Ranked Play Updates in Pokémon Unite

Along with the update to how Unite Licenses are procured in Pokémon Unite a while back, its Ranked play mode also received a few updates, specifically to the all-important aspect of how players would progress in it. The updates are somewhat significant to both prospective ("new") players as well as existing ("old") players, so they've got to be discussed and explored for all their worth to all of those players, including what they can do with them.

First up, the system of match win medals and Performance Points is gone... or rather, the former is removed, and the latter is reworked into a new system, just called "Rank Points". In order to advance through the ranks, a player now has to purely earn points by winning the matches (and hopefully not lose), although bonus points are still awarded for certain achievements during a match, which are quite helpful in any case.

Then, there is the addition of a new rank. That new rank is the Legend rank, which is placed above the Master rank and is earned with extremely high ratings. Players of a certain "next-door" MOBA might recognize its similarity to that game's rank, and therefore this could be an incentive for them to try playing Pokémon Unite. Of course, they surely won't be able to get there immediately, but they can keep trying with great efforts.

Meanwhile, there is also a slight but significant change to the Theia Sky Ruins map: the central "Legend pit" now features Kyogre with similar effects to Groudon, with the rest of the map more or less the same as the previous update. This makes it a "deepwater" edition instead, and the variety that the map updates give seems to be rather welcoming, at the very least to keep the map from being perceived as boring and stagnant in a way.

Of these updates, the most intriguing one would have to be the rank update, again due to the semblance of "parity" that it gives with other similar games. There also may be concerns that the new progression system might make things slower and/or more boring than before, but it may have to be admitted that the new system is simpler in some respects. That may be the most important thing, given the state of the game today and to come.

If these changes - including the previous ones - are of any indication, it is that certain efforts still need to be made by players and the game alike to make them as best as they can be, and not to slip further into a "rut". The least that they can do right now is still to continue their efforts in Ranked play with whatever they can muster while awaiting further changes to make it and other parts of the game even more conducive to "united" efforts.

One year ago: The Year of Eevee

Two years ago: Quickies: Getting Over Fatigue

Three years ago: Tournament: Raid Group Ember Cup

Four years ago: Quickies: Clapping with Pokémon

Five years ago: The Syntax of Pokémon Names

Six years ago: Locks on Shiny Forms

Seven years ago: A Pokémon Case Analytic Scenario

Eight years ago: The Three-Count

Nine years ago: On the Subject of Go

The New Pokédex in Pokémon Go

As I had brought up in my annual "Hoppip Report" at the beginning of this year, I wanted to discuss the Pokédex in Pokémon Go, which has had a big change. That big change is actually quite old by now, being that I mentioned it close to a year prior when discussing gameplay vs. visual changes in the game. With that, it's got to be addressed, for it is actually a fascinating topic to make a discussion out of it, and I've chosen this very moment to do that. 

So, with the new Pokédex, when one opens it, one is presented with a list of regions for the origin of each species, as well as a selector at the bottom for the various kinds of forms that the new Pokédex keeps track of. Choosing one of these regions (which will have a silver border when "complete") jumps to the section for that region for the selected form index, for which the Pokémon are now listed by rows of four instead of five as in the previous version, due to the larger rectangles used to display the entries, a rather nice visual improvement.

When a Pokémon entry is selected, the caught forms for that Pokémon are displayed in a tab of their own, which as shown by the Hoppip entry, also contains the ones for 100%, Lucky, XXS, XXL, Shadow, and Purified. Of course, not all Pokémon will have these (specifically, ones that haven't become Shadow obviously can't become Purified either, and those that can't be traded can never become Lucky), so it depends on the species. The Info tab has the usual description and size stats, while the Battle tab has type matchup information and the list of moves (even special ones) that a given species can learn. It has become rather informative as a result.

The new changes absolutely invite Trainers to register as many forms as possible, and in fact that is what happens: capturing a new Shiny form and obtaining a "special" form (Mega Evolution, Max forms) will also bring up the form registration screen, which also now contains the numerical and regional indicator. As well, an alert can be set for a particular species through their entries, which will bring up notifications if that species happens to be present in the wild somewhere nearby. These extra changes are not only functional but also assistive.

It's been a year since the aforementioned changes to the Pokémon Go Pokédex, and it may be safe to say that the quality of the feature has improved overall and somewhat helped Trainers out, even me. While much can still stand to be improved in other gameplay areas for this game, some of the improvement may be (or have been) helped by the new improvements to the Pokédex, and they might just bring on other improvements in gameplay.

One year ago: Give Me Five

Two years ago: Cosplay: Isshoni Tanoshimimashou 18 - Shinka

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 1/7/2023

Four years ago: A Movie-Watching Dream

Five years ago: Previous Plus One

Six years ago: The Substitute Being (or Doll)

Seven years ago: Family Affairs

Eight years ago: Rethinking Salt

Nine years ago: Tournament: Local Friendly, 1/7/2017

Stop Killing (Pokémon) Games

Besides playing games, gamers (and other people beyond the realm) also have the interest of preserving games so that other gamers can play them as well. That becomes the key rationale behind the somewhat recent movement of "Stop Killing Games", which has the aim of ensuring the playability of games, specifically ones that require an Internet connection to play and the players spend good money on in order to play. It's a movement with some good ideals to be sure, but it can also be considered that for Pokémon, the key idea can be interpreted in a different way yet has some alignment to the original intent.

The movement itself started close to two years ago after a certain game that required online connectivity though mostly played by one got shut down, and it has gained a lot of traction since, with support from various gamers. The movement also has had some results - though perhaps of the unexpected kind - so it merits consideration in this day and age where many games are played online and many require it as such. It too has some applicability to Pokémon... including for that different interpretation I mentioned.

What I'm getting at is not "killing games" by ending their services, but by killing off their player bases by making things less accessible for new and old players alike. The recent change to way of getting Unite Licenses in Pokémon Unite is a rather potential "killer" in this regard, while event content in Pokémon Go is a minor or "shadowy" one. If the responses to these are not good enough, then their player bases will definitely be killed, which would make it easy to justify killing the games entirely - and no player really wants this to happen.

Meanwhile, the original spirit of the movement is applicable to some current Pokémon games. Unite does have an offline mode, but it's rudimentary in a way and can stand to be improved if the inevitable happens. Café Remix is currently all online - perhaps given its save data and event features - and it might be hard to translate that to an offline mode, although if it can be willed, then a way might just exist for that purpose. Yet other Pokémon games (like Pokémon Go) are not really meant for or easily translatable to offline play, posing challenges.

Games can conceivably die for certain reasons on both sides of the developmental divide, and in this day and age, online games are especially vulnerable due to the dynamics in those sides. With the given movement as above and the current state of some online Pokémon games, there is a significant imperative to make sure current games can stay as lively as possible among their players while dying games can at least have a chance at a "second life" of sorts.

One year ago: There Is a Place...

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 1/6/2024

Three years ago: The Embers of a New Season

Four years ago: Pokémon Asia Bulbasaur Mug

Five years ago: No Scans for You

Six years ago: Pokémon Statues

Seven years ago: ...With Gatherings and Safari Zones for All

Eight years ago: More Odd Poké-Pika Things

Nine years ago: A 3DS Story

Six Senses

Before getting anything else going on this Pokémon blog, I'd like to discuss "yearly themes" as I've done in the past (this one being last year's) - but of course, bring things back to Pokémon somehow. For this year, I thought that it might be just as well for the numerical suggestions from the past to continue into this year, and with that, I settled for theme of "Six Senses" since last year was "five" and "six" certainly follows that. Of course, the other half of that theme is just as significant and it's the part that may be telling of Pokémon things to come.

Now, the choice of "senses" alludes to the traditional perception that there are five of them. But "five" was last year, so the "six" this year must allude to the perception that there may be an extra one of these senses. One of these could be the often-discussed ESP that forms the basis of the regard for psychic people, which further alludes to the Pokémon species of this type (Psychic) and especially one called Espeon, whose name practically includes the term in question. Thus, the theme for this year suggests a fair bit of "extra".

For that, this year's Pokémon anniversary is already a spiffy "extra" in itself, and it doesn't take a sixth sense or ESP to see that. What might need just that is the ways to determine what the anniversary will hold this year - as usual, in about one and a half months - in actuality rather than by purported information that also as usual has a way of manifesting itself around this time. If that holds "spiffy extras" as well, then it also doesn't take a sixth sense to determine that Pokémon is going to be over the top ("extra") for its next offerings.

Still, the rest of the world today (and even my own state of affairs) aren't exactly telling of "extras", and if they are telling of anything, then it could be that they might make dealing with Pokémon things more difficult. In that way, the "extras" might be telling of certain "burdens", whether they are Pokémon in origin or not. This also suggests that Pokémon affairs might have to try to reduce the burdens that they might put on for those who enjoy them, in order that fans can still enjoy them even with what could be difficult times ahead.

The big thing about senses is that they are important in and for perceiving everything about life, including all things Pokémon. It takes all five of the common ones to do just that, but sometimes for both explicable and inexplicable reasons, some help from a sixth one in some form might just be helpful. So it is that for this year, all the senses - and then some - will likely be needed to make sense (ahem) of the (Pokémon) world, and after everything has gone on, they'll still be needed for taking all that in to enjoy and survive in it.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 1/5/2025

Two years ago: Tell Me, It'll Be All Right

Three years ago: Kids in Cosplay?

Four years ago: Indomaret Promotional TCG Cards

Five years ago: (Re)Structuring Competitions

Six years ago: Jelly-Filled Doughnuts

Seven years ago: Cosplay: Bunkasai XXI

Eight years ago: The Music of Go

Nine years ago: Alt+0233 and Its Kin

Pokémon Go Community Day Classic, 1/4/2026

Well, this is an ambitious start to the new year. This is now the earliest that Community Day has ever been scheduled in the year, and it's a Classic edition too, meaning the regular edition will come sometime later in the month. "Ambitious" might also describe the featured Pokémon species that returns for this Classic edition, which is a waddler with happy impressions that when fully evolved becomes something assertive - like a ruler - that can stand its ground in the face of certain adversities.

For those who haven't figured it out, this edition's featured species is Piplup, which was last featured in January 2020. Like it was back then, when I had Ash take care of quite a bit of the effort, the main bonus is quartered Egg hatch distance for those who want and need to clean out their Egg stock, and Empoleon as its fully evolved form (after Prinplup, of course) gets the Charged move of Hydro Cannon. Other returning facets are extended Lure Modules (back then extended Incense wasn't quite a thing) and Field Research, which was already a thing since way beyond this edition.

As for modern aspects, there would be extended Incense (with its three-hour length, whereas Lure Modules remain at one hour), extended Lure Module appearances (since the regular edition back in October last year), photo bombs (always a nifty add-on), and the extra paid Special Research (this time entitled "Piplup Parade"). Special backgrounds also return for the featured Pokémon, but this time they're not of the season; instead, the background is a unique nebulous image with a Poké Ball silhouette. As with the October edition, the background is randomly found for wild encounters and surely from some in the paid Special Research.

Evidently, this time I did things by myself instead of while sending Ash to a certain happening, since there were none to speak of anyway. This time around for Piplup, it was mostly to gather up the resources to enhance the Piplup I already have, including to fully evolve one with the best stats, which may be in the cards for further enhancement later on. Along the way, I evolved the best of my Lucky ones and a couple that had the special background, one of which is actually Shiny. In all, most things today were for preparing (for) the best.

(In the realm of "community", well... today I also needed to forego certain impressions for others, and that may or may not have had the desired results.)

Piplup is a Pokémon species that has made quite an impression over time along with other, more popular species, so it becomes a natural fodder for a Classic edition of Community Day. In particular, its earlier edition took place before many modern perks of the event were instituted, so bringing it back for a Classic edition helps in that regard. It's an ambitious Pokémon for an ambitious time (incidentally), and at the beginning of this year, that may just be a sign of things to come for the regular iterations.

One year ago: Card Rarity in TCG Pocket

Two years ago: Let's Talk About Being In and Out of Place

Three years ago: Three to Get Ready, Go

Four years ago: TCG 25th Anniversary (Plus Localized Content)

Five years ago: New GBL Novelties

Six years ago: On Third Parties

Seven years ago: The Loading Screen of Go

Eight years ago: Team Assistance and Secrecy

Nine years ago: "They can imitate you, but they can't duplicate you..."

Are Pokémon Fans "Reckless"?

Pokémon fans are certainly united by their love of all things about the franchise, or at the least what appeals to them from what the franchise offers. Yet it's possible that they could be united in other respects, one of them behavior or attitude. For that, I have a proposition that might sound somewhat controversial but sensible in some ways, particularly by the experiences of my own in contrast to those of other fans. Despite its element of controversy, I consider that there's still a place to make a discussion about it - and in a calm manner, no less.

That's because I'm floating the idea that Pokémon fans can be considered "reckless" in their behavior or attitude. It's a strong claim to make, especially given the fact that it includes yours truly as a part of the group. Yet the way that quite a few of them are in some communicative channels, like the comment sections of YouTube videos (as I've addressed a few years ago) or even in some game chats or forums, suggests the "reckless" idea. Then again, that's where some of the most "toxic" fans are present, while the amiable fans are less likely to have such tendencies; or rather, the tendencies might be present in another way than communication.

Meanwhile, other fans might go to other extremes that might suggest "recklessness". Some fans might be willing to travel great distances to meet each other, given an opportunity that makes that possible. Then, others might invest themselves in some efforts of creation or collection that could seem beyond humanly (capabilities), and the "recklessness" through those efforts might be implied. Even this blog by yours truly could be considered, in a way, a product of "recklessness" (including in the way it's done), which may explain why it may or may not have begotten anything useful even after many years of me keeping up the efforts.

Granted, any claim about behavior or attitude may not necessarily be universally applicable, including the claim I'm making in this post. Some fans might still be rational in all their ways, at least by their own perceptions as well as of others, though a few of their actions might just approach "recklessness" by some accounts. The claim would then become most applicable to the most fervent, intense, and even "crazy" of fans, whose actions can possibly be construed to have elements of "recklessness" even with certain rational bases for those actions.

So, it seems that the "reckless" viewpoint of Pokémon fans in their behavior or attitude might only lie in the eye of the beholder, and that perception may depend on the fans who perceive and are being perceived. After all that, it may be sufficient to say that Pokémon fans may or may not be as wild or extreme as the eponymous species of creatures, but at least their appreciation may have wild and unique extents. Whether that's "reckless" or not may just be something that fellow fans have to recognize and reconcile for all their attraction to Pokémon.

One year ago: A Pokémon Unite Dream

Two years ago: Four on the Floor

Three years ago: Cosplay: Pokémon Festival Jakarta

Four years ago: Two and Two Together

Five years ago: A Dream with Partners

Six years ago: A Clear Vision

Seven years ago: Home and Heart... and Hope

Eight years ago: Now Accepting Donations

Nine years ago: Confessions and Concessions

Getting It Together: Simplify and Amplify

As I'd said in my opening post for the new year, I'd like to discuss what I'll need to do for this blog in order to make an improvement, also the same as prior years as indicated below. A lot of the points presented in them still apply, but for this year in particular, I want to discuss what it may take for me to "get things together", something that has presented a challenge over much of the past year and perhaps even up to this point in time. After considering what has happened then and now, I've determined that in order to "get things together", I'd need to do two things, as indicated by this post's title, which are to "simplify" and "amplify".

For the "simplify" portion, it might seem that more than a few of my posts have gotten quite "convoluted" in their structure, even if this could be considered a natural consequence of being able to write more in comparison to my early blogging days. Thus, the effort is to try to remove "convolution" wherever possible and to make it easy for me to write about Pokémon things while still necessarily going as deep as possible and necessary into them. This would in turn make it easy to deal with this blog amidst all other (Pokémon) things in my life.

Then there's the "amplify" portion. That would involve ways of making my posts having that necessary depth as above while making the limited resources I have - mostly words, but at times images might also be pertinent - say or express as much as possible. It might be considered an avenue of creativity that is somewhat needed for this blog after so many years. Given that Pokémon itself has been (and recently gotten) rather creative and so have a good segment of its fans, it seems natural that I'd have to follow suit for this blog somehow.

Even with these two aims together, it might still be necessary to let one of them take a slight dominance over the other to still allow myself to express what I need to express and to show what Pokémon things absolutely needs to be shown. That also means it might be partially dependent on what those Pokémon things actually are and how they could stand to be featured on this blog in both of the ways stated above - again, words and/or images.

Realizing these two aims might be either a hand-in-hand matter or a separate-but-together effort, much like how certain Pokémon games are played and including ones that are very much pertinent to me right now and in the foreseeable time ahead. At least some of that is definitely a natural fodder for being featured on this blog, and after nine full years and going into the tenth, making things simple while also amplified seems to be the imperative.

One year ago: New Directions, Same Directions

Two years ago: Blog Changes: Made and Not Made

Three years ago: More Blog Overhauls?

Four years ago: Thoughts on More Categories

Five years ago: Pokémon Blogging Wellness

Six years ago: New Post Categories

Seven years ago: Taking the Plunge

Eight years ago: What's Next?

Nine years ago: ...And a Hoppip New Year