Sunday, October 3, 2021

Overcoming Stagnation

Have you ever had plans you were really excited for fall through? For me, I was looking forward to attend VGC Regionals in Salt Lake City. I had a team built out and it would have been the first time I would have seen one of my best friends in person in over ten years. Moving to a new state and starting a team, I didn't really have much time for myself up until that point -- I couldn't wait to take time off, explore a new city, and enter the arena of live battles once again. And then, a little thing called Coronavirus popped up -- you might have heard of it. Cancelling plans, I stuck to online battling. Don't get me wrong, online battling is fun, but after a while it can feel repetitive since there's no direct communication with your opponent. Like many people during this time, I felt I was languishing -- going through the motions without real purpose. Sure, I got to Master Rank consistently, but was I actually improving as a battler? Growth felt stagnant.

Recently, two things happened that helped me put my current progress in perspective. Back in June, I competed in the Fair and Square online battle competition. I remember clocking out for the week and realizing "oh shoot, I haven't prepared a team yet!" So I looked through my boxes and quickly threw these Pokémon together.

My team for the Fair and Square tournament!
Glad I got to use some of my old favorites from different teams.


As you can see, I got 50th place! With 24,544 participants, that put me in the top .2% of competitors. Plus, I was 5th out of all non-Japanese players. I honestly was shocked I placed that high! What that showed was that I not only knew how to effectively use my team and quickly throw something together that paired well against the metagame, I also adapted to my opponent's gameplan in the moment. This was a huge victory for me!

As much as I was excited for these results, an online tournament is one-way communication: You fight against your opponents and you see your results, but you don't get to see their reaction or hear their feedback on your team. That is, until a few months later when I ran into Aaron "Cybertron" Zheng on ladder.

Wait up, we're fighting against WHO?!


Playing since 2008, he has a few Regional and National championships under his belt. Aaron's also an official commentator for Pokémon, so you'll see him often on their channel. Aaron is my go-to for competitive battle content since he's an amazing tactician, analyzes and breaks down matches exceptionally well, and recognizes solid strategies from both himself and his opponents. Simply put, he's a legend in the competitive Pokémon scene! Running into him was like running into Ryan Reynolds.


So the crazy thing? I won. But the story doesn't end there. Not only does our battle make an appearance on Aaron's series, Road to Ranked, my team is on the thumbnail! 



I commented on his video, thanking him for featuring my team, and he asked if he could USE my team on future episodes! Yeah, I'm star struck. So of course, I give him a rental code and he battled with them in a few episodes, all the while singing high praises of my team's creativity and offering constructive feedback. To not only have a highly skilled battler compliment my skills but also have your team composition featured alongside teams built by Pokémon's top players ... I can't begin to describe how it felt being recognized at the same level as the world's best. 

The Kyurem-Abomasnow team! I've made some modifications since.


Up until then, it felt I was just trucking along, going through the motions, and not really advancing anywhere. But really, all the work I put into brought us to these moments -- you wouldn't be reading this if I didn't persist through languishing. What it took was to look at the big picture and see how much growth happened over time. I'm 100% confident that a year ago, I wouldn't have placed 50th or have won against Aaron Zheng. I'm certainly not alone in struggling through stagnation, so if that is something you're working through, really look at your results and listen to the people around you to zoom out to the big picture: You've grown a lot more than you give yourself credit for.

Below is the video from my perspective of my match vs. Aaron as well as the two episodes he featured my team on.








Saturday, February 27, 2021

It's a Phenomenon

Twenty-five years. Man, time is crazy! I admit that coming up with something to write for the occasion is an incredible challenge. How can I properly pay homage to a series that's been an integral part of my life? While I could write about Pokémon's cultural impact on the world (which of itself is quite impressive), I think the piece I need to write is about my experience. With that, here are 25 moments in my life brought to you by Pokémon. Except for the first and last, these aren't put in any order but rather are collections of fond memories throughout the years.

1. Growing up, I lived in a cul-de-sac with a lot of kids my age, so we'd usually hang out together. One day, however, I was upset that my sister was invited to the Douglas's house and I wasn't allowed to go. My mom felt bad for seven-year-old Stephen and bought him a Gameboy Pocket alongside Pokémon Red, and man I can't begin to describe how excited I was! I had no idea that fateful day would change my life. So really, big shoutout to Caley for not inviting me over -- wouldn't have gotten Pokémon without you.

2. Back when my brother was in kindergarten and I was in high school, I spent a lot of time trying to teach him how to read. Was it that I was invested in his education and wanted him to get a head start on life? Of course not -- Diamond and Pearl just launched in the US, and if he could read, he could get Diamond and play along as I had Pearl. A few months later after I got Pearl, he moved on to 1st grade and picked up Diamond. The sheer joy we both shared spending time together was priceless. 

3. For her 10th birthday, my sister's party was a screening of Pokémon: The First Movie. Definitely an odd choice since I was the bigger Pokémon fan, but it was the 90's when Pokémania was at its height. There even was someone dressed as Pikachu and a random kid photobombed our group photo? Weird times for sure. Years later, my sister and I went to Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You as a throwback to her 10th birthday party. It was terrible, but us cringing through it was a fond memory in of itself. 

4. Back in 2011, my brother qualified to participate in Pokémon VGC Worlds in San Diego. I remember the time leading up to it was stressful -- learning how to RNG abuse for the first time, I spent weeks training up the perfect team for him. And while naturally the focus was on him (and rightfully so), I felt hurt my efforts weren't also recognized. Before we left, my grandpa gave two letters to us: One to my brother wishing him luck at the tournament, and another to me saying how proud he was of my work helping my brother succeed. Worlds was an incredible experience where we got to meet the directors of Pokémon, Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Morimoto, and take in the sights of San Diego. But my favorite moment was our flight back. When I showed my grandpa the list of 649 Pokémon at the time, he looked at me shocked. "You have to memorize all of them?" This memory still makes me laugh, and I appreciate my grandpa for always believing in me.

5. In 2015, I applied for a social media job. The interview was nothing outside of the norm: I answered questions about my writing ability, how I take in feedback, and how I work in a team environment. That is, until they brought up this blog. I at first was taken aback, worried that the nerdy subject matter made me unprofessional. It actually helped me land the job, so shoutout to this being a class assignment I kept up with since 2011!

6. During his birthday, my childhood best friend, Michael, pulled a holographic Venusaur from a pack. If you know me, Venusaur is one of my absolute favorite Pokémon, so I begged and pleaded with him to trade my Rhydon for it. This is quite possibly the worst trade of all time, but Michael obliged and I added Venusaur to my collection. I still have this card to this day and it's featured on the first page of our holographic binder. Never gonna sell it, and never gonna let go of it. Think I might owe Michael for it though.



7. Y'all know Pokémon Go was HUGE back in 2016! It was as big, if not bigger, than when Pokémon first came out. There was one problem though: My office was located in the heart of downtown office yet there were no Pokéstops. That first week of conserving Pokéballs was brutal! I remember working when I got a group DM on Slack from one of our coworkers: "we're taking lunch now -- Pokéstops have appeared!" Dude, we spent so much time over by the capitol catching Pokémon and chatting with strangers -- it was amazing. Pokémon Go really brought the office, and the world, together.   

8. In college, I produced a video game show called Video Game Hour Live alongside a few friends. We were hosting a tournament at Café Medici as a fundraiser when James introduced me to his friend, Connie. We were both playing through Pokémon Black at the time and had our DS's on us, so of course we battled! I think she had a Haxorus on her team? The important thing was I made a new best friend in Connie. Years later right before her wedding ceremony, I caught an Eevee in Pokémon Go and named it after her and her husband.

9. Pokémon X and Y. Wow, these titles take me back. I remember really getting upset at Mega Evolution and claiming it a "mega mistake" (real original, Smiles). Luckily, some college buddies talked sense into me and I got it anyways. Man, we had a blast playing it on VGHL! Pretty much after every episode, we'd trade Pokémon amongst ourselves, and I even made a review on it. While recording the segment, Duc kept on feeding my Slurpuff in Poke-Amie cause "it looked stupid" and it eventually helped sweep through the Elite Four with all its boosts.

10. Speaking of Duc, I was offering to EV train Pokémon and he asked for a Level 100 Magikarp. EV training it wasn't hard, but getting it all the way up to 100 was a week-long grind! That thing would get thrown in Pokéwalker pretty much every day. I'm pretty sure Duc hasn't touched it since I traded it to him, but hey, I'll always go the distance for friends.

11. When Pokémon Sun and Moon first launched in 2016, Toys 'R Us had a great deal where you could get both copies for $50. So of course, I snatched it up. However, the shipment was delayed and I wouldn't be able to play it for a week! On launch night, I was sitting up in bed and decided "heck I want these games now!" so went to Wal-Mart and bought a copy of Sun at midnight. I still remember the Snapchat Story of me twirling around the parking lot singing "the sun will come up tomorrow." During my initial playthrough on Twitch, both Cory and Collin from work tuned in and I still remember us getting hyped over the Professor Oak shirt! (When the Sun and Moon double pack eventually did arrive, I was able to return a copy so don't worry.)    

12. Right before I left for Arizona to lead a new team, I joked with my coworker Mary that our social media team would be named Postémon. What started as a gag actually became our choice! But honestly, I couldn't have thought of a more fitting name. This leg of my journey has its highs and lows, but I felt it all came together when I took the day off to stream Pokémon Sword. Sword and Shield brought a big dex cut which was disheartening, but just like how my Arizonan coworkers helped ease my transition to a new state after saying goodbye to old friends, so too did the new Pokémon make Galar a region I enjoyed. Reflecting on my playthrough and the connections I made in Arizona, it reminded me that while change is inevitable, life is always one grand adventure.  

13. Speaking of my Arizona team, in 2020 we started working remotely due to the pandemic. At the beginning, we were confident we'd be back to the office within a month, but as time moved on it seemed unlikely we'd be returning anytime soon. One day when I was picking up supplies from the office, a painting was at my former desk! Logan commissioned this for my birthday and now it hung up at my apartment. It's been tough not seeing coworkers in person during the pandemic, so this gift meant a lot to me.





14. In fourth grade, my friend Ivan wrote done instructions on how to do the Pokémon Gold cloning glitch. At the last step, he forgot to complete his sentence so I wrote it out. I still have that piece of paper! I don't have many relics from my elementary school days, so this is a cherished possession of mine.

15. Real ones know about the Blockbuster Pokémon Snap print station! My sister and I had a Squirtle card we used at that kiosk (don't tell her I stole it). While we didn't get to print a picture of every single Pokémon, most of the stickers we did print are in our Pokémon Snap guide -- they still are glossy to this day.

16. Growing up, my dad would always get us a pack of Pokémon cards on his way home from work. Once we proved we finished our homework, he'd pull out a Fossil pack we'd quickly tear into. Running his own company, my dad worked a lot. Having these moments to connect with him was really special. Years later, my little cousins would get into Pokémon, so I gave many of the cards from those packs to them. They were so excited to receive them! Brought me back to when my dad and I used to share that together.

17. Whenever I was home from college, my brother and I would spend our afternoons swimming in our pool. One day, the chlorine got so bad, I could barely keep my eyes open after swimming! Determined to still EV train my Rotom, I handed my DS to my mom and had her run around a specific route. She'd call out which Pokémon she encountered and I would either ask her to run away or blast the Psyduck with Thunderbolt. The things moms do for us. While not a big moment per say, it highlighted something I was proud to inherit from my mom: her kindness.

18. My dad would tease my sister and I growing up, claiming that Nintendo ripped off his idea, Moképon. His humor was always in good fun, however. Every so often to honor him, I'll catch a Pikachu and name it after his original creature, Chikapu.

19. In 2007 while getting ready for a family trip, I quickly caught the Regigigas at Snowpoint Temple. Feeling it wasn't much of a challenge, I decided to shiny hunt for one. So on our way to Kemah, the way back, and during movie night, I kept on resetting for Shiny Regigigas. As we were watching Space Jam, my first ever shiny appeared! Not wanting to lose it, I threw a Master Ball to snag it. Ever since then, I have gotten at least one shiny Pokémon per year. I honestly could fill 25 memories with just my shiny hunts alone! Some other noteworthy ones include a Pidgey I caught the first day playing Heartgold, the Wailmer on our family cruise, and an Eevee where I ran out of my economics class and hugged a random girl.



20. Similar to Connie, my best friend Christian and I met through mutual friends and bonded over Pokémon. We had an administrative day at school and to kill the time Christian, myself, Matt, and Alex got into a multibattle. That is, until Principal Moran made us put away our DS's. Right after his freshman year of college, Christian went on his mission trip, but we still kept in touch and of course talked about Pokémon. While I haven't seen him physically in about 10 years or so, we still catch up on our respective Twitch streams. And yes, we still play Pokémon together.

21. During college, my friends and I would always go to Dave 'n Busters for half-off Wednesdays. There was a particular spin-the-wheel game where it was easy to get jackpot, so we'd abuse it to get pretty cheap Pokémon packs. Packs usually cost $4, but with how much we won, each pack came out to $2. Anyways, while I would get a holographic Starmie, Duc and UyenAnh would pull things like Reshiram-EX. On my birthday, they bought me a pack and their pull luck must have transferred over to me -- I got a Shaymin-EX! A few years later, another birthday pack of theirs yielded a full art Yveltal-EX -- maybe I should have them pick out my Pokémon packs going forward.

22. Detective Pikachu was the most hyped I was for a movie in a very long time. Now, it's not Oscar-worthy or anything, but the fact we were getting a live-action Pokémon movie was incredible! I don't know what possessed me to do so, but I dressed up as Professor Oak at work so I could go to the premiere right after, and yes I even changed my Slack picture. When my boss Molly asked, I mentioned it was for the premiere and it was very dorky. I never will forget how supportive she was and asked why would this be dorky yet the Met Gala be the height of class. "Isn't life more fun when you're not afraid to be enthusiastic about something?" Molly's been a mentor of mine for six years, and it meant so much I could be unapologetically myself. Thank you for teaching me that. 



23. While I didn't know him as well as I wished, my grandpa on my dad's side once got me a pack I pulled a holographic Poliwrath and my grandpa mentioned how the swirl would move whenever you rotated the card. While this wasn't true, I smiled and nodded politely. However, one day I lost that card! Digging around, I couldn't find it, so I decided to rebuy it years later. I had it shipped to our home in Texas while I was in California for the semester, only to find during Christmas break that the card went missing! Third time's the charm: I bought it again one more time and haven't lost it since. Glad I still have this memento.



24. So many countless battles! That alone could probably fill up all 25 moments. To keep this brief though, what I really enjoy about battling other trainers is not only putting my strategy to the test, but also learning from others. For instance, I once got beat by a Galarian Corsola and now I've used one in almost every competitive team I've built. There are also a lot of close calls that still stick with me, like one time in Sun & Moon, I had Gastrodon and Porygon2 left against Mega Mawile and Tapu Bulu. Naturally, the opponent didn't see Gastrodon as a threat since Tapu Bulu could one-shot it, so it instead targeted down Porygon2. What they didn't realize was I carried Sludge Bomb which was 4x effective, so I snuck in an attack and quickly turned the tide of battle. I'm getting pumped just reminiscing about all these bouts! Before I drone on, I'll leave y'all with this: my first foray in competitive battling.

25. In my senior year of college, we were able to get Fred Cook, the CEO of Golin-Harris at the time, to speak to our class. Back in the 90's, Fred Cook was the head of the Nintendo account, so you bet I was freaking out that we'd have the guy who played a critical role in Pokémon's marketing in the west come talk to us. While other people asked about how to get a job after college (yawn), I asked "how did you not only overcome the controversies of Pokémon, but help make it the second most lucrative franchise in Nintendo history?" His simple and profound answer still sticks with me to this day.

"I didn't think of Pokémon as a TV show, a video game, or a comic book -- I thought of it as a phenomenon and went from there."

Wow. A phenomenon. Pokémon lives up to that in every sense of the word. Reflecting on all these stories, it's incredible just how much of an imprint this series has made on me. It's led to countless nights playing and collecting, forging lifelong friendships, and even shaping my career path. And to think, many people around the world have a similar tale to tell thanks to one man's hobby of bug collecting. Here's to 25 more years as the journey continues.




Thursday, April 30, 2020

Pokémon All-Stars: A Graphic Design Project

New Year's Resolutions. You pretty much know how that goes. Everyone claims something they'd like to improve on the next year and by mid-January you forget about it. Rather than something productive like staying fit or eating well, I chose to improve my graphic design skills. I don't consider myself artistic, so this was a challenge to disprove a preconceived notion I had about myself. With that goal in mind, I came up with a project to complete: Use Canva to make a design for all of my favorite Pokémon.


Originally, I gave myself a grace period to complete these 55 by the end of the year. But then, quarantine hit. While quarantine prevented me from traveling to Salt Lake City for VGC Regionals, it did give me plenty of time to work on this project. And lo and behold, I completed it within three months and had time to make a bonus design! Making these designs was a process of learning and growing with a skill, overcoming obstacles to reinvigorate creativity, and celebrating something I loved in a way I didn't think was possible before. Without further ado, check them out:

Slurpuff

My first design! I browsed through some Canva templates, found this one, and changed the colors and shape placement a bit. 

Alakazam

Rather than base this on Alakazam's color scheme, I chose purple to evoke a psychic feel. The eyes, spoons, sparkles, and dots are also arranged in a clock-like fashion.

Roserade

Roserade's original design was very convoluted with random flowers everywhere. After getting feedback from a friend, I found a way to incorporate the rose and masquerade theme. The end result was much cleaner!


Primarina

There isn't much to Primarina's design -- bubbles and the pink/blue color scheme matched her, so I went with it.

Sabeleye

The background kind of reminds me of 101 Dalmatians or the part in Be Our Guest where the utensils are dancing on different lines. Definitely a whimsical background for sure!

Serperior

I really enjoyed how the plants and flowers act like a picture frame for Serperior.

Copperajah

This one also had plenty of background noise initially, but I cut that out after getting feedback from a friend. The word below Copperajah is Tamil for steel.

Dragapult

This is one I revisited throughout the project. Tempted to go back and make the triangles a solid fill.

Rotom

Kind of wanted to make a pseudo Where's Waldo look with this one. Applying the individual lightning bolts to each ghost took work! After this, I took a break from this project until quarantine.

Tyranitar

The first design I completed during quarantine. This is where I challenged myself to not overthink things and just go with what I felt worked. Paid off for sure -- the clean yet jagged design really shows off Tyranitar's power.

Ursaring

While very simple, this grew to be one of my favorite designs. The idea was just to continue the circle pattern on Ursaring's belly. Almost looks like a tshirt design!

Crabominable

I wanted to convey both the tropical setting of Alola and the cold areas Crabominable inhabits. The cooler background, white palm trees, and white waves were meant to bring that to life.

Jellicent

This took a very long time to complete. The idea was to have Jellicent seem very below the surface, which was a challenge at first. The waves up top were the trickiest part since it was harder to mask colors in Canva.

Corsola

This was when I first fell in love with gradients. The theme behind Corsola's design was having her reflect on her past self.

Azumarill

I found a bubble illustration on Canva, threw on a pink background, and bam! I especially like how the bubbles almost look like the evolution animation in Generation III.

Drifblim

Originally I wanted to add more to Drifblim's design, but kept it simple to make a more clean look. It almost has a Seussical feel to it!

Orbeetle

Originally, the words "hypnosis" and "space" came to mind when thinking about Orbeetle, so I tried to incorporate both in this design.

Heliolisk

Heliolisk are found in arid climates, so brought a little desert flair to this design.

Venusaur

Still not 100% sure if the dots coming out of Venusaur's flower was the best move, but the intent was to show Venusaur charging up a Solar Beam.

Excadrill

I wanted to mimic the scars on Excadrill's body with this design. While they're not the exact shape, I like how it's almost as if it's tearing through the canvas.

Rillaboom

Creating Rillaboom's drum was MURDER! I'd rather not talk about the 2+ hours sunk into it. At the very least, the end design turned out well, and I like the music theme accompanied by the earth brown tones.

Electivire

Originally I had giant lightning bolts in the back, but keeping it simple won out again. The stripes also has a baseball uniform feel to them!

Espeon

I like gradients and I like sparkles. That's pretty much how this design came to be.

Snorlax

Thought it'd be whimsical to make a sort of patterned background for Snorlax! Making the background was actually pretty simple -- a manner of copying + pasting the previous row of fruit and shifting them slightly.

Vespiquen

At this point, I felt confident creating my own backgrounds -- the honeycomb design was fun to make! If you've ever played Capcom vs. SNK 2, it has sort of that vibe to it too. Even threw in some red hexagons for an additional pop of color.

Latios

The song Soaring Illusions came to mind when working on this, so I attempted to incorporate what it'd be like to soar with Latios over Hoenn through the night sky.

Ho-Oh

I originally thought Ho-Oh would have had one of the more grand designs. However, the simplicity really brings out Ho-Oh's elegance. A nice bonus is that the gradient used also fits Heartgold's box art!

Hitmontop

Originally, I had no idea which Pokémon would receive this design! Replicating the animation of Superpower and Close Combat, Hitmontop seemed to be the perfect choice to smack in the middle of this.

Nidoqueen

Fitting enough, the base design was from a Canva theme called "Girl Power". The paint-like scratches almost has an earth-tone to it, and the color scheme is a nice contrast since it's Nidoking's.

Galvantula

Galvantula is an electric spider, so I wanted to showcase that without just throwing lightning bolts everywhere. Plus, the dark blue/purple tones give off a Static Shock feel to them!


Volcarona

I was unsure at first what to do with Volcarona. Originally wanted to incorporate the sun but in a more powerful way than using an illustration, so I came up with this. Also has a binary sunset feel to it if you're a fan of Star Wars.

Grimmsnarl

There were so many directions I could have taken with Grimmsnarl -- I honestly blanked and just replicated his colors. The outer colors are also Grimmsnarl's shiny colors, which are the inverse of his normal form.

Scizor

After working with Scizor, I got my second wind with coming up with designs. Scizor was the first Pokemon I put on a platform, and I especially liked how the circles on Scizor's mandibles were changed into spotlights. Reminded me a bit of the Pokémon World Tournament in Black and White 2.

Greninja

Originally, I wanted Greninja to have appeared to have just landed on the scene to fight bad guys like a ninja would. When coming up who the opponents would be, Charizard and Lucario came to mind and then I thought "wait aren't all three in Smash?!" So yeah, this then became a nod to Smash Bros.

Darmanitan
Darmanitan's design was based off the Old Relic and the episode of the anime where Ash encounters one in a bell tower. Not my favorite design, but I appreciate I tried something new with this one.

Pidgeot
The idea of "sky" and "speed" came to mind when thinking of Pidgeot, so I used the colors of its headfeathers for the diagonal lines and the blue from Mega Pidgeot as the background.

Clefable

For Clefable, I was inspired by both Mt. Moon and the McDowell Mountains, the mountain range I drive towards on the way back home from work.

Butterfree

Butterfree's design was inspired by the episode "Bye Bye Butterfree" and the purple sparkles by the powder moves Butterfree tends to know. 

Raticate

Raticate's design was pretty tricky cause I initially tried to make this a grassy green look. Ultimately, the more autumn design fit well, and it reminded me a bit of Ecruteak City in Johto.

Gastrodon

I personally am not a fan of my design for Gastrodon. Tried to convey a swamp-like environment, but I hit a wall in creativity. Still, I appreciated the attempt behind this.

Eelektross

I was slowly recovering from my creative block at this point. Definitely room for improvement, but it wasn't a total mess like Gastrodon's. The gradient circles were meant to highlight Eelektross's inner claw.

Houndoom

I originally didn't intend Houndoom's to be creepy, but here we are. It almost has a Halloween feel to it. I also matched Houndoom's face with the line in the middle to make it a bit more intimidating.

Shiftry

The phrase "Voice of the Wicked Forest" came to mind when making Shiftry's design, so I used dark greens and blacks for a menacing look. Shifty's leaf hands also have the power to create hurricanes, so it was fun incorporating a sort of wind theme to this as well.

Staraptor

With Pidgeot being speed, Staraptor was more about power. The triangle end point mimics Staraptor's headfeathers and has a sort of power theme to it. Originally, this whole design was inverse! I turned it upside down and voila.

Mudsdale

At the time, I was watching the Sun and Moon series on Netflix and rewatching some of my old battles from VGC 2017. With that, both the move High Horsepower and Tectonic Rage came to mind, so I wanted to incorporate that in Mudsdale's design. Funny enough, the horseshoes are just U's I put dots on!

Bronzong

Bronzong was pretty tricky at first, but I went for a representation of both the moves Trick Room and Gravity. Originally I had red sparkles on this design as well, but that was a bit overkill.

Heracross

I honestly had no idea what to do with Heracross at first! Followed the KISS acronym (keep it simple, stupid) and ended up with something pretty decent. Also like how there's a "cross" theme going on!

Celebi

I was inspired to make Celebi's design right after watching an episode of Sun and Moon where Celebi transports Ash and Torracat to the past. The circle is like a "time portal" of sorts, and the forest has become quite different in the future. Really enjoy how this design almost tells a story!

Luxray

Luxray was originally inspired by this card from Next Destinies. He almost has a Batman look to him guarding over the city at night! And the windows even light up to form an X. Took a bit to get what I wanted with this design, but I liked the end result.

Lanturn

There was a design with waves and I though "that's pretty cute!" So I was moving Lanturn around the frame and forgot to put her in front of one set of waves and this happened. It was kind of a cool 3D effect to have her pop from the waves, so I kept it. Classic example of a happy little accident.

Empoleon

Empoleon was inspired by the card art for Dark Explorers, which proved tricky at first. I tried to make some sort of "steel" design, but that got away from his penguin look. I then tried to bring in a royal look, but that got a bit messy. But then it hit me -- why not combine the royal theme and penguin aspect? So there it is: iceberg crown in the back! I then shifted the darker steel tones to the bottom to make the design cleaner.

Aurorus

It took me a bit to finally finish Aurorus. Initially, I wanted to bring about an aurora borealis-inspired design, but that became Clefable's as I continued work on it. I then was inspired by her sails to make a gradient, and the diamonds as the background was a nice touch. 

Decidueye

Taking a bit of inspiration from Houndoom and Shiftry, I made a line in the middle with the orange section. The trees on the top and bottom also look like arrows. 

Tangrowth

Originally, I tried to make Tangrowth's design based on this -- the ball of energy from Call of Legends was a bit too much to replicate. I remember Tangrowth becoming one of my favorite Pokémon was because of a silly reason, so instead I went that route. It's almost as if Tangrowth is cutting through part of the pink line!


Typhlosion

You know I had to save my favorite for last! The color scheme is based on Lance's battle background in Heartgold, and I made the Pokéball using three separate circles and a line. The golden-yellow line follows the contour of Typhlosion's face to make it stand out a bit.


BONUS: Retro Typhlosion

With plenty of extra time, I made this quick homage to where it all started -- the Game Boy Pocket. Finishing this was a moment of triumph and a culmination of everything I learned throughout this process.