Six Degrees of Separation

Years ago, I wrote a post that illustrates a certain quantity of time by which fame might be realized, as that may apply to Pokémon. Now, I'd like to discuss another numerical quantity, this time pertaining to how far two entities may be separated. The theory is that two entities may only be separated by at most six links or degrees; this was first illustrated in a 1929 short story and was subsequently popularized today, especially in this era of social networking and even in the era prior to that. To some extent, the theory may be considered to be able to apply to entities of or related to Pokémon.

For families of Pokémon species that evolve in particular, this is rather evident, as any one of the members are separated by two or three links. It means that it doesn't take much to develop one species to another one of a higher level. There's an inherent elegance in that, which could be another reason why more evolutionary stages might not be necessary. Then, there is the biological "forking" of Pokémon species by regional forms; while there is displacement in the relationships due to the "forking", it's still neat to trace how that happened, and most importantly, it can and does happen within the framework of the "six degrees". If anything, that seems to be further elegance.

The most popular application of the "six degrees" theory is in the linking of people by their closeness to one another, which may be quantified in numbers. In the same way, the links of Trainers could conceivably be examined to determine how related they are to others. The most plausible determinant for this purpose is if they have directly battled each other, which would lead to a lower number against that Trainer. Beyond battling, a simple interaction would perhaps suffice, and this is actually implemented in The Silph Road with a "handshake" metric that authenticates an interaction. Either way, a "six degrees" situation might just very well be established.

As for "six degrees" in another scope, Pokémon is obviously not just one game, and players could stand to play other games as well. In this case, the theory can be used to examine how related one player is to another, not necessarily for the same game(s). For example, I'm in contact with certain main series fellows that don't play Pokémon Go, as well as those of the converse, Pokémon Go fellows that don't play the main series games, and one of these parties would likely have to go through me in order to get to the other, barring that they aren't already connected. That would mean two degrees of linkages between us at worst, but even those two degrees really do show how connected we are.

It's amazing how vast Pokémon has grown today, and in that growth, it would seem even more amazing that there are linkages of various kinds, some of which may be no more than six links or "degrees" apart. That seems to apply equally well to the namesake species with their developmental relations as well as their human partners in various roles that make things happen for themselves and the species of concern. The theory essentially establishes that things that are separate may have significant links that bring them closer together, and that seems just as relevant for Pokémon as it is anywhere else.

One year ago: Seeking Comfort with Pokémon

Two years ago: Getting Too Technical

Three years ago: Takara Tomy Arts Manmaru Pokémon Netsuke Sun & Moon - Torracat

Four years ago: Cosplay: AsiA Cosplay Competition 2018, Day 2

Five years ago: Dreams of Itasha