Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/30/2026

This month, Pokémon Go continues to pave the paths that are part of the season aptly called "Precious Paths" as such. After the paths of the end of the year in the previous month, it seems the events this month wants to take Trainers on paths that go over, under, and all around as they begin the year. As usual, that's evident in the events themselves and their content, and with the end of the month nearly at hand, it's definitely time to get the rollup for that rolling.

Kicking off the new year was the usual New Year's event, which actually began on December 31 as the new year is heralded, then ending on January 4. Along with a selection of hatted Pokémon from past years in the wild and raids, this time Blacephalon also took the stage in five-star raids, including for a New Year's Eve Raid Hour; it too gets a special move called Mind Blown, while Trainers can get an avatar item based on the species. Field Research from PokéStops had Stardust, while daily ones had an Incense or Lucky Egg. The event itself had bonuses of double XP and Stardust from raids plus increased chance of Shiny Pikachu with a hat, overworld fireworks, increased legacy Lucky Trades, and extra items and encounters by the paid Timed Research. For many, it may have been an "explosive" rolling start for the new year.

After rolling, Trainers had to get pinching in the Pinch Perfect event from January 6 to 11. The event served as the debut of Klawf as well as Shiny Delmise, two Pokémon that can get a grip on things. They're joined by other clawed and able Pokémon in the wild, raids, and Research; Corphish, Dwebble, and Clauncher were also of focus with increased Shiny chances for them as well as free Timed Research sets featuring each one every two days; the paid ones had more items and more encounters. Topping it all off were a double XP catch bonus and a Raid Day featuring Kyurem in its Fusion forms plus Reshiram and Zekrom on January 10 with all the usual features. The sharp features of the event may not have left Trainers "in a pinch".

But then, it may drive them to new heights, as through the High Zaptitude event from January 13 to 18. The Wattrel family became a debutant, while Shiny Tadbulb became a special feature, the latter in the wild, 2 km Eggs, and Field Research along with other Electric-type Pokémon while the former through Global Challenges that unlocked special bonuses alongside the debut appearances in the wild and Field Research. The paid Timed Research by the event's paid ticket brought about even more Egg-related bonuses as Trainers discovered what they need in order to soar high and zap powerfully like the debuting species family here.

Pets are precious in the real and Pokémon worlds, so there was the Precious Pals event from January 20 to 25 to honor them. Specifically, there was Shiny Fidough debuting, accompanied by other pet-like Pokémon species in the wild, 2 km Eggs, and Field Research - some of them also factoring into two Collection Challenges. Boosts were also in place for Shiny Goldeen and Fidough, as well as massive ones for Buddy Pokémon and several species that need to become one to evolve, particularly their requirements. Friendly bonuses were also in the paid Timed Research set. However, less friendly are Team Go Rocket, who made a takeover on January 23 onwards to the event's end, bringing with them Shadow Thundurus (Incarnate), some more Shadow species with a Collection Challenge for them, and the usual features, as well as a Shadow Raikou Raid Day on January 24. This event was therefore a real pet-filled whirlwind.

If two weeks prior Trainers went over, they then went under - Into the Depths - from January 27 until February 1. The Glimmet species family debuts in this event as it appears on Routes and Research (Field and Timed), while the wild, 7 km Eggs, and other Research aspects have Pokémon that are characteristic of caves. The exploration aspect is bolstered by a triple XP bonus, paid Timed Research Egg bonuses, and a big glimmer in the sky with a Battle Weekend for Dynamax Ho-Oh on January 31 and February 1. It's a deep and broad scope for them.

Even as Trainers go over, under, and all around through the various paths of the events in the second month of this season, they might just be able to grasp certain senses of "precious" that apply to those events. That might very well be the most important thing for them, aside from participating in the events as much as possible and capturing the Pokémon that they offer.

One year ago: The State of Nominations, Part 32

Two years ago: The (In)Visibility of Pokémon (and Myself)

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/30/2023

Four years ago: More Pokémon Brand Parodies

Five years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/30/2021

Six years ago: Bringing It Home

Seven years ago: Three TCG Booster Packs

Eight years ago: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Series 2 Figures

Nine years ago: Always 21 - Memories of 21

Pokémon in 60 Seconds?

Nowadays, Pokémon has a lot going for its numerous aspects, if many of the posts on this blog are of any indication. It can be pretty hard to condense anything that pertains to them into a very short amount of time (like 60 seconds or 1 minute) for certain purposes (like to show off the franchise to the uninitiated). Yet if that were to happen, the results could be rather varied in form but remain attractive for all those who are concerned. With that, I thought I'd make a discussion out of it to see how things might just work out for the effort.

Part of the inspiration for this is that a real long time ago, certain campaigns got creative by including the concept for "60-second movies". They claimed that the people receiving them would get the gist of a movie (or even a show) with relevant dialogue within that stretch of time. This might be something that one could try to apply for the episodes and movies of the Pokémon anime, and the results could be interesting, at least for those who only need the gist - while the rest of the people and fans would probably prefer to watch them in full instead.

Meanwhile, closer to the present, challenges were given to two people to see who could point out specific things appropriately and answer certain questions correctly. The same challenges could be adapted for Pokémon with its multitude of aspects, and the result has to be as entertaining as the challenges in their original form. It might also resemble a certain newly established Pokémon game show and could be made an offshoot of that game show... although it may be more appropriate to let the challenges stand on their own for their sake.

In the simplest of ways to encapsulate Pokémon within 60 seconds, descriptions could be made for certain aspects about them. For example, a question like "what is Pokémon really all about" could demand that an answer be given within that time, and a viable part of that answer - at least based on my views - could involve the "four pillars" that I described such a long time ago, while also including the relevant points about the eponymous species and any other features that can stand to be included within that short (or not) amount of time.

A certain famous figure once said that of timespans that are seemingly very short, they can still be longer than one thinks they are. This certainly might apply well to a span of 60 seconds, which might conceivably fit a lot of things from actions to explanations. With all the things that it has going on, Pokémon could be construed to have a lot of them, and several different kinds of them could be made to fit within 60 seconds, if any of the above points may be considered. For the short and long of it, 60 seconds for Pokémon may just be enough for its multitude.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/29/2025

Two years ago: The State of Nominations, Part 26

Three years ago: Cosplay: Utsuru 7.5

Four years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/29/2022

Five years ago: Road to 25th Anniversary: One More Month

Six years ago: Expecting the Contrary

Seven years ago: Color Me (Shiny) Groudon

Eight years ago: More Pokémon Hanging Things

Nine years ago: Fire Power!

Analyzing the Traffic for My Blog

Dedicated readers will know that I sometimes discuss "meta" content related to this Pokémon blog itself in addition to actual Pokémon content, and this time I thought I'd post another one relating to the former. It concerns the traffic that comes to (and views) this blog, which is undoubtedly important for any site, even this one on my corner of the Internet. Using the information that I obtain from the Stats section of the site management for this blog, I'd like to discuss some particular points of interest about the traffic to this blog.

It should be noted that I can analyze traffic from the periods from a certain time in the past up to the now, although I can't analyze periods that don't involve the now. For this discussion specifically, though, I'd also like to place focus on the overall all-time traffic from the start when this blog was created to the now - although I can also point out specific trends within some specific times in that entire period, which should be just as fascinating as the overall traffic itself. Of course, all this can be tied back into Pokémon somehow.

Now for the pertinent stuff. For views, this blog was relatively "sleepy" from its start in 2017 up until mid-2024 when the views suddenly surged to many thousands, the highest around the end of last year entering this year. Even so, most of that view traffic has been indicated to come from an unknown source (or sources), so I can't exactly point out what they were for. A lot of the view traffic, however, is indicated to come from search engines and social media, which means that at least some people are actively seeking Pokémon content, finding my blog in the process, and then referring back to the content in it in some way.

As well, I can point out the origins of those views. To this point, one-third of the views were identified as coming from Singapore, which is notably the home of Brandon Tan as the prime Pokémon Go player... but the views may have more obscure origins and not be necessarily related to either Brandon Tan or Pokémon Go, the latter still a frequent topic of discussion here. The rest of the views are from my resident country (of course), the U.S., other identified countries, and other unidentified ones, each of them roughly in one-sixth amounts. That may or may not mean something for Pokémon fans in all of those regions.

Meanwhile, the topic of what are those views were viewing - as in, the posts on this blog - is also a pertinent one for this discussion... but I feel like this could be siphoned into its own post because of its rather broad scope and great relevance for many more Pokémon things, particularly the ones associated with those posts. So, I expect the discussion for this one to be made whenever, especially at the point "whenever" becomes relevant.

Even now, traffic is vital to any web site, including this little one - well, maybe not so little now - about all kinds of Pokémon things and how I deal with all of them in some way before writing and showing them off here. With the way that the blog is going, at least some traffic may be expected to come to it for all the posts that I've made and continue to make, and that could become the impetus for including a lot more Pokémon things.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/29/2025

Two years ago: The State of Nominations, Part 26

Three years ago: Cosplay: Utsuru 7.5

Four years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/29/2022

Five years ago: Road to 25th Anniversary: One More Month

Six years ago: Expecting the Contrary

Seven years ago: Color Me (Shiny) Groudon

Eight years ago: More Pokémon Hanging Things

Nine years ago: Fire Power!

New "Rare" Items in Café Remix

In a recent update, Café Remix revamped the look of its Delivery feature while also adding something else on top of that. That "something else" would be a couple of items that may be classified as "rare" items, which like their main series archetype (as the Rare Candy) provides a supplement for enhancing Pokémon. I thought I'd discuss those "rare" items since they seem rather fascinating for the items themselves and what they supplement.

The first is the Almighty Macaron, which of course supplements the Macarons of various Pokémon types here and can be used in place of them if one is short. Even so, a player will still need to obtain other Macarons each day from the Daily Tasks since these are more readily available, in effect saving these only for emergencies. At least, the newly introduced item is quite supplementary in its regard.

Next, there is the Classic Kitchen Note, which supplements the various kitchen notes for different Pokémon, making this item the first of this kind of item to be introduced after a long absence. Yet it doesn't exactly supplement, as practical usage of kitchen notes would require quite a bit more than one, and one of these may not cut it, with or without possession of the non-"rare" kitchen notes in the first place.

Both of these new items are in fact obtained by Delivery: by paying Golden Acorns for making deliveries or making the daily one, these items are obtained in alternating fashion after every 50 deliveries. Since delivery by tickets don't count, one has to spend the currency or else be patient to get these new items. It's a bit of an implicated pay-to-win situation given the means, and it's not necessarily easy for players to be on top of it. 

As functional as they are, the "rare" items remain "rare" by the way they are obtained and how they function. At least in some ways, their necessity of functioning to supplement existing items for supplementing Pokémon in Café Remix is welcomed and can already be useful right away, even if "right away" means making extensive use of the Delivery feature. The items may just suit the circumstance of the feature renewal and players' states.

One year ago: Staring at Faces in Pictures

Two years ago: Your Journey - A Poem

Three years ago: Concept Maps for Pokémon Unite

Four years ago: Road of 25th Anniversary: The Final Month

Five years ago: BT's Coins, My Coins, Our Coins

Six years ago: Spinning Like a Spinda

Seven years ago: The Cards, Revisited

Eight years ago: Changes

Nine years ago: A Loss Is... A Loss?

My Favorite Vivillon Patterns

Vivillon is an occasional discussion topic on this blog, but it's a fascinating one with regard to anything about Pokémon. The fascination certainly comes from all the different patterns that make the species what it is. It would be expected, then, that some fans might have different preferences for these patterns, and in fact I do too. With that, I thought I'd discuss my own preferences, as the patterns I'm fond of - else, my "favorites".

I actually have a fondness for the Meadow pattern, even if it may be considered the pattern that is "archetypal" of the other patterns. Its design is plain with its pink motif, but I find that a charm considering that other Vivillon patterns may be considered somewhat complex and "busy". Sometimes, simple is best, and the Meadow pattern has that going for it, which also may provide support for its "archetypal" status.

Then, I also like the Marine pattern. In part, the same quality that applies to the Meadow pattern also applies to this one: it's simple (but blue instead of pink) albeit having less of an "archetypal" quality. It's also similar to certain blue and white butterflies in the real world, so there is an element of realism inherent in the pattern - something that also applies to the next one. It's still a pretty nice pattern overall.

As one more pattern that I'd like to mention, the High Plains pattern has its realism by being somewhat in close resemblance to the real-life monarch butterfly, being orange in color and thus true to at least one root of the inspiration for the species. Incidentally, the real butterfly itself resides close to the area where the pattern is found in Pokémon Go, so all of the inspirational characteristics are tied together.

Lovely as they are, Pokémon fans will certainly find some Vivillon patterns to be ones they're most fond of, and the three I mentioned above are mine. The "threads" that tie them together are of simplicity and realism, and those are great characteristics that make things fascinating. Fascination will surely be a present quality for any Pokémon species, not just Vivillon, but it has to be admitted that this species seems quite emblematic of that.

One year ago: Cosplay: Innoverse & Tanoshii Matsuri 2025

Two years ago: Towards the Sunny Horizon

Three years ago: How Many Main Orders to Complete?

Four years ago: YouTube Pokémon Highlights: Pokémon Unite Channels

Five years ago: Unity Power

Six years ago: Cosplay: Aishiteru Minna

Seven years ago: SwitchCon

Eight years ago: Private vs. Public Raids?

Nine years ago: The Times They Are a-Switchin'

Cosplay: Cosplay Expo Pre-Event

Me: And... this one's different beyond different. 

Goh: It's an "expo"! So... probably like a convention but more.

Me: Yeah, you can say that. I'm told this is the creation of an out-of-town organizer who wants to see big things happen for characters [OOC: cosplay/cosplayers]

Ash: Oh, so that's why the "pre-event" thing.

Me: Pretty much. Also, I have to say that this is (was) a two-day thing, but for convenience, I've decided to cover it all today. That said, you were there yesterday...

Ash: Yeah! I saw a few of your friends for some time, and then I went to raid for Shadow Raikou and then back to you for something you needed help on.

Goh: Oh, I guess that could explain why too.

Me: Yes, um... Anyway, today it's mostly full for this...

Ash: ...but I was hunting for Shadow Chespin around the area too! It took a long time.

Pikachu: Pika pika? ["Too long?"]

Me: [sigh] Lots of things happening this weekend. Anyway, what did you see?

Ash: There were lots of stands for goodies, and a few of your character friends opened booths.

Goh: Didn't our friend say that he wanted to do the same for you?

Me: I really wanted to, but I'm still busy with something very important and ongoing, so I just couldn't make the effort. But I promise at some point it can and should happen.

Ash: I heard you should, from one of your character friends.

Me: See what I mean? That's for when things can happen.

Goh: By the way, it's a character convention, so it's got to have competitions, right?

Me: Of course it does! There was a character parade... but that was yesterday, and the raids happened at the same time, so that's a struggle.

Ash: There was a performance one today.

Me: That's even more of a struggle that I really mean to take on but I haven't been able to for various reasons, technical or otherwise. I'm really, really sorry.

Pikachu: Pika chu! ["You can do it!"]

Goh: We'll be waiting for you. Oh, and how about entertainment?

Me: Based on the schedule, it was dance groups and DJs. 

Ash: I saw them today!

Me: There you go.

Goh: And... I guess the rest of today was about our friend's friends.

Ash: You bet!

Me: Hey, that's better than nothing. All the same, I still we (I) could have done more.

Ash: Maybe you'll get a chance when this is in the faraway place.

Goh: Oh! So you mean this convention is a series? As the "pre-event" for the big thing?

Ash: Seems like it, from what I was told.

Me: That's pretty nice. So, I'll see if I can plan out some things.

Pikachu: Pika pika chu. ["It should happen."]

Goh: After all that, I guess we could say this one has some good things going on.

Me: Especially for what they're promising next.

Ash: Let's see if we can make good things happen!

Goh: I'm rooting for you two all the way. 

Me: We'll see. At that point, it would really be time to "expose" ourselves.

Ash: And our big things.

Me: True, that.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day Classic, 1/25/2025

Two years ago: In a (Pokémon) World Like This

Three years ago: Recent Little Additions to the Pokémon Go Experience

Four years ago: The State of Nominations, Part 14

Five years ago: I Need Great Pokémon Friends

Six years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/25/2020

Seven years ago: Keep Calm and Carry On Researching

Eight years ago: Performance Critique: ACC 2018 Single Performance

Nine years ago: Keychains!

The Importance of Community Tournaments

A few of my TCG fellows are currently in a faraway place yet one that is somewhat familiar to me for two tournaments, a "community" tournament today and then an official tournament tomorrow. That reminds me of what I used to experience with Pokémon Go, albeit with more "community" tournaments and less (nary, even) official tournaments. For that, I thought I'd take a post on discussing the consideration of their importance for the Pokémon realms above as well as Pokémon in general.

By the above, it becomes evident that "community" tournaments provide a kind of practice for the official ones, even in the great absence of the latter. For those who are truly passionate about their gaming skills as in any of the current games being featured in the Pokémon World Championships, this is somewhat important, as the chance to make it to official tournaments could come any time and so does the opportunity to qualify for the World Championships, for which they are meant to provide.

If practicing for official ones isn't in order, then practicing to hone up one's own skills may be. That seems to be the very least that even the most competitive of players like the TCG fellows I mentioned can do - and in fact, a few of the ones who came today came for a competitive side event they can play in rather than the main event that they did not qualify for. For those players, then being competitive means having perfected the skills to compete, and that seems considerably just as important.

Even without all of that, the opportunity to socialize with other players is a given at the venues of the tournaments, and the "community" ones have a leg up on this aspect by their nature that tends to the informal side of things. It's not hard to expect that informal events lead to less structured happenings, and within those happenings, participants can squeeze in chances to mingle and talk with others. People are of course social beings, and that as far as things go is important, even in events.

Now, I'm sure at this point some of those TCG fellows are already gearing up for the official tournament scheduled for this day, which definitely has an importance of its own. But with regard to both TCG and Pokémon Go (by my experience) as well as any other competitive Pokémon realm past and present, the "community" tournaments can present their own points of importance, including those explained above. For me and others, those are as important as the games themselves.

One year ago: Biggest Mistakes Involving Pokémon

Two years ago: Forever in the Palms of Our Hands

Three years ago: Friend Experiences with Factions

Four years ago: The Sinnoh Cup of GBL

Five years ago: The State of Nominations, Part 8

Six years ago: Little Bits of the Pokémon Anime

Seven years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/24/2019

Eight years ago: Local Ex-Raid (and More), 1/24/2018

Nine years ago: Electricity: Harness, Don't Exploit