New Paradigms

With the reveal of the new upcoming members of the Pokémon main series of games - Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon - in yesterday's Direct, this raises questions and wonders for the progression, direction, and paradigm of the main series of games. While it's true that this progression has changed several times, there are also a few things that can be gleaned from how things have progressed. This also provides hints for what the future may bring.

Now, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon at first glance are a lot alike to Black 2 and White 2; in fact, they're too alike. They still have what looks to be Solgaleo and Lunala, but they're rendered in a fusion style as with Reshiram and Zekrom + Kyurem. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, however, have the premise of an "alternate story" rather than a "sequel" as with Black 2 and White 2. In any case, they're established as a new pair of games rather than an expected "third game" or a prior generation remake, the latter of which had also been speculated in some circles (for the fourth generation) prior to yesterday's reveal.

Based on this, it seems that there are two ways to consider the "third game" concept. One way to think about it is that the "third game" has been cast aside, as a proper one has never been made after the fourth generation. On the other hand, the other way to think about it is that the "third game" concept lives on in the "second pair" games as well as new prior generation remakes starting from the third generation remake for the sixth generation games. This leads to wonder if the fourth generation remakes are really just being shelved for a successor console, for play with the eighth generation.

"Third game" futures are not the only speculation. The planning of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon for release on the 3DS and not on the Switch effectively extends the lifetime of the handheld console. This and the slated Pokkén DX on the Switch also appears to affirm that the Switch is not the successor to the 3DS despite its nature of partial portability. Thus a successor to the 3DS would be truly portable and have new capabilities that would make it desirable for playing the main series of games as they are and (hopefully) will be.

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are not game changers, but they do present a change-up to people's expectations of the Pokémon main series paradigm, which has changed over time as well. Then again, this means that any paradigm for the main series is not set in stone, and we may be due for another change years down the road. Until that happens, prediction through speculation and reasoning is useful to consider how and what we will play.

Pokémon Direct, 6/6/2017

So today, a Pokémon Direct appeared on Nintendo's online video channels. I almost never watch the Direct for the simple reason that... I always miss it. Luckily, thanks to my network of Pokémon friends, I received word yesterday that the Direct was going to be about Pokémon, and so I decided to take a look into it when it went on. It's also perfect now that I have this blog, because anything Pokémon that appears is well worth it to write up on. And this Direct is especially important for that reason.

Along with word about the Direct yesterday, there was a bit of a furor yesterday about what would be the contents of this Direct. The furor was mostly caused not by the announcement of the Direct itself, but a rather telltale image that someone posted as to what could be the future for the Pokémon main series, which could very well have been divulged in the Direct. Needless to say, plenty of speculation followed, with some people taking sides should the image be true or false, and then even more provocative images came to light. As the furor calmed down, it became obvious that whatever was going to happen was going to be straightened out during the Direct, and the mood became anticipatory - at that point everyone simply waited for the Direct to happen.

And then it happened. The Direct started innocuously enough with a preview of Pokkén Tournament for the Switch, which would be dubbed Pokkén Tournament DX (read: Deluxe) and takes advantage of the new features of the Switch. But it turns out this was only the bomb; the bombshell was when the Pokkén preview moved into a preview of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon for the 3DS, which is dubbed as an "alternate story" to the Sun and Moon games; memories of Black 2 and White 2 suddenly come to mind. And just to sweeten the deal, it was also announced that the Gold and Silver games from the GBC era would be made available for the 3DS Virtual Console. And that was it: three games, two continuances, and one lively Direct - or maybe disappointing for some.

Oh, and those images? They've been proven false, at least for now. Other things still may happen, though.

In any case, all the games don't come until later in the year, which certainly keeps the excitement bottled up for now. I can't wait to unbottle it when the time comes.

Sympathy for Villains

The Pokémon world is made up of not only the protagonists, the everyday Trainers that go about their business becoming the best they can be. A part of it is made up of the antagonists - villains and the villainous teams - making their plot to seize Pokémon power and have the world to themselves. In some sense, as dastardly as their plans are, they mean well as their intent is for a better Pokémon life, though ultimately there is an oversight that costs them their plans. It is this that leads to a feeling of sympathy for the villainous teams.

Granted, this sympathy does not have to be to the same degree for all the teams; it depends also on how they treat Pokémon. The effort conducted by Team Galactic, for example, which involves stripping the jewels off of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, is definitely inhuman and should not be condoned. The effort of Team Flare in resurrecting an apocalyptic weapon is inherently risky and hard to justify. And then there are Team Magma and Team Aqua, whose goals conflict and overlap with each other. Fundamentally, it's hard to have a greater feeling of sympathy when these teams' efforts are just headed in the wrong way - at least as I discern it.

Even so, I do feel a sympathy for a particular villainous team. And my choice goes to Team Rocket, the original and most well-known team. They still have committed actions that are not exactly able to be condoned (petty thefts, Silph takeover), but I feel theirs are most benign than the others. And if the anime is any indication with their genetic engineering of Mewtwo, then this is at least a laudable effort, as what they undertake can certainly be devoted to better purposes. Considering these, my sympathy is sizable enough for them.

There are two sides to every story, and Pokémon is not excepted. For this, one of those sides is definitely the antagonistic villainous teams. Their purpose is to wreak havoc in this world, but considered further, that purpose is really to let them have a good place in the world in some way. Some sympathy for their efforts is therefore not unexpected and in fact may be acceptable. Just perhaps, in their vision, the world may really be a better place in some respects.

Ball Redesign?

As I've mentioned in my last event review, I'm now in-between cosplay events, as the event schedule is practically on a break that will last pretty much up to the end of this month. However, that gives me time to think about what I might do with my cosplay for my next event. Part of this for my Pokémon cosplay involves the use of Poké Balls, which I consider necessary for that purpose. Lately I've been considering if I should revise and redesign the concept for its use so that it is pleasing and/or can work better based on several considerations.

In the other post, I said that I'm open to different concepts for Pokémon presentation, and this is true for the Poké Ball as well. During the ComiCamp event, I received a plastic, spring-loaded Poké Ball courtesy of a friend who said that he had quite a few at home and I could feel free to have more if I wanted or needed. However, I lost his contact information, and I haven't talked to him since, which is a shame, since I am interested in taking one or two more, especially in regard to the subject of this post. As for the ball itself, it's nicely designed and perfectly sized, and a big plus is that it's hollow and can be opened, which means I can put a Pokémon figure in there to enhance the effect. But in the end, it is a plastic ball, and it could be fragile; I tested the ball at a later event and I felt wary about tossing it around, especially since it's the only one I have. I'm likely not to replace my current ball with this one.

As for my current ball, it's fabric and plushy, and it's well-designed. The only problem is that it's not quite mine. All my other balls are my own design, but then they are a little flawed with the design, which is why I gravitated to my current ball. I'm interested in re-making the ball so that I could say it's mine, but I have not figured out how to design it so that I could make it properly. One way or another, I'm siding with a fabric ball because it's something I really could toss around with less worry, which is what I need to do if I perform on stage or otherwise.

Technically, I have this break if I want to redesign my ball, but it's not really a break at all considering other things I need to do. Based on this and the considerations above, I might just hold it off altogether. As the old adage goes, "if it isn't broken, don't fix it"; I definitely don't have anything broken here except for the minor flaws in my other balls, and they're essentially fixed with my current ball. It's still a nice thought that I will occasionally revisit when new developments appear.

3DS Pokémon Themes

While on the subject of changing the looks of the 3DS Home screen, the most striking and quickest way to do so is with themes, which I only briefly mentioned in the post about badges yesterday. Themes change the look of the Home screen and even come with distinct background music. These are available in many choices of appearances, not the least of which is Pokémon. Most themes, however, are not free, requiring purchase with eShop credits, and this includes the Pokémon ones. Even so, they remain attractive to have.

Themes are obtainable and selectable through the settings for the Home screen, as with badges. The settings screen for themes allows access to the theme shop, which is a totally separate shop just for theme purchase, and allows selection of particular themes that have already been obtained. The wonderful thing is that you can select not just one theme to use, but up to 10 themes in a cycle. So that means if I have 10 Pokémon themes, I can select them all to be cycled each time the Home screen appears. This is incredibly pleasing.

Speaking of Pokémon themes, there are now lots of them to purchase. While I'm still not able to purchase any of them, there are still a few that I desire. I've been eyeing the Pokémon Hanafuda theme for a while now as it recalls a piece of Nintendo's history, back when the company used to make Hanafuda cards. Pikachu is an obvious theme fodder, and there are a few Pikachu themes, so I want some of the best-looking ones. The Shuffle theme is elegant and therefore also nice to have. Finally, there are extremely awesome themes like the Red & Blue and Ash-Greninja ones, also nice to have. All the themes are great and satisfy different Pokémon experiences.

If you've got a few dollars to spare in your eShop balance, I recommend getting a theme or maybe two to change up the look of the Home screen. If you're a big Pokémon fan like me, it's even more worth it because of all the Pokémon themes. Personally, I praise the effort that goes into these themes and like how they create different ambiances. I would definitely spend some of my eShop balance for these should I have some.

3DS Pokémon Badges

I have Pokémon badges on my 3DS. No, not the physical kind, but the virtual kind. They're present on my Home screen along with all the app and game icons that I have. These badges take up the square spaces where the icons are present, which would otherwise be empty if they don't belong to a game or an app. And all of these badges come courtesy of a game/app called Nintendo Badge Arcade.

As its name implies, Nintendo Badge Arcade allows you to get badges for many of Nintendo's popular franchises, including and not just Pokémon. The game/app is constantly updated and as such every time it starts it has to connect to Nintendo's servers and log in; you can't "enter the arcade" if you cannot connect for whatever reason. Once you do enter the arcade, however, you are able to grab badges in a crane game-like approach, which can be tricky at times. You get a few free plays each day, but after that, you have to spend eShop balance for more plays. What you can and do get, however, are artsy badges that can help liven up your Home screen.

The Pokémon badges are quite attractive to have as well. They run the gamut from Pokémon as they are commonly illustrated to ones in specific art styles, such as pixels. One unique set I have and have fully collected is the Spring Selection with Pokémon that are squeezed into an egg shape; there are seven of these and I have them all laid out on one part of my Home screen. Granted, I haven't touched the Badge Arcade in a while and haven't updated my collection, but it would always be nice to have a few more.

As for decorating, all the badges you collect are integrated to the Home screen, which means you don't need to run Badge Arcade to decorate. At the Home screen, the option to decorate is available in the options on the upper-left or once you've placed at least one badge and have it selected; your badges will then be available for placement anywhere there is an empty space on the screen. Also, these badges go great with certain Home screen themes, some of which are also obtainable through Badge Arcade. The decorating possibilities are literally endless.

I like how Nintendo took advantage of the fact that the Home screen is not necessarily filled up with icons for every player and made the empty squares functional for a different purpose, which in this case is to make it pretty. In return, the badges provide another way of showing what I like and allow me to express my creativity. Considering these functions, I think it's high time to see if I can get new ones and change up the look of my Home screen.

(Self) References

Pokémon has expanded so much ever since the first games were released. As with anything that expands, new additions not only bring new things into play, but also information and data. In this way, Pokémon is not only a world of objects that are interrelated to each other, but also a repository of tidbits and details. So it makes sense to collect all these tidbits and details, and store as well as present them; this is exactly the task of sites such as BulbaPedia in keeping track and enabling the viewing of any information pertinent to Pokémon. However, it also makes sense to be able to have portions of this information on hand and able to be quickly processed, which is why I think it is absolutely important to keep and organize some information in different ways.

I play the main series of games, so I have to delve and dabble into the art known as VGC. VGC in and of itself is highly data-sensitive, so data on stats, moves, and so on is highly desirable and in fact necessary. In light of this, I keep a spreadsheet with as much vital information as possible on things that might be pertinent to VGC-style battling. The reason why I have a spreadsheet is that it makes calculations and filtering that much easier, since the data is numerical (in the case of the former) or repeated (in the case of the latter) or both. This in effect also makes comparison that much easier; this is something I have trouble doing when all the data are purely textual.

The only problem with this scenario is updating and management. With my own devised spreadsheet, I'm responsible for updating it myself and maintaining its organization. I regret that I haven't done so with everything that's new regarding the seventh generation. As a result, now I'm challenged to use it in my VGC efforts. What would be great is if the spreadsheet was managed in a collective manner like BulbaPedia, but that is a little too much to hope for, and that leaves me back at square one. It seems my solitary fending will continue.

Pokémon is a truly amazing world of monsters and things, but behind all those monsters and things also lies a wealth of data that if well-collected and organized will allow efficient perusal for any purpose, whether it be for the main series (and specifically VGC) or any other game in the franchise. Expansion is a certainty for Pokémon, and with expansion there will surely be more data on everything; keeping this data well-maintained is one way to help enjoy this expansion.