primary way to
kind of learn about the Wayfarersystem, or did you look
elsewhere?
ScythersKiss (17:16):
I would say it was just like in Pokemon Go, I
understood like how you couldsubmit it just from the app, but
that was it, like I try tofollow the directions that they
gave you in game.
But yeah, it was mainly thepodcast I think that really
educated me.
I think at the beginning, like Iasked him a bunch of questions,
like I DM Jamal, I'd be like,Hey, how do I get this to show
up?
Or like, what do you recommenddoing here?
(17:37):
And like, he definitely helpedme out.
David Hernandez (17:39):
So you come from the outside looking in, you
don't know anything about thecriteria, you don't know
resources, the only reason whyyou know what you know is
because of the Wayspotterspodcast, right?
In your opinion, what are waysthat Niantic could maybe help
educate or reach out to peoplelike you to better inform you on
what's eligible and what isn't?
ScythersKiss (17:56):
I think, you know, having an app similar to like
Niantic campfire, like I knowthey have like a Wayfarer app
that maybe is coming, so justgiving that full access to
anyone in the public would begreat.
You know, if someone'sinterested in submitting
nominations or wayspots, thatapp could be a really good
resource for them.
But yeah, educating them, I knowa lot of the content creators
(18:17):
could help with that.
I think Pokedaxi has been a goodinfluencer in the space that's
kind of shed some light on thetopic, Maybe getting one of
these other mainstreamYouTubers, it could definitely
help, but it really just comesdown to Niantic on optimizing
their website and like theWayfair login and like being
able to promote it.
There's so many ways that theycan do it.
(18:37):
I like the whole communityambassador thing that they're
doing, like the Wayfarerambassadors.
You know, once it gets to a morepolished state, like we could
get way more people involved andlike, they'd understand how to
submit.
I think the biggest frustrationis like, everyone might have
like, tried it one time and thenlike, it either just got
rejected or just didn't show upin game.
(18:57):
So if there was some claritythat they could give there like
before submitting thenomination, like, hey, just to
let you know, like if you submitthis, you know, it's not gonna
show up.
That would be really helpful.
I don't know how easy it'd be todo that, but something in that
direction.
David Hernandez (19:12):
Well, ScythersKiss, thank you for
coming on the show.
Do you have any last minutewords you wanna leave people who
listen to this episode?
ScythersKiss (19:18):
Yeah, if you guys, want to add me as a friend, feel
free to give me a follow.
I'm on Twitter@ScottieJibz.
Definitely enjoy the game and Ilove helping people.
If you have any questions aboutWayfarer, about Pokemon GO,
happy to, shed some lightwherever I can.
David Hernandez (19:33):
For sure, and I'll make sure to leave a link
to his Twitter in thedescription of today's show.
Thank you for listening to anepisode of As The Pokeball
Turns.
You can subscribe to thispodcast on Apple, Spotify, or
your favorite podcast app.
Remember to give the show arating of five stars.
If you wanna do four stars,sleep on it and come back
tomorrow.
(19:53):
If you're feeling eh with threestars, come back in about two
days.
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come back in about three days.
And for some reason, if you feellike you can only give this show
one star, come back next weekbecause no matter what, each
road should lead to five stars.
Until then, I'll see you nexttime! Here's the sneak peek for
(20:14):
the next episode of As ThePokeball Turns.
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