PvP: After One Year

There's a topic I've neglected to cover (in a way, put on hold), and yet it's important because of its relationship to my current Pokémon experiences. Last Thursday was the one-year anniversary of the addition of the "Trainer battle" (better known as PvP) feature to Pokémon Go, and it's a very important one. It establishes the game as a full-fledged Pokémon game, at least in terms of being able to battle one another directly. One year since then, the feature remains important in many aspects for all players concerned, including me.

Few systems are perfect from the get-go, and the Pokémon Go PvP system is one of them. The system has underwent a few revisions since its initial introduction, some cosmetic for a few little issues, and others technical in order to rectify what shouldn't be. One of the latter kind in fact came a few days ago, particularly regarding how the Attack stat has a role in battle, and this has wrought havoc with best practices ("meta") for SLA's Timeless theme, causing some strategies to have to be re-thought and re-applied for battling under these circumstances. These revisions are necessary, of course, for them to become as good as possible to facilitate Trainers no matter what happens in battle.

And of those battles and competitions, they've been rather rife, primarily by way of the Silph League Arena and its various monthly themes. While my raid group is keen on holding one or at least not too many a month, other raid groups elsewhere may be apt to hold more than one per month; 90 km or so from where I live, competitions are live per week based on the SLA, which should appeal to Trainers there. Even so, the SLA is not the only one that furnishes styles of competitions; others have taken to do so, though its organization may still depend on the SLA. One in fact became the last tournament that my raid group held, and I may or may not take to discussing it here since the occasion has already well passed. But I might just do so, considering its uniqueness and relation to Pokémon. With this current state, there's quite a bit to go for in competitions.

But soon, there might be more to go for. As noted at the end of October, the GO Battle League is on tap, and it might be something to really go for. There have been a few more details revealed about the system, though the system itself is yet to be seen. It also seems to be critically different than the SLA system, so it remains to see how the latter will jive with the former. If anything, GO Battle League is an apparent "standardization", and it's highly likely to point the way for inclusion of Pokémon Go in the Pokémon World Championships, with a proper system for weeding out the best of the rest. The PvP system may not need more changes in light of this, but the system will likely dictate how Trainers should battle.

Battling is what I consider to be one of the "four pillars of Pokémon" and it thereby is something to be present in its more sophisticated games. So too Pokémon Go is a sophisticated Pokémon game, which is why PvP was a demand for inclusion way back when. After one year of that inclusion, it has gone through quite a bit, and looking at what's ahead, it may be due for a bit more. Regardless, the stakes remain high for PvP, which as part of a "pillar" of Pokémon should be rightfully so with how it further develops.

One year ago: Pokémon Asia McDonald's Happy Meal Toys, Waves 3 and 4
Two years ago: Balanced Systems Stimulate Civilization