Full-Time Pokemon Player

[Skeptics]

Hi there.

In private channels there has been some interest in my endeavors starting January 15th and I have decided to publicize my intentions in terms of pokemon and life.

About me: I am a 28 year old living in Toronto, Canada. I am single, work at an IB firm and have a passion for pokemon. Two years ago I was discussing with a good friend of mine what the purpose is in life. We both came to the conclusion that doing what truly makes you happy is something that is very fulfilling in life. As a result, I really pondered what made me happy. After coming onto smogon and being more involved in the pokemon scene, I realized that my passion in life and my favorite hobby is playing Pokemon. Over the past two years, I have been rationing money in order to try something that I think will be very rewarding: playing Pokemon full time.

This endeavor will start January 15th. I will be spending roughly 40-50 hrs weekly (what I would if I were working that year) on PS and just playing pokemon. To say it plain and simple, Pokemon will be my job for the year. I will also be taking vacation breaks, just as a real job and I will also be competing in tournaments and training for them as my job. A lot of people have tried to talk me out of this online and in real life, while I have also found some support in my good friend and a few friends I made online.

I just thought this thread would be a good place for discussion and have some interest, so if you have any questions, comments or advice then just feel free to PM me. I will be keeping a log of my weekly accompishments/projects I choose to do in the posts below.

Anyways feel free to discuss your thoughts or ask questions!

(I will only be playing smogon/ps pokemon, not vgc)

 

[BP]

I Fuck with this idea heavy and I hope you actually see this all the way through!

I want to give you some pointers through from my perspective from playing the game:

• Don't ladder regularly (RNG will make you hate yourself)
• Don't let losses or other players make you feel bad (after all this is supposed to be fun)
• Don't treat Smogon or PS like a job because it isn't (Unless thats what you are going for)
• Always try to make a positive impact on everyone you meet!

 

[Jason Genova]

how much will you be paid an hour to play pokemon

 

[Milhau5]

At first I was gonna joke/make a jerky comment, but it seems you're really serious about this. So, here's what I think you should do:

Make a Patreon.

Make a YouTube channel too, create an online personality and advertise it so that you will get enough patrons. Why? Well, I didn't see how you mentioned getting income, and unless you're as good at this game as Mew2King is as Smash Bros, you can't live off tournament paychecks. Actually, you couldn't anyway because the prize pools for VGC aren't a fraction as impressive.

 

[CALLOUS]

I still think, IF you’re serious and not just trolling us, this idea is atrocious and you’ll regret it down the road. That said, who am I to tell someone else how to live their life? You do you. Good luck.

 

[Soul Fly]

well idk how possible it is to pursue pro-pokemon fulltime (or even if something like that exists, as even the top players are usually students/working professionals), might wanna talk to some VGC peeps and trawl nugget bridge.

blarajan and a few other peeps are circuit regulars... they should have more of an idea about this.

 

[eren]

 

[Amaranth]

I guess this is what truly makes you happy: the genuine sportsmanship and respect between players involved in competitive pokémon play.

So this is why in World Cup of Pokemon Perfect you were an insufferable jerk who constantly taunted the opponents (managers as well as the rest of the team) over literally everything (abuse of loopholes in substitution rules? check. complaining about any slight bit of hax from your opponents? check. not acknowledging when you were the one getting lucky, and boasting about your victories as if you earned them, asking the opponents who you just lucked out to 'say gg'? check. being abusive and disrespectful towards people who were trying to peacefully discuss the length of their ghosting punishment? check. trying to force opponents to sub their players out even if the scheduling conflicts could have resolved themselves in many better ways if you bothered to make the effort? check. being a bother towards hosts and managers with your pushiness about deadlines but only when it favored you? check). Truly you were just trying to enjoy this game to the fullest and make it fun for everyone :^)


I sincerely hope you apologize for your conduct and change for the better, especially if you're going to stick around for this long. Consider this post as my apology for telling you to 'fuck off' exactly once, if you decide to make amends. If you decide not to, consider this post as a second 'fuck off'.

 

[Sam]

 

[Skeptics]

Well I am really 28. I am taking a gap year for school though and am taking up this endeavor while living at home. (My parents think I will have an online job). I just thought I would get even more hate for quitting school to do this so yeah.

 

[Jason Genova]

If 1 year ago you were entering your 1st year of college how did you simultaneously hold a job as an IB (with no college experience) and save up enough money to support yourself for a year..... :shrekthinking:

 

[teal6]

PM me on Discord and I will unironically train you both in life and in mons.

They key to success is balance.

 

[Sam]

Well... I am not really 28. I am taking a gap year for school though and am taking up this endeavor while living at home. (My parents think I will have an online job). I just thought I would get even more hate for quitting school to do this so yeah.

You are taking a gap year from school specifically to play mons full time?

 

[rural]

this is the wildest shit ive ever heard i can't wait for the update to this dumpster fire in 6 months

 

[termi]

Well... I am not really 28. I am taking a gap year for school though and am taking up this endeavor while living at home. (My parents think I will have an online job). I just thought I would get even more hate for quitting school to do this so yeah.

you're saying pokemon will be your full time job but it sounds like disappointing your parents is your real full time job

 

[Endeby]

While this thread is pretty hilarious, it does bring up an interesting concept: How can you make money out of playing competitive Pokemon (on Smogon)? We all know that winning tournaments here most of the time won't net you much more than a 16x16 pixel.

There are however Youtube personalities with big fanbases around, and I'd reckon they make at least a tiny bit if they run adds. Knowing Youtube, the add-money is probably far from enough. Do we know about examples of people actually making a proper living playing our game?

 

[jetou]

While this thread is pretty hilarious, it does bring up an interesting concept: How can you make money out of playing competitive Pokemon (on Smogon)? We all know that winning tournaments here most of the time won't net you much more than a 16x16 pixel.

There are however Youtube personalities with big fanbases around, and I'd reckon they make at least a tiny bit if they run adds. Knowing Youtube, the add-money is probably far from enough. Do we know about examples of people actually making a proper living playing our game?

I mean pokeaimMD does it for a living. (playing Pokemon showdown on YouTube)

 

[Pyritie]

Well... I am not really 28. I am taking a gap year for school though and am taking up this endeavor while living at home. (My parents think I will have an online job). I just thought I would get even more hate for quitting school to do this so yeah.

it sounds like you've already discovered your goal in life! I think you should try to pursue it as much as you can. After all, not everyone can brag about how much of a literal embodiment of disappointment they are

 

[Fardin]

U said that u have people who are supporting u.
Whoever is actually agreeing with this idea, they are not your friends.

 

[Boris Hardrada]

Hi there.

In private channels there has been some interest in my endeavors starting January 15th and I have decided to publicize my intentions in terms of pokemon and life.

About me: I am a 28 year old living in Toronto, Canada. I am single, work at an IB firm and have a passion for pokemon. Two years ago I was discussing with a good friend of mine what the purpose is in life. We both came to the conclusion that doing what truly makes you happy is something that is very fulfilling in life. As a result, I really pondered what made me happy. After coming onto smogon and being more involved in the pokemon scene, I realized that my passion in life and my favorite hobby is playing Pokemon. Over the past two years, I have been rationing money in order to try something that I think will be very rewarding: playing Pokemon full time.

This endeavor will start January 15th. I will be spending roughly 40-50 hrs weekly (what I would if I were working that year) on PS and just playing pokemon. To say it plain and simple, Pokemon will be my job for the year. I will also be taking vacation breaks, just as a real job and I will also be competing in tournaments and training for them as my job. A lot of people have tried to talk me out of this online and in real life, while I have also found some support in my good friend and a few friends I made online.

I just thought this thread would be a good place for discussion and have some interest, so if you have any questions, comments or advice then just feel free to PM me. I will be keeping a log of my weekly accompishments/projects I choose to do in the posts below.

Anyways feel free to discuss your thoughts or ask questions!

(I will only be playing smogon/ps pokemon, not vgc)

Rethink this.

 

[Skeptics]

Hopefully this response will address all questions/comments asked:

I am taking a gap year from college. I will be on a pokemon grind until I accomplish something on this site. I am doing this for a few reasons, but the biggest reason sums down to my addict with pokemon. My semester grades took a severe dip as I played pokemon too much. I have come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial for me to take a gap year and win something on this site to fulfill the insatiable passion that I have right now for the game of pokemon. More so, I think doing something I love for a year, with limited responsibilities and stress (I guess performing well would be my only one) will be something fulfilling in life and an opportunity not everyone has.

As for starting a youtube channel. There has been an expressed interest for me to make videos detailing my life and how I spend my days/what I do. I am still undecidedly if I will do a monthly, bi-weekly or weekly video answering all the question you have and also updating my process. (If anyone would wanna call for a preliminary video lmk via pm or in this thread)

If any of you didnt read the op, this will not be my job because I will not be making money, however I will be dedicating whatever time I would for school/work on pokemon instead, hoping to accomplish something and fulfill one of my goals in life right now! :]

 

[kilometerman]

This is what happens when you parrot to your children that their interests are the most important thing in the world. Oh, you want a 40,000$ gender studies degree? Who cares you won't be able to pay it off. After all, that's what the government's for. Oh, you want a 40 hour work week with maximum benefits, a 25/hour salary, at a lemonade stand? That's fine, after all you're entitled to anything you want.

On one hand I'm happy you gave me such a good laugh but on the other I realize you're probably going to be taking taxpayer's money to fund your meme year off from school to play Showdown full-time.

 

[Boris Hardrada]

Hopefully this response will address all questions/comments asked:

I am taking a gap year from college. I will be on a pokemon grind until I accomplish something on this site. I am doing this for a few reasons, but the biggest reason sums down to my addict with pokemon. My semester grades took a severe dip as I played pokemon too much. I have come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial for me to take a gap year and win something on this site to fulfill the insatiable passion that I have right now for the game of pokemon. More so, I think doing something I love for a year, with limited responsibilities and stress (I guess performing well would be my only one) will be something fulfilling in life and an opportunity not everyone has.

As for starting a youtube channel. There has been an expressed interest for me to make videos detailing my life and how I spend my days/what I do. I am still undecidedly if I will do a monthly, bi-weekly or weekly video answering all the question you have and also updating my process. (If anyone would wanna call for a preliminary video lmk via pm or in this thread)

If any of you didnt read the op, this will not be my job because I will not be making money, however I will be dedicating whatever time I would for school/work on pokemon instead, hoping to accomplish something and fulfill one of my goals in life right now! :]

Understandable, this clears things up. I struggled myself in college due to heroin addiction, but everything turned out alright once I dropped out of school to do heroin full-time. Best of luck bro and keep us updated.

 

[gali]

how much money did you save up

 

[termi]

This is what happens when you parrot to your children that their interests are the most important thing in the world. Oh, you want a 40,000$ gender studies degree? Who cares you won't be able to pay it off. After all, that's what the government's for. Oh, you want a 40 hour work week with maximum benefits, a 25/hour salary, at a lemonade stand? That's fine, after all you're entitled to anything you want.

On one hand I'm happy you gave me such a good laugh but on the other I realize you're probably going to be taking taxpayer's money to fund your meme year off from school to play Showdown full-time.

At least OP's embarrassing behavior is funny, your posts just make me a little sad inside