Who Are Pokemon Cards Even For Now? - Pokeca Talk Ep. 9

Not everyone will see it, but I've seen cracks in the sets. They are losing personality and soul, trying to appeal as as many customers as possible, but at what cost? Their Soul Poketune set could never, ever happen again. Today at the moment, it just feels like a race, like you said, for validation. If you actually just switch off on social media, things get a lot better. Not that that's related to social media, but it's about, you know, protecting your happiness. It really feels like they structure these sets so. So that whales buy them en masse. They do every single time. When I first started speaking about it and I was loud about it on my channel, investors and other creators say, oh, like you're just whining and you just hate making money. Or why do you hate other people making money? No, these cards set like losing, meaning they. They're losing soul. Welcome to another episode of the Poker Car Talk podcast where we talk about things that you may not want to talk about, that usually don't hear, that might be a little bit darker and a little bit sadder. But at the end of the day, or how the two of us feel, you might learn something. You might look at Pokemon cards and culture in general differently. So as long as you're okay with that, sit down, relax, and enjoy two people talking about something they love and something they want to keep loving. Okay. How do you run a podcast about Pokemon cards without inadvertently pumping Pokemon cards? And how do you run a podcast about Pokemon card collecting without making it harder to collect? That is my question to you, Zachariah. Right now, right now in the big 26. I mean, how do you do it? I think you will notice in a bit what I never tried to talk is at least what I'm going to focus on now is I don't really talk about value and I want to. I will avoid the terms as underrated. Or this is stupidly low priced, or this is easier to. To talk about higher insanely priced cards than the, I want to say the underrated cards right now. Before, in like in 2023, it was easier to talk about it without, you know, worry. Now I'm really conscious. Heck, even when I was talking know thinking before this podcast, there's like a P1 game like Star Ocean Story. Not Star Ocean, Star Blood. No, Star Gladiator. It's like a. I've never heard of it. I've heard of Star Ocean, but I haven't heard of Star Gladiator. Star gladiator. Capcom game 20 was a failed Star wars licensed game. So they redid it in. In his own ip. I want to buy that game. I was going to think, do I? No, I want to not talk about it. So I'm in full gatekeeping mode and this actually looks cool. I want to play this. It's insane. It's insane. I'm going to buy it and it's like Euro 25, but it is very scarcely available. It's just really uncommon out there. But that's what I'm going to focus about with Pokemon cards as well. I'm going to talk about it, but very conscious. Well, I had this thought because obviously it's been a while since we have run the Poker Car Talk podcast. So to all the avid Poker Car Talk listeners out there, really sorry for the absence. Again, it's always my fault. Zakaria is always keen, but I'm always busy and I've been going through it. But we're here now. We made it work. I think we've agreed that we have to do this in the evening for being in Australia and the morning. Or like early, late, late morning for you. Right? Because the time zones are brutal. But one-of-one thank you for your patience. But I was thinking about this because I'm like, how do we start the podcast again? And then also like, what do we even talk about? Because it's funny, you actually mentioned, like, you're avoiding terms like underrated or like stupidly low or like underappreciated, undervalued. I all pulled up on that on my stream the other day when I was talking about vstar universe, art rares or characteristics. It's just hard because it feels like there's two or three, like card collecting core or like card collecting audiences right now. There's like the everyday collector, like yourself, myself. And then there's like this new which and also which I feel like is like a lot of the listeners of the podcast. And then there's like this second group which is like the purely high end. Like every card is. It's, it's not even about the card, it's about its grade and its value. Right? But we could hark on about that and be pissy and negative about that for us until the cows come home, you know, at card shows, vendors, whatever, all that stuff. And then there's like the collecting crew or crowd of like investors or people who are trying to like get product and speculate on product and treat sealed packs as like, product. But I don't even, I don't even know like, where we land and like how we talk about things because it's a sensitive time. I was actually what, what kicked that thought off again for me as well was this card here that I Beckett up recently, right? And I bought this as a nine because, I mean, I've never had. I never owned this card, right? And I bought it as a nine because on previous episodes I've spoken about you and I have spoken about how difficult it is to find like vintage in good condition, raw. So sometimes I'm not the biggest graded guy and I probably, I eventually will crack this. In fact, I might have just cracked this during the stream this week, right? But the point is, I started tracking down these cards from XY because they are sort of like the original secret special arts, right? And I was like, why didn't I never like try to get these in the past? Like, why didn't I try to get these like, you know, a few years ago? But on another Pokemon card podcast, I saw them talking about it and it's just like, damn. Talking about that card or those cards, which have been like underappreciated for so long on a big podcast that a lot of people listen to is a surefire way to make those cards essentially inaccessible. Unless you're in that second crowd. It's just, it's a weird time and doesn't look like it's getting any better. Yu-Gi-Oh First of all, welcome everyone. I really forgot. I just, I just talked your ears off. Sorry. Welcome everyone to the polka podcast, pokercut Talk podcast. Very sorry. It already is so, so long ago. So we forgot to do the intro as well. But Yu-Gi-Oh that was a. It's an interesting take because Yu-Gi-Oh I'm really consc. What I talk about now and even if I have it, I. I am not desperate enough to. To show to everyone. And you can see it with a great example is Tomokazu Kumiya cards. And, and I will probably, I've probably said it before and it's almost 10 years that I collect Tomokazu Kumiya cards for the majority. Like up until 2021, nobody cared. least it was a niche thing. And now everyone seems to like Tomokatsukomiya some for the wrong reasons in my opinion. And there's a lot of fans that like it. But to really, do people really like it? As in maybe this like a double edged sword, as in some people like it to share it on social media for traffic and then maybe in the meantime they actually really like that artist, if you know what I mean. So there's like stuff going on. It's like In a way, they are searching for validation on social media. Hey, if I have 1k likes then I must like this card or artist as well. And that is what I have been observing. But honestly, as you can see personally, you know, I post way less on X IG also non existent anymore. I did post occasionally there. Yu-Gi-Oh I'm only privately on discord now mostly. And YouTube channel is also slowing down like for all those reasons. I really like what I have and I can enjoy my stuff privately. And we are talking about me now. But. But this, the whole vibe. I think what a lot of people are getting now as well. Like you said. And yes, I am a gatekeeper and I'm not shy to admit that I want to protect my own happiness and don't. That's the thing. Like I was thinking about this as well. Like gatekeeping just like doesn't work anymore. Like you can't even like if we actually. No, really, I really felt that strongly about gatekeeping. We were just like not. I would like not to talk about any of the cards that I collect. I wouldn't make any videos about anything. And you. We wouldn't even be having this convo. But I think like fundamentally gatekeeping just doesn't work. But like, you know, because. Because if it. If it was gonna work, we all would have done it. But I don't think anybody tried to like hard gatekeep because it was an inevitability post like 2021 and like, you know, the whole Logan Paul thing, like just go look at like all that stuff with the, you know, the Corocoro promos that's like popped up. It's just a matter of. For groups like that, it's just a matter of finding something un. Like I would say undiscovered or like. Yu-Gi-Oh something. Something that the spotlight isn't on. And then putting the spotlight on it and building a big enough story and narrative and then all of a sudden something that was accessible is now inaccessible. Yu-Gi-Oh gay keeping just doesn't work. But I think slowing down. Yu-Gi-Oh it's like changing terminology and like how you talk about it because like I don't want to come. I don't want to come in here. Like I want to come on the podcast and like talk about, talk about Pokemon cards, talk about what's been happening recently. You know what I mean? Like have fun, have a good conversation. I don't want to come on and always talk to you about how like doom and gloom everything is. And I don't think you do either. But to, to continue having like conversations about Pokemon cards and collecting and trying to create a space where people can collect and like you can introduce collecting to people in like a healthy and sustainable way. You have to talk about it. You have to talk about Pokemon cards, obviously. So just about changing the terminology. Yu-Gi-Oh To stand out stuff like it's undervalued, it's underrated and it's just like, hey, it's pretty cool. That's about it. You know what I mean? I know what you mean because for me it's a lifestyle. You know, it's been almost 10 years that I'm doing this. You all also in like seven years now. And it's a lifestyle at least for me with all the activities that I'm doing. I run Poor Guardian, which also, I swear to say this, I'm not on top of most of the stuff anymore because just the core basic stuff, my own Pokemon league, I am trying to. Prepared to step down from organizing after 10 years. And it is not that I don't want to do it, but I just, it is really just to protect my own happiness to like this hobby. Because right now, personally for me, and again, I can't speak for others right now, there's so much change going on. And like you say, people that are discovering, Yu-Gi-Oh 30 years worth of content. Yesterday it was the Deoxys Atlantic record. Tomorrow it will be another like versus Movie deck or whatever. Yu-Gi-Oh something like that. Or what you say, Coral Core promo. And that is inevitable. What you can do is. What I do is again, I just don't speak about it because maybe I have it, maybe I don't. And even if I do have it, I'm still not going to talk about it. Or maybe only private equipment, private groups. Again, it's not to hurt anyone, but there are people indeed that just want to spend, solely to spend and boast on social media about it. Again, that's not a crime. But there's no, I want to say, there's no passion for, for, I want to say radiating. And five years ago I could just talk about it. I think this was more a niche thing. And what has now become niche is Japan five years ago wasn't, was quite still, you know, getting mainstream. But now what I'm going, what I'm seeing is everyone, you know, shopping in Japan again, consoles, retro, just the whole LARPing stuff, if you know what I mean. Yu-Gi-Oh basically, Yu-Gi-Oh It's like at the moment it just feels like a race, like you said, for validation. I mean if you actually just Switch off on social media, things get a lot better. Like I felt. And I think maybe that's kind of like, maybe in a way while you're stepping away from your responsibilities. Yu-Gi-Oh At Lee, not that that's related to social media, but it's about, you know, protecting your happiness. I found, like, I found that I was just like getting tilted looking at stuff on social media. Whenever I see this card is like blown up in value and it's because someone's made some viral video or whatever. Right. It's just like, frustrating to me. And then making Pokemon cards and collecting, like you said, something that's like your lifestyle on fun, just protecting your happiness. Stepping away from it and not looking at it is a really good way to fix it. Because, like, whenever I do that and I come back to it, I'm okay with it. But, like, I'm okay with the state of things. But Yu-Gi-Oh it's a weird. It's just. It's just. It's a weird time. And like, for many months, people have said, and I've been trying to convince myself as well, like, once this 30th comes and goes, things will settle and calm down, but I actually don't think that's gonna happen. And like, too much is, like, in it now. Like, there's too many. There's too many players. The stakes are too high for some of those groups. It's like the way it is now is probably, is likely, very likely here to stay, maybe some kind of, like, cool off, but it's not going anywhere. You know, like I said, for me, it's a lifestyle. For them, it's also a way of a lifestyle. And as you invest in this, for them, it's not a hobby, maybe it's investment. Still, it is a lifestyle. It will affect you in daily life. Unless you are like a Rudy from Alpha Investments that just has so much capital that he doesn't care. But still, for him, it's a lifestyle. And that's the thing. And Yu-Gi-Oh maybe some people will lose interest after one or two years, but there will still be a huge audience attracted from those, from this, you know, couple of years. And you just cannot say no. It will all be good. No time will heal, of course, but the whole ideology of Pokemon company, and we discussed this one or two episodes before, you can see there's like a culture shift in this company. Five years ago, the TPCI and TPC and Creatures were not the same company as now. Now they are clearly seeing, okay, we can get a huge mainstream and still you know, target our core audience. And that's the thing. And what I said it before. They are losing soul. And I just want. Yu-Gi-Oh like on that, on that, on that topic. Right. Because I was thinking about this as you were talking about it. Like, do you think. Because I want to talk about Mega Rayquaza. Exactly right. The SAR from Storm Immeralda. Do you think that maybe there's like some element of all of this hype and attention and the change and the shift in the way people collect and the groups that are collecting? Do you think there's some element of that has influenced the cards that we're seeing now in that it's like putting more pressure on the artist assigned to these cards, you know, knowing that they're. They're going to have to illustrate what is inevitably going to be the chase card from the set. Yes. Do you think that it adds extra pressure onto them and influences and impacts what that like changes the final product? Because I feel like it does to an extent. I feel. I. I honestly feel like it does. I mean they were certainly no wary of what they are creating. And for example, again, 20 years ago there was no social media. So people like Mitsuyur Arita, you know, they could just go to worlds probably like sign stuff and not care. Now their social media and now this, the artists are getting famous overnight, if you know what I mean. Yu-Gi-Oh And. And they post like, is there pressure on Shinji Kanda? Like, do you feel like it changes the way that they would illustrate the card because has so much movement online, you know what I mean? I think, I think he. He is really. Again, I think, I think the principles don't change. They are trying to best or possibly at all given times, even if there's no, you know, crazy stuff happening. But still, Yu-Gi-Oh they are likely. Okay. Now I am drawing sometime like not necessarily history, but okay. This will inevitably have a, you know, get a buzz on social media. Yu-Gi-Oh And I remember for a While like in 2020 or 19, artists weren't allowed to share artwork, you know, released from the set on social media. Does like a ban from creatures and you know, they just shared the raw art, you know, without the border that was just bent for, I don't know, reason, maybe fake cards or whatever, but they could just do it and then not anymore. Now they are allowed to share the actual normal card with template. But I think in the future maybe they will also like severely embargo this stuff because when it's digitally revealed, artists are can't share it. But I Think maybe they will say let's wait one or two sets more to. To share their work online. Which is so like, it doesn't even make sense because the cards get leaked if TPCI has a leak. Right. We will see the cards months before that. The Japanese set, like, you know, sometimes six or eight weeks before the Japanese set even comes out. Right. But if that doesn't happen on the TPCI being the English side. So if, you know, ninjas. Chaos Spinner in English was Ninja Spinner Chaos Rising. Sorry, Chaos Rising was the English version of Ninja Spinner. And we saw the Mega Greninja Ex by Susum Maya. Like, I don't know, it felt like it was like two or three months. Yu-Gi-Oh Way before Ninja Spinner, which is the Japanese set even came out. And the Japanese set comes out four or five weeks beforehand. So like it's. It doesn't even make sense to put an embargo on them sharing their art. Because if TBCI gets a leak, we see it one-of-one And then before the Japanese set comes out, three or four days, we will always see the full set inevitably leak because Yu-Gi-Oh the boxes are getting Beckett to China. Whether that continues to happen now, we'll see because. And I don't know if we were talking about this. No, we haven't streamed since this. But I know that tpc Pokemon Japan have really like cleaned up distribution and shut. Shut out a lot of stores and cut them off from distribution because of leaks. But Storm Emerald is still like. In spite of that, Storm Emerald is still leaked. So who knows what's gonna happen with future sets. But it's silly. Like it. Because it's, it's unavoidable. And then on top of that, like, once the card leaks, people are feeding it into Gen Yu-Gi-Oh models to like upscale it. Like, stop that. I mean, that's what happened with 30th celebration. Right. It was unavoidable, which really pissed me off because I actually, I mean I was genuinely. I still am genuinely excited for 30th, but. Right. Seeing that all leak through, you know, in Australia somehow, like, I don't know, what are we doing? If I want to give my view as a poke Guardian editor, there's been stuff leaked for as long as I've been doing Poor Guardian. And the only thing I hate with leaks is they don't solve answers, but they create more answers, if you know what I mean. Because 90% of those leaks are soy to say it's potato cam quality. And sometimes it's difficult to judge you know, how a car looks sometimes it's an ETB booklet and you don't see the texturing or you know, the full, you know, intention of the card, if you know what I mean. Like the full actual card in hand on 4k quality. No, you don't see it many, many times. And again it raises more questions than answers. I've seen some people say like oh, leaks are good in a sense because they. No, they give you the information to decide whether or not you want to pre order or buy the set. That's cap dude that you think that's like maybe like that's like 3%. I'm pulling a number out of my ass. But like that's. That has got to be less than 10 of the Pokemon card consumer base that are like oh, I was on the fence and I'm. I can decide now that I've seen the leaks. Come on, man. No, the thing is, you know, while it's good to be always be informed. Again, don't get me wrong, I would prefer Pokemon to reveal themselves fully, if you know what I mean. Yu-Gi-Oh So I can have actual content to work with and people can see the quality images the way they are intended to be, you know, publicized, published by the actual creator. So what you now get if something has leaked now the. I want to. Don't want to talk about about the third anniversary leaks because sometimes I just don't know whether it's really Certified or not yet. There are interesting cards being revealed and no, I'm not going to touch touch about it. I touch it. Not going to talk about it. But again what it does is I'm certain that Pokemon Co. Doesn't like this because again, no. That no, I. I don't think they do. No either. No again. And what this other topic of topic too. Maybe maybe. Sorry, maybe TPCI does. I would say maybe like the English side does, right? No, no, no, both. Both because there's like people, people. I got asthma at the moment. People have speculated that the leaks are semi intentional because they build high. But again I, I see. I think that's like gear cap because we don't need any, we don't need to build any more hype for this set. It's salt. Like it pre order sold out before any of these leaks even happened, you know. So I pre ordered pretty sold out. And we'd only seen Ren's Espeon and Umbreon and Yoshiden's Pikachu. New Mewtwo F U R We haven't seen all these other leagues. So that's. That's a lie. But. And. And I don't know, man. I don't know. Those leaks happened before Pitch Black released. So I'm very certain TPCI don't want any additional content that Japan hasn't approved of to be actually leaked ahead of certain sets. You would think that if they didn't like it, you would have seen, like, we would have seen heads roll by now, but you just don't. It's frustrating and it's. I don't think it's like. Well, Yu-Gi-Oh like. Like, I don't think it's. Sorry, go, go. Sorry. No, no, no, no. The thing is, you know, tpci, as long as there's no address, you know, or certain identity attached to this person, you can send everything you got, like private investigators or. But in the end, what does it matter at some point? The thing is, we will never probably hear about the internal, you know, issues, incidents that happened, because likely they will again, never talk about it. There's NDAs attached to those employees. So instead of tackling the people that leaked this online, they will likely investigate what has actually happened within those facilities. How. But they leaked. They gotta get. They gotta get these guys. And, like, I don't think that's fortuitous to say or, like, holier than they are to say that talking about leaks and sharing them is wrong. Like, I just personally. Well, this, for me, it's twofold. I like the romance and the suspense and like, the intrigue and the mystery before I see the set. You know, when I think back to when I was a kid and I was excited for GameCube, a PS2 games, right? Part of, like, I was excited for games that ended up being terrible, you know, Sonic Heroes. Right? I was so excited for Sonic Heroes. Right? Yu-Gi-Oh And it was. It was a, you know, it was an average, you know, it was a 7, 8 out of 10 game, right? It was like, whatever. But in my mind, like, my memories and feelings for that game are so, like, nostalgic. And it makes me so happy whenever I, you know, when I see something Heroes clips. Because it reminds me of how excited I was and how, like, pure I was as a kid. Just looking through magazine scans, like, scratching for any bit of information, but being happy with what I'd seen, you know, and it was only what was getting fed to me through magazines, like I said, brochures and like E3, you know, Cam. You know, potato cam, quality of. And then eventually, like, the trailers. But like, that, there was Romance there. Now I like, I think about all these cards when they get revealed and I'm like, I got revealed. Like the car got leaked to me because it popped up on my timeline because some ripping shipper in China got it early and was selling packs for 160 per. I'm like, cool. And I'm never gonna remember it. I'm gonna. So like, I'm allowed to feel like that. And I don't think that's holier than now because people get on. Gone get on me because, like, oh, like, why are you so anti leaks? But the second thing, you know, the second thing with the leaks is I forgot I was. It's twofold. Oh, there's got to be like some. There's just got to be some like, justice and punishment for it because, like, you know, I don't know if you remember when New Zebra Mario Bros. On the Yu-Gi-Oh leaked about like eight days before launch in Australia. Do you know, this story doesn't resonate with me. So it's been so long. Basically in Australia, some guy went to EB Games or like a game store. They had the games there already and they for some reason sold it to this guy, right? And this guy goes online and he's like, hey, I got New Zebra Mario Bros. Yu-Gi-Oh early. And in the. In a forum and you know, all the people in the forum were like, prove it. Prove it by doing this. And they explained to him how to rip the ISO, right? So he rips the rips that like, you know, rip the ISO and upload it to prove it. And he's like looking for validation online. So he does it. So he does it. He uploads it and then the game leaks eight days before. And back then, like New Zebra Mario Bros. Yu-Gi-Oh was like huge. The relaunch of like 2D Mario. Yu-Gi-Oh it was like a big deal. And the Yu-Gi-Oh was like, had sold gangbusters at that point. This game was gonna, you know, and it did eventually, like. And you see Mario Bros. We did end up selling really well, right? Wasn't there? I read the Yu-Gi-Oh swords. Yu-Gi-Oh that's right. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh one-of-one Yu-Gi-Oh Nintendo came. This was like, I think it was like a week or two before. But Nintendo came down on this guy like a ton of bricks. And in the end, they sued him for 1.3 million, which is a lot of money, right. He didn't go to prison, but over the the course of his life, this guy has to pay back Nintendo $1.3 million. Now that happens to like the regular person, like if that happens to you in Australia that depending on where you live could be two entire houses, like two different properties in, in Victoria it's like one, right? It's like one property, right, depending on where you live. But that is like, that is a lot of money, right? I just don't. And like you might say that I'm like pro corpo in this instance, but there's more layers to it. They should be going after these guys and it cannot be hard. They are showing it on live selling platforms like Whatnot. Whatever the platform is in China. Like they can go for these guys. They just don't. And it would set an example. I think both companies would like to have control at all times for so such reasons. But honestly, I'm not sure again what internally happens again. Of course I think they care because again they want control over what they release. But I think they are maybe again this is my speculation maybe, you know, very touchy as in maybe if do we do crack down on, on a leaker and we set an example out of would stop if someone got, if a, if a Whatnot streamer got whacked with a $1 million fine in a lawsuit. Right. The thing is pay damages back. They would, it would stop, dude. It would stop. The thing is, the thing is the momentum they have. Would it impact them? Because men, the, the, this lawsuit will likely stick around for like certainly a year. Like hey, the Pokemon ninjas have clamped down on. Well, it's about sending a message. Did they send a message on the terror leaks? I don't know why they did it. They should have that. That is an actual insane. That is a very good point. But that's insane. Why did they set the message to him? That was like thousands of employees. Personal information as well. Not just like information. Yu-Gi-Oh actual crime and indeed. But I don't know if they actually caught the, the leaker, the hacker, I want to say in this case, but I have not seen them send a message on Pokemon, you know, co gp like we will, you know, hunt you down or something like that. This is like an exaggeration, but no, I've seen like internal messages that we are aware of this hack incident happened and that's it, goodbye. But I have not seen that we will, you know, submitted to police for, for investigation. But no, no silent. And again, I don't know what it's sad. Like I think I, I, I, I like, like I'd be disappointed. Like if I'd worked there, I would be disappointed and I would be disenfranchised to be like, oh, well, I guess they just don't care enough, you know. How do you think? Like, okay, let's say the Pikachu and the Mew and the Mewtwo fur weren't revealed in the trailer as they were. And then they leaked. Okay, okay. Because now we're not now it. Because, you know, the thing with the 30th is I spoke about this in a video that's on my channel. The last video I made about 30th celebration, about how Pokemon transcending previous collaborations. Right. And. And you know, in a sense, like, touching. Making new ground in their collaboration where in the past they've collaborated with famous artists. But Yu-Gi-Oh now they're doing it outside of like the niche entirely. You know, in the past it was kind of niche adjacent, you know, with the. The Palafiny X. Right. Yes. From Prismatic International Festival. Yu-Gi-Oh Chef Noki. No, it's the Mangakar Fist of the North Star. I don't know the name of them off the top of my head. Right. Yu-Gi-Oh But now I feel like the. The Japanese chef, like with the Eevee in the dessert box. Yu-Gi-Oh I. I think that's like. That's like not niche adjacent, but like. You know what I mean? Like, they've done big collaborations in the past with big sets. Now they're stepping out of that niche adjacent entirely and going with an, like an actual. Like, I shouldn't say actual artist, but like a contemporary artist. Right. Y. Right. So Yu-Gi-Oh now they're not. Now they're doing this with an artist that's not under the Pokemon umbrella. If Yoshidotin's card had leaked, which is part of his project, son. Right. Yu-Gi-Oh Well, how's this guy feeling? You know, if that was me and I had the wind pulled out of. Right. The reveal, like, of one of a card or an illustration, a creation is going to be part of my personal project as well. And that's the whole point of the collaboration. I'd be like, fellas, what's going on? What are we doing? I'm not going to work with you anymore. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh exactly. Like it's. Yu-Gi-Oh And, and. And maybe part of it is like, you know, they don't care because they're just like, well, at the end of the day, we're still Pokemon and nothing's going to change. But I think it's kind of. Yu-Gi-Oh I think it's a bit sad. You know, I said it before. Two to three again episodes before. Pokemon are their own worst enemy. Right now. Yu-Gi-Oh And they are likely in the spot. Like you say, if you work with Pokemon, if you don't like it, you don't like it. And we don't care what happens. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh And what, what. What needs to happen is that. Yu-Gi-Oh again, I, I'm not part of the company, so I cannot speak on behalf of them. But I think the. Some of the original creators have to step in and say what is actually fun. And they have to, you know, like I said, you know, with the whole. The Berthek from Black Botan, White from Oyama, and he's one of the original producers and he's like doing his own stuff. And I like Oyama's game, this whole, you know, his own game. So why did he step off Pokemon that way to create his own game, if you know what I mean? It is like, Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh Why can't he stick with Pokemon and do more cards that he did in sun and Moon? But now he's just gone. Essentially. Now it's like one Oyama card coming in the third celebration. Why are they going back to Oyama? Why Goldin they ask him to do more cards in the first place? You know, through generations. And this is the whole thing. There's like, that's a loss of soul. It's. They're going to corporate and I think maybe it's a part of TPCI influence. Like they are like so, like the stakeholders. Yu-Gi-Oh Yes. Because Sony is also like, you know, you know about the whole PlayStation stuff. Again, the headquarters is in USA. Not that it is a bad thing, but it will directly influence certain decisions. I mean, like, look at like Monster Hunter worlds. Right. Monster Hunter Wild. Sorry. You know that. That is a game that a lot of people were excited for. I was very Hyper for that game. Being a Monster Hunter fan that on launch was an Absolute mess to the point that I Goldin even play it. And I never got to fully experience Wilds. But that was because Capcom's shareholders wanted that game. Well, I mean, Capcom wanted to get that game out and sold before the end of that fiscal year. Right. So that the books looks good in front of the shareholders so that these people that don't even care about whether the game is good or not was that as far as. So that. And that's the cost. Like, you know, you have fractured your player base and your fan base. They have to, they have to work that, get that goodwill back. Yu-Gi-Oh but it's Capcom. I'm probably gonna. I mean, I bought one of their recent Games pragmata. And I'm gonna keep probably buying, I will keep buying Capcom games because they do make good games when they are part of the time. Same thing with Pokemon. And it's, it's the same thing and you see it everywhere. Like you said with Sony, with GTA 6, going digital only like that is a decision they. Purely because they know that nothing bad will come of it. People will buy gtac. I mean most people will. I, I'm not, I'm, I'm not doing it because I'm not buying it. I'm not spending $140 Australian on a digital game. That game is not going to be able to like, it's not going to blow my socks off. It's not gonna. Can do my taxes and my laundry. But most of the world, you know, 95% of the target audience is still going to buy it and that's all they need. Yu-Gi-Oh it's frustrating. It's frustrating, man. It's all, it's doom and gloom here. It's always doom and gloom on the Poke Car talk, the poker talk podcast. I don't know what. It's not going to be too. No, look, I think there's two sides of again of each coin and in the sense of there's always positive or something negative and, and I was going to talk about this eventually but you know, with this whole video game shutdown essentially, you know, the whole we are going all digital and now we are going all, you know, endgame for them is we are going all cloud that they've admitted it and Rockstar did that at the end goal, first triple physical, then digital and then you have no ownership whatsoever. Full cloud. So Yu-Gi-Oh for the past month I've been collecting, you know, I've bought a Xbox360 and I've always wanted to play Forza Motorsport for A Photo Horizon One Xbox 360 exclusives long gone from the stores. You cannot purchase them anywhere anymore online. Okay, so I bought a console. €40, something like that. Great deal. And I've had a blast. And Yu-Gi-Oh if you told me four years ago and this was not happening, this whole physical media shutdown, I likely wouldn't have done that. And again, I found new enjoyment in buying the old. So now I know, okay, this is the end goal. I don't have to worry about future games anymore. I mean, I'm all finished. PS5, this is now maybe a tad emotional. P5 is over. You know, P6 is over. Xbox as well. The new Xbox is all over. I'M not going to touch about it. The switch to. I likely have less than 100 hours on it since the day I bought it. Same as you imagine. Imagine I thought, okay, this is it. No, this is not it. I have more fun with my PS2 than I have with my PS5 right now. That's crazy. And again, that's my personal thing. But. And I think eventually, what I'm going to say is, I think eventually the thing will happen. The same thing will have with Pokemon. They will likely mess up at some point in the future because they will get complacent about this whole situation. And I've seen, again, cracks. Not everyone will see it, but I've seen cracks in the sets. They are losing personality and soul. They're trying to appeal as as many customers as possible, but at what cost? Their soul. Like I've said it before, Ken, a Pokemon set could never, ever happen again today for such reasons. Because, Yu-Gi-Oh they, they, they. No, you're right. Like, it's. It's crazy because sometimes they show glimmers of it. Like, they show. There's, like, glimpses of it. Right? I say this all the time. That's what I mean. That's what I mean. With black, Black Bolt, White Fleer right? They actually, they go, oh, wait, hang on a second. A cohesive set that focuses on a generation that was underappreciated at the time, but people have come to love over the years. And what if we just did an art rare for every Pokemon? Yu-Gi-Oh you know, bang. It's a banger set, right? Yu-Gi-Oh They didn't print. They should have printed it out the wazoo. Right? But they didn't. They got like, one or like 1, 2, 3 waves. I don't know. I'm not in tune with the wave understanding. But I just saw. I saw maybe ETBs on release day in Australia, and then after that, barely in the wild. Right? And then so they underprint it, basically, or they don't print it enough, given how much demand there is. And then the sets after that, they go back to this stale formula where the sets don't have cohesion. There's a couple of banger cards in it, but for the most part, it just feels like an amalgamation of random Pokemon. Why not just make Storm Emerald A Gen 3 Focus set? You're gonna make a Rayquaza set because you want to have a Rayquaza set. Fine, let's make it a Gen 3 set. And you release it at the same time as Black Bolt Wide Fleer The recipe was there. You went 151. Then you went blackball, white Fleer No, instead we get Saw Memorial Day. That shows glimpses of what a complete Gen 3 set could look like, but it just doesn't capitalize on it. There's. Yu-Gi-Oh they are their. Their own worst enemy. And you know, I have this conversation with people all the time. You see, I see it trending a little bit, but I think it only. People only really are talking about this because rage bait and engagement bait is so success. Like, it's so effective on reals and Tik Tok and YouTube, right? Where people say, like, have Pokemon cards lost their soul? Right? And it's just now like the conversation has lost its soul and I'm tired of it because I keep seeing the same Yu-Gi-Oh take, but the same take that the take is like, look, we are talking about this. We are talking about this at a level that most people that are creating content don't fathom. And I think a lot of our listeners do understand it. Right? But when we say these, these cards aren't the same and these sets aren't the same, it's because of these reasons we speak about. When I think a lot of people shot. A lot of people shine a light on it, it's because they, they know that they are going to get a reaction. And I've watched the videos and they lack substance. It's just like, is the Rayquaza mid? Is storm and roller mid or storm and Rollers mid? And it's just like meant to piss you off and make you think about whether it's mid. But every. It's like when, when people are saying this about every set that comes out, but they're still buying and opening it on mass. It doesn't mean anything. You know, like, you and I say this, right? And we don't open the sets like, no, what I like channel. Look at my channel. And then we don't even buy the cards, like, because I'm not tripping over myself. Two reasons. One, because like, you know, they're very expensive on launch and we know they're gonna get cheaper. But two, like, Yu-Gi-Oh the hype is not there. Like, I don't. I did. I have not looked at a set and Mega Dream. Like, I opened Mega Dream and I was like, Yu-Gi-Oh like, it was whatever. Because cool was cool. It was okay. But it's like, I'm opening it because I'm trying to get these S that I'm probably not going to get. Whereas you open to sell like blackball, white Fleer and like every card, you're like, man, they were cooking, you know, Good pick. So like when we talk about this and like, I know because it's easy for me to say this because this is that a podcast and we like our own opinions. Obviously there's substance to it. Like, it's not that these cut and well, it's just. Sorry, but it's not that these cards aren't uninteresting because, like, they don't look interesting. They do look interesting. Like the, the, the. The cards that are being illustrated have technical. Like they are impressive technically, you know, pretty. Yu-Gi-Oh These artists obviously can draw. Right? They do look like the Pokemon that they're drawing. The scenes are interesting, but it's about the structure of the set. You know, it's about creatures direction and brief. Something in that is missing. And that's what, that's what it keeps coming down to, you know. Right. It's internal. Going back to Mega Dream, why Mega Dream wasn't as hype as people, at least I speak for myself now. I didn't like it so much is because it left me with more frustration because there was untapped potential. And I'm going not. It's not. I don't blame Mega Dream, but I blame the other trainers Pokemon sets and why that is. They had this one year of nothing, essentially before Mega Braven and Mega Symphonia came out with the Za, you know, delay, essentially. So what we are left with was Battle Partners Hotel arena and Team Rocket the Glove Team Rocket. And then you had Black ball and White Fleer Again, didn't dislike that idea. And then you had this, I want to say non ga related Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia set. No, they have like missed out on two additional trainers Pokemon sets, if you know what I mean. Yu-Gi-Oh So they had a great idea with Trainers Pokemon and then they just. They Tribute it. Then they came back and touched it again with like random cars like Larry and Erica and then they Tribute it again. It's. Yu-Gi-Oh And some of those cards are. Well, funny enough and I'm. And I said the word very, very cheap for what they are. But that is what. What is. Actually, you know what I'm seeing some of these cars, some of these SCR trainers Pokemon cards. And it's like, do people really care about Pokemon cards? Because I want to say trainers Pokemon. And this is my opinion or like the pinnacle of. Of Pokemon card emotions. It's like you can see the actual bond with, with Pokemon and it seems like people don't care about it really. They care. Well, I mean, I think. I think. I think people. I think collectors care about those. Those cards. Like, I think. I think a lot of Finest. That's why, you know, Crown Z minority. Nah, I think a lot of people are loud about it. Like, a lot of people really, really, really amplify conversation around, like, Crown Zen and the Visa Universe Vmax Climax. Like, it's there. I think it's there. And I think. And blackball, white Fleer Right. But for whatever reason. Well, okay, Is it a minority? Well, let's think about it, because it depends on what you. What your definition of a minority is. Okay. If. If you're. We're gonna deep was the. The. Are the people that are investors that allowed. Minor minority. That's what I'm saying. Yu-Gi-Oh Is it group one, or is it group two? Is it the collector? Because I know that. I know the collector loves it. But if. If, like, I speculate, you know, and you speculate. TPC at TPCI are targeting that second crew, which is the group that gets the card on launch grades. It immediately flips. It goes to the black label. Big sale, 25,000. If that is who they're targeting with these sets, then then, yes, we are the minority. Yu-Gi-Oh And. And that gap is getting bigger and bigger and bigger because, like, I have this conversation with my friend, and we should get. Honestly, you know, we should get Joe Guyman on the chat on. On the stream, right? Because he'd love to spit, right? But I have this conversation with him a lot because he is so disenfranchised. So he is a massive Pokemon fan, loves collecting, and he has a, you know, a very deep collection that he's collected over the years, but he has no love for it. For it anymore. He's, like, so burnt. Right? And, Yu-Gi-Oh you know, he. He gives me a lot of. He gives it to me a lot. And it's warranted, right? And I think I'm conscious of it because I'm always like, it's not too bad. Like, there are still ways to collect. You have to adapt and change the way you collect. But, like, okay, I'm in a financially different position to Joe, and I don't want this to come out wrong, but, you know, I'm just. I'm. Joe's not like, Joe's not broke. Right? Yu-Gi-Oh But, you know, I'm a bit older than Joe, and my work situation is different, right? So I'm in a financially different position. And maybe because I am. That is why I am able to keep collecting. Right? And I haven't gotten so burnt out, even though I'm burnt out at times. But now, now I see it because now that, like I said, that chasm is getting so big where I look at cars and I'm like, I just can't buy that car. Like I could, but it would become a financial risk, you know. Yu-Gi-Oh You know what I mean? And like I could. Like, like I could buy it, you know, I could blow half my paycheck on a card, you know. But I got a. A partner. We've got future plans together as a family and I got a little boy, he's two. So I can't. Life. Life in general isn't getting cheaper. Again, this is a different discussion. But. But that's why that chasm is getting bigger. Because Yu-Gi-Oh these cards are getting. So now I'm like, now I'm feeling priced out. Now if I'm feeling priced out as someone who's in a, you know, comfortable financial situation. Yu-Gi-Oh How does that feel for everybody else who is at a financial status that is lower than I. I mean that I. I agree is huge. I agree with you the whole, you know, for example, again, the collection what is today is because of those market of this market 10 years ago. Goldin have done it without that 10amarket 10 years ago. If I were to collect now I missing again the. The whole symbion the Prismatic Unreal. I'm missing Espeon from Prismatic Evolutions. Still haven't got it. The lilies clefairy from start deck hundred. Have you looked at. Have you seen it price the Pikachu. Yu-Gi-Oh I know, I know that. Yu-Gi-Oh I. I could. I could afford it. But why should I if there is like again, there's bulk, there's way more fun at a fraction of the cost. But then the thing is that that bulk now is getting expensive too. Where you're seeing bulk sun and Moon cards sell for 5, 10, $20. Correct. So at what cost will you collect? Yu-Gi-Oh again, I'm in a position that I've collected a lot of stuff, but I fear for that moment there will be a Lugia card. There will be a Kumiya card for whatever reason that will be 500,000 one-of-one at launch. And maybe it's an exaggeration, but that's the. The. The future that is will that I'm like fearing. And Yu-Gi-Oh I'm not the understand with the full video game stuff, there will be a feature, a very, very weird feature. Like you know that eventually there will be cracks as In. Yes. The companies themselves, again, we don't know what they think, but I think they are certainly aware of, again, rich people that can afford this and they are likely targeting them as well. Again, otherwise. Yu-Gi-Oh I want to say otherwise. Yes, otherwise collapse from Yoshiroton. With all respect to Yoshiroton, I think a collaboration with Yoshiroton would never existed 10 years ago. No. So it's. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh The food, Kiki chef Naoki Ete also not exist. Unagabe. Maybe because of the whole Uniqlo and very. But this thing, they are trying to attract a lifestyle that is beyond the collector. Again, I can't blame them, but I think they are doing it with intentions. Again, like you say, to attract the audience that is attracted to Kanye west or Kim Kardashian or, you know, does this whole. You know what I mean? And. Well, it's, it's, it's the, it's the target whales business model. There's probably a term for it that. I don't know. There's someone who watches my streams and he always messages me after streams because he's in. He's got an economics background and he's. He works at a bank. And he was always like, this is the term you're looking for. These are the. This. He's like, you're talking about the, like the topics you're talking about. You're explaining them well in layman's terms. But if you want the actual technical term here, read this. And I always, I'm always like, thank you. But we're going to call this the targeting whales business model because it really feels like they're just targeting the audience with the deepest pockets because it just makes them more money. And it's how, you know, goated pools. The guy with the milky bags, it's how he made his. His fortune, right? And he's wealth because instead of trying to just sell cards and mystery bags to the everyday collector, right, who has a monthly budget of, I don't know, $400. He was like, wait, what if I just target the people who have a monthly budget of $20,000? And it made him a lot more money very quickly. It's the same, it's the same thing here. You know, it really feels like they structure these sets so that whales buy them en masse. And they do every single time, you know, and it's, it's just ridiculous. It's like something we're talking about for years. And, you know, when I first started speaking about it and I was loud about it on my channel, you know, investors and other creators. Well, I'm just going to call them other people that upload videos. That's the term I'm going to start using. Right? Yes. You know, would say, oh, like you're just whining and you just hate making money or why do you hate other people making money? It's like, no, these cards, sets, they're like losing. Meaning they've. They're losing soul and things are. Yu-Gi-Oh I, I would say they Beckett probably. I mean, the last really awesome sets we got were the end of Sword and Shield. We had a nice little glimpse of it with Heat Wave Arena, Journey Together and Rocket Strikes Back and Blackboard White Fleer And then since then, we've gone back to these stone agents. If the way I see it, if you're making as much money as Pokemon and Creatures are out of Pokemon cards, you make everything. Yes, every single set of banger. You don't have these down mid set. Mid sets for these reasons, like we say, but we're not capitalizing on ideas. I, I think. And this is like an open, open letter to. To Creatures on my Beckett guy YouTube channel. There's a. Was it. There's like a 1999 V chess tape. And I'm not. I forgot what the product is like CD stuff. No, not cd. There's like a beginner's video of how to play pomo cards in Japan. I forgot. Yes. Yu-Gi-Oh I forgot what the. The project is called. But it's a very expensive product today now. But when I see this, it's like very interactive video with an American, by the way, and a Japanese hostess. I want to see like Creatures watch that video again. And what. Why are you not doing this today? This like Imakuni rapping in the video with Oyama explaining cards and in a fun matter and. And they show, hey, Wizards of Coast is releasing Pokemon cards. And if you send me the Discord link, I will not indeed put it on screen, but I watch. Are you talking about Intro Pack? Intro pack? Yes. It's very, very rare set today. But when I saw this video. Yes. I was like watching with a smile for 30 minutes. I was like, yes, this is the stuff that I. You know why I like Pokemon cards. And now it's very modern and it can appealing to maybe Gen Z or whatever. But this is. Yes, let me. Yes, this is it. And I will briefly. Yes. This, this one, this set include the VHS tape. And what I'm going to do now is I will go to the Pokemon YouTube channel and show some. Some snippets of it. There it is. So I try to. You can likely hear the audio, right? I have transcribed it with Yu-Gi-Oh by the way and try to clean it up. But. Oh, wait, is this on your. Is this on your channel? This is on Po Gun channel. God damn. I had no idea this was on your channel. Look at it, man. Yu-Gi-Oh I mean back then they were. They were trying to sell. They were trying to sell. It's new. Yu-Gi-Oh I mean they're trying to convince people to buy the product. What prevents them from doing this? Oyama explaining what Pokemon card ruling is. You know, why Goldin they do this today? And we've touched this two to three episodes. Again, I'm going back the Ponyta Ishii YouTube channel host which is similar character to this Oyama or Imakuni. He's gone now. And now we have, or so to say this bottlenecked hosts that they like Pokemon cards. But now they are restricted to talk about certain stuff or make jokes because likely creatures are holding them back, you know, and there's this whole Imakuni rap again. patch auto on your own and you will have fun. Some good friends digitized this features. Otherwise I Goldin have uploaded as well. I'm not sure for how long this video will stay up for copyright reasons, but it's up there for a couple of years. So. Yu-Gi-Oh three years. I had no idea. I'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna patch auto I haven't watched it. I'm watching it. patch auto It's a full Japanese again. I transcribed it with, you know, Yu-Gi-Oh but. But it should be decently accurate. Yu-Gi-Oh but that's the whole thing doesn't like all Planet Creatures. Hey, watch this video and why can't you do this again? You know, have fun in your, in your products. And I'm sure they had a blast doing this and now it's very, very corporate, very clean. Again, it's not a bad thing. But that's why I meant the. The Poke Kune, the Generations, you know, range collection set. They can never do it ever again because they need to appeal for a certain demographic. Dude, it's just so boring. Like I'm just like I popped on YouTube and I'm just seeing thumbnails. Like I'm looking at. Yes. You know, 100. Like it's just like $100,000, 150,000 debt. It's so boring, man. I'm, I'm, I'm. I'm going to admit something. Bored. Yes. Something I'm currently not subscribed to Your own channel. Yu-Gi-Oh Turn it off. I wouldn't patch auto either. No, it is not because I hate you. Just. I just. No, no. You don't want to get recommended and you hate me. No, not by you. It's not, it's not you thing. It's not personal. It is really. I just cannot stand many people, and this is my opinion, I cannot stand many people because again, I am not a saint or whatever, but I just. If I don't like something, I'm not going to patch auto And maybe this again is my, my take, but this whole thing, I like what I like right now. I like certain things right now. I don't like certain, you know, scenes. And I try to focus on things I really like. Otherwise it will be grim. It's like a very desolate feature, if you know what I mean. And that's the whole thing again, maybe, maybe we should be more positive. And I'm sure there will be comments saying, why you all doom and gloom? I don't care. And what I, what we. At least what I, you know, at the beginning said, this is really. Poker talk is a real talk. This is the motto of this podcast. There's a real talk. There will be space and time for, you know, fun and, and, and, you know, positive talk. But this is the reality of what I am right now. I'm enjoying it in my own private life. I don't feel obligated to share my happiness, my happiness with everyone else. And I'm not forcing you as well to do it. And I can't talk about cards. I have this full deck box already and. But let's do this. The last card that I truly said. Okay, this is really fun, was the Boscoffee Giovanni promo. Just the last card, the last promo. I thought to myself, okay, this campaign is awesome. Boss Coffee Bomber jacket. You can one-of-one as well. It has an awesome promo that costs below 1,000 one-of-one at the time. Great. Why Goldin they do it like every month or three months? There's literally zero promos right now that I could think of. This is fantastic. I can't. Yu-Gi-Oh the last. I think the last one that was really fun is the Slow Poke Gym promo. But now all the people caught wind of it as well. Because with the pitch Black Jack Lean blister and. Yu-Gi-Oh and it's like zoomed in and. Yu-Gi-Oh yes, but that's it. Yu-Gi-Oh I mean, like, I don't, I don't, I don't watch any, like, I don't watch any. You've. You've hurt me, dude. I'm not, I'm not gonna half on it. I'm gonna, I'm gonna leave the joke. No, I, I don't watch any, I don't watch any Pokemon card content myself on YouTube and I will click off it if it, I mean, I don't open, I open Instagram to look at funny reels, share stupid reels with my friend. If I, most of the time I get tilted when I see Pokemon card content reels because I'm just like, God damn, this is, it's just a pick me contest and it's not even about the actual card and culture behind it. And Yu-Gi-Oh I mean you gotta, like we said at the start, like you gotta protect your happiness. Otherwise you will learn to hate the thing that you like or like. You will eventually. Right. Hate it. Right. And again, maybe I'm in a reposition because I am literally on top of the news. I know what's coming. I know, you know, for majority, a lot of, of information. So they say, like a double edged sword in that sense. I'm not getting surprises. You know, the only surprise I'm getting is from Pokemon themselves, basically. So that is. I'm a unique position likely. Yu-Gi-Oh But Yu-Gi-Oh I can definitely understand you as well. And a lot of the audience that's like you're watching can. I'm not. I'm expecting a lot of comments related to this whole thing, but I think that's the reality again, maybe for us both right now. And I'm not going to lie about it, it is really a thing and I'm seeing it at my own local level as well. The other leaders and everyone else, they understand why I'm stepping down from an organizer after 10 years. It's not because I don't want to. It is because I have to deal with everything else around it and that saps away energy and also because the other leaders need, you know, more control. I, I am control freak in that sense because I want to run everything the way I want it. You, you may understand that you just got to do. You just got to do the things that you like. That's it. Period. Like in everything. You know, I've had this conversation with other creators because like, you know, make it and because I did actually. I mean, I want to. We don't want to run this app too long because I know you've got stuff to do. But Yu-Gi-Oh I wanted to talk to you about Poker Guardian and why you slowed down but you've already inadvertently answered it one-of-one because, Yu-Gi-Oh it's something that you started with passion and now that passion is fading. And so like you're less enthusiastic. Like you're less in. Motivated. Yu-Gi-Oh To be up to date and post about it. You know, I've, I've been reading, I read your recent articles and I'm like, dude, you just wrote this. I'm like, brother, you just wrote this to get it done. There was a due date. You stamped it, post it. That was it. It is what it is. It's not your usual standard. And, and I know it's not because you're lazy. I know it's just because you're Chronicles. And I can't blame you. I'm even, even going further. There have been nights I said, isn't it better that I just pull the plug out? But I just can't right now. But I've think thought about it. Who am I appealing to? There's people that just don't want to read the accurate information. There's an audience that does follow. But I see companies and social media that have more followers than me sharing my information in their own way. And so it said. But there's a whole other episode. But that is what I'm seeing. So I'm thinking, who am I doing this right now? And for that reason, I also stopped the Patron because the whole so can I'm integrity is number one for me. I stopped Patron because I'm not trying to show off. There's a lot of ad revenue coming the past one or two years. Okay. I don't have to take people's money from their support. Just stop. I have enough. And it's not never about the money thing. It was about a money thing. I would, you would have seen a very different type of content approach. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh but that's the, the, the, you know, the stance I have right now. If it's about money. No, it's not about money. I earn enough to keep the, you know, website running. But, you know, who am I appealing to that. This whole thing, I don't have any sponsorships. If those about again, money. I would have liked the Goldin sponsorships way, way earlier, but you don't see that. So in what sense? Again, I don't need validation. I just does the whole culture. If it, I mean, you should, you should keep. I implore you to find that passion again in some capacity because you should keep posting. You know, I want to, I read, I read every article and I, I wish you would add More. And I think that's probably what you've got to do, you know, is beyond just, this is the news. This car got revealed. Write about it, you know, give people a reason to read. Because there are people that want to do it because you say, who are you appealing to? And they are there. Like the people that listen to this podcast. I've been asked so much since we stopped to do another episode with you, to the point where it was like, I'm an. For not doing this at this point. You know what I mean? Because these people want to listen to it and to hear us talk, and we're not doing it. So they're there, you know, and, like, you should be proud, too. Like. Like, I don't want to, like, put words in people's mouth or assume things, but, you know, Pokemon JP and like, Art of Pokemon, the website, you know? Yes. Now, I mean, Kev made that because he wanted to. Like, he is passionate, but I like, have no doubt that part of that passion comes from him being pushed and, you know, excited to add his passion into the space, you know, because he was maybe, maybe, maybe inspired by what you've done, you know, and the way that you approach sharing Pokemon card news, you know, because when I look at other Pokemon, I. I see a lot of similarities in the approach between Pokemon and Poker Guardian. I obviously do different things, right? But that attention to accuracy, you know, that thirst for information and answers and that intrigue and questioning things rather than rushing, you know, I never see Art of Pokemon Rush. I never see Pokemon JP Rush, you know, so, like, Yu-Gi-Oh I think maybe. Maybe that's. You know, I'd love to see that from you. They are out there. Like, when you say who you appealing to, the people are there, you know, our listeners. You know, I stopped streaming for, like, nine months, and again, I felt bad, and I shouldn't. I shouldn't have stopped because I thought the same thing. Like, who am I streaming to? What's the point? Yu-Gi-Oh but I was streaming to my. My fans, and they were. When I left, they were like, bro. And when I came back, they were there. So, like, Yu-Gi-Oh definitely standard. Yu-Gi-Oh It's easy for us to, like. And it's the hard thing with this podcast because we're always, like, talking about, we're not. We're not gonna. We're never gonna come on here and say, like, dude, did you see this card is like, $1,000? Or, like, which cards do you think are underrated? Or, like, have you heard about this card that sold for X? Like, we're just never gonna do it. We're always gonna, we're gonna poke fun at that. We're gonna criticize that. We're gonna complain about. We're gonna complain and being pissed and upset and disappointed when you know, our expectations and our standards aren't met. And we're allowed to have those standards because Pokemon set those standards themselves years ago. Like it's, it's, that's what it's going to be here. But we're not gonna, we're not, it's not going to be misery porn. You know what I mean? Like we're gonna, we're gonna be positive when we can, but reality is. A lot of the stuff that we want to talk about is grim. But I think like, and we said this on a previous episode, like I come out of the conversations feeling better genuinely I do. So hopefully you do too. A little bit. A little bit. Mainly because I finally can resume this podcast and we can have these conversations. Yu-Gi-Oh you are long overdue. We were long overdue. But Yu-Gi-Oh what you said. Yes, I am in contact with Kevin from other Pokemon and yes, and necessarily Ken because I eat it all the things 100 himself. Yu-Gi-Oh I was there for. Oh Yu-Gi-Oh No, not to take any credit away from what Kev's worked on it. Like it's. That is a one man show, you know. Insane. Insane. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh I, I am. Was still for him ready to, to answer anything that, that he had questions for. And yes. So in that sense I'm happy that site has popped off. Not necessarily. I think it should be way bigger. But again that's not what the majority likely wants. But the resource is there. Yu-Gi-Oh And there are way. There are so many more websites and resources out there that just don't get this amount, you know, the huge attention that in my opinion should deserve. But who am I to talk. So that's the whole thing and that's what is likely you know, being be fed up with honestly there's honest people. But honestly doesn't, you know, gives you always a resort a reward. And maybe that is what I've been seeking, you know, the, the you know, the rewards of my hard work. But it isn't there. But again, I am not trying to please, you know, an audience or people just for myself and it's, you know, very, very weird thoughts, you know, over the past years and I'm probably mumbling or whatever. I don't know. I mean like at the end of the day, like we've said this when we started poker card Talk. And, you know, we shifted away from the Poke Guardian podcast. You know, this is just our. This is our therapy. You know what I mean? Like, it's our way of processing things. Because I don't think there's anything wrong with being upset and frustrated with something that you like and still liking it and trying to still like it. I think that's perfectly fine. Because. Yu-Gi-Oh While it's not your identity, Pokemon cards aren't your identity. It is, you know, makes up a large portion of your life. And I think about it a lot in that how, like, it's a big part of my life now where it wasn't. It's way bigger than it was. So I'm like, well, if I got to live with it, I gotta find a way to live with it. Yu-Gi-Oh And this is our way. And. And for the listeners, maybe this is their way too, because, Yu-Gi-Oh like I said, we don't want to come on and be like, man, everything's so expensive, you know, can't buy anything. There's nothing to gain out of that. We've had that conversation, and that's not what we talk about. Yu-Gi-Oh Again, final words for me, I take huge inspiration from Digital Foundry. I really look up to these guys and I cannot give them enough credit for what they do to the video game industry. Yu-Gi-Oh Yu-Gi-Oh The. Why are they not bigger? They are big. Don't get me wrong. But I want to say they are not as widely celebrated as they should be because they know the technical stuff. Can they. Are anyone still journalists? But, boy, if you don't know about Digital Foundry, I urge you to subscribe, even if you don't like them. Subscribe Patreon. That's on your own accord. But those people, I just. The end game of what I want to become. Yu-Gi-Oh this, this one. This. My. I admit it, huge inspiration. People don't appreciate that kind of stuff until it's gone. That's just generally how it goes, you know? And I'm Zebra glad they bought back their own company from IGN last year, because imagine if IGN just said, hey, shut it down. Yes. Yu-Gi-Oh So, I mean, go have a look at Microsoft and how many studios they've just exploded because they were on a spending Zebra and then shut down. And how many people have lost their jobs and how. So many. It's in it. So it's a conversation for the next episode. Games and IPS and stories go unfinished now. Yu-Gi-Oh there's. There's a lot. And it's sad and it sucks. And if it can happen to those big, big ips. Grab it a Pokemon. There's no reason. And I think, Yu-Gi-Oh I'm starting to like, I want to start talking more about how they are not invincible and indestructible and infallible because no brand is, you know. No, you see it a lot. People saying like, oh, you know, Charizard never going to do an ACL or, you know, get into legal trouble or anything when comparing Pokemon to sports cards. It's like, I wouldn't be so sure about that, you know, because big companies, big ips, misstep all the time. Look at Disney. I mean, it's still, it's still Disney, but they are nowhere near what they used to be. And they only as big and profitable as they are now because they've just blanket port so many other IPs and they, they started operating as a business and less like an animation studio. It can happen to any, any brand and any ip. Next episode I'll talk about. I've discussed this with you in private. Talking about more about quarter shifts. And there's a very interesting code shift that I've seen between black and white, X and Y, cinemoon and this whole gap of, you know, between sun and moon and what it is today. I'm going to tackle that. I think never. I think people will never. Pokemon is video game and TCG mainly. I think many people enter the TCG have not checked video game information enough. So I will show you the relation between video game, TCG and culture shift next episode. I'm ready. Very interesting theory. Do it. Thank you everybody for listening to another episode of the Poker Car Talk podcast. It was great to have you here. Thank you so much for your patience. Remember, you can listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon. I'm just saying words now. YouTube, we get your podcast from. There you go. Any, any podcast format. You can listen to it. Make sure to check out pokerguardian.com for your news. Okay. JLove, YouTube and Twitch for me if you like me. Thank you, Zach, for your time. You're welcome. Thank you. For you, the listener. And let's see what you have to say in this conversation. We'll see you next week. We look forward. We'll see you next week. It's a promise. I'm there. All right. I'm there too. I promise. I swear. All right, see you later, everybody. Goodbye. Bye Bye.