Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Lost Player Ties

I've made a few posts over the years on my connections with other Pokémon fans or players, one in the first year of this blog, then the second year, and then the third year. Much of the posts concern the connections I've made, but quite a bit also concern the "disconnections". It seems I have to revisit the latter in this post, which I have to say is a bit of a shame, as much as I relish to do so. It concerns some happenings with them that have come to light in recent times and affected our relationships.

Today, I went out with one my really good friends (even, "better-than-best friends") in Pokémon Go for an evening in my area. We noticed a Lure Module set up by a friend player of that friend, alongside another one set up by another one of my friends. There was talk of approaching them to use the Lure Module together, but after the latter came to light, we decided not to. Apparently the reason is because when they are together, they tend to talk condescendingly of others, something that I've also been a (reluctant) witness in a different place with related players and the same situation. Even if it's just in jest, I get the impression that this may somehow put off others, which seems to be the case for others, including my friend. This may be the further explanation for the "raid split" I detailed last year. Personally, I'm rather disappointed that this is the case.

Meanwhile, some months ago, I had my own personal case of "disconnection". I had become friends with someone on Facebook, but the person is not just any person. The person is a well-respected part of pretty much any local Pokémon operations, and I and many fans admire the person as such. In fact, the person came to assist with the organizing of a local TCG tournament, which prompted me to be able to actually meet the person. In fact, we did meet at the place of the tournament, but when we did, the meeting felt awkward, as if we didn't recognize each other. When I checked my Facebook to confirm, I found that we were no longer friends. This too became a bit of disappointment, particularly as I thought we'd be able to connect further.

I happened to discuss the above matter with another friend - or rather an admirer - of mine, and my friend said that since the person effectively cut off ties, the person is no longer a matter of concern and does not need to be pursued, though it may still be possible to talk with the person despite the seemingly irreparable nature of the relationship. I fear that this may be what has happened with some in my raid group with the way people talk about other people, only in a more subtle manner, since aside from inside Pokémon Go, there are no evident friendship relationships. And yet, I could sense the aura of shaky ties among them in the group chat for my raid group.

I love my raid group, but I feel disheartened that the above case has come to light, and perhaps other similar but undisclosed cases may exist. Likewise, I feel disheartened about that lost personal connection, especially since we are both still active. It may seem that we've let our differences got the best of us and we've forgotten what made us in common with each other - Pokémon. I only hope that it may be possible for us to forget what made us disconnect and be able to reconnect over the creatures we have become so attracted to.

One year ago: The False Gods

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