Just gonna start. Keep going.
Mike's Mom:No. So I remember you learning how to play. I think we were in the new house, right?
Mike:Um, yeah, probably.
Mike's Mom:So. You were maybe not quite 10. All I remember is you wanted Pokegear cards and I bought you the 60 card
Mike:deck. Well, the first thing I remember for buying cards was getting from Aunt Cheryl, right? Just. or like a, there's like a MEChA Dedenne deck from the base set. Maybe you got that for me, but I'm attributing it to Anne Cheryl.
Mike's Mom:Okay. But it was like a starter deck. Yeah. Yeah. With all 60 cards. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So what I remember is you saying you wanted to learn how to play and you, so I opened it and I'm reading the instructions. About five minutes later I just looked at and Mike and I said, I have no idea. You need to figure this out yourself. And you did. So I remember you sitting on the floor and you had two deck, like you had cards facing each other, and you would go from one side to the other side and play. And that's how you taught yourself how to play. Mm-hmm. And then, um, I don't know if you taught your friends next. Well, you made your friends learn or you made your brother Chris learn next. I'm not quite sure, but you made people learn that
Mike:I remember. Yeah. I don't remember either. I think I also partially learned from the, they had like a game boy game. Yes. That, yeah. So I probably like learned a bit from that and then extrapolated some of that into the physical cards. Right, right.
Mike's Mom:I just remember that it was one of those things, I looked at it and I was like, no, I don't
Mike:have time for this. Yeah. And then, and who knew? And then, so I don't really remember going to the toys, arrest leagues very much, but that was like the first time that I Oh, you took me to stuff. Right, right. I remember that.
Mike's Mom:And somehow or other you found out about it, and I'm not sure how you did that, because it wasn't like the internet was. you know it is now. Yeah. Is what it is now. So I don't remember how you did that, but you told me there was a Lele towards arrest. So I remember taking you with your brothers, not that they could play, and you walking in and you were like this 10 year old and everybody, there were these big 14 year olds who, you know, whatever, and you just walking. Swaggering and saying, walking up to them and saying, do you want a battle And that's all I remember. And I was like, okay. They had it gated off. So I took your brothers and shopped in the store and we did that for I think a couple months and then, I think the first then. Then somehow or other. I don't know how you found out about stuff. I really don't. So obviously I wasn't paying very good attention. But you, we did that very first tournament. I think we took Renee and Matt in Jersey.
Mike:In Jersey, the Super Trainer Showdown.
Mike's Mom:That's what that was. And it was insane. I remember it was insane, but we went and I thought that would probably be the end of it.
Mike:I remember that because. Like I had a mix of English and Japanese cards and no, like sleeves to put them in. Mm-hmm. And then I got there and I was like, I don't see what's wrong with this. I have a bunch of Japanese cards. I don't know which ones which, I know what the cards do, but like, obviously, you know, looking back on it now, you were allowed to use Japanese cards, but you had to have translations and Right. I had to have different sleeves and, right, right.
Mike's Mom:Yes. And that's probably when the whole slaving thing began for us. Mm-hmm. and again, Who knew at that point, I never thought we would continue. Yeah. But then again, you figured out what was next. And I'm trying to think how quickly then it switched to, you know, I'm trying to think how, how long it took to switch to the kinds of tournaments after that. Cuz that was like Nintendo,
Mike:right? Yeah. That, or that was Winters
Mike's Mom:of the Coast. Coast. That's right. Yeah. And then it switched to Nintendo and that was
Mike:in like 2000 or 2000. Uh, maybe
Mike's Mom:a little later
Mike:because, well, no, no. The Super Trainer Showdown was 2000 or 2001. And then Right. They had, I remember we went into New York for an event before Nintendo took over. It was called like the super battle Zone or something like that. Right, right. And I was still like, not very good, but a little bit better. And then soon after that, The first time he went to King's Games. Okay. In New York? Mm-hmm. It was like the, the combo card game, video game tournament. Mm-hmm. And I didn't do well, but I think Chris or Pete won in the juniors. Well, not, oh yeah. Maybe Chris won in the junior because Pete was barely
Mike's Mom:playing by them. Yeah. Yeah. Because you hadn't made
Mike:him his deck yet. Yeah, right. Um, but that's where I met Sam Chen for the
Mike's Mom:first Sam Chen for the first time. So that was that long ago. We met
Mike:Chan. That was like 2003, I think, the summer. Wow. And then, And then that was like, I think the very, very first thing that Nintendo did. Right. Right. And then,
Mike's Mom:and that was my first experience as a parent in a dusty old gaming store. Yeah. Like sitting there going, okay, what am I gonna do for the whole day here? Yeah.
Mike:And then, and then when it really started though, was we were up visiting Uncle Bob or something like that, and we went to TJ Collectibles for the city championship. Right. And then that kind of started
Mike's Mom:everything. Everything. Now, was that the one where we also bought, I dunno if that was the year we bought, was it you and Pete, Chris that ended up together against each other? What At Worlds? No, you and your brother Someplace up in New in New England where I think the two of you were in the finals together and I made him concede. Mm.
Mike:This was, I think that was a different time cuz Right.
Mike's Mom:But it was one of those, it was within that, it was around that period of time where you were both in the same group. Mm-hmm. so I don't know what year that was, somewhere in those first few years. Mm-hmm. But I made him concede to you. He was really mad and I was like, he's going to beat you anyway and we have to catch a ferry and, and, uh, he was gonna dig his heels in cuz he thought he could be too. And so I, because that, that time part of the. Prize package were the booster boxes. Mm-hmm. So I just looked at 'em and I said, I will buy you a booster box if you concede now. And so that was it. So we caught the ferry that day. Yeah, I am. But that was where I think we did most, you did most of your tournaments was up in New England. Yeah.
Mike:At least at first. Yeah. All right, let me do the intro real quick. Welcome to the Trench Lounge podcast. Uh, this week we got a very special episode. We have, um, just myself and my mom here. As you can tell from our intro conversation. Brent is off at work and Brit was busy. Uh, we'll have a full episode. next week I'm going over my lackluster results at Orlando, uh, preview for O C I C and talking about the most recent change in the CP stuff, but none of that is relevant today. Today I'm just talking to my mom a little bit of history. I asked on Twitter, uh, some questions that I should ask her and talk about, and, uh, we'll kind of do that. So you've already gotten like the very. Summary of, um, our history in the game. Um, and we're gonna kind of just keep going and see where our conversation goes. So we're kind of just talking about like where it really kicked off. Um, one of the questions that Alex Hill asked is, what was the first moment where you were like, wow, this is a, this is a serious thing.
Mike's Mom:I think. When I realized that my children could win scholarship money and that they had the, that that, particularly Mike at first had the capability to do that, and all of a sudden it was like, wait a minute, this is, this is kind of worth my while. And I don't remember. What was your first tournament that you won Scholarship money in, but, and travel awards. But I think that was it. And I remember other parents like looking at me like I was nuts because I was traveling all over the place with my boys for them to play Pokegear, you know, all these tournaments. Here they are traveling and thinking to myself, my boys play soccer as well as as whatever, but you take your kids all the way to soccer tournaments, but they're not winning scholarship money. So who's the smart one here? So I think that was it, that it was. it was, it was what the benefits were that way and the travel, but also starting to see the friendships that were developing between my sons and, you know, the people that were playing and that there was this community that they felt very comfortable being a part of. And I thought that was really important because it got you guys out of little. South old where we lived and was a way for you to start to see all of the different people in the world. So yeah. So very early on,
Mike:yeah, that first year, so we're, we went to that city championship. I think I got second or third, Brian, Jesse won. Mm-hmm. in my age group. But then we went to like a, a state maybe Rhode Island, um, couple months later and I think I won that one. And they. $300 if we went to the Nationals. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. And so that was like the first taste of money, I guess. Right. Um, and then I won a gym challenge later that year in New York. Right at the Pokegear Center. Right. So, Yeah, I figured it was like one of those tournaments probably is where you're like,
Mike's Mom:oh yeah, that's cool. It was, it was the travel, you know, it was going to help with travel to go to tournaments, but also, you know, scholarship money was like that. It's awesome. So, yeah. Yeah, yeah. You know, but again, like I said, but also I could see, you know, that the kind of players, the people that you were interacting with were, you know, smart kids. Mm-hmm. and, you know, you have a lot of smart friends from home and everything, but we, you know, very small high school, so you. or very small schools. So it gave you an opportunity to see and meet people from all over and that was really important to me. Yeah. That you had that opportunity and you know, so yeah, that's about when I realized it was worth my while to sit in dusty game, game rooms.
Mike:Um, so, uh, another question is just like, generally what it was like back then as a. mom. Did you, or as a parent, I should say, more generally, did you make friends with other parents? Uh, I know you, you've talked about explicitly not playing the game, Oh, well I can tell you
Mike's Mom:why. Yes. So actually, yeah, I did make friends with quite a few moms and dads. Um, you know, it's hard not to, in the po especially back then in the Pokegear community, it was hard not to. You were seeing the same people at events and if and when your children did. You know, you were going the bigger events, so you would find each other if you would. Um, a lot of the people I knew did ultimately decide that they were going to learn how to play as well, and they would sometimes play in tournaments or play games and help their children. I very, very specifically decided not to do that because Mike has two younger brothers that, um, would often argue about things and. I decided that if I knew how to play Pokegear and Mike wasn't around and they were going to argue about something, or a ruling or whatever, then they were going to ask me and I didn't want to get involved. mm-hmm. So I refused to learn how to play for that reason. Um, which was good cuz then they could call Mike So, um, also it just, you know, time-wise, it wasn't something that, you know, I liked, I was happy my children were doing it, but it wasn't something that I felt like I had to do. I do remember having to ask Mike, how can I tell how you're doing while you're playing? You know, if I walk by and he said, just look at those six prizes there and you know, there's still six of 'em. Face Town mom, I'm not doing as well as the next guy So that was my bar. So,
Mike:yeah. Yeah. I remember you. Mostly, I feel like the parents from New England. Mm-hmm. um, like the KPAs, right.
Mike's Mom:And the D and from Jersey. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Dolores
Mike:and whatnot. Yeah. Do you still play, uh, Scrabble or whatever with Dolores?
Mike's Mom:Sometimes. I have been in a while, but we're still friends on Facebook and Yeah. You know, things like that. So yeah.
Mike:This is Frank Diaz and Mike Diaz's
Mike's Mom:mom. Yep. Yep. We still, you know, we. we still are connected, if you will. Mm-hmm. um, you know, some of them fell off, but Yeah. I mean, back in the day they, you know, all the parents, we knew each other. Yeah. Um, you know, and it was a comfort level, especially, I don't know, whatever year it was that you decided that you needed to go to Hawaii. Mm-hmm. and. alone. And you were what, a sophomore in high school? Yeah. 16. And you wanted to go, you didn't have a travel award. So I was like, Mike, we can't afford to go. And you said, but I can. And you know, and I said, well, where are you gonna stay? And you gave me a name of somebody and I contacted them and they said, yeah, we'll make sure, you know, he gets to the, from the airport to the conference center. And you know what? And I let you go because, you know, I had spent so many years in that community knowing that if I put the word out that you were gonna be okay. Yeah. And I, I can't say that for many other things that in communities that your kids would get involved with.
Mike:Yeah. So, so that kind of leads me into a question for myself. So I was always, of the people that I talked to and hung out with, I was almost. Younger, right, right. Like, um, when I was getting into the game, I was like one of the sole people in the 11 or 14 division and all of my, all of like the really good players that I was friends with were all in the 15 and over the master's division. And eventually I was in Masters as well, but I was always like three, four years behind all of these guys that, and a lot of them, by the time I knew them, were going to these events alone. So I dunno. Did you ever have. reservations or opinions on me Always hanging out with older
Mike's Mom:guys. When you were younger I was always there, so I didn't care if you were hanging out with older guys. Yeah. Um, you know, because I was around, I think it became harder when your brothers wanted to hang out with you guys. Especially, you know, Pete being seven years younger than you, you know, here you are 16 and. 17 and you know, hanging out with 20 year olds. Right. Hanging out with 20 year olds. And there's a 10 year old that wants to go and do and wants me not to know where he is all the time. So it was more of a pain in the neck mm-hmm. for your two younger brothers than it was to meet with you. Yeah. Um, because I was always, you know, honestly I worried less about you in general
Mike:because I see this like even, you know, now in the game there's. You know, they call it the masters division now the 15 up. Um, but there's lots of young masters, quote unquote, that are like, you know, 16, 17 years old. They're, they're juniors and seniors in high school, but they're very, very good at the game. They're incredible. They're some of the best players in the world cause they have the time to spend on it. Right. Um, but they want to hang out with, you know, the other very good players and that are, you know Right. 20 to 30 years old. Um, and. Like now I'm very much on the other side of it, but it's interesting to, uh, think about what it was like.
Mike's Mom:Right. Well, I think my rule was always, as long as you stay in the hotel mm-hmm. and we almost always were in the hotel attached to wherever the big tournament was. Right. Um, and that was always my thing, as long as you stay in the hotel. But there were times where, you know, you know, they wanted to go out to, I don't know, chick-fil-A or one of, you know what I mean? And I'd be like, nah, we're in this strange city. My son wants to go do this. And, you know, that was hard. Um, every now and then I did have to put my foot down and say no. And again, more with your brothers than with you. Mm-hmm. Um, so that was
Mike:hard, but yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, okay. Some other stuff that people said. what do you think, and we've talked about it a little bit already, but what do you think, um, being involved in the game has done for, for me and I guess Chris and Pete as well?
Mike's Mom:Um, couple things. We, we, and we've talked about this often personally, uh, you know, and I, but I will never forget when you, sometime after high school, we were talking about something and you said to me, um, you know, you thought your high school experience was good, you know, and whatnot, everything. But again, we had very small high school, not a lot of, uh, different electives and this and that. And you said to me, I don't know what I would have done with this part of my brain without Pokegear and robotics. And I think that was it. You know, parents kind of always want the school to challenge. children, um, especially those children that are bright. And I think for me, you know, I knew that this was something that was challenging your brain and, and you needed that. And it was nice because there wasn't an expectation that was gonna have to happen necessarily in school. Mm-hmm. Um, and it did, it challenged you, it kept you motivated to move forward and do things. Um, so. Back then it was important. I don't, I think if you didn't have that, you might not have been as driven as you are just to do the things that you've done as an adult. Mm-hmm. um, mm-hmm. But the other thing, and again, also on top of that is again, the people you've met and, and how those connections have actually helped you in your professional life. True. You know, in terms. Of people, you know, applying for jobs. Mm-hmm. we, we decided you should put Pokegear on your resume when you cut outta college. Mm-hmm. And you know, people are out there cuz Pokegear people are smart. Yep. You know, and they're in positions now where, you know, they are hiring people and other smart people, so. Um, I think it's really cool that you still play. You know, I always say my son's a grown up. He's married he's a math teacher, and he still plays Pokegear, Um, you know, I think it's a, it's a great lifelong thing for you for as long as it
Mike:lasts. Yeah. So we're, so recently or earlier today, we were just talking about the idea of resiliency and I feel like you have discussed that as well as a benefit. Yes.
Mike's Mom:The 2005 World Championships you talk about something that would. Somebody's heart. Can I tell the story? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so you were still in the middle division. Mm-hmm. it was your last year in the 11 to 14 senior division, 1114 Senior division and worlds. And you, I think it was, was it eight rounds maybe? Mm-hmm. you went eight and no handily. Yeah. Eight and No. And then it was you and number 32.
Mike:Yeah. So back then, instead of cutting the top eight, you just cut, you cut to a top 32, and then it was single elimination from there. Right.
Mike's Mom:And. you lost two games back to back one on one, intimately on a bad start, whatever the hell that means. and the other one on a coin flip. Mm-hmm. and devastated because at that point you were probably the best player at that level. Mm-hmm. Um, and you walked away and I was just like, Mike, Mike, and you just said, I gotta go. And you walked away and you were gone for about 10 or 15 minutes and then you came back into the arena and he said, are you okay? And he said, I'm fine mom. I need to go over there cuz my friends are playing and I need to go cheer them on. And you know, that was a huge, like, wow, you know, that's resilience. Um, you know, and I think Pokegear gave you that and you know, other things that have happened in your life afterwards. I think the resilience, you learn. not always winning, especially when you should have you know what I mean? Helped you later on. Yeah. Um, you know, cuz that was, that was pretty critical. That was our, that was in San Diego, right? Yeah, that is. And that was our last year. That talk about your dad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So that was last year. Your dad was alive. Um, and we were devastated. But here's the good thing about that. Same tournament. Tournament was that was, um, I, people probably know your dad passed away in 2006. So 2005 was our last summer together. And interestingly we went away twice as a family on Pokemon's Dime, if I call it mm-hmm. Because you and Chris had both won trips to nationals. So we went to Nationals by way of Niagara Falls, and then we went to Ohio and we did all of that. But then you both won a trip to Worlds. Yep. And. Pokemon's rule at the time was they had to send two guardians, cuz it was two players. So they paid for your, you, me, and Chris and your dad. So we only had to pay for Pete for airfare. But they knew that your dad was not well. And they called me the, had a Pokegear call, you know, and they said instead of two hotel rooms for three nights, if you guys, the five of you can squeeze into one. we'll give you one for six nights so you can extend your vacation. Cuz they thought that would be a nice thing, which is what we did. So we spent almost two weeks in California and 90% of it Pokegear paid for. Yeah. Um, but it was our last family vacation. And that's what I mean about community. I mean, they knew and they. you know, so, but it was pretty cool. Yeah. So as much as it was a crappy tournament, which you lost, it was also a wonderful experience. And I think, you know, that, that, that overshadows, you know, the down
Mike:downside of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's great. Um, good friend Colin Mew. Hi Colin. Couldn't Colin and my mom, or, or buddies, he asks. do you have any thoughts or advice on how to balance playing Pokegear with the rest of life's demands? Do you think I did a good job with that? Do you think you did a good job helping with
Mike's Mom:that? Um, I think that as a parent, if, especially for younger people, you do have to make sure that it doesn't totally and completely consume. I mean, honestly, if your grades had ever suffer, If you had stopped engaging in other social things with your friends or, and doing other, other activities, I probably would've put my foot down. Mm-hmm. Um, I think you have to make sure of that with anything. Um, yeah. You know, it's just like some, you know how some kids get so hooked on video games and stuff like that, and I remember even you, you were. Was it you that if you were playing a video game and then all of a sudden you were getting obsessed, I would say to you, Mike, you gotta stop. Mm-hmm. you're not allowed to play this for another week. And you were almost thankful that I did that. You're like, oh God. So I think it's just, it's, it's a balance and planning and organizing and, you know, determining how important it is to your children and their lives. Again, you know, I'll give the analogy of sports. Um, a lot of families spend a lot of time. because that's also what the parents like. Mm-hmm. at the end of the day, I always said, I let my children choose what, what their passion was, and for several years, all of you, the passion was Pokegear. So I wasn't going to make you. have a different family activity. You know what I mean? That was okay with me because it was something you were all interested in. So, um, in terms of getting involved as organizing and this and that, we did do that for a short period of time in our local community. We ran a Pokegear league, um, at our rec center because every other day I had parents who were asking me if one of my boys could teach their kids how to play Pokegear. So we decided to run a league. I think we did it for a few months. Yeah. Um, it was. Um, it was fun. Mike got a little frustrated teaching some people who really just didn't quite understand how to play Pokegear You couldn't you. So I'm, he's grown up to be a teacher, which is pretty cool. Um, but yeah, so I think, again, it's, it's whatever, you know, you want to put into it, but you have to balance it like anything else in life. And I think you've done that pretty well. I mean, I know when you were. you know, there have been periods in your adult life that you've pulled back from it. Mm-hmm. because you've been too busy going to college, you've pulled back a little bit. Mm-hmm. and, um, things like that. So I think you have to be mindful of that and know that at least for now, it's always gonna be there for you to go back into. Yeah. So I think that's important,
Mike:you know? Yeah. So, uh, it's funny, I think Mi Michael Shade saw this tweet. Me mentioned you and he messaged Mees, like, oh, you're having your mom on. That's so cool. I remember going to the Pokegear League. Right. And, uh, Michael Shade is a someone that plays and listens to the pod, uh, and went to our, our high school. He's, I don't know, five years younger than me, something like that. Cause he's younger than Chris too, right?
Mike's Mom:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's more. Yeah. Five, six. Yeah,
Mike:I guess so. Yeah. Um, okay. We we're almost out of time, but, uh, Last question, John Healy asked, I just wanna know if she thought you were good or not. Did you think I was good? Yeah.
Mike's Mom:Yeah. Well, that was the thing. I mean, if you were pursuing this and every time we came home you were going to be miserable because you aren't improving or getting better. I do believe in being honest with children. as my children can tell you. And I would've said, you know, Mike, not for nothing. Maybe this isn't your thing. Mm-hmm. Um, but the, I don't. 27 trophies that are still stored in my basement, waiting for him to move them out. Um, is proof that he was. Um, but I saw that and, and I saw that he had something good there and, you know, both his brothers were pretty good. Mm-hmm. uh, not, not as good, but they also weren't quite as obsessed with it as you were. Yeah, you are for a short period of time. But, but interestingly, the thing about you and your. Is still, anytime the three of you are home or together, somehow or other, you end up talking about and playing a game of Pokegear. Yeah. Even though, even
Mike:though they don't, even if they don't know anything about the the game, right,
Mike's Mom:right now, I mean, especially Pete who hasn't played in forever. I mean, I know Chris has kind of picked it up again, which I think is kind of fun. But Yeah, no, I knew, I knew within, you know, that that first year or two, This was something you were good at and you were good at it because you were passionate about it and you loved it. Mm-hmm. so, you know. Yeah. I still don't understand it, but that's okay. Yeah.
Mike:I, I used to be much better at the game than I am now. I still think I'm good, but not, not at the level that I, that
Mike's Mom:I was then. That's because of the older you get, your brain starts to think way more logically than, you know, you kind of have a little creativity, I think,
Mike:with Pokegear. Yeah, that's true. And I do agree that it is, To always have that shared experience with my brothers. Right. Um, right. And something that we can always, it's the, it's the same thing with people, other family members that might have a sports team that they love together or you know, something. So it is right. Is really nice thing. Right. All right. Any, okay. Any other questions that we
Mike's Mom:spec drama at the spectator tables? No, there was none found. which Jirachi was in the 2005 world stack?
Mike:Which one? You don't need to worry about that, but I have no idea how. How did we find travel for events between work schedule and school? Is that typical?
Mike's Mom:School I didn't really care about because you did well in school. And I'm not one of those parents that thought that if kid missed a couple days of school here or there, that it was a big deal. Uh, life life experiences often are as important as school day experiences. Um, in terms of work. Um, by the time you guys really started to play, I was running my own business. So I was able to work around that, which was good. But not everybody has that Luxray and that's hard. Um, so you kind of have to figure it out. And again, it be, it becomes what's important, you know? Is it important enough for you to take the time off and use your vacation time for Yeah. Pokegear trips, which is what we did. Um, you know, so, yeah.
Mike:Uh, I, I think in the moment, but especially as I got older, I am very appreciative of how supportive you were of, you know, bringing us and recognizing that it was. Something important. Right,
Mike's Mom:right. Oh, there you go. And you know, my secret is, you know, you guys didn't know this, but if you were in a Pokegear tournament and I was sitting there in that thing, I had free time to read. Yeah. which I didn't often get So, you know, it was a win-win all the way around. Um, you know, and I think it was something that is a really cool experience for our family. I always said I should write a Pokegear book, you know, about all of the experiences and the stories. There were some stories, you know, advocating for kids who got in trouble during Pokegear. I did that a couple times, you know, because I, I care about kids. Mm-hmm. and, you know, and how we treat them. Um, you know, worrying about whether or not somebody was cheating, you know, and go, you know, all those kinds of things. Yeah, yeah. You know, Cool. It's good experience, good family experience. Yeah. And I love the fact that you do a podcast, In fact, I have, uh, I, I mentor our robotics team still, and, uh, somebody was talking about Pokegear the other day and I said, oh, Google, Mike Fouchet And they said he played the world championships and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, yeah. You know, so it's kind of cool. You're all local. You're a local celebrity. There you go.
Mike:So there you go. So, all right, well thanks for, uh, doing this, mom. I'm sure people are gonna love it. Yeah, I love you. Okay, love you too.