Aligning Chess and Pokémon

In a post I made some years ago, I had mentioned that Pokémon battling is like a game of chess, taken from a discussion I had with other Pokémon friends or "fellows". And that has hardly changed today, with some battles - particularly of the VGC type - continuing to demand a mental capacity that is greater than that of the average person. Given this fact, I thought it would be helpful to try to see how the two can be considered to align.

For this, I consider VGC battling not only as the main representation of Pokémon but also as one of comparable complexity. The Pokémon on a team are like the chess pieces themselves, each one fulfilling specific roles as the pieces have movements. Each given Pokémon move is like the chosen piece(s) to move and when; the correspondence may or may not be one-to-one, but it may be reasonable to consider. While chess has what are called "openings" as selections of specific strategies, the complexity of Pokémon battling escapes what certain strategies can capture, although sometimes patterns can be generalized. Finally, both have moments of serendipity where highly questionable or possibly highly brilliant efforts can be realized. All this is rather simplified, but at least the basic ideas may be understood.

Considering the above, parallels can then be made for other one-to-one battles. Pokémon Go PvP can then be considered a "blitz" variant where turns are seemingly imperceptible (even though they're technically present and sometimes apparent, even with the battles being real-time). TCG battling can then be considered a radically slowed down version, a little akin to "correspondence chess". Adapting the board and pieces also then results in various battling styles that the turn-based game may have (or technically used to have). Again, there are radical simplifications, but it's still possible to see just where and how things line up.

Alternatively, if this is all a bit too complicated, then it might just be simpler to consider that chess and Pokémon have one parallel: the games of the former and the battles of the latter are fleeting moments that capture individual variation. This brings to mind a specific lyrical bait from a concept album-turned-musical about the former:

Each game of chess

Means there's one less

Variation left to be played

Each game got through

Means one or two

Less mistakes remain to be made

-- "The Story of Chess", from Chess

Well, whatever the case, it may be reasonable to consider that both Pokémon and chess are models of strategy in particular ways, and they both have legions of players and analysts (like me). That much too is an alignment in itself.

One year ago: Myst Pillars, Pokémon Pillars

Two years ago: Thoughts of Cards, Again

Three years ago: The Age of Post-EX Raids?

Four years ago: Capital Convergence

Five years ago: Getting Lucky with It

Six years ago: I Want to Splurge