Episode Summary:

Host returns to Pokémon TCGP out of curiosity and nostalgia, finds early joy in collecting and battling with his wife, but quickly runs into meta problems — namely broken Charizard builds, unbalanced Ultra Beasts, and exploitative player tactics. The episode becomes a cathartic takedown of game design shortcuts, toxic online play, and the frustration of trying to have fun in a game that's been hijacked by imbalance and cheese tactics. Concludes with a call to keep it private and pure — just play with friends.

⏱ Time Stamps

(00:00:02) – Opening(00:00:05) – Admits frustration & recounts returning to Pokémon TCG(00:00:43) – Discovers joy in card opening and casual battling(00:01:56) – Buys premium account, starts building around the original 151(00:02:24) – Wife joins in, duo climbs competitive ranks by sparring each other(00:03:03) – Hits wall at Level 3: Charizard EX is completely broken(00:03:58) – Ultra Beasts enter the scene: Unfamiliar, ugly, overpowered(00:04:39) – Coin flips and miracle draws always go to the opponent(00:05:13) – Builds a Blastoise deck but can’t get momentum due to bad draws(00:06:14) – Faces bug Ultra Beast with “Bug Beat” doing 120 damage(00:07:10) – Tries stalling with item cards but gets hard-countered(00:08:22) – Opponent abuses Ultra Beast tag-out mechanic to ignore cooldowns(00:08:47) – Rage boils over: calls out exploiters for breaking the game(00:09:34) – Describes known cheating tactic: Logging out for coin flip reset(00:10:03) – Announces retreat to private matches: “Half the people use Charizard, the other half are cheating”(00:10:29) – Final call: Drop your friend code in the comments — maybe(00:10:37) – Sign-off: “Stay holy.”

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit xeroforhire.substack.com/subscribe