Pokétuber Ace Trainer Liam took time out of his Pokémon journey to take “The Five Question Challenge.” (Photo courtesy of Ace Trainer Liam)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
One of my favorite activities that I used to do as a kid was playing my Pokémon video games on my Game Boy Color!
From catching legendary Pokémon such as Lugia, Suicune and Dragonite to facing off against gym leaders such as Blaine, Clair, Falkner and Sabrina for the right to face the Elite Four of Johto and Kanto, I enjoyed every minute of playing Pokémon Red, Yellow and Silver.
While I may have retired from my Pokémon journey, countless of YouTube creators (Pokétubers) have created their own channels to showcase their adventures in Hoenn, Kalos and Sinnoh. Among the Pokétubers that are at the forefront of this movement is United Kingdom-based Ace Trainer Liam.
Since the inception of his YouTube channel last December, his channel has over 18,700 subscribers and his videos have cumulatively been viewed over 1,480,000 times.
Ace Trainer Liam took a break from his travels in Kanto to tackle The Five Question Challenge!
In this edition, he shared his origin story, his hopes for Pokémon’s 20th anniversary and what fans can expect from his channel as 2015 comes to a close.
Jacob Elyachar: Could you share your origin story with my readers?
Ace Trainer Liam: Growing up I was never very confident. I was a bit of a nerd and had very thick, high-prescription glasses. I never thought I’d have anywhere I could go to show people the real me. After a few years working as a Dispensing Optician, I found myself comfortable in contact lenses, which boosted my confidence a little, but I still did not feel I could talk to people about the things that interested me, in case they thought I was a “loser”. At the tie, I watched a lot of Pokétubers rise to fame, such as TheJWittz and TamashiiHiroka, and they made me realize it’s okay to love the things you love, and that I should not care what anyone else thinks. I realized that YouTube could provide me with that platform to talk to like-minded people who love the same things as me! I created my YouTube Channel in December 2014. For the first couple of months, I focused on setting up the channel. I used online tutorials to teach myself basic Photoshop techniques, how to edit videos, et cetera. I did not want to start making videos with a channel that looked incomplete, so it was only when I’d designed a profile image, a background and my own video style that I felt comfortable to begin. It was not until the end of January 2015 that I finally bit the bullet and recorded my first video.
JE: You have been at the forefront YouTube Pokémon revolution. In your humble opinion, why are people interested in watching Pokemon games on the Internet?
ATL: People have the misconception that “it must be boring just sitting watching someone else play a game” – but it isn’t about that. It’s about the interaction, the communication. The player provides commentary on what is happening, adding their own individual style or flare to the game, or in Pokémon’s case, to the team of Pokemon that are being used to battle. Viewers in the comments can leave suggestions for what they would like to see be caught or fought, what nicknames they would like the player to give their characters, et cetera. When it comes to live streaming, the player can directly communicate with their viewers and it almost becomes a big hangout with hundreds of people who are all enjoying the game, all from the comfort of their own homes!
JE: What have been some of the challenges that you faced while creating these impeccable YouTube videos? How have you overcome them?
ATL: The challenges I have faced are starting to make videos with NO knowledge of editing. When I started my channel, I did not even know my computer had an editing suite! I did not know how to cut down videos into clips. I did not know how to overlay images or other videos on top of an existing video. All that stuff was new to me. My solution to that was to use YouTube (the very platform I would be uploading my content to) to search for tutorials on how to edit, how to overlay. People forget that YouTube is almost like a visual encyclopedia – there are How-To videos on how to do almost anything! I remember watching a two-minute video on how to split video clips (bear in mind all I had to do was press “S” to split a clip!) and it just goes to show you can learn everything you need from YouTube itself!
JE: Pokemon will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. What do you hope to see in the possible seventh generation of the franchise?
ATL: Well given the recent revelation that Pokémon has given the Pokémon “Zygarde” several new forms, it seems like we’ll be seeing a sequel or remake to Pokémon X & Y, most likely Pokémon Z, so I do not see the seventh generation popping up any time soon. I would personally like to see a twentieth anniversary remake of the original Pokemon Red and Green/Blue, with the updated 3D graphics used in X & Y, and also in OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire. The first Pokemon game I played was Pokémon Blue when it was released, so it holds a special place in my childhood, and I would love to see it remade!
JE: What can your fans expect from your channel as 2015 comes to a close?
ATL: I recently got myself into live-streaming, so I will definitely be doing a lot more live gaming on my Twitch account in the weeks and months to come. My viewers also enjoyed my live “Hangout” stream where I did not play any games, but simply chatted to my fans and answered their questions, so I’ll definitely do more of those! My favorite part of what I do is interacting with all these people who love Pokemon! It’s great to be part of such an awesome community of people! I will also be continuing to make regular daily gameplay videos, as well as my Top 10 lists and fact/theory videos, so everybody who’s subscribed to me will never be short of entertaining content!
To see Ace Trainer Liam’s YouTube channel, click here!
You can also connect with Ace Trainer Liam on social media! Visit his Facebook, Google + Instagram & Twitter pages.
