A look back at 2024 - the latter half!
Happy 2025, folks! I started this newsletter one year ago as a way of scratching my writing itch, with the hope of posting monthly updates. Well, time got away from me a bit! For the first half of 2024, I shared some in-depth thoughts about each of our Pokemon bakes and what else we’d been up to, so let’s zip through the second half with all our creations, travel, and even a tattoo! I still have plenty to share from our Japan honeymoon from May, but that’s for another newsletter!
What We Made
We turned a total of 50 different Pokemon into desserts this year, putting us at 273/1025 of the Pokedex complete! Check out my Photodex here, and more photos of our creations on my Insta!
Pride Bakes
We make Pokemon treats inspired by different pride flags every June, and 2024 was such a fun batch! We celebrated Goomy Community Day with an aroace chiffon cake, and Pokemon GO’s 8-year anniversary with a non-binary Grimer ube flan. Bi Smoliv was for a friend’s birthday, and rainbow fossil chocolates and Zacian trans pride - just cuz! Don’t forget our Disability Pride Indeedee pie for July, too!
Pokemon GO Fest Bakes
We had to bring some fun treats to Pokemon GO Fest in NYC! These were Blacephalon and Nihilego cupcake cookies, and I baked a blondie with Canadian Smarties (they’re not what you think!) while Miss_Editor made Necrozma.
Cupcakes & Muffins
This was such a great year for the very thing the channel’s named after! A lot of these choices were either related to Pokemon GO, or came about because of my obsession with the famous Canadian Mmmuffins. The Toxel cupcakes are definitely an adorable standout, and someday we’ll make the rest of the Eeveelutions!
Miscellaneous Treats
These were all so different and fun! From the interactive fossil dig cookies based off SugarCatCookies, to the Beldum thumbprint cookies that turned our poop blue from all the food dye, to the simple Applin pie made with leftover apples, these were all a blast and super tasty!
Bugs & Gyarados??
What a project! I’m a member of the Pokemon Art Guild, and we’ve been trying to do collabs where we all throw a Pokemon and an activity into a hat, and for this summer collab, I got Gyarados and bug catching! Miss_Editor came up with this concept of Gyarados on a giant cookie encircling bugs in a giant net - and I love the results! Plus we made a buggy bento with some of the cookies!
Halloween Bakes
I love making ghostly Pokemon treats every October! We made a LOT of cookies this year, from the Gengar lantern to the Gastly lindzer cookies to the cookie brownie. The star of the show was our shaped Haunter cake - to complete our set with Gastly and Gengar! Making those hands with buttercream was definitely the biggest challenge, but I love how they came out!
Wedding Desserts!
Not Pokemon, but we made a chocolate "tree stump” swiss roll cake for a friend’s wedding days after our return from Japan, and some cute bridal cookies for my sister in November!
Holiday Bakes
We made a ton of gingerbread cookies, and obviously that meant we had to make an advent calendar - meaning we had to make chocolates and gummies, too! Plus we learned the magic of potato latkes with nori and ginger for Chanukkah!
What we got up to…
On Stream!
Jackbox Night
We had a blast playing Jackbox games on stream, just for the community! (Not long afterm we were featured on the official Jackbox Twitch for Canadian Thanksgiving!)
Our first sponsorships!
When The Pokémon Company International reached out to do a sponsorship for the Pokemon World Championships, it was a dream come true! We worked incredibly hard on making the videos, and I made a whole newsletter post detailing the intricate recipe and design. Trying to make it all come togetehr in a mere hour on stream was a real challenge! Recipe here!
I was NOT expecting a second sponsorship from Pokémon this year, but I was so excietd when they reached out about making a Shiny Rayquaza dessert! I think the result is so fun and different from our usual fare, and it was fun to eat, too!
Pokemon also sent us some holiday goodies as thanks for our sponsorships! 🥺 I literally wear that Oddish hat every day in the Canadian winter.
IRL
Japan!
We had an amazing 3-week honeymoon in Japan, and I’ve posted some detailed blogs from our time in Tokyo, Fukuoka, and our road trip! There’s still more to share, but for now, here’s a nerd dump!
We saw SO MANY POKEMON THINGS. From Pokemon Centers and Cafes, to a fossil museum, to a Sandshrew kids’ park, we did it all! (How many times can you spot Pika Pika?)
And of course I ate ALL THE POKEMON FOOD. It was heavan! My faves were definitely the Fidough mochi cake and Alcremie ice cream (foreshadowing)!
We ended the trip by attending our first Japanese Pokemon GO event! The city of Sendai was totally decked out, there was even a Lapras Cafe!
New York City!
The talented dynamo_gear hosted a 4th of July Pokemon party, and it was so special! There were decorations, plushies, amazing food, and even Poffins!
We hosted an open picnic with the help of CeeJay on Friday, and it was such a blast!
Pokemon GO Fest NYC was melt-your-face-off hot, yet so special - it was my first time with an official Creator badge!
Toronto Regionals
We spent our Friday night with the amazing KatzersCreations and RealCaptainSteel, and got to witness Katzer’s life-sized hand-made Pokemon crochet wall, and Steel’s impressive workshop. We had some of the most incredible katsu ever, plus a ton of delicious side dishes.
I spent the Saturday getting my first-ever tattoo! I wasn’t sure I’d ever get one, but when I saw the art of im____cat, I couldn’t stop daydreaming of getting a tattoo in her colourful style! I got a rainbow rendition of the Alcremie ice cream we had in Japan and I LOVE IT.
Sunday was all about Toronto Regionals! We’d never been before, and I don’t know much about the competitive scene, but we had a lot of fun watching from the VGC top 16 onwards (you can see us in the crowd) and cheering on Wolfe Glick!
Wrapping Up…
2024 was quite a year of new creations, of travel, and my dream sponsorshop!
It was also A LOT, especially around the holidays! I talked in past newsletters about realizing I had burnout in October of 2023, and progress has not been a straight line by any means. There are still days where I really struggle, and it’s been hard to set goals and really get the work done.
I don’t do new years’ resolutions, but I do like the idea of a 2025 bingo card with some fun goals. I’d like to make and share one of those as a fun motivator - maybe with some rewards?
With the world as it is, it’s more important than ever to be kind to ourselves, and to try and spread good wherever possible. I hope you’ll join me in this next chapter as we try, not to be perfect, but to find and embrace joy wherever possible. We can do this.
Your favorite pokémon's a BUG! What's yours?
What a cool tattoo! So colorful.
Also, make sure to tell Miss_Editor the necrozma is amazing!
You've been knocking it out of the park with your creations! Love to see the recap and more Japan photos. Goal bingo card sounds like a fun idea!