The Indigo Disk, Pt. II: Coastal Biome, Savannah Biome, Canyon Biome, Polar Biome, and Elite Four (#216)The valiant knight Don Joey and fun-loving guy Esteban Humano enter the Blueberry Academy's Terarium and it's THUNDERDOME! These are some of the toughest fights we've taken on in all our years, even if not all Elite Four members were pulling their weight (and certainly not in terms of the Elite Tests). Also, it's our penultimate episode of the season, so clear the runway for some rants!Jul 23, 202458:23Chasing Waterfalls and The Indigo Disk, Pt. I: Welcome to Blueberry Academy (#215)We're back from our travels and travails, chasing waterfalls and mostly finding big, bad battles at the top of all of them. Don Joey's knights-errant couldn't resist the call to put down the Kitakami Ogre Clan, seek the riches of the Glitterati, and the glory of the Academy Ace Tournament. Meanwhile, Esteban Humano and his totally human friends spent the time learning how to scuba dive? But it turns out they have a ferry service or something to the Blueberry Academy, so six months' training was pointless. Once there, we meet our new Clavell, Nemona, Carmine, and Kiki—well those last two are there, but the latter has NOT taken our breakup well.Jul 16, 202446:02Path of Legends, Starfall Street, and Victory Road (#213)So it's come to this: the conclusions (perhaps?) of all three Paldean paths. And boy, do Don Joey's knights finally get the glorious battles they were thirsting for—along with a hefty side dish of lengthy cutscenes. We take on Arven/Arwen/Billy, undoubtedly not helping with his daddy issues; finally find out who Cassiopeia is (the one character NOT played by Clavell); and go toe-to-toe with La Roux, Baby Poppy, King Larry, a weeping German, and La Primera in the Pokémon League. Plus, Nemona simply won't stop battling us. Doesn't she have student council things to do? Seems like the academy is pretty loose with its rules-enforcement.Jun 18, 202451:46Alfornada Gym, Montenevera Gym, Glaseado Gym, and Team Star Fighting Crew (#212)In an attempt to get our adventurers' levels back on the... well, level, we take on the final three Paldean gyms and the final Team Star Base. One valiant knight faces some tough battles, while a less valiant traveler follows a slightly different path—one which involves a lot of rolling balls of poop up the sides of mountains, until finally, Sisyphus can end his eternal quest. But is he even the same guy anymore?Jun 11, 202449:33Team Star Dark Crew, Team Star Fire Crew, Lurking Steel Titan, Levincia Gym (#207)Our noble/ignoble adventurers sally forth into unexplored, ambiguously named lands such as the East Province (Area Two), and meet some pretty interesting new characters. Like Clive, who definitely is not Professor Clavell, who is also certainly not Mr. Walksabout. Esteban tries to take over Giacomo's crew and steal his Starmobile, while Don Joey has to kick out some rabble rousers from his noble fellowship. Then, they both are forced to become influencers when confronted with Iono, the famous girlie streamer/Gym Leader.May 07, 202401:04:49[Pokémon Scarlet/Violet] Prologue, Stony Cliff Titan, Cortondo Gym (#205)We and our characters haven't quite mastered "Paldean" yet, but please join us as we all sally forth to find what adventures this mysterious land holds. Will it be a P-Iwannadie-a or a Palslaya? You'll have to listen to find out (and ideally don't ever listen to or mention again Josh's cover of the "Uva Academy School Song").Notes: Featuring "Naranja/Uva Academy" by Toby Fox.Apr 23, 202401:04:55Pokémon Unite: Part II (Ft. Greg Leatherman) #204We're joined by Greg Leatherman this week, who told us he was inspired to pick up Pokémon Unite for the first time after he heard our first episode featuring Bree van Durr and Chef Greenring. He fell in love with the game and has been playing ever since all thanks to us! Anyway, he's on to learn from an actual Expert and Veteran what it takes to go toe-to-toe in the Aeos Islands.Notes: Give Master Greg a follow on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, @whitewing and Instagram @lysander03!Apr 02, 202454:58A Palworld Playthrough Podcast (#203)Well, we've played pretty much all the Pokémon games out there so it's about time we gave something else a shot. That's right, EXP. Share is a Palworld playthrough podcast now*. Your favorite podcast titans tried out winter 2023's hottest survival game/Pokémon rip off, and palled around with their Pals in Palworld for a few hours. What we thought about it might surprise you!*We'll be back in Aeos Island for Pokémon Unite next week with our pal Greg Leatherman, don't you worry.Mar 19, 202439:15[PL:A] The Plates of Firespit Island, Moonview Arena, Snowpoint Temple, and Everywhere Else (Ft. Dr. Michael LeVine) #202What are the odds that Josh Fjelstad, Brooklyn podcaster, would be friends with a renowned slug scientist, who studied at KNOWN medical school, Cornell University and studied THINGS including SLUGS once? Pretty low, honesty, but here we are. We’re joined for our finale in ol’ Hisui by friend of the show and friend of the us, Mike LeVine. And YES, he does have a PhD and NO it’s NOT in slugs. This is it for our little sweeties Doug Farmer and Soren though! So long, slug-lovers!Mar 05, 202401:14:59[PL:A] "The Researcher of Myths," "The Plate of Prelude Beach," and "The Plate of the Lakes" (#201)We weren't given Waterfall so this isn't really a waterfalls episode, but it's got that feel, doesn't it? With Palkia and Dialga safely behind balls Soren and Doug are largely left to their own devices, which gives Doug plenty of time for soul-searching. And by soul I mean slug.Feb 20, 202450:34[PL:A] “Atop Mount Coronet" and "The Counterpart” (#200)I guess, uh… I guess we’re done here, folks. Honestly, kinda came out of nowhere but seasons over and show is over and our souls are locked in old Hisui forever thanks to the actions of Doug Farmer and Soren. Let’s at least get one last Fur Affinity Check in for old time’s sake, right? Please tell our families we loved them. And tell Melli we hated him.Feb 13, 202445:27[PL:A] “The Slumbering Lord of the Tundra” (#198)We’ve got one more frenzied beast to quell, and whoo doggy is she a big one. But first we have a whole long checklist to take care of including tracking down some mythical beasts with the help of some light cheating, chasing down an errant Braviary and its emotionally challenging warden, and filling out bellies with enough potato mochi to block us up for days. Someone get Doug Farmer a bran muffin or something.Jan 30, 202447:11[PL:A] "Scaling Perilous Heights" (Ft. Erica Hyman) #197A Bug Pioneer joins us on the journey through HI-SU-IIIII, hailing from another strange, exotic, and faraway shore: Jersey. You can probably figure out where she wormholed in from. Fortunately, she's here just in time to take down the Frenzied Lord Electrode, and more importantly, support Josh in preventing Tanner from ramming through some pretty outlandish new "slugs" for Doug Farmer's team.Notes: Thanks for joining us, Erica, whose handsome dog you can find on Instagram @erica_h!Jan 23, 202401:17:03[PL:A] "The Lordless Island" (#196)Welcome to the Cobalt Coastlands, Bug Pioneers. There's plenty of East Sea Shellos to go around, so grab a Leaden Ball, hop on your Basculegion, and enter bullet time—we've got some slugs to hunt. Our problematic faves, the Miss Fortune Sisters, are back and up to more mischief this week, stealing beautiful little 'mon and turning them into frenzied, raging monsters that we'll have to put down, Survey Corps-style.Jan 16, 202454:11[PL:A] "Arezu's Predicament" (#195)Doug Farmer and Soren may not know how they got to old Hisui, but they certainly know what they're doing now that they're there, and what they're doing isn't very nice. Members of the Survey Corps live by the 3 C's: Catalogue, Capture, and Kill (It's a dialect thing, it doesn't translate well.) – and these two do so with such ruthless efficiency that they're accidentally wiping out whole evolutionary lines. Next in their sites: A lovely, frenzied ballerina Lilligant that can't be allowed to see the light of modern Sinnoh.Jan 09, 202451:44Pokémon Unite: Part I (#193)Welcome to the lawless Aeos Islands, where the rich come to get richer, younger, and more beautiful as the poor and destitute of the Pokéworld grind it out in the brawling pits, harvesting rare Aeos energy to power the ruling class’ abhorrent experiments with the laws of nature. Meet Bree van Durr, a lofty figure brought low, washed up on the fabricated shores with a Gothic Horror Mewtwo in tow. She’ll have a long path to travel if she ever hopes to take on undefeated Pokémon Unite champion Neon Greedent Evangelion and his thankless personal chef, Greenring.Dec 19, 202340:50Lake Acuity, Team Galactic HQ, Mt. Coronet, Route 222, Sunyshore City, Sunyshore Gym (#191)What a leg! Really, so much happened this week, there’s almost not enough time to cover it all, and there’s certainly no room to get into all the specifics here in the episode description. These things have a character limit, you know. We could probably get into the boss battle atop Team Galactic HQ or the lake spirits freeing Dialga/Palkia from Cyrus’s freaky Red Chain, but there wasn't really anything else notable or humbling or humiliating that happened to Tanner or anyone else this week worth mentioning here.Nov 28, 202342:44Lake Valor, Lake Verity, Route 211, Mt. Coronet, Routes 216-217, Snowpoint City, Snowpoint Gym (#190)Crystal Ball foresees a long trek ahead, and her soothsaying powers once again do not disappoint. She and Shadow Josh spend some time at the Canalave Library hoping to beef up on the Legendary Gulpin Egg—or so they thought. Instead, they're railroaded into having to go investigate all those multi-tailed lake freaks and once again, bail everyone out of a bunch of trouble they got themselves into. AND climb a mountain.Nov 14, 202347:24Fuego Ironworks, Iron Island, Route 218, Canalave City, Canalave Gym (#189)We decided to get out ahead of some pretty labored metaphors while we’re paying our quarterly taxes and getting out ahead of our waterfalls this season, you know, like a Basculin swimming upstream. Okay, now that I’m seeing it written out I see Josh’s point. We went to Canalave City and took on Byron in Canalave Gym. We crushed him. Nov 07, 202359:18Route 214, Route 213, Route 212, Pastoria City, Pastoria Gym (#187)Crystal Ball chose to take the road less traveled this week by bee-lining down the Valor Lakefront and right into the hungry battlefields of the Seven Stars Restaurant. Shadow Josh, on the other hand, stuck to the rivers and lakes that he’s used to—by taking what may or may not be the prescribed route down to Pastoria City. Either way, both… creatures made it to take on Crasher Wake, but it was pretty brutal for one of them. #GrimSeasonFeaturing: "Santeria (Sublime)" by CC Karaoke.Oct 24, 202352:50Route 206, Wayward Cave, Routes 207-208, Hearthome City, Route 209, Solaceon Town, Route 210, Route 215, Veilstone City, Veilstone Gym (#186)Traversing like a fifth of the map this early on in a Nuzlocke is no small feat, and regrettably some small feet on someone's team didn't make it through the other side of Mt. Coronet pass. But, we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the jaunty music and wind in our hair careening down Cycling Road—at least that buoyed our spirits enough to weather fighting some dad impersonating a Pichu's mom or the freak with three Mr. Mimes. Oh, and Maylene's fearsome Lucario. The #GrimSeason continues down a dark path.Notes: Featuring "Sea of Love (Cat Power)" by FakeyOke.Oct 17, 202355:32Route 204, Ravaged Path, Floaroma Town, Valley Windworks, Route 205, Eterna Forest, Grand Underground, Eterna City, Eterna Gym (#185)Some of us tried our best but we STILL didn’t succeed this week, but that’s okay, because we’re taking the long view as we look ahead to, well, a very easy gym in Eterna City. The road was a little rocky along the way, and not like ice cream, like difficulties. it wasn’t nice. We didn’t have a nice week. #GrimSeasonNotes: Featuring "Longview (Green Day)" and "Fix You (Coldplay)" by CC Karaoke.Oct 10, 202355:14[Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl] Twinleaf Town, Route 201, Sandgem Town, Route 202, Jubilife City, Route 203, Oreburgh City, Oreburgh Gym (#184)Welcome to the Grim Season. Not only have we dragged ourselves back to Sinnoh for 2021's kawaii/chibi/uwu overhaul, but we've decided to doubly punish ourselves with another take on the Nuzlocke: SOUL LINK! Meet our twisted new avatars for the season, our first impressions of Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, and find out if one (aka both because our souls are intwined) of us happened to suffer any dearly departed 'mon on the first leg.Notes: Featuring "(Free) Horror Ambiance - Ominous Background Music" by ESN Productions.Oct 03, 202301:04:21New Pokémon Snap (#183)Hi, it’s us, Todd Snap. (Not the hunk, a different one.) We didn’t want to leave you all high and dry for three weeks so we met up to play through the new Pokémon Snap! Then we had a few too many and went back to the studio to complain about it, mostly. Enjoy!Sep 12, 202326:19The Crown Tundra: Legendary Clue #2, Legendary Clue #3, Galarian Star Tournament (#182)In the season 8A (that's right, we're calling it now) finale, our podcast titans recount their trials and travails conquering the Crown Tundra; attempts to land that hot date with Miss Honey; the hideous Legendaries they fought in Dynamax Adventures; the Galarian Star Tournament and Ball Guy's bogus grand prize; and finally throw Drew England's Connecticut champions up against Wellington Smithsmith's wealthy industrialists to determine who has the most powerful team on the archipelago.Sep 05, 202351:14The Crown Tundra: Dynamax Adventures and Legendary Clue #1 (#181)This week we downloaded some content from the eShop to continue our journeys for the hefty sum of $29.99 American, but you know what they say: do it for the Vine. And we’re glad we did, because we love this dang place. Some of us more than others.Aug 29, 202347:59Chasing Waterfalls in the Galar Region (#179)It’s that time of the season once more are we set aside our goals and ambitions and finally just wander around the Galar region aimlessly just trying to find stuff we missed during our playthrough. We promise, it’s much more exciting than it sounds. If you’re expecting a battle, you’ll be sorely disappointed though, because Josh doesn’t have the chutzpah to take on Tanner’s All-Connecticut All-Stars.Music: TLC - Waterfalls (SNES Remix), used with permission from Meme Music.Aug 15, 202344:11Wyndon Stadium, Rose Tower, Postwick, Slumbering Weald, Hammerlocke, Energy Plant, Championship (#178)30+ hours into the game, it appears that Pokémon Company finally remembered that they needed to have some bad guys in this game. So they crammed both the criminal syndicate and corporate overlord into one big, confusing plot that involves a bunch of guys in Oakleys, an underground power plant, and a non-Euclidean pile of poison bones. Oh, and Drew England meets someone(s) new from the Great State of Vermont.Aug 08, 202353:07Hammerlocke, Hammerlocke Gym, Route 10, Wyndon (#177)A brief leg this week that we’ve bulked up with plenty of Wild Area shenanigans and by playing ahead to Wyndon JUST A LITTLE BIT. But you’ll be glad we did, because there was PLENTY to take care of this week, especially for Josh who toiled for hours to catch Tanner a Stonjourner that he doesn’t even like. Special apology to anyone from New Hampshire this week.Aug 01, 202348:48Route 9, Spikemuth, Spikemuth Gym (#176)It's been a generation or two, but eventually the water routes come for us all. Fortunately, this time we have the aid of a beleaguered doctor who mysteriously controls all of the bike technology in Galar, and he's upgraded our Bikes into Water Bikes. Hope our indentured Rotom like to swim! On the far shore, we discover that Marnie is yet another nepo baby, who takes us to her family's private entrance to the giant garage that is Spikemuth—and away from the riot of challengers who she decided weren't worthy. Turns out her brother Piers isn't either, because his team is a joke.Jul 25, 202348:02Route 7, Route 8, Circhester, Circhester Gym(s) (#175)Lock up your Hot-Mom-loving spouses and loved ones this week—at least, if you’re playing Shield, because Circhester (pronounced see-sir-shrrr-sr) Gym has plenty to go around! You ever just start writing a sentence just to see where it goes? We're as surprised as you are by that last one. Anyway, the other game has someone called Gordie. ¯\(ツ)/¯Jul 18, 202341:48Glimwood Tangle, Ballonlea, Ballonlea Gym (#174)Tough week for Drew England as we check in on all the various Wild Area competitions, but can he redeem himself in a head-to-head battle with Smithsmith’s team of titans? To find out, you'll have to follow us through the unsavory, drug-addled Glimwood Tangle, into Ballonlea (pronounced baloney-ah)—where we’re invited to battle in an opium den—and through a sidequest to secure a representative for the great state of Vermont. It’s quite a journey.Jul 11, 202351:37Hammerlocke, Route 6, Stow-on-Side, Stow-on-Side Gym (#173)Drew England spends some time chilling in the Wild Area, and Wellington Smithsmith recruits a new entrepreneur there after learning about another one of Chairman Rose's sham companies while touring Hammerlocke. Josh reveals a provocative new theory about Galar's Two Princes, and Tanner has some provocative thoughts about Gigantamax Gengar as well as Ball Guy (as usual). They also unveil a couple of new competitions—both of which Josh didn't know about—both for themselves as well as you, Bug Catchers. Check out the Rotom Circuit #1 on our socials @expsharepod, and send us your high score after YOU do the math!*We'll be taking next week off for the Fourth of July, and back with your regularly scheduled episode on Tuesday, July 11th.*Jun 27, 202355:31Route 5, Hulbury, Hulbury Gym (#171)The route was short and yet, it was still full of terrors. Or maybe that's just the bit when we tried to figure out how to battle each other online for the first time. You be the judge, but please don't make fun of us too much. We're two grown adult men after all, how were we supposed to know that a hidden menu is what you use to fight each other, rather than the one on the main menu THAT SAYS "VS" ON IT. Please excuse us. We also have a controversial pick for Trainer Danger, but Joshy's Sweetie and Tanner's Ew Make Me Barf Pokémon of the Week certainly are not.Jun 13, 202348:33[Pokémon Sword/Shield] Postwick, Slumbering Weald, Route 1, Wedgehurst, Route 2, Wild Area, Motostoke (#169)‘Ello guv! Welcome to a new season of EXP. Share on an all-new system, in an all-new region, and on a lovely emerald isle (close enough) FILLED with all-new Barfies and Sweeties. Join wealthy industrialist Wellington Smithsmith and New England ambassador Drew England as they make their way to Motostoke City for Galar's Pokémon League opening ceremony. Along the way they meet weird dogs with lovely voices, some rowdy and fun-lovin’ stans, and the single most dangerous stranger to date: The Ball Guy. Chip chip, cheerio!May 30, 202358:16Route 21, Pallet Town, Viridian Gym (#167)This long and storied saga is finally drawing to a close. It was months in the making, but we’ve finally pushed through and all it took was some light penis trauma along the way. We are, of course, referring to Tanner’s kidney stone, but while we’re on the topic of penis trauma, we’ve got a HOT new segment for you this week and the best part is that we want to hear from you—so make sure to tag us when you take to Twitter and TikTok to tell us about your most #MountablePokemon. We also played a little Pokémon this week, but really, it was a VERY little amount. Yet somehow Josh managed to cheat for about half of it.May 02, 202346:57
