Saturday, October 24, 2026

Parts of Our (Pokémon) Symphony

And now your song is on repeat
And I'm dancin' on to your heartbeat
And when you're gone, I feel incomplete
So if you want the truth -
I just wanna be part of your symphony
Will you hold me tight and not let go?
Symphony
Like a love song on the radio
Will you hold me tight and not let go?
-- "Symphony", Clean Bandit (feat. Zara Larsson)

Coming off a post about my Pokémon experiences with a musical twist, I thought I'd continue that trend with a couple more songs, and ones with good reasons behind them as well. About a couple of years ago, I had put up another song by this music group that is associated with feelings of preference, and now with another song of theirs, the feeling can be said to be more about "belonging" instead and how all that can tie into and with Pokémon. 

Like the previous song, this one can also be considered a love song (not the least because the pre-chorus and chorus quoted above mentions said phrase). It tells of a relationship that is like a symphony, a piece of music where the contributors provide tones to it in harmony. Certainly, that means that the tones belong to each other, and it would be felt as "off" if some of the tones would go missing... which corresponds to the third line of the pre-chorus as above. As a love song, then, it captures the feelings of people who belong in this manner.

Relating this state of affairs to Pokémon, it is certain that Trainers and their Pokémon belong together as key partners for all that they do on and off the battlefield. Then, Pokémon fans belong with others of their kind in order to play, interact, and build their worlds together. Furthermore, those same fans will identify with various aspects of Pokémon, whether games, characters, species, merchandise, and much, much more. It is fitting, then, that the title of this post is "parts of our symphony", because all of these could be construed as such.

Moreover, many fans and aspects of Pokémon have demonstrated that if those elements or aspects happen to become missing in some way, then it feels like a part has been taken away from either party to the relationship. It's the consequence of them being connected to each other, and even the song elaborates in this in its other parts (specifically, verses). In that way, they all have and manifest the sense of "belonging" as stated in all their ways.

The songs by this music group are as varied in themes as they are in vocalists, but they have a signature sound and (in the specific case of two of them) can have their themes applied to Pokémon. Their messages will surely be on repeat, the fans can have something to dance to, and they'll never be lost. That's a symphony that is applicable to both real and Pokémon life.

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Friday, October 23, 2026

Wayang Meets Pokémon

Having written up a post about Pokémon collaborations in and with Indonesia, I thought I'd throw in one more, but because it's so significant, it deserves a full post of its own. Now, one of the "claims to fame" of the country is wayang, a form of shadow puppetry with a highly artistic quality about it, including the show that accompanies the performance. And it's a real show, for it can also involve various settings and additionally be adapted in various ways... and now its time has come for it to meet Pokémon, with both adapting to each other.

With the country's Ministry of Culture (and Creative Economy) giving blessings, a collaborative wayang show that features Pokémon was born, and it's called... "Poké Wayang", of course. The show presents a story about a place where sense of time has been lost, and it's up to the Pokémon to sort things out and restore order. The show can already be seen on YouTube on the Pokémon Asia channel with English subtitles, which allows the broader world of Pokémon fans to understand the show and enjoy its experience.

The accompanying introductory video (in part also a behind-the-scenes to a capacity) is also fascinating to watch. It shows the creation process for the puppets - specifically, the species ones - which in actual light are faithful to their appearances. It also includes some words from the script writer (Akihito Toda) and a few words from the national wayang association. Much of it concerns doing justice to both the art form as well as Pokémon, and many would consider that feat accomplished with what has been presented.

Meanwhile, as for my thoughts about the whole thing, though the show is only 15 minutes in length, it's still impressive for what it is. Its few human characters - yes, there are some - help to ease in the storyline and the fact that it's not a run-of-the-mill wayang show. Many will also have noted the gamelan version of some familiar Pokémon music pieces, which may or may not have anything to do with future Pokémon initiatives involving the country, but that is nevertheless impressive and helps bring everything about it together.

Culturally, wayang is a significant heritage of Indonesia, and like many such things, it certainly faces the challenge of trying to remain in existence in modern times. One answer for that challenge is to embrace facets of modern times, like collaborating with Pokémon as per the above show. The results may just turn out amazing as well, and it bodes well for the heritage art form, fans of either or both, and those with prospects of appreciating them. That will open doors into the past, present, and future of both wayang and Pokémon.

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Thursday, October 22, 2026

New IDN-PKMN Collaborations

It's no surprise that Indonesia (IDN) is currently in a "love affair" with Pokémon (PKMN), and it seems that there's always something going on - as in, a collaboration. In fact, recently there have been quite a few more collaborations, and they're all significant in some way, which means I just have to write about them somehow. For that, I've gathered the most recent and significant ones so I can write about them all at once and together.

One of the premier banks in the country, BCA, has collaborated by introducing a couple of Flazz e-money cards with Pokémon motifs on them. One of those is of Eevee and Pikachu, and the other is of the "Eeveelutions" all together. They've been gradually introduced through certain means of purchase for prospective owners, and if they're Pokémon fans, they'll surely appreciate having a way of paying for things with Pokémon visibly on it.

Then there are a couple of food-related collaborations. One of them is an upcoming one with Vita Jelly Drink, which is to introduce a few flavors co-branded with Pokémon and a little bit of something special alongside that. A little earlier, Pop Mie by Indofood got two new flavors inspired by two Pokémon species as well as something special of its own... but this latter one I can stand to discuss at length and separately, so I'm going to leave it there.

Meanwhile, the local convenience store chain of Indomaret has in a way upped the ante on its collaboration by offering in-house branded water and tissue that feature Pikachu on them. The common convenience store items get a Pokémon twist in this way, which makes them perfect to be used by fans, especially if they might be placed into a certain high-energy context that may require the use of those items - and one is coming up soon, but that's for later.

Lots of collaborations are good for Pokémon fans, and they may be even better for fans in places where there hadn't been a lot of that before, like in Indonesia. The recent collaborations as detailed above highlight the situation that all kinds of entities in the country are starting to warm up to different forms and ways of collaborating with the franchise, and that will satisfy the local fans and practically any fan who might be able to get them and enjoy them nicely.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Tastes Like Steel...

it tastes like steel like a stab from a knife
This post may be considered the "after" post in a series of posts that by popular parlance are considered "before and after". The part that came "before" was a post on a certain Mythical Pokémon object, and the middle part was a song with some relation to that object as well as to Pokémon happenings in general. The "after" part that manifests for this post, then, ties into the two previous posts, the latter more directly and the former rather indirectly.

For that, the phrase at the top of this post is actually another line from the song that had just been discussed previously. It's from the bridge of the song and sung by one of the male members, a rarity for this music group whose leads are female. The words are also in a way slightly nonsensical, given this music group's origins, and that means it is also open to certain interpretations to make sense of it - certainly here, with Pokémon being involved.

With that being the case, the phrase certainly invokes the Steel type, of which there are many representative Pokémon. One of the first of these is Steelix, the evolution of Onix that looks like it can make a stab (dent) in the ground or any of its targets... much like the phrase above would suggest. Continuing its spirit, that makes for a "taste like (of) steel" that others would probably find useful, or if they're on the receiving side, rather not deal with.

Going back to the song, it suggests that love, life, and everything else might not be so peachy at times, which in the context of the above phrase might be taken to mean that the pain pierces through much like a steel blade does - or any form of implement-like body parts that certain Pokémon of the Steel type might have. And then there's Steelix as mentioned above, whose implement is its mouth that has the repute of being able to break even diamond.

Steel-type Pokémon are by now a vernacular among Pokémon fans for all that they can do and what power they have. Of course, everyday steel objects are also very much capable and powerful in all their ways, like the knife mentioned in the above phrase. When that is taken advantage of to great extents, others will likely be able to have a taste of that, and that makes it another way the wheel of (Pokémon) life offers its results to those who keep spinning it.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Recent Oddities in Pokémon Go

The most recent updates to Pokémon Go have added many bits of content, which as always is highly appreciable. What seems to be less appreciable are some oddities that are also either newly introduced or have persisted with no clear resolution to them. Given their presence, it seems that it is necessary for me to bring them up in a post and cover them, with the hope that someday the oddities can then have a resolution - though I may not be able to offer that.

Max Battles prompt Trainers to place a Pokémon from the battle party at the Power Spot at their end, but strangely this occurs even if all the Pokémon in the party are ones that cannot be placed (Eternatus, Crown forms, Buddy Pokémon), the Trainer has already placed one there, or the Power Spot is full (with the limit being 40). It would seem that a check of any of these conditions would rectify this issue, but for some reason it just hasn't been implemented. This is definitely an oddity that may be in search of a resolution at some point in the future.

Next is a bit of a reiteration. The previous Community Day featured Zorua, which is known for its transformative abilities. Yet in that edition, it was made evident by the mechanism on the overworld map that Zorua could also "transform into itself", which is somewhat illogical and nonsensical even from a transformative standpoint, and thus it becomes an odd behavior as far as this is concerned. This may or may not seek a resolution at some later point, but a reconciliation may be ideal for various reasons beyond that of Community Day itself. 

Recent changes also seem to indicate a penchant for hiding things. Besides the recent one of combining two icons and effectively hiding one (the compass icon), the game has made the undocumented change of removing the Daily Adventure Incense icon prior to its activation, although Trainers can still activate it for the day if they haven't by going into their item bag to do so. Whether these cases are intentional or not, the things becoming hidden does present as an odd situation for them and Trainers, and it may also be hard to see their resolution.

Strange things may manifest themselves in Pokémon games occasionally, but in the case of Pokémon Go throughout all its years, they've been present to greater degrees. The case of the above more recent oddities in Pokémon Go illustrate just how odd things can be, behaviorally if not (also) logically. While everything else in the game may and should make perfect sense, the presence of the oddities might just need to be understood (and/or fixed) at a higher level.

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Monday, October 19, 2026

Round and Round the Wheel Goes...

What you gonna tell your dad
It's like a wheel of fortune
What you gonna tell your dad
If this wheel lets you down
My love is my engine
And you might be fuel
Stop acting cool
Just bet you might win
I'm not too cool...
-- "Wheel of Fortune", Ace of Base

Readers of this blog might notice (likely astutely) that on this day I've directly covered about an aspect related to Pokémon in one year, followed by Pokémon impressions with the aid of a song from the Swedish music group Ace of Base in the next. That's something I intend to keep, so since last year was the former, this year has to be the latter. For that purpose, I've chosen one of their early hits that seems rather relevant to currently prevailing Pokémon sentiments, including some that I've recently covered right here on this blog.

Clearly, by the extract or quote of its lyrics as above - which would be of the chorus - this song is about love, but a kind that is "hands-off" and unpredictable... much like the object that lends its name to the title of this song and is subsequently sung about as in the chorus. Sometimes it would make things pleasant, but other times it might make things (much) less so. Yet it's still a love that keeps one powered up for the next wonderful moment.

Such state of affairs may also be taken as the experience of many people with Pokémon in all its forms (games and more) with them being fabulous at some points and dismal in others, which perhaps also corresponds to cycles of wins and losses. But then, that's normal with Pokémon affairs, unless there are other factors in play and those factors make it complicated for fans of Pokémon things, and in some cases the makers as well. 

Meanwhile, just recently I had re-mentioned Victini's V-Wheel, and that is in fact a true "wheel of fortune" in a Pokémon setting. While it does seem like its essence is that "fortune favors Victini", there may still be other fortunes to be had after said wheel is spun. It may not let anyone down, and others might just bet on a victory of any scale.

Life has a way of throwing fortunes around, much like what happens when one spins the item of the wheel that pertains to it. The Swedish music group sensed that appropriately for love, while Pokémon fans can sense that through their happenings, plus that above item. Where the wheel stops then becomes the true test for love and its energy.

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Sunday, October 18, 2026

Immersion Mode in Mobile Pokémon Games

Since Pokémon Go became a success, more and more Pokémon games have appeared on mobile platforms (Apple iOS and Android). One way they take advantage of the capabilities of the respective platforms is by having the games completely take up the full screen (like other games on the platforms do), but along with that, they also merge with or completely hide the upper status bar and lower navigation controls. The latter is what I term as "immersion mode", and there is not much to it, but at least some of it can be explored for how it has applied.

Most games on these platforms are already of the second kind, hiding both of these upper and lower portions of the screen. Unite, TCGP, Masters EX, and Home all do this in their mobile versions. Even so, for Android in particular, these portions of the screen can still be made to appear temporarily by swiping from the respective edges, which is also necessary to close the games if the need arises. In this way, total focus is placed on the main content of the games, and that is furnished by that kind of "immersion mode".

Then, there is Pokémon Go itself. A recent Android update had made it possible for the game to have the "immersion mode" of the first kind, where the status bar appears transparently over the game itself and the lower navigation is hidden, which may also becomes a distinct change for some Trainers who are used to use the latter. Even so, those on iOS have already enjoyed this kind of near-total immersion for a long time with the upper statuses already transparent, so in a way, this might be considered a way of equalizing experiences.

Pokémon in itself has a way of providing immersion through its games; that includes the ones on mobile platforms, as the ones mentioned above. Of course, it can and does take a little bit more technological trickery to make that immersion more complete or "total" in some way, and the above games have accomplished that with their "immersion mode" implementations, particularly given their presence on their respective platforms. Further immersion may lie in more games and content for them, but the mode surely helps out with that.

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