Pokémon Go 8th Anniversary

As usual at this point in time in the year, there is the occasion of the anniversary of Pokémon Go, which I cover on this day. This year, it's the eighth, another lucky number in some respects. It could be considered a "swaparoo" from last year (see below)... and come to think of it, the updates over the past year have had a certain "swaparoo" quality to them, and that's something to discuss - also as usual - and other goings-on as well as the interpretation of all of these for the lasting state of the game up to the present day.

One of the most important things in this things in this department was the "Rediscover" update earlier this year, totally turning around the appearance of the game from what it was before. Then there were Routes, Party Play, and Showcases, all collaborative or competitive features with certain "swaps" in their efforts among Trainers. Yet other features like the ready system and Adventure Effects changed ("swapped") states readily for certain benefits. It may be true that the "swaps" could be a bit of a stretch, but the capacity can't be ignored.

Perhaps the biggest "swaparoo" over the year was the "proper" entry of ninth-generation Pokémon species, before the same could occur for the eighth generation (even though a select number of species preceded it). Therefore, this eighth anniversary has a shade of "nine" in it, a distinct "swap" in any case. Word has it that next year, the reverse "swap" will occur and there will be a shade of "eight" in the ninth - but that's to be explored if and when the time comes about for it to be realized. Some things may just have to "swap" and give way.

Even the traditional anniversary event had a bit of a "swap" of its own, starting late last month and ending just three days ago, instead of it starting or currently progressing at this point. Yet there are reasons, one of which would be something concurrent otherwise, but that's to be explained (rather than "swapped") later on. It's still a part of the fabric of the usual events in the game, especially given its present anniversary; as such, it just has to be executed in some manner, even if it does (or did) mean "swapping" things around to make that happen.

The years have gone by, but it has become apparent that Pokémon Go cannot be "swapped" for anything else, if I hadn't already made that clear last year around this time as well. Though the features and Pokémon may also have had certain instances of "swaparoo" as evident by the above explanations, it may still be fairly lucky that all these (mostly) held up to the scrutiny of Trainers - just like the repute of this year's number, following on last year's. Some things may still be in for "swapping", but that should be for the better now.

Happy 8^th anniversary to Pokémon Go.

One year ago: Pokémon Go 7^th Anniversary 

Two years ago: Pokémon Go 6^th Anniversary

Three years ago: Pokémon Go 5^th Anniversary

Fourth years ago: Pokémon Go 4^th Anniversary

Five years ago: Pokémon Go 3^rd Anniversary

Six years ago: Pokémon Go 2^nd Anniversary

Seven years ago: Pokémon Go One-Year Anniversary

The Cooking Festival in Café Remix

As part of its fourth anniversary, which is significant but this year not enough for me to merit a post of its own, Pokémon Café Remix had put in another event format. This format might be its most dynamic yet, for it plays off of both rivalry and collaboration. The café has always been and will always be its own entity, but another entity came to challenge that - one known for its dark looks and purple twists, which goes by the name of Team Crunch. This sets up the primary dynamic of the format, which goes by the name of Cooking Festival. 

In responding to the challenge, the player along with the team band together to serve up things to please a certain judge. The serving up of those things uses the One-Minute Cooking stage framework that has additional gimmick items - the Café Like item, cleared by just making chains next to them when they appear - to be collected to support the café and earn items. In short, it's a special version of a team event with a predetermined stage framework, different from the usual incarnation of a team event with general play.

By collecting Café Likes, everyone on the team can earn certain rewards, including a new Pokémon staff member and the associated items - Cookies are certain, but other boost items could be possible in later editions - as well as the usual consumable items and whatnot. But like a usual team challenge, everyone has to contribute (optimally) to get all the rewards, and in fact they have to in order to earn the first few items. After that, it may depend on the activeness of the members of the team as a whole.

Going back to the "challenge" aspect, the Café Likes are also translated into points that counter those of Team Crunch, and this plays out in a series of cooking battles that take place in one- or two-day intervals, with the winning side being determined afterwards. Obviously, the café has to win for posterity, and in the first incarnation that ended yesterday, my team won all six battles. It is perhaps for the best that one does not find out what happens if a battle is lost... which means contributing as much as possible anyhow.

The dynamic of Cooking Festival is certainly unique, even if some of its demands are just fulfilled by regular play - and quite a bit of that, at that. Yet, it's also a team event, which means that only so much can happen if the rest of the team aren't up to the task. To keep Team Crunch at bay and still earn lots of nifty rewards may still serve as the primary incentive, and that may be just enough to keep things going, especially on the current and apropos occasion of the game's anniversary where lots of things can and do happen.

One year ago: Is Pokémon Second-Rate?

Two years ago: Quickies: Living Around Magnets

Three years ago: Poké Ball Luggage Tag

Four years ago: YouTube Pokémon Highlights - Mewmore Edition

Five years ago: The Art of Pokémon Adventures - 20th Anniversary Illustrations

Six years ago: Variegated Pokémon Patterns

Seven years ago: I Side with Pokémon

Blessed Be These Efforts

Let's get one thing out of the way first up: today is July 4 and as such it's the day for the commemoration of independence for the United States. It's something I've covered in connection to my Pokémon experiences since a number of years ago and will likely remain that way going forward. For this year's treatment of the topic, I've decided to go into what might be a least-discussed aspect (if not one many) that pertains to the former and could be said to describe much of the latter. And it's something that might be easily ignored.

Those who have possessed a one-dollar bill and looked at its backside might notice the words "annuit coeptis" (in Latin) written on it. Strictly (literally) speaking, it means that an entity gives favor to undertakings - of the people, certainly; more loosely, it could be taken to mean the words that are stated in the title of this post. These words have some spiritual connections, especially considering their origins and the surrounding symbolism, but those are beyond the scope of the discussion of this post.

What isn't as such is how it could be construed to be related to Pokémon. Everyone in this world makes some kind of effort for their dealings with the species of concern, particularly the Trainers. For those efforts, they may need to believe that those efforts have received blessings in some kind of way - at least if good intentions and/or methods are to be had rather than malicious ones. It would then be similar to the efforts of the people of that country above, both in the past and the present, which may explain the use of those words.

Meanwhile, for those who have contributed to Pokémon and made the franchise, universe, and world what it is, they only deserve the highest blessings, if they haven't already considered that their actions have received them as such. Even with all the hard work that goes into those actions - undeniably for any effort - they would likely be still nothing without some amount of blessings, and so the words still ring true to some capacity. It's also a capacity that I would like to attain at some point in time.

Blessings can be a little hard to come by these days with all that's going on in the world, but if those words on the one-dollar bill have anything to say, it's that there are blessings in the best of efforts, even if the results come out in unexpected ways. So true is this for anything that people do, even as they pertain to or involve Pokémon. Having been a fan of it for a long time - something that started out in the pertinent country as above - at the least, I can say that there are still blessings to be had for all the things I do with it.

So, with the (good) blessings from whomever, have a wonderful independence day celebration, for those in the U.S.

One year ago: From Sea to Shining Sea

Two years ago: The U.S. as a "Center" of Pokémon

Three years ago: Searching for Myself... with U.S. Included

Four years ago: A Few Words about U.S. (Us)

Five years ago: Welcome to the Jungle

Six years ago: Metal Reversed Cap Pikachu Keychain

Seven years ago: The Subdued Hometown Themes

Team Rocket Apparel from Pokémon Center

For this month's "four fours" posts, I was a bit baffled while thinking about what it should cover. But then I remembered that Pokémon Center still has a lot of merchandise, some offbeat and some neat, that I've yet to cover on this blog. So I've decided to cover some of them for this month's series on that. And the first one for the coverage reaches into the nefarious depths, with apparel based on the original villainous team - the one and only Team Rocket. As nefarious as they are, the apparel seems to have a good thing going.

There are the expected tops and bottoms for this one of apparel, and they are very much if not undoubtedly necessary, as would be the parts of a Team Rocket uniform. But then so is the cap, which completes the look, and there are a few of those in the line as well, along with other accessories. They're not just all black and red, though: a few of them also contain (or are mostly in) white with a touch of red, and this still makes sense given the uniforms of Jessie and James. Overall, there are lots of possibilities for mixing and matching with this line of apparel - which is in contrast to the spirit of a Team Rocket uniform, yet it's still possible for that spirit to manifest itself in different ways, ergo all the items in this apparel. 

One of those ways is for me personally. Around the time of last year, when the line was first introduced, they had a "recruitment campaign" to determine what Team Rocket outfit would look great on different people by an animated GIF roulette. I participated in it just for fun, and I got a black vest and long pants, which I also think would go great with a black cap and a white shirt as a liner. I'm not about to - moreover, can't possibly - get any of these items at this point in time, nor do I have the incentive to, but it's still fun to think about what would I wear for the purpose of this "recruitment".

At any rate, Team Rocket is still a part of Pokémon proper, and there has to be a way of appeasing prospective members fans that may have a soft spot even for this nefarious team. One way to do just that is through merchandise and specifically clothing, and that is certainly something that Pokémon Center can furnish - and it does, keeping the team spirit among the people who might just become one of its members.

One year ago: Possible Alternatives to (Preserve) Pokémon Go?

Two years ago: Taking on the Unite Challenge

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 7/3/2021

Four years ago: More Pokémon Go "Goofs"

Five years ago: I Splurged, for Once

Six years ago: Pokémon Yellow Pikachu Shirt

Seven years ago: Spicy Tamato

The New Successors of Silph

So, the "how" part to the Pokémon Go PvP tournament that took place over the past week and involved me is made possible by facilities that are de facto the successors of those that were part of Silph (League) Arena. I'd written about three candidates for them in the past... and none of them are the facilities I'm about to discuss, although the ones that have been realized are also evidently not "all-in-one" as are the previously discussed ones. That said, all of them have each taken up one part of what made the Arena known for what it was, and they all need to be discussed together.

The first of these successors, and perhaps the most crucial, is Dracoviz. Yes, it's read the same as Dracovish, a species from the eighth generation and one of Ash's Pokémon in the World saga; its logo even resembles the facial jaws of the Pokémon. It serves as the organizing aid for Swiss round and round-robin tournaments, including the one I just participated in. Outside of that, it also keeps track on some other PvP happenings, particularly those for the official qualifiers for the Championship Series leading to the World Championships, and sometimes even supports Trainers for this purpose. Even so, going back to the tournament organizing part, it seems to be a "work in progress" in some respects, and I'll have more to say on this separately - though for this intent and purpose, it has already established itself as such.

Next up, something has to furnish the usual rotating formats or themed cups that have become a signature of community PvP, and Devon Corporation fills this purpose. In fact, it has already done just that for its inaugural season that started earlier this year... and I've missed every single one of the formats; at some point, I'll have more to say on all of them, but perhaps not soon enough. In any case, the formats are funneled to Trainers, both competing and organizing ones, and the tournaments are set up through the organizer as above. It's somewhat apropos and odd that the successor is a "successor" in a different manner of speaking, but that may be for the best anyway.

As for team competitions, that too has already been established. Battle Frontier is now the home for teams of Pokémon Go Trainers to duke it out together with the best in the region and the world. It too has established an inaugural season full of ups and downs, and many of the teams that used to be in Factions are now here as well. I have even much less to say about this one at this point, but if I will my return to team competitions, it's something that I will have to observe and eventually write on as well.

Essentially, at this point, the workings of Silph (League) Arena have now been restored, though in more independent and separate ways rather than all of them being "under one roof". The competitions also have gotten going, which is truly the point and the best part. Still, it may not measure up to the Arena - at least at this point in time - but that won't stop Trainers from making improvements to them, at which point I can then experience them for the better.

One year ago: Cosplay: Akazora Fest

Two years ago: Architect(ural) Futures (Features)

Three years ago: The Element Cup of GBL

Four years ago: Descending into the Catacombs

Five years ago: Fast Captures in Pokémon Go

Six years ago: Let's Go Trade

Seven years ago: Speedblogging Like a Ninjask

Tournament: Retro - Rainbow Cup by AIGA e-Sports

After a very long time, another post on the (Pokémon Go PvP) tournament scene has surfaced, and predictably, it involves me as a participant. Some readers might be asking the question "how?" regarding this predicament, and all I can say for now is that the explanation for that will have to wait. What is important at the moment is that I need to discuss what took place and the results for me personally, and how that reflects my involvement in this branch of competitive Pokémon, especially after a long "sabbatical".

Particularly, the theme has to be gotten out of the way first. It's called Retro-Rainbow Cup because the featured types are the same as for "ye olde Rainbow Cup" of Silph Arena, but the Pokémon are limited to those from the first two generations - and regions, thus Kanto and Johto. This also included forms (which meant none from later regions), as I've found out the day before matches were to begin. Fortunately, they were changed just in time... or rather, the organizers put in leeway for that to happen.

The organizers, meanwhile, are a team (perhaps could also be said to be a collective) of Trainers who also had a Faction also on Silph Arena a long time ago. This is not the first time they organize a tournament, as during the Silph Arena days, they had their own series of tournaments - though for one reason or another, I wasn't able to participate until now. Also, everything was actually due to start on the 22nd last month but was delayed a day, perhaps for the reason above and other matters not known to me.

When it did start, things went on for six rounds, each held within the period of a day (24 hours). At the start, there were 54 participants, but two had no teams registered and were booted out. As the tournament progressed, two more participants either got booted out - due to tardiness - or left on their own accord, leaving 50 as the final tally. And after the dust had settled, I ended up in 35th place (16th from the bottom) with two round wins and four round losses, which is a little (or somewhat) regrettable.

Still, except for one round where I was shut out, I did get at least one battle win in each round, even managing to shut out my opponent in one of the other rounds that I won, for a total of eight battle wins. This performance is pretty much comparable to some of the ones just before the "sabbatical" that I took from competitive Pokémon Go PvP, which means that nothing has changed much since that time... unless if it's considered that my losses here were the results of silly mistakes and that I would be better off without them.

In any case, with my participation in this tournament, my "sabbatical" is pretty much over and I'm likely to participate in other PvP tournaments in the coming days - which might be sooner rather than later. Due to other Pokémon matters and commitments, that still may not be as often as I can, but I can and still have to allot for the possibilities for taking part when it becomes feasible, especially now that the "how" part of it has been established, giving the free means to participate in them once more.

One year ago: A Virtual Cosplay Card

Two years ago: Supporters and Speedsters, Wherefore Art Thou?

Three years ago: It's... Bidoof Day?

Four years ago: The First of Us

Five years ago: Pokémon Go Custom Team Keychains

Six years ago: Cosplay: ENNICHISAI 2018 + CLAS:H/ICGP Nationals

Seven years ago: My Offerings (or, What I Am Not)