New GBL Novelties

The Go Battle League (GBL) of Pokémon Go has been especially productive as of late, with a few new leagues to cater to different occasions. Recently, two more new leagues were added, one being a rehash of a common league and the other being a special league for the current times. Since they were introduced at the same time a week ago, it makes sense to discuss them together and what they entail.

The rehashed league is called Master League Classic, and as can be perceived, it's a rehash of the Master League. It's exactly like the Master League, but only Pokémon up to level 40 are allowed. That's because the current Master League and its associated Premier Cup accommodates Pokémon greater than level 40, now available since the Go Beyond update last month. Apart from this, there are no other restrictions, just like Master League in general. For those who do not possess Pokémon that are capable of dealing with the current Master League and/or Premier Cup, the Master League Classic becomes a good alternative.

Meanwhile, the special league is called the Holiday Cup, fitting the current occasion or season, though winding down regardless. Like similar seasonal leagues, it is of the Great League with a few type restrictions. The allowed types are Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Ghost, and Electric, at least one of these. With this selection, it is particularly representative of the decorations and spirits that normally accompany this time of year in many places in the world. A particularly effective and frequent Pokémon for this special league is Obstagoon, which is surprisingly powerful against most other Pokémon, including two of the allowed types.

Usually, only one of these leagues, themes, or cups are introduced at any given time. However, with both of these appearing at the same time, the concentrations of some Trainers may be divided as to whether they will take up the restrained challenge of Master League Classic or the seasonal festivity of the Holiday Cup. Even then, the answer may be obvious in that some can only take up the latter because of its simpler CP restriction, while those with developed teams for the former might occasionally delve into it. I personally take up both, alternating when I'm bored; likewise, a few Trainers might do the same.

With two novel leagues - one a re-familiarization and the other a timely celebration - Trainers seem to have their hands full this time around. Yet if anything, they could and should have the necessary Pokémon on hand from previous league iterations, allowing for easy participation in either or both. There's still a bit of festivity to be had as the real ones wind down, and that's something Trainers can take advantage of.

One year ago: On Third Parties

Two years ago: The Loading Screen of Go

Three years ago: Team Assistance and Secrecy

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

A Dream with Partners

I consider myself to have the oddest yet most fantastic Pokémon dreams. On one hand, they're implausible or are only very remotely plausible. On the other hand, they are so fantastic that anyone would wish that they were true. In this case, it would be not only me, but a couple of partners that were present in my dream, as the dream that I'm about to detail in this post involves those partners, who bear resemblance to (or in fact, are) some good friends that I have with links to Pokémon. This dream happened a couple of days ago.

In the dream, I and my partners were called as three representatives for something related to Pokémon, which was most likely a Pokémon adventure, as I also heard adventure game music in the background. The two partners were male and female, which is significant, as I've become closer to them recently. We had a great time together for what became our Pokémon adventure. However, at the end, the female partner disappeared after the adventure had ended. The male partner and I sought to look for her, all the while I was busying myself with a certain food item. He suggested that we use a secret vehicle, and so we went to where it was and he revealed it... and then the dream ended.

There is actually much more to the dream than what I've described above, but alas, all dreams are fleeting, and I could only note down much of the latter part of the dream as above. If I could remember all of it, I would have written that much in a heartbeat. The most fantastic part of the dream was that it lasted quite a while, seemingly that it didn't want to end either. Yet it had to end because I stopped sleeping, and most importantly, my mind sensed that the secret vehicle wasn't real and had the dream continued, I would perhaps have had trouble. While the Pokémon aspect seems minor, it's also part of what makes this dream, particularly the fact that I can then blog about it.

It has been said that if one dreams about friends - in this case the two partners that were present in my dream - it bodes well for the relationships with them. On the other hand, it might also represent the ideal that one wishes to associate with them closer. As mentioned above, I've gained closer relationships to them, so the dream is a strong indication that I'm due for and should initiate even closer and stronger relationships with them. I've already thought up of ways of how this can be, and the next step is to realize those ways. They might not be the same as the ways in the dream, but if they're related to Pokémon, then they should be pretty close.

It is perhaps not too odd to have dreams about friends, Pokémon, or both. But the dream I've just had a couple of days ago was so real yet so implausible, and so there's a certain fantasy about it. What seems to be important is that the friends are there with me in the dream and that a Pokémon relationship was established. Beyond the oddity and the fantasy of it all, I rather enjoyed the dream by way of what was involved, and it may illustrate my relationships now and in the times to come.

One year ago: A Clear Vision

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

Three years ago: Now Accepting Donations

Four years ago: Confessions and Concessions

Pokémon Blogging Wellness

As has become obvious, I've blogged about Pokémon for four years now and starting on the fifth. It's been a fascinating ride over that period of time, but it has its moments. Many of those moments stem from the ways and hows of my blogging, and how that personally affects me. In the time when many people and things are unwell, it seems appropriate to take a post to discuss about the wellness of it all.

Being that I'm a Pokémon blogger, I am linked to playing the games, which is in fact how I started. Therefore, I am a gamer as well, and gamers are a booming profession nowadays. They have been likened to athletes and would likely require much of the same ways to stay healthy, especially if the profession is full-time. I'm not a full-time gamer - my "full-time" is something else - but I sense that I would benefit from their ways. Yet this isn't always easy for me to implement with all the things I do for Pokémon, blogging, and others. Regardless, I have to stay well somehow for the Pokémon activities that would eventually lead to posts on this blog.

Then there are the ways of making those posts. Longtime readers will recognize that they have been made (specifically, published) at different times, sometimes through certain unimaginable ways. When they work out with my daily routines, they work out, but sometimes they push my daily routines to the most extreme, and this could affect my wellness. I still do hope that in many cases the effects are less detrimental and more beneficial both for myself and other people who read this blog - hopefully many others.

Combine them together, and I've got a recipe for success with good management... or disaster with a poor one. Either of them, though, have not been particularly evident in the four years I've had this blog. Furthermore, on some days it would seem like I'm nearing the latter, while on others I seem to feel the former. Whatever I do, I'm subject to the whims of both blogging efforts and Pokémon efforts, affected by whatever other efforts I pursue, some of which are also relevant to both. Therefore, my well-being remains important no matter what to support both.

Admittedly, this effort of Pokémon blogging is a double effort, being that I have to go back and forth between the two. It could be considered amazing that it has lasted as long as it has. What is and would be more amazing is to be able to keep that up while keeping up my well-being, particularly in these times of unwellness. That should mean greater success and hopefully greater wellness for that success.

One year ago: New Post Categories

Two years ago: Taking the Plunge

Three years ago: What's Next?

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

Hoppip New Year 2021

Hoppip New Year. Well, whether or not there are the current conditions in the world today, this blog continues for the purpose of bringing to everyone how I revolve around Pokémon and how Pokémon revolves around me. The current conditions will certainly be a limiting factor, but where there are limits, they may be broken to a certain extent. Therefore, in the times ahead, the challenge for me will be how to work within and beyond those limits in order to present the Pokémon world and my world with Pokémon.

While no one knows when the current conditions in the world will resolve themselves, it is certain that everyone and everything, including me and Pokémon, has to continue somehow, and for the latter, that should be the plan. Because of that, I as a Pokémon fan would like to be there wherever and whenever possible. That's a prime reason for continuing this blog. Plus, there is still a major anniversary on the way, and that's a very good reason regardless as well as something to enjoy this year for Pokémon.

One major factor that will seem to play a major part this year is making headways. With the anniversary above, that becomes a great reason as such, and much of the efforts are to be expected. For me personally, I still believe this blog is a key part of that, even though four years in the effort have not indicated anything significant. Yet, it's still a primary drive for all of what I do with and around Pokémon. Still, it's possible to look for other ways to drive Pokémon activities, and I think I may have found such ways. I hope to arrive at them soon.

With a Hoppip New Year, it also demands a "Hoppip Report" by way of Pokémon Go as I've made in previous years. Some time after Team Go Rocket invaded, Hoppip eventually became one of the Pokémon that they turned into a Shadow Pokémon. Since then, I've been able to encounter and capture them, though I've always ended up transferring them because their stats are nothing to write home about. Eventually, I'm likely to find a Shadow Hoppip with good stats, and that will surely be one to keep. 

Finally, with four years on this blog, the list at the end of my posts grows ever larger. Yet, with the daily nature of this blog, it seems to be something important for each post. It also has worked all the time - for me to implement and surely for readers to follow along, hopefully - so there is no pertinent need to change something that works. The next step then becomes to make sure that everything Pokémon works this year and in all the times to come, and with this blog, I'd like to make sure that happens. All fans, of course, can do the same thing.

One year ago: Hoppip New Year 2020

Two years ago: Hoppip New Year 2019

Three years ago: Hoppip New Year 2018

Four years ago: First Post Time!

Four Years, Taking Damage and Healing

With this post, it is now a full four years that I've blogged about all kinds of things related to Pokémon, whether personal or common. It's been a very long four years, and even this year could be considered to have been the longest one yet, what with all the things that happened. As in past years (see below), particularly from the previous couple of years, I'd also like to tie it with a Pokémon conceptualization. For this year, it seems appropriate that the conceptualization regards "taking damage" and "healing", both being key dynamics in many Pokémon battles.

In battles, taking damage can be instant, as the result of many Pokémon moves in the main series games and in general in Pokémon Go and few other spinoff games. Notably, the instant damage came about this year when many Pokémon things (or at least with personal possible Pokémon relevance) came to an abrupt halt due to the effects of that certain viral illness. Some moves can result in one-shot or one-hit KO by design or under the right circumstances, and effectively that's the effect that the latter had on many things of the former, as the situation was totally right - or rather, totally wrong. Others were left with barely a sizable amount of HP that would then be affected by other dynamics in the future.

One of those other dynamics is the gradual taking of damage, as through a status condition or by moves like Future Sight. This is mostly well-known in the main series games, but a few other games may have a variant of the dynamic. Sure enough, gradual damage was taken by a few other things this year, and it resulted in a few more things coming to an abrupt halt, becoming an effective KO for them, particularly if they weren't fully damaged by the conditions in the first place. I noticed this dynamic gradually occurring for many other things throughout the year.

Yet, where damage has been taken, there is the possibility of healing. Being able to deal with Pokémon continuously even during tough times is healing in itself, in addition to coverage of unique topics such as videos on YouTube and a unique anniversary pathway. There was also an attempt to start a totally novel way of discussing Pokémon Go through a podcast. Still, these only represent a gradual healing, as with the condition created by the Ingrain move or by usage of moves such as Recover, as well as minor item usage. And like moves in the main series games, they were sometimes limited like the Power Points (PP) limit them. The podcast is a testament, existing for only two episodes.

It is still possible for healing to be instantly complete. An instantly complete healing would be one that is accomplished through the Rest move or major items like the Full Restore. In the case of what has happened throughout this year, however, it hasn't been the case that this has happened. Further advancements will only confirm that this will be the case, in the next year or even beyond. In the meantime, one can heal the spirit, in Pokémon ways or otherwise, through ways like the "return to believe" that one singer suggests. And the lead-up to that anniversary may help a tiny bit.

It has been said that everything has their own time. In the case of matters related to Pokémon (battling), there would be a time to take damage, then there would be a time to heal from that damage. The two can be said to represent "counterforces" by which negatives and positives cancel out. Much of this year can be said to have been the former with much less of the latter, for Pokémon or other things.

But it seems, as with the spirit of a post I made over a year ago, it may just be a matter of having the time and making the time, hopefully for more healing than damaging. And if we "return to believe", there may just be still time.

Cheers to lots of healing (and less damage) in the times ahead for all of us. 💪

One year ago: Three Years: Making My Moves

Two years ago: Two Years of Evolution

Three years ago: One Year Full of Pokémon

Return to Believe

Give yourself to feelings

Be open to intuition

Don't hesitate, don't question

Accepting to live

Nothing can stop the wheel of life

It always keeps you coming back

To be born again

To grow again

To believe again

To believe again.

-- "Volver a Creer", Yanni (with José José) (interpreted)

As always, it's time to close up the year (almost) with a song that encapsulates the impressions of my Pokémon experiences this year, and possibly that of others as well. I've only heard this song this year, but from what I can understand about the song, it seems quite appropriate for this year where nothing seems to go right or many things have been taken away due to the current situation in the world. All that seems to be a prompt for any person to "return to believe", an interpretation of the title of the song I quoted above, and as the title of this post.

This song is actually pretty magical. Last April, I noted that Yanni is mostly known for his instrumental works, but sometimes he conceives vocal pieces with different vocalists. The song is actually a vocal version of one of his hallmark instrumental pieces, "Reflections of Passion", with renowned Spanish language singer José José; this post can be considered to refer to that too. As the story goes, the singer had lost his voice, but for Yanni, he was able to sing again, and this is the song that he sung. In a way, this is one of his "last hurrahs", as a few years back, he died from illness. That tale in itself is wonderful if nothing else and has quite a bit of relevance with the message of the song.

The words of the song, according to interpretations, are about living (and loving) for today and being introspective about the moments of life. It encourages people to keep on living as life goes on, perhaps in the same way that the upcoming anniversary tagline prompts Trainers to go on with their training. In a way, the song harkens back to the title of the original instrumental piece as above, in that life is the result of passions reflected by those who live and love. It is perhaps this situation that the singer realized and, in doing so, found his voice for one more time before he had to depart. And in this current (Pokémon) life, it becomes especially pertinent.

The above bit about Trainers keeping on training remains appropriate in this regard. What is also appropriate is finding oneself when things have been lost or gone awry as with this year, as with the absence of events or competitions, limited live entertainment, and drastically changed ways of life. Even I have not been immune to these or the effects from these, and I fear that I am or may be in for quite a few more things that are lost or go awry, Pokémon or otherwise. But life goes on, and I have to go on as well. With luck, I will be able to find myself in whatever things I do, and make all the happy returns as stated in the part quoted above. Others can do the same too.

So much has been taken away and so much has been lost as well, especially over the course of this year, and even involving Pokémon affairs. For some people, it has to be a sad thing, and to some extent I can feel their sadness as much as I feel mine. But if life is a reflection of passion, then it's worthwhile to keep on living - in my case as well as that of other Pokémon fans, to do the things we usually do with adaptations where necessary. In the meantime, we may as well make that "return to believe" for what will become better in the next year and beyond.

One year ago: (Extra-)Ordinary Days

Two years ago: One Day, in Life

Three years ago: When I See You Again

A(n Un)Clear Vision?

At the very beginning of this year, I detailed the theme that would mark my experiences this year, Pokémon or otherwise. It was as much a guiding spirit as it was in some ways a prediction. Yet, the prediction couldn't be any more off, as a certain viral illness "threw a wrench into the works" and ravaged the usual ways of daily life. What was accordingly supposed to be "clear" became the opposite, "unclear". For that, I've chosen to title this post the way it is, and seeing as it's the end of the year, it has a place to be reviewed in relation to Pokémon and practically other things.

The usual and/or novel menagerie of Pokémon events related to the games and other media became quite disrupted, completely changed, or utterly eliminated. There was a sort of blurriness that came over them as they took place or even didn't at all. Even my personal forays to involve Pokémon in my activities couldn't take place as they normally would. In short, the resulting conditions led to major slip-ups and hiccups to the point that some just couldn't carry on. There was only the clarity that some things just weren't or couldn't be as they are supposed to be.

Even that Instagram account, which had been expected to clarify my Pokémon experiences (and some others) ended up only clarifying a little instead of a lot, due to various reasons including the current situation. Still, it did clarify some, which is better than none at all; overall, it was also somewhat positive. I stand to make better use of this in the next year and upcoming years based on the possible (or any) Pokémon experiences that might come up and to continue using it in the positive ways that have been realized. 

As detailed previously, the yearly theme was inspired by the 20/20 standard measurement for clear vision. However, much of the happenings that took place within the current year was anything but. In popular expression, the same standard is also used to refer to hindsight to say that one can evaluate things in a better way in comparison to when and after certain things happen. That said, it seems that the hindsight situation seems to be the only true and clear thing. And now, I'm compelled to look back on things after I stated that things within this year might be clear, which turned out to not be the case.

As a prediction, the "clear vision" thing turned out to be completely inaccurate - perhaps all because of that illness. As a guiding spirit, however, it is and was still completely noble throughout the year that was supposed to be so. Based on this, I may be able to recognize the theme that would apply for and within the next year, but I'll save that for when it's appropriate, certainly not within the remaining couple of days of this year. It seems to still be quite worth it to maintain the spirit of a "clear vision" still within that time and within all the times to come, for Pokémon and beyond.

One year ago: Cosplay: MC & "Reflections of Love" End of Year Events

Two years ago: Local EX Raid (Above and Beyond), 12/29/2018

Three years ago: In Lieu of a Book