As The Pokeball Turns

TRAINER'S EYE #166 - "Deoxys Sprites Fueled By Cosmic Power" ft. SageDeoxys

• David Hernandez • Season 1 • Episode 161

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What if your first Pokémon game wasn’t from the '90s…but your art still lived there?

For SageDeoxys, a sprite animator inspired by Johto-era pixel art, limitations weren’t barriers, they were invitations. In this episode, we explore how one fan turned a childhood love of the anime and Pokémon cards into a creative journey that bridges generations. From discovering the Gen II aesthetic through ROM hacks to crafting a sprite-based dream Pokédex, SageDeoxys shares how nostalgia, friendship, and a passion for underdog types like Bug Pokémon continue to fuel his artistry. And when your favorite Pokémon are Deoxys, Nihilego, and Shuckle, you know there’s a deeper story behind every choice.

Whether you're a longtime fan of pixel art, or just looking for a story that reminds you why you fell in love with Pokémon, this one is for you. Listen now and step into a world where old pixels spark new adventures.

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Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay 

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Your next Pokemon adventure begins here!

SageDeoxys:

My name's SageDeoxys and this is my Pokemon story.

David Hernandez:

Welcome to As the Pokemon Ball Turns, where every voice, every journey, and every memory brings us closer to the world of Pokemon. I'm David Hernandez and I'm joined by an artist who breathes new life into old pixels. a Sprite animator reviving jo tos charm, one frame at a time. SageDeoxys. Welcome to as the Pokeball Turns.

SageDeoxys:

It's a pleasure to be here.

David Hernandez:

And the pleasure's also all mine. I told you beforehand, you know, I'm a huge fan of just the art. I think you're very underrated'cause you're just very meticulous about bringing the gold silver crystal say feeling out of the art. you're doing Pokemon more recent than the was Johto's Gold Silver Crystals. You're putting your own spin on it. And I wanna start with this question. You know, you spent years animating Pokemon in a style older than some fans at this point. What keeps you going back to those pixel arts of the gold, silver, and crystal age?

SageDeoxys:

Uh, I can't say I have any particular fondness for plain gen two. I'm not that old, unfortunately. Uh, but I just really like the aesthetic, the, the limitations in the colors and the size, which is way smaller than any other generation besides gen one. Of course. I don't know. It just really speaks to me. I really like the limitations. Gets my creativity flowing.

David Hernandez:

I always agree that, you know, whenever it comes to something creative, I think more limitations is better because it forces you to, I say, think outside the box and maybe come up with unconventional means that normally doesn't exist, and maybe that's what kind of draws you to it.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's part of it.

David Hernandez:

Now, did you start with Goldstone and Crystal when it came to Pokemon, or what is your experience with Pokemon Start?

SageDeoxys:

No, I actually started, off with generation four styled Overworld Sprites. I don't know what, really drew me to doing it, but, uh, I guess that was my first time doing pixel art and I just thought, Pokemon, these small little sprites seem simple enough. So I got started with that over the years I kind of shifted styles and went to, into gen two and been stuck there ever since.

David Hernandez:

How did you discover the Gen two Pixel art? Uh, because, you know, you didn't start with the Gen two games it sounds like. How did you discover those Sprites at some point?

SageDeoxys:

well I was on this, rom hack Discord server for, uh, Pokemon Blazing Emerald,

David Hernandez:

Mm-hmm.

SageDeoxys:

and I saw another artist there and they were doing generation two style battles bites and, I thought those were really cool. So I was like, why not try give it a hand myself and it a few times. I really dig the style and eventually that's just, that just became half of my personality.

David Hernandez:

I mean, Gen four Sprites, they have more detail, and Gen two has more restrictions, I guess. What creative freedom did you kinda discover by going backwards that you wouldn't have discovered from Gen four?

SageDeoxys:

well the colors are generally a lot brighter, more saturated in, gen two, and I really like the, I dunno how to describe it, I guess. Uh, guess obviously the limitation of having to work with only two colors, plus black and white. It just, I don't know. I really enjoyed, having that little limitation. made me feel a little, a little more creative when it got to, uh, coloring stuff.

David Hernandez:

So you said you started with Gen four games, is that correct? When it comes to Pokemon?

SageDeoxys:

Uh, technically my first game was sun and moon.

David Hernandez:

Ooh, really?

SageDeoxys:

yes, I did not have the money to purchase a console at any point before that, but I, I was a big fan of Pokemon for years prior to that,

David Hernandez:

Okay.

SageDeoxys:

get into the actual games. My first proper game was technically, this fan game called Pokemon Tower Defense. I think that was part of the reason I started doing, uh, overworld. Sprites.'cause that's what the main type of Sprite they used in that game.

David Hernandez:

So were you, you were just mostly into ROM hacks beforehand. Were you also into anime? The cards? Like what did that Pokemon scene look like for you?

SageDeoxys:

I started off with the anime,

David Hernandez:

Okay.

SageDeoxys:

and then started buying some the Pokemon cards, you know, little booster packs at the store. for the most part, just looking at the tv, hoping I'd get a, a DS for Christmas and never happening. And then one day I just decided, you know what? I got enough money, bought myself a two Ds and Sun Moon, and there I am now.

David Hernandez:

Oh my gosh.

SageDeoxys:

game since,

David Hernandez:

What do you remember about watching the anime? Let's start there.

SageDeoxys:

oh, uh, I remember being a big fan of the movies that showed up on TV as a kid. Uh, I

David Hernandez:

Mm-hmm.

SageDeoxys:

the power of one specifically. That stuff. I don't know. It, it just really, I really enjoyed it as a kid, really tingled my brain. just seeing Luga fly around blast stuff all over the place. I thought that was really cool. it sounds a little simple, but you know, it, it just kind of spoke to me.

David Hernandez:

I mean, simple is sometimes good. Sometimes, you know, I like a Pokemon, a Chu Pokemon card for no reason outside, just'cause it's very adorable. There's nothing elaborate by it. I just like the appearance behind it and I keep it like in a hard case.

SageDeoxys:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

I don't know, just there's nothing besides it just being a P two car that I just enjoy. There's no value in it.

SageDeoxys:

That's fine. It doesn't need to be any value other than the one you put on it.

David Hernandez:

now, do you think, you know, since you started with the anime, you didn't start with the games until Sun Moon.

SageDeoxys:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

think your, I guess, connection with Pokemon was different compared to those who started with the game?

SageDeoxys:

not necessarily. I assume most people my age started with the anime as well.

David Hernandez:

Mm-hmm.

SageDeoxys:

'cause uh, I'm only 24, so I obviously didn't grow up with the original games. No, no. Red and blue really grow up with that. And I assume it's the same case with some of, uh, most people my age'cause my friends, that's how they got into it as well.

David Hernandez:

Would you and your friends watch the anime together or something like that? Or is it kind of something y'all talked about?

SageDeoxys:

We ended up, uh, bonding more over the cards actually we started, like trading, playing with against each other, this and that.

David Hernandez:

Oh, so you actually played the card game?

SageDeoxys:

Yeah, for a little bit. Now I can't,'cause I don't live anywhere near my friends, but

David Hernandez:

Oh, you moved away.

SageDeoxys:

yeah.

David Hernandez:

Do you ever, try to play online at all or is it just not the same?

SageDeoxys:

Uh, On occasion, I have, uh, I have the app downloaded on my computer, but, uh, it, it doesn't feel the same as doing it in person.

David Hernandez:

Now, you said you started Pokemon Sun and Moon with the td, uh, two Ds. Right.

SageDeoxys:

Yes.

David Hernandez:

Did it, ima, did it match what you always imagined? A Pokemon game would be starting at that game.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I, I had watched, uh, playthroughs on YouTube prior to that, so I, I knew what the games were all about. But,

David Hernandez:

Okay.

SageDeoxys:

sun, moon, I bought them like a month or two after release and it was everything I expected and a little more,

David Hernandez:

What was your starter?

SageDeoxys:

rattle it. It's

David Hernandez:

Nice.

SageDeoxys:

R it's available in Always My Starter. Got him in Sun Moon, and again, Legends Arceus.

David Hernandez:

I was gonna say, I wanted to ask what your thoughts were on the Decidueye Hisuian

SageDeoxys:

I love it. It's a great spin on the original. I love both, uh, equally, honestly.

David Hernandez:

Rowlet was my choice too.'cause I love Decidueye with the bow and arrow.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah. just seemed like it I gave mine, Bo.

David Hernandez:

bow. Oh, I like that.

SageDeoxys:

because, uh, because t also has like a little bow tie going on, so it just fit.

David Hernandez:

Now, I know Alola is where you started from, but it's also your favorite region, you know? What was

SageDeoxys:

it.

David Hernandez:

the reason why it's your favorite? Like what is it about the atmosphere, the fact that it's your first game, the story?

SageDeoxys:

I think it's a combination of everything. I love the story, uh, especially in the original sudden Moon ultrasound was fine, but you know, changed some things up

David Hernandez:

right.

SageDeoxys:

atmosphere as well, just this little archipelago violins going on adventure through them. I thought that was really cool. And of course the Pokemon designs themselves just fantastic.

David Hernandez:

what sticks out most about that? Like was there anything like, just, do you remember any memories from that game?

SageDeoxys:

Yes. Yeah. playing that alongside my friends. we bought it around at the same time, and we did battles online with each other as we played through the story, and, I thought that was really fun.

David Hernandez:

I always liked the concept'cause it was the first time they deviated from the gyms.

SageDeoxys:

Mm-hmm.

David Hernandez:

And I really enjoyed the challenge of, I think it was the totem Pokemon it was called, you had to complete some trials and I like Pokemon Sun and Moon more so than Ultra Sun Ultra Moon. I just love kind of the atmosphere. I love being able to just feel like you, I was in Hawaii almost And it felt like I was kind of backing Hoenn in a way'cause that's my favorite region. But you know, that region just seemed like it matched so well in my opinion.

SageDeoxys:

yeah. It's just a very nice. region. I don't know, it's just, it's just really fun.

David Hernandez:

Now I gotta ask this question'cause you're gonna be the first one I've ever had to ask this one. If you're gonna do a play through of Pokemon Sun and Moon, what six Pokemon would you use?

SageDeoxys:

All right. Have to be a mix between my Sun, Moon, and Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon team So, Golisopod, a hundred percent Alolan Riachu, Decidueye probably Zoroark, snorlax possibly. And for the last one, I, I'm gonna have to think about that. Doubling up on water bug types, but probably Araquanid.

David Hernandez:

Ooh. I love that. Yeah. I think that generation had a lot of good bug type Pokemon. There's a lot of them that were just so great. If you're a bug type fanatic, that was your region for sure.

SageDeoxys:

It's my favorite type.

David Hernandez:

Mm. Oh really? It is.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah. I have a box in my ultrasound moon game. Three separate boxes, just bug types. Shinies, I hunted the hell out of them.

David Hernandez:

Oh my gosh. What is it about the bug type that draws you to it?

SageDeoxys:

I don't know. It's just a fun little type. It's a, it's kind of a scrappy underdog compared to most, it's got all these weaknesses, not super effective against much,

David Hernandez:

Mm-hmm.

SageDeoxys:

until Sun Moon is one of the weakest types, Because Leach life, for example, 20 Days Power before that game,

David Hernandez:

Yeah, I got 80. Yeah.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah. Kind of ridiculous how much of a buff that was.

David Hernandez:

It

SageDeoxys:

so many cool bug types. Golisopod, Araquanid, Buzzwole, Pheremosa, Ribombee. I mean, it's just,

David Hernandez:

Oh, I love her Wabe. Yeah. I think for me, my favorite bug types were Shedinja. I've always had a soft spot for that one, even though it dies to everything. Of course, you talked about Araquanid, I talked about where Ribombee Heracross is always a good classic. You can't go wrong with that. And I've always loved Scizor just'cause of the sleek design. You can't, I mean, it's Scizor. I mean,

SageDeoxys:

Oh yeah.

David Hernandez:

favorite Pokemon Oh, Beautifly. I always love Beautifly, primarily'cause of the Hoenn anime, but just because, I don't know, it just, it's such a very beautiful Pokemon for both a bug type and just in general, it was my top 10 for a while.

SageDeoxys:

it's very colorful. Very pretty. I love it.

David Hernandez:

Now were any, is any of your Pokemon that you chose your favorite, or do you have a different favorite? Pokemon.

SageDeoxys:

Mm, I do have favorites that are not part of that, team. I, chose, it's kind of a three-way tie between Deoxys, Nihilego and Shuckle.,

David Hernandez:

What's the reason for each one

SageDeoxys:

Deoxys I kind of just grew up with, it's my namesake. It's been for over a decade at this point.

David Hernandez:

right?

SageDeoxys:

just really, I really enjoyed the Deoxys movie that really got me into the Pokemon. Nihilego again. Sun and Moon being my first games, have a special fondness for them. And seeing that thing show up for the first time, it was just fantastic. And shuckle, he's just a silly little guy.

David Hernandez:

Oh my gosh. You can't go wrong with like and Shuckle, man. It's such a good meme, Pokemon. and since you're on Deoxy real quick, do you have a particular favorite form of the four?

SageDeoxys:

I'd say normal form, just because he can actually morph his tentacles, uh, whatever the hell you wanna call them into

David Hernandez:

The, the noodle arms. Yeah.

SageDeoxys:

design choice.

David Hernandez:

Next thing I wanna talk about is your second favorite region, which is Unova. And I wanna know why that one's your second favorite. And what do you remember about playing those games? Pokemon. Black and white. And black and white too.

SageDeoxys:

Um, well, I'm just a big fan of the story of the game. I think it's, it's really fun. It's a, a big departure from what came previously.'cause most games prior to that didn't really have much of a story. And again, the Pokemon designs, I just love them.

David Hernandez:

Mm-hmm.

SageDeoxys:

They're, they're different to what came before, but they're so Pokemon in a way. I don't know how to describe

David Hernandez:

Especially when you talk about n and and Ghetesis and that whole relationship and eventually, you know, Ghetesis turns on'em and everything. Yeah. But it's kinda the same reason why I guess you would like a Pokemon sun. The moon, it's just a very diverse region. There's a massive amount of Pokemon for that region.

SageDeoxys:

Oh yeah. I actually started with black and white too, before going to black and white.

David Hernandez:

Really? Oh, you, you went backwards?

SageDeoxys:

Yeah, I did. and personally saying I think I prefer black and black two and white two, I know the story in the first one's probably a little better, but I don't know. just everything that Black 2 White 2 has just side content that it has just sitting there. It's just too much to ignore. I, I really love it all those legendaries at the end of the game as well. It's just fantastic.

David Hernandez:

Now I want to go transition to when you started doing Pokemon Sprites. You know, you alluded earlier how you originally started with Gen four before kind of, I guess, focused hyper focusing on gen two.

SageDeoxys:

Yes.

David Hernandez:

started posting your Sprites in 2017 with Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu with their animated sprites. when you started posting it, did you feel nervous doing it cause you kind of expressed that you were ready to kinda show it off at that point.

SageDeoxys:

Uh, yeah. I wasn't. Nervous. I had friends that had Twitter accounts. They posted stuff all the time. I was like, why shouldn't I, you know? looking back on it now, those are not very good sprites, but I'm proud of them.

David Hernandez:

we're artists, we're our harshest critic.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah,

David Hernandez:

is that kind of the main reason why you look back on me? Like, eh, they're not that good. Like you can, you know, you know, you're better now. Obviously this is like almost a long time ago. I,

SageDeoxys:

Better part of a decade now. It's not necessarily me just being my harshest critic, it's just looking at those sprites. They're a good start, but uh, they don't really fit the style all that well that I was going for, which is specifically the overall sprites in Gen four.

David Hernandez:

Mm-hmm.

SageDeoxys:

Uh, there's a lot of rules that I'm seeing here that I'm not really following with these, uh, sprites. If I tried now, I'd be way better at it, obviously, even if I haven't done these in a long while. But yeah, overall, I don't know. I, I'm proud of them.

David Hernandez:

You mentioned like, I guess rules, like what do you mean by that? Like I guess you're talking about the two color for GSC Sprites. What rules, I guess, did you not follow when you first started, and that was, was that because you just didn't know about it or you just didn't believe in them? Or

SageDeoxys:

I didn't think I needed to follow them. Uh, that that was main, mainly part of it. like at the very beginning of my start on Twitter, there's this like, Tapu Koko, Tapu Bulu, all that. I think I made them bigger than the canvas size allowed for those types of sprites. So immediately those wouldn't work. From what I understand, if you were to put them in a ROM hack. also the angle they're at, World price in gen four, sort of at an angle from top down. Mm-hmm. Made them face forward. So they wouldn't visually fit. And of course the colors, the shading, they're not really, in line with what you'd see. Normally in gen four. They're like just barely there. They're getting of the idea down, but, there's these small details that make it not work exactly.

David Hernandez:

Do you remember when you made that shift to where, you started following the rules that were supposed to be for Sprites or did it. take a while to get to that point,

SageDeoxys:

it took a little while. it wasn't until like halfway through those sprites that I started realizing maybe I should actually follow the size limitations and whatnot,

David Hernandez:

right?

SageDeoxys:

I did. So I got better at that as well. But again, I haven't touched them in a long while, so.

David Hernandez:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm not judging you for old, so like if people judge me on my old episodes, by all means, like I'm not that good. You can notice the difference. Now we're just, it's the evolution of doing this stuff.

SageDeoxys:

yeah. you improve over time. It's just a natural thing.

David Hernandez:

Yeah, it just, and then you bring it up and we're like, uh, do we have to really talk about it?

SageDeoxys:

Yeah.

David Hernandez:

what's the process of creating these sprites?'cause you do, you do some animated, but you also primarily do a lot of static images. What's this process from doing? Start to finish.

SageDeoxys:

Okay, so first up, I usually look for two or three a reference images. Usually just official Suki, morr, and then maybe a few, frames from the anime just to look at the, uh, the Pokemon's like design. Sometimes I'll take the 3D model from Pokemon Home, just look at it there too. then I kind of just start drawing. I don't really, uh, a lot of artists are not gonna be happy about to hear this, but, uh, I don't really like draw the shapes beforehand. I just kind of draw the outline of the entire Pokemon, and I usually get it right first time.

David Hernandez:

Oh wow. Yeah. Yeah.

SageDeoxys:

So I, I don't have like a very specific or, let's say convoluted process to do it. I just kind of do it. It's, it's not too hard for me at this point.

David Hernandez:

You're just a natural at this point,

SageDeoxys:

Uh, I'd say so, yeah.

David Hernandez:

well, I wouldn't say natural. I guess maybe more as a, you've memorized or I. Routine. I don't know what the word I'm looking for here.

SageDeoxys:

It's become routine.

David Hernandez:

Yes, there we go.

SageDeoxys:

uh, full on natural. Sometimes I'll just completely have to restart with some of these sprites, after being halfway through with it.

David Hernandez:

Now, I know that you're working on some kind of Dex and I want some more, I guess, insight on what you're doing. What's the goal of it? What is it and how do you decide which Pokemon to work on?

SageDeoxys:

Okay. So. I'll start off with that last point. the Pokemon, I started off it chose for this, it's just Pokemon. I like, honestly, It's. Not Pokemon that I like over others necessarily that aren't here. But, I also like made sure to keep a sort of balance between the types of Pokemon, so that, that played a role a lot So I don't have too many of one type other than bugs. Of course, a little biased towards those, Otherwise, it's mostly just Pokemon. I really like and wanna make Sprites for, beyond that, it's essentially just a dex for a game I hope to maybe make in the future. I still have no idea if it's gonna be a ROM hack or a Pokemon Essentials game, but I just like to have that ready for later down the line. the meantime, just working on the sprites for the Pokemon themselves. Later I'll do tiles, this and that actually work on the game.

David Hernandez:

So the Dex is kind of a hope to build into something maybe potentially bigger down the road, it sounds like.

SageDeoxys:

Yes, exactly.

David Hernandez:

And I guess you don't have to share any details, but do you have like the plot or what you wanna do, or is it just kind of an idea that you're hoping to get to at some point?

SageDeoxys:

I don't really have much, concrete besides the price at the moment, to be honest with you.

David Hernandez:

But hey, that's fair. Yeah. Sometimes it just need, you just need to start with the thought sometimes.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah. Yeah. Especially since I don't really plan on even starting this for a few years'cause that's how long it's gonna take me to do all these sprites.

David Hernandez:

well, I always see you do batch, posting. But I think I see you post like every, you post pretty consistently, but sometimes you do like a whole, I think you do like two or three a week.

SageDeoxys:

it depends, sometimes I take breaks maybe a few weeks, months, in between, mostly from burnout. Don't wanna. Force myself to make a Sprite when I'm just not feeling it. but when I am making sprites, I'm just churning those out like a factory.

David Hernandez:

since posting this, you're Sprite, art on Twitter. Have you gotten any reactions or interactions from people who've admired your art?

SageDeoxys:

Uh, yes. recently I had a few people ask me to do Perler beads of my sprites, one person showed me those, and those were fantastic. Love that. and I've seen a few people that have been inspired by my art to do their own, which I, I'm really glad to be able to be a part of that.

David Hernandez:

Are you gonna try to ever dive into pearl beads or are you kind of prefer just to stick to digital?

SageDeoxys:

Uh, I've been thinking about it, but I don't know if I have the time to do that, to be honest, because, that's a lot more meticulous than just doing it on, digital software,

David Hernandez:

Oh my God.

SageDeoxys:

have the designs already just ready to have me put down the beads everywhere.

David Hernandez:

I mean, it's true'cause I've seen some people do it and they'll do like little key chains or they'll do, I got one where somebody did like a, a picture frame and it has the, old school trainer, you know, interaction with wild Pokemon. So it has that on the lower left hand side, it has the Pikachu on the right hand side and I could put my, I put my dogs in that picture and it's just stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. So there's potential you could do, it just depends on, like you said, how much time you want to give and is that something you even want to do?'cause it's a lot of work.

SageDeoxys:

It is, it is. I remember watching my family do some of that stuff when I was a little younger and, it looked pretty complicated to me. It'd probably be easier now, you know,

David Hernandez:

A little bit.

SageDeoxys:

I'm a grown ass man, but, you know.

David Hernandez:

Hey, you're still growing, man. You got time.

SageDeoxys:

Yeah, yeah.

David Hernandez:

Well SageDeoxys, I wanna finish on this last question.

SageDeoxys:

Yes.

David Hernandez:

you've brought the old styles to new generations and you've made memories and regions across time. You know, what does it mean to know your art is now part of someone else's story?

SageDeoxys:

It's kind of inspiring, kind of pushed me forward to keep doing it, you know? Uh,'cause has a favorite Pokemon. It doesn't matter which one it is. And eventually I plan on making every single Pokemon. It's gonna take years, but I hope I can, you know, have made something that everybody can like.

David Hernandez:

And if they wanna check you out or if they wanna connect with you or can they go, by all means, please plug away.

SageDeoxys:

Just check SageDeoxys on Twitter, blue sky, discord. If you want to talk to me, I don't know. I'm not really selling anything, so don't got much to plug. just as long as people look at my stuff and like it, that's, that's all I need.

David Hernandez:

Thank you for listening to As the Poke Ball turns, if this story resonated with you, share the podcast with a fellow trainer. Don't forget to follow us for more voices, more journeys, and more memories. I'm David Hernandez, and remember, your next Pokemon adventure begins here.

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