Voyager of Glory

The world is currently in a tumult for obvious reasons. However, some things have to go on, and that includes the Silph League Arena for Pokémon Go, which as I've mentioned around two weeks ago, will still have a characteristic theme for this month, including the scheduled regional championships. That theme is called "Voyager", and as it suggests, there's a sense of "travel" about it, especially "world travel". Because of the regional championships, there is a sense that the "voyage" is one for "glory", which is why I've indicated the title as such. Yet it may be apparent in other ways.

The restrictions for this month's theme is quite unique in that it is totally formulaic and rather broad. A Trainer is asked to pick four Pokémon from each of the first four generations and regions (Kanto, first; Johto, second; Hoenn, third; and Sinnoh, fourth), then a Pokémon from Unova (fifth generation) or an Alolan or Galarian form or Meltan or Melmetal, and then a "wild card". No other restrictions apply to the first five Pokémon, so long as they are all from the relevant regions or generations. As for that "wild card", it can be anything - perhaps an Alolan or Galarian form if one wasn't chosen for the fifth Pokémon - but it cannot be one of a restricted list of 28 species; any of the 28 may appear in the previous slots, but they cannot be the "wild card" itself. It is almost like the Timeless theme, but all-inclusive in scope; it's truly glorious.

That all-inclusivity does lead to a certain consideration. The Pokémon that could be selected for teams could be virtually any Pokémon for use in open Great League battles, which is exactly that is offered by the Go Battle League at certain points in time; in fact, it has been shown that what applies there applies here as well. Therefore, the experience gained from this style of open battling will be applicable for this month's competitions in the Silph League Arena as well as future open Great League battling opportunities. No doubt, because of the regional championships, there needs to be something that can test the mettle of Trainers in a general manner, and this theme becomes a proxy for that. It's a pathway for glory in many ways.

It should be noted that at present there are only five full generations of Pokémon available in Pokémon Go, and even then the most recent one is incomplete, only supplemented by later regional forms and treated as "equals" for the purpose of this theme. This does lead to the reasoning and postulate that this theme may be expanded later on if and when the Pokémon of Kalos appear, which is likely in considering that many signs are pointing in this direction. It may have to be named differently or slightly changed in format to account for other likely changes, but at least because of this theme, there is a precedent for a successor, and future possibilities for glory.

It does seem that holding this particular theme is incongruous at this moment due to the current situation, but it's a great way of testing Trainers with general things that they can muster, which may be extensible to other general efforts, and could be extensible itself at a later point in time. More than that, it also encapsulates how great the Pokémon world is, perhaps even to travel all around it. That may also be the current hope for the world, and perhaps when the tumult has subsided, it may be possible to go on more voyages of glory around the world, including for the Pokémon one.

One year ago: You Can, I Can
Two years ago: (Continuing the) Local Ex-Raid, 4/8/2018
Three years ago: On the Road Again