Friday, April 17, 2026

Chasing After and Catching Up with Suicune

If there's a Pokémon that could embody the spirit of a pursuit somewhat well enough, it could perhaps be one of the Legendary beasts of the Johto region, being Suicune. As most Trainers recognize, in the original games it appeared, a literal pursuit had to be made across the region for the purpose of encountering them - never mind getting a chance to capture them. This pursuing effort is definitely one that gets Trainers to chase after it and make it possible to develop a bond somehow with the Pokémon.

Of course, in the "third version" of Crystal, Trainers didn't need to chase after said Pokémon and could simply encounter it in one of the towers in Ecruteak City. This allows the "bond development" to take place sooner, especially with a capturing process involved, without the complications of the pursuit as above. In this way, one could be considered to have "caught up" with the Pokémon for all its relation, even if the relation is only specific to that one game. Yet it's still important in this case somehow.

Now, as for why this post brings up the topic and ideas above, there might be a few personal aspects that are to a certain extent related to the ideas, which brings about the topic. In particular, there is the relation to this very medium, for which some might have noticed a certain peculiarity even if the consistency remains... which I won't discuss too much in obvious terms. As for its relation to the topic at hand, perhaps Suicune itself might know - but that'll demand an actual chase-after and catch-up.

The games where it becomes pertinent to chase after and/or to catch up with Suicune may be considered to have their own points about meaningful pursuits, specifically for the Pokémon that is mentioned as such. Trainers may make interpretations of that in ways that are relevant to them - and that includes yours truly for certain pertinent affairs - but the "blue streak" that is the Legendary beast as mentioned above will likely have its own interpretations of the pursuit that truly embody situations at hand.

Four years ago: Rotating to Objectives
Seven years ago: Choosing Pathways
Eight years ago: And Again, I Dream
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Thursday, April 16, 2026

Paper Crafters, Wherefore Art Thou?

Way back in the first year of this blog, I covered papercraft involving Pokémon as an outlet of artistic Pokémon expression - one that has some personal ties to me - with particular focus on a specific site that furnishes the patterns for the art form. Many years later, I've decided to bring up the topic again, but this time the focus is on the art form seemingly having gone into obscurity, which is why the "wherefore art thou?" title tag is involved. And when that becomes involved, the associated matter can become rather weighty.

For this specific matter, I was made aware of it by one of my Pokémon figure fellows who I hadn't seen in a long time. We had the chance to meet each other a couple of weeks ago, and among the Pokémon topics we discussed, this topic became one of them as we practically introduced each other to it and mutually delved into it even in the time that we were mostly apart. As such, I thought about discussing that topic on this blog, and now its time has come; others brought up during that time may just be discussed in time.

Now, for the aforementioned site, it has apparently not been updated since 2022 (four years ago), with the last pattern that was posted being the one for Liepard on February 4. Prior to that, there was a "Halloween special" with the Gothita species family just a little over three months earlier. It goes without saying that the site itself hasn't been updated to include the ninth generation, although there have been a few sparse patterns for Pokémon of the eighth generation - and that's about it. Their fates and others are up in the air.

Though it has to be admitted that paper models like these do take time to develop - if some of the monthly gaps are of any indication - the lack of updates in the years between that last pattern and now is in a way something of concern. I had e-mailed the authors many, many years ago prior to starting this blog, but I didn't receive a response then... and given the state of the site as it is now, it seems unlikely that I'll ever receive a response if I try to establish contact. There is also no indication that the site may have noticed this blog.

Presently, I have other concerns that keep me from building papercraft models, even Pokémon ones, from this or any other source. However, to hear and see that the site I used to frequent for those purposes has practically gone "defunct" becomes an important concern, sufficient to be addressed on this blog (in a way especially so, since we're on the same Blogger platform). The question tag I posed in the title, as with other posts that have the same tag, thus becomes relevant to ask about and wonder, particularly for this site of Pokémon papercraft.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Emblems in TCGP

Many Pokémon games seemingly have elements that players or Trainers can seemingly and easily overlook, and TCGP can fit into that regard. One of its elements is a nicety that serves a representative role for players in showing some of their accomplishments in the game from the past to the present. By the title of this post, that aspect is called "emblems", and it's an element that could deserve a bit of an explanation for posterity.

As stated, accomplishments are the primary things that the emblems represent. Many of them pertain to battle ("PvP") events in the game, from victory-based battle events to Ranked play seasons. They're earned when a player achieves specific milestones in the events (primarily for the former) or completes the season at a certain level (as is true of the latter). These are real accomplishments, and the emblems certify them as such.

Emblems are also obtained by completing the Dex Missions and earning Emblem Points, which can then be exchanged for an emblem of one's choice (or sometimes, the only one) for a particular expansion, through the in-game shop. Then, there are also emblems for special occasions that are given out through associated events. In this way, they're representative of the card collection and game progressions for the player.

Three emblems can be shown at a time in the player's profile by tapping the profile icon, going to the Emblems section, and choosing whichever three one would like to display for others viewing that player's profile. From this selection, then, others might be able to tell if the player is being rather competitive in the game or may just be involved in card collection and thusly less competitive - either of which are surely representative.

Now, another reason this becomes a pertinent topic for discussion is that starting with the next expansion, Dex Missions and Emblem Points are to be deprecated and replaced with a system that allows the same emblems to be earned through card collection. As such, this post also serves to remind players that if there are any emblems that haven't been exchanged by the manner above, it may be of their interest to do so before the system changes.

In any case, the planned system change for "Dex emblems" and the accomplishment-based system for battle emblems may be the indicators that the element seems to be overlooked by some players, even yours truly. For all their posterity and worth, it seems important to take note of them to take advantage of their appreciable benefits, and the discussion regarding the element as presented above can present some of the prompts for doing so.

One year ago: Spiritually Lost
Four years ago: Love Nature, Find Beauty
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Tuesday, April 14, 2026

"I Like Shorts. They're..."

Following up on Bug Catchers as a kind of Pokémon Trainer personality that I addressed a few days ago, now I want to address a different one: Youngsters. Specifically, I'd like to address not the personality itself, but an aspect of that. Those who have played the early main series games (footnote: in English) will surely be able to complete the quote that I've mentioned in the title of this post, which pertains to this Trainer personality. The aspect therefore deals with the object topic that is addressed in the quote, which would be shorts as in the clothing item - one that can pertain to me personally as well as Trainers in general, not necessarily of the kind.

Now, the quote is completed with the phrase "...comfy and easy to wear." I find this true as well in my day-to-day activities, including ones that involve enjoyment of Pokémon. That also applies whether the shorts are intended to be worn around the house or when going out - certainly for some of my Pokémon Go activities, which has been the case for me. With that, I'll surely keep wearing them whenever and wherever they can be worn and it's fine for me to wear them. In this way, I'm also a "Youngster at heart" when it comes to this aspect personally.

Meanwhile, it is also certain that it's not only Youngsters that wear shorts, as other (kinds of) Trainers can and have worn them. Ash is one of them, as in his later appearances prior to "bowing out", he switched from long pants to shorts. It's a bit of an affirmation that even this clothing item is fine for many Pokémon Trainers, notwithstanding the type that has been mentioned above. For "locally confined" Trainers, including the previously mentioned Bug Catchers in some capacity, shorts would work well too for them and in all their activities.

Yet it has to be admitted that even for many Trainers, shorts aren't exactly distinguishing of their personage; many of them wear longer pants or similarly styled clothing items to make them stand out and distinguished. Much as how in some settings shorts aren't exactly warranted as a distinguished clothing item, many Trainers would seem to be aware of this perception and have something that is more their style as perceived by themselves and other people. And for them, that is just as completely fine as those who do choose to wear shorts.

Trainers are certainly free to choose their clothing styles for various reasons, and if they make their choice to wear shorts, then that is definitely their choice, at least as certain environments will dictate as such. Whatever the case, the testament by Youngsters through the quote as mentioned above remains true for many (including me) in many cases, and the clothing item has and will continue to have its impact and influence on the fashions of Pokémon Trainers.

Two years ago: The Slowest Pokémon Day
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Monday, April 13, 2026

TCGP: Mega Forms in Brilliant Shine

About a year ago, TCGP introduced the "Shining Revelry" minor expansion or Themed Booster Pack, which contains the first batch of Shiny Pokémon as separate cards and sets a precedent for future expansions in containing such variants. The new expansion introduced for this month follows up on that and contains cards of similar composition and theme, but this time retaining the "grand theme" thus far of the B Series cards of which it is a part, being Mega Evolution. That is then appropriately reflected in the title of the expansion.

"Mega Shine", as it is called, features the entry of several other Mega Evolution forms with some distinct appearances, two of which are Mega Charizard X and Mega Gengar, who are also prominently featured in the pack image. It too is very similar in appearance to the aforementioned "predecessor" pack, with shades of white and other accent colors. Meanwhile, the pack also features other Shiny Pokémon, one of which is the Mythical Pokémon Mew; it's even there as an "immersive" card, making it unique thus far among expansions.

With regard to composition, the expansion contains 64 Pokémon cards, 2 Item cards, 2 Supporter cards, and 1 Stadium card for 69 cards in total in the numbered section. The "predecessor" pack, which has 68 Pokémon and 4 Supporter cards (72 total) in its numbered section, can then be considered to be comparable in composition in this regard. As for the overnumbered section, the new pack has 48 cards in it compared to the old pack's 39, and thus its total exceeds the old pack by only a little bit yet still making it comparable.

The target for this pack is certainly the Shiny cards, but that remains a challenge, especially since now (and has been for some time) all Shiny cards are the sixth "bonus" card in a pack, which also means they won't appear in Wonder Pick as well. So, a lot of pack opening is still needed for any pack and in particular this pack, whose Shiny representations may be some of the most coveted. Otherwise, the rest of the Pokémon are rather "stopgap" in nature.

It's plainly obvious that Shiny Pokémon are here to stay in TCGP, so continuing to celebrate their appearance is something great to do. This new minor expansion or Themed Booster Pack does just that, and this time it's also with Mega Evolution, making further inroads with the "grand theme" along with the Shiny theme. Both of these have their own brilliant qualities, and now together, they make for a fascinating part of the current series of cards in this game.

Six years ago: Pokémon Helmet Covers?
Eight years ago: Go at Home
Nine years ago: Paint It, Picross
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Sunday, April 12, 2026

Cosplay: Utsuru 10.5 "and the Conquest of ICGP" (Regionals)

Ash and Goh are out on research duty today. Instead, today there is...

Red: Hi. It's been a long time.

Me: It has indeed. You probably remember the last time I sent you.

Red: Same venue, same place. Interesting they're still doing it.

Me: Well, with it being biannual now, there's always something to go around.

Red: Twice a year? You don't say. You're keeping those two on their toes.

Me: Mostly the former, but... anyway, you're here because not only it's to make things different, but because Pokémon is special this year.

Red: It's been going on a long time for you.

Me: Uh-huh. And the theme of this one suits you too.

Red: I see that. Classic pixel games - suits us both.

Me: True. Aside from that, let's talk about what was different for today compared to that last time since we all know that things stay the same even when they change.

Red: OK, so it got even more crowded than last time. More communities, more people - and I was asked to vote for one of them. Got an idea?

Me: I hear one of my friends is in a spinning top game group and they need my support.

Red: Found it! Done.

Me: Now, I heard that they made everything like a quest game - currency and all. How'd that fare?

Red: I wasn't too interested in the quests, and the currency seemed like a bit of a hassle to me.

Me: Well, pluses and minuses, so not for everyone.

Red: Oh, I noticed almost all of the entertainment was dance groups. Have bands become not that popular anymore?

Me: I think they're still popular, just not here.

Red: Kind of a shame. But at least characters are still popular. The parade was still full of them and only four could win (not me).

Me: Yeah, that's a hard thing for this specific convention. Don't expect miracles.

Red: Outside of that, it was still great.

Me: That's a certainty. Hope you got to hang out with my friends and others.

Red: I think they liked that I had Charmander for most of the day instead of Pikachu - but I had both out for a time.

Me: I did suggest that to you just before you came.

Red: And it worked out. Also, it wasn't really windy like last time, but it did rain for a bit. So not a lot of weather problems.

Me: That's a good thing.

Red: By the way, the ICGP thing was neat too. I saw all five group performances and the winners really deserved it.

Me: Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention - this edition of the convention also acts as the regional ICGP qualifiers for my area.

Red: I think it might be a little hard for me.

Me: It's hard for most people and characters, so don't sweat it.

Red: But I guess it's not hard for the organizers to keep coming up with this and making it look nice and great.

Me: I hope it will always be that way, and I hope to always bring Pokémon into it, whether with you or "those two".

Red: Why not. And you can get me to go more often.

Me: Oh, I have plans. But that might be a "quest" of its own, just like how this edition of the convention brought that out.

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Saturday, April 11, 2026

Pokémon Go Community Day, 4/11/2026

It's time for Community Day for Pokémon Go for this month, and this one has a big thing going for it. Now, a certain song speaks of its artist highly, even making a firm statement that there is "none to equal", in a manner of speaking. It also involves a very specific implement... which is also highly related to the featured species family of this edition and is something with which one can really give a good mashing. So does the species in it, in fact, if they're left to their own implements. 

That implement is the hammer, and thus the featured species family is that of Tinkatink, whose members (along with Tinkatuff and Tinkaton) wield hammers of sizable proportions. The last of these gets the Charged move of Gigaton Hammer to make use of the hammer that it wields to deliver serious damage - 300, the highest thus far for a Charged move. Along with hammering things out, Trainers will also be "mining" today, for the main bonus is triple catch Stardust, always a useful one.

Everything else is quite predictable after that. The species are found by Incense (three hours' length) and Lure Modules (one hour, greatly in the event period and less in the post-event), as well as photo bombs. Some (many) will also be Shiny (a debutant in this case), have special backgrounds, or both. Trainers can trade for less and have an extra Special Trade. Finally, Research involves the Field, Timed (community meetup), and Special (by payment) realms as per the usual norms.

Meanwhile, having known what to expect if I took care of the event locally, I took care of it farther away instead, also standing a chance for cordially linking up with a few other Trainers and winning a neat prize... although the latter didn't happen. What did happen was me being able to catch a Tinkatink with the best stats (and a few that almost were, one of them Shiny and another with a background), which I evolved on the same day along with others to have a slew of Tinkaton.

With "A Ton of Tinkatink" (also the title of the paid Special Research) and the Gigaton Hammer special move for Tinkaton, there is (was) a lot of hammering going on for this edition, making it a "hammer time" of sorts. Going back to that song I mentioned earlier, there's some of that to be had too, and that's something to "touch on" even if the song (and the species family) speak otherwise. Perhaps the "hammers" need to speak for themselves, in and out of battle as well as melody.

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