Few Abilities, Much Wisdom

I was very young when I first felt strong. Indeed, I was young, but I thought I understood. I had many abilities, even then, but little wisdom. Better to have fewer abilities and much wisdom. 

The above quote is a short clip of a passage written (as well as spoken) by a character in another (game) series or franchise I enjoy. I am sometimes reminded of it whenever I think about myself and how I relate to the world. That said, I have deep relations with Pokémon, which becomes the rationale and driving force behind this blog. For that reason, anything that I put on this blog has to have some relation to Pokémon, whether naturally or artificially - or rather, philosophically. And that holds true with the above quote.

Actually, the first time I was exposed to this quote was also when I was young, about the same age as the character who expressed it, but in a different installment of the game series or franchise. To put that into a Pokémon perspective, at that time there were only three extant generations (and three regions by extension) - so it's obviously pretty old. And at that time, I too had many abilities, some related to Pokémon, but I also didn't have much wisdom to tie things together. The last sentence of this quote, which becomes the point of it and the title of this post, was also something I held onto as my world and the Pokémon world changed.

Essentially, the point is that one can be capable of doing many things, which is remarkable, but that doesn't help to make sense of the world. While being less capable is less remarkable, having the wisdom to make sense of the world might just make up for the difference. I've found this to be true even with my Pokémon dealings. I've never had that great of a time with main series VGC, and now I still sometimes struggle with Pokémon Go PvP - this is the "few abilities" side of things. On the "much wisdom" side, I did gain different perspectives on Pokémon matters by just participating in them and attempting to shape myself for them. 

My current experience with Silph Arena Factions could be said to be evocative of this quote as well. The fact that I'm trusted as the team Captain despite my ups and downs with PvP means that it is a reflection of how much wisdom that I have rather than how much skill I possess in this realm of Pokémon gaming. And while the other members of my Faction or team possess the skills, the "chops" for it, they may not necessarily have the wisdom to deal with the outside affairs; therefore, I'm complementary to them in this regard. I'll have more on this soon in a mid-Cycle write-up, but it may be safe to say that the quote above has a certain relevance.

Sometimes, it's amazing how the things I discover outside of Pokémon have ways of relating to Pokémon, moreover personally, especially if they go deep (philosophically, as with the above quote. It and the passage may be considered a reflection of the character's mental state at the time, but given the Pokémon situations of the present and my involvement with them, the quote and the passage is a reflection of my present. And that present state may just be one of keeping myself wise, no matter how many skills I gain.

One year ago: One More Day, Time, and Chance

Two years ago: Quickies: Going to the Safari

Three years ago: PvP Charged Attack Technique

Four years ago: Friend Cascade

Five years ago: Icons, Images, and Such

Six years ago: These Foolish Things Remind Me of Pokémon