The Poké Ball Sounds (...or Sound?)

I'd mentioned about the sounds of the Poké Ball in my first "gimme five" discussion this week that relates to Pokémon sounds and music, specifically a Pokémon soundboard. They're actually pretty iconic as far as Pokémon sounds go, with many fans (and some non-fans) being able to recognize them. Even given this fact, it seems that fans and others might consider only one of the sounds as having that iconic quality. That matter is to be discussed shortly along with a few other pertinent aspects regarding these sounds that still make them what they are. 

So, for many, the iconic sound would be the ball release sound from the anime, which has the distinct pop and lasts several seconds. It was even used to introduce some Pokémon anime features in the past, which affirms its iconic status. The games do have a counterpart for this sound - or most likely it was the inspiration - but it's much briefer (just the pop) and perhaps not as iconic. Yet it's no doubt that the sound represents a starting point for quite a few dealings with Pokémon, so the sound's status is something to be considered for what it is.

On the other end, there is the ball capture sound, which may be considered less iconic but still somewhat distinct. The sound is mostly reflective of the (laser) light that is seen when the ball makes a capture of any kind, whether it's for a new Pokémon going into a ball or a captured one returning into its ball. Likewise, the games and the anime have their own takes on this sound, but the essence of the sound remains the same. Still, its context is limited in the above cases, so while the sound is rather unique and distinct, it may not exactly stick out in memory.

Then, the ball makes a few other sounds, two of them being the ball wiggle and capture success sounds. As predicted, even for these two sounds, the games and the anime portray them in different ways, specifically with regard to "continuity" for the ball wiggle sound and the audibility (in a way) for the capture success sound. These sounds may be considered the least iconic of all the Poké Ball sounds I addressed in this post, but they can also be said to be important signals for the anime viewer or the game player that a capture is about to happen.

Whether or not all the sounds above - or a certain one of them in particular - are truly "iconic" may be left up to the perceptions of certain fans or people, but they're as much a part of the mechanics and charm of the Poké Ball itself, which is already iconic as an object that is also rather symbolic of Pokémon. In that way, the sounds (or the particular sound) become an inseparable part of the representation of the object, and the fans and people will then surely recognize the object in all its different ways, including by its visuals and the sounds it makes.

One year ago: Am I Just a (Poké)Weeb?

Two years ago: Cosplay: Art and Culture Exhibition (ACE) 2023

Three years ago: Tournament: Raid Group Great League, No Restrictions

Four years ago: Casting Out Porygon

Five years ago: Let's Talk About Finding Our Way

Six years ago: A Day (or Year) with Pikachu

Seven years ago: To See and See Not

Eight years ago: A Pokémon Twist to My Phone

Pokémon Soundboard?

It's the final month of the year, and in all previous months of this year, I've put in a series of discussions that I called "gimme five", five posts in one week that pertain to a specific topic. Lots of things happen at the end of the year - if the first week of this month doesn't already make that evident - so in the interest of time, I'm going to clear out that series of discussions over the course of this week. I also already have the topic in mind, which would be "sound and music" - appropriately, since it's close to the familiar holidays and therefore it becomes the "sounds of the season". Needless to say, each discussion continues to be somehow related to Pokémon as the big topic of this blog.

Now, certain apps for videoconferencing have what is known as a "soundboard". During a meeting using the app, and particularly during certain activities, the soundboard can be used to activate certain sounds in response to different happenings. Some real-life settings could also have an actual version of this concept. Bringing this concept to Pokémon, one could conceivably have a soundboard with a Pokémon theme to it, and all the sound clips would be taken from and involve Pokémon somehow. It would be an entertaining twist to generic soundboards, and if Pokémon happens to be the focus of the activity or meeting, then it would be quite appropriately festive.

The question, of course, is what Pokémon sounds would be on such a soundboard. An obvious one would be the cries of several Pokémon, which would cover their presence and representation on the soundboard to be able to be invoked into different contexts. Speaking of species, one can't forget the de facto series mascot Pikachu, which has plenty of sound clips of its own and thus can be potentially included in the soundboard; more recently, Eevee has been gaining traction as a mascot as well, and therefore it can also stand to be included. Finally, Pokémon is rich in other sounds as well, and the most popular of those (like the Poké Ball sounds) could certainly be included.

Back to the context of the videoconferencing itself, a Pokémon soundboard is definitely perfect for a certain platform for doing that and in particular with a certain relation to gaming, one that many gamers will surely recognize in this day and age. Yet it is also true that Pokémon appeals to many people beyond gamers and certainly without some of them needing to play the games, so with that, there is the thought that it may be possible to make the soundboard stand alone and be platform-independent, with certain ways to use it on different ones. This would also open the door to use it beyond videoconferencing, yet still wherever some Pokémon context is useful and needed.

At any rate, Pokémon is about sounds and music just as much as it is about its other forms of media expression, so the "gimme five" topic for this week makes a lot of sense. Starting that off with the topic of a Pokémon soundboard also gets things going on a fascinating manner due to its potentially many possibilities, especially with regard to content, platform, and usage. That also means potentially many possibilities for entertainment as well, something that Pokémon like other great aspects of pop culture do and do very well, certainly in modern times. With that, the "sounds of the season" are off to a good start, and Pokémon can only liven that up even more somehow.

One year ago: Creatures of the Sea

Two years ago: More NPCs in Pokémon Go?

Three years ago: Quickies: Snorlax on the Road

Four years ago: My Current Pokémon Unite Role Preferences

Five years ago: Popular Poké-Shipping

Six years ago: Pieces of a Pokémon Life

Seven years ago: Cosplay: IJF - Cosplayer Rising Star

Eight years ago: (Un)finished Business

Pokémon Go Community Day Weekend, 12/6/2025 and 12/7/2025

Well, lots of things are happening this month, so it would be great to get Community Day out of the way, which as usual for December would be the "recap" edition for the year. That would happen to occur in the first weekend of the month and one week after this year's last regular edition, which might seem a little odd, but that's the way things have fallen. So, I have to get on with the write-up for it as well, especially before other things (in and out of Pokémon Go) get on me. 

This year's featured Pokémon are Sprigatito, Karrablast, Shelmet, Fuecoco, Vanillite, and Pawmi from January to May, as well as Jangmo-o, Quaxly, Rookidee, Flabébé, Solossis, and Pikipek from June to November. They in these two sets are what appeared more often yesterday (the former) and today (the latter) from 2 PM to 5 PM, although all of them appeared intermittently from 9 AM to 9 PM on both days. Like last year, they are (were) also the prompt for two Collection Challenges, one set on each day. For the ones featured in Classic editions (Ralts, Totodile, Machop, and Eevee), also like last year, they were also additional appearances in the last 10 minutes of each main hour as above.

Predictably, all of these Pokémon have all of their special moves for their evolved forms from their respective editions, and in the case of Pokémon with esoteric evolution requirements, specific ones were simplified, though they may still have needed some effort. Their bonuses from their editions are also the main bonuses of the main hours, alongside the usual extended Incense and Lure Modules (the latter with the new length) as well as trade bonuses. Flabébé in particular is also still limited to its regional color forms, but the orange and white forms can still be found for all. Finally, the extra paid Special Research contains encounters with each of the Pokémon along with other premium bonuses, and Field Research has even more encounters.

Something that is unlike past years is that none of the ones from the past year were an additional feature for this edition in some way, including being able to get the special moves for their evolved forms. This is also hot on the heels of the loss of the seasonal backgrounds as a feature, though arguably the former is somewhat of a greater loss. Yet the monthly event goes on and so do the Trainers - like me.

For my personal progress, the part of yesterday was my own doing, but the part of today had a bit of assistance in a specific way. And for those who know me and what I'm referring to, that involved a certain someone, for which now we talk about it...

Goh: The recap came early this year.

Ash: It did, didn't it?

Me: Well, that can be good, even though it could mean other things for you and I both.

Goh: But you dealt with things yesterday.

Me: That I did, and I got a few things taken care of, like evolving others you and I had found throughout this year. But today...

Ash: I mostly just caught for you to bump up your stock. But I did find a few real good ones and evolved those too.

Pikachu: Pika pika! ["Very nice!"]

Goh: Nice. But I'll bet our friend would have done the same. 

Me: True, and especially more if it had not rained.

Ash: It rained also today. And really wild too.

Me: Same as yesterday, then. But at least it let up at the end then...

Ash: So I met a couple of your "friends" today. 

Goh: Oh. Did anything special happen?

Ash: Not really...

Me: I kind of regret this, but part of the intent is actually to save money.

Ash: Is that why you didn't get me to a little happening some distance away?

Goh: I see now.

Me: Yeah, that. And then there was the rain, as you see.

Goh: It couldn't be helped.

Pikachu: Pika pika... ["Bummer..."]

Me: Well, I guess that's a wrap on Community Day this year. 

Goh: It has been a good selection this year. 

Ash: And things were OK too... at least a little bit.

Me: Yeah, I agree. Things could and should be better next year.

Now that Community Day is done and gone for this year, the variety of things for it can be said to be quite the assortment, even with some noticeable patterns for them. Both the regularity and irregularity for the event still make it what it is - a time to revel with other Trainers and get the best of and for Pokémon species. That seems to be what matters most.

One year ago: Pokémon Drinks (and Cards) for (a) Good Day

Two years ago: Pokémon Perspectives on Wasting Food

Three years ago: Factions Battlefields, Season 2 Cycle 3

Four years ago: Quickies: Letting the Charcoal Burn

Five years ago: GOtcha Podcast Episode 2: My Way of Playing Pokémon Go

Six years ago: Timeless and Forever

Seven years ago: Local EX Raid (and the Power of Us), 12/7/2018

Eight years ago: The Shops of Shuffle

Weekly Challenges in Pokémon Go

Sometimes Pokémon Go implements a feature for everyone, but then as soon as that happens, it has to be removed because of a bug of some sort. The feature that I'm about to discuss in this post suffered from the same fate around the middle of the previous season and only came back just recently, enough for me to make a write-up on it. Of course, that was intended to happen even when the feature was implemented properly, so this can be considered a "delayed" one in a way.

The feature is called Weekly Challenges, and as its name suggests, it presents ways for Trainers to take on and complete tasks within the specified period that becomes the feature's namesake. The addition of this feature also necessitated a change for the last tab of one’s Trainer profile; the tab is now called the "Social" tab, with Party Play taking up one section and this feature in another section - specifically, above it - in boxes that resemble "cards" containing the now separate features.

Up to four Trainers may participate in a Weekly Challenge, and they don’t have to be close by; they may be far apart from each other and can create groups by inviting others in their Friend Lists. Once everyone is assembled, the real fun begins, as they are to complete a long-form task (this initial week is to catch 500 Pokémon) over the course of the week, with great rewards in wait (like this week, Stardust and Friendship levels).

Players who play a certain other ex-Niantic Games game might find this approach familiar, as that game has a "quest" implementation that is strangely similar to this implementation. That might also suggest how the initial problems came about, as the system might have possibly been lifted as-is for use in Pokémon Go, resulting in the flaws of a not-quite-tested approach.

As for the overall impressions of this feature, it could be loosely described as a "remote Party Play" due to its adjacency to that very feature, particularly as described above. Its progress displays - the progress bar on the card, as well as the pop-up screen for each completed quarter - also have some resemblance to Party Play. And of course, the objectives are essentially that, but spread out over the course of a week.

If there is another takeaway for this feature, it is that it represents a "delayed" transformation as well, given all the happenings of the past season, the one in which the feature was supposed to have debuted in. Perhaps the greatest "transformation" is having the feature pave the way for great paths of Trainers pursuing a grand achievement in just a week’s time.

One year ago: Pokémon Through the Ages: The Classical Era

Two years ago: On Raid Problems and Their Compensation

Three years ago: It's a Rotom World

Four years ago: Creatures of the Land

Five years ago: Play Where You Are (or at Home)

Six years ago: Time of Posting

Seven years ago: Pokémon Asia McDonald's Happy Meal Toys, Waves 1 and 2

Eight years ago: Watching and Re-Watching

Planning for Pokémon Go Events

After I received a comment a couple of months ago on one of my old posts and made another post inspired from my response, I received another comment in the latter post, which is likely from the same person, given the similar overtones and anonymity. Because of the similar overtones, I thought I'd also present another way of looking at the issue, in addition to the concerns we already brought up. That viewpoint involves the consideration that some events in Pokémon Go may need to be planned for participation in them (or not), depending on the necessity and enjoyment of the Trainer.

It all may be considered to boil down to the principle that one should fully participate in the needed ones and less in the ones that aren't so needed. For example, if an event for Electric types (like last month's High Voltage) comes up and one needs resources for them, then participation in it could be necessary; conversely, something like the Harvest Festival may be less necessary, and then one can stand to do the barest minimum for that purpose. Until the event structure changes radically for the benefits of our concerns, that may be the best approach for the events for optimal necessity and then enjoyment.

For me, the most necessary events right now are the monthly Community Day and the big paid ticket events (Go Wild Area, Go Tour, Go Fest), which I consider to encapsulate much of the spirit of the game with catching, battles, and meeting people. Then there are the various Raid Days and Battle Days, which are smaller in scale but may still have some importance depending on what Pokémon are involved. Most of the other events (as the theme events we brought up) can be gotten through with just the minimal amount of effort wherever I may be at the time, and thus may or may not be too necessary.

The commenter had also implied of having played (or tried to) during Spotlight Hour, a regular "weekly feature". Planning is also useful for these "weekly features", since again some species have their utility and the others are less so. And if one needs them to achieve certain goals - like earning Stardust for certain purposes, or leveraging them to gather with a friend and interacting - then they may have utility regardless. Like other events, their content is announced ahead of time (somewhat), so some planning is quite possible and possibly necessary, even with certain affecting circumstances.

While the responses that I've given in both short comment and long post form may or may not resolve concerns - particularly since the same concerns are still applicable and evidently can and are still voiced - some of the merits may need to be considered at the very least. The run of Pokémon Go events in all their forms is likely to continue without major changes, but if it does, it could surely be a revolution, especially if our concerns are accommodated in the process. What might not change is the planning that goes into playing them, and whether now or later, necessities and enjoyment are still at hand.

One year ago: Pursuing Dynamax and Gigantamax (...or Not)

Two years ago: Seeing "The Whole" with Pokémon

Three years ago: The Trouble(s) with Scarlet and Violet

Four years ago: Glacial Scaling

Five years ago: Go Beyond... Features

Six years ago: The Social Aspect of Pokémon

Seven years ago: More Weather Boosts for Types?

Eight years ago: Game Bugs and Fixing Them

Gaming as a "Business"

For Pokémon or any other gaming realm, it is known that some of the players can take a lot of time to deal with all their intricacies. It's almost as if they've got nothing else to do... or maybe that is indeed what they do to get something out of their life, with or without anything else that qualifies in that regard. In fact, the way that they handle it is like handling a business, which would be that something that people do to make their life what it is. That sounds like it can make for a good discussion, which becomes the point now.

Many players of Pokémon or other games in modern times can stream their plays on social media, and it's quite possible that they'll get something in return from the people or fans watching their plays. Alternatively, their uploaded videos about the games on YouTube - say - including their past streams can be monetized, and they'll get something that way too. In this way, they could stand to play their games and run that activity like a business along with other things they've got going as such, and it'll support their life as well.

Then, running the communities for the games can be construed to be like a business as well. The current example of communities in Pokémon Go practically demands engagement and interaction with players, as well as connections to services for making an impact and quite possibly supporting the community itself. Those efforts almost do sound like running a business, one that a single person may or may not be able to do alone, but then again many communities might just run that way and they're necessitated as such.

Now, I say "business" in quotes because in one of my other gaming circles, a term containing the phrase "no-job" is thrown around in reference to how the players seemingly have so much time to deal with the intricacies of the game in question that they may or may not be doing something else to support that or their life in general. That is, of course, unless the game does support them for doing just that. Such a circumstance may not be generally applicable, even to Pokémon games, but whatever happens, business interests may be at hand.

Games itself - specifically, the processes of developing them - are already businesses onto themselves, but if the happenings of the players indicate, especially in the present, the players too can make businesses out of them, by necessity of the players' demands or the activities of the games themselves. Some of the business happenings are certainly becoming evident, or in some cases already are, for Pokémon as above and other games; it certainly would consume the players' time, but like any regular business, the support factor would be there.

One year ago: Warping Time in TCG Pocket

Two years ago: Unexpected Uses of Pokémon Go

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Infographic Furnishers

Four years ago: Forgotten Parts of Games?

Five years ago: Resistance vs. No Effect

Six years ago: Off We Go... to Galar!

Seven years ago: A Sewaddle Keychain

Eight years ago: In and Out of Poké Balls

Cosplay: Matcha Mood Festival

Me: Well, here's that thing I said I'd get to, with us.

Goh: OK, so it was really a festival. It said so.

Ash: Matcha - all about green tea.

Goh: I can tell it was all about food and drinks.

Ash: Yeah! It was all food stands. 

Pikachu: Pi pika chu pika! ["All delicious!"] 

Goh: But you probably didn't get much of that. 

Ash: I was about to - but then I stopped and thought about our friend.

Me: Looks like it was a good thought, because a few days later I needed something else.

Goh: Maybe you can get some of the stuff from somewhere else.

Me: That's a thought. That might just happen.

Ash: And it goes back to you!

Goh: So, how did characters fit in? 

Ash: There was a character parade... but I wasn't in it.

Me: You'd have to pay... and then there was still Community Day to deal with.

Ash: Yeah, it was near the end of it, so...

Pikachu: Chu pika... ["Conflicting..."] 

Me: There you go, so it would have been hard to make time.

Ash: And all the winners were really spiffy!

Goh: OK, so you might not have had a chance after all. 

Me: That was my thought, so Community Day is (and was) the better option and call.

Ash: And that was after Dynamax Lugia with our friend's other friends - the day before too, before the other festival.

Goh: Oh! Dynamax Lugia. That sounds really amazing. And two days in a row!

Me: It has to be. Like I said, I'll have more on this later.

Ash: I met more of our friend's friends at the festival and spent the day with them. I even met someone who we haven't met in a long time!

Goh: Hey, that was pretty nice!

Pikachu: Pika pika. ["Very nice."] 

Me: All good for today - or from what I hear, mostly.

Ash: There was actually another festival, wasn't it? I also heard from some your other friends

Goh: Oh, that's news to me too.

Me: There was, but that one was a little far away and might not have been worth it, by its content and the weather.

Goh: If I were to take a guess, it would be because it's all dance groups, and it could rain if you had gone there.

Me: That would be it.

Ash: So the tea festival won out! There was a lot more people here.

Goh: I'd say so too.

Pikachu: Pika. ["Same."] 

Me: Like the name of this festival, I guess things depended on what we are (were) in the mood for.

Goh: I guess for us, that would be Pokémon, lots of good friends, and good stuff to take in.

Ash: I can definitely have some tea for what I missed.

Goh: Count me in!

Ash: I'll arrange something very soon for that - and of course for festivals and conventions to come. Trust me, you'll really need it.

One year ago: NYT Games and Pokémon, Revisited

Two years ago: Cosplay: FUNDOME 2023

Three years ago: Outfit Varieties for Pokémon Go Characters?

Four years ago: For Points and Performance

Five years ago: The Touch of Satoru Iwata

Six years ago: For Want of an EX Raid

Seven years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day Weekend, 12/1/2018 to 12/3/2018

Eight years ago: Fallen Comrades