Doubleheaders and Such

The term "doubleheader" most frequently refers to how some sports matches are played back-to-back. While I'm not too fond of watching too many sports matches, let alone ones that are back-to-back, I'm fond of watching a different kind of back-to-back matches. Those are, of course, matches of Pokémon battles in some form. They're a fascinating kind of doubleheader by themselves.

One expected kind of doubleheader is one that involves the Pokémon anime. A long time ago, I used to be exposed to this kind of doubleheader as I've progressed through the episodes. Being shown two episodes at once helped things to progress rather quickly, though once a season of new episodes ran out, it sometimes left myself in an odd wonder. It was fun while it lasted, though, and in a way it set a personal standard that if it's possible and there is enough demand, then two episodes could be shown at a time. Others may or may not agree with this.

A different kind of doubleheader involves Pokémon game matches being streamed, which often may involve the same players though in different matches. It wouldn't be a "doubleheader" in its strict sense - come to think of it, the anime situation is too - but it could spiritually be one, especially if the same players get featured in different matches. The last time I saw one of these was the opening of this year's Pokémon World Championships, which featured the invitational Pokémon Go tournament; it was rousing to watch the players involved, even though I couldn't watch for long due to time constraints. It might be fun either next year or whenever this happens next.

The way that it is, the "doubleheader" concept can be considered an "adjunct" to the "marathon" concept. The difference is that it is not as extensive, as a "doubleheader" or even a "tripleheader" only involves a few things at the most, while a marathon can involve so many more. It's also more directed towards similar things, though a marathon might also be as such. Yes, it does seem like things may be hard to delineate, but then there are also some distinct characteristics.

And the way that things are, I'm rather fond of Pokémon, so I'm rather fond of watching it as it plays out over a few things. It might be a few episodes of the anime, or it might be other players playing battle matches. If they're similarly linked, then that seems to be enough to satisfy. At least it does for me as it does for some other people with real doubleheaders in real sports matches.

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