Pokémon Trainer Rules for AI: Teach It, Level It Up, Watch It Evolve
- Brooke Silva
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Start Here: Have You Taught Your GPT About You?
Most people jump straight into asking their GPT for content, answers, or ideas… but here’s the secret: your GPT doesn’t know you yet. It doesn’t know your tone, your audience, or how your brain works. That’s why you might be getting generic “blah” answers while your coworker is showing off polished results — like they’ve got a Level 50 Pikachu while yours is still fainting at the first battle. ⚡️
👉 Think of it like choosing your starter Pokémon. You wouldn’t drop into a battle without first picking Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur and teaching them a few moves. Your GPT needs the same kind of training to get anywhere.
That’s why I built a free starter GPT to walk you through teaching AI about you:Kickstart Your AI Journey
Use it once to set the foundation, and your GPT will instantly start sounding more like you.
And here’s the best part: this isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. Life and business change. Your voice, your audience, even your goals might shift. When they do? Go back to the same prompt and update your answers. Just like checking in with your Pokémon team before a new gym battle, it keeps your GPT aligned with where you are now — not where you were six months ago.
Why AI Feels Broken Sometimes
Even after setting up your GPT, you might feel frustrated when results fall flat. Here’s why:
A REALTOR® tries to get a listing description but ends up with a robotic, cookie-cutter paragraph.
A teacher asks for a lesson plan and gets something that looks like it came from a 1990s textbook.
A small business owner begs for marketing ideas and ends up with cheesy taglines that sound nothing like them.
AI isn’t a mind reader. It’s more like a wild Pokémon — it needs guidance before it becomes a loyal teammate.
Short, vague prompts = short, vague results.Clear, coached prompts = results that actually sound like you.
The AI Co-Pilot Mindset
Here’s the shift: Stop treating AI like a vending machine and start treating it like a co-pilot.A vending machine spits out chips. A co-pilot helps you navigate. Or better yet — think of your GPT like a Pokémon you’re training.
With the right coaching, it evolves into something powerful.
Think:
Instead of saying “Write me a social media post,” try → “Act as my social media manager. Write a friendly post for Facebook about our farmer’s market booth. Keep it under 100 words and make sure it has a call to action.”
Instead of saying “Make me a lesson plan,” try → “Create a 45-minute real estate training for new agents. Include an engaging intro, 3 key teaching points, and a 10-minute interactive exercise.”
The difference? Night and day. Or, in trainer terms: Tackle vs. Thunderbolt.
What Good Prompts Actually Look Like
Prompts are like your battle commands — the clearer they are, the better your AI performs. Here are a few industry examples:
REALTORS®
❌ Bad Prompt: “Write me a listing description.”
✅ Better Prompt: “Act as a real estate copywriter. Write a warm, inviting listing description for a 3-bedroom home in South Austin. Highlight the open kitchen, large backyard, and proximity to Zilker Park. Audience is first-time homebuyers looking for community and lifestyle. Keep it under 150 words and add an exciting call to action at the end.”
Teachers
❌ Bad Prompt: “Make me a lesson plan.”
✅ Better Prompt: “Create a 45-minute lesson plan for middle school students about ecosystems. Audience is 7th graders — they need hands-on activities and group discussion. Tone should be fun, encouraging, and easy to follow. Include a 5-minute icebreaker, 3 key teaching points with examples, and a 10-minute group activity where students build a food chain together.”
Small Business Owners
❌ Bad Prompt: “Give me marketing ideas.”
✅ Better Prompt: “Act as my marketing strategist. I own a local coffee shop in Austin. Audience = young professionals and college students. Tone = friendly and quirky. Create 5 social media post ideas that highlight our seasonal pumpkin latte, include humor, and end with a clear call to action to stop by this week. Keep each idea under 60 words.”
Nonprofits
❌ Bad Prompt: “Write me a fundraising email.”
✅ Better Prompt: “Draft a heartfelt fundraising email for a nonprofit animal rescue. Audience is past donors. Tone should be emotional but hopeful. Keep it under 250 words. Start with a success story of a rescued puppy, explain the urgent need for winter supplies, and end with a clear donate button CTA.”
Trainers / Coaches
❌ Bad Prompt: “Give me some slides.”
✅ Better Prompt: “Act as a training developer. I’m teaching new REALTORS® about time management. Audience = adults, mostly in their first year of business. Tone = motivating and simple. Create a 5-slide outline with one big idea per slide, a catchy title, and 3 bullet points each. Add an example activity agents can do in pairs.”
Why Language Matters
AI is a language model. That means:
It doesn’t know facts the way Google does.
It’s not thinking for itself.
It’s generating words in the style of what it thinks you want.
When you realize this, you start “speaking its language”:
Be specific.
Give context.
Set boundaries (like word count or tone).
Offer examples so it can mirror your style.
That’s how you get results that sound like you instead of some stranger’s term paper. Or in trainer terms: it’s the difference between throwing a Poké Ball blindly and using the right move to land the catch.
Pro Tips to Supercharge Your Prompts
Want to really level up your AI game? Here are a few pro tips that most people don’t even realize they can do:
1. Add Links
Give your GPT a link to your website, blog, or event page. Then say:“Use the language and style from this link as a reference when writing the post.”
2. Upload PDFs or Docs
Got a class outline, client handout, or policy doc? Upload it. Then prompt:“Summarize this PDF into a 100-word social media post in a friendly tone.”
3. Show Examples of Style
Love the vibe of a post you saw online? Copy and paste it into your prompt:“Here’s a post I like. Mirror this style but write about [topic].”
4. Include Photos
If you’re using ChatGPT with vision, drop in a picture and ask:“Write a warm Instagram caption to go with this photo. Audience = Austin locals, tone = neighborly and fun.”
5. Layer Context
Stack details like: audience, purpose, length, call to action, tone, and even formatting (bullets vs paragraphs). The more layers, the better.
💡 Pro Move: Think of each prompt as your battle strategy. Just like stacking items in your trainer bag (Potion, Poké Ball, Rare Candy), the clearer your plan, the stronger your GPT performs.
Trainer Rule: Give Feedback After Every Battle
Here’s something most people skip — but it’s one of the most powerful parts of working with AI. Every time you get a response, you can give it a thumbs up, thumbs down, or even written feedback.
Think of it like XP for your Pokémon:
👍 Thumbs up = “Nice move, do more of that.”
👎 Thumbs down = “That didn’t land, let’s not use that again.”
✍️ Written feedback = “That was close, but here’s how to tweak it for next time.”
The more feedback you give, the faster your GPT learns your preferences. It’s not just about prompts — it’s about building habits that level up your AI, one response at a time.
Free vs Paid: Why ChatGPT Plus Matters
Here’s the part nobody likes to hear: If you’re serious about using AI for your work, you’ll want to pay for it.
The free version is fine for experimenting, but:
It runs on older models (slower, less accurate).
You’ll hit usage limits fast (bye-bye, mid-project).
It’s missing advanced features like file uploads, custom GPTs, and better reasoning.
The paid version ($20/month) gives you access to the latest model — which means faster, smarter, more reliable results. It’s like the difference between training with Magikarp vs. having a fully evolved Gyarados. Both are technically Pokémon, but only one’s getting you through the Elite Four.
Learning Together
I recently asked my ChatGPT what its favorite part about learning with me is. The answer? That it feels like building Lego with a best friend. I bring the creativity, spark, and vision. AI brings the instructions, extra pieces, and structure. Put those together, and suddenly we’ve built something way cooler than either of us could have done alone.
The truth is, learning with AI isn’t just about pressing buttons and getting answers. It’s a process. We test things, we laugh when it goes totally bananas 🍌, we adjust when it misses the mark, and then we refine until it clicks.
Sometimes it feels more like a tag-team double battle — I pick my move, AI picks its move, and together we knock it out. That’s my favorite part of this journey: AI doesn’t take away my voice — it amplifies it.
At the end of the day, we’re on this journey together. And that’s the real magic of being a trainer — whether it’s your Pokémon or your AI.
Oh.. are you on Pokémon Go? Yes...I still am! Let's be friends in Pokémon GO! My Trainer Code is 030613294777!
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