July Update (Patreon)

Hello! 

I hope everyone is doing well! I just wanted to provide an update on the content since it's the start of the month. Some of this stuff you may care about, some other stuff you can skip, but either way, just know I appreciate the support you all provide. 

The Website & Podcast

The website hasn't really been changed since the 7 year anniversary of the podcast. Episodes on there have been sporadic, but recently, episodes have been posted there weekly!! I am working to restore all past episodes and provide the website a slight refresh to celebrate our 9th year as a podcast. The website for me doesn't make any money and has never been close to making money; it's purely a home for podcast episodes. I use to post news on it, but due to the nature of communicating news on Twitter and other social media, that became less of a priority over time. In the back of my mind, I'd love to do more with it, just unsure of what. 

Reddit

I talk about using Reddit and Twitter a lot on the podcast. Reddit is both a blessing and a curse, but it's something I've enjoyed for the things I love like r/destinythegame, r/squaredcircle, and r/wellthatsucks. I've been actively trying to build up our subreddit r/supereffective with podcast episodes, Twitch clips, news, and just community stuff. In the past 3 weeks, we've gained 200+ new users on Reddit! While you might say, "why would I post on Reddit when I have Slack?," well not everyone who support on Patreon uses Slack. For Patreon backers, you do get exclusive Flair to use on Reddit. I am hoping to add more custom Flair soon for backers. 

Twitch

The awesome thing about Twitch is I have been recently talking out my feelings and thoughts on topics before I bring them to the podcast. Hopefully, I make more sense when explaining things on the podcast, but if you need some things to watch at work or in the background, Twitch is where you can find me. You can join #twitch in Slack for notifications when I go live if you want them. 

Also, this Friday at 6PM CST will be the start of our Egglocke in Pokémon X! Usually the start of one of these is very hectic and fun if you want to join on in! Details of this can be found here. 

Mental Health 

Since the #BringBackNationalDex stuff, my mental health is at an all-time low. While I am fortunate enough to not struggle with depression or panic attacks or even headaches, I see friends and family struggle with this constantly. For example, headaches are something I'd only get maybe twice a year or so. Ever since E3's announcement, headaches have been weekly for me and my sleep schedule is the worst it has ever been. There is a lot of negativity around Pokémon right now, and I have personally felt like I can barely keep my head above water when having conversations with people. 

The negativity is valid, some things about Pokémon Sword & Shield do not seem fair to veteran players. While the casual player will never see most of this negativity, they'll buy their $60 game this Fall, they'll see credits, and they'll be happy as they move to the next game. I understand that the content I make both on Twitch and on the podcast is not for the casual player. While I personally don't care about the lack of a National Dex, it's hard to drown out the noise. I hear things such that "I am content with mediocrity from companies," for example. While I do know this is far from the truth, there are over 300 episodes with me wanting Pokémon games to do better and to be better. The problem is that these conversations, while important, are no longer fun for anybody. 

I strive for two important things for the podcast, the first is to provide accurate news and the second is for listeners to be excited on Monday when a new episode drops. While I don't believe the people who work on these games are lazy or lack passion, there was something about the last trailer that extremely frustrated me (which I will bring up on Episode 367). I think that's the big picture which is so hard to avoid right now. While some people don't care about battle animations, some don't care about National Dex, some don't care about Mega Pokémon, and some don't care about the story of a game, someone does care. We all care about these games and Pokémon as a whole, some just don't know how to express their thoughts and feelings without being rude, aggressive, and/or sounding like a 4 year old who isn't tired yet before bed. Maybe I feel like I am in a situation where I am struggling to express how I felt over the past month without sounding like a crabby 4 year old. 

The reason I don't walk away or take a break is because I know that I provide a positive outlet for people. I get constant feedback of how people look forward to Monday's when the podcast drop. Comments on how the podcast makes their commute better, their work day go by faster, or how the show makes their nightly jog more enjoyable. With Twitch, I get that real-time feedback of viewers laughing with me, some excited to tell me about their day, and others just needing a constant thing they can watch and relax to in life. These positives have always outweighed the negativity that comes with being a voice in a community. 

With all that being said, things have improved mentally for me since that E3 showing. I would still love Pokémon even if another "main series" game never came out in future ever again. In the past couple weeks, even with all this negativity, I can't help but laugh because at the end of the day, this is just a video game. There are plenty of amazing video games out right now, and plenty of amazing video games will continue to come out this year, next year, and in years to come. If people are going to skip this game because they don't see themselves having fun with it, I totally understand. I did that same exact thing with Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire when they came out. You can skip a Pokémon game and still love Pokémon. You can never play a Pokémon game in your life and still love Pokémon. 

This has all been long-winded. I've always known this, but words are hard. There is weight in words when someone furiously types something on a keyboard or says something on a podcast, which is ultimately led to me write this post and not hide it behind a paywall. Ultimately, I feel the podcast discussions are the best they’ve ever been this past month. I felt like writing this would give a good perspective of where I am at with the content I make. I am very excited for Pokémon Sword & Shield, Pokémon Masters, and the new rotation of the Pokémon Trading Card game.

Thanks for reading!
Steve