The Department Stores (of My Life)

Early main series Pokémon games featured an in-game place called the Department Store, located in one of the major cities in the games' regions. These could be thought of as a substantially expanded Poké Mart in those places, where the Mart is not a part of the Pokémon Center as it is in later games and thereby regions. I thought I'd carry this topic for an actual post - after having only mentioned it as an aside in some earlier posts - and bring in some philosophical musings, given that in some places of the world, this current time would be the time when some people might be rushing to real department stores for what they offer.

Like their real counterparts, the place is divided into floors with staff selling different items on each floor. Getting to each of these floors and then getting the items needed for continuing the adventure is an exercise in reading into what's there, how much one can spend, and what it takes to get the items - especially from the vending machines on the rooftop. It's an exercise that the people as mentioned above might have some familiarity with (and so do I), and when it comes time for that, people (and Trainers) might just have the power to go all out.

As mentioned in a very old post, a later iteration of the Department Store also featured sales of certain items on the rooftop at certain points in time. The items that can be obtained from these sales may or may not be what Trainers need, but it may still be fun to make the effort to obtain them. So too do occasions occur at the places where the real people (and I) shop - as I perhaps can attest all too well - and there is the fun to be had out of that, which means going to them whenever the occasion strikes and to take advantage of the visit for many things.

While the Department Stores only had an early presence in the main series games, those who interact with the games, then and now, will realize that dealing with them in the games may not only be necessary at certain times but also can present an outing opportunity of its own. With the ways that they are as described above, as well as their parallels to reality, they make for places that will certainly supplement Pokémon goings-on in more ways than one.

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