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Have a P.U.C.L. Anniversary!

  • Mikey

    PUCL Podcast
    It may be the end of the year for most people but it is a brand new year for a certain podcast!

    Nine years is a long time for a podcast to be around but one Pokemon podcast has lasted that long. It was a tough road but they stuck around on the airwaves this long to see their ninth anniversary. Who is this podcast? That would be the P.U.C.L. Podcast!

    The P.U.C.L. Podcast has been a mainstay in our Podcast Central column and produce great episodes on a weekly basis. This podcast has seen the Pokemon community grown since Generation 4 and even developed their own community. 2016 was a huge year for the podcast as it started off many new things. I could go on about the history of this podcast but I felt it was best for the podcast host and creator, Thatch, to give you a run down history of the podcast!

    So gather around and learn how a simple podcast made during high school was able to grow into something that would span all over the world! Stay tune to see which episodes of the P.U.C.L. Podcast you should listen to in order to start or simply wish to re-listen to some old favorites!

    Hey everyone, it is Trainer Thatch here to celebrate P.U.C.L.’s nine year anniversary. For those of you who may not be familiar with me, I am the host the P.U.C.L. Podcast. The longest running Pokémon podcast on the internet. Pokemon Crossroads has asked if I could write up a history of P.U.C.L. in celebration as well as suggest a few episodes this year that I think you should listen to if you are new to the show. So let’s dive right into the history books.

    How it All Began
    I had gotten into podcasts during high school. I also had this odd passion to be a radio DJ. My friend known to the community as “Professor Sycamore” agreed to do a show where we would talk about Pokemon, a passion that we both shared. At the time Pokemon Diamond and Pearl had just been released and we were getting into the competitive scene because this was the first generation of online play. Needless to say, we recorded a podcast and titled it after the club we had created at school, “The Pokemon Underground Champion’s League” or simply “P.U.C.L.” We recorded an episode and found out how to build an RSS feed. Our first episode officially dropped on December 31st, 2007. From there we continued podcasting for about a year and a half until we inevitably went to college. We had lined up a replacement for Sycamore, “Ace Trainer Ace”. However, that didn’t work out. This would begin the next era of P.U.C.L. history.

    The P.U.C.L. Crew Era
    Around this time (2009), we had assembled a number of committed community members who helped with the functions of our community and a lack of a cohost, I called them up to see if they would like to help with the production of the podcast.

    So for about a year, Speezi, Infinity, Green Tauros Guy, and Toast helped me record the podcast. I appreciate the love they had for the community but I have to admit it was probably the roughest time for P.U.C.L. I clearly remember editing out swears one episode for Speezi who had cursed about 30 times in one podcast. It was during this era of transition that I met both Sarge and App. Those two members of the show would help move P.U.C.L. into its next era.

    The Sarge and App Era
    Sarge was my roommate throughout college and App was (and still) one of my good friends. During my Freshmen year of college, they were into Pokémon and found out about the podcast. Periodically Sarge and App would help out with the show but once 2010 came around they became full time hosts on the show. It was fantastic! It was just like recording with Sycamore again. We could produce a show and have some fun while doing it.

    Around 2011 however, the show took about a four month hiatus. When we returned, Sarge had created an elaborate story about how we were captured by a Mexican drug cartel.

    Things were good until graduation had found us. We would no longer be living together. It was at this point I thought about ending the podcast. Fortunately Bocefus recorded the bumper tracks that we still use for the show and from there we became fast friends and formed the “Blackthorn Council”. This was a nonsensical name we came up with in 2013 to describe the community members who contribute a lot into the community. It was the start of the current era of P.U.C.L.

    The Council Era
    We have gone through a few changes since 2013. The first would be the start of a weekly schedule. The second change had occurred at the near end of last year (2015) with the start of a spin off show, the PUCL TCGcast. The success of that show led to a number of other spin offs like PUCL Movie Club, PUCL Koffee Hour (Formerly PUCL LIVE), PUCL Game Corner, and P.U.C.L. Battle Cast. It has been fun doing all of these shows. I really enjoy doing it. Even as the 10th year of work on the show and community begin, I look forward to another nine years of doing the show.

    Thank you to everyone who have been on the show, written articles for our website, and most importantly the people that listen to the show and participate in the community.

    Looking to get into P.U.C.L. Podcast? Or just wish to relive some great P.U.C.L. moments? Then enjoy some episodes picked by Thatch!

    A huge congratulations to Thatch and the rest of the Blackthorn Council such as Prof. Snag, TheFluffiestWhimsicott, Scron, Lord Jushiro and everybody else there! I hope this year will be a great year for the podcast and the P.U.C.L. community!


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