Thursday, October 17, 2024

Old-Time Watcher's Dream

Sometimes, it takes a long time after a Pokémon dream before another one comes to my sleep. Other times, it might come much sooner than expected. In this case, it was only about one and a half weeks ago that a Pokémon dream came to my mind during my sleep, and I've just managed to have another one come into my mind. When I awoke, I thought it was insignificant and that I could ignore it, but a second thought leads me to think it has at least some significance. As such, I ended up gathering my thoughts on it so that certainly, I could write about it in a post on this blog.

The dream involved watching the old Pokémon anime series - the one that takes place in Kanto, certainly, and the one that details the first advances (and stumbles) of Ash, who is now familiar to just about any Pokémon fan. Moreover, it apparently was situated in an old house of mine - the "previous previous" house that I lived in, which I also referred in a post around five years ago, meaning the memory of it is still lingering in my mind even many, many years after the fact (of its disappearance, no less).

What made the dream somewhat surreal, as some dreams typically in certain ways, is that as I was watching, the experience was interrupted by certain events, whether of my own doing or others' doing. In particular, there was a certain appearance by an "unsavory" figure (at least, considered as such in recent times) that spoiled the experience - not the story of the anime itself, but more on what I was doing while I was watching. As thus, it wasn't the best experience I could have while watching the anime.

Perhaps the appearance of the old anime series wasn't without reason. That appearance might have something to do with that series actually being currently shown - particularly for viewers who may be in the general area of where I currently am now. That also means that there is a sense that I want and need to be dealing with this present matter, maybe even so that I can write a blog post on it.

Having only dreamt a Pokémon dream only fairly recently, this one can be considered to be "hot on the heels" of that previous dream. The subject of the dream also seems to be a "hot" one in a way that I may be needing to warm up to as soon as possible for all my Pokémon dealings - and that's certainly before this or some other Pokémon things grow cold on me, which is always a possibility.

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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

(Half-Hearted) Attempts at New Unite Event Formats?

Those who have played Pokémon Unite in the past few days will have noticed a couple of new events with interestingly innovative mechanisms and neat rewards to go along with them. However, those mechanisms appear to be very much "ornery" and thus can also be described as "half-hearted" as far as event formats go, even as an attempt to introduce some novelties. Thus, I figured it's worth it to write about them to flesh out what makes them tick and how they give rise to the perceptions above.

One of the new events is called the "Ice Pops Challenge", and it involves earning new items called "ice pops" (go figure) from the event missions and then consuming them for the actual item rewards, the ultimate reward of which is a new fashion set. It seems a little inspired by Energy Exchange and has a similar "bulk open" mechanism. The other event is called the "Treasure Chest Challenge", and it involves earning "treasure chests" (also go figure) from playing matches and waiting for them to be able to be opened, which will take several hours; once opened, they will contain a few small rewards, but the most valuable in this case are the Event Tickets, for which collecting 300 of them allows them to be exchanged for a spectacular Holowear. Both of these also involve Aeos Gems: they are used in the latter to open the chests right away and the former to complete missions rewarding the event item.

Unfortunately, that's the "ornery" part. Because of practically requiring Aeos Gems to complete the events (or at least to accelerate their completion), these events are essentially "paid" events with a "trial" for those who don't pay - the payment part certainly being the purchase of Aeos Gems, which are obviously only available through payment. It makes them seem "half-hearted" for players that still have not committed any effort in the game that is facilitated through payment (for Aeos Gems and then their usage), which practically includes these new events and their ultimate rewards. While they may be happy to play through them, there may also be a sense of sadness in not being able to make the most of them.

When considered as an "attempt" at new formats, these events do seem to fulfill that purpose in any case - it's just that their present practical payment requirement makes them terribly "ornery". Time might tell if they might have the "heart" to be developed into events that everyone can enjoy, but at the moment they only seem to have "half" of that.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Renewing the Anime, Revisited

It was about half a decade ago that I made a post considering how the Pokémon anime could be "renewed" and what elements could go into that "renewal", which in fact what was seemingly happening at that time with what would then be known as the "Journeys" sub-series, else considered as the "world saga". Several years later, the anime was indeed "renewed"... only in a direction that many fans may not or could not have expected, with "Horizons" as its series moniker and completely different characters. With these in mind and a few tidbits that have come to light, I want to consider this topic again while extrapolating the points of the tidbits into the discussion.

While some dedicated fans (like me) might have never gotten tired of Ash as the old protagonist, what might have gotten them tired are the "unfavorable outcomes" that have occurred in past sagas, not to mention him changing out nearly his entire roster in going to each region - except, of course, for Pikachu as his loyal partner. Insights into this have shown that there were indeed downturns in those who watched the anime at certain points where these events occurred, perhaps becoming fed up that he can't seemingly get his act together, until certainly the "ultimate end". In hindsight, it might have been better for Ash to have been able to "renew" to have more great moments and less of those "unfavorable outcomes", though with certain dynamics - a balance has to be struck, after all.

Meanwhile, Ash himself may seem to have been "tugged in different directions" over the course of the anime. Besides the above matters as "stumbling blocks", there has also been the matter of introducing a certain kind of "intimacy" - loyal fans will know where this is going - which becomes another kind of "stumbling block" instead, as it provoked different reactions among fans, forcing Ash (and thus the anime) to be tugged into another direction. This also then causes the difficulty of "renewal" itself for maintaining or attracting viewers.

Had all things gone better for Ash, the possibilities of "renewal" - whether of the current discussion or of the previous discussion - might not have been considered too deeply, and he could still have been the protagonist. Still, in any case, there would have been one "renewal" to worry about: Rica Matsumoto as the (Japanese) voice of Ash is getting on in years, never mind other matters in life, and would have needed to consider finding and naming a successor for voicing Ash, much like a certain voice actor for a certain main protagonist of a certain long-running anime that is almost as old as Pokémon. This would be the case for Sarah Natochenny on "the other side of the pond", although her case could be deferred slightly as she herself was also on the receiving end of a "voice talent renewal". This is one case of an inevitable "renewal" no matter how things go.

Now that a "renewal" has occurred, however, it does bear the thinking that it could have happened in the first place - as in, not having gone with Ash as a protagonist that would be long-running, even though a quarter century of him on the screen pleases many fans like me. It could have taken the different direction of, say, adapting the manga based on the game characters one-to-one, leading to many separate sub-series much like one for a neighboring monster universe. Of course, it's never too late for this to occur (more extensively), not to mention that the possibility of seeing Ash again somehow may still be on the table.

Any process of "renewal" is a hard one to go through, but for the Pokémon anime, which has a history almost as long as the franchise, the process seems harder because of all the things that have gone on and around it. Nevertheless, it has happened once and might just need to happen again in order to entice and maintain viewers from then and now to continue seeing the great big world of Pokémon in animated form - new and old as the case may be.

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Monday, October 14, 2024

Nobody's Perfect

For those who haven't read my posts since the beginning of this blog, I'd like to bring up an important one dealing with my status as a Pokémon fan. That post concerns my faults and/or imperfections and how that might manifest in my Pokémon dealings - or by now, have manifested through my blog posts up to this point. The reason I'm bringing this up is that it may have become apparent (if not already so) that for a certain important person related to Pokémon, and thus even the person possesses imperfections and/or faults. The title of this post certainly concerns that state of affairs and how that is applicable in certain respects.

Now, I'm not about to point out who that person is, out of pure respect, as I'm sure even with or without the imperfections and/or faults, other people and I still hold that person in a certain regard. Yet, to find out about them, it may seem surprising, and it may seem easy to discount the person because of the imperfections and/or faults - further, it may be necessary to maintain a good image of Pokémon, as reported in the proximity of where the imperfections and/or faults are referred to. It's certainly a matter of definite gravity, though it does show that not even Pokémon (or someone related to it) is perfect.

Personally, this would be the second time I've discovered that an important person has a flaw or a flawed experience. I recall discovering that someone else - who also happens to be mentioned on this blog at length in relation to a Pokémon element - being discovered to have an allegation of such in the past, even if I can't vouch for them myself, likewise with those of the important person as above. The person remains of a certain regard among people, including me, even with an apparently ascribed "dark mark".

The entire point of the above seems to be that it goes back to the exact title of this post and the other post that I brought up. I'm not perfect, then and still now, though I try to achieve that. So has apparently been quite a few things about Pokémon - if many past posts are of any indication - and now the matter of that important person that's almost tantamount to a similar person who I like. At this point, it may be that we all just have to "pick up the pieces" of what has been perfect for all of us and work with that, instead of dealing with ones that aren't.

One year ago: Cosplay: MCP Mini Contest 
Two years ago: The Evolution Cup of GBL
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Sunday, October 13, 2024

Cosplay: Axis Cup and Cosplay Festival

Goh: Oh, is this a continuation from last week?

Me: It apparently is. This time, it's for the region where I'm in, not the one next to it like back then.

Ash: I get it! So this and last week were regional tournaments.

Pikachu: Pika! ["Must be it!"] 

Me: That's one way to think of it. And as you saw, it's not just one game this time - there is (or was) another one.

Goh: Wait, two games? You mean... this also happened yesterday? It's a two-day thing?

Me: Uh-huh, and Ash was there - but only briefly.

Ash: Yeah! You sent me to raid for Mega Mawile with your friends first yesterday. 

Me: Yup. Ultimately, that's what I had you do, since it was somewhat important for us, given it's a Pokémon deal.

Goh: But there wasn't a parade the other day, was it?

Me: Actually, there was... but it was more for spooky stuff, creepy stuff - like for the end of the month, but we'll get to that when (if) that happens.

Ash: I got to see some of the winners... but some of them weren't spooky enough - maybe?

Pikachu: Pi... pika? ["Maybe... not?"] 

Me: It's also a Saturday, so you'd imagine it wasn't too lively.

Goh: Even the game they had didn't have too many people playing.

Me: You know, I liken it to part of the raid effort earlier: it maintains a dedicated community just enough for it to survive.

Goh: OK, but there had to be some of your friends yesterday.

Ash: Sure. Not many, but good enough. There was a lot more today!

Goh: And the game... it was last week's.

Ash: Yeah, and a lot more people playing it. The final match was even live for everyone to see.

Me: Good to know. We don't need to touch on that too much, so let's discuss what else happened today.

Ash: I was supposed to be there a little early with a friend of ours, but...

Pikachu: Pika pika? ["Didn't come?"] 

Me: Um, I'm sorry about that. I think something happened, so I took the brunt for sending you - especially before things may get dicey outside.

Ash: I caught up to our friend later, and I think something did happen.

Me: OK, let's not talk about that. What about the rest of things?

Ash: I got held up at the entrance before I could get in.

Goh: Problems? Issues?

Ash: Technical, I think.

Me: Typical. What about once you got in?

Goh: There must have been entertainment, even if it's the usual.

Ash: Like singing and dancing, solo and in groups?

Goh: Like that.

Ash: Sure. They were great.

Me: And then there was the character parade.

Ash: I did just great this time!

Pikachu: Chu! ["Yes!"] 

Ash: But not enough to win something...

Pikachu: Pika... ["Hmm..."] 

Goh: How many characters were in it?

Ash: You wouldn't believe it. Over 50!

Goh: Wow!

Me: I think that's the largest for a local festival or convention in recent memory.

Goh: Seriously, though - how many prizes?

Ash: There were 20 - but two were repeats for "best of the best".

Goh: So, 18. More who didn't win than who did.

Ash: I thought some nice characters would win, but they didn't. And some of the winners were wild too.

Me: *sigh* Lottery effect. Some of my friends would agree.

Goh: And... that must have been all.

Ash: Pretty much. I left to get back to our friend just after the awarding.

Me: OK. I've got some final notes: there were actually two local organizers involved in this - one yesterday and one today.

Ash: I met them - characters and people I know.

Goh: That could explain some stuff.

Pikachu: Chu... ["So..."] 

Me: And the sponsors for this are also involved in a festival a long ways away from here.

Ash: I hear the "best of the best" winners are going there!

Goh: Oh! Figures.

Me: With that, I'm sure Ash had a good day, even if it does seem somewhat strange.

Goh: Maybe you can make up for it another time? 

Ash: I'm sure we can.

Me: I've got some plans already, but until they come to fruition, we have the remnants of this day by this talk.

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Saturday, October 12, 2024

I'd Rather Be... With Pokémon

If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be
No, no, no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
No, no, no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
No, no, no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be...
-- "Rather Be", Clean Bandit (feat. Jess Glynne)

If there's an underlying message that all my posts on this blog, even up to this one, it is that my preferences are directed mostly toward Pokémon. It's evident through one song I brought up early in my blogging years, along with other songs since that time. As a matter of fact, so is one other kind-of popular song from that time - even, slightly further back - that pretty much describes the same message, which would be the above song, for which the pre-chorus and final chorus are quoted.

The song above could be regarded as a love song in some ways, describing the dynamics of a couple in such a state. They would be able to work out their differences and find points of commonality and compatibility with each other. Ultimately, both would feel that they are meant for each other and prefer to be in each other's company... just like how my preferences are attuned to Pokémon, feeling a certain kind of compatibility for doing things related to it and just dealing with them.

For relating this to Pokémon, a Trainer's relationship with their Pokémon is one that may not be a preference for certain species, but a preference for success, something that could be illustrated by the quoted lyrics above. That would mean making the extra effort for them to be able to achieve certain things and fulfill certain things, affirming that they and their Trainers are meant to be - and "rather be".

As a matter of fact, today there was a choice between activities for me and a certain someone I'm familiar with, and there were elements of preference to be dealt with. In the end, I made choices according to Pokémon preferences, and those choices are ones that work for me and that certain someone. It would have to be detailed in a separate post, one that should highlight the relevant preferential aspects.

Many preferences are still to be had in my life for one thing or another. But more still are directed to Pokémon, and that for me is an "I'd rather be (with)" situation - and considering the relevant song, that applies for many places and times with different people as well. Those are truly chances to be taken and shots to be made.

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Friday, October 11, 2024

Haptic Feedback in Pokémon Go

Veteran gamers will likely have experienced "haptic feedback" at least once at some point in time. This refers to actions in games that generate vibration on a game controller, if said controller has a vibration mechanism. For that reason, it's also sometimes called "rumble" for the sound and motion it makes. Just recently, the feature was also added to Pokémon Go, obviously utilizing a phone's vibrate function for this purpose. Yet it also has become a bit of an obscure aspect of its own, which makes it perfect to be discussed along with other obscure aspects of the game for this month.

The feature actually constitutes a bit of an expansion of the vibration feature, as the game does make the phone vibrate for situations such as a new Pokémon appearing or finding a match in the Go Battle League. Now, the feature is also invoked during the situation of Pokémon capture, where actions made with the capture ball will generate certain vibrations. This also happens during some Pokémon battles: a notable occurrence is in Max Battles, when a Trainer's Pokémon goes to its Dynamax form, which initiates a really long vibration, evocative of the big size of the Pokémon. The "feedback" is thus real by any sense of the word.

What makes the feature obscure - or drags it into that realm - is that some people may not actually enjoy the feature despite the added realism (or the illusion of it) that it gives. For them, turning off the feature is easy: it's toggled by one of the option buttons at the top of the list when opening up the Options screen for the game. Of course, they might turn it off for a more practical reason, which is to save battery power, as vibration is known for being a battery drain for phones after all; if the "battery saver" function of the phone is on, the feature is regardless inactive. Of course, practicality is not necessarily a measure of obscurity.

Back to that obscurity, I am likely to be one of the few people who enjoys the feature, even at the expense of battery power as above. It serves as a useful backup guide even in situations where I cannot or am expected to not be able to hear game sounds that do serve some guiding function. In that sense, it really is a kind of "feedback" that is in line with the proper name of the feature. Even so, I could sense how such a "feedback" for some people might make them feel a little uncomfortable, as it could be considered a "stimulant" in a way - and that's as far as I'll go in addressing that. Personally, that isn't much the case for me.

Regardless, Pokémon Go implementing "haptic feedback" is a natural step to take since the game is present on smartphones, which are pretty much universally capable of vibration given their necessary functions. Having been used in controllers for console games to add a sense of realism in playing games, that sense of realism also becomes evident here - even if it could be too real for some people, becoming the only "obscure" aspect about it. For me (and certain other people), though, it is not "obscure" at all and demonstrates a real aspect of Pokémon through some familiar vibrations.

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