As The Pokeball Turns
Imagine a Pokemon interview podcast where every episode dives into personal stories of Pokemon Trainers like YOU.
From picking your first starter Pokemon, meeting lifelong friends, to epic Pokemon Battles, we explore the highs, lows, and unforgettable moments that make Pokemon a lifelong passion that drives us to become the best like no one ever was.
If you're ready for heartfelt moments, surprising insights, and the ultimate celebration of Pokemon, this Pokemon podcast is your next adventure!
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As The Pokeball Turns
TRAINER'S EYE #127 - "Written By Shaymin" ft. Blackjack Gabbiani
In this Pokemon interview, we are joined by BlackJack Gabbiani, a Pokemon Trainer, voice actor, and fanfic writer.
Blackjack Gabbiani starts from the very beginning where they dive into their interest in Pokemon starting with Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow. Eventually, they develop a deep interest into the Pokemon world, specifically the Pokemon Villainous Teams and the motivations behind their action. They further elaborate on the real world inspiration that led to their creation.
Blackjack Gabbiani deep dives into their favorite Villainous Team, Team Galatic, specifically Cyrus. They give insight into the possible motivation behind his goal of creating a new world with Dialga or Palkia in Sinnoh. They also deep dive into the other villainous teams across the Pokemon franchise and how they were influenced by both their upbrining and environment.
Finally, Blackjack Gabbiani connects the Pokemon Franchise with their passion for writing, specifically Pokemon fanfiction. They touch on lesser known characters and how much potential world building is done by not on themselves, but other Pokemon fanfic writers in the space.
Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
Connect with BlackJackGabbiani: BlueSky | Youtube | Website
Connect with David Hernandez: Linktree
E-mail Me: asthepokeballturnspodcast@gmail.com
Join Our Discord Community!
https://discord.gg/AqAbD7FbRt
I'm Blackjack Gaviani, and this is my Pokémon story.
David Hernandez:Welcome to As the Pokeball Turns, where we interview people about their experience with Pokemon. My name is David Hernandez. I'm joined by a fan ficked writer and voice actor, Blackjack Gabbiani. Blackjack, welcome to the
Blackjack Gabbiani:Hi! I'm glad to be here!
David Hernandez:Absolutely. And We talked a little bit earlier about you doing fan fiction, but also the voice actor. And I hope the audience got to hear the different voices you could do. And I wanted to like ask, like, when was the first time you started doing voice acting and what led you to want to do
Blackjack Gabbiani:Okay, so when I was in sixth grade, I used to go read to the first graders, and they only ever wanted to hear Calvin and Hobbes. So I was like, uh, Calvin was kind of up here like this, and Hobbes was just kind of my regular voice, and Rosalind was kind of like this, and the dad was like this, and the teacher was like this, and, yeah. I think the mom was also my regular voice, I don't remember. this was a long, long time ago. I'm actually considerably older than most of the Pokemon fanbase. Pokemon came out here in the US, the summer that I graduated high school. So, I am a bit older! Hehehehehehe!
David Hernandez:everybody. So that is no problem at all. And the fact that it started with Calvin Hobbes, I love Calvin Hobbes. I read the comics growing up. It's
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, yeah, yeah. It's great for your imagination when you're a youngster, too.
David Hernandez:It is definitely. And
Blackjack Gabbiani:about, you know, big adventures and imagination and all that. And, you know, if you want to toss the voices in for it, all's the better.
David Hernandez:I mean, I'm sure pretty, the kids were pretty entertained with you doing all the different voices
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, yeah, yeah. I've only had one Pokémon roll, as I was saying before we started I did one episode of a Pokemon abridged that only lasted two episodes. I was the voice of Nurse Joy in the second episode in Viridian City!
David Hernandez:So you got to say like, Hey, welcome to the Pokemon center. Would you like me to heal your Pokemon back?
Blackjack Gabbiani:It was something like, cause you know, Ash and Jenny, run through the door on Jenny's motorcycle. Joy says something like, Most people use the stairs! I don't remember. It was a very long time ago. I don't remember
David Hernandez:And then I can imagine, I can imagine you giving yourself a menacing voice being we hope to see you again soon.
Blackjack Gabbiani:we hope to see you again.
David Hernandez:Yeah, there we go. we go. Ooh, well, that's awesome. Like the fact that you did, you know, Pokemon voice acting and, you know, it got to be a row, even though it was only two
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, and, and of a, a fan project, I would love to do an official Pokemon voice. Oh my, you have no idea. Um,
David Hernandez:Have you ever imagined like what kind of character your voice would be best suited for in a Pokemon
Blackjack Gabbiani:yes.
David Hernandez:Ooh, let's go. Let's dive
Blackjack Gabbiani:I've always wanted to play a Pokemon villain, there's one voice I do that I think really goes well with Commander Mars. And so I think, I think this one's really good.
David Hernandez:So it'd be like the main head boss, like a Giovanni or for, um,
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, if they ever actually dub the audio drama, I think I could be a pretty good Madam Boss. I kind of imagine her having like an old Hollywood sort of voice. Like, I did, one kind of demo where I was showing off voices where I was, one of the characters I picked was Lusamine. And so I did kind of like this, kind of low and a little biting. And then you can leave. It's true, it probably won't survive.
David Hernandez:Oh my gosh.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Actually, I can bring up some of her actual line.
David Hernandez:Sure.
Blackjack Gabbiani:And that's why I'm here. I'll be like a mother to all those poor Pokémon and shower them with love. Even Pokémon from distant worlds far from the Alola region are worthy of my love. Oh, you sweet boy! I'm already over 40! you do say such incomprehensible things. Calling me mother, I don't have any children. Especially, certainly not any wretched children who would run off and reject my love. So, tell me how you'll save that Pokémon. What can you do, Lily?
David Hernandez:Oh That's good, I like it.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Thank you. And then, another one I would really like to play, and it would kind of be two characters in one, uh, is Sada. And, I need your help. I am currently at the deepest point of Area Zero in the Great Crater of Paldeia. I have been researching the unique Pokémon here for a very long time. I'm asking the two of you to lend a hand to help carry out the final step of the great Professor Sada's glorious research. But there is something we need first. Something that could be found within that lab. What we need is the Scarlet Book.
David Hernandez:dude, that's awesome. Whoa
Blackjack Gabbiani:It is theoretically possible to travel to the past. However, for a being such as a human, it would not be possible to return to the present. Arvin, I If possible, I would like us to speak when we can meet face to face. Although, I, uh, asked my YouTube followers and I'm pretty sure the person they wanted me to play the most was Rika. And I, I just have her voice kind of down here like this, And she, she already kind of sounds like this,
David Hernandez:do you try to kind of give him the character's head to try to come up to with the tone you know, we don't,
Blackjack Gabbiani:Absolutely.
David Hernandez:Okay, so what comes to mind whenever you try to put yourself in like Professor Sada's kind of
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, she was completely deranged. She wanted to basically create Jurassic World, for the sake of her son, who would have had none of it, and probably would have died. and the AI is trying to stop that, but she's hampered by her programming, so she has to be, she has to play this role, and, it's like she both is and isn't who she's pretending to be, you know? So, yeah. But I imagine like during the actual fight when the AI gets possessed by the security system. And I definitely got the impression that they were possessed by vengeful spirit of their creator.
David Hernandez:Oh, be surprised.
Blackjack Gabbiani:that, um, that the voice would be like all distorted and stuff in editing. But, you know, again, I don't really do Pokémon voice acting except for my playthrough videos
David Hernandez:you know, it's a good, interesting point about Professor Sata because it's like a Dr. Hecker, um, Dr. Heckle, Mr.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
David Hernandez:Yeah, there we go. Jekyll Hyde kind of to where, exactly. But the thing is, is that, you know, they're trying to, you know, the AI is struggling trying to figure out which side it wants to be on because it's trying to obey the commands, but it's also trying to stop it.
Blackjack Gabbiani:The AIs, I really got the feeling that they deeply loved and respected their creators, but had to do this because it was what was good and logical. Not even what good, it was what was logical, because they realized that caring for others is logical.
David Hernandez:It's interesting, right? Cause you know, we always think like robots would never have emotion, but in a way they kind of
Blackjack Gabbiani:This is
David Hernandez:for
Blackjack Gabbiani:This is also a series where we have, accepted ducks made of programming code as a sapient species since generation one. So, having advanced AI like that really just kind of seems like the next step in the development of technology in that world. And talking about the AIs is going to segue into my fan fix because they're who've I've been writing about mostly. over the last two Ha ha
David Hernandez:what is about the AI characters that really interest you or like really kind draw that or you know Are you inspired
Blackjack Gabbiani:I've always liked characters that overcome their programming and become something more than they were meant to be. But programming was never so literal! Like, I've never really found a robot character that's really spoken to me like that. It's characters like Piccolo from Dragon Ball, or Kami White from Street Fighter, or Mitsumi from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure, which is a manga that more people need to read. It's by Shigekatsu Ihara, and it's eight volumes, and it's only about Diamond, Pearl, Platinum. The, the main character is this wild boy named Harita, who's the Lucas Exp. he grew up in the woods, and was basically raised by Pokémon. And then Mitsumi is Rowan's assistant and she's sent out to go find him.
David Hernandez:Hmm.
Blackjack Gabbiani:she has heard something is up with Dialga and wants to go find it. And I'm not going to spoil something that you find out on the cover of Volume 5. Uh, like I said, it's eight volumes. But, The reason Mitsumi knew about this is because she's a former member of Team Galactic, and she ran away because she could no longer justify what they were doing. And Cyrus was kind of content to let her go as long as she didn't cause any trouble, but then they get involved with everything, and Yeah, it's It's, uh, yeah. It's a really good series. The ending's a little rushed, I think, because they were getting into HeartGold and SoulSilver at that point. And they needed to make room in the magazines. But everything that it ends with was set up in advance.
David Hernandez:So you're talking about how, you know, you enjoyed character being more than
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah. More than what they were meant to be.
David Hernandez:So I guess in a way because the AI wasn't following instructions, you saw that became more human, I guess, for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet specifically.
Blackjack Gabbiani:it was, I, I suppose, but it managed to be like a better person, not a better human, but a better person than its human creator. And I, I feel like that's really, a fascinating thing, like here's someone with the exact memories, the exact, I guess environmental input of its creator who is able to take a step back and view their goals objectively without the emotional attachment. They've seen all the emotions, they've felt all the emotions that their creator associates with this. And yet they look at the result that it would cause undue destruction and are like, this doesn't make any sense. You're going to kill everyone. And the professor was just like, nah, it's fine. Destruction is a part of life. It'll even out in the end. And then the professor dies saving their And even though it's never said, I feel like that's what, well, for one, their death gave the AI a bit more freedom to enact their plan of stopping paradise. but I also feel that the contradiction of someone who had been so dismissive of mass destruction and saying that it would be fine, that it's just a part of life, would die to save someone they loved. I feel like that really awakened something in the AIs and they were able to start, experiencing their own path in life. And one of the things that keeps coming up is whenever you talk to them about your ride dragon, they're saying, Stuff like, you know, please take it to so many places, have adventures with it. you know, make sure that it sees so much of Paldea. Because they want to see much of Paldea. They're, they're stuck in either the crater or the lab. They say, I cannot leave this place, but it's unclear what place they mean. but their existence is tied to the crystals around them. If they were to leave, they would lose power. I don't think they would die, but I think they would lose power. a thought about the ending, because I was terrified for, like, waiting for the DLC. I was terrified that it would say that they just, turned off and couldn't go on adventures of their own or whatever. or even, even because Dream Theory was big at the time, so I was worried that they could stop existing. But then, the part When you go down into the Under Depths and you encounter Terrapagos, and it, just being around it charges your orb so much that it never needs to be recharged, and thinking about how the AI took on so much terrestrial energy during the Paradise Protection Protocol stage. Like, that would have been terrifying. That scene is probably the closest to body horror this franchise has ever gotten. Well, it was! Like, when they're
David Hernandez:I know. Yeah, true though
Blackjack Gabbiani:see it's even inside their mouths. And their eyes are glitching really badly, and, uh, it must have been terrifying, but that also might have saved them. Because I feel like that's a similar charge to what your terror orb takes on. So I feel like that can give them the power to leave the lab and even the crater and have their own adventures for once. And be the free adventurers they wanted us to be.
David Hernandez:it's almost like in a way They're kind of the parents who are trying to give their kids, you know, the experience they can't
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, yeah, well, I also also feel like the AIs loved Arvin as if he was their own son. I know the game doesn't actually say that, but I really feel like that's, that's, In there.
David Hernandez:that's the tragic part about Arvin. Like Arvin has a very tragic story. Neither one of his parents really loved him.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, they, they did love him, but they couldn't express it. Like, it was their goal, you find out in their journal, to basically go home and be with him. It's a paradise where we three can live happily. And the three would be them, Arvin, and the Paradox Dragon. And That's what they wanted, but they couldn't stop working. They wanted to go home to Arvin. And in the epilogue, in the crystal pool scene, where you give them the white book, we know that the professor from our timeline interacted in a similar way. They received the white book from a child at the crystal pool. But, the professor from our timeline did not give up their copy of Heath's book. So this has to be a different universe that we're interacting with. Because if they had given up their copy of Heath's book, Arvin couldn't have found it at the lighthouse, so Mombastiff would have been screwed.
David Hernandez:Right. True. And the reason why I say his parents didn't love This is my perspective. He was always going to be second place to their work. He was never going to be number one, even going back home. They're not going just with Arvin. They're going with their work. And, it took an AI to kind of finally tell Arvin that he was cared for by his
Blackjack Gabbiani:Mm hmm.
David Hernandez:And that's kind of where I was coming from to where, you know, yes, they may love them to the degree, but they don't love them as much as their work. They're very work holics. They're very, you know, dedicated to what they're research and what they're trying to do. And Arvin is always going to be second
Blackjack Gabbiani:yeah, it feels like, like people have said this, obsession is one of the big themes of Scarlet and Violet. And that's another thing that drew me to it. I mean, I, I love obsessive characters. I've, I've spent far too long writing a backstory for the collector from the second movie.
David Hernandez:Oh, he's such an untapped character. Like I wish they had like dived into more. That's been the most frustrating part about Pokemon. It's like they have some interesting characters, but you don't really get the chance to dive into them because like a one cameo
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, most of his personality is in his image song, which only exists on the Japanese movie soundtrack. It's not even in the Japanese movie, it's just on the soundtrack. Because they got Takashi Kaga to voice him, and I guess you're not going to have him without having him sing.
David Hernandez:Right.
Blackjack Gabbiani:In the prism, I want to hold the woman I've locked away. That is my
David Hernandez:Hey, I was gonna let you go off. I was like, hey, she wants to sing. Go for it. I'm not gonna stop her. But I'm sorry. Stop you. I'm sorry. Stop you. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Stop you. But, you know, I know we kind of started with Scarlet and Violet the recent one. There's a lot could dive into, but let's start from the origin. Let's start from the beginning. you know, what is that first initial experience of Pokemon for
Blackjack Gabbiani:Um, well I was working in the school library And the whole Porygon incident, seizure thing was in the news. So, me and the brother of one of my friends, were like, what is this Pokemon thing? And so we looked it up, and we only saw Pikachu, right? Because that was the only one they were putting in their articles. And I'm like, oh, that's hella cute. So, When I saw it on TV a few months later, I was like, Oh, this is hella cute. I think the first one I saw was the Battling Eevee Brothers. Uh, which, you know, is an episode of rather suspect quality, as you recall, especially in English. Eevee, where did you go to? But, uh, but yeah, I was like, Oh, this is charming. And so I got red version. And then. a little bit playing into red version. I was like, oh, this is cool. I want to start over from the beginning. I want to see, I want to, I want to see what happens if I make different choices. And where did my first save file go?
David Hernandez:Oh,
Blackjack Gabbiani:I was so used to games having three save files as a default. I didn't even question that there might only be one.
David Hernandez:Yeah, forgot about that. Yeah.
Blackjack Gabbiani:I don't remember who my first starter was. Oh,
David Hernandez:It was one of the three. Yeah. Oh,
Blackjack Gabbiani:I recently found my gold version again and the battery exploded. So I can't really consult that one either. but then I, played Sapphire. And by that point I was already like really in the fandom. I think second gen is when I really got involved in the fandom. I was a mod on Bulbagarden for a while. I was one of the fanfic creators. and I don't remember the first Pokémon fanfic I wrote. I honestly could not tell you. it might Oh gosh, was it about Giovanni? I don't remember. This is
David Hernandez:considering you want to be a villain, it'd probably be kind of on point.
Blackjack Gabbiani:huh.
David Hernandez:I want to ask you something real quick. Because I know you said, you know, you're more on the older side of the Pokemon audience. At least that's what, you know, you feel like. So, I've had a lot of other guests who are older, when Pokemon came out, they felt like it was past them. You clearly didn't have that. What about Pokemon, you know, engaged you even at an older age? That you enjoyed, that let you be more involved?
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, I mean, I like video games.
David Hernandez:Okay.
Blackjack Gabbiani:the first game just had an excuse plot, but I liked running around and finding monsters. know, it was certainly no Final Fantasy VI, or III as we knew it back then, because this was the 90s. Ha ha ha. and I just thought it was cute, the show was cute, The Rocket Trio are fantastic.
David Hernandez:Mm hmm.
Blackjack Gabbiani:I feel like they appealed to the older audience the most. cause, you know, they are older. they're supposed to be like in their early twenties. and then, like, Meowth is clearly, like, he's presented like a grumpy old man, but he's also didn't really experience a childhood, so he's very immature while pretending to be the responsible adult.
David Hernandez:I mean, it's a mix of, like, very A child basically having a tragic childhood, considering, you know, you let her learn about how, like, you learned how to speak, all the rejection and everything, so it makes sense
Blackjack Gabbiani:And I mean, on the one hand, she was kind of right to reject him, but on the other hand, it's like, you know, at least acknowledge him. Don't call him a freak. Just say you're not interested. Well,
David Hernandez:ha Getting flashbacks right now, Chaga stories in Pokemon are.
Blackjack Gabbiani:also had a big influence on his English voice actress. if you notice, originally she was credited as Adam. but, she said that, Meowth having to be honest with himself and, you Except who he really is, encouraged her to come out. So you notice that later on she's credited as Madeline.
David Hernandez:And then I remember some of the stories I remember a lot of the ones that always get to me or the fire types, especially
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, golly, yeah.
David Hernandez:yeah, that's it's
Blackjack Gabbiani:it's interesting seeing different people's takes on that. Like there's an official manga, Electric Tale of Pikachu, where the reason that Charmander is out there is not because Damien abandoned him, but because Damien was, like, hit by a car and was in the hospital. So at the end of the issue, he, like, staggers up in bandages.
David Hernandez:really and that changes completely in anime.
Blackjack Gabbiani:I, well, no, cause in the anime, Damien had just abandoned him. He was just like, yeah, he's a weakling, so I just left him out there. And Brock is like, YOU BITCH!
David Hernandez:pretty much. Yeah
Blackjack Gabbiani:Brock literally beats the crap out of him in the Pokémon Center. It's fantastic.
David Hernandez:Yeah,
Blackjack Gabbiani:And he was right to do it.
David Hernandez:exactly. Yeah. But in the, in the manga it's because he was hit by a truck
Blackjack Gabbiani:I don't remember exactly, but he said it was an accident. But he was in the hospital and he's got like bandages and crutches and stuff. this is in the, specifically the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga. Which is based on the anime but took big liberties with it. It's It's also the one with the, uh, artist they will never, ever, ever hire again, because he wrote some, shall we say, unofficial chapters. Yeah. It's also the one that they had to tone down even in Japan, like between the magazine volumes and the bound volumes. For similar reasons, let's just say the ladies working at the Pokemon Center had, uh, Pokeball designs on very specific parts of their uniforms.
David Hernandez:If you know, you
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah,
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm
Blackjack Gabbiani:so yeah, it was, interesting, especially considering some of that stuff even gets through to the English version, but also, one thing that, they didn't even try to take out was actually, it's funny because this goes back to the battling Evie brothers. They try to have like a cult sort of presentation to their challenges and uh One of them is like writhe within the fires of damnation and uh, the other another one is like, feel the I don't know something about the thunder of damnation and ash is like well is damnation all they ever talk about if you were hit thunder salvation, you would be saved wouldn't you?
David Hernandez:Hey,
Blackjack Gabbiani:And this was all Official Viz Translated Dialogue. So, yeah, that was actually one of the things about, like, like, hey, there is an older audience for this. Otherwise, they wouldn't be writing it like this, would they?
David Hernandez:But it's just something that people don't realize is out there until you actually find just something, Pokemon doesn't really, I don't say promote, but it's just not something that they really advertise, at least on the American side.
Blackjack Gabbiani:well, then, like, also, you get into things like, I mean, the original plot, you know, in the very first game, even though it was, as I plot, you, you're, you're stopping the Yakuza. is what you're doing. You are an 11 year old going up against organized crime, and it's like, what, what in the heck? And they, they imply some very, very horrible things about the Pokemon world even that early on, and I know that Junichi Masuda has been like, oh yeah, this is a fantastic world. Uh, if there was any war, it was a long time ago, and it's like, Dude, you worked on Generation 1. Lieutenant Surge is not that old. And then he's like, Hi, uh, you know, people are more likely to help each other. Saying this in an interview before Generation 6 came out, which has a post game that focuses on a homeless, illiterate teenager who wears rags. Yeah, Masuda, I do not think you know what you're talking about. I think you're full of shit.
David Hernandez:Oh my gosh.
Blackjack Gabbiani:like, okay, how much more likely to help each other, uh? Uh, uh, uh.
David Hernandez:Right But that's the thing though. That's what I love about Pokemon. You know, there's stuff for where it's surface level, right? You said, you know, Jen won this example you know, it's a cop out. then, you know, if you dive into it, you see a lot of more complex subtleties that can easily miss unless for those who are maybe more dedicated trying to
Blackjack Gabbiani:hmm. Well, even Generation 2, with its also kind of bare bones plot, has stuff like, tradition being overridden by modern technology even though they can easily coexist. That's what Kurt does.
David Hernandez:Right.
Blackjack Gabbiani:That's why the bronze tower and the tin tower are so important as well. And that's why Ecruteak looks the way it does because they're maintaining the past, even in the modern era. And, you know, there's, there's no reason those can't coexist. There's no reason we can't have all of those things. And I know the region of Japan that it's based on kind of has that more frequently than the Tokyo area that the Kanto region is based on. Um, yeah, so it's really nice to see, like, these national flavors and regional flavors, even though those regions in real life and in the game are right next to each other.
David Hernandez:I was gonna say, even if you think about Lavender Town, they replaced the Pokemon Tower with the Radio Tower,
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, like, who
David Hernandez:that could, that's basic. Except that, but that happens though, because it's like, well they're already dead, you know, what can you do? It's time to, you know, build something. It's out with the old, in with the new is kind of the old
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, but in a world where ghosts are real? And angry?
David Hernandez:That hasn't stopped anything. Have you seen the Pokemon World? Poco Ghosts is not gonna stop people. Ghosts don't even stop us here. But that's what I mean, it tackles the issue of like, you know, what part do we remember and what part do try to, you know, build up on top of over
Blackjack Gabbiani:And actually, that's one of the reasons I really liked PLA. It gets into, not just the recent past with, the two clans, but also the ancient past with the Celestica people. And it was, I really wish we knew more about them because apparently they're the ones who also built the Sinjo ruins. They highly revered Arceus. Arceus ditched them. That caused Volo's bitterness, even though I really don't subscribe to the immortal Volo theory. I think it's possible that he could be extremely long lived, but I don't think he was there for the original Celestica. I think he only learned about them through his ruin exploration and through Kageta. But, Kageta seems to have been there. She actually seems to be immortal. she at this point is so mum about things because she doesn't like what happened. She also seems to think that teaching legends causes people like Volo to act out. And it makes me wonder about her own past and why is she immortal? Did she do something? What's going on here?
David Hernandez:right,
Blackjack Gabbiani:But it also shows that legends aren't fixed and set in stone, you know? the two clans learned that what they had been told wasn't the full story. It's like, what they had learned had happened, yes, but not it wasn't everything that had happened. and so they both had the truth on their side. And the, Commodore learned he's, he's not gonna fuck with people from now on because he was being a grade A douchebag. And, you know, Commodore had every right to want to find a home after what had happened to his people. because, it's implied that his town was destroyed by something I've heard a theory that he may be from the town from the Lake of Rage that was scrapped from the original Gen 2. There was supposed to be a town there, so I've seen a theory that he was from there and, he lost everything, including his wife, in a Gyarados rampage. I've also seen people theorize that a Snorlax ate everything in the town and everyone starved. and that might be the Snorlax he uses, but I, I
David Hernandez:Oh, that'd be gruesome. My god
Blackjack Gabbiani:Cause one of the dex entries, it might be in that game, says that Snorlax will eat the food stores of entire towns. But yeah, just,
David Hernandez:next
Blackjack Gabbiani:yeah, it's just Komodo's want to protect his people turned him paranoid. And he became, frankly, evil. You know, he was going to go to war with sovereign nations if they helped you. So, he learned basically, don't fuck with nature or you'll get your ass kicked. It's kind of like, if you've ever seen Princess Mononoke, it's kind of like Lady Eboshi. Although she lost an arm for her lessons. Commodore got humiliated.
David Hernandez:my gosh. I mean, I'll take the humiliation over losing
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah,
David Hernandez:I'd like to have both arms, honestly, so
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, it's like, we definitely understand, you know, she is justified in wanting to protect her people, but not to the point of trying to kill the nature god.
David Hernandez:Right, right.
Blackjack Gabbiani:but then like, Kageta doesn't really seem to learn much, Volo definitely doesn't learn much, but Giratina does. Giratina learns it's been kind of a dick, and so it's own legends change, and even though it still goes and hides in the distortion world, it's implied that that's the whole plot there is the whole reason that it went and stopped Cyrus in Platinum. It's like, Oh, not this shit again! Come on! Come on, you're coming a timeout!
David Hernandez:We're not doing it. Yeah.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Actually, Cyrus is one of my favorite characters in this franchise. I did an essay, a video essay about why I like him so much and it was over an hour long. Help me.
David Hernandez:Well, let's do the cliff notes and I'll try to make sure to help you out you know, why is Cyrus You know your favorite
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, he's fascinating, really, and one of the issues that I touch on at the end of the presentation is that a lot, a lot of people say they don't understand his motives, but I think makes a lot of sense because I mean, I sound great right now and everything, but I was not happy growing up. I had a lot of pressure on me. And, there were times where I really did lose hope in the world. And I feel like wanting to change that, no matter what it takes, is a very powerful motivator. And if, All your emotional expressions are negative, like Cyrus's are, if all you've ever known is disappointment and pressure, because his parents put a lot of pressure on him to be perfect, and the one person he could have relied on who noticed that he was falling apart, his grandfather, mentions, you know, maybe I should have helped him.
David Hernandez:hmm. Mm hmm.
Blackjack Gabbiani:It's like, if the one person who notices that you're having a problem doesn't do anything, of course you're going to associate emotions with pain.
David Hernandez:It's gonna change for
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah. And if you're always pressured to be perfect, what could be more perfect than a god? So I think it made absolutely perfect sense what he was doing. I mean, he's obviously insane, but I feel like there's a reason that official media, the manga I was talking about earlier, Diamond and Pearl Adventure, as well as Poku Special, give him the chance to turn his life around. He actually does realize that he was doing something wrong, and that, because he's flawed. Any world he creates would be flawed. So he stops and he tries to find another way to fix things, and he does. The story doesn't quite get him to the point where he does or where we see what he tries, but in both series, they have Charron being the subsequent threat. And, having him go up against a foe like that. Because in Diamond and Pearl Adventure they make Charon the most evil little sumbitch. He will, like, he's out there like brainwashing Pokemon and possibly people. the, the way he makes his new leadership known to the public is by sending suicide bombers to the league. they don't succeed in blowing up the league, but they had a big bomb planted under the stadium. And, like, the main characters, like, all light screen around it, and prevent it from blowing anything up. but, that does not change that he was attempting to do that, and he intended to send all those people to their deaths. I'm assuming they just got arrested instead.
David Hernandez:So with Cyrus, you know, you talked about how people don't understand But, you know, as you said, you know, he couldn't live up to standards. You know, he got turned away from the person he loved, which is what caused him to kind of have a heel turn, I guess, in a way, to where he had this motivation to, you know, For, you know, what I know it as is rid the world of emotion, rid it of everything. And in a way he just not only want to be God, he wanted to give people the idea that, or give people the opportunity to be perfect that he couldn't be as well. I
Blackjack Gabbiani:Right,
David Hernandez:Because he saw emotion as kind of, I guess, weakness in a way to where, you know, it's better just to be mechanically. Perfect, you know, no emotion, nothing that could like make you go left or right, you know, course There is that god complex which I think is pretty interesting as well because then people would look up to him and kind of worship Him because it's kind of his own universe So I think that's a very interesting compelling argument and it also shows the idea that, you know, villains aren't, you know, crazy. Nobody's born evil. They have reason behind the madness. The best villains have a very solid reason behind do what they do. Hey,
Blackjack Gabbiani:are not insane. Like, Lusamine is Giovanni isn't. He's greedy, he's selfish, he's evil. and then on the other hand, you also have hero characters who I think could probably be qualified as insane. Nimona. For instance.
David Hernandez:a vibe, man. I
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, I love that girl has some issues.
David Hernandez:yeah, just wants to battle all day. Yeah. Mm
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, and, you know, getting into her psychology is interesting because, that is all she has in life. you know, you said earlier that Arvin's parents didn't love him. Even though they did, they just didn't express it. I don't think Nimonas actually do love her. I think they're what people interpret Arvin's parents as being like. Because her parents have basically written her out. They don't talk to her. Like, the entire game, there is no communication. we don't even get the name of her sister. A lot of people think that her parents are the Glitterati. That's not true. They're in real estate. Her parents are specifically stated to be on the board of the Rotom phone company.
David Hernandez:Well, I mean, Even if you look at that group of, uh, Demona, Arvin, the main character, and eventually Penny, they're all kind of misfits in
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, totally. Uh, the main character has, you know, they're new to the region. They don't know anything that's going on. They're just kind of pushed into things. Like, the history teacher is like, hey, so, you know those legends I was talking about in class that are gonna destroy, that have already destroyed the region? I want you to go find them. I'll give you extra credit. I'm totally not a supervillain.
David Hernandez:Totally not.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Totally not. You can trust me on that. I gave Raiford southern accent because I feel like she might be from Ori. Ori needs to be used
David Hernandez:Oh, man, I wish they'd dive into Ori. You know, just real quick, you know the one character I wish that pisses me off that they've never dived into? Wes.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, God! I know! What is his
David Hernandez:It bugs the hell out of me like all we know is you know He used to work for the antagonist team snag
Blackjack Gabbiani:Mm
David Hernandez:for some reason he betrayed him He went and caught the snag
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, it's not even known why. It's like, did he realize that they were up to bullshit and he wanted to stop them? Or did
David Hernandez:even I don't
Blackjack Gabbiani:I
David Hernandez:Honestly, I think it's the latter.
Blackjack Gabbiani:there was the rumor that he was supposed to be the, villain from XD and they changed it, but apparently that wasn't true.
David Hernandez:I don't know but it I think cuz It would have been, I would have made perfect sense. And then, imagine Rui's the second in command at that point.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh God. I,
David Hernandez:just the idea of how he started is so get nothing on the
Blackjack Gabbiani:I feel like Colosseum would make a really good live action movie.
David Hernandez:I'll watch
Blackjack Gabbiani:I mean, you'd need, you know, someone who's like 8 feet tall to play Mirror B, but Actually, I guess he's not really all that tall, it's just his
David Hernandez:No, he's He's not
Blackjack Gabbiani:lot taller. He's not like a lot of the huge guys in Ori, because oh my god, what is Is there hormones in the Is that what's going on there?
David Hernandez:Hey, something's in that, uh, Fnac Waterman, and they grow big over there.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh my lord. Oh It would be amazing to have a live action movie like that. It would be like, you know, people want live action movies to be gritty and stuff. And it's like, yeah, there's grit, there's sand everywhere.
David Hernandez:my gosh,
Blackjack Gabbiani:And they could film it in Arizona. It's the first American region.
David Hernandez:It really is, although Pokemon won't acknowledge it, but still, it is the first region.
Blackjack Gabbiani:hmm.
David Hernandez:that came to mind. It's like that. That's the one thing I hated. That's a lot of things. There's a couple of things I hate about Pokemon Colosseum. I still love the game, but the character development is just awful. Especially for, I would love to know more about Mirror Bee. I would love to know the rise for Venus. Dakeem, I can kind of take or leave it at this point. And then, you know, it's just, there's so much potential in that region. It's like,
Blackjack Gabbiani:golly. You know, Ayn totally has to be in with Culriss at some point. He has to be. They're basically the guy.
David Hernandez:they are.
Blackjack Gabbiani:more casual in his approach.
David Hernandez:He's more fancy, I like,
Blackjack Gabbiani:Culriss gonna eat bagel sandwich at his desk, like on the, on that one TCG card.
David Hernandez:Yes, yes, yes.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Ayn would never. Ayn probably has a very sterile work environment. But, like, their work is so identical.
David Hernandez:Oh, yeah.
Blackjack Gabbiani:I just feel like the mad scientist would really get along. Um, like, uh, Ayn and Coleris and Xeroxic. you know, they'd be talking about that, the post game X and Y plot. It's like, well, of course you had to kidnap the girl and force her into the brainwashing suit, because how else were you going to get the, the policeman's attention? Charon would be off to the side like, WHAT?! You young folk are incomprehensible to You young folk are incomprehensible to me. But you see, like, all these scenarios of what characters could interact, it's why I love Masters, despite the gameplay being absolute ass. Nobody plays Masters for the gameplay. They play it because is fanfiction.
David Hernandez:Yes. If you ever want to know more about the characters and see how they would interact, play Pokemon Masters. That's all it is. Forget about the gameplay. Just go for the
Blackjack Gabbiani:Unless you're a Courtney fan, Courtney was done damn dirty. Courtney's, Day With event is really, really bad, and just, I think it's really out of character. Because the whole thing is that she doesn't know how to give negative feedback. that's like, all she knows how to do is praise, and it's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then on the other hand you have a character like Chairman Rose who is better explored in his day with event than he was in the entirety of Sword and Shield.
David Hernandez:Me and Chairman Rose have a I don't, I don't agree with heel turn. I try to, but doesn't
Blackjack Gabbiani:I think one of the things about Rose is that it's, he genuinely wants to help Galar, is the way I interpreted it, but he also really wants to be remembered forever. he has a line about seeing Leon as A knight in shining armor coming to save a princess from a dragon. So he has this very romantic dream in the sense, where his desire to be a romantic hero led him to be manipulated by the sorceress.
David Hernandez:Yeah.
Blackjack Gabbiani:he wants to be, that's why he couldn't wait one more day. Because if it was one more day, Leon might not be the champion. And thus, his champion wouldn't be the one who defeated the Dragon.
David Hernandez:Right. I don't My always issue with Rose has always been I mean, I get what they're going for, but it feels like it kind of wasn't done
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, it really wasn't. He's very much in the vein of Maxie and Archie, I think, but
David Hernandez:Yes.
Blackjack Gabbiani:driven than I think either them were.
David Hernandez:Well, I actually understand Maxie more. So that's just more just do Pokemon not doing their plot well, but
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, well, Maxie and Archie were based on a real debate over land development, or land reclamation, rather, that was going so it was based on that debate. But, you know, with the addition of fantastical monsters, and the ability to extend this to the entire planet, and so on. And that's actually something else I really like about Pokémon. How they can make stories that are fantastical, but will resonate on a personal level. that's why I loved Sun and Moon. Lily's story was very evocative because at the end of the day, you know, you put the aliens aside and all of that stuff. And what you have is a story about two kids fleeing from their abusive parent who herself is suffering from survivor's guilt. After the loss of her husband, and she, she doesn't know that he's right over there on Bean Island. She doesn't know that. and he doesn't know that either. He's lost his memory. He barely remembers his own name. And uh, she thinks he's somewhere in ultra space and similar to Scarlet and Violet the theme with Her is really her obsession. she's so fixated on getting him back. And then it twists in her mind to becoming fixated with the creatures that took him. And she dresses Lily up like one of them. And she styles herself like another one. And we Gladion would have looked like because he ran off, presumably, before that happened. And then when, when he does, she just denies he exists because everything has to be just the way Mon left it. She freezes what I presume are his Pokemon. I'm not, I'm not sure if they're ever identified, but just nothing can change. Shoo. Has to look young because she was young when he disappeared her children have to remain small They can't grow so she stunts Lily's development as a person and prevents her from being independent And so that's why she's almost completely unable to fend for herself. It has to depend on Kukui it's really an interesting story, and I feel like a lot of people missed out because they were like, Oh, the tutorial takes too long, this game is for babies. It's I mean, yeah, the tutorial does kind of take too long. But, what?
David Hernandez:well and the thing I feel like a lot of people miss out on the Fox you know, I see a lot of Christians for Scarlet and Violet, but I love the story behind it and You know the games that people rave about like X and Y bug the hell of me because I just don't get team flair
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh god, Flare comes off to me like Galactic's cutting room floor.
David Hernandez:They're bare
Blackjack Gabbiani:actually that that's that's something I feel like was a mixed opportunity by having BDSP be almost identical to the original. I feel like they really could have had Sycamore as one of Rowan's assistants because we know he studied with Rowan and I really wanted there to be a part where Lissandra showed up and heard about Galactic, and then that was it and we never got any further. Because it really seems like he's heard about Galactic, and then got everything about them wrong. I wanted him to show up to visit Sycamore and just be like, Oh, okay. but see, that's why I write fanfiction, so I can actually do things like that. I haven't written that specific story, but I write a whole bunch of random bullshit. Like, if I get an idea in my head, sometimes I'll just write a little thing. Like, I wrote a recent 100 word story. where Clavel finds out about all the bullying happening at Blueberry Academy. And enrolls Clive as a new student so he can investigate.
David Hernandez:Oh, my gosh.
Blackjack Gabbiani:I would, like, I even said in the notes, if someone wants to write a longer story about this, go ahead.
David Hernandez:So with a fanfic, you don't just stick to like with the plot, like how it came out, you actually sometimes go like, you know, what if kind of direction
Blackjack Gabbiani:like, even with something like that, I figure it could happen after the game ends. A lot of authors, fanfic authors, will throw canon out the window, or they'll just, they'll write about entirely new characters. and then, of course, there's also what if someone, you know, is in the society and they don't want to be a trainer? Like,
David Hernandez:had that with a may in a
Blackjack Gabbiani:yeah, but then she wanted to do contests and stuff. I guess at the beginning she didn't really like Pokemon at all. But, I'd like to see someone who wants to be, like we had Brock wanting to be a breeder or Gary wanting to be a professor.
David Hernandez:Mm
Blackjack Gabbiani:took Gary long enough to come to that, but Also, Gary witnessed a bunch of people die, and I don't think people talk about that enough, because one of his Like, after watching Jay's ship explode, he wasn't in the anime for like 10 years.
David Hernandez:I can't, I can't blame him. Hey, that's going to cause somebody to need to step a bit. so you want to see somebody who doesn't want the interaction with Pokemon?
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, like, they could have like a pet or something, but they're not in that as a career. Like, we have athletes in that world. we have, business people. We have scientists, even though most of them are dealing with Pokemon. You know, we have educators, all kinds of stuff. Like, Salvatore. Talks about he's never really been much with Pokemon, and then when that Palmy with no voice shows up, that's supposedly his first Pokemon, I think. But Like, there's all these little angles and stuff, like, cause I, have a pet parrot. my goal is to have a nice aviary. I don't know if that's ever going to happen, but. you know, it doesn't mean that I want to work with birds professionally, but I like, yes, I like having a bunch of birds. They're fun, it is like having a toddler around, you know, for 50 plus years. Because I have an African Grey, and they can live to be 50 to 60, and she is 27! She is old enough to run
David Hernandez:I have you thought about pushing it out and just say, Hey, go start a villainous team for a Pokemon game. Come back.
Blackjack Gabbiani:laughter I tell that would be something really fun. If they gave us a team where a Pokémon was actually in charge of it.
David Hernandez:That would be hilarious. That'd be fun
Blackjack Gabbiani:mean, they already had something like, Calyrex.
David Hernandez:Yeah. Well, I mean, Mewtwo is the original Mewtwo in a way was one of them,
Blackjack Gabbiani:yeah, yeah, but it didn't really have a team. It just had, like, a bunch of clones it made, and Yeah, it would be just, like, because Mystery Dungeon does it, but Mystery Dungeon is Mystery Dungeon, you know, everyone's a there, except for, Gengar, who used to be human, and then the player character also used to be human in, I think, most of the games? I don't think it's all of them, but, heh heh.
David Hernandez:I'm trying to think, I feel like there was a character who just. Didn't want I guess I can't I feel like there's a character somewhere. It's a minor character that had that but it's hard because To have a character like that would basically almost the opposite of n in a way You know, to where N grew up around Pokemon was able to develop a connection, but to have somebody who doesn't, you know, who doesn't want that connection, because I feel like what you're asking for is basically every side character. I think what you're kind of aiming towards is somebody who just doesn't want that relationship with Pokemon no matter what, which is the opposite
Blackjack Gabbiani:not necessarily. Just
David Hernandez:Because, you know, everybody in there
Blackjack Gabbiani:life it. I'm sorry,
David Hernandez:but that's, but that's most of the NPCs there though.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Maybe, but even then, most of them will have a Pokemon they battle with, and that, you know, just to have a battle ready Pokemon takes a lot of effort.
David Hernandez:Not necessarily. Because keep in mind, you know, the Pokemon games are built upon battling. That's the main center component. So you are always in the more, I guess, quote unquote, competitive side of the Pokemon
Blackjack Gabbiani:Like, that's your, uh, that's your perspective as the player character.
David Hernandez:In my opinion. Yes know, cause the goal is always to battle the gyms, which are usually the more tougher trainers. you've got people who don't ever try for that. They just stay in the town. They just do, random stuff.
Blackjack Gabbiani:hmm.
David Hernandez:If makes sense.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, I guess, I guess. Although, apparently, you can also get really tough without even trying at it, cause Arvin's always like, yeah, oh, I'm, I'm a terrible battler, you're gonna walk all over me. He kicked my ass! Hssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
David Hernandez:But you see what I'm saying? Like, I just, I'm trying to think like what that would be. And I just can't. The only one I could think of would have to be the complete opposite of an extreme that to kind of come. opinion, you know, know. I don't know. I'm trying to think on the top. You know, this is how people know. It's like, I don't really come in here planned. I just the top of my head and
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, I mean, I do feel like we're having a great discussion about character analysis, and story analysis, and the world in general. I was talking about, like, how a lot people will write about the established world, but have entirely original characters for it, and tell a story that is just entirely made up. It takes place in the world we know, but not with any of the plot elements. Like, you can have a fix set in Kanto that doesn't deal with any of the Kanto stuff and just has, like, I don't know, kids growing up in Celadon. I, I, I don't know. That's probably several fix. I'm not thinking of anything in particular.
David Hernandez:Well, I mean, that's the great part about fanfic is you can kind of write about the holes that they perceive within, you know, the world of Pokemon that Pokemon either hasn't touched or doesn't touch, you know, to their liking, you know, for example, you've touched on some of the characters who just, you want more story behind So for me, I used to try to do fanfic a couple of years it was Pokemon. And for me, it was more of the idea of what is the Pokemon's interactions on a daily basis. Because, you know, these are, you know, in a nutshell, they're animals. Animals usually have some form of conflict, especially if you read the Pokédex entries. So, I went through a stage for probably maybe two or three years to where I would write fanfics about certain Pokémon and, you know, how they related into their own world without the trainer. It's almost similar to, I think, I want to say it's probably Pokémon I think it's, not Journeys, it's Pokémon, like, Masters. It's like a brief series to where they talked about some of the more minor characters. it's just Pokémon in a way.
Blackjack Gabbiani:yeah, like, uh, Evolutions and, The other ones like that, Generations.
David Hernandez:Yeah. Well, Generations was like all the games. This one, it was like, Pokemon had like a small series to where they touched on. Very small. Basically, um, do you remember the episode for the anime where they got shipwrecked had their own episode and they just had
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,
David Hernandez:Kind of like that kind of stuff. Yeah. Kind of like that stuff, but it's just Pokemon who've lived in there. For example, one story I wrote was about the Viridian forest and it was about, you know, this hierarchy and, you know, Caterpie who refused to evolve evolution is basically a society that pride itself on evolving because that's how, you know, they protect themselves as Butterfree's and whatnot, and bee drills and all that, and then they have like their own kind of worlds, and that's kind of the part that I've always been more keen into writing when I used to write more because I feel like there's more interaction within Pokemon and developing like stories behind that way just trying to build more of the flesh out for the Pokemon side of things, if that makes sense.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Mm hmm. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I, do find it hard to write from that perspective because I rely so much on dialogue. so it's harder for me to write from a StrictlyPokemon perspective unless they're the sort that can communicated words.
David Hernandez:But that's interesting because, you know, we start from two different places. Obviously you start from the dialogue of the character. I start from the Pokedex entries and that's kind of the cool part about fanfic is everybody starts from a different origin, but it's all kind of encompasses Pokemon in a way.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Uh huh.
David Hernandez:So What are some of your more notable ones that maybe people should check
Blackjack Gabbiani:Mm. Okay, well, in addition to Obsession, which is the one about the art collector, I used his Japanese name, Gerardin, in it because when I started writing it I didn't even know he had an English name, which is Lawrence, even though I'm using English names for everyone else, so, b bear with me,
David Hernandez:No, I mean, he got, he got bad named.
Blackjack Gabbiani:yeah,
David Hernandez:listen, if I say Lawrence, do you hear a bad guy in that name? Hell no. That's why I said he got shafted. He should have gotten something more, I don't know, better. He should have gotten a better name
Blackjack Gabbiani:Girardin, Girardin is kind of, it's interesting because it's supposedly derived from René Girard, who was a French philosopher who's talked about things like the Ways that myths will affect the modern world, and that is kind of the role in the movie. He hears this story about how to summon Lugia, and he's like, awesome. And you look at the movie, he's the only one who believes it. Even the people having the festival on the island don't believe it. The chief, or whoever he is, even says that it's something they do for the tourists. And then everything turns out to be true and the only person who believed it was the villain.
David Hernandez:Ironically enough, right?
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, yeah. It's like, it's kind of like, dude. You know what the Silver Wing is, right?
David Hernandez:hmm,
Blackjack Gabbiani:It's looking, like, yes, from an out of universe perspective, that hadn't been made yet, because Shudo's intention was for Lugia to only be in the movie, was surprised when it showed up in a game, even though he really should have foreseen that. And so it's like, yeah, from an out of universe perspective, yeah, stuff like the Silver Wing didn't exist. From an in universe perspective, it very much did. And it's a hell of a lot better known than a legend no one believes in. Yeah, it's
David Hernandez:kind of goes I mean pokemon does that all the time though, right to where Everybody thinks it's like urban legends, right? I think of pacifidlog town where it's built on ancestors who are trying to find the I believe the reggies no, they're trying to find uh, either reggies or
Blackjack Gabbiani:and yeah, it's an interesting thing because then they're not even, brought up with like Zinnia, is it? She's not connected to that town? With the, yeah, with the whole draconoids and everything and we never know anything about them. Yes,
David Hernandez:Unfortunately, it was cool. I think I loved Delta episode, but story wise is very lacking.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yes,
David Hernandez:Anyway, you're talking about your fanfic?
Blackjack Gabbiani:so I started writing it in 2001. currently it's at 38 chapters. 31 of them are on archive of our own. I don't know why I haven't posted all of them. I think the only place the full thing actually is a Serebii forums. Um, Also in the first chapter his mom dies. Because the one thing I had ever heard about his backstory was that his mom died when he was young. so I had to incorporate that. So I gave her more personality. Her name is Gloria. because I had to do this angelic theme, right? Because he's got all those angel designs. Yeah. So, gosh, I used to write this on index cards when I worked at a video store. I worked at Hollywood Video, if that tells you how old I am. This story is.
David Hernandez:like the old school blockbuster basically.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh, God, yeah. I mean, with Blockbuster, there's even one left. It's down in Bend, Oregon, and you can rent out the whole thing for parties. Hollywood's completely gone. I think that was gone by, like, 2009 or something
David Hernandez:that. I remember closed
Blackjack Gabbiani:Long time ago.
David Hernandez:closed it. Yeah
Blackjack Gabbiani:but, the first few chapters I don't think are very good, but I want to finish it before I do a rewrite, and finishing it may take, you know, 20 more years. I don't know. Especially
David Hernandez:your manifesto. Yeah
Blackjack Gabbiani:gosh. but I think, get really good as it goes along. And in fact, I've made a friend over it. she's said that how it explores loss after his mother died and how he copes with it, but he has very poor coping skills, so he basically throws himself into this new world of art, it's something that she resonated with as someone whose mother died when she was young too.
David Hernandez:What keeps you motivated keep writing that because I mean some people get discouraged when something takes longer than two weeks and here You are years later still writing
Blackjack Gabbiani:Well, that one I am taking a hiatus from. Because I got Scarlet and Violet brain rot and wanted to just write about the AIs. But,
David Hernandez:I is it really brain rock because you've got some very good insight into it.
Blackjack Gabbiani:oh yeah, thank you. Um, I did just win, um, Actually two of my fics about the AIs have won prizes at Komori Con. One of them was last year and one of them was this year. It was just like a a half ago.
David Hernandez:What is Komori Kan for those who don't know?
Blackjack Gabbiani:Portland, Oregon Anime Convention. the one that won, this year is called Sight. And it's honestly, I think, the best thing I wrote last year. the summary is the AI is beginning to show an interest in the world outside Area Zero. Turo can't have that. he wakes up and finds that the AI is looking at a website about the Ten Sites of Feldea. And he's basically like, no. No, you can't. No. You're staying here with me. And the AI is like, what are your intentions for me when Paradise is complete? Turo specifically does not answer that question.
David Hernandez:he avoids
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, he does talk, but he doesn't answer that question.
David Hernandez:for somebody, say, who's still maybe learning or wants to dive into fanfic, what advice would you give to them, especially if they want to do Pokemon? Yes.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Two, read. Not just Pokémon fanfics, but read a lot. read non fiction, too. It's great. think about how things connect in the world. Think about interpersonal relationships, think about, if you're writing about a canon character, think about how they would react in different situations, and so on. something I find really interesting, and the reason that I like dialogue, and find that to be my strongest point, acting things out. I, uh, it's kind of impacted how I sleep, but acting out scenes, like have characters talk to each other or just get into a character. you know, if you're going to go to the grocery store or whatever, and you're going to deal with a bunch of people you don't know, And, you know, you could pretend to be a character, not an especially outlandish one, but like, how would Penny buy groceries, you know? What would she do when she's there looking at, I mean, she'd probably buy too sugared cereal and not have a very good diet, but, know, remind her that, Arvin is telling her she needs to eat healthier, she needs to eat a vegetable for once in her life. I don't know.
David Hernandez:say blackjack. Do you sometimes wake up and think you're Cyrus? And we got it? Okay,
Blackjack Gabbiani:school. No, no, that that was, that was before Cyrus was a thing, but that, those were those days.
David Hernandez:Yeah, of course So on that note I used to do an exercise where I would change my name Whenever I introduce somebody or whenever I was introduced to somebody, I never would meet again. I would think of a random name and just try to make a character out of it. So definitely if you want to get better, do a blackjack recommends, because it's very good way to kind of dive into the character's psyche, which is so important. Cause that's what, connects us with them, but it also gives you an idea to like, what choices would they make?
Blackjack Gabbiani:Mm-hmm also introducing yourself with a different name each time. Just reminds me of the TV show. Psych
David Hernandez:Oh, yes. I love Psyche. I've heard it both ways. No, John.
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh gosh.
David Hernandez:Well, Blackjack, thank you for coming on the show. Before we close this interview. I want to ask one last Pokemon question. What's If somebody was going to come challenge you, six on six, Pokemon battle, what six Pokemon are you bringing?
Blackjack Gabbiani:Oh gosh. Uh, Well probably. like if we're just going me, what I would have in real life, a chatot and each color of squawkabilly and gosh, for another one, uh, I mean, I need, I need, uh, I need one more here. Um, I don't know. my favorite Pokemon is Landshaman, but I, you know, the chances of me running into one even for a Legendary slash Mythical, cause let's face it, the difference is pretty random and probably wouldn't exist in universe. even for fairly common one that, you know, people know where they gather and everything, the, the odds of me running into one and actually having one are slim to none. And so I
David Hernandez:I mean, anything happens in the Pokemon world, maybe one day you just open a book about Landshaming and all of a sudden it just pops out like, hey, this didn't happen before. It could definitely happen in your world. You never know.
Blackjack Gabbiani:find a, a dry grissidia flower you can use as a bookmark and I take it
David Hernandez:go.
Blackjack Gabbiani:just pops up out of the ground.
David Hernandez:Or a bookmark that's made out of the Gresidia
Blackjack Gabbiani:Yeah, that's what I'm saying. A dried flower as a bookmark.
David Hernandez:Awesome Why is a land shaming your favorite? Just out of
Blackjack Gabbiani:Because it's freaking adorable.
David Hernandez:Oh, what about Skyform? You don't
Blackjack Gabbiani:I don't, Skyfarm is trying too hard to be cool. Ha
David Hernandez:There you go. It's trying to be an EV
Blackjack Gabbiani:ha ha ha ha. Uh.
David Hernandez:But Blackjack, thank you for coming on the podcast before you go. If people want to check out your fan fiction, if they want to connect with you, where can they go? By all means, please plug
Blackjack Gabbiani:I'm basically, I'm Blackjack Gabbiani basically everywhere. Um, I'm on Archive of Our Own by that name. I'm on Blue Sky by that name. basically the only place I'm not is YouTube, where I'm BJG Videos. And you can check out some of my voice acting there. I have a playlist called Stuff I'm In, Hear My Voice. And then you can check out my, uh, I wouldn't recommend my, Sword and Shield playthrough because that was before I could record directly. So I was recording it with my phone camera. But if you want to see a complete jank playthrough that ended halfway through, Like, I did legitimately cancel that because it was not fun for me to play in that manner. It was more fun for me to play on my own. but I also have my Legends playthrough which was live streamed. I don't want to livestream anymore. I do like having pre recorded gameplay videos. I did, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, And in these games, when I play them, I tend to do, like, a lot of voices.
