As The Pokeball Turns

TRAINER'S EYE #145 - "Vulpix Fire Spin Captures Nostaliga in Pixel Art" ft. Retro Pokesprites

• David Hernandez • Season 1 • Episode 149

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Retro Pokesprites takes us on a journey through his deep-rooted Pokemon passion, starting with the iconic Pokemon Gold and Silver games. He reveals how his career as a veterinary technician and wildlife biologist fuels his creative spark and strengthens his connection with Pokemon. Learn how Retro Pokesprites brings nostalgia to life, reimagining classic Pokemon in Game Boy Color-style sprites. From his early love for pixel art in Pokemon GSC to his growing online store filled with unique products, this episode dives into how his art combines the worlds of Pokemon, nature, and retro design.

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Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay

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Your next Pokemon adventure begins here!

RetroPokesprites:

I am Adam Retro pokey Sprites, and this is my Pokemon story.

David Hernandez:

Welcome to, as the Pokemon Ball Turns, where we interview people about the experience with Pokemon. My name is David Hernandez I'm joined by Retro Pokey Sprites, a pixel artist redesigning newer Pokemon on retro game boy color style sprites. When he isn't creating pixels, you can find him either as a vet or a wildlife biologist. welcome to ask the Pokemon Turns.

RetroPokesprites:

Hi. Thanks for having me.

David Hernandez:

Absolutely. And you know, you have a very unique skillset on one set. You sound like you're very into the science animal side of things. On the other side, you're also into the artist. Talk to us a little bit about your experience as a biologist and a vet. Like how did you get into that and how does that relate to Pokemon?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. you know, I think that my interest in Pokemon and wildlife biology and animals more broadly kind of, coincide. So I've always liked animals. I've always liked learning about new animals, new, wildlife, things like that. and so as I was growing up and I was introduced to Pokemon and I could relate what I saw in the real, real world to what I could catch and train in the game, I, I really like those connections. and I've just kind of grown from there.

David Hernandez:

So when you were growing up, what kind of animals were you interested? Like were you insects, reptiles, like dogs.

RetroPokesprites:

whew. That's a tough one. I don't know. pretty much anything i, I could learn about. I was, focused on dinosaurs, I think is a, a common one for a lot of people, and that was definitely an era of my childhood that, contributed to my interest in Pokemon, I think.

David Hernandez:

You're primarily a vet, I think by career, but you, I guess you dabble in while, life biologist. Is that kind of how it

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, my, my degree is in wildlife biology. right now I'm a veterinary technician. I didn't mean to fall into it, but it's, it's kind of what happened. during Covid there were some job changes and, so I've done a bit of both, but yeah, right now I'm a vet tech.

David Hernandez:

for those who aren't familiar, what does it mean to be a wildlife biologist? Like what does that kind of encompass?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, it depends on the, degree that you have. But right now I have a, a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology. So, a lot of what I did in undergrad and probably could do with this degree is do like field work and field research for, PIs and people with upper level degrees. But unfortunately those jobs are mostly seasonal and, they're not a lot of benefits in security. So this is a, a more safe spot right now?

David Hernandez:

Hey, we all gotta go where the money's at

RetroPokesprites:

Yep. Yep. Yep.

David Hernandez:

I guess going, returning it back to Pokemon, so clearly you were in a Pokemon when you were younger. What was the first experience for you with the franchise?

RetroPokesprites:

so I think what in like, it was either 2005 or 2006. my. Grandpa gave me a copy of, Pokemon Silver and, you know, it's not like he was playing it. He worked for Parks and Rec and he found it at one of the race tracks he was cleaning. he, he just found someone's abandoned copy and a, game boy, game Boy advanced, like glacier cartridge, whatever that that is.

David Hernandez:

Was it like that clear one? Like that transparent where you can see the insides

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Kind of purpley. yep, yep. And it didn't have a, a battery back, so sometimes the batteries would fall out and yeah. So that was my first, first experience.

David Hernandez:

Oh, that must have been annoying.'cause I always imagine, know, those back, if you didn't have the back of the game, boy it was easy for the batteries to come out.

RetroPokesprites:

Yep.

David Hernandez:

that you probably had a little bit of a struggle with that.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yeah. I ended up putting some tape over it to, to make sure it didn't fall out, but then it became a pain to change'em out and all that stuff. So.

David Hernandez:

so when you were playing Pokemon Silver and you know, your grandpa gave it to you, what do you remember most about those games? Like were you, going through Jodo and then Canto and like what started, did you choose

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, so

David Hernandez:

so.

RetroPokesprites:

I, I can't, I remember, so I have a very specific story, but I can't remember if the file had already been started, Or what the deal was.'cause I can't imagine that without a handbook anyone would really know how to delete a save file. So I, I think it was already started, but it was in New Bark Town, whatever file had been started, had a chickita. and so that was my first starter. Don't remember if I chose it for sure. but that was my first ever Pokemon, so.

David Hernandez:

It reminds me of when I got one of my cartridges. I wanna say it was like maybe either gold or silver. No, it had to be silver'cause it was a used one

RetroPokesprites:

Hmm.

David Hernandez:

and I, I opened it up just to see what was inside of it. And I remember I got literally an aero blasts, celibate aero blasts, lugia, and an aero blasts mu two. And now clearly they were hacked, but

RetroPokesprites:

Right.

David Hernandez:

young year old eight or 9-year-old self was like, oh my gosh, they can learn aero blasts. This, this is amazing.

RetroPokesprites:

Not quite. Not quite.

David Hernandez:

No, no, no, no. But it was just kind of cool just to kind of, I feel like whenever you get something that you didn't open, it's almost like opening a. Memory box, I guess in a sense to where you find out like how did they get to this point in the game? I think there's some fun into getting a used game and just seeing where they progressed and how they got to that point, don't you think?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yeah. I actually, at, some point I had bought a Japanese copy of White, I think, and it had a, a file that was almost completed. They'd done all the gyms and got into the Elite four. I couldn't read anything, but I, I managed to translate enough to, beat the game. And so I, I've now, you know, moved those Pokemon up into newer games and just like use them. And I, I wanna know what their story is, but I'll never know.

David Hernandez:

Ooh. Tell me though, like how did you get into that Japanese side?'cause I think you have to get a specific, me if I'm wrong, I think you have to give specific region Ds to play

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yeah. And a few years ago, I had bought a Ds, I think an Etsy, a refurbished one, and thankfully it was compatible, so I can play it that way. but even then, it sometimes has problems like loading and, it is, it is a real copy. So. Yeah, I don't know. I'm grateful that I was able to play it'cause I didn't read the description, which said that the, you know, the game is region locked and you can only play it on certain dss, but thankfully it worked out.

David Hernandez:

Now, of course, you know, you played through gen two. What do you, was it just your interest in animals that you think kept you engaged with the franchise that let you go on? Did you keep going on with the games at that point?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. so I was in this like summer program kind of daycare type thing, in elementary school. And so I. the kids that I hang hung out with while I was there were all playing Pokemon, but in 2006, seven they were already playing Gens three and four. So I would watch them play and kind of like, not envy'cause I really liked Silver, but like look forward and you know, I would ask for games for, holidays and birthdays going forward. And yeah, I just kind of kept with it.

David Hernandez:

Do you have a particular favorite region that you enjoyed playing so far? Yeah,

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, I think I, it's, it's kind of just that, you know, gens two and three were my beginnings and I, I feel like I had the most, significant experiences during those times, which is kind of how I came to, you know, do these, these sprites in the way that I do and all that. So I think those are probably my, my favorite regions to revisit'cause they have the most nostalgia.

David Hernandez:

I feel the same way because, and I was falling through Pokemon for years. And there was the one point to where gen three was going to gen four. And the Nintendo DS I had happened just to break, I was cut off from playing Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and I went back to playing Gen three, Pokemon, Ruby, Safron, and Emerald. I played those games probably more than any other generation. I think I played those for like six years or five years. I don't know how long the time period would

RetroPokesprites:

Right.

David Hernandez:

it's because I spend so much time with them, I have so much more memories with them compared to other generations.

RetroPokesprites:

Yep. And everything was new. There wasn't, you know, there weren't leaks that I was attuned to and, I didn't use the internet. And so anytime that I found something new, it was fresh. And I can't really replicate that feeling now, which is fine. I've come to accept that. But that it makes it more kind of magical in a way to, to revisit those.

David Hernandez:

And then plus you had like, with Gen three specifically, you had Team Magma, team Aqua, then you have Gru. On Kegar. You felt like you were literally for the first time, saving the world. You

RetroPokesprites:

Right, right.

David Hernandez:

were more just trying to save a little small region. This one you felt like, oh my gosh, the world's about to end.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Much larger scope.

David Hernandez:

Do you have a particular favorite Pokemon at all?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. I tend to say my favorite Pokemon is Volpi. that one's been a consistent. Throughout. and I think the, the reason being is like, actually before I got an, had any games, when I was really young, someone had given me a volpex, card from like the D Neo Destiny set. the illustration is it's sleeping under a tree and I, I still have that card and. just think of it fondly. I, I dunno. Volpi has, has been a, a consistent one, but I, I have some, like honorable mentions, Ryon, flagon, Sile, Torra. I tend to really like grass types. so I'll, I, I like a lot of them. so

David Hernandez:

I'm looking at it right now. This picture of a volpi from Neil Destiny is very soothing'cause it's just like, it's wrapped up like a little dog

RetroPokesprites:

right.

David Hernandez:

or curled up like a little dog and you have it under a tree and it's just sitting there. It's a little 50 point 50 hit points with the ember.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yep. That's it.

David Hernandez:

it. so, you know, you said Volpi is your favorite Pokemon. What do you think about a Lowen volpi? Do you have little similar connection or do you still prefer the original?

RetroPokesprites:

it's hard to say whether I prefer one or the other. I think the release of Sun and Moon and AOL Limb Vol kind of came at, an interesting time for me. So I was in college at the time studying wildlife biology, learning about evolution, and, like how evolution really works, which is not how it works in Pokemon, you know, it's more like a, a metamorphosis. but this, the, the regional variants were Kind of a course correction into making something similar to, to real life evolution where you have two similar species, I guess technically they're the same species and game, but that, have evolved in separate locations and have different traits. And so for volpex to be one of the flagship, Pokemon, that got that treatment, that was just super, super thrilled and for it to be like fire to ice type, I think that's just really cool.

David Hernandez:

It is, and I think that, I'm glad Pokemon has added regional variants in a way, because like you said, you shouldn't expect one region to have the same type of Pokemon in a specific same, in another one. And, you know, you had Volpi, you had Grr, I think you had Executor and a couple other Pokemon just debuted in those generations. And it also kind of gave a reason for Pokemon to Reccon classic Pokemon without actually calling Reccon, if

RetroPokesprites:

Right, right. Give them, give them a new, a new spotlight, a new fresh coat of paint and. Send'em off.

David Hernandez:

If you were to have like a different variant of volpi, do you have like an idea of what you would wanna see?

RetroPokesprites:

Ooh. I surprisingly have never thought of that. I, it'd be

David Hernandez:

neither.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, no, that's a really great question. I know that like gray foxes, are very, like arboreal. They, they climb trees. So I think it'd be cool to have like a, I don't know, maybe like a longer skinnier pic that. It's maybe a grass type.'cause I love grass types and it's like up the trays and stuff, but they, they do a lot of foxes and so yeah, we'll see. We'll see if it ever happens.

David Hernandez:

it would be like a gray, or would it be like a brown or like what color are we thinking?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. I mean the real fox is kind of a gray to rusty, like the outer edges of the fur more rusty. So, I don't know. Probably more gray if you wanna diversify it a bit.

David Hernandez:

You know, they could even make it like a grass dark type. Just that way it counteracts against the, ice ferry of volpi

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah.

David Hernandez:

I think that'd be kind of cool.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, that'd be great.

David Hernandez:

to it. Yeah, game for, you're listening to it, A thank you and B, like, get on it.

RetroPokesprites:

Maybe one day.

David Hernandez:

so you know, we come back through Pokemon was there any point where you just stopped or you just kept playing the games over and up until present day?

RetroPokesprites:

I've been pretty consistent throughout, but there was definitely a point, at, you know, at the end of elementary school into middle school where it became less cool to, to play Pokemon. So I. You know, kind of isolated myself a little bit and didn't get as much into Gen Five though, you know, retroactively. I love those games. They're great. The Sprite animations, the Sprite designs are like peak. like I'm, I'm glad that I didn't drop off completely and I managed to find my way back'cause it's such a, an important part of my life now.

David Hernandez:

There was just that weird period where it wasn't, I guess, acceptable to be a Pokemon fan.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah,

David Hernandez:

You have the older generation who really frowned upon still sticking to things that when you were as a kid, you had the other societal aspect to where. You know, you're a nerd, which I don't know, I just felt like it's more, it was more, it's more acceptably be a nerd now than it was back in those days.

RetroPokesprites:

sure.

David Hernandez:

you kind of had like different directions of where you shouldn't be a Pokemon fan, if that makes sense. Right.

RetroPokesprites:

right. Or it was like a kid's game. You know, all my, my friends are playing Call of Duty or you know, first person shooters, and I was like, not as into that. And I just wanted to, to catch my monsters and, you know, catch'em all. So,

David Hernandez:

Yeah, I, I'm sure I annoyed my friend the most because he was always into the first career. Now he never made fun of me though,

RetroPokesprites:

yeah.

David Hernandez:

was into those first person shooters.'cause that's just what everybody was around those my age. But I was like, I just played Pokemon. Every time he came to my house, he obliged with me and we played Pokemon together. But I know that deep down, he was the first person shooter kind of guy. So.

RetroPokesprites:

well, at least he played with you. That's, that's a, a good friend.

David Hernandez:

Oh, absolutely. He was a very good friend. I had very fond memories of him. Both him and my other one. We just played Pokemon, but I know that, you know, I was very obsessed with the Pokemon franchise. Still am to this day, considering I have a podcast.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

David Hernandez:

now the one thing that I want to touch on is your Sprite, art, specifically, you know, you talked about how gen two and gen three is where you focus your art on. Is that kind of fair to say? Yeah.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yep.

David Hernandez:

What made you kind of wanna dive into doing pixel art?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. so August, 2020 is when I, when it started, that's kind of the covid stuff. I was looking for new things to do. I'd played through Sword and Shield enough and needed some fresh, fresh perspective, I think. And so I had done, a play through of the virtual console, gen two games and I had forgotten just how great the sprites were. and, but also how simple they were. You know, I never realized that they were just, you know, two unique colors plus black and white, so four colors total. And I just thought that that was like this amazing. Graphical thing. And so I, I looked up a, a video on YouTube by substitute, which I know that like other pixel artists with the same style of us have also watched. And I just kind of learned how to, put the pixels together and, never really stopped. So,

David Hernandez:

So when you were going into this, you had no artistic experience whatsoever. You just happened to just want to dive into it and just try to relive that kind of era of Pokemon.

RetroPokesprites:

no, no digital art experience, you know, I'd done odds and ends. Just growing up and, and through college and stuff, but never anything, digitally.

David Hernandez:

No. When you were trying to practice trying to get, you know, develop your pixel art, did you ever feel like maybe this wasn't a right fit for you?'cause it's kind of an odd or not even odd jump, I would say a far reach for you to be more science-based to all of a sudden want to do pixel art.

RetroPokesprites:

yeah, I don't think there was a point where I thought that it, it wasn't something I wanted to keep doing. I think the, the more I practiced, the like. More, I would realize that older sprites just like needed a nice touchup. You know, like my first, my, the first Sprite I ever made was tco. I was trying to, you know, stay numerical and so the, the next step would be to go to Hoen and tco. The first Sprite I ever made, looking back on it is just laughable. is so bad. But, but I look at it fondly because I'm like, wow, I can't believe you know, what this is and where I am now. and so I think. you know, there would be points in time where I'd make a Sprite and I would realize something that would make it look a lot better, and then I would look at old sprites and think that they need work. but every time that I, I did something good, I was encouraged by it and just kept going and going and touching up old ones. And, now I feel like I'm at a good spot, or I'm not doing as much of that. So it, it's more consistent now.

David Hernandez:

Well, I mean, even just looking at what you post on Instagram and I see the hard work that you put into it.'cause it's so detailed and we're not just talking. The older Pokemon, we'll get into a little bit later. We're talking, you're doing Sprites for even the newer Pokemon. You think of like the Megas, you think of Pokemon that never got that Sprite treatment after black and white

RetroPokesprites:

Right.

David Hernandez:

doing and they come out amazing.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, I'm, I'm excited now. So I'm working through Gen five, And obviously that's the last, Sprite generation, and so I. You know, moving into six and beyond in the, in the next year or two. I'm very curious to see how a lot of those turn out because I've, I've done a handful, for like commissions and things, but, yeah, I haven't done many consistently. And I think that, you know, with the, introduction of 3D models, there's, there's a huge bump in like, complexity of sprites, or, and, and just Pokemon designs in general. So I'm curious to see how that translates to such a limited, like graphical Sprite.

David Hernandez:

I do wanna highlight one that you've done. It's the manga, AMRO, and obviously that didn't have an original Sprite, so clearly you had to do something that's, I guess, original in a sense.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah.

David Hernandez:

was the hardest part about doing Mega Amro specifically? Because it didn't have the original, I guess, Sprite from the previous generations.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, so I, I broke a couple of rules, so like that one. it, it's not limited by the, the 56 by 56 Sprites that are found in the gold, silver, and crystal games. and then I also have, I think, three colors. I added red so I could give it like the red, head orb. But, Yeah, just the level of detail. kind of like I said earlier, when, when they made the jump to 3D models, especially with mega evolution, they just poured like a ton of extra detail that they couldn't accommodate with Sprites, into their models. And so trying to, capture all of that with such a limited color palette was a difficult task. But I, I think that one definitely came out Well. I like that one a lot.

David Hernandez:

It did, it came out amazing. That's when I saw that one. I was impressed. And I've also seen a lot of the ones you've done on Gen five. I think that's where I first, discovered your Instagram page.'cause I saw, I'm a huge fan of Gen five. That's probably my second favorite generation. If not my first, like depends on, depends on, what day I'm feeling. I always jump between that and gen three, but

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah.

David Hernandez:

just love that art because I feel like you capture the idea of. I feel like your artistic style, and you might, you can put input on this, fits more with gold, silver, and crystals sprites. And I feel like you catch those perfectly when you just look at your work. Yeah.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. I haven't, dug too deep into any other. Sprite style, which is, you know, maybe to my detriment because it's such a niche, niche, style type, like I feel like the audience I'm reaching most of the time they, they can't, understand like the graphics of the gold silver crystal, which is totally fine. but yeah, that's kind of what I try to emulate most often is just that, game boy color, style.

David Hernandez:

I mean, why would you say that as a detriment? You don't think that would be like a strength because now you just focus on like one generation instead of having to pick and choose

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah.

David Hernandez:

one, two, and three? Well,

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. I, I, I guess, I mean, a detriment more to, or more of like a, an obstacle for, for like younger Pokemon players to relate to, because, you know, they probably see it and they don't understand, the meaning behind it, the, the limitations of it, which again, is totally fine. Like, I support whatever you grew up with, you know? a Pokemon fan is a, is a Pokemon fan to me. but I think. compared to 3D models or even the, the sprites of the kind of middle generations, they're a lot less graphically complex and maybe don't appear as complicated as they actually are to make

David Hernandez:

I can understand that because I remember during Pokemon Goes early days, there was one event where Niantic did a. Nod to Pokemon fans to where they released the Gen three sprites in the inventory and all the

RetroPokesprites:

mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

and there was just so much, I guess I'll say outrage from being in real life that people didn't understand it. They were like, I don't know what these Pokemon are now and I don't like this and I don't,

RetroPokesprites:

I know.

David Hernandez:

I appreciate it'cause I'm a Pokemon fan, that's gen three. That's my favorite generation. But I can kind of see how you can get that kind of pushback to where people can't make that connection compared to what we're used to.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, I think that is crazy. I feel like, you know, other, long lived franchises that have made the jump from. pixel art to, to 3D models. It, it doesn't quite hit the same. you know, there's so many Pokemon, so many characters that have made that transition and, you know, some of them better than others, I think. but yeah, I, I could totally see newer Pokemon players not, not quite understanding what the point of the sprites is or like why, why they exist. But yeah, I, I love talking to people who have had that experience and, appreciate them in the same way.

David Hernandez:

Now outta curiosity, how long does, on average, how long does it take you just to make one Pokemon to the Sprite that you're doing?

RetroPokesprites:

probably a couple hours on average.'cause some of the more simple ones I can do pretty quickly depending on how distracted I get with other things. but then like some of the more complex ones that fill up the whole, 56 by 56 pixels can take, more time. But it also just, yeah, really depends on my motivation for the day and, how I can limit the distractions I have. So.

David Hernandez:

That's always a struggle. That's how I feel about podcasting. Some days I'm like, my dog, like we need to go touch grass. And I'm like, I need to record an episode and edit. And I'm like, we gotta go touch grass. I'm like, God dammit. So I got two dogs. So they always keep me, they keep me from being a hermit, so.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yep.

David Hernandez:

so you started your Instagram page in February of 2021, and eventually you opened up your own site called retro pro sprites.com, where people can kind of buy stickers, they can buy ornaments and vinyl featuring the different types of Pokemon, such as Erdos and Cynical and of course in many other Pokemon. what led you to wanna open your store and what do you kind of hope it becomes?

RetroPokesprites:

so. My, partner has a ton of stickers that she, she's just accumulated over the years and I was like, how can I, I guess sell my product. I mean, I, I've, I've started to reach a few thousand people by, late 2021, early 2022, and like, can I sell this? Is there any way to like, make any money on this? and honestly, because it's such a niche thing. There aren't a lot of products that I feel. Would sell well. and so I was like, I, I could make stickers. and so I, you know, I got all the stuff to make the stickers myself. you know, went through a whole lot of trial and error with that and just kind of decided that that was a, something that I could reasonably do while keeping my full-time job.'cause it, you know, it's not my intent to have this be a full-time thing. Just a, just a hobby.

David Hernandez:

project. Really.

RetroPokesprites:

exactly, exactly. Something, something to make, you know, some value of it, outside of just, discussion, online. So.

David Hernandez:

Is there anything that you want to kind of eventually add that you don't have when it comes to the store? Like you, like I said, you got the vinyl stickers and the ornaments. Is there anything like you hope to maybe see in the future that you would like to do with your, your pixel art?

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, I had, I, I don't remember if it's up still, but I had a, I. A map of Hoen that was, yeah, with, with, gold and silver tile set. which I'm, I'm really happy with how that turned out. and I, I think it, it didn't sell super well, but I think that's also because of the, like, niche value of it. Like people who didn't play those early games may not appreciate the, the value of like, what it is that it was changed into. But that's totally fine again. but one thing that I have been kind of. Toying with is doing, those like ruins of elf puzzles. I've been posting a few recently. I've gotten into like lino cutting and print making. So I've been considering trying to make like actual tiles or coaster type things that have those prints on them that I like, you know, press with ink. but I'm still in like the trial phases of that. But that's something that I'm thinking of incorporating into, the, the website later.

David Hernandez:

I mean, it's kind of cool because I saw that, page you have of the, Ho in, you have an entire map made of like, not just the oval world, but also the, underwater, I think you had the inside of the cave, you had the like actual mountain of going to Mount chimney.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah.

David Hernandez:

so is that kind of like a vinyl to where people can purchase and it's like a painting they can put in frame or like what is that? If you don't mind

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, yeah, it's a, it's a poster. I can't remember the dimensions of it, but yeah, I, it prints a, a poster and it's, it's relatively large. so it's not like, you know, one of those eight and a half by 11, prints.'cause I, I want people to be able to see the detail in them.

David Hernandez:

My last question, just in regards to just your store. You've mentioned how you want your pixel art to kind of evoke the feelings of comfort. That's what it means to you. What is it about pixel art specifically that evokes that kind of emotion to you? I.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, I think. Just, it's, it's a lot of my childhood and a lot of like, experiences that I shared with my younger friends and like experiences that I had with myself. it's just extremely nostalgic to me. And I, I think the simplicity of the graphics themselves is also what draws me. Like, I, I just can't believe how amazed I was with the games at the time, in, in, you know, any of those early generations. I was just like enthralled With all of those and seeing monsters for the first time, and, only recognizing as an adult that it's just a collection of, colored squares that are together. it was just an amazing, realization for me. So I like to try to recreate that.

David Hernandez:

And then especially just how you said, I think you said it's just two colors and then you got the black and white and you can literally make it in paint if you actually know what the

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, that's, that's what I do. And I, I know there are like better pixel art programs out there, but I, I just haven't taken the time to, to get to them. So yeah. I've got my MS paint open all the time.

David Hernandez:

Really, so you do everything in Microsoft Paint.

RetroPokesprites:

yeah. Yep. All of my, my spreading I do in paint,

David Hernandez:

That is amazing to hear because I've, I know some of the bright like, software out

RetroPokesprites:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

that you're doing it in paint just shows how much dedication you have as both an artist as well as just an retro appreciation of Pokemon I, I applaud you for that. Dedication is great.

RetroPokesprites:

thanks. It, it took a lot of learning, but we're here.

David Hernandez:

Now, obviously, you know Pokemon, as it's progressed, it transitioned away from the pixel art into the 3D models that we have

RetroPokesprites:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

what do you think about the transition? Do you enjoy, do you kind of miss the pixels at times? I.

RetroPokesprites:

I definitely miss the pixels. I'm not opposed to the models. I think that, in gen six when the, the model system kind of was first incorporated, there again were some, that fared better than others in their transition. generally though, I felt like they were all pretty washed out. I really. Like the, the vibrant colors of the earlier generations. I feel like they just pop a lot more, but they've made some improvements. You know, they've given tylo in his flames while he is battling instead of that whatever it used to.

David Hernandez:

completely

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah. Yeah. That the sad Sprite that he was, yeah. And then like I, I've always thought, I guess that the, new Pokemon that are introduced originally as 3D models have looked really, really good. because they were designed to be that way, you know, so. they always look really good. It was just some rough starts with some of the earlier Pokemon that started at Sprites.

David Hernandez:

That's what I've kind of noticed as well because I'm a huge fan of the, of the Sprites.

RetroPokesprites:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

lo I've come to appreciate it more and more as I've done mainly this podcast, but even now it's just playing Pokemon Scarlet Light. Not that I have a problem with the 3D models, but I've always felt. I guess specifically with the older Pokemon, that they've kind of lost the personality that came

RetroPokesprites:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

to the pixel art. And part of that probably just needs to be adjustment because you know, this is getting freaks, full initiative, trying to do 3D models, but also it's just the reality of what happens when you switch from one, I guess, style to

RetroPokesprites:

Right, right.

David Hernandez:

that makes

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, for sure. And I think

David Hernandez:

Yeah.

RetroPokesprites:

it was weird, you know, in, in gen six when they had all the models, I, I really didn't like all of the, the ones that had to be flying. You know, I feel like they really ran out of ideas with how a Pokemon can fly. because they had those sky battles that were, Kind of implemented weird. so there are a lot of those sprites where I'm like, I, I don't like them. In fact, I like, like some of the Pokemon that I liked that flew, once I saw the models, I, like, I, I didn't interact with'em as much because I just didn't wanna have to look at them too much.

David Hernandez:

it

RetroPokesprites:

but,

David Hernandez:

you.

RetroPokesprites:

but, you know, we're coming around. I can appreciate them for what they are and as long as I see improvements, like yeah, I'm, I'm for any of'em, yeah.

David Hernandez:

Outta curiosity, what Pokemon gave you. I gotta know like what Pokemon kind of gave you that feeling

RetroPokesprites:

So there are two?

David Hernandez:

Just the sky

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, yeah. two that come to mind. that I just think are not good ue, because I don't like the way that it just kind of floats there. I don't know.

David Hernandez:

Yeah.

RetroPokesprites:

just something weird about it. And then ztu, I, it just needs to be standing. I don't need it to be flying. It's, it's a totem pole. It's supposed to be holding still. I don't know. Those two, are the ones that come to mind.

David Hernandez:

see, I see the same problem with Pokemon Go. I feel like Swell just has its wi wings open. It's

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah,

David Hernandez:

you know, like those giant fans where people are just like gliding inside a little like wind tunnel. I guess

RetroPokesprites:

Yep.

David Hernandez:

what it always reminds me whenever I see it.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, it, it's, it's rough for swallow, but I hope, hope it gets an upgrade soon.

David Hernandez:

Well, retro poker Sprites, thank you for coming on as the poker ball turns. I wanna finish this interview with this last question. if somebody's gonna challenge you to a Pokemon battle, a six on six, what six Pokemon would you bring?

RetroPokesprites:

Oh, geez. I mean, I guess I'll have to go through some of my favorites. So I, I had mentioned Ryon, flagon, Torra probably, I had, I had a, a team that I used not too long ago that I really liked. I have come to really like riper, which is odd. I know a lot of people don't like it. But, that won't be on it. What's that for? Probably in a lowland nine tales, just for some fairy ice diversity. Oh God, it's tough. I don't know what I would choose for my sixth. Hmm. We'll just go with Sile'cause that was one of my other favorites.

David Hernandez:

Before you go, if people want to check out your content, if they want to even just buy something from your website, where can they go? By all means, please plug away.

RetroPokesprites:

Yeah, so my Instagram app account is, retro pokey sprites. and then my website is ww dot retro pokey sprites.com. there's a shop there, there's more information about me and kind of how I got started.

People on this episode

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David Hernandez

Host
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Dux

Co-host
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Layla

Co-host