Creator Bio – shinyshinx.sc

G2G: First, can you tell me your in-game Trainer name, level, and your favorite Pokémon? Is there a reason it is your favorite? Also, what do you do in your daily life?

shinyshinx.sc: Hi there! My in-game name is ‘elenaese’, and I’m a level 40 trainer. If I were to choose just one favorite Pokémon that’d be Shinx, because of my first playthrough of Gen 4 games. Firstly, I had no idea Shinx existed: I hadn’t seen it in the anime, or cards/magnets/various collectibles and it just appeared there, the second route of the game… and it was the best design I’d ever seen. Electric-type Pokémon are definitely my thing, and it was such a cute kitty! Then, its encounter animation had a yellow flash kind of thing, so I thought it was a yellow Pokémon before it turned blue. That’s maybe why I like the shiny version.

In real life, I’m a graduate student in Forensic Science that enjoys traveling as much as possible!

G2G: What got you into Pokémon/Pokémon GO? Were you into Pokémon before GO was released? What do you like the most about Pokémon in general?

shinyshinx.sc: I was into Pokémon before 2016, although I wasn’t in the loop with the community. At the time, if you were to see a sad girl that was never allowed a Game Boy that was me. I watched the anime though, collected stickers or any merchandise I could find and played the games later on by myself, but was never fully engaged. It was the announcement of GO (that epic trailer!) and the complete absence of more info about the game that drove me to Pokémon content in YouTube, Pokémon Amino, current main series games at the time, etc.

I’m not sure what I like most about Pokémon, I love how it teaches us about the human world and how Pokémon feel real because there is a logic behind things. From the inspiration of the designs to the behavior of the creatures themselves, or the personalities of the different regions, there is just a lot of depth.

G2G: What made you start creating/sharing Pokémon GO AR photographs? Was it just something you wanted to do, or is there more to it?

shinyshinx.sc: Honestly, I was an easy consumer. When the game made me catch my first Pokémon in AR I was totally hooked. I started using the AR camera then and I didn’t quit, meaning that my phone’s memory was full some months after. It was then when I decided to create an Instagram account to keep my pics safe.

At first, my motivation was simple: I wanted to have a sort of diary of the nice places I explored with Pokémon GO and the creatures that spawned there. However, the thing grew and I decided since it was gonna occupy such a substantial part of my time and energy, I might as well shift it towards something useful to me. That is how I decided to turn my AR pictures into a platform for scientific communication. It wasn’t difficult since science is fundamentally to wonder about why things are one way or another. Why does the design of this Pokémon look like that, which would be the most fitting natural habitat for that creature in the real world… Sometimes I discuss climate change, aspects of genetics and really anything I’m into that day. For me now, the AR picture is as important as the text that comes with it.

G2G: We think we know the answer to this, but, what is your favorite feature in Pokémon GO? PvP, GO Snapshot, Buddy System, Raiding, Collecting, etc.?

shinyshinx.sc: I enjoy all, and above them, GO Snapshot. But if there’s a thing that I like even more than the camera mode is the mapping part of the game. Collecting gym badges is such an addiction, and doing tourism in a new place through Pokémon GO can prove really useful. We’ve all discovered nice spots in our hometown that we had never paid attention to, right?

G2G: If you had to pick one highlight of your time as an AR Photographer, what would it be?

shinyshinx.sc: If I had to pick it’d be last year’s GO Snapshot contest by Niantic. It was definitely a vibrant time, almost everyone in the AR community was involved. Every day there was excitement: “have you seen? This person has uploaded a photo, it’s gorgeous”, “-omg dude, you got retweeted by @pokemongoapp congrats!” “+I know, I can’t believe it!” “Everyone! They’re tagging us in their post now!!”… yea the crowd went wild and AR photography was right in the spotlight.

G2G: Do you have any advice for people who want to get into AR Photography or who have just started and are struggling to grow a fan base or find inspiration?

shinyshinx.sc: If you’re looking for inspiration, I recommend to take pictures at your favorite places. The forest, the aquarium, a gazebo by the sea… wherever it is.

About growing a fan base, take it easy. There are random waves that come and go: sometimes you’ll grow and sometimes you won’t. Interact with the community, let us know that you’re there by jumping on the newer trends or entering the weekly theme on Instagram (you can always find out which is this week’s theme on the community’s Discord *cough cough*) and be consistent with your uploads to start with. Then have a lot of patience.

G2G: Is there anything else you want to share? Hidden talents? Thoughts about the current state of the game? Price of tea in China?

shinyshinx.sc: It’s not entirely hidden but I am a professional violinist, although I don’t work from it. Also if you’d like to organize anything within the AR community, know what’s the community up to these days (join the weekly theme), when is the deadline to the upcoming photo expos, or even join the ranked PVP tournament that we organize each month through the Silph Arena… you can always contact me on any platform below.

Ultimate thanks to the crew at G2G Media for having me!