TRAINER'S EYE #80 - "A Toast To Raids & PvP" ft. HMLondon

In this Pokemon interview, we are joined by HMLondon, a Pokemon Trainer from Los Angeles, California who is passionate about Pokemon GO PvP, particularly Master League.

HMLondon shares his Pokemon journey starting with the early days of Pokemon which included the games and the anime. HMLondon eventually returned to the franchise with Pokemon GO and would host Legendary Raids for his local community. He gives insight to how he would host community drives for food pantries, animal shelters, and other causes.

HMLondon eventually gives insight into his transition from hosting Legendary Raids to hosting an audience with Pokemon GO PvP. One of his favorite leagues is Master League and he strives to compete with the best Pokemon and best Pokemon Trainers in the world!

Finally, HMLondon participates in a returning segment called "What's That Pokemon?" You don't want to miss this segment as HMLondon tests his Pokemon knowledge!

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

Connect with HMLondon: Twitch | Twitter

Transcript

David Hernandez: 0:00

My name is David Hernandez, and you're listening to As the Pokeball Turns. Welcome to As the Pokeball Turns. Our journey takes us to Los Angeles, California where we meet a Pokemon community leader community on Ray Trains. Eventually, he transitioned over to doing PvP with a particular focus on Master League His love for the game and Pokemon has inspired others to follow him and even allowed him to host drives that would go to a particular cause every month ranging from homeless shelters, food banks, and animal shelters. Finally, make sure you listen toward the end of the episode to hear the return of an old podcast segment that you don't want to miss. Here is its origin story into the world of Pokemon. This is H. M. London. Today I'm joined by royalty, a Monarch from Lala land, HM London, his majesty HM London. I grovel at your presence. Thank you for coming on the show.

HMLondon: 1:35

You're completely welcome, and no need to be so formal, London is perfectly fine.

David Hernandez: 1:39

Okay. Well, for those who don't know, the reason why I say that is because HM is actually a reference to majesty, right? That's how, what they used to call back in the day.

HMLondon: 1:46

No, it's his, it's his high maintenance, you didn't know?

David Hernandez: 1:49

No, I didn't. Wait, ah,

HMLondon: 1:51

I'm joking, no, no, no, it's his majesty, you're correct.

David Hernandez: 1:54

oh my gosh. what made you want to choose that name? why HM London?

HMLondon: 1:58

so I am a huge nerd, huge history nerd, and have a, like, I would say an above average in advanced knowledge in, like, royal history from around the world, and so, as you said, H. M. denotes His or her majesty and obviously London is such a common name that I couldn't just be London in the game So I put the HM in front of it

David Hernandez: 2:19

Do you ever get the idea that people think it's like HMs, like from the Pokemon games at all?

HMLondon: 2:24

people have asked that question before, but one of the funniest things that have ever transpired as it relates to my name is I went into Fleece King's stream before and he saw my name and he was like, hmm, London. So he was pronouncing the HM as hmm instead of individual letters.

David Hernandez: 2:41

Oh, that's very interesting. So he'll go, hmm, London.

HMLondon: 2:44

Yeah. Hmm, London.

David Hernandez: 2:46

I could see that. I could see that.

HMLondon: 2:49

But yeah, people generally just. call me London just naturally, which is interesting

David Hernandez: 2:54

So, you know, part of my podcast is learning about people's experience with Pokemon and the franchise. So, what was your first experience with Pokemon?

HMLondon: 3:01

well, I grew up on Pokemon when I was a young kid I was particularly drawn to Pokemon, in the 90s, like the mid 90s, and, I used to run home from school to guess who the Pokemon was, like, for some reason that was the highlight of my day, to try and guess Which Pokemon was being, you know, you know the who's at Pokemon and then it'll go to a commercial and come back and tell you who the Pokemon was. I got, I got a high, that was a highlight for me to be able to accurately guess which Pokemon it was that was displaying. So I grew up on Pokemon and I was super excited about, Pokemon growing up. We used to go to Walmart and I would be in the checkout line and I'd see the Pokemon cards, and I would really want one of those shiny holographic cards. Most of the time I didn't get them and then as I started collecting cards and growing up I started collecting them more and more don't know where those cards are today. And then of course in 2000 and I think it's 16. Yeah 2016 Pokemon Go came out and I didn't join the first day because I didn't know about it but I started feeling a lot of people post photos online of themselves with like Pokemon characters in the background. I was like, what is this? How are they doing that? And I found out about the game three days later and been hooked ever since.

David Hernandez: 4:16

Now, did you ever have any experience with the Pokemon games at all?

HMLondon: 4:18

Oh, I did. I forgot to mention that. So. I will never forget, I got a a Game Boy Color, it was the purple one, purple was my favorite color. I was so excited because I got Pokemon Blue, that was the first Pokemon game I got and I sat there for hours and hours and hours playing that game. I really wasn't into the internet back in those days, so I didn't know that, like, you could, like, look up, so the story I'm trying to get to is, like, I spent hours in the safari zone looking for a Chansey. Never found it. Even to this day, I still never found a Chansey, and I didn't know like, you can go online and find out clues and tips to help you, like, you know, get through the game. And so, I kind of got frustrated and, the game defeated me. So, I never really did well with the Game Boy games. But I did get one. I got, Pokemon Blue was the one I was, that was the one I got and I never did well with it.

David Hernandez: 5:09

When you mean like you didn't, well, you didn't do well with it. Like you never was able to complete the Pokedex or it was

HMLondon: 5:14

Right, I never was able to complete the Pokédex, I never was able to catch if I'm not mistaken, Articuno was there in the cave. I never was able to, like, really beat the game, per se, and so, I kinda just let it start collecting dust, and it was just a wasted, gift at that point. It wasn't like today where I know I can go and get information, so yeah, that's something I regret. That's why I like Pokemon Go so much, because you, a Pokedex, you have so many opportunities. Different types of opportunities, like shinies, you have extra large Pokémon, you have, different regions, and so the quest to complete the Pokédex always continues, but it's a lot simpler these days than what I felt like it was, or it's a lot more engaging and fun than it was back in that day, so I love it.

David Hernandez: 6:02

Last question before we dive into Pokemon Go. You never mentioned which starter you chose. So, for those games, which starter did you choose between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

HMLondon: 6:09

I'm pretty confident that I chose Squirtle.? I've always had an affinity for water types and Psychic type, they've always been, like, my favorite. Blastoise was my favorite as a kid, and Alakazam was a favorite. I love those two Pokemon. anytime I saw Blastoise on the anime, I was, super excited. And Alakazam too, because they were just so amaz they were like so strong and powerful and I don't know what it was about it, and I think it was because Charizard, we kind of always saw Charizard, I didn't really love Charizard that much, and I'm not really a grass type kind of guy. Squirtle was my starter.

David Hernandez: 6:46

Nah, I feel that. I especially loved Alakazam because it was just so strong with the Psychics like, I feel like I beat the whole game just with Alakazam.

HMLondon: 6:53

Exactly, and then he carries a spoon, like he's always ready to eat ice cream, or rice, you know, he's like, he's just like, so resourceful, I love that about him, you know?

David Hernandez: 7:02

Right? That's so underrated. It's like, if you ever need a spoon, and you just need some ice cream, it's perfect. Alexander's your perfect buddy to go get some frozen yogurt or ice cream or whatever you believe in on that part.

HMLondon: 7:12

Bro yo, you're speaking my language, for sure.

David Hernandez: 7:14

What flavor? What's your flavor for Froyo?

HMLondon: 7:18

uh, okay, don't, don't, don't kill me cause I'm so boring, but I like just like the tart, the tart flavor, and I like adding pineapples and blueberries, and that for me, it's so simple, but perfect.

David Hernandez: 7:32

eventually, you know, Pokemon Go comes out in 2016. As you alluded earlier, you know, you started playing the game. How, dedicated were you to the game? Like, were you hooked? Were you just, like, somebody who came in and left the game?

HMLondon: 7:42

Oh no, I've been hooked since day one and I hit the ground running. So interesting story about that is my cousin and I, we were the same age and she started playing the game from day one and she chose team valor. so when I first picked up the game, I didn't know how to catch. I didn't know how to catch, didn't know how to throw the Pokeball. So I kept walking around trying to figure that out. And guess what? My first Pokemon was actually Pikachu.

David Hernandez: 8:07

Oh, really?

HMLondon: 8:08

my starter was Pikachu and I, guess I found the Easter egg in the game, not really trying to find the Easter egg in the game. But yeah, I, I didn't choose one of the three starters. I ended up getting Pikachu by accident. but yeah, I chose Mystic and you know, my cousin and I used to go. like every chance, even after work, during the week, every single chance we could in Santa Monica and all over the valley catching Pokemon. I have not looked back since I started playing this game all of those years ago.

David Hernandez: 8:38

What is it about Pokemon Go that's kept you engaged for this long? Because it's not common to see people who've played the entire lifespan so far.

HMLondon: 8:45

You're right, it is in common. Um, I think it definitely is the community. I started a Facebook group, within like the first month of playing the game and I started meeting friends in the local area here in San Fernando Valley, and we started like just doing different things together in the game. Those friendships developed, those friendships grew, and over the years, you know, the friendships changed, you know, different goals have changed, and we traveled more with the game, and so the community is the central element for me. being a member of the community and a leader of the community, because I started doing that, I kind of, I don't want to say fulfill the responsibility, but I was always at a different level in the game than most people, and it was always an amazing experience to showcase that level to other people and to usher in the people who wanted to be on that, same level too. As well as kind of help people who are struggling in the game find, like, how to break through and, start having the same kind of enjoyment in the game that I was having.

David Hernandez: 9:46

do you want to share the love of the game that you had to other people and try to get them involved

HMLondon: 9:50

exactly, because I would meet people and they would say, Oh, how do you, where did you find this Porygon or Chansey? they didn't have a clue of like, you know, where to catch them or, when gems came along, you know, I'm getting kicked out of all my gems. Where are you all out? And, you know, the different scenarios would change. But yes, sharing my love for the game with other individuals who maybe didn't have that same passion because of whatever circumstances that was always really, really fun to see.

David Hernandez: 10:17

for those who are curious? So you were actually a raid leader for a brief period and you would host raids in certain parts of where you're from. Is that correct?

HMLondon: 10:25

It was not a brief period, it was for a long period. So from when Raids first came out for years, it was like, I'm pretty sure it was like two and a half years, three years that I was a Raid leader, only after Remote Raids came out and really kind of just took over the game is kind of when I stopped doing it because the game kind of changed at that point. people didn't want to raid in person as much anymore, but yeah, definitely was the person that was coordinating raids and driving all over San Fernando Valley to raid. And it's so funny how that evolved, you know, when raids first came out, I think we achieved something like 10 raids in one day, and we thought we were so amazing and awesome. And then towards the end. Of my tenure as I would say the captain of the L train, that's what we call my raid group out here in the valley is, we were doing a hundred and twenty raids in a day. So, yeah, definitely was a raid leader here and did that for years and I don't know how, because today I don't have the stamina to do it.

David Hernandez: 11:25

That's how I felt Cause we had a healthy raid group here and I joined my friend And I couldn't do half a day, hardly like I was worn out. I'm like, I'm kind of done rating, but back then before covid, I'd be like you to where we would grade constantly over and over, over day in and day out, and it was perfectly normal. But nowadays, I just can't do that anymore. I don't know what changed.

HMLondon: 11:45

Yeah, I think we kind of matured a little bit and we're like, wait, why am I doing this? you know, it's interesting. I used to wake up at 6 a. m like I would be out raiding already at 6 A.M and I would go all the way to 9 p. m Sometime and I just don't know how I did that But I did that for a long time and not only was I rating I was coordinating So I was telling people to be here at 11 o'clock and 11 10 and 11 22 and I mean it was Mentally so much work, but I enjoyed it so much because again, there are people who couldn't take down a legendary. They had never been able to catch one and I would catch it for him or I would help them defeat one and, you know, their daughter's account. They wanted, you know, they were trying to get one is so many different stories I have. But yeah, it was, the love of that. Those interactions definitely, fueled me and kept me going for all of that time.

David Hernandez: 12:40

My last question in regards to the raids, part of, your time in Pokemon Go. How do I get a Hundo Lugia? Because you have a Shadow Hundo, you have a regular Hundo, and you have a Shundo Lugia as far as I know of. what's the secret? How do I get a Hundo Lugia?

HMLondon: 12:53

You know, everybody has that one Pokemon that just really loves them, and I don't know why, but Lugia just happened to love me, and Lugia was the first Shundo that I got. And it's so interesting, the story behind that Lugia, so I used to coordinate not just raids in my area, but I was also a community leader here too. And so we used to plan all of these events. So during community day, we used to have a cause that we championed it. So, like. I don't know, in August we would do back to school supplies, the next we would do homeless, um, donations to the homeless shelter, and one we would do donations to the pet shelters and stuff like that. So, anyway, it was one of these community days after we had done, a major, major, major drive, and the very first raid that we did after community day was a Lugia. And it was a Shiny, and I was screaming. I was like, Oh my God, this is a Shundo. And this guy, he was riding in my car with me. He was new to Pokemon Go. He didn't understand what Shundo meant. He didn't understand that there were attributes associated with these Pokemon, and that this was like the most perfect Shiny that you could get. He had no clue until like a week later. He was like, Oh my God, I just understand what you mean when you say you got a Shundo Lugia. So. I still remember that to this day, and you know, I was streaming Pokemon Go. I was doing my battles on stream, and I kept avoiding actually doing my Giovanni, interaction. So I decided just to do it on the stream while I waited for people to come in. I had about 40 people in my stream waiting to start doing my battles and I did my Giovanni quest and I was catching my Lugia. I was about to catch my Lugia and one of the people in my chat said, that's a hundo. And of course, people in your chat, they always try to troll you and like make you think you got something good when it's really garbage. Lo and behold, this person was right. I caught the shadow. I caught the shadow, hun, on stream,

David Hernandez: 14:44

Oh, wow.

HMLondon: 14:45

and that completed, you know, I had the regular one already and I had a shiny one. And so this one was the shadow hun, and I was just like, I was mind blown. I kind of sat there for like 10 minutes just staring at it.'cause at this point, shadow raids hadn't happened yet. And so this was like literally the rarest thing you could get. You know, I felt so special for like two years and you know, until they started, you know, so they came out and then like more people have it. But yeah, Lugia is that Pokemon that loves me. Lugia and Giratina are the Pokemon that really love me a lot and they don't mind showing it. So, you know, I think you just need to find your Pokemon. It may not be Lugia, but it may be Ho-oh or it may be Dialga, So you just gotta find whichever Pokemon really treats you well and go after it.

David Hernandez: 15:26

Oh, I found it. It's Regice, because I got it within five raids. Ha,

HMLondon: 15:29

See you know, that's the kind of stuff that makes me mad. I'm like, why do I have do 600 and you do five?

David Hernandez: 15:36

Well, what's good thing is that, uh, for Lugia, it's actually one of your favorite types. It's psychic, right?

HMLondon: 15:41

it's like, and Lugia is an amazing, like I just go back to the the cartoon where he was like, you know, in the water and while all the birds were fighting and, you know, he tried to come out and bring order. It's just, and he could talk. It was just such a cool Pokemon. Lugia is like, and his design is so cool too. so I do like Lugia quite a bit. He's up there in the top, five, at least.

David Hernandez: 16:03

you know, you talked about how you did drives Like, what kind of work went into trying to do that? Because that seems like a lot of coordination and a lot of time to invest in the community to kind of do stuff for the homeless and do stuff for, you know, the other people like that.

HMLondon: 16:15

Yeah, it's it definitely took a lot of work. I leveraged being a popular member of the community and being a leader already to my advantage. And I figured if we're out here. And I can get, and I'm not exaggerating when I say this, if I can get a hundred people to show up at an Articuno raid, then why not turn that hundred people into a hundred people donating an unwrapped, toy For the holidays for kids in need, you know. So yeah, I wanted to turn that influence into something good because I used to think to myself like, dang, we're going to all these places to do these Raids and all these business owners are getting upset, coming out, yelling and screaming. Let's try and do something to return to do something good. Let's, let's turn this into a positive. And so, I want to say Tyranitar was the first community day that we did a cause. I still have photos of it, it was, it was literally hundreds of people at the Great Wall of Los Angeles right by Valley College. we had two trucks full of food. We did a food pantry was the first one. I was like almost teary eyed. I was like, this is mind blowing to me. And so you have, an unsuspecting food pantry opening the door, realizing that they're getting two truckloads worth of donations. And they are asking like, How do you all know each other? And we tell them Pokemon, and they just cannot believe it because they, in their mind, people who play Pokemon are crazy. Or people who play Pokemon are, They have an idea of what that looks like. And we all were. Yeah, we are, but see, that crazy was a little bit of good that they couldn't deny, you know? And that's one thing people don't understand when I try to tell them that I play Pokemon with, such a wide variety of people. I have friends from this game from every walk of life, like, we probably would never really be friends outside of Pokemon, or we, we would have probably never met outside of Pokemon, but, like, I have friends that are doctors, and they're researching cures for cancer, I have, Friends who have been on game shows for molding, sculpting, and I have people who just have regular day jobs who are doing great in their job. It's just amazing to me, the variety of people that I met during this game. So back to the community, yeah, It took a lot of work to plan and it took a lot of work to really find balance in what causes to, pick for each month because each cause doesn't speak to each person the same way. So trying to find something that, get people to be engaged every single month. That was probably the hardest part. But, We were able to do it and I think our biggest drive was the pet drive. I think everybody, like everybody in some capacity likes animals. So, that was probably our biggest drive to date. And, I kind of miss that now that I think about it.

David Hernandez: 19:01

mean, very admirable because it's easy for me to imagine anybody saying, Hey, I can get 100 people to do this and kind of get obsessed with that power. But for you to kind of turn it into something good for the community, not just Pokemon Go, but just your own Los Angeles community. It's pretty admirable and pretty powerful and I think shows the potential that Pokemon Go can bring to people that I don't think we sometimes realize until somebody like you comes and mentions it.

HMLondon: 19:27

That's true! You know I I really wish I would have, Youtube it, or recorded some of these raiding things, because there have been times, you know, most of the time I was just too busy planning the next one to really appreciate what was happening. But there were times where I would literally look at all the cars lined up at a raid and think, You are the person that brought these cars here. Like, they only know about this place right now because they were following your car. Or they were following your instructions to get here. And there will be times where, especially in the more in the beginning, where we used to take our time to raid, where there will be literally 60, 70 of us at a park or at a gas station doing a raid. And I would just look and just think like, wow, This is actually very powerful. This is, you know, this is, all of us coming together for one, like, love of these imaginary creatures. And, yeah, I used to have those moments occasionally where I would look out and just be amazed at how many people were following my car.

David Hernandez: 20:27

It just takes one to have that kind of vision and that kind of willingness to step forward and create some powerful things.

HMLondon: 20:33

Yeah, and let me say this one last thing and then we can move on, you know. I was the first one in this area to do it, but, then, I spawned little groups that broke off and started doing their own thing, so like, you know, you mentioned Richard there in his area and that side of the valley, they started doing what they call the West side wagon. And then further in the West side, they started to do you know, the G train. I can't remember what the exact name was. And then Burbank started. and now, you know, and I look today, Burbank is still doing community things. At Olive Park, they do, things similar to what we were doing a couple of years ago, so it's amazing to see kind of how our community kind of gave birth to these little smaller communities that are now growing again, because they're starting to, like, reinvent the idea of community in Pokemon Go, and I think it's so cool.

David Hernandez: 21:20

You've been listening to as the Pokeball turns. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. eventually you decide to transition from Raiding to PVP, which is primarily how you play the game now. What was it about pvp that got you hooked?

HMLondon: 22:23

I don't know. When I first found out PvP was coming to the game, I was not happy about it. Like, I didn't think I would like it. I thought it would disrupt my normal grinding sessions. people don't know this, but I used to spend the night sometimes in Santa Monica, like, catching Pokemon all night. yeah, I used to walk the pier at 3 or 4 in the morning. I would still be, like, I literally took catch them all and being one of the highest catches or grind, you know, grinders in my area. I took that very seriously. So PVP, I knew that that was going to be something that would alter that level of play. And not only would it change my level of play, but it also would change, the level of play for the people that I play the game with. Half of my friends was super excited about it. And the other half wasn't, but anyway, lo and behold, the day they pushed the button and battles were allowed, in the game. I will never forget this. I literally got battle invites after battle invites, after battle invites and after invites, like for the entire day. And was like, wait, this was actually kind of fun cause I was winning most of them. And I didn't even, you know, there was no such thing as meta or anything like that back in those days. It was just pick three Pokemon and just see what you can do. But yeah, that's how I got into it. It's just giving it a shot and not being super close minded about this new feature and Soon after battles came out there, you know, Silph became a thing and I actually used to organize the Silph battles in the area too. and I used to hate to battle because my, I used to get too nervous. That's why I don't battle and compete now, and, you know, play Pokemon events because I get too nervous. but anyway, I used to organize, we used to be in the malls, or we used to be at VNSO Park, or we used to be in Burbank, and so, I just fell in love with that aspect of the game, where we could take these Pokémon that we spent hours and hours grinding and catching and building up and training, and put them together and battle against each other just like we used to watch on the cartoon. that was super exciting for me. Super exciting to see the vision, how it's all coming together. You know, at first we were kind of just wandering around aimlessly for two years and now it's making sense. This is why you were catching those Pokemon for so long because now you're going to need to utilize those in battle. And so, I definitely fell, head over heels in love with PvP. And so, yeah, and I haven't looked back since. I still love 2 Battle. that's a major part of my game. Like you said, I do that more than I do the other parts of the game now.

David Hernandez: 24:50

You also get to stream it on Twitch, and I know for you, you're particularly good at Master League because of all the raid you've done and all the starters you've collected, right?

HMLondon: 24:59

Yeah, I don't know if I'm good at it or if I just have the resources it, but I definitely wanna think that it's a, it's a little bit of both. But yes, I think the true statement would be, it's my favorite. It's, it's the one that I enjoy the most. because this is the pinnacle of Pokemon, right? This is like, legendaries that you have trained all the way to their fullest potential, and you are getting to show off what they can do. They are big Pokemon, they can tank moves, they're powerful, like, I, like, Master League just gets my vote every time.

David Hernandez: 25:33

unpopular opinion for sure.

HMLondon: 25:35

Unpopular opinion. I think a lot of, I think more and more people are falling in love with Master League, and I just think ultimately it's a resource thing for people, is they would play it more if they felt that they had what, the Pokémon that they needed to compete in Master League, but I, I don't want to go into a long think here, but when people have more Pokémon than they realize, especially if They battle at gyms, or they battle with raids, they generally have Pokemon, they just don't know how to put them together to make a team, and so, once they figure that part out, they kinda hit the ground running.

David Hernandez: 26:05

It sounds like they let the idea of the top picks keep them away, or scare them away, I guess, for lack of a better word.

HMLondon: 26:11

Exactly. So they might think, they might hear, oh, Ho Oh is like, so good in Master League, but they don't, they only have a Dragonite, so, they think, oh, well, I can't really compete, not realizing that Dragonite beats Ho Oh, and so they don't realize that they actually can compete if they just give it a shot.

David Hernandez: 26:27

So, I know you've had a chance to attend some live events. What was the first live event you got to attend for Pokemon GO?

HMLondon: 26:34

GoFest in Chicago was the first one in 2019, and I encourage anyone who's never attended an event to go. It's, it was an incredible experience because essentially you were doing kind of similar things than what you do in, in your own communities. But with people from around the world, people came from all around the world to play. GoFest in Chicago, and there were so many people, top trainers, that people had respect and knew were like the top people in the world. They were there too, and they got a chance to take pictures with them, and then there were habitats. They kind of mirrored habitats that were going on in the game. They built them into the real world and made the park an actual habitat for catching Pokemon and the sound effects that kind of drew you into the environment. people were looking to trade Pokemon that were only available in the U. S. the list goes on and on why it just was an incredible experience I'm so blessed I had the opportunity to play Pokemon all around the world. I went to Go Fest in Japan too, and I don't even know if we have enough time to talk about Japan but Japan, if you think about, like I don't even know Being born and raised in the United States, I don't know there's anything that all of us like to do, or like, here in the U. S. But, I will tell you, Pokemon is integrated in the fiber of their DNA in Japan. Like, everybody plays Pokemon, and not Like, I literally was doing a Rayquaza raid in Japan with a 90 something year old man. it was hundreds of people out at a Rayquaza raid in, Shibuya, I think is the name of the place where we were. It was just, it was mind blowing to me. every place has its own story as to how, all of those people got into that one location and, you know, what the perspective is. But when I played in Japan, I kind of had like a culture shock of just seeing how Pokemon is everywhere, in the restrooms, in restaurants, in the stores, on billboards, on the trains, everywhere. And it's not really, I don't want to say looked down upon, because, you know, I don't want to say that that's how people see Pokemon here in the U. S., but kind of, they associate it with like, kids. Here, whereas in Japan, as part of the culture, so that was incredible to see, and I don't think I would ever be able to top that experience.

David Hernandez: 28:51

You know, I'm trying to imagine a Pokemon in a restroom and it seems kind of odd. I can't imagine trying to use it while Pikachu's looking at me. That's just

HMLondon: 28:57

Well, it's interesting. They actually use blastoise or squirtle. I can't remember which 1 of those, but they use a water type and tell you, like, to make sure you like. Aim when you're using the restroom.

David Hernandez: 29:09

Oh my gosh. I gotta see that.

HMLondon: 29:13

Yeah, they actually use that as like a way to be like, you know, don't squirtle everywhere, please wipe the seat or something like that. So, yeah, they, I mean, why I said it's like a culture, it's part of their culture. They use it just like we would use like an emoji or something, you know, it's like a part of everyday life.

David Hernandez: 29:32

Well, HMLondon, you've been a wonderful guest. I do have one last segment I do have planned for you,

HMLondon: 29:38

Sure!

David Hernandez: 29:39

So I you to go back to your younger days. Go back to when you're trying to run to try to guess who that Pokemon is. We're gonna play What's That Pokemon, just like you did back when you were a little kid.

HMLondon: 29:50

Oh, goodness gracious. Okay, let's go.

29:55

Who's that Pokemon?

David Hernandez: 29:59

So we're returning to the podcast. It's called What's That Pokemon, where there are 1, 000 Pokemon, but the only one that matters is the one that I'm thinking about at this moment. You have to guess which Pokemon I'm thinking about, but before you make your guess, you have 10 questions. You can ask me and a yes or no format to kind of narrow down the choices after you've asked the 10 questions, you have to guess which Pokemon I'm thinking about based on what information you gathered. Does make sense?

HMLondon: 30:22

Yes, it does make sense. I'm really bad at this, but I'm ready. I'm excited.

David Hernandez: 30:26

so let's go and get started. What's the first question you want to ask?

HMLondon: 30:30

Oh, I don't get a clue to start. Okay. All right. Um, is the Pokemon that you're thinking about a part of the original 151 Pokemon?

David Hernandez: 30:40

Is the Pokemon part of the original 151? Yes.

HMLondon: 30:45

Ooh. Okay. I'm going to get this. Okay. Perfect.

David Hernandez: 30:48

Question number two.

HMLondon: 30:50

Question number two. Is this Pokemon a legendary Pokemon?

David Hernandez: 30:56

Is this Pokemon a legendary Pokemon? It is not a legendary Pokemon.

HMLondon: 31:02

Okay.

David Hernandez: 31:03

Question Number, three.

HMLondon: 31:05

is this Pokemon associated with any members of Team Rocket?

David Hernandez: 31:10

Is this Pokemon associated with any members of Team Rocket? It is not associated with Team Rocket.

HMLondon: 31:17

Okay.

David Hernandez: 31:18

Question number four.

HMLondon: 31:20

I'm not on a time limit, right? think of, okay. Question number four, okay.

David Hernandez: 31:25

Oh, time limit would be too mean.

HMLondon: 31:26

Okay. Does this Pokemon evolve?

David Hernandez: 31:30

Does this Pokemon evolve? It does not evolve.

HMLondon: 31:35

Ooh. Okay.

David Hernandez: 31:37

So we're on question number five. So just to recap so you know where we're at, this Pokemon is a part of the original 151, it is not a legendary Pokemon, it is not associated with Team Rocket, and it does not evolve.

HMLondon: 31:50

Okay, just give me one second. I'm looking at my Pokédex right now. I just want to figure out how to narrow this down. Okay, he said it does not evolve. Okay, so that leaves me with He said it's not a legendary Pokémon. does this Pokemon have, pre evolutions?

David Hernandez: 32:10

Does this Pokemon have pre evolutions? It does have pre evolutions.

HMLondon: 32:16

Okay. Got it. So it's a final evolution. How many evolution? I can't ask that question, right? It has to be in the form of a yes or no. Okay. Um, does this Pokemon originate from a starter?

David Hernandez: 32:34

Does this Pokemon originate from a starter? That's your question?

HMLondon: 32:38

Yes.

David Hernandez: 32:39

It does not originate from a starter. Question number seven.

HMLondon: 32:44

Wow.

David Hernandez: 32:47

How you feeling? What's going through your mind?

HMLondon: 32:51

I'm thinking that I thought I was really good at like, impactful questions, good probing questions, but these are not good pro you know, yes and no are not probing questions so I'm trying to think about how to avoid spending too much time, but also like get the right questions asked.

David Hernandez: 33:09

I gotcha, I gotcha.

HMLondon: 33:11

Okay, so it's not a legendary, it does evolve, I mean it comes from something that evolved, it is in the original Pokédex, the 151, it's not legendary, I said that already, um, how do I act? It's not a starter. Does this Pokemon fly?

David Hernandez: 33:33

Does this Pokemon fly? It does not fly.

HMLondon: 33:40

I sent some hesitation. Okay, got it. Okay, so this is not starter. It doesn't fly. So I'm on question number eight. Okay, so that leaves me with Does this Pokemon's evolution line consist Of three Pokemon.

David Hernandez: 34:07

Does this Pokemon's evolution line consist of three Pokemon? It does consist of three Pokemon.

HMLondon: 34:15

Okay. Got it. So that eliminates a lot. Okay. So it's not these, not the wait, you said it, you said it does consist of three.

David Hernandez: 34:25

Yeah, it's Evolution Line's three Pokemon.

HMLondon: 34:27

Okay. Got it. So it's not

David Hernandez: 34:29

And I'm not counting like, Forms or Mega Evolution, by the way.

HMLondon: 34:33

right. But just to be clear, like for instance, radicate, Rattata and radicate are not, that's two. So, okay. Got it.

David Hernandez: 34:40

So B3. Yeah.

HMLondon: 34:42

got it. Okay. But you said no starter. So let's okay. Cool. And you said it does not fly. Okay. So I'm on question number nine.

David Hernandez: 34:50

Correct.

HMLondon: 34:52

Oof. Okay. Three. So I'm feeling like you want to like, try and like, go back to my, one of my favorites when I was growing up. Um, but, uh, let me see. Let me think about this. Um, three. Cause the only, cause E will be, well, hmm, AP is. That doesn't, that's not three, that's like four. There's a lot more than that. And Dragonite,

David Hernandez: 35:22

Technically more than that, because you've got to count the other generations for

HMLondon: 35:25

right. I, okay, so I think I know what it is. So let me see. Okay, so the only ones that could be, doesn't fly. So it has to be either one, two, three, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Oh, how do I narrow this down? Okay,

David Hernandez: 35:58

You've got two more questions, though.

HMLondon: 36:00

I know, I know, but I'm, that's, I have to think about the question, and I gotta think about how, how to ask the

David Hernandez: 36:07

ha!

HMLondon: 36:10

So they don't, don't fly. Huh, and there's three of them. So I'm looking at all the ones left with three, and I'm trying to Ooh, okay, wait a minute. So the three that's left, and he said doesn't fly, so I can eliminate this. So, I said that, how would I axe this? Um, well, technically does that have Okay, so it can only be Is this Pokemon a f Ooh, I think I know how to ask this. Is this Pokemon weak to Psychic type?

David Hernandez: 37:20

Is this Pokemon weak to the psychic type? Is that your question?

HMLondon: 37:24

Yes.

David Hernandez: 37:26

It is weak to psychic.

HMLondon: 37:28

Okay.

David Hernandez: 37:32

So real quick What you know so far, you know the Pokemon is part of the original 151, you know it's not a legendary, it's not associated with Team Rocket, you know it does not evolve, you know it does have pre evolutions, it is not originally a starter, you know it does not fly, you know that it does consist of three Pokemon for the evolution line, and you know that it's weak to Psychic. We're on the last question before you have to make a guess.

HMLondon: 37:56

Okay, got it. so if it's weak to Psychic Am I allowed to, like, say out loud which ones I know for a fact it's not it? But, I mean, just for my own

David Hernandez: 38:04

yeah,

HMLondon: 38:05

so if it's Weak to Psychic, then it's not the evolution line of Abra. So it's not Alakazam. And so, if So, It has to either be Gengar, which is my favorite Pokémon, or it has to be Machamp or Poliwrath. Like, those are the only three. Wait, oh, I'm sorry. Actually, it could be Vileplume too, and Nidoqueen and Queen. Ooh, okay. so it's not Team Rocket. Okay, now I gotta just think about how to ask this last question. Oof, okay, Vileplume, Nidoqueen, Queen. So it's weak to psychic. So it has to be either a fighting or a poison type A fighting type. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It has to be a fighting. Did I say fighting? Yeah, it has to be either these fighting types here or the poison types. So,

David Hernandez: 39:01

And so many Pets in Gen 1, too. I

HMLondon: 39:04

it a poison type and you say no, then that leaves me with. either Machamp or Poliwrath. If I say, is it a fighting type? And you say no, then that leaves me with quite a few poison types. So I have to think about the right question to ask to be able to eliminate. let me see.

David Hernandez: 39:23

mean, you got a pretty good, what is it, 6 Pokemon it sounds like you're trying to choose from out of 151? Or 7?

HMLondon: 39:29

it may be seven or eight. Cause I, I still have the, I still have, it's quite a few poison types. So I still have needle clinging, needle king and queen. Um, I still have Vileplume, I still have Victreebel, oh well no, Victreebel was associated with Team Rocket, cause he used to always eat them, so Victreebel is not it. Okay, unless you, unless you might have not remembered that, but I think you did. Um, okay, and Gengar, which is my favorite Pokemon. Um, that's just so Oh, okay. Um, oh, I cannot believe I wasted some of my questions. Okay. Um, it's weak to psychic. Okay. If I say what is, oh, well, wait a minute. If I say ground type. No, that's not a good question. Okay. I'm going to be so mad at myself. Um, is, you're probably thinking like, bruh, this is not that hard. Like ask this. Now I'm sitting here thinking like.

David Hernandez: 40:46

Oh, I know it's very hard. You're not the first person I've done this with, so don't

HMLondon: 40:49

Okay. I know the answer because, well, you said, when I ask you, does it fly? You hesitated. So, you're basically, okay, let me think about this. Um, how do I say this? Does it fly and can it fly is different. This is so hard. I forgot I even have Beedrill in here. But Beedrill does fly, so it can't be Beedrill. Okay. So I have Nidoqueen, Nidoqueen, Vileplume. Those are all poison. I have Gengar, which is poison, and I have Machamp, and they're fighting. One is water, and one is just fighting. And I ask you if it's weak against, I mean if it's weak against, if it's weak to psychic. And you said yes.

David Hernandez: 41:43

It's

HMLondon: 41:43

Now, I should ask if it's If is this Pokemon strong against Okay. I'm just gonna have to go for it because I'm taking a long time. Is Why didn't I ask this sooner? Oh my goodness. Oh my gosh, now I feel like I need one more question.

David Hernandez: 42:08

All you got is one question, so make it count.

HMLondon: 42:11

Oh, well, yeah, I mean, I guess this will be helpful. Is this Pokemon a dual type Pokemon?

David Hernandez: 42:16

Is this Pokemon a dual type Pokemon? It is a dual type Pokemon. That is last question.

HMLondon: 42:25

Okay, so that eliminates Machamp.

David Hernandez: 42:28

before we get to your guest, just to remind the audience, it is originally part of the 151. It is not a legendary. It is not associated with Team Rocket. It does not evolve. It does have pre evolutions. It does not originate from a starter. It does not fly. Its evolution line does consist of three Pokémon. It is weak to Psychic. And it is a dual type Pokémon. HMLondon, what Pokémon do you think I'm thinking about? You got it!

HMLondon: 43:03

I'm so excited, you have no idea, I'm so happy. Oh, I was like I was like, everybody knows that Gengar is my favorite Pokemon, or I think they know, um, did you know that Gengar was my favorite Pokemon? Oh, okay, then I was like, because you've done your research, I can tell that you've done your research, and I was like, he knows that Gengar is my favorite, so if I don't guess Gengar, then I'm, then Gengar really isn't my favorite, and it is, so I gotta guess Gengar. Okay, but I should have asked about the dual types sooner, because then that would have eliminated so many guesses that I, or so many questions that I asked, but that was very fun.

David Hernandez: 43:39

Definitely HM London. Thank you for coming on the show. Thank you for participating in the game before you do go. If people want to check out your content, if they want to connect with you, where can they go? By all means, please plug away.

HMLondon: 43:50

All right. Well, again, thank you so much for having me. Um, if you want to reach out to me, you can reach out to me on Twitter. My handle is HMLondon, or X, now HMLondonPogo on TikTok. It's, excuse me, HMLondonPogo. And on Twitch as HMLondon, which I am there every day, Monday through Friday. I mean, excuse me, seven days a week from at 9 p. m. Pacific Standard Time.

David Hernandez: 44:17

Oh beans. And I'll make sure to include links to everything he said in the description of today's episode. Thank you for listening to As the Pokeball Turns. If you want to support the show, consider becoming a Patreon by either clicking the link in the description or going to patreon. com slash as the pokeball turns. Now, if you aren't able to support the show financially, you can always support the show by sharing it with your Pokemon community, because this show wouldn't exist without listeners like you. Now here's a sneak peek for the next episode of As the Pokeball Turns.