TRAINER'S EYE #118 - "Shiny Hunting The Staryu Spotlight" ft. GeneralWiggins

In this Pokemon interview, we are joined by GeneralWiggins, a Pokemon Trainer and Shiny Hunter who streams on Twitch!

GeneralWiggins starts his journey with Pokemon Blue. He spoke on his interest in completing the Pokedex and eventually even completing his sister's Pokemon Red. He continues to play Pokemon into Johto and discovers his interest in Shiny Hunting when his journey leads into Hoenn and an encounter with Shiny Tropius.

GeneralWiggins expands on his interest in Shiny Pokemon, specifically how it helps him focus and cope with his ADHD. GeneralWiggins shares his opinion on Shiny Hunting between each generation and what his goals as an experience for Shiny Pokemon.

Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay

Connect with GeneralWiggins: Linktree

Transcript

GeneralWiggins: 0:00

Hi! I'm GeneralWiggins and this is my Pokemon story

David Hernandez: 0:43

Welcome to, as the pokeball turns, where we interview people about their experience with Pokemon. My name is David Hernandez. Today, I'm joined by General Wiggins, leader of the Staryu Army. General, welcome to As the Pokeball Turns.

GeneralWiggins: 0:58

are you today, man?

David Hernandez: 0:59

I'm doing pretty good, man. And thank you for coming on the show. We look forward to kind of diving into your experience with the franchise.

GeneralWiggins: 1:04

Yeah, absolutely. I've never really talked about it before outside of just on Twitch where it's, just kind of comes up as we're doing, whatever, since I'm just staring at things waiting for the odds to bless me. so it's always just been like bits and pieces completely out of order. typically next to no context, cause you know, something will pop up in my head and I'll just blurt it out for 20 minutes and then go on to talk about something that has nothing to do with it.

David Hernandez: 1:28

Now you said with the odds. So I guess I know one thing you enjoy doing is you enjoy shiny hunting, right?

GeneralWiggins: 1:33

right now we're going after a Gen 1 Articuno, And we are at 38, 250. the odds are making very good friends with me.

David Hernandez: 1:43

You and Articuno are becoming very close friends in Seafoam Islands, I

GeneralWiggins: 1:46

Unfortunately. Unfortunately.

David Hernandez: 1:49

What is it about shiny hunting that you enjoy? Cause that's clearly one of the parts that you do in regards to streaming.

GeneralWiggins: 1:54

Um, I have like really bad ADHD when I'm doing basically anything. So like even right now, while we're doing this, I'm shoddy hunting. Because it is the only thing that I can focus on continually because like while I'm doing any like regular job Like I go over contracts for my dad and I'm going over contracts for a few other small businesses if I'm not Doing like eight things at once with that. I can't get anything done. Whereas with Shiny Hunting or Nuzlocke or anything like that, I can actually actively focus on it. and I don't know why, it just worked out that way.

David Hernandez: 2:30

so it sounds like you use the shiny hunting to kind of hyper focus, to prevents you from like getting distracted from other things. Is that fair to

GeneralWiggins: 2:35

Yeah, I think that sums it up pretty well.

David Hernandez: 2:38

When did you kind of discover how shiny hunting helped your ADHD?

GeneralWiggins: 2:43

I don't really know, because I don't think I noticed that it helped me until Twitch.

David Hernandez: 2:47

Really?

GeneralWiggins: 2:48

it. Um, like 2013 or 2014. and I just started going for Legends in, HeartGold, SoulSilver. And my first shiny hunt that I did actively was Lugia. and then after that showed after a few months of doing it after work each day, I went for Ho Oh, and then I failed Ho Oh, and I stopped shiny hunting until Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon.

David Hernandez: 3:12

That just scarred you for life, like, oh my gosh, I just,

GeneralWiggins: 3:15

I just, I put it to sleep and I just do Ultra Ball after Ultra Ball after Ultra Ball and then I just watched it struggle itself slowly down. I was like, well, I don't want to play this game anymore for a while. I am

David Hernandez: 3:27

horrible. That must have been the horrible way to lose your shiny. I guess it does happen though, shiny hunting.

GeneralWiggins: 3:32

I've still never reclaimed that. Um, I'm working on a shiny badge quest right now in, in HeartGold. The ultimate goal to get Ho Oh and I'm gonna have, definitely gonna have a Master Ball ready for this one.

David Hernandez: 3:46

Okay, you're going to go in with all guns blazing at this point.

GeneralWiggins: 3:49

I don't want to, I don't want to fail it a second time, especially not live.

David Hernandez: 3:54

That's how I felt too when I had a hundo lugia one time. And I tried to do every single ball trying to catch it. And of course, after that, it just was gone. And I'm like, so defeating, like I stayed up that night. That's how traumatizing it was for me. I can only imagine for you because it was actually a shiny ho ho.

GeneralWiggins: 4:11

yeah, I just, I, I shut the game and I was like, well, I'm gonna, I don't even remember what I did. I don't remember, I don't remember much beyond the next morning waking up and just sitting on the edge of the bed, and just staring at my hands.

David Hernandez: 4:25

What have I

GeneralWiggins: 4:26

Yeah, I was like, oh. Is life even worth it anymore? The ho's gone. that dramatic,

David Hernandez: 4:33

It felt like that at

GeneralWiggins: 4:34

Oh, it did.

David Hernandez: 4:37

So you talked about how, you know, you started with Lugia and Ho Ho shiny hunting. was that kind of like your first time diving into Pokemon or was there even more before

GeneralWiggins: 4:44

No, I've been in it since basically the beginning. one of my friends had the game, so I asked for it for Christmas, and I ended up getting lucky enough that my parents got myself and my sister, each a Game Boy and one of the games. so I started out on Pokemon Blue. first Pokemon Bulbasaur, cause all my friends chose Charmander and I

David Hernandez: 5:01

Yeah, let's go. Bulbasaur Supremacy, we believe in it here.

GeneralWiggins: 5:06

Yeah, Bulbasaur's fantastic. I didn't really understand what I was doing with the game. I do remember the first time I beat it. I was at my cousin's basketball game. I'm pretty sure it was his middle school game. I don't think in high school yet. and when I beat Lance, I actively got up and cheered. My battery was low, so my light was flashing at me. I was like, it was way more intense than it had any right to be. and then, once gold and silver came out and I kind of understood the game and I understood what I was doing in it. And I actually, you know, I'd played through, blue a few, dozen times. I completed the decks in my sister's red. That was cool. I learned about the glitch mew. That was sick. but yeah, then gold and silver came out and my first run through of it. fun enough while grinding for misty. I found a shiny Drowzee.

David Hernandez: 5:50

Really?

GeneralWiggins: 5:51

and I was like, man, that's really cool. It sparkles and it's a different color. So I caught it. I put it in the boxes and I never touched it again. So, and

David Hernandez: 6:01

call that, Pepto Bismol for drowsy.

GeneralWiggins: 6:03

And that Pokemon just died with the battery, unfortunately. I never, I never did anything with it. but that was always a fun story for that. Finding the first shiny before even seeing the Gyarados. And just being like, oh that's neat! And then just shoving it in a box to rot forever.

David Hernandez: 6:19

Oh my gosh. a wave. What a life for drowsy.

GeneralWiggins: 6:22

Er, Drowzee, that's the one.

David Hernandez: 6:24

You know, it seems like you live life on the edge. Cause you know, you talked about, you know, you play the basketball game and your battery's about to run out. Then you ran out of pokeball or ran out of ultra balls trying to get shiny. Oh, you just live life on the edge sometimes.

GeneralWiggins: 6:35

Yeah, I

David Hernandez: 6:36

At least for Pokemon,

GeneralWiggins: 6:37

especialy with Shiny hunting in the newer games.. the odds are very much in your favor. If there's a Mon that's being stubborn, I'll just throw something at him. Like, alright, like, one of my first interactions with SBCoop, he popped into the chat when we were Shiny hunting Pikachu. We found the Pikachu, I had an Ash Hat Pikachu out while hunting it, and it wouldn't stay in the ball. So I was just like, well, I have no idea if this kills, but I'm gonna hit it with a Thunder Punch. So that does happen a lot. Hell, some of my most fun hunts have been going after, various mons that have explosion or self destruct or whatever. what's the, the, the one that, Memento! I like to go after them with no way for them to stop it. Just cause, I'm gonna find them again eventually, you know.

David Hernandez: 7:17

Oh wow, so you just comment like, Oh, if it uses a self destruct or Memento or explosion, then I'll find it again.

GeneralWiggins: 7:22

Yeah, it always ends up being super anticlimactic. I did it with Gigalith, hard resets for a strong spawn in I'm pretty sure it Sword. And we found it like a hundred and some odd encounters in, and I caught it like the second dive ball I threw. didn't damage it, just threw the ball and waited. it was a real bummer for me when it didn't blow up the first time I found it. Uh, as weird as that is to say.

David Hernandez: 7:48

It's like, Oh, it's just shiny, just self destructed!

GeneralWiggins: 7:50

Hell yeah, shiny Gigalith, throw dive balls, I have like no chance to catch it. Oh, it clicked. Well, what do I do now? That was, this was supposed to take me days. It took me hour.

David Hernandez: 8:01

Well, I was going to say, I get it. Cause it would have been more, I guess, satisfying. Had there been a couple of turns, except for two, like maybe gone to like eight or nine, and then at that point, it's like a clock is ticking before it actually does use it. I think that would have been more satisfying.

GeneralWiggins: 8:15

Yeah, no, it was, I don't remember what else I got that day, but I got something else.

David Hernandez: 8:20

let me ask you this because I know shiny hunting is I would say a little easier nowadays compared the older games. Do you enjoy more the older game style of shiny hunting or the newer games. Do you have a preference?

GeneralWiggins: 8:33

I guess it depends. As lame as an answer as that is, like, if I'm, deep in the odds right now on a Gen 1 hunt, which is something I didn't even know was possible until a few years ago. but like, I have just as much fun doing that as I do just booting up Scarlet and Violet or Legends Arceus and running around aimlessly because like, With the older games, I'll plan out hunts more. My goal right now is to have a full Pokemon Gold cartridge. With every single Dex entry shiny.

David Hernandez: 9:01

that Include the unknown letters like you'll get

GeneralWiggins: 9:04

Uh, no, because you can only do I and V in Generation 2.

David Hernandez: 9:07

I forgot about that. Yeah. Mm hmm.

GeneralWiggins: 9:10

I didn't know that until, what's weird is I watched, Coop Hunt them, and I heard him say something about that, but I was just zoned out doing God knows what. and he had mentioned, that only two of them could be shiny, and I was like, oh, cool, and I just put that memory somewhere until after I reread it again. I was like, oh, sh you know, shit, I knew that. Um, but like, for the older games, I'll plan out more hunts. for the newer games I can get on and just run around and do whatever and find, you know, an outbreak or, do the MMOs in RCS or just run into random Pokemon in Sword and Shield and have just as much fun.

David Hernandez: 9:41

Now, clearly a lot of experience with the Pokemon franchise. Do you have a particular favorite generation or set of games that you enjoyed?

GeneralWiggins: 9:48

Generation 2, just because it was when I first started understanding was going on. and now that I'm older and I know how the game works, like yeah, the level creep, or the level flatline bothers me a lot. and the, the lack of use of Generation 2 mods by Gen 2 Gym Leaders bothers me, but I try not to talk about that too much because it's like, I've noticed, especially recently, it's a bigger point whenever you bring those games up. There's always at least one to five people that'll, you know, bring that up. And it felt like there was a negative aura around it.

David Hernandez: 10:19

it's tough because I know Gen 2 is very loved. I think card gold, silver, really outdid themselves on that generation. But specifically just talking about the gold, silver crystal games. I remember like Chuck, for example, only had a Poliwrath and I think a Machoke or something like

GeneralWiggins: 10:34

Primate.

David Hernandez: 10:35

Primate I'm sorry.

GeneralWiggins: 10:36

Which is very disappointing.

David Hernandez: 10:37

exactly. Like, why didn't you have him on top? Or at least Tyrogue of all things, you know,

GeneralWiggins: 10:41

Yeah, he's, he's well, I guess he's not really a very good gym leader. He's at least the fifth one. But like, yeah, give him, Hitmantop, please.

David Hernandez: 10:49

You know like really kind of implement these like new and maybe it's cuz Pokemon's more younger like implement these new Pokemon into these gym Leads a little bit. I know they did a good job with Whitney with its melting God forbid. We remember that one,

GeneralWiggins: 11:00

Is that only Gen 2 fighting type they added?

David Hernandez: 11:03

Hitmontop and Tyrogue

GeneralWiggins: 11:05

Oh, and Heracross

David Hernandez: 11:06

and Heracross they could add a Heracross. Heracross would have been perfect

GeneralWiggins: 11:09

Yeah, that would have been great, because you could have gotten him by that point. Hitmantop, I think, was, uh, I think it might have been a little later, but maybe you could get to him at that point. I don't know, I've, I've, I never ran a hitman top on my team. I did hair across once. And Faulkner, the very first one, give him a hoot hoot! Give the man a, an owl!

David Hernandez: 11:27

Give him a who just literally if you played at night, you would have ran into

GeneralWiggins: 11:31

Yeah, you ran into frickin a thousand of them before you got there.

David Hernandez: 11:34

and then you could have gave bugsy either a Ledian or a Spinarak. I don't think it involved

GeneralWiggins: 11:39

Oh, you could've done, you could've done it on, version exclusive for that. That would've been great.

David Hernandez: 11:43

Exactly or like get the opposite. So if you play gold, you would have gotten I think spinner rack or no, you would have gotten lady, but and then silver would have gotten the spinarack. I think I got my generations correct.

GeneralWiggins: 11:54

Uh, yeah, you got the generations correct. I think you got the mods correct, too. I'm not

David Hernandez: 11:58

I don't

GeneralWiggins: 11:58

Not 100%. You started saying names and my brain went, yeah, that one!

David Hernandez: 12:01

That one, yeah, yeah, yeah. The opposite cartridge of the other one. I don't know what it is.

GeneralWiggins: 12:07

I'm not actually sure now that I think about it.

David Hernandez: 12:09

I did have to ask since, you know, you're focus was shiny hunting. Do you remember what it was like to kind of, of course, drowsy was put in the box to forever rot. Do you remember your first experience with the red Gyarados?

GeneralWiggins: 12:19

I don't, but I do remember, in Gen 3, I had either Sapphire or Ruby. I don't remember which one I had and which one my sister had. but I got a Tropius in that game. And I, having known what Shinies were like at that point, I was really excited and I forced Tropius onto my team. Even though it very, very much did not fit, because I went with Treecko.

David Hernandez: 12:40

So you just put, you just let the grass types maybe. Wow.

GeneralWiggins: 12:43

it on my team and I used it all the way through. I know I beat the champion. I don't know if I used it after I caught, all the legends, but I did use it at least for the champion. Because I forced it through the entire battle because it sparkled when I sent it out, and I thought that was neat.

David Hernandez: 12:57

What about, when you went to go battle red? Do you remember like trying to beat him? Was he difficult?

GeneralWiggins: 13:02

Uh, I ground, my, Feraligators face into the ground that one. That was, what I did. I was like, okay, cool. Uh, he has Ice Punch, I don't think he had Crunch, I think he had Bite, Surf, and Return, I think was his moveset. And I just, reset the battle until I beat him.

David Hernandez: 13:18

Wow. So for alligator against the world, just you six owed him with just for alligator, dude, that's crazy. You're probably going to spend like level 90 or a hundred at that point.

GeneralWiggins: 13:27

I think he was maxed out, yeah.

David Hernandez: 14:17

so I know you stream on Twitch and I want to know like, what's the meaning behind the Staryu army? where did that come from?

GeneralWiggins: 14:22

Oh, that was an accident. I used to mod for, Darium another friend of ours was streaming at the time. he went by Uncle Punk then. And Darium had asked in chat, you know, Hey is Wiggins here? I have a question for him. And I was actively in his chat. But I was doing something for Punk at the time, so I couldn't answer immediately, so Patchy went and got me, and by the time I could answer Darium, he was saying how I was too big of a Staryu to be in his chat anymore, and then I just kinda picked up and ran it. That changed my favorite Pokemon away from what was Arcanine to now Staryu.

David Hernandez: 14:57

So I just solidified it like Staryu is kind of your go to Pokemon.

GeneralWiggins: 15:01

it, it, it just became thing over like the next couple of months. And I was like, well, I guess Staryu's my favorite now, let's go. At least it's unique. You don't know a lot of Staryu favorite, folks out there.

David Hernandez: 15:10

I think you're probably one of the first ones I've ever met. Who's actually surprisingly sorry. He's kind of underrated. I feel like in gen one.

GeneralWiggins: 15:15

Yeah, cause like, a lot of folks will use Starmie in their, final squads. But, you typically just get a Staryu, evolve it with a stone, and then teach it all of its moves via TM. So you don't really use one too much.

David Hernandez: 15:25

Plus it's shiny. It's pretty cool. I always love the white color

GeneralWiggins: 15:28

Oh, I love its shiny. I'm trying to get a mark that I want on it in Sword and Shield, so I've done at least a dozen, probably two dozen, Staryu hunts. Just trying to get a mark.

David Hernandez: 15:38

I know with the more recent games, you know, you had Pokemon Sword and Shield, you had Pokemon Scarlet Violet, you had Legends Arceus. What's your favorite game that came on the Switch?

GeneralWiggins: 15:45

Sword and Shield.

David Hernandez: 15:46

Really?

GeneralWiggins: 15:47

That was my introduction to a bigger audience on Twitch. My first ever Like, actual streams that I did was a randomized Nuzlocke in Pokemon HeartGold. Mm I thought that I was just going to keep doing Nuzlockes, and then Twitchings came out, so we did that for a while. And then, sometime in that general time zone, Sword and Shield was coming out, and I wanted to get a capture card and stream those games. my very first stream, I streamed to Like, two or three people, and I played through the entire game on my very first Sword and Shield stream, rather. we played through, like, the first half of it, Knight and I got up and had lunch. And then we played through the entire second half of the game, and then we completed the decks, and we started shiny hunting, like, a week later.

David Hernandez: 16:31

Wow. What made you want to stream on Twitch? Specifically Pokemon Sword and Shield?

GeneralWiggins: 16:35

Uh, pandemic. I was a contractor before this and our clients didn't obviously want us in their homes. We were personal contractors. so before because I worked with my dad. before he had found more work doing like new builds and what he's doing now. I was like well I have to do something. I have a house payment.

David Hernandez: 16:54

It's kind of important,

GeneralWiggins: 16:54

So, I started streaming on Twitch and picking up random odd jobs. Twitch stuck, I had a lot of fun with it, so, just kind of made it a priority to try to make it work as best I could.

David Hernandez: 17:03

And how has Twitch kind of, you know, affected your life? Like, do you enjoy doing what you do?

GeneralWiggins: 17:07

I very much enjoy doing what I'm doing. I can't wait to get a, job, but, I'm always going to stream on Twitch. and I have, I have a, I have a blast with it.

David Hernandez: 17:16

And what kind of experience do you hope people who come visit your stream get from you with Twitch?

GeneralWiggins: 17:22

escape from reality.

David Hernandez: 17:23

That's pretty important,

GeneralWiggins: 17:24

Yeah, things suck, man. Life is, life is hard. and I think most of my audience is 20 to 30 somethings who, get off their day jobs and just want to relax, unwind, and not think about the fact that tomorrow they have to go back to work. And I don't, I don't blame them one bit.

David Hernandez: 17:42

Twitch is kind of our bar, I guess in a way, going to the bar, you know, back in the day, they would say that we're going to go stream on Twitch is kind of, I think maybe our generation of going to the bar to where we go, we kind of unwind from work, the daily stresses

GeneralWiggins: 17:56

I don't, I wrong. It definitely gives a, a very similar feeling at the end of a lot of days. where I've done whatever the hell I've done throughout the day. And at the end of the day, I just want to relax and, hang out and talk to folks.

David Hernandez: 18:08

Well, general Wiggins, thank you for coming on the show. I do want to finish with one last question. And I'm going to do something specific because you're a shiny

GeneralWiggins: 18:15

Sounds good.

David Hernandez: 18:16

If you had a team of six shiny Pokemon, what would they be?

GeneralWiggins: 18:21

okay. well obviously I gotta have, my mascot and my ace, in Staryu. Which I don't think is gonna make for a good ace, but, dammit, I'm doing it.

David Hernandez: 18:29

Hey, if it worked for Pikachu, it can work for

GeneralWiggins: 18:31

Exactly. I will have, my Staryu's gonna have, rock hard six pack abs. Um, it's gonna be, um,

David Hernandez: 18:40

It's going to be like a little shuriken where you can just throw it at a and it in half.

GeneralWiggins: 18:44

gonna be a weapon used by one of my other Pokemon, and it's

David Hernandez: 18:47

I like this idea. Yeah. Yeah.

GeneralWiggins: 18:49

I'd have a Froslass, for sure. let's see, Scizor is another one that I absolutely love.

David Hernandez: 18:56

Ooh, glow in the dark bug. I like it.

GeneralWiggins: 18:58

Let's think. Gotta go Haxorus. You can't, you cannot go wrong with a Haxorus. That shiny is top tier. I know that it's a, typical make the Pokemon black and give it red highlights and it'll look cool and damn it, it worked.

David Hernandez: 19:10

I mean, they should just do it more often. I don't know why they don't.

GeneralWiggins: 19:13

I'm throwing a legend on there. Give me Articuno. I love Articuno.

David Hernandez: 19:17

Grandpa. Yeah.

GeneralWiggins: 19:18

Ice is, Ice is definitely my favorite, my favorite type.

David Hernandez: 19:21

Oh, why is that your favorite type?

GeneralWiggins: 19:23

I don't know, honestly. I just, really loved in Gen 1, I loved, Articuno and I loved Cloyster. And then Gen 2 came out and I thought Sneasel was neat, but I never used one cause it was only available in the, the ass end of the game for whatever reason.

David Hernandez: 19:38

That

GeneralWiggins: 19:38

your rival having one, what a dick.

David Hernandez: 19:40

I know, right? It's like, how can I not get this Pokemon? Like, when he does, why do I have to wait till after Blackthorn for all things? Maybe that's why you're stuck in Seafoam Islands. You know, they're trying to get you reconnected to your ice origin.

GeneralWiggins: 19:51

That's got to be it. That's got to be it. I'm just freezing

David Hernandez: 19:53

it. That's your origin story. Yep. You're about to be the Dark Knight Rises. Regular

GeneralWiggins: 19:58

what is, what would I do with number six though?

David Hernandez: 20:00

human?

GeneralWiggins: 20:01

is going to be You know what? Give me a Zora arc so people think that I'm leading with a second Staryu. There we go. Uh, regular. I like the Isuian. The Isuian's cool. But god, seeing the Zora arc for the first time in Gen 5 was so cool. I'm, I'm gonna go with that. I'm go with that

David Hernandez: 20:19

Well, General Wiggins, thank you for coming on. As the Pokeball turns, before you go, if people want to watch you stream, if they want to connect with you, where can they go? By all means, please plug away.

GeneralWiggins: 20:28

My twitch stream is definitely going to be the the best one twitch. tv forward slash general wiggins And i'm on blue sky a lot now. which is a super Like a crazy positive space compared to the other social medias i'm i'm sure that has a lot to do with my algorithm. but over on uh blue sky. I don't know the blue sky link but Yeah, just General Wiggins. Anywhere you want to find me, I'm General Wiggins. You can even find me on YouTube.

David Hernandez: 20:51

Thank you for listening to As the Pokeball Turns. Follow all my socials and join our Discord community to stay connected by clicking any of the links in the description of this episode. Tune in next time for more episodes featuring more people, more stories, and more Pokemon. Until next time.