Trainers and Musicians Alike

There's something fascinating about this year's Pokémon World Championships, which is being held this year starting today and over the course of this weekend. That's because this year the host city for it is Nashville, Tennessee, which is known for being the origin and thus "home" of country music. That prompts me to think about how Pokémon Trainers and musicians are a lot like each other. This seems to be an analogy that is not too outlandish.

If musicians work with instruments, Trainers work with Pokémon in their teams. The objective of the former is to create a pleasing melody and harmony, not a discordant one; this is similar to the latter's objective of creating a team that's balanced in roles and compositions. Musicians don't really need to battle with one another, but in certain settings, they do need to put on a show, while Trainers put on a show all the time with their battles, evidenced by the spectacle of past World Championships and the anime, among other things. There's much to be lauded about the work that both do in their respective areas.

Of course, the two don't have to be in opposition - they can also be in synergy, as in Trainers who make music and musicians who battle with Pokémon. This is immediately evident in the games, where there is a class of Trainers called Guitarists, and they do exactly that - strum up good music and work up a good battle. I can imagine that some at this year's World Championships (or for that matter, any Pokémon championships) are also good musicians to boot who can produce awesome tunes and just as awesome battles, which makes them doubly awesome. It would be neat to see how their musical works compare with their battle performance. Then again, I'm certain they're just as good as the other.

Meanwhile, this year, I'm told that on the TCG side there are none of my fellows "on tour", so to speak, but on the VGC side, there is one, the first one ever to be able to make it there, courtesy of winning a championship down south. This presents an interesting situation for me and my fellows, who eagerly expect a great performance over the course of this weekend. It might just "rock the house" and "drum up" interest among my other fellows.

Whether musicians or Trainers, those who enjoy Pokémon should be proud right now. Good luck to the participants for this year's championships, and expect some good vibes too.

One year ago: Pokkén Downturn?