Living in a "Post" World with Pokémon

The current world has changed a lot since Pokémon came into being over 30 years ago. In fact, the world is now feeling the "after effects" of those changes, and many of those can be described by the word "post" (appropriately meaning "after") and a descriptor. I thought about gathering up a few of these effective qualities of the current world and discuss dealing with them for real life in general and Pokémon life specifically. 

One of those is "post-truth", where people have a hard time grasping what is true and what isn't, even if the former is presented in front of them. This too happens (or has happened) for Pokémon, if the case of "the false gods" is of any indication; more recently, there is always the chance for posted information about Pokémon Go to lead to incorrect interpretations, written and visual alike. This is challenging to deal with, and in some sense a good deal of objectivity to keep (Pokémon) facts in check and true.

Next, there is "post-literacy", where people have a hard time dealing with written works and prefer audiovisual methods to do so. I myself fall into this camp as well, but perhaps for other reasons. Regardless, Pokémon itself is highly audiovisual, and that is arguably part of the appeal. This situation certainly becomes an impetus for me to keep up this blog - in the face of many and specific challenges - to provide a source of "Pokémon literacy" as well as to maintain my own for various reasons, professional and fun.

Another relevant "post" term for modern times is "post-industry", where commerce now involves less manufactured things and more intellectual things, particularly knowledge and information. The multitude of content creators for Pokémon and beyond - though their "intellect" may be somewhat different - becomes evidence that economic exchange currently involve information in some way, in addition to monetary payment. Essentially, it's the "industry after industry", and Pokémon has a part to play in that.

Somewhat related to the previous term is "post-human", where the boundaries between people and technology start to blur, especially with things like artificial intelligence, which has notably gained traction in recent years. The "digital presence" of people are starting to become more prominent in different ways, and with Pokémon being involved, it becomes almost possible to live in that world digitally (think Pokopia) and temporarily shed the offline presence. That is as wonderful as it may be problematic somehow.

In this "post" world, not everything is the way it used to be, and it may never be able to return to that state - not even Pokémon. Yet the way that it can somehow be present in the "after effects" of those changes shows that its appeal among its fans is lasting in the face of changes to itself and the ways that the world work (or also, used to work in this case). Change is an eventuality, and eventually people (and Pokémon) will work with them in some way.

One year ago: Pokémon Unite Interface Changes Rollup

Two years ago: The Busiest of Poké-Days

Three years ago: Six Places, Six Types

Four years ago: Quickies: Feeling (and Healing) Like a Snorlax (Again)

Five years ago: From Games to...

Six years ago: A New Series of Legendary Pokémon

Seven years ago: (Out of) the Mainstream

Eight years ago: Local EX Raid (vs. Rain), 11/7/2018

Nine years ago: Closer and Farther PokéStops

Pokémon Unite: What Could Have Been - Licenses

The announcement of end of service for Pokémon Unite is something that I have a hard time getting over - and in fact, so is the case for playing the game. As such, I want to discuss a few things that the game could stand to have included if it's able to survive, which a certain circle would call it "what could have been". Actually, there are many such things, but for the current instance, I want to keep the discussion to one topic, which would be Unite Licenses, perhaps the most essential part of the game that is equivalent to "heroes" in other MOBA games.

For that, it's clear that many Pokémon didn't make it as one: different forms (like the Kanto form of Raichu, in contrast to the Alolan form, which did make it), many first partners from generations in the "middle" (Serperior, Infernape, and Swampert come to light), and species of certain kinds (Zekrom - Legendary, Jirachi - Mythical, Nihilego - Ultra Beast) are several examples among others. If the game survived a little longer, they might have stood a chance at being added, but then they'll also increase the game's size... which poses other problems for later discussion.

As of the end of service announcement, the total number of Unite Licenses in the game comes to 102, which is a pretty great number already, but it's still a little low. Another MOBA game has around 120 heroes, and if that is taken as the minimum baseline, then Pokémon Unite somewhat falls short of that. It may or may not have had any hope of achieving 150 or so, and 170 and up would have been a wild thing going for it. Parity of selection with other games of the genre is not necessarily achievable, but it is helpful as a benchmark for what is in and what isn't.

It is also necessary to discuss how the Unite Licenses can and should be obtained. If it's insisted that players pay for Unite Licenses, then a "tiered pricing" structure could have been developed with common Pokémon priced less and rarer ones priced more, as an example. As a partial consequence, the previous Aeos Coin system could also have been kept for other exchanges that don't merit real money payment, at least in significant amounts, and the License Journey system wouldn't have become a forced necessity with its quirks that became evident in different ways.

Now that end of service has been planned for Pokémon Unite, there is a clear call for making a retrospective of its various aspects, of which Unite Licenses are one of those aspects, and a vital one at that since it's a MOBA game. Though the composition of the aspect has been good up to the game's eventual demise, it is clear that some things are and have been lacking in that regard, for which improvements should have been made while things were going well. At this point, only conjectures remain as the challenging game heads to a challenging demise.

One year ago: TCGP: Parading Mega on the Rise

Two years ago: Conforming to and Deviating from Terms

Three years ago: The GS Ball That (Never) Was

Four years ago: Cosplay: 5USUME! Spirit of the Winter - JMS 5th Anniversary

Five years ago: Quickies: Yawning Away Matters

Six years ago: The Flying Cup of GBL

Seven years ago: Performance Critique: Project "Untitled" J-Karaoke

Eight years ago: Let's Rule the World, Together

Nine years ago: Triplets and Pairs

Conceiving a "PokéStyle"

One of the other game series I play - or perhaps more specifically, that series and some related ones from the company that develops it - brands itself as having a "style" that pertains to it, which is also reflected in how the game series are marketed. This presents a powerful idea, in that the particular game series as well as others by that company gives a vibe that becomes applicable to the gamers that play them. Certainly, if I'm bringing it up on this blog, that also means that I'm also going to bring up its applicability to Pokémon (games) and more.

The evoked "style" of the games has a representation of "the greater whole", which for the case of the game series from the other company reflects, well... that very company. Applying the concept to Pokémon would then probably result in something like what is mentioned in the title of this post: "PokéStyle". It would then become a reflection of Pokémon itself rather than of specific companies, and like the "style" of the other mentioned company, it would encompass the great variety of physical and digital items of the franchise that make it what it is.

While the "PokéStyle" concept as presented seems attractive, there is also a problem in that a lot of Pokémon things are disparate in terms of both the form that they take and the channels in which they are sold, unlike the other company "style", which obviously is centralized. So, the "style" concept won't (or doesn't) really work in this regard. Yet at least for non-game merchandise, the online form of Pokémon Center has a very close correspondence to the other company "style" approach, and that's as good as it's going to get - at least with this approach considered.

Still, it may also be considered that the idea is already applicable, in that Pokémon games and their associated goodies appeal to lifestyles, if my post from so many years ago is of any indication with specific regard to the games. Beyond and including the application to the games, a style in "lifestyle" can be quite attractive for those who enjoy Pokémon not only as pop culture products but also as facets of daily life, integrating it into everything they do (like here on this blog). That may just be what the other "style" aspires to be, but it's not quite there yet.

A franchise like Pokémon appeals to many people because arguably, it works as a kind of "life", which may not have been evident with the initial games but became as such with the later games. Even now, games are still the primary appeal for it, but many of its fans also enjoy it (additionally) in non-game form. Either way, there is a "style", a vibe imbued in and implied by that appeal and enjoyment. The other game company with the "style" of its own can be said to have sensed that appropriately, and that's a good thing, especially in trying to apply the idea to Pokémon.

One year ago: More Ways to Get Cards from Friends in TCGP

Two years ago: More Changes to Slow Cooking in Café Remix

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 11/5/2023

Four years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day Classic, 11/5/2022

Five years ago: The Structure of Factions

Six years ago: Spending Afternoons with Eevee(lutions)

Seven years ago: Where My Voice Gets Heard

Eight years ago: Dexterity, Pokémon Games, and Me

Nine years ago: Team Harmony

Other Recent Additions to TCGP

Along with the newest expansion (and series) to hit the game, TCGP has also added several other features, some of which I had already covered in a previous prospective post. But then, there are also a few that go beyond that, so it becomes worth it to look at and discuss those other additions that I didn't cover, and in a way expand a little on some of the ones that I did note earlier. It is useful and can be considered necessary to do so.

First up, the game has an extra mini special pack called First Partners, which was added along with the new expansion. True to its name, it has all current Pokémon of this class in the form of one Star full art cards - one each, which means only 27 cards. There is also only one card in its pack, and the pack can only be opened on a weekly basis. Therefore, it will take some time for any player to get all the cards in the pack, but all of them should be spectacular enough that the patience becomes well worth it to open each new pack as it comes.

Then, last month the game had the "Pika Pika! Pikachu" event, which featured special packs that contained three cards each, all certainly related to Pikachu. They had to be earned by logging into the game daily and opened afterwards. The event itself pertained to the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon TCG in general (beyond the Pocket realm), which makes it a special event; even the promotion for the event involved Pikachu in special guises similar to a certain music game. Though limited, it was quite relatable to the above.

Meanwhile, the new deck features are (were made) live alongside the new expansion. Rental decks are now available for the expansion up until the transition to the next one, and each can be used indefinitely. After a hiccup, Community Decks can now be viewed and built reliably, also showing just what cards are needed for them. There is also an new Theme Deck List for an Elite Deck featuring Mega Rayquaza that can be built if a player has space for it, which should be the case as they can now have 30 stored decks, a slight improvement.

It may be said that the recent additions above, which have the common theme of pertaining to decks and cards, are bringing a "new flavor" - as is the case with the recently added expansion and its cards with the new aspects. The next course of usefulness is then for the players of this game to determine, given the above explanations and discussion... which will also partially be determined by whatever further plans (cards) are in line for the game.

One year ago: More Pokémon Go Transformations Beyond Levels

Two years ago: Quickies: Metal Sounds in My (Pokémon) Life

Three years ago: Cosplay: ChibiCon x Ghosty's Comic

Four years ago: The Halloween Cup of GBL... Ultra League Edition

Five years ago: A Glimpse into Faction Battlefields

Six years ago: Hype and Habit and Pokémon

Seven years ago: Cosplay: Erafun Cosplay Contest

Eight years ago: Cosplay: Art and Cosplay Stage "PANSOS"

Nine years ago: How Many Is Too Many?

TCGP: The Fusion of Two (and Two Together)

Moving forward, as I've noted, TCGP is to start a new series of expansions or packs, and that has already come a short time ago with the addition of the first of these. The addition, in fact, evokes one of the "yearly themes" I brought up several years ago that pertains to a spirit of dual presence, dual existence, and dual entity. That would be appropriate, since the title of the first new expansion is "Dual Fusion", and it takes on the concept of duality and twos very much literally in many of its aspects.

For instance, it is divided into two sub-expansions, one represented by Mega Mewtwo X and the other represented by the de facto series mascot Pikachu. It has 131 numbered cards and 86 overnumbered cards, which totals 217 cards in all. Compared to last year's Mega Rising expansion, which similarly started a new series and was released at about the same time, it has much fewer cards and one fewer sub-expansion, which is a bit of a "break from tradition" but does what it needs to do now.

Now, the reason why this expansion is called "Dual Fusion" besides by the virtue of the above division is because the highlight card of Mega Mewtwo X ex is composed of two types (Psychic and Fighting), which is the first of its kind in this game. It also reflects the species form's actual characteristic, and it adds another mechanism for players to deal with, as they collect cards both for this Pokémon and to use with it, and for developing a counter strategy should it come up in usage by other enterprising players.

Regardless, there are other cards to deal with in the expansion. Of the numbered cards, 118 of them are Pokémon cards with selected species from the first (mainly) to the ninth generations (which also contains Mega Greninja ex as another dual-type card). The rest of the cards are made up of 4 Item cards, 2 Pokémon Tool cards, 6 Supporter cards, and 1 Stadium card, all of which represent familiar things that also add some new twists to the card battles. Innovation thusly becomes present for these aspects. 

The time to move forward is always at hand when a new expansion is released in TCGP, and the first one of the latest card series for the game has established itself with a new concept in gameplay as well. The concept adds together types for certain cards, and that also compels players to add up their strategies for obtaining cards and structuring decks to make use of the cards in question. That might mean adding more effort to go through the packs, but that will lend credence for the duality of those actions and more.

One year ago: Quickies: Hurrying It Up

Two years ago: Cosplay: Aratana Matsuri - ITTAF Exhibition

Three years ago: From Apricorn to Balls

Four years ago: Cheer Moments for Pokémon Games

Five years ago: Going for an Arena Brawl

Six years ago: Singing My Hearts Out: After One Year

Seven years ago: Cosplay: Project "Untitled"

Eight years ago: The Joys and Sorrows of Raid Marathons

Nine years ago: Late-Night Lure Party

Pop Mie x Pokémon: Spicy and Sparky

Earlier, I had mentioned the Pokémon collaboration with Pop Mie as another one within the sphere of Indonesia, and that it could stand to be written up as a post on its own. Now I can stand to do exactly that and bring in more details and perspectives about the collaboration. Now, Pop Mie is a brand of instant noodles in a cup, so I'm obviously going to have to bring in the discussion of flavors, naturally, and those flavors can be described as "spicy" and "sparky" per this post's title, and that has interesting implications as well.

The flavors of this collaboration are "Spicy Torimen", which is represented by Charmander, and "Chicken Yuzu", which is represented by Pikachu. The latter is dry (the noodles are softened in hot water first, drained, and then given seasonings) while the former is soup (water and seasonings are added as usual). What makes the flavors "pop" are the garnish toppings; the soup noodles have a "fiery burst" topping - I liken them as "dragon balls" - and the dry ones have a "pop spark" topping, essentially "pop rocks" to be sprinkled on the noodles.

Personally, from a noodle (connoisseur) standpoint, the spicy soup noodles are standard-tasting but delightful, especially with the "dragon balls" as above - though by experience they may or may not burst. The dry noodles have to be the most unique of the two with their refreshing citrus note and the "pop rocks" sprinkle, which could be a little weird even for many people, but may still be pleasant as an occasional treat. Of course, I love to have either one regardless for as long as these flavors are available.

What may be the most attractive may not be the noodles themselves, but the sticker bonuses contained within - if one is lucky to get them. They're identified for the three Kanto starters as well as Pikachu, with all of them having their respective evolution lines on the stickers. So far, I've obtained all of them except for Charmander, which may be indicative of how many packs of the noodles I've consumed. Of course, I can always trade stickers with others who have gotten them, given that trading is a "pillar" of Pokémon.

If this collaboration is of any indication, Indonesia and brands from the country can have a way of serving up hospitality, which in this case would be some "spicy" and "sparky" noodles for Pokémon fans who are fiery and electrifying, and love species of those qualities. Both kinds of noodles are emblematic of the species and their types, and even with their eclectic quality, they're pretty neat and can satisfy a noodle craving in a pinch - which is indeed the intent of this brand. Having Pokémon along with that just makes it all the more fun.

One year ago: Cosplay: Utsuru X

Two years ago: Cosplay: Card Game Shop Halloween Party

Three years ago: Slow Cooking in Café Remix

Four years ago: Pikachu and Togekiss Mini Figures on the Cheap

Five years ago: The Currencies of Unite

Six years ago: The Pokémon Evolution (and More) Music

Seven years ago: Pokémon Go: A Colossal Discovery

Eight years ago: Balance of Topics

Nine years ago: Kids (...or Trainers, Fans) These Days

Cosplay: Dreams in Harmony

Goh: Hey, something going on today.

Me: Yup, it's a festival. Actually, it seems it's a little more than that, but that's for later.

Ash: The title is really neat! 

Goh: "Dreams in Harmony", huh. Makes me think of the Munna family. 

Ash: Oh, right! They're the dream time Pokémon.

Pikachu: Pika pi-ka! ["Very dreamy!"]

Me: That's a very good point. Another good point is where it's being held.

Ash: The creative center!

Goh: Well, I suppose the people holding it must be really creative. 

Ash: Yeah! After I signed in to get in, it was all about art.

Me: So, there you go. It's an art exhibition with a little festival. 

Goh: Like that one time that Ash didn't get in.

Me: But not this time.

Ash: Everything was so neat! Someone told me I could vote for one that I liked with a flower, and I did.

Pikachu: Pika chu. ["Nice work."]

Goh: What else was there besides art?

Ash: A few communities - a local game maker was there and I tried one of their games. I think our friend might just like that one. It's just click and go.

Me: I'm sure I will. Hey, um... by any chance, was this on the floor with the two big rooms?

Ash: Yeah, with the little food stands and all. They did get a little blocked off.

Goh: Either the people holding it will have to compensate, or the visitors bought enough.

Ash: Could be both. I met a lot of our friend's friends.

Goh: And I'm sure there were way more beyond that.

Ash: Sure!

Pikachu: Pika pika! ["Always the case!"]

Me: Also, just prior to this happening, I sent Ash to get spiffed up a bit.

Ash: It was to get my hair done for you! And for me too, to look more the part.

Goh: Oh, that's different. I don't recall our friend doing this before for you.

Me: Actually, I did this once before, but not when Ash was around.

Goh: Oh, I see. Got it.

Ash: He's an interesting one too. Hey, now we have something else in common.

Goh: I guess you'll now try to be in whatever competition this has.

Ash: There's a character parade!

Pikachu: Pi pika! ["Perfect!"]

Goh: But I'll bet others wanted in on this too - and that there weren't many prizes to go around.

Ash: Yeah. I talked with a good friend of our friend's about that... and we could predict two out of three winners right away - but then that friend also won.

Goh: Hmm. That happens.

Me: Well, at least we gave this one a try somehow.

Ash: Yup. I just did what I could.

Goh: What about other things on stage?

Ash: Just a couple of dance groups and a dance-off. Not much for five hours.

Goh: That's not much in any case.

Pikachu: Pika chu... ["Not much..."]

Me: But there was a lot of art to be explored at the exhibition.

Ash: You bet! They all had one of four things as their theme, and when you bring them together, you get this exhibition.

Goh: That's a pretty neat concept - even if it seems like characters were brought in just to make it lively, which I can see for this one by how it went.

Ash: I think Munna would love it! All the people and all the art could be so inspiring for everyone - even the Pokémon.

Goh: That would explain the "harmony", then. I'm right there with you.

Me: Sometimes it takes something like this to see how that could be.

One year ago: Burning Up, Down, and All Around

Two years ago: Gigantamax in Pokémon Go: Harrowing Magnitudes

Three years ago: Cosplay: District 18 Halloween & Cosplay Party

Four years ago: Shiny Pokémon in Café Remix

Five years ago: My Current Unite License Targets

Six years ago: The Halloween Cup of GBL

Seven years ago: Later, Psyduck

Eight years ago: Hardcore (Dis)United

Nine years ago: Duff Knows Pokémon