As The Pokeball Turns
As The Pokéball Turns is a Pokémon interview podcast that shares real stories from Trainers around the world. From personal journeys to lasting friendships, we explore how Pokémon shapes lives and builds community across the games, the TCG, and beyond. Join creators, community leaders, and everyday fans as they share what makes Pokémon more than just a game. New episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday. One voice, one journey, one memory at a time. Your next Pokémon adventure begins here!
As The Pokeball Turns
TRAINER'S EYE #165 - "String Shot Requiem" ft. PokeCello
What do Pokémon, cancer recovery, and heavy metal have in common? For PokeCello, the answer is everything.
In this heartfelt episode, musician and cancer survivor PokeCello shares how Pokémon Legends: Arceus became a lifeline during recovery and how remixing classic Pokémon music with a cello became a love letter to the community that carried them through. From childhood playground memories to emotional moments with Team Star, this story weaves nostalgia, resilience, and creativity into something unforgettable. We also dive into their viral Area Zero remix, the emotional risks of original compositions, and how a bus ride changed everything she thought she knew about music.
Artists & Writers Playlist:
🎧 Hear from creative minds bringing Pokemon to life in art and story.
Start listening to the Artists & Writers playlist today!
Sources
Opening Song: "Forget You" by Alex_MakeMusic from Pixabay
Pokemon Gold & Silver Pokemon Center Theme Cello Cover (Chill Vibes) - PokéCello
Area Zero Music from Pokemon Scarlet & Violet - Cello & Orchestra Arrangement - PokéCello
I Wrote My Own Pokémon Battle Theme
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https://discord.gg/AqAbD7FbRt
Your next Pokemon adventure begins here!
My name is PokeCello and this is my Pokemon story.
David Hernandez:Welcome to As The Pokeball 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 a musician who doesn't just remix our favorite Pokemon themes. They bring them to life on a cello, PokeCello, welcome to As the Pokemon Turns.
PokeCello:Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
David Hernandez:Absolutely. And Pokecello. Like I told you before, the podcast, I always admire the arts. I always love people who play music. I never was able to pick up an instrument and your combination of being able to put Pokemon and a cello to be able to like fuse it together was just what draw me to what you have on the podcast. And I wanna start with this question. What was the very first piece of Pokemon music you remember falling in love with the one that never left your head?
PokeCello:Oh, easy Z is battle theme from Omega, Ruby Alpha. Stop fire. Easy question. That was the first one that I listened to. like, hang on, could I play this on my instrument? I had never really thought about, Pokemon music or even video game music, to be honest, as, kind of a discreet genre. but I remember being in school and listening to Zia's theme on like a 10 hour loop when I was cramming, trying to write a paper at the last minute. That was my like, strategy, was to listen to that really intense theme. but then of course once you listen to something over and over, it kind of attaches itself to you. So that was the first thing that maybe opened my eyes a little bit to the artistry that would possible. In something like my channel.
David Hernandez:you mentioned how you looped it for 10 hours, you know, that's a dedication for one, the same song for 10 hours straight. Was it just the inspiration, comfort? Like what was it about that song specifically that I guess maybe kept you engaged that you think about?
PokeCello:I thought it had so much heart. It really felt, I mean, it, it has kind of an anime feeling anyway. it really connected me to the character and I had, okay. I only picked it to be honest. I'll just be honest about
David Hernandez:Sure, sure.
PokeCello:read a life hack that was like, if you need to concentrate on something, do it while listening to video game music, because video game music is designed to hold your concentration but not distract you. So there's this interesting balance between, listening to something that would engage you and keep you energetic and motivated and, and focused. but unlike music that's supposed to draw your attention or keep your attention, it was kind of designed to remain in the background. and at the time I had just played Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire. and so I thought I would just try it when I was writing papers. It really worked. It was great. but that's sort of where I started with the idea to just listen to it. but it was very effective. I got those papers done.
David Hernandez:Well, let's talk about your history with Pokemon. Where did this whole interest in Pokemon first start?
PokeCello:well I can blame it on somebody else. This is a great
David Hernandez:Oh, let's go. I love blaming with other people.
PokeCello:when I was a kid in elementary school, one of my best friends was named Alexander. Shout out to Alexander. Alexander's family did not allow him to have a game Boy. Their family was like very bookish and they didn't even have a tv. somehow I convinced my parents to buy me a game. Boy, I don't know how that happened. he was like, oh my gosh, you have a game boy, you need to go get the new Pokemon game. That just came out. And I think at that time, maybe I had been interested in the cards'cause I had been collecting just casually like I was eight. I didn't know what I was doing. and I'm pretty sure I went to Circuit City. I hope that doesn't age me, um, with my parents. And we got the only Pokemon game they had in stock time, which was Pokemon Crystal. and then I think for like a whole school year, me and Alexander would play Pokemon Crystal on my game boy school.'cause both of our parents worked and we had to stay after school until they could pick us up. and we would just do laps around. The playground at school playing Crystal. And honestly, I don't think it stuck with me because after that I stopped playing and I didn't pick it back up until, grad school. So I had a big gap in between like childhood Pokemon then going to Target to buy something useful and accidentally walking past the electronics section and being like, oh yeah, I liked Pokemon when I was a kid. There's a new game, Pokemon X, what's that about? and then it's, that was, that was the downhill for me since Pokemon X and Y it has been every game on release, a hundred percent in indexes, full star trainer cards, just absolute obsession. So childhood Me was a little kind of all over the place. And then, just randomly as a, as a full adult, I was like, Collecting these little guys. I don't know. There's, there's something about it.
David Hernandez:I love that. Love it, love it. Shout out to Alex and everybody else who gives, makes us do wrong decisions. It's great. I wanted to ask a follow up question about that because you mentioned how you were just, you and Alex were doing laps around the playground, you know? What do you remember about those days? Like what made that friendship and Pokemon moment, so I guess, special?'cause it sounds like it's something that you really hold dearly. I.
PokeCello:I have really, really strong memories. I, I think it was just, we always, you know, he and I, and like our friend group, as it was, you know, I'm not good friend. I was a popular child. I played Pokemon on the playground, so popularity, you know.
David Hernandez:Right.
PokeCello:but our friend group was especially. Like we would make up games and stories. We wanted to like build a fort in the woods. we made up this whole meta narrative about how we were one gang and then the fifth graders were a rival. Like we had a
David Hernandez:Ooh, I love this. Yeah.
PokeCello:'cause second, third, fourth grade, that's about the age where you do that kind of stuff. and so I feel like that spirit was really captured in a game like Pokemon, where you are adventuring, you're going out into the world, you're discovering new things. there are battles and you kind of build a friendship. You build a team, with your favorite little guys. And I think it was just that quality of. Going out on a journey, collecting information, collecting friends, collecting relationships, standing off against bad guys, right? the excitement of final battles, the concept of an elite four. I think it was just that sense of adventure that really spoke to me as a, tiny little person.
David Hernandez:You know, you said second, third, fourth, and I was still doing this since eighth and ninth grade, so I really, my stage kind of went a little bit longer. I always imagine myself saving the day coming and like nobody else can beat the bad guy, but mean it was always a rival school I made up in my head. But I definitely relate to that idea to where you just made up these kind of different scenarios and different way friend roles. But for me I was always felt like I was a star. So I don't know.
PokeCello:brother.
David Hernandez:But I wanted to do a follow up question.'cause you said you came back with Pokemon X and Y and you know, after revisiting all Pokemon, like how did you revisit, like what led to you coming back to the franchise?
PokeCello:I mean, it was truly an accident. I very much just went into Target. I think I was there to buy dish towels. Like I was not intending on doing anything that day.
David Hernandez:Now this is how you know it's a legit story.'cause who else goes for Target for the dish house? You always go for the furniture or the little cute gadgets you see in the front or the in the, like, you know, the little thing for the couch, the pillows. Like, this is a logistical. I'm sorry. Continue.
PokeCello:yes. would I make up this detail?
David Hernandez:Yeah. Yeah.
PokeCello:I was, pretty sure I was just there to be a productive member of society. And then, I saw that there was like a new type of Game Boy, and I've always called my consoles game Boys,
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm.
PokeCello:an old person. Like there was a Game Boy Advance, but then everything since the Game Boy has also been a Game boy.
David Hernandez:It's like everything's a peek at you. Yeah.
PokeCello:exactly. Everything is a P at you. Everything's a game boy. and I think, I was just curious because I remembered liking it as a kid. and I was like, wait, Pokemon is still going. Like, how does that work? I thought that like. There were only certain, there's like a limited number of Pokemon, right? So they must have added more. And I was just kind of looking at the, the box art and being like, only one way to find out. Right? and I had just, think that this was my first year of, grad school actually, where I had like a really intense schedule and I was really busy and I needed something fun to do. And it just kind of felt like, okay, let's try this. See what, see what, see what, what happens. And I didn't recognize a single Pokemon, between if it wasn't a gen one or two, no idea. No idea. I
David Hernandez:Sure. Yeah.
PokeCello:Gen two Pokemon that you don't even get, like, I didn't know Silver Cave was in Pokemon Crystal. I didn't
David Hernandez:Really.
PokeCello:girl. I did not know that you could battle red and no, I, it was a disaster as a child. idea. Absolutely no idea. but thankfully as an adult with better, you know, reading comprehension, I really, you just got right back into it and felt just getting right back into the swing of things. It was very fun.
David Hernandez:It must have been kind of fun though to come back and you see all the new Pokemon, and I think that's also a mega evolution. So you kinda saw
PokeCello:Yes,
David Hernandez:Canto, and I think it was just canto at the time, be able to be made into mega Pokemon. You got to kind of pick the star and everything, so it was a very good generation for you to come back, especially being gone for the franchise for so long.
PokeCello:was. And it was. So I think X and y was especially fun because like, that was the first gimmick generation. I, I think there was not like I
David Hernandez:Yeah.
PokeCello:four or five didn't really have like a new mechanic or anything. so it was actually really exciting for me'cause it was not just route, gym route, gym route, battle. Whatever. I had a lot of fun. Probably too much fun because, that's where all my, money has gone in the past 10 years.
David Hernandez:Damn poke. My X and Y restarted the habit.
PokeCello:Yes. Oh my God. And then, oh, but I also got into the TCG, but
David Hernandez:Oh, do tell. Let's start. Yeah. Uh, that's even more of a money pit.
PokeCello:Well, so I found, gosh, how long ago is this now? I found my childhood collection and I
David Hernandez:Oh,
PokeCello:Yeah, I know. I was real
David Hernandez:she's rich.
PokeCello:girl, I found, um, sorry, I call it, I'm sorry, I,
David Hernandez:Hey. No, no. Don't apologize. This is great.
PokeCello:mode. Um, no, I found my, collection of like beset, fossil. It was not a real collection. I did not have anything where I didn't have a Charizard, so, you know, but I was like, oh yeah, I had so much fun. you know, ev every weekend I would go to the bookstore and they had a little thing, a little thing next to the counter. I'd be like, mom, please, please, I want one. and maybe if I like got good grades, they would get me one. I don't
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm.
PokeCello:and then I was like, oh, well of course they've still continued and I found cards in Target and I think this is so, oh, brother. Since the beginning of X and Y in the TCG I've been collecting master sets very casually, very casually. Not like intense. but I have a ton of, binders full of, the TCGI really, really like collecting the TCG. It's one of my favorites. I don't like it right now.
David Hernandez:Hmm.
PokeCello:Scalpers.
David Hernandez:Unfortunately. Yeah.
PokeCello:right. But, I think it just, all of Pokemon in general just really appeals to. Whatever neuro type I happen to have. I really like collecting things. I like organizing things. I love to sort things,
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm.
PokeCello:sorter, love to sort things. so I feel like it just really speaks to whatever quality that is of mine. I just really like to, to collect and organize and sort. Pokemon is really good for that.
David Hernandez:When it came to you finding the jungle and fossil set, was there, kinda like something that brought back memories, like cards that you found? Like was there anything specifically that kind of stuck out?
PokeCello:Well, so this is interesting because when I found those cards, I remembered every single one and I had a feeling like, I don't necessarily have a memory of this, but I had a feeling like I probably sat on my bed and like stared at each of these cards and like went through them one by one. memorized the art and the words. I don't think I ever really played the game. this really solidified when I started looking at other cards that I didn't have from my original childhood collection that I recognized. I was like, oh my gosh, I must have had those. So I recognized all this old suga Maori art, suddenly I was flooded with like, oh, I recognize the, this art, I recognize this text. and recently I went back and got some of the, not the expense of cards, but like, you know, the comments and uncommons, um, started filling in my, my base set and my jungle and fossil and some of those cards. I was like, oh, I definitely had one of these. I know I did because I recognize it so strongly.
David Hernandez:Now as we continue, like since, you know, came back from Pokemon X and Y, we'll dive into more in your latter, games in mid. But I want to ask, what's your favorite Pokemon?
PokeCello:Oh man. I knew that this was gonna be a question. okay. My favorite Pokemon is Vol Corona.
David Hernandez:Ooh.
PokeCello:know why. Don't ask me any follow up questions. I have no idea. something that, like I didn't play black and white. I
David Hernandez:Yeah.
PokeCello:TY two. I don't even know. Was Una in and y? It might have been. I'm not sure. I don't even know, I don't have a good story. I don't have like a key memory, but something about that fire butterfly just, gets me. I don't know. I don't have a good story. It's
David Hernandez:Well, do you have a trading card of it?
PokeCello:Oh, absolutely. I think I have, well, except for like whatever the newest ones are, but I
David Hernandez:Of course, yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Scalpers.
PokeCello:yeah, exactly. I would love, I was so happy when Volcorona got two paradoxes and Scarlet Violet and like, I would love a life-size slither wing flush,
David Hernandez:yes.
PokeCello:tall. I would put it like next to my window. that people would think I was home and then maybe have like a shadowy effect. So people are like, what is that? Okay.
David Hernandez:you talked about how they had both runner had two paradox, forms come out. Scarlet Violet. Did you have a particular favorite between those two, or did you just like them both equally?
PokeCello:I like slither wing.
David Hernandez:Mm.
PokeCello:iron moth too because it's kind of cooler, but Slither wing is just a little guy.
David Hernandez:I always felt like Scarlet got the better paradox. Pokemon?
PokeCello:They definitely had I feel like a going with future as a broad concept can like limit you a little bit more than. Ancient as a concept. I don't know. I don't have very, um, you'll learn this about me. I do not have very many sophisticated opinions Pokemon. I'm
David Hernandez:No, this is great so far. Yeah, you're under mating yourself.
PokeCello:Um, it's my favorite and I just like it.
David Hernandez:A, that's all that matters, man. Sometimes you just look at it and like, that's my Pokemon and that's all it needs to be. It doesn't always have to have a deep story sometimes.
PokeCello:that's true. That's true. That's fair.
David Hernandez:Yep. Now last thing I wanna talk about is course Pokemon Scarlet Vibe. That's the most recent games. And, you know, you started more recent with X and y. What are your thoughts on playing that game and, experiencing compared to your old school games? Like what did you like about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?
PokeCello:I mean, I'll be honest, the like I tried to explain the story to my mother recently and
David Hernandez:Ooh.
PokeCello:like I. all over the place, because the story was so complex. There was so many things going on. but I was really drawn to the Team Star and like classic, backstory here. Like I was bullied in school. I had that experience. but it was really fascinating to see how that story unfolded, that Team Star wasn't the bad guys. it just started out as a kids who were being bullied. And I loved the leaders. I loved how different they all were. and they, each one of'em honestly kind of reminded me of a person I would've known in high school. it was kind of nice to just see something that really resonated with like reality for me. and the conclusion of that storyline really got me when Clavell was, oh my gosh. I don't remember exactly what he said, but like, he apologized. He was like, the school was wrong. not help the kids who are being bullied. We wanna bring you back. We want you to teach our, teach our students about your star barrage system. Like as someone who's bullied in school, that blew my mind. And I thought like, okay, cheese time, if there are kids watching this or watching this, playing this, who are being bullied, that might be that might be powerful to them to know It's not their fault to know that the adults around them do have some responsibility to step in, that they deserve to be safe. and I was so engrossed, so engrossed in the story. so my, my main experience was just like, I need the lore. Give me the lore. I need the story. I need to advance the plot as fast as possible.'cause I just, I have no idea what's gonna happen. I had no idea how they were gonna get the three story paths together. I thought the whole area zero sequence was I never thought in my child's video game. That you would be fighting a robot with an AI replication of the professor who's been dead for 10. Like I, I, I see, I, I sound like I'm all over the place trying to explain it, but I, I loved, loved, loved the story. Really Got me,
David Hernandez:I think you brought up such a very powerful highlight that maybe people overlook is clavell is actually apologizing. Because if you've been bullied growing up, or maybe if you had maybe been a victim of some kind of, you know, vicious attack or something like that, how many times did you wish that somebody had stepped in and just gave you that kind of comfort? And I think that maybe you kind of resonated with the idea of clavell provided comfort and had wished maybe you had received that when you were growing up being bullied. Is that fair to say?
PokeCello:Oh, I mean, absolutely. I feel like too many times you feel like the people around you don't care. Maybe they don't notice. but it was so nice to just be like, yeah, actually. when people, when people are making fun of me in high school. So silly to think about now, but like,
David Hernandez:Yeah.
PokeCello:actually it would've been great if someone had stepped in. It would've been great. Even, you know, if I had told the teacher and the teacher was like, wow, that sucks. Like, just that level of connection being like, this was wrong, this shouldn't be happening. really gave me a little bit of a almost resolution to that whole side of my story. I was like, yeah, actually that was kind of, horrible and that shouldn't have happened. And it's not my fault. I mean,
David Hernandez:Hmm. Yeah.
PokeCello:awkward. You know, I played the, it was a big cello. Uh, I was very artsy, we'll say artsy is a nice word of saying in high school. So I won't say it wasn't
David Hernandez:Yeah.
PokeCello:fault. I was bullied, but, you know, a bully.
David Hernandez:I mean for me, I'm not gonna, uh, maybe I'll include this. For me, I was bullied growing up'cause I was fat. Um, I wasn't athletic and you know, I was in the Pokemon longer than I should have been. So those reasons were enough for people to kind of bully me or pick on me. And it sucks at the time.'cause you know, that's kind of why I was always, imagining saving the world.'cause I wanted to go back and gain retribution or get that kind of closure from my bullies growing up. And that's what I always imagined in my head, growing. That's why maybe it stuck with me longer. But you know, you just always want that kind of closure. And sometimes that's the hardest part. Whenever you are bullied or if you're ever a victim, sometimes you're never gonna get that closure. You're never gonna get somebody to apologize or somebody to say, I'm sorry this kind of happened. Sometimes you have to kind of find your own door and it's one of the hardest challenges.
PokeCello:absolutely. I think that my favorite part about the Pokemon community in general, there's so many people in the Pokemon community who this kind of history, where just for whatever reason, something in their life wasn't quite right, and it's so nice. To just have that be normal. Like, it's not weird that I was bullied, like it's just like, oh yeah, that's a thing that happens. It's not weird to be, you know, excluded because of, your gender,
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm.
PokeCello:Or, a disability, a chronic illness. Like that's not a weird thing in this community. It's just like, oh, everyone's got something like that. And it really makes me feel like I can relax here. I don't have to have all of this, um, you know, facade the professional. hello I am here and professional and legitimate. Um, I don't have to do that because yeah, I can be a little bit messy. I just really like Pokemon and all these other people who I don't really have much in common with. They also really like Pokemon. and it's just kind of a nice place to be where this stuff happens to people. It's real. but what brings us together is. The out, the what? 1025 little guys
David Hernandez:And counting.
PokeCello:and counting.
David Hernandez:I want to switch gears to your music side now. And before we dive into, you know, your YouTube channel and how you made in Pokemon, or how you started doing Pokemon music remixes, you know, when you started playing the cello, how did you first find that instrument and what was I guess the steps of your early introduction to music?
PokeCello:Wow. Um, I mean, I have like the, the conventional story, which is my parents forced me to do it. They were like, you have to play an instrument.
David Hernandez:Hey, this is great. I think that will relate to everybody who's an instrument person.
PokeCello:I, I can't believe that that worked. I look back at that and I'm like. Oh, I see what you did. Oh, that's not nice at all. Like, but to be, to be fair, I, hi parents. I love you. To be fair to my parents.
David Hernandez:Hi mom.
PokeCello:yeah, exactly. I really lived in music as a little kid. you know, my dad would put on, he's a big classical music fan. and he would put on symphonies with, enormous speakers I would just go nuts. Like I really, I would dance, I would move. if it was really high energy, I would like roll around on the ground. Like I as a really, really little person, really, really little. there was just something up being enveloped in music. so playing an instrument made a lot of sense. And, I started on the violin cause I was like, oh, violin is so pretty. and then I got to my lessons and they made me stand up the whole time. And I was like, no, I don't wanna do that.
David Hernandez:I wanna sit down.
PokeCello:yeah, exactly. And lucky for me, there's an instrument exactly like the violin, but you get to sit down. and my parents were like, sure, go nuts. And then I learned any, any people listening to this who think it's easier because you get to sit down, you don't get to sit down, you have to sit down very specifically. You have to have good posture. It was such a racket. It was such a bait switch. I thought this was gonna be easy. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I ended up on cello. and I just never wanted to put it down. I didn't think I wanted to be good at it, really. I didn't think I wanted to make it my career as a, as a kid. but it just became this part of me. It was really just like, oh, this is my other half. Right. People say that about their romantic partners, but for me it was like, oh, I'm not really a complete person unless I have my instrument. no idea how that happened. I mean, maybe it goes back to like the neuro type thing where it was just something that for whatever reason really appealed to me. cause I'll be honest, pretty sure that the only reason I'm a musician is because, I learned that in music school you have to practice and practicing and being locked alone in a small room for hours and nobody is allowed to bother you. Like, hello,
David Hernandez:everybody's introverted dream right there.
PokeCello:Exactly. Dream come true. And like it's all repetitive action. It's all just like doing the same things over and over and over. And for me, I was like, oh, sign me up, this is perfect. Um, so like there is that element that like, yeah, oh, music is beautiful. I was lost in it. But also like, yeah, I just really like the idea of, shedding passages in music and practicing and a big practice nerd, so. Did I mention I was bullied in school?
David Hernandez:But you came out ahead though. You came out very good in your life, I think.
PokeCello:I think I tried.
David Hernandez:Now I do love the image that you gave me to where like I was rolling around the ground. I feel like a mosh pit would be your scene. Was that kind of the case at all? Like did, were you like,
PokeCello:Oh, let's, well,
David Hernandez:oh,
PokeCello:the seventh grade when I discovered heavy metal. I discovered having, I mean, that was, it was all over for me. there was no turning back from a music career once my friend, gave me a burned copy of system of a down, on the, on the bus. And I never heard it before. No one in my life had ever listened to that kind of music. it was like, oh my God, where, where has this been my whole life? This just felt like me. And if you. Turn up the volume and put on your headphones. metal can be so soothing. It can, it can just completely isolate you from whatever else is going on. and I was like, okay, I gotta know more. I gotta know more. I gotta know more. and I went back to, to my seventh grade class and another one of my friends was like, Hey, you play the cello right? Did you know that there's a heavy metal band where they only play cello? And I was like, um, no, but can you, can, can you show me? Um, that band is apocalyptica, lots of metal heads. No. Apocalyptica Apocalyptica, became famous by doing Metallica covers on four cellos. and once those two lines kind of crossed for me, right? So I like playing the cello. I like everything that kind of comes along with it. Technically, when I realized I could play heavy metal on the cello. done, I don't wanna do anything else. in my non-PokeCello life, in my, in my somewhat more professional real name life, that is primarily what I do. I primarily play, heavy metal rock, symphonic metal, type stuff on the electric cello. So of, a lot of paths kind of crossed for me and I'm very glad. I don't think I want, would wanna be anywhere else to be honest.
David Hernandez:into your angsty side of getting bullied and now you're just getting those feelings outta you.
PokeCello:yes. And like, it was so, it was such a relief. I mean, I remember going into high school being like, no, it is too early for this. I am not interested in anything anyone else has to say. And I would put in my headphones and then, then it was fine. It was so much easier to deal with because I mean, that's such a common music thing. Every, I think lots of people have that experience.
David Hernandez:So you are basically doing remixes of classic Pokemon game musics. And I wanna touch on the first one that you did, which is back in August of 2022, you did the Pokemon Center theme of gold and silver. You know, when you first uploaded it, why did you choose that song to start off?
PokeCello:at the very beginning, know,'cause a full-time freelance musician. and part of that is you're always looking for work. you know, you're never really settled into one thing for that long. I had kind of had this, this vague interest in maybe doing some kind of Pokemon music on cello. and then I found a transcription of the entire Pokemon Red and Loose soundtrack, by Mark Bennis. Shout out to Mark. this was a really, really incredible piece of work. I'm in awe of what he was able to do, but basically he transcribed the three, chip tune tracks. For every piece of the soundtrack from Pokemon Red plus the percussion, uh, track. when I saw that, when I looked at that, this idea popped into my head that would it sound like if a cello played all of those parts? And I started with a Pokemon Center because it was easy. That's just to be being honest. I picked the easiest one. but that was kind of like, okay, well maybe I'll try this, I'll try doing this and see if, see if it works for me. but I really just liked this idea. Okay. Early game stuff. It's written for the, the Game Boys chip tune. I'm sure there's a, a more name for it. I could play each of those lines on the cello, I could lay them over each other and see what it sounds like. It was really just a matter of exploration. But, the gold and silver Pokemon Center theme was just so like, ah, it's relaxing. Mm-hmm. the, it's the quintessential Pokemon song.
David Hernandez:Did you remember like what it felt like to hit upload?'cause that was your first, I guess, official video. I know you had the teaser. Were you confident of like what would happen or were you kind of nervous or did, were you just kind of numb to it, like you were just getting a try and see what happens?
PokeCello:no, no confidence whatsoever. so I think this was like kind of a, rocky time in my career and my thinking was I saw so many really successful. video game music, remixer channels,
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm.
PokeCello:like, well, I can't like do that. Like, I'm not that good at, you know, whatever Glitch does right? Like her, her tracks are so, so in depth, they're so well crafted. And I was like, I can never do that, but I play the cello so I could try this. I can see if there's any interest in it. and my, goal starting out was I was just gonna work through the Pokemon Red soundtrack. I was just going to kind of go through each one. and when I was uploading it was really quite, um, I do not like it. I still do not like it. I still do not like hitting the upload button, to be honest. Really don't like it. but it was really just, let's see, let's see what happens. yeah, I wasn't, I wasn't super concerned about anything else. So,
David Hernandez:you said how you know you were in a rocky starter career, it almost sounds like that song kind of resonated, something you needed to feel at the time, because we said it's relaxing. The Pokemon said is where you go for healing your personal life. You know, it's rocky. But then you turn to this, it seems like that's a song that you identified at the time that you needed.
PokeCello:Well, I mean the, my PokeCello origin story, is really quite simple. at the end of 2021, the very few last few weeks, few days of 2021, I was diagnosed with cancer. and 22, 20 22, the whole year was like dealing with that. Right? but what was interesting, and the reason that I can, laugh about and talk about it now, is that Pokemon Legends Arceus came out. Days before I had surgery. And so every part of that whole ordeal, the surgery, the treatment, the doctor's appointments, the, imaging, all of it, all of it supported by playing through this new game. And I really felt awful. I couldn't, I couldn't work. I lost my job. I was trying to do, personal, original compositions and those just were not coming, like, just wasn't working. But, I came home from surgery, in my switch, and I was playing Legends Arceus when I was tired and I felt sick. I was playing Legends Arceus. When I was stressed out, I was playing Legends Arceus. And it just really became. I mean, this was like the best few months of my life. It was so fun. Like, it's so weird to talk about like a cancer situation like that, but it was really quite special. I feel really, really lucky that I got to have this gift of cancer is awful. It's like, don't, it's bad. However, it didn't really matter to me. It didn't really resonate or, or hit me hard as a horrible thing that was happening because like, I gotta go to the doctor. Yeah, go get, gotta get some shots. I gotta sit in the imaging machine, whatever. when I get home, I'm going right back to his sui. so after the cancer thing kind of resolved and I'm fine, it was fine. It was not that bad. But like once that resolved and I was ready to kind of get back into it, I felt I had a real debt to pay. I had gotten into this franchise in a new way. Like it really, really was a supportive, it was integral to this whole experience. And I had to be honest, didn't really know much about, Pokemon YouTube. I didn't know much about Pokemon content creation. I discovered content creators, that I didn't know about before. And I mean, shout out to, to them because like, gosh, when I was, when I couldn't sleep, I would put on, what was it? I would put on, I'd put on John Stone's, professor Oak Challenge, video playlist when I couldn't sleep. That was like my go-to. And I, and it was just great. I had all of this support from a community I didn't know from Perfect strangers. you know, no one's making Professor Oak Challenge videos to help a complete stranger who's going through cancer treatment. Like, that's not a situation. but it still happened for me. to Johnstone. That's very cool. but when that, you know, when I got my, my Clean Bill of Health and I was ready to celebrate whatever, I felt like I just had to do something. I had to do something thank the community, to thank the franchise to contribute. and that's where PokeCello came from. That was my way of, saying thank you to this awesome community.
David Hernandez:You know, when you were playing Legends Arceus in such a vulnerable time, you know, lost your job cancer oh nine yards, I can't even imagine what you were going through or what that would feel like. Did you kind of see a connection with Legend Arceus, with your own story, with discovery, resilience, and even isolation at times?
PokeCello:mean, I, there was a lot of that, but to me, the, fundamental image of that was just Jubilee Village. And the Juba Life Village music. And your little house that you have is the character in Juba Life Village. It's really small. you've got your little bed roll and like, I would just imagine myself in that little house, and I would imagine myself, like with my Pokemon and like going out and doing this grand adventure, that was scary. Like that was the first Pokemon game where Pokemon were scary. Like they would attack you. That
David Hernandez:Yeah,
PokeCello:Um,
David Hernandez:they come at you.
PokeCello:yeah, so it was scary. There was danger. Not, we won't even talk about Valo, but there was a lot of tension. And so I really, really liked getting to, oh, I'm just imagining myself in my little quarters. And then if I have to go out and go do stupid doctor's appointments, well I could just come back and, and go out to the obsidian field once and have this kind of like. Release of that release of all of that tension.
David Hernandez:Well, let's keep moving forward'cause I want to move to your most popular one, which is how I found You, which is the aerial Zero, and you did a shallow slash orchestra mix and it exploded. It's still your popular video today. did you anticipate it to get that kind of response? Or what was the moment when you saw like, whoa, this is getting so many attention compared to my other stuff?
PokeCello:So when I kind of started, I was like, well, let's see. Let's see what happens with the channel. and when I started doing Scarlet and Violet music, I was like, oh, well maybe people will be more interested in this'cause it's from the new games. and I was really excited when my first video hit a thousand views. I texted everyone, I was like, oh, it's happening, you know? but one of the things that I had read about, like becoming a content creators specifically was, can't wait. To go viral. Like you can't expect that to happen. You just have to be consistent. You have to keep putting out your content and you have to kind of just roll with the punches that not all gonna be popular. There are gonna be lots of videos that you put out and nobody cares, nobody watches. so at that point, you know, I hadn't had a, a super successful video. None of my videos had passed 10,000 views at that point. And my mindset at the time was like, it doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be amazing. It just has to be real. It has to have integrity, it has to speak to something. area Zero. The theme is just unlike anything we've ever heard in a Pokemon game. I was a little nervous about doing it justice. The first time I heard it playing through the game, I was like, oh, I'm never gonna be able to cover this. Are you kidding? Like, it
David Hernandez:Mm.
PokeCello:rich and complex. but I had kind of shut off the like, Emotional side of it. I was like, you know what? I'm going to, I'm making these videos, I'm putting'em out, and I'm not waiting for the reaction. I don't, I'm gonna kind of not, uh, incorporate that into my experience of making content for the channel because I can't control it. I, I am the mercy of the algorithm. so when Area Zero started taking off, first I was like, oh, well it's area zero, so of course that's what, of course that makes sense. but I was like, okay, don't care about this. You can't care about it. It's, you can't use it as like, oh, I'm doing it. Oh, I'm winning the next video is not gonna do that, and the video after that probably isn't gonna do it either. So I had this mindset of every video I put out, every track that I make has to be worth a hundred thousand views. single one
David Hernandez:Hmm.
PokeCello:to be worth that.
David Hernandez:You like that?
PokeCello:out a track. If I don't think it's really there yet. so when Area Zero started getting, you know, not just thousands of views, but tens of thousands of views, I was like, okay, One, I'm glad I wasn't attached to it, but two, like I'm glad that I was just focused on about putting out something that someone would wanna listen to and ideally to more than once, listen to over and over. I think that's like the, the real thing about music content creation is you wanna have longevity. but I try to keep it just very chill, very mellow. try not to react to, um, YouTube analytics. Um, I try to just kind of not care about that. I care about it. I really, really care about it, but I try not to care about it. Um,
David Hernandez:I do too, but I try not to look either.
PokeCello:Exactly right. Like, oh no. Oh, I'm so cool. I'm so calm. I don't care about anything.
David Hernandez:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
PokeCello:reload, reload, reload. Um, with Area Zero, I was, I was glad it was that track because I was quite happy with it. every video before, well, I mean every video, but every video before, definitely every video since I think, would I be okay if a hundred thousand people listen to this? And if the answer is no, I don't put it out.
David Hernandez:You know, that's such for, I guess, not refreshing, but it's so keen because I think a lot of people just put stuff out for the sake of putting stuff out to where the quality goes down and they kind of lose that, I'll say soul to the content. cause I'm kind of the same way in the sense to where for me, I see a more sight on the editing to where if something doesn't sound right. I'm not gonna put it out. I'm going to, if I need to take some extra time, I'll delay my upload time.'cause I wanna make sure the episode comes out
PokeCello:Yep.
David Hernandez:the way I want to.'cause maybe that's just the side of the work ethic or maybe our content creation, whatever you wanna call it. But for me, I feel like I owe the people who listen to my show, you know, a quality content, a quality interview. That's why whenever I go to interview, I come prepared with the answers that I need to ask most of the time. Now, do I have my down moments? Of course. But my down moments I think is not as noticeable to them as it is to me. And maybe that's kind of what you're talking to.
PokeCello:Oh, it is not as noticeable whatsoever. And that's a key part of my particular tapestry of perfectionism
David Hernandez:Yeah.
PokeCello:But like I absolutely, I wanna have everything via the absolute top level. At the same times I have to be realistic. for example, no training in audio engineering. I have
David Hernandez:Really. I'm surprised. Yeah.
PokeCello:no, uh, it is all YouTube tutorials. I met someone recently who is an audio engineer, and I did a video call with her and I was like, can you explain what EQ means?
David Hernandez:Oh wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
PokeCello:Cell,
David Hernandez:I,
PokeCello:I, oh my God, so embarrassing. And it's, it's evident eventually if you listen to my old stuff, you'll hear it. Um,
David Hernandez:yeah.
PokeCello:I didn't know what I was doing, but I knew that if I waited, PokeCello would not happen. It would not exist. So at the same time, to have every, I really wanted everything really quality, something that really speaks to people. At the same time, I wait until I think it's ready, I'll be dead. No one will ever hear it.
David Hernandez:You will be a dying artist.
PokeCello:Yeah. Really. Like, you just, it won't, it will never, ever come out.
David Hernandez:Last question, just in regards to Area Zero. And even some of your responses kind of showed how much care you put into the song, because if you described it as a way of blending ancient and future sound, it shows kind of the real intent, the real care you brought to such a very Honestly gonna be me memorable song. I think it's actually, if not the popular, at least not top five popular Pokemon songs. I would say that. How did you kind of approach trying to reinterpret that song that was already emotionally layered, like area Zero to add kind of your own emotional fingerprint, your own interpretation to it?
PokeCello:I knew I was gonna do kind of two repeats, right? Two loops. And I was like, okay. So although the first one with like orchestral instruments, so a lot of brass, instruments that are, not software instruments. Oh my gosh. I'm sure there's a word. I'm a professional musician. I don't know what the word is.
David Hernandez:It's okay. I'm a professional podcast and I forget words, so it's okay. I said shallow and shallow, like I can't get shallow, whatever it is. So.
PokeCello:Okay. Okay. Okay, good. Excellent. So, um, I was, I was looking at the thing and I was like, okay, so I'll do the first half with of straight ahead acoustic orchestral sound, and then I'll do the second time with, software instruments and have more synths, more electric keyboard type sounds. and then when I went and did the recording, so my process basically is, I, I take the arrangement, usually there's some transcription involved. Very rarely for the new stuff. There'll be a transcription someone's put online somewhere. But usually I do the, the transcription myself. I do the arrangement, I try to get things kind of or less where they need to be, and then I record over it. And that of transition between working on the arrangement and recording is the worst. That is the worst part of it. because that's where the medal, that's road, that's where you gotta, like, that's where you gotta, that's where you gotta perform. That's when you gotta show up and get it right. and so with Area Zero, I really was attached to, after the vocal section, there's a solo, it kind of sounds like it's on a r who, but it's very vocal. And that was the section that I was like, okay, I know I can do that. I know I can do a vocal sound. I know I can bring out the longing, the keening almost, I can bring out the soaring quality of that line. And once I got that. was like, okay, this, this, this might work out. and I was very nervous because this is a track that had vocals and very unusual for Pokemon. I didn't really know if it would make any sense on the cello,'cause some, some music just doesn't make sense on the cello. but I really tried to, to hone in on just one quality. And once I felt like I got that, that's where the rest of it kind of came out of.
David Hernandez:Now I wanna transition to your original composition. It was when you made your first original Pokemon Battle theme in February of 2025. It's a huge risk making your own music when you're so used to tied to Pokemon.
PokeCello:Yeah.
David Hernandez:What made you kind of wanna step into that creative side, even vulnerable and What made you wanna take that leap?
PokeCello:A while ago. I mean, this is the, this is just the honest answer
David Hernandez:Sure.
PokeCello:saw. A video by Glitch who, and the video was called something like, here's How I Wrote My Own Pokemon Battle Feed. Something like that. And to be honest, thought had never occurred to me. I never considered trying to write something in this very iconic style. And I watched her video and I was like, oh, hang on though. I watched it and I was like, I'm gonna just put that on the back burner because that I might be able to do that. so shout out to Glitch. Thank you. Glitch. And I realized that it would just be fun. would just be fun to take the building blocks, the kind of, essential pieces of a Pokemon theme, I could kind of identify what those were. I can kind of, kind of build almost modularly, because you start with the, the chromatic. Okay. So we start with that. And then there's kind of a hook. Usually there's like a, a, a loop where you, you build up the energy, and the melodies, the classic, have specific harmonic content. there's specific chord progressions that kind of come up a lot. And I was like, okay, I'll plug those in. and I'll just noodle around and see what a melody comes out. it was just kind of fun. It was just like a fun experiment. I never really thought about releasing it necessarily. I wasn't thinking like, oh, I'm gonna write this for Pokemon Day. Right. but then once it got started I was like, hang on, maybe I should release this for Pokemon Day because I really liked it. I had fun writing it. The biggest risk. Ah, I call it the eurovision section. There's a part of it where I have no self-restraint. I love cheesiness. I love corniness. I love sentimentality in music. I just, I don't, I don't hold back.
David Hernandez:Sure.
PokeCello:the whole ethos of PokeCello. I do not hold back. There's no restraint happening
David Hernandez:Ooh, I love that. Yeah.
PokeCello:bring everything to like the, the most intensity. I really want to just take whatever the, the quality of that track is, and we're gonna just turn it up to 11.
David Hernandez:Hmm.
PokeCello:no doing it halfway. So I realized that I could do this, series of transpositions and circle of fit score changes and I kind of just set it in. I just kind of put programs into my.as a, almost like a joke because it sounded so cheesy. It was so ridiculous. and I was like, okay, well I did one of these transpositions, lemme do another one after that. Let's see what that sounds like. And then I was like, well, what if I do another one after that? what could that sound like? and that ended up being my favorite part of the song. It was definitely the riskiest because it is very cheesy. is absolutely something you would hear in Eurovision. but it also has just a lot of my personality in it. Um, I was very nervous about releasing it. didn't want, get attached to it. I really tried to, to, like I mentioned, I tried to kind of stay detached from, the audience reaction. it was just a really kind of fun, it started out as a fun puzzle. and then it turned into something really expressive. And I'll be honest with you, I am frankly shocked that it came out half as well it did.
David Hernandez:Right.
PokeCello:could, it could have been a disaster. but yeah, that, that was my experience with it. It was really fun.
David Hernandez:I mean, it just sounds like maybe it's the vulnerable side of your own creation.'cause now you, you know, it's not, you don't have a blueprint for this, you know, this isn't based off of Pokemon gets inspired by it, but it's like, if people don't like it, it's like almost like you take it personally in a way, you know, you're try not to, but it's hard not to as an artist. Yeah.
PokeCello:oh, it is. Yes. I read all of your comments.
David Hernandez:Every single 4,000 of'em. Well Pokecello. Thank you for coming on as the poke ball turns. I wanna finish on this last question'cause I think you have a very powerful story you know, you've turned shallow into like a vessel of storytelling, connection and healing. You know, what do you hope people carry with them hearing your music, whether it's longtime fans or someone to step into the Pokemon world for the first time?
PokeCello:So one of the things that has always spoken to me in every version of music that I've done, um, you know, so being a freelance musician, I've done a million things. I was an orchestral musician. I've done film scores, I've done music videos, I've done dance tracks, I've written music, um, and now I'm doing video game remixes. But across all of it, I've always felt that music has this, unparalled Capacity to not only help you understand yourself, understand your own story, understand who you are, what your life is about. I've always felt very strongly about music that way, and it's always kind of helped me not necessarily achieve full self-actualization, of course, but it's always helped me just kind of settle in and say, okay, I am this kind of person. I am living this kind of life. is who I want to be. music just really helps us understand It helps us understand our own lives. It helps us understand other people, across everything. So when I'm making tracks, I want just a little bit of that for my audience. I want my audience to listen to this, whatever it is. even if it, again, just like a, the tiniest little sliver of helping them understand something, if it's. A, a chill track. It's coming home at the end of a long day, at the end of a hard day, finding a place to let it go, right? If it's an exciting track, if it's a hype track. Pokemon music is all about determination, in my pretentious dramatic view. Um, I want to give just a sliver of that to my audience. I want them to hear this, and some part of them can kind of relax. Some part of them can kind of feel centered, feel like there's some kind of understanding happening. if I get half of half of half of 1%, you know, I think I've done my job.
David Hernandez:It almost sounds like for you, Pokemon kind of reclaimed your identity because you could have given up when you lost your job. You could have given up when you were diagnosed with cancer, but you didn't, and it sounds like Pokemon thinking. This music kind of reclaimed who you were in a way.
PokeCello:Well, I mean, my whole career has been about bouncing back,
David Hernandez:Mm-hmm.
PokeCello:that we could, we could talk about cancer. We can also talk about the pandemic. I was in a car crash. I have a traumatic brain injury. I'm disabled, I have chronic illness. Like, there's so
David Hernandez:Wow. Yeah.
PokeCello:am a wreck. There's so much going on with me. Do you have a podcast for people who are Rex? Um,
David Hernandez:to as the pickleball turns were.
PokeCello:so absolutely. The, the feeling that Pokemon brings it is so frivolous. It is so silly. It is so non-important. But there is this feeling of determination, a feeling of dedication, a feeling of. You lose battles. Pokemon, faint. have rivals. There are sometimes there are, there are stakes, but it's a video game, so who cares? And I think for Pokemon, really is just a place for me to reclaim that feeling of dedication.
David Hernandez:Will PokeCello. Before you go, people wanna check out your content. If they want to connect with you, where can they go? By all means, please plug away.
PokeCello:Absolutely. You can find me on YouTube. I am primarily there to respond to comments. I actually do try to respond to every single comment I get. I love comments. all of my music is also on Spotify, apple Music. basically any streaming service you can find me there. and please just check out whatever speaks to you. I really encourage you to interact and, I love when people give me suggestions, recommendations, drop a comment, like, and subscribe, all of that good stuff.
David Hernandez:Thank you for listening to As The Pokeball Turns, if this story resonated with you, share the podcast with the fellow trainer and 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.
