Sunday, March 29, 2026

Pokémon Sacrifices

It has been confirmed that a potential (and personal, for me) Pokémon opportunity will be in conflict with another Pokémon opportunity, one that is more long-standing and will probably work out better for me than the one that will conflict with it. As such, in order for me to be able to take part in either one - even if the conflicting one is of great interest - one of them needs to be "sacrificed". The situation and its demands present a point to be discussed, and that can extend into other points of "sacrifices" for and involving Pokémon. 

Now, that Pokémon opportunity has always involved a degree of sacrificing a little (OK, maybe quite a bit of) time and perhaps money, yet at the same time - more recently in fact - it also has involved sacrificing myself (socially) in the presence of other people. With that being the case, there is a sort of reluctance to take the opportunity for the social sacrifice that it might incur. Meanwhile, the other Pokémon opportunity has had less sacrifice of time, money, and social concerns, but it might present a sacrifice of other, bigger things instead. Yet given the above, better workings might not be something to be sacrificed for things.

Meanwhile, my dealings with Pokémon may have involved sacrifices for certain things at certain moments (one of them may be something that happened several years ago), even if I don't consider the dealings as actual "sacrifices". Even so, certain efforts may still demand sacrifices of some sort - again most likely time and money - and that's just something that I have to balance. What's somewhat clear is that Pokémon itself is hard for me (and likewise other fans) to sacrifice, since I keep coming back to it and it's a source of a lot of good things, and in that way some Pokémon things just don't apply by this very regard.

All this talk about sacrifices also brings to mind a certain song with the keyword by one artist I enjoy listening to. Its lyrics convey matters that relate to romance, but generally interpreted, there is a certain applicability of it to the Pokémon matters conveyed above:

And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all...
-- "Sacrifice", Elton John

The "two hearts" and "two worlds" as in this quoted chorus of the song may refer to both fans and non-fans of Pokémon alike. In that respect, the alignment of them with regard to matters of Pokémon may then be the determinant of what makes up the "sacrifice".

Even if there is still some time for me to make up my mind regarding the opportunities that I had mentioned above, the sacrifice is still certain for (one of) them. Yet for Pokémon, some things may just be better off, in appearance or otherwise, if they are allowed to pass... which is another remnant of the song above. The best Pokémon opportunity is then what works out for me and others in a good way - and that is something not to be sacrificed.

Nine years ago: Pokémon Mechanical Fan
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Saturday, March 28, 2026

Cosplay: SB Urban Fest

Me: OK, break's over - now it's time for some great festivals, conventions, and such. 

Ash: Starting with this one!

Me: Well, yes. It's kind of far away and it's a bit short, but you'll find that it's worth it.

Goh: You must have a reason for that. 

Ash: Our friend told me to go to a mall first... to play a dance game and to battle and catch Gigantamax Pikachu!

Pikachu: Pi, pika pika chu! ["Hey, I resemble that!"]

Goh: Oh! Well, that is important for our friend, then. 

Me: You'd better believe it. So that's a second agenda and side benefit, since the festival (for us) doesn't start until the afternoon anyway. 

Ash: Yeah, so after the dance game and battles, I went to the festival in the city square. I was a little late, but I got to see them start out with a lucky draw game.

Goh: Oh. And then there was...

Ash: ...a violin and guitar performance. Then I was called up to help with some magic tricks.

Goh: Sounds nice.

Ash: The last thing I saw was some singing, before the character parade in the evening.

Goh: OK, well, this all sounds like a Bocchi Noizu festival, but... far away?

Me: Well, you might be right - they are after all supporters for the festival.

Pikachu: Pika pika? ["Don't you think?"]

Goh: Anyway, how'd the character parade go?

Ash: I think I did great with my Sinnoh outfit. But I wouldn't know how I really did, since I had to run back to our friend as soon as I was done.

Goh: Wow, really cutting it close.

Me: Thinking about it, I probably might not have wanted you in it if it was going to be that close.

Ash: I was a bit nervous too! That I wouldn't make it back in time - but fortunately I did.

Goh: What about all the other characters?

Ash: They were all really nice, so I think it's fine if some of them won instead of me.

Me: If we both didn't have commitments, I'm sure I would have let you stay, but yeah.

Goh: But the festival was good at the least.

Pikachu: Pika chu pika pika! ["A lot of food!"]

Ash: And I had a good day too with the battle and the game.

Goh: I'm sure you did.

Me: We knocked out a few agendas with a single travel.

Goh: Well, there you go.

Me: Based on that, great travels might make for some great times, like this one.

Two years ago: One Item, Indefinitely?
Three years ago: Rainbow Pokémon Fantasies
Nine years ago: A Pikachu Wall Hanging
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Friday, March 27, 2026

Electrode Volleyball Rises to Prominence

Last year, Pokémon Unite introduced the Electrode Volleyball play mode as a limited-time offering to celebrate its anniversary. This year, said play mode is on a roll and even climbing to new heights - a "prominence", so to speak, which is why I've described it as such in the title of this post. The rise to that "prominence" is a fascinating one for what it means for the play mode and this game as a whole, and it can stand to be explored.

The biggest thing for that is a World Tour featuring the play mode: a series of competitions that will take place online in the next month or so, for the top regions where the game is played. Competitors can even enter individually (and then team up later on) and certainly as already-formed teams. The competitions are being promoted with fanfare that rivals the standard competitive mode, which makes it truly a peak for the play mode.

Meanwhile, the play mode itself has essentially been available indefinitely as a Quick battle map in addition to the usual daily map rotation and any other special event maps, of which at this present time there are in fact two of the latter. Since the play mode tends to go much quicker, it presents itself as an alternative to other Quick battle maps, which is a good side benefit other than now being able to support the above competition.

For additional support of the tournament, there are two accompanying game events. Both of these involve taking part in and/or winning matches of the play mode; one has the ultimate reward of a Platinum emblem for Electrode and the other has rewards of items and temporary Unite Licenses every five battles won up to 101 of them. Both of these events need at least some grinding effort but are certainly worth it to an extent.

Having described Pokémon Unite as a "sports game" earlier, the Electrode Volleyball mode becomes a real testament to that. The new competition takes the mode to new heights and shows off a different competitive potential for the game in addition to the existing one. That may just allow the game to have a "sticking" factor in addition to a "smashing" factor by the above, for enabling another kind of Pokémon competition to take place.

One year ago: When Two's a Crowd...
Two years ago: On Pokémon Valuables
Seven years ago: Ingress and Out
Eight years ago: Pokémon in Common Terms
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Thursday, March 26, 2026

Champions Expectations

The recent "anniversary edition" of Pokémon Presents had also shed further light on Pokémon Champions, the next way of experiencing main series-like battles that will also be accessible to all (by way of its planned mobile version). Its usage for this year's World Championships as it is planned - also as I had noted - would carry lots of implications for it as a "battle client" game. It is then (now) high time that I discuss those implications along with some expectations for the game, its playability, and Pokémon in general.

Because it's for use in the World Championships, by implication and expectation, the game will have to support the VGC format. That means supporting the standards that are in place now (and in a way as they have been) and potential evolutions of the format (perhaps not in style, but surely any restrictions that are applied and un-applied to the battles and teams). There are interesting prospects in this regard for old Trainers returning to face the VGC format - I would be included here - and new Trainers that want to try to deal with it.

Meanwhile, there is the use of species. The game will surely be able to allow players to procure species from within it by certain means, but it is also a certainty that Pokémon Home linkage, as explained, will allow the breadth of species from the main series games (in particular, those that are already VGC-capable) and even those imported from Pokémon Go to be used. They'll still be subject to any standard or restriction that will apply as above, but as an implication and expectation, many species will become fair game for this purpose.

Linking with others is also an expectation for its orientation of battling with others and an implication by the way that other Pokémon games also facilitate the means in order to allow players to engage others in battle. That further ties into the expected use of the games in the World Championships and the implied means of engagement in that setting. While it is likely that species management and the associated engagements for that will be carried out through Pokémon Home, some engagements for this may just occur here.
  
Since April as the month of the game's release is coming up very soon, answers to these expectations and implications will also be due out very soon as well, once players (Trainers) on the Switch get their hands on the game first, followed by the prospective players on mobile platforms later on. Accessibility as a core tenet of those expectations and implications, not to mention the purpose of the game itself, remains vital to it and will define the future for the battles in the associated competitive Pokémon realm.

Five years ago: Be the Winning Team
Six years ago: Looking for Good News
Seven years ago: Nominating PokéStops
Nine years ago: Slowpoke Moments
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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Outcast Journeys with Pokémon

An outcast is a person who loses a sense of belonging to a place or group by the perceptions of others in that place or group. It is an unfortunate fact of life that such a state of affairs continues to occur for some people, and even with relation to Pokémon. As such, I thought I'd bring up the matter and discuss it with specific relation to that, framing the instances as "outcast journeys" that involve Pokémon in various ways.

One of those "outcast journeys" is the one that occurred in the first Mystery Dungeon games, where the player character is forced to travel along with Absol after becoming considered an outcast in the initial location of the games. It's an emotional journey to say the least, and plot-wise, it becomes the way that the characters are initially developed. The "outcast" sentiments are certainly strong for this particular case.

Thinking about outcasts brings to mind Porygon, a Pokémon species that became an "outcast" through a major appearance that resulted in an unpretty occasion. I've already discussed the particulars of this journey some years ago, but it's worth repeating for this discussion for its relevance. Even if the Pokémon is on a bit of a resurgence in modern times, that "outcast journey" still becomes a part of it, an inseparable one no less.

Meanwhile, there's my personal journey through various Pokémon affairs that in some cases have also led to me becoming classed as an outcast through them by various people, both with and without direct connections to the matter of concern. But then it seems that certain other fans also share the experience of becoming an outcast, so the experience isn't unique - yet the results seem to be all the same for us.

No one really wants to become an outcast, but as explained above, it just seems to keep on happening, rather unfortunately and sometimes unexpectedly. The same applies for certain Pokémon matters, for which this becomes the case and an "outcast journey" is initiated by that situation. Life still goes on, even if one were to become an outcast in some way, and for what it's worth, Pokémon could be something that may alleviate that.

Two years ago: Who's on Who's Side?
Three years ago: Pokémon Rites of Passage
Four years ago: Weathering with Politoed
Seven years ago: All I Learned with Pokémon
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Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Being a Pokémon Fan... In This Economy

One of the shows I regularly watch on TV is a talk show on matters of the economy, both local and global. It helps me to understand what's going on in the world and develop my plans for various things, including Pokémon. Meanwhile, one of the buzzwords that is currently popular is "in this economy..." a reference to how the current economic situation of the world is at a downturn. That makes for a captivating idea for a discussion, so I've decided to take the idea and run it for a discussion, with particular regard for subsisting as a Pokémon fan. 

For that purpose, that would mean spending for Pokémon things and games that are warranted (to support what has been furnished) and enjoying the rest with as low a cost as possible (to be able to maximize what can be enjoyed). In this way, both sides of the economy of Pokémon things can benefit somehow and they'd still be able to subsist. Of course, with particular focus on fans, they can and should focus on the Pokémon things that they are truly involved in, to make the most of those things to make sure they're economically satisfied.

In line with the above, there is also the good principle of trying to keep things as official as possible, by buying official (and officially licensed) merchandise, although given the state of things, it may very well have to be limited. Certainly, this is not a prompt to end creativity, for that creativity is helpful in the creation of Pokémon items that are lower in price for certain purposes, perhaps other than collection. Official merchandise is still the way to go for a lot of Pokémon merchandise, and it may stand the tests of time and economy.

And then there are friends and communities for Pokémon games and things, both at the local and global scales. Interacting with all the people in them is certainly cost-effective, even if they can't actually substitute for those things in the first place. Something like a Pokémon figure group that allows for collection, discussion, and photography - which is exactly what I have over the years past - fits the above regard, again even if the figures aren't exactly economical, both then and now. The interaction may be more valued than the substance.

The current global economic situation may not resolve itself anytime soon, and that may make it somewhat difficult for Pokémon fans to get on in this state of affairs. Yet if any of the above are of any indication, Pokémon affairs may have a way of resolving themselves by what its fans choose to do and obtain with regard to it, and then interact with others of their kind. It's a fascinating thing, even in this economic state... and for me personally, that talk show may just continue to shed light on my current and next moves for Pokémon.

One year ago: Revision Roundup
Six years ago: Virulent Impacts
Seven years ago: From One Path to Another
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Monday, March 23, 2026

Making Sense of the Unite Style Holowear

Players of Pokémon Unite are likely to recognize the Unite Style Holowear for some of the included Pokémon in the game, but they're also likely not to pay serious attention to it. One of the reasons may be as I've explained some three years ago, in that the Holowear is too plain, making it not worth its value even in monetary terms. With that, I thought about discussing this family of Holowear and the aspects that pertain to it in order to understand it better and see why the justification above applies to it.

The basic two styles of the Holowear family are the Orange and Purple styles. These two colors have a strong representative basis, in that they refer to the two sides of a team-on-team match in the game - purple being for the left-side team (and customarily for the active player), and orange for the right-side team (therefore also indicating the opposing team by the above). As such, the colors are fundamental, yet still just seem too "basic"; even the Holowear does simply look like a basic kit, which is OK for real sports but maybe less so for MOBA.

Recently, some Pokémon have also obtained new styles of this Holowear family, the Red and Blue styles. Now, these colors should be familiar to many and especially longtime Pokémon fans for their duality across different Pokémon games (including main series ones), being put into opposition as two extremes of the spectrum of certain games. Even with the addition of these, they still look simple, as with the other two styles. While that is certainly for the purpose of maintaining commonality, the simplicity becomes more pronounced.

With that, the value of the Holowear in and of the family becomes evident, supporting the view of them being plain. Even so, it may still be neat to have them, just not for and by their intrinsic value; in that regard, the cost of the Holowear in the family can stand to be reduced or be made attractive to be obtained through means that don't involve (direct) monetary spending. The older Orange and Purple styles can benefit anyhow by everyone having them, since they're already "long in the tooth" as far as this game is concerned.

Being that Pokémon Unite is essentially a Pokémon "sports game" (especially with some recent facets) in addition to being a MOBA, having something like the Unite Style Holowear does make sense in that regard. Still, in light of the above, the plain aspect is a bit of a detractor for the Holowear itself, its value, and where it fits in the game. Being able to just have it in simpler and cost-effective ways may be the fairest approach, and that fairness can then continue to be reflected in the various play modes of the game.

Four years ago: Crazy for Pinap Berries
Eight years ago: The "Generals"
Nine years ago: Pokémon Food... For Us
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