April 5, 2023
TRAINER'S EYE #32 - "Eevee Color Prism" ft. EeveeSophie
In this Pokemon interview, we have EeveeSophie, a passionate Pokémon GO player with a love for PVP battles.
EeveeSophie shares her involvement with #GirlsThatPVP and how it has helped her connect with other female players in the community. She emphasizes the importance of having a supportive group of people who share the same interests.
EeveeSophie shares her experience attending Play Pokemon Tournaments in both Arlington and Orlando, and how it was a unique opportunity to connect with other players and compete at a higher level. In addition, EeveeSophie discusses her interests in PVP and the challenges she faces in the competitive scene as a female competitor.
Trainer's Eye is a series where the stories are real and people still play this game. From PVP to Shiny Hunting, each person's Pokemon GO journey is unique and we dive into each journey here on As The Pokeball Turns!
Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
- Visit our website: www.asthepokeballturns.com
- Join Our Discord Community!
https://discord.gg/AqAbD7FbRt
Your next Pokemon adventure begins here!
Chapters
00:44 - Introduction
02:25 - Interview with EeveeSophie
30:48 - Thank You For Listening! :)
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.007 --> 00:00:03.487
My name is David Hernandez and you're listening to As The Pokeball Turns.
00:00:44.054 --> 00:00:53.118
Welcome to as the Pokemon Ball Turns! Where we interview people around the community on how their Pokemon Go journey started, where it has been and where it is currently going.
00:00:53.414 --> 00:01:06.798
There's a quote by Dan Pena that says, show me your friends and I'll show you your future." That quote is mostly used for success seminars, you know, the ones where you start your own business or try to become wealthy, usually through an MLM scheme.
00:01:07.100 --> 00:01:12.820
Personally, I've always liked it because it helped me give an idea of the importance of the people I surround myself with.
00:01:13.117 --> 00:01:20.138
Not that I'm trying to become a millionaire or anything, although if someone happens to have a million dollars laying around, by all means, I won't say no.
00:01:20.438 --> 00:01:24.147
But the people we choose to surround ourselves with can affect us in many ways.
00:01:24.447 --> 00:01:32.313
Whether we are aware of it or not, others people's thoughts and behaviors both influences and frames us to become who we are as individuals.
00:01:32.611 --> 00:01:42.441
It's not to say we should pick people based solely on what they have to offer or what they do, but perhaps a better course of action would be to strongly consider who we allow within our inner circle.
00:01:42.740 --> 00:01:49.724
Most importantly, we should strive to be like the people we want around us, not only for our own sake, but also for society as a whole.
00:01:50.028 --> 00:01:54.528
As a society, we are attracted to extremes, whether it be positivity or negativity.
00:01:54.829 --> 00:02:05.051
What we exude is our individual choice, and my hope is that everyone tries to showcase positivity in shine, a light, because it's through that light where one can find hope during difficult times.
00:02:05.650 --> 00:02:07.400
It's where empathy can provide comfort.
00:02:07.996 --> 00:02:10.671
It's where one can find and experienced true love.
00:02:10.969 --> 00:02:17.120
My guest uses her experiences in life to spread positivity and help others within the Pokemon Go community.
00:02:17.417 --> 00:02:22.037
From the Lone Star state, here's her origin story into the world of Pokemon Go.
00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:24.223
This is EeveeSophie.
00:02:25.396 --> 00:02:28.546
We are now live with the next episode of Trainer's Eyes.
00:02:28.847 --> 00:02:35.961
Where we get to hear from various people around the community on how their Pokemon Go journey started, where it has been, and where it is currently going.
00:02:36.258 --> 00:02:38.908
Today I'm joined by EeveeSophie.
00:02:39.205 --> 00:02:40.344
Welcome to the show!
00:02:40.942 --> 00:02:41.931
Thank you.
00:02:42.532 --> 00:02:46.808
Now, I assume with the name EeveeSophie that Eevee is likely your favorite Pokemon?
00:02:48.127 --> 00:02:48.697
Yes.
00:02:48.697 --> 00:02:51.037
Eevee is definitely a favorite Pokemon of mine.
00:02:51.334 --> 00:02:55.924
it wasn't necessarily something I really thought about when I first started the game.
00:02:56.219 --> 00:03:04.409
As silly as that sounds, I just kind of last minute popped onto the game and had no idea at that point even when IGN was.
00:03:04.706 --> 00:03:16.064
And so when it asked, you know, what it was gonna be, I thought, well, I like Eevee, it kind of goes in my name and thought to myself, I'll play for two weeks, so it doesn't really matter what I choose and uh, here we are
00:03:17.125 --> 00:03:19.365
So basically it stuck it sounds like once you chose it?
00:03:19.365 --> 00:03:28.125
It did! I feel like I am not that creative for myself and I just couldn't think of anything that's like really cool, like some of my local players.
00:03:28.421 --> 00:03:32.622
So I probably stuck just maybe out of laziness of anything.
00:03:33.218 --> 00:03:40.598
I'll say this, at least it isn't all numbers, like some people like say, uh, star 46 or something like that, so I think it's, there's a little bit of creativity out of it.
00:03:40.598 --> 00:03:43.149
Yeah, just, just a tiny bit just a tiny bit.
00:03:43.748 --> 00:03:45.098
So I gotta ask you this question.
00:03:45.401 --> 00:03:50.301
What is your favorite Eevee-lution and why is it Espeon?
00:03:50.891 --> 00:03:54.162
I think I have to say they're all created equally.
00:03:54.461 --> 00:03:56.322
I love all of them equally.
00:03:56.622 --> 00:04:03.132
Espeon is definitely, one of the very core evolution and I look forward to even more ones in the future.
00:04:03.431 --> 00:04:15.139
I will say there's a special place in my heart for Flareon, just because I played Pokemon Red and I got Flareon to level 100, which is the highest you can get it to indicate how much I played that game.
00:04:15.437 --> 00:04:19.637
And that was definitely when Pokemon was new and didn't really know anything about it.
00:04:19.937 --> 00:04:22.336
But I, I do love them all equally.
00:04:22.937 --> 00:04:34.396
Now that's some dedication cuz Pokemon, those first generations are not as friendly to leveling a Pokemon to they are nowadays, especially a Pokemon like Flareon cause Flareon wasn't that good as it was nowadays.
00:04:34.396 --> 00:04:34.757
Hey.
00:04:34.817 --> 00:04:36.857
I think it was fantastic back then.
00:04:37.007 --> 00:04:37.607
I'm just kidding.
00:04:37.666 --> 00:04:43.966
Um, yeah, I think it was just kind of random, I got a Firestone somehow and just thought, why not?
00:04:43.966 --> 00:04:48.377
I'll just evolve it into Flareon and probably needed a fire type or something like that back then.
00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:55.214
I base my likeness of Pokemon as well like after how cute they are and I just thought Flareon was super cute as well.
00:04:55.516 --> 00:05:03.021
So I really worked, worked on leveling up that one instead of probably my focus should have been other ones instead.
00:05:03.622 --> 00:05:10.149
Since we're on the topic of the Gen one games, you know, after red, blue, and yellow, did you continue to play Pokemon or did you like stop at a point?
00:05:10.747 --> 00:05:17.466
So I think I played, the next few ones, I think like Diamond and Sapphire and things like that.
00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:22.509
And I think I just kind of got too busy with life or things just kind of changed.
00:05:22.814 --> 00:05:27.350
With the games that it wasn't as straightforward as what I was used to, I suppose.
00:05:27.653 --> 00:05:46.793
I really only picked it back up again, I got Let's GO Eevee, obviously a few years ago and then I just bought the newest one, but I think it was for quite a while I didn't really pick up any of the games and I think it was just, due to busyness and when you're a kid, it's a lot easier to devote tons of time to playing those games.
00:05:47.396 --> 00:05:48.896
You came back to Let's GO.
00:05:48.896 --> 00:05:51.326
So at that point, were you already playing Pokemon Go?
00:05:51.326 --> 00:05:52.555
I was, yes.
00:05:52.858 --> 00:06:02.939
I think honestly since it came out, I've been playing fairly regularly and that's even with back in the day when it was Pidgeys and rats that you were catching and weren't really going anywhere.
00:06:03.238 --> 00:06:10.228
I just really wanted to finish my Gen one Pokedex, like that was the main thing that I was trying to do and why I kept playing it.
00:06:10.531 --> 00:06:21.031
And I can even remember like searching for Grimers and things like that like I just couldn't figure out where they were and I remember catching my first one in a random neighborhood when I was visiting a friend.
00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:40.177
But yeah, I've been playing pretty much since it came out, maybe not as intensely when there wasn't really much going on, but it honestly was when I met locals in the community is when I really started playing a lot more just because I feel like it's a lot more enjoyable to play with others and that's really what's kept me playing as well.
00:06:40.774 --> 00:06:46.593
So let's go to 2016, right when Pokemon Go debuted, where did you go to play those first couple days when the game came out?
00:06:47.197 --> 00:06:53.053
So, I really had no idea where to really play and there wasn't a load of stops or anything by me.
00:06:53.353 --> 00:06:59.233
I think so the first few places I went to the, like local parks, there weren't a ton of people there playing.
00:06:59.533 --> 00:07:17.314
My dog Bentley, actually, I take him on walks all the time and I was absolutely bored, brainless taking him to the same place all the time and that's where I really started playing Pokemon and you know, it would be like that kind of thing where I'm sure you'd, see back then, you'd see other people playing Pokemon and I never really knew if I should acknowledge it or not.
00:07:17.617 --> 00:07:25.536
So there would be just various times I would see random people that would be like taking a gym or catching Pokemon is, you know, it's obvious that playing Pokemon.
00:07:25.841 --> 00:07:30.071
And so I didn't really see a ton of people out and about.
00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:39.350
I will say when Moltres was out, and I don't think that was the first one, I couldn't quite figure out where like the RAID groups were or how to find raid groups.
00:07:39.673 --> 00:07:43.274
I remember finding a Moltres raid at my local park.
00:07:43.574 --> 00:07:51.346
I kind of got there at the worst time because the first like huge group of people had already done the raid and were leaving as I arrived.
00:07:51.644 --> 00:07:57.764
So there was about like 20 people left and I just kind of awkwardly said, hi, are you doing the raid?
00:07:57.764 --> 00:07:59.213
Like, can I help face?
00:07:59.213 --> 00:08:01.613
I think I was like level 32 or something like that.
00:08:01.911 --> 00:08:16.196
I think it took probably like the ex raids for me to see like a mob of people and like so many people, in places where people were like coming out of their houses and things like that to be like, what are you all doing here?
00:08:17.197 --> 00:08:18.786
Like, we're catching Mewtwo.
00:08:18.807 --> 00:08:19.846
What do you think we're doing?
00:08:20.036 --> 00:08:21.226
Trying to catch'em all, man!
00:08:21.226 --> 00:08:22.307
Yeah, exactly.
00:08:22.911 --> 00:08:33.423
So from basically when the game first started in 2016, all the way till raids debuted, it sounds like you were basically someone who played to themselves and you didn't really have anybody to go play the game with.
00:08:33.726 --> 00:08:34.356
Is that fair to say?
00:08:34.386 --> 00:08:35.527
Yeah, definitely.
00:08:35.831 --> 00:08:50.208
My best friend that kind of told me, Hey, Pokemon Go is coming out and you need to download it and I was like, oh yeah, I'm down." He lived in a different state at the time, so there wasn't really anybody I knew locally cause my friends are just really not into video games as much.
00:08:50.505 --> 00:08:58.035
So there wasn't anybody locally that I knew that was playing and I don't really enjoy playing the game itself by myself.
00:08:58.331 --> 00:09:05.293
I did like a Google search for like raid help basically when the raids did come out cuz I just desperately wanted to do them.
00:09:05.596 --> 00:09:16.116
And it kind of led me to a Reddit post and then Reddit told me all about Discord and I thought to myself, oh my gosh, I have to sign up for another, you know, app and platform and do all that.
00:09:16.426 --> 00:09:27.860
But I'm obviously really happy I did because I was able to find a few local groups and that's how I was able to connect with my locals that are, yeah, it has been like literally years and years that I've known them now.
00:09:28.453 --> 00:09:31.153
Did y'all like do raid trains or meetups or stuff like that?
00:09:31.756 --> 00:09:32.687
Yeah, we did.
00:09:32.687 --> 00:09:40.015
it would basically be, most of the time it was weekends or evenings, and we would just meet up together in the beginning.
00:09:40.316 --> 00:09:53.542
and then it kind of became more like groups of people together, that would, you know, go in cars together and then eventually we would just kind of all pile into like whoever had a minivan or something like that and like you said, do the raid trains and things like that.
00:09:53.846 --> 00:10:00.905
I do really miss that part, you know, I love remote rating, but that was definitely a fun time when we did more in person things.
00:10:01.211 --> 00:10:26.668
You know, the nice thing was that especially in the beginning, you would just introduce yourself and get to know each other and then eventually friends list came out so you could add one another, and that was just really nice to be able to meet a lot of locals that had, you know, kind of the same addiction that you had and just enjoy, you know, talking about it, especially when you love the game so much, you just have so much more to talk about with the game and just share what you love about it and that, you know, that I just absolutely loved.
00:10:27.264 --> 00:10:29.964
Now with Pokemon Go, like what's your prime motivation to play?
00:10:29.964 --> 00:10:31.494
It sounds like it was rating at one point.
00:10:31.494 --> 00:10:33.234
Is it still raiding or is it something else?
00:10:33.234 --> 00:10:34.943
Oh gosh, that's a really good question.
00:10:35.240 --> 00:11:08.087
I think for right now, it's just something that I really enjoy and is like a good distraction from life, no matter what that can be, you know, I've known a lot of people over the years that have used it for distractions in their lives and difficulties in their lives and I think for me, even if it's not necessarily been a bad day, I think with everybody with work or family life or whatever's going on, just to have kind of something that is at this point, it's like natural to do and kind of mindless to just go and catch, so I think for me right now, it's just something to really enjoy and keep my mind off things.
00:11:08.388 --> 00:11:22.759
It's almost like a de-stressor as well like I know there's definitely things like lag in GBL or something like that, you know, that's frustrations for people, but honestly, I enjoy almost every facet of the game and so for me it's just really enjoyable.
00:11:23.063 --> 00:11:27.083
I would say definitely shiny hunting is something I enjoy doing.
00:11:27.389 --> 00:11:30.749
There is nothing like getting a shiny Eevee I have to say.
00:11:31.052 --> 00:11:32.072
That is always....
00:11:33.572 --> 00:11:49.874
If I see like a whole cluster, you know, like you kind of prioritize what you, well, okay, for me, you know, I prioritize which ones I want shiny the most, and literally every single time it's Eevee like, just in case it's a shiny one or like a hundo or something like that, you know.
00:11:50.475 --> 00:11:53.384
You must have loved with that Eevee had two Community Days as well.
00:11:53.384 --> 00:11:54.225
Oh, absolutely.
00:11:54.375 --> 00:11:55.335
Absolutely.
00:11:55.640 --> 00:12:04.148
People were not happy about that, it being, you know, an entire weekend and then, you know, having it again and I absolutely loved that.
00:12:04.445 --> 00:12:21.364
I would be down for a third one and plus, you know, not everybody has been playing since 2016 or whenever, so it's like they definitely should be able to enjoy, you know, a weekend of Eevee and you can use them in PVP, I use mine in raids, they are they're very useful to have.
00:12:21.966 --> 00:12:24.746
So eventually you started getting involved into PVP right?
00:12:25.350 --> 00:12:26.400
I did, yes.
00:12:26.701 --> 00:12:33.416
You know, it's kind of silly, but when I first played the games, you know, like Pokemon Red, my favorite thing to do was battle.
00:12:33.719 --> 00:12:38.269
So every single person I could find to battle, all the gym leaders, I absolutely loved it.
00:12:38.568 --> 00:12:47.318
When I first saw the ads for Pokemon Go, I thought it would include a lot of battling of the players or battling gym leaders, something like that.
00:12:47.621 --> 00:13:05.224
And so that was what I was really excited for and then it took several years for PVP to come out and when it first came out, I was not really sure, it was set up really weird to me and I remember you had to tap like really hard on your screen to get like the circle to go really big and things like that.
00:13:05.524 --> 00:13:08.448
It was just really confusing to me like, what is going on?
00:13:10.249 --> 00:13:22.870
So I kind of sat back for a bit and watched some local friends of mine, do P V P just because I was kind of confused about it and I think I was just wondering if this was something I really wanted to be a part of.
00:13:23.171 --> 00:13:30.250
And then one of my best friends really got into it and they changed how P V P works, where it's obviously just, you know, the bubbles now.
00:13:30.551 --> 00:13:34.750
I kind of just tried it for myself and I actually really enjoyed it.
00:13:35.053 --> 00:13:39.224
It took like a lot to, to learn everything.
00:13:39.224 --> 00:13:43.958
and unfortunately I signed up for my first like in-person event locally.
00:13:44.255 --> 00:13:48.466
it was just like at a shopping mall and I was, I was so nervous.
00:13:48.763 --> 00:13:49.572
Oh my goodness.
00:13:49.572 --> 00:13:55.783
It was just like, I just wanted to do well and it was something like I've never done before, like anything like that.
00:13:56.086 --> 00:14:03.826
And I absolutely loved it and I posted on Twitter, and got so much support from the community, which was so surprising to me.
00:14:04.123 --> 00:14:11.893
You know, my locals have always, been really kind, but with like the PVP space, I just was not expecting a reaction like that.
00:14:11.942 --> 00:14:16.143
I was just really taken back by that and then unfortunately kind of covid shut everything down.
00:14:16.442 --> 00:14:36.900
But that as well, like really appealed to me, the fact that like the PVP world, people are just so incredibly kind and supportive and that's why I've always Wanted to be a part of that kind of community, so that as well, made me want to make PVP like a focus and just continually get better at it and I kind of have just been doing PVP ever since.
00:14:37.524 --> 00:14:45.280
So it sounds like the community really brought you into the PVP world, even in spite you already being against it at the first, and that's kept you going to this day.
00:14:45.280 --> 00:14:46.150
Absolutely.
00:14:46.150 --> 00:15:01.033
It's just meetings so many wonderful people and I incredibly, again, I'm incredibly lucky because even from the get go, just connecting with people that were just so kind and so amazing, despite me having absolutely no idea what I was doing.
00:15:01.754 --> 00:15:05.354
Um, and just probably quite embarrassing battles.
00:15:05.354 --> 00:15:06.311
We all start somewhere though.
00:15:06.311 --> 00:15:06.461
Yeah.
00:15:07.061 --> 00:15:07.630
Exactly.
00:15:07.630 --> 00:15:14.014
I was definitely not that person that just magically like swept a seven round tournament with no practice or anything like that.
00:15:14.315 --> 00:15:28.995
And then connecting as well with like women in the community, that loved Pokemon go like I do and I feel like sometimes there's kind of like a negative about like women playing video games, that I have run into.
00:15:29.293 --> 00:15:47.115
So to meet so many people, just supportive of that and then other women as well, I was like, this is absolutely amazing and just kind of, you know, like you said, like supported my addiction and I was like, great, I am gonna move ahead with this and just continue going, continue learning, and keep just improving as best as I can.
00:15:47.712 --> 00:15:53.592
You talked about how being a woman in the gaming world has negative connotations, I guess, for the lack of a better words.
00:15:53.712 --> 00:15:53.802
Mm-hmm.
00:15:54.432 --> 00:15:59.446
what has it been your, from your experience, being a woman in the PVP world for Pokemon Go.
00:16:00.046 --> 00:16:06.346
In general I'm probably like 90% of the time, people are incredibly supportive of me playing, men and women.
00:16:06.653 --> 00:16:18.221
Which is really, really wonderful and I'm very appreciative of that because I had not felt that way before and also been chastised many times in the past for being too competitive as a woman.
00:16:18.524 --> 00:16:28.634
And not that I've ever been like nasty or offensive to people, but just trying to win a game or be into video games, I've had several comments over the years against that.
00:16:28.931 --> 00:16:42.575
You know, recently I was thinking about this is that, as I feel like I've kind of like grown as a person, even when you say that you want to be kind, that doesn't mean, that you can just kind of accept any like negative comments and just deal with anything.
00:16:42.875 --> 00:16:49.504
I still think that you can be direct with somebody and just, you kind of have to demand respect from people sometimes.
00:16:49.801 --> 00:16:59.245
There's definitely been, unfortunately just sometimes where people, have not been very kind and used derogatory words like against me being a woman.
00:16:59.546 --> 00:17:04.556
I just have to demand respect from those people and just say that is not okay to treat me like that.
00:17:04.855 --> 00:17:10.373
And again, it's very minimal and for the most part, it's dealt with appropriately.
00:17:10.675 --> 00:17:19.256
But other times there's just spaces where I just feel like maybe there isn't as much support of women and sometimes not so fun comments we have to deal with.
00:17:19.553 --> 00:17:22.732
I just don't, put myself in those spaces anymore.
00:17:23.338 --> 00:17:26.300
I think another way to say it is establish boundaries.
00:17:26.300 --> 00:17:26.480
Yes.
00:17:26.601 --> 00:17:31.025
Because you can be nice, You can be kind, but it doesn't mean you can be a floor mat.
00:17:31.025 --> 00:17:31.344
Right.
00:17:31.344 --> 00:17:31.614
Exactly.
00:17:31.644 --> 00:17:37.199
You want to establish like,"Hey, what you're doing is not okay." I need this kind of respect kind of thing.
00:17:37.199 --> 00:17:37.528
Yeah.
00:17:37.528 --> 00:17:42.971
And I think that's the same for men and women and everybody deserves equal respect.
00:17:43.278 --> 00:17:47.807
And if anything, it's just taught me again how to have boundaries.
00:17:48.106 --> 00:17:54.196
I might be direct, but I'm always kind, never put myself to their level or name call or anything like that.
00:17:54.501 --> 00:18:03.502
Just demand, respect and hope that maybe the other person can learn from that experience and maybe treat others in a different way or maybe they don't realize like how they're coming across, you know.
00:18:03.502 --> 00:18:03.923
For sure.
00:18:04.192 --> 00:18:04.403
Yeah.
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.319
Now I assume you're also part of a Girls That PVP?
00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:12.990
Yes, so that was one of the great things about Twitter as well is connecting with the Girls That PVP.
00:18:13.286 --> 00:18:34.996
So I joined that server and that was, again, a really safe place to ask any questions that were probably really stupid questions, but just even the basics of like PVP etiquette when you battled someone saying hello to your opponent, good luck, have fun, you know, that type of thing, I had no idea how to even approach that situation or what the norm was.
00:18:35.296 --> 00:18:41.566
They put me into a lobby with some other wonderful girls and I had come up with a name.
00:18:41.596 --> 00:18:46.948
Girls play Rough obviously I'm a bit biased there, but I absolutely love that name.
00:18:47.250 --> 00:19:12.653
I was placed with girls that are all over the globe which I just love people coming together of all different cultures and we just all really got along so well, which I feel is just such like a big blessing because I feel like kind of unheard of just random people that come together with a single love of Pokemon and then we also talked about life and things that are going on with us and that was just really wonderful as well to have that kind of support.
00:19:12.952 --> 00:19:23.702
You know, even in general, some of the friendships that I've had in the community as well, it's become something that people can talk about their lives and just be supportive of whatever is going on.
00:19:24.006 --> 00:19:32.854
You know and even like in person I've been able to connect with people that are going through whatever and we'll like drive around and play Pokemon or we'll meet at the park and play Pokemon, you know?
00:19:33.451 --> 00:19:37.230
Do you think you would still be involved with PVP as much as you are without them?
00:19:37.230 --> 00:19:38.340
I don't think so, no.
00:19:38.641 --> 00:19:46.229
It's just something that I really enjoy is, spending time with other people and be able to share your joy about something.
00:19:46.528 --> 00:19:53.229
You know, that's what's really wonderful about going to Pokemon Go events and even like the regionals that I went to in Orlando.
00:19:53.526 --> 00:20:07.596
The fact that you can talk to one another about your battles or what you're preparing for, bounce ideas off of people, and then even, there was one player that I had met and he was talking to us for the longest time about what he does for a job.
00:20:07.893 --> 00:20:14.189
He's like a historian and moves around all the time to study different history and it's just like so interesting.
00:20:14.489 --> 00:20:22.078
So I just love that personable like aspect to the game as well and just being again, like so supportive of me playing a game that I love.
00:20:22.674 --> 00:20:28.404
Now you talked about how you've got to visit regionals, I know we met in Arlington, but you also got to go to Orlando.
00:20:28.734 --> 00:20:29.755
I did, yeah.
00:20:29.755 --> 00:20:36.807
Arlington was really nerve wracking just because it's the first time that I've been to such a massive experience like that.
00:20:37.111 --> 00:20:40.711
And it was nice meeting you and other members of the community there as well.
00:20:41.015 --> 00:20:48.444
I know when I first got there and I just saw people playing the card game, I thought, oh my gosh, I'm in the wrong place, I thought, oh no.
00:20:48.545 --> 00:20:49.775
I literally went to somebody.
00:20:49.805 --> 00:20:51.275
I said, am I in the right place?
00:20:51.275 --> 00:20:53.255
I'm here for Pokemon Go, not the card game.
00:20:53.550 --> 00:21:00.675
Up until that point, I had heard of the card game, but I had absolutely no idea, how enormous it is.
00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:03.500
I could not believe the amount of people in that room.
00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:06.650
It was like three fourths of that entire gymnasium, I think, right?
00:21:06.650 --> 00:21:09.430
Yes! It was just so many people.
00:21:09.788 --> 00:21:14.528
It was so exciting to see that many people as well that have, this love of the game.
00:21:14.826 --> 00:21:24.246
It almost kind of like encourages you as well cause I think, you know, all of us have people in our lives that like,"oh my gosh, I can't believe you're playing Pokemon like, how lame is that?
00:21:24.548 --> 00:21:32.808
Um, so to see so many people that, you know, have the same addiction that you do, you're like, see, there's so many people here that love it too.
00:21:33.115 --> 00:21:38.035
And then, you know, it was a similar experience in Orlando, even though I was competing.
00:21:38.340 --> 00:22:03.240
It was again, a ginormous room with so many people playing the card game, oh my goodness I think Orlando was like twice the size or something, it was, it was so huge and that did not help my nerves cuz I was like, oh my goodness, this is so big, and it was just announcements being made all the time and craziness going on, but it was again, like really well run.
00:22:03.544 --> 00:22:10.054
The judges were amazing and just very helpful just because again, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
00:22:10.351 --> 00:22:15.901
I was using an Android phone for the first time, had no idea how to log in, nothing like that.
00:22:16.205 --> 00:22:31.655
My first opponent ended up, it was a friend of mine, he chose not to come at the last minute, so I actually ended up talking to another competitor that, his opponent didn't show up either, and he was brand new, so we just were talking to one another and wished each other best of luck and became friends in the game and everything.
00:22:31.655 --> 00:22:32.135
So.
00:22:32.135 --> 00:22:32.796
That's awesome.
00:22:32.796 --> 00:22:45.605
Yeah, it is just again, like, really nice to just meet more people and I met more of the Girls That PVP, people that you know, I've seen their IGN's for many years and just never had the opportunity to meet them in person.
00:22:45.909 --> 00:22:49.931
But again, just the community that really makes this game so wonderful.
00:22:49.931 --> 00:22:50.519
For sure.
00:22:50.824 --> 00:22:52.648
I know you're also a part of factions, right?
00:22:52.648 --> 00:22:53.759
I am, yes.
00:22:54.057 --> 00:22:57.178
my factions team name is Texas pvp.
00:22:57.178 --> 00:22:57.778
Woo woo.
00:22:57.778 --> 00:22:57.897
Yeah.
00:23:00.152 --> 00:23:09.362
I started off when factions I think first rolled out, if I'm not mistaken and that was just like on a Girls That PVP, like my lobby team.
00:23:09.665 --> 00:23:14.701
We kind of put the factions team together and I did that and I actually really enjoyed the format of it.
00:23:14.997 --> 00:23:22.547
For the first time, like battling and actually being allowed to bounce ideas off of teammates and, talk about matches and things like that.
00:23:22.851 --> 00:23:33.830
So when the opportunity for factions kind of came around, my best friend was involved in it, and I had helped him in the past with factions, putting teams together and bouncing ideas off, things like that.
00:23:34.131 --> 00:23:47.642
And he had put it out there about me joining, and I thought, oh gosh, no, like I I am not good enough for a like, really competitive factions team." But it's basically all people, you know, all of us live in Texas.
00:23:47.949 --> 00:23:51.638
I was just really nervous just because I didn't know them.
00:23:51.938 --> 00:23:55.148
I just wasn't really sure what that was going to look like.
00:23:55.446 --> 00:24:01.384
And they're just like, we just have a lot of fun with each other, which is crazy because again, we've never met.
00:24:01.689 --> 00:24:14.499
You know, I've met some of my factions, team members in person, but most of'em I've never met before and yet it just feels like a familiarity, like being friends, but we're all like on a server and like battling together and I absolutely love it.
00:24:15.103 --> 00:24:15.403
For sure.
00:24:15.403 --> 00:24:25.992
It sounds like that they've really been a good positive impact on your PVP experience, and I'm glad that they've been able to treat you like an equal and be able to enhance both of your knowledge and your experience with the game.
00:24:26.053 --> 00:24:27.163
Yeah, exactly.
00:24:27.463 --> 00:24:29.709
It's been like really wonderful.
00:24:30.016 --> 00:24:35.596
So even like our captain had invited everybody to join his like fancy football league.
00:24:35.596 --> 00:24:41.685
and in the past I had had a job where all of like the guys did that and I said like, could I join?
00:24:41.691 --> 00:24:43.816
And they said no, cuz you know, I'm a woman.
00:24:44.115 --> 00:25:01.154
And so I had asked him about it, like,"Hey, I just wanted to double check like, is this for everybody else and like wasn't meant to be sent to me?" And he's like, no, absolutely, like we have other women in the league, so you absolutely should join us and so that was like, wow! Just again, feeling like equal and supported was just really wonderful.
00:25:01.154 --> 00:25:05.444
And so it's just, changed my perspective of even like living in Texas.
00:25:05.748 --> 00:25:07.307
It's just a whole new experience.
00:25:07.307 --> 00:25:09.664
I'm, sometimes I feel still not used to.
00:25:10.265 --> 00:25:17.015
Your used to seeing the opposite of where you're always excluded for being a woman and it's kind of weird when you once get accepted into it, I guess.
00:25:17.105 --> 00:25:17.825
Is that the best way?
00:25:17.884 --> 00:25:40.231
Yeah, and you know, I, I don't wanna say it was a completely negative experience before, but I just had several experience that felt like I shouldn't be playing Pokemon and always guilty for playing and, just having that support, like, yeah, other women play this and it's totally fine and supported and I don't get treated differently by my factions team members or other people in the community.
00:25:40.531 --> 00:25:46.731
And I just feel like that's how everyone should be, just treated with equal respect and the same way as everyone else.
00:25:47.335 --> 00:25:53.005
I used to have that same issue to where I felt weird playing Pokemon Go because everybody stopped playing.
00:25:53.005 --> 00:25:54.684
I was like, oh, why are you still playing that game?
00:25:54.684 --> 00:25:59.031
Or, you know, yada yada yada and I had a coworker who I found out she played.
00:25:59.332 --> 00:26:00.711
I can't remember what we said.
00:26:00.711 --> 00:26:04.436
I can't remember what I asked her, but ultimately, I asked her like, you know, why do you keep playing this game?
00:26:04.436 --> 00:26:04.977
Or something like that.
00:26:05.106 --> 00:26:05.346
Yeah.
00:26:05.346 --> 00:26:09.403
And she says, because I enjoy it, and why would I not do something that I enjoy?
00:00:00.007 --> 00:00:03.487
00:00:44.054 --> 00:00:53.118
00:00:53.414 --> 00:01:06.798
00:01:07.100 --> 00:01:12.820
00:01:13.117 --> 00:01:20.138
00:01:20.438 --> 00:01:24.147
00:01:24.447 --> 00:01:32.313
00:01:32.611 --> 00:01:42.441
00:01:42.740 --> 00:01:49.724
00:01:50.028 --> 00:01:54.528
00:01:54.829 --> 00:02:05.051
00:02:05.650 --> 00:02:07.400
00:02:07.996 --> 00:02:10.671
00:02:10.969 --> 00:02:17.120
00:02:17.417 --> 00:02:22.037
00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:24.223
00:02:25.396 --> 00:02:28.546
00:02:28.847 --> 00:02:35.961
00:02:36.258 --> 00:02:38.908
00:02:39.205 --> 00:02:40.344
00:02:40.942 --> 00:02:41.931
00:02:42.532 --> 00:02:46.808
00:02:48.127 --> 00:02:48.697
00:02:48.697 --> 00:02:51.037
00:02:51.334 --> 00:02:55.924
00:02:56.219 --> 00:03:04.409
00:03:04.706 --> 00:03:16.064
00:03:17.125 --> 00:03:19.365
00:03:19.365 --> 00:03:28.125
00:03:28.421 --> 00:03:32.622
00:03:33.218 --> 00:03:40.598
00:03:40.598 --> 00:03:43.149
00:03:43.748 --> 00:03:45.098
00:03:45.401 --> 00:03:50.301
00:03:50.891 --> 00:03:54.162
00:03:54.461 --> 00:03:56.322
00:03:56.622 --> 00:04:03.132
00:04:03.431 --> 00:04:15.139
00:04:15.437 --> 00:04:19.637
00:04:19.937 --> 00:04:22.336
00:04:22.937 --> 00:04:34.396
00:04:34.396 --> 00:04:34.757
00:04:34.817 --> 00:04:36.857
00:04:37.007 --> 00:04:37.607
00:04:37.666 --> 00:04:43.966
00:04:43.966 --> 00:04:48.377
00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:55.214
00:04:55.516 --> 00:05:03.021
00:05:03.622 --> 00:05:10.149
00:05:10.747 --> 00:05:17.466
00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:22.509
00:05:22.814 --> 00:05:27.350
00:05:27.653 --> 00:05:46.793
00:05:47.396 --> 00:05:48.896
00:05:48.896 --> 00:05:51.326
00:05:51.326 --> 00:05:52.555
00:05:52.858 --> 00:06:02.939
00:06:03.238 --> 00:06:10.228
00:06:10.531 --> 00:06:21.031
00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:40.177
00:06:40.774 --> 00:06:46.593
00:06:47.197 --> 00:06:53.053
00:06:53.353 --> 00:06:59.233
00:06:59.533 --> 00:07:17.314
00:07:17.617 --> 00:07:25.536
00:07:25.841 --> 00:07:30.071
00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:39.350
00:07:39.673 --> 00:07:43.274
00:07:43.574 --> 00:07:51.346
00:07:51.644 --> 00:07:57.764
00:07:57.764 --> 00:07:59.213
00:07:59.213 --> 00:08:01.613
00:08:01.911 --> 00:08:16.196
00:08:17.197 --> 00:08:18.786
00:08:18.807 --> 00:08:19.846
00:08:20.036 --> 00:08:21.226
00:08:21.226 --> 00:08:22.307
00:08:22.911 --> 00:08:33.423
00:08:33.726 --> 00:08:34.356
00:08:34.386 --> 00:08:35.527
00:08:35.831 --> 00:08:50.208
00:08:50.505 --> 00:08:58.035
00:08:58.331 --> 00:09:05.293
00:09:05.596 --> 00:09:16.116
00:09:16.426 --> 00:09:27.860
00:09:28.453 --> 00:09:31.153
00:09:31.756 --> 00:09:32.687
00:09:32.687 --> 00:09:40.015
00:09:40.316 --> 00:09:53.542
00:09:53.846 --> 00:10:00.905
00:10:01.211 --> 00:10:26.668
00:10:27.264 --> 00:10:29.964
00:10:29.964 --> 00:10:31.494
00:10:31.494 --> 00:10:33.234
00:10:33.234 --> 00:10:34.943
00:10:35.240 --> 00:11:08.087
00:11:08.388 --> 00:11:22.759
00:11:23.063 --> 00:11:27.083
00:11:27.389 --> 00:11:30.749
00:11:31.052 --> 00:11:32.072
00:11:33.572 --> 00:11:49.874
00:11:50.475 --> 00:11:53.384
00:11:53.384 --> 00:11:54.225
00:11:54.375 --> 00:11:55.335
00:11:55.640 --> 00:12:04.148
00:12:04.445 --> 00:12:21.364
00:12:21.966 --> 00:12:24.746
00:12:25.350 --> 00:12:26.400
00:12:26.701 --> 00:12:33.416
00:12:33.719 --> 00:12:38.269
00:12:38.568 --> 00:12:47.318
00:12:47.621 --> 00:13:05.224
00:13:05.524 --> 00:13:08.448
00:13:10.249 --> 00:13:22.870
00:13:23.171 --> 00:13:30.250
00:13:30.551 --> 00:13:34.750
00:13:35.053 --> 00:13:39.224
00:13:39.224 --> 00:13:43.958
00:13:44.255 --> 00:13:48.466
00:13:48.763 --> 00:13:49.572
00:13:49.572 --> 00:13:55.783
00:13:56.086 --> 00:14:03.826
00:14:04.123 --> 00:14:11.893
00:14:11.942 --> 00:14:16.143
00:14:16.442 --> 00:14:36.900
00:14:37.524 --> 00:14:45.280
00:14:45.280 --> 00:14:46.150
00:14:46.150 --> 00:15:01.033
00:15:01.754 --> 00:15:05.354
00:15:05.354 --> 00:15:06.311
00:15:06.311 --> 00:15:06.461
00:15:07.061 --> 00:15:07.630
00:15:07.630 --> 00:15:14.014
00:15:14.315 --> 00:15:28.995
00:15:29.293 --> 00:15:47.115
00:15:47.712 --> 00:15:53.592
00:15:53.712 --> 00:15:53.802
00:15:54.432 --> 00:15:59.446
00:16:00.046 --> 00:16:06.346
00:16:06.653 --> 00:16:18.221
00:16:18.524 --> 00:16:28.634
00:16:28.931 --> 00:16:42.575
00:16:42.875 --> 00:16:49.504
00:16:49.801 --> 00:16:59.245
00:16:59.546 --> 00:17:04.556
00:17:04.855 --> 00:17:10.373
00:17:10.675 --> 00:17:19.256
00:17:19.553 --> 00:17:22.732
00:17:23.338 --> 00:17:26.300
00:17:26.300 --> 00:17:26.480
00:17:26.601 --> 00:17:31.025
00:17:31.025 --> 00:17:31.344
00:17:31.344 --> 00:17:31.614
00:17:31.644 --> 00:17:37.199
00:17:37.199 --> 00:17:37.528
00:17:37.528 --> 00:17:42.971
00:17:43.278 --> 00:17:47.807
00:17:48.106 --> 00:17:54.196
00:17:54.501 --> 00:18:03.502
00:18:03.502 --> 00:18:03.923
00:18:04.192 --> 00:18:04.403
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.319
00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:12.990
00:18:13.286 --> 00:18:34.996
00:18:35.296 --> 00:18:41.566
00:18:41.596 --> 00:18:46.948
00:18:47.250 --> 00:19:12.653
00:19:12.952 --> 00:19:23.702
00:19:24.006 --> 00:19:32.854
00:19:33.451 --> 00:19:37.230
00:19:37.230 --> 00:19:38.340
00:19:38.641 --> 00:19:46.229
00:19:46.528 --> 00:19:53.229
00:19:53.526 --> 00:20:07.596
00:20:07.893 --> 00:20:14.189
00:20:14.489 --> 00:20:22.078
00:20:22.674 --> 00:20:28.404
00:20:28.734 --> 00:20:29.755
00:20:29.755 --> 00:20:36.807
00:20:37.111 --> 00:20:40.711
00:20:41.015 --> 00:20:48.444
00:20:48.545 --> 00:20:49.775
00:20:49.805 --> 00:20:51.275
00:20:51.275 --> 00:20:53.255
00:20:53.550 --> 00:21:00.675
00:21:00.980 --> 00:21:03.500
00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:06.650
00:21:06.650 --> 00:21:09.430
00:21:09.788 --> 00:21:14.528
00:21:14.826 --> 00:21:24.246
00:21:24.548 --> 00:21:32.808
00:21:33.115 --> 00:21:38.035
00:21:38.340 --> 00:22:03.240
00:22:03.544 --> 00:22:10.054
00:22:10.351 --> 00:22:15.901
00:22:16.205 --> 00:22:31.655
00:22:31.655 --> 00:22:32.135
00:22:32.135 --> 00:22:32.796
00:22:32.796 --> 00:22:45.605
00:22:45.909 --> 00:22:49.931
00:22:49.931 --> 00:22:50.519
00:22:50.824 --> 00:22:52.648
00:22:52.648 --> 00:22:53.759
00:22:54.057 --> 00:22:57.178
00:22:57.178 --> 00:22:57.778
00:22:57.778 --> 00:22:57.897
00:23:00.152 --> 00:23:09.362
00:23:09.665 --> 00:23:14.701
00:23:14.997 --> 00:23:22.547
00:23:22.851 --> 00:23:33.830
00:23:34.131 --> 00:23:47.642
00:23:47.949 --> 00:23:51.638
00:23:51.938 --> 00:23:55.148
00:23:55.446 --> 00:24:01.384
00:24:01.689 --> 00:24:14.499
00:24:15.103 --> 00:24:15.403
00:24:15.403 --> 00:24:25.992
00:24:26.053 --> 00:24:27.163
00:24:27.463 --> 00:24:29.709
00:24:30.016 --> 00:24:35.596
00:24:35.596 --> 00:24:41.685
00:24:41.691 --> 00:24:43.816
00:24:44.115 --> 00:25:01.154
00:25:01.154 --> 00:25:05.444
00:25:05.748 --> 00:25:07.307
00:25:07.307 --> 00:25:09.664
00:25:10.265 --> 00:25:17.015
00:25:17.105 --> 00:25:17.825
00:25:17.884 --> 00:25:40.231
00:25:40.531 --> 00:25:46.731
00:25:47.335 --> 00:25:53.005
00:25:53.005 --> 00:25:54.684
00:25:54.684 --> 00:25:59.031
00:25:59.332 --> 00:26:00.711
00:26:00.711 --> 00:26:04.436
00:26:04.436 --> 00:26:04.977
00:26:05.106 --> 00:26:05.346
00:26:05.346 --> 00:26:09.403