Still Not Quite Outside the "Ilex Forest"

In the Johto region, the Ilex Forest is the wooded area just outside of Azalea Town on the path to Goldenrod City. Entering the area from the former and traversing its path allows one to get to the path that leads to the latter. It's not a trivial matter, however; the forest is twisty and confusing, perhaps more so than the similar Viridian Forest the next region over. For that, I consider it appropriate to be involved in a discussion of a still-overhanging matter that I've avoided to a certain capacity.

Recall from three years ago the start of the pandemic, which after a time I started referring to as "current conditions". New developments have suggested that it may not have to be considered as such anymore, even though the cause of it all still lingers and is slightly troublesome. It may seem like everyone and everything - including Pokémon affairs - have been able to make it out of what seems to be something akin to the forest above, but personally, I still don't consider that to be the case just yet.

The lingering and troublesome quality of the cause as above is the main thing, for it is still just that, even in my local area. While that may or may not interfere with Pokémon things, it does still mean that the ways of life before may still not be perfectly applicable as it once was, and some caution is still necessary, even for the most extreme of doing Pokémon things (such as attending Pokémon Go Fest or its World Championships - more on them very soon). Yet those processions happening do indicate that the brunt of things has dissipated.

Come to think of it, humanity's handling of the situation may be somewhat described as the twisty parts of the forest, at least from its entry to its eventual exit. It went from entering the forest and wandering in the twists, to finding a straight path for getting it resolved - at least to a sufficient capacity that the exit can eventually be seen and has been reached. Yet, humanity may still need to grope in this area for a bit before it can eventually trudge on the path to the shining, gleaming city.

Perhaps the consolation is that by going through the forest, humanity has discovered and passed by the shrine that exists within it, the shrine of a special time traveler. While it is impossible to use time travel to erase what has transpired (in either direction), it may serve as a reminder of what needs to be done. Even as humanity is at the exit of the forest and far from the shrine, it remains symbolic of the pathway and what is needed to get out of it as well as the remainder of the way to the city ahead.

And so, things run their course, even as the "Ilex Forest" still minorly looms.

One year ago: The Rock-Paper-Scissors Principle

Two years ago: Transparent Language Presentation?

Three years ago: More YouTube Pokémon Highlights

Four years ago: Trading Styles

Five years ago: The No's of Go

Six years ago: Site Design