Me: Like I said, an annual thing it is.
Ash: Great!
Goh: Like you said, huh.
Me: And for as long as it's convenient, I'll try to put in something for the convention.
Goh: I'm curious how they'll try to make this one different.
Me: Well, for starters, they've got a wacky theme this year: "animal house"... but not that kind.
Ash: But Pokémon are "animals", so we'd fit right in!
Pikachu: Pika pika! ["Hey yeah!"]
Me: Why not? They did say they want to make this edition one big "animal party" - and they want "animals", they got it, our style.
Goh: Pokémon works out, doesn't it? OK, so this must have been in the same place and with many of the same communities.
Me: Sure! But I think there are a few twists this time around, also for the "animal house" theme.
Ash: They had a second stage for the communities!
Goh: With the way it goes every year (and a half), I wouldn't be surprised if they had to separate them from the performers, which... looking at the schedule, is all day.
Ash: I think you're right. I'd want to perform on a different stage myself.
Goh: Meanwhile, the performers... they were mostly groups and bands today, weren't they?
Ash: Yeah - dance and performance, plus a DJ, radio show, and karaoke.
Me: OK, the usual stuff. And usually there would be competitions too - one of which is the character parade, which I've prepped you for with your Journeys outfit.
Ash: Yeah, that... Lots of characters and not many prizes - didn't work out.
Pikachu: Pika. ["Sadly."]
Me: I should've known.
Goh: Weren't there community competitions like last year's editions, even the main one?
Ash: Oh yeah! People voted, and the community voted. One community had friends of our friend.
Me: That's nice to hear. Oh, and I think there's one final competitive twist... in the form of a card you might have gotten when you got in.
Ash: It was a card to get community stamps! But I had to get at least 10 for a prize, and even if I did, they still would have drawn it.
Goh: So no guarantee even with the effort. What would you win if you got all the stamps?
Me: I heard it would be... a Gogoat!
Goh: A real one, live in the flesh??
Ash: But when I saw the drawing, the winner just got a paper one. There was one for a Torchic too.
Goh: Hmm, seems questionable.
Me: I'm still questioning it even right now. What about other twists, ones that even I couldn't predict?
Ash: I met a big Pikachu!
Pikachu: Pika pika pika! ["Two of us!"]
Goh: Oh my!
Ash: We were in the parade together - and next to each other! But of course neither of us won.
Me: That is a huge twist. It reminds me of #006 from way back when.
Ash: Oh, and your card game friends opened up a booth just like last time.
Me: Well, that's a minor twist and a slightly predictable one at that, but I couldn't tell if they were going to or not. Evidently they did.
Ash: I didn't play, but it seems they're doing great.
Me: Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it myself when I have the chance.
Goh: Anything else? What's in that white bag?
Ash: It's a trophy and a certificate.
Goh: Wait, I thought you didn't win anything.
Ash: It's not from here - it's...
Me: OK, so this is a bit of an unrelated twist. The local photographer community decided to hold their own version of the WCA, possibly knowing what happened last time, and we got in - and properly win as a character this time. Thanks for picking up the award during the convention - and hey, it's a proper award too, not like the "pillow trophy" from the year before.
Pikachu: Pika chu. ["Nice job."]
Goh: Wow!
Me: Well, after all that, I think we can say that today was an "animal house" in more ways than one.
Ash: And it was really different too! The parts that aren't the same old, same old anyway.
Goh: Hey, you know, just like our friend said last year.
Me: Yes! So at least we can say that my claim is very true, and this convention remains very special.
Ash: And everything is (and was) always a real party!
Me: That's a thought. Today it may involve - for us and others - togas of a different kind, but there's a bit of that spirit there, not to mention this year's wacky theme.
Goh: Maybe it'll be there differently when Utsuru 10 comes around.
Me: (I heard about that.) But we'll make sure our Pokémon core is the same.
One year ago: AFA ID Returns
Two years ago: You're Everything... I Like You
Three years ago: Good Builds for Unite?
Four years ago: The (Un)Popularity of Legendary Raid Bosses
Five years ago: Tournament: Raid Group Rose Cup
Six years ago: Let's Go Take Pictures
Seven years ago: Community Days!
Eight years ago: Competitive or Non-Competitive?
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