Let's Go Research

Last week, Pokémon Go had probably one of its most significant and important updates so far: the addition of the Research feature, which lets Trainers undertake tasks ("quests") to obtain rewards, which may be in the form of items or even Pokémon. The latter bit is important, as the feature brings back certain Pokémon for capture, as well as for the first time ever, it makes a Mythical Pokémon available, for which the one available now is Mew. The feature itself is a neat addition in many ways.

Research tasks are divided into two kinds: Field and Special. Field tasks are received by way of spinning PokéStops, and these tasks change from day to day and place to place. Regardless, the tasks require completion of certain objectives (like capturing specific Pokémon or battling in Gyms) and once they are met, the rewards can be claimed - they are not too shabby either. Up to three of these may be taken at any time, but many of these may be completed and claimed in a single day. But the real prize is claiming completion of at least one task each day for seven days, which rewards items and a special Pokémon. It becomes another fun and active way to do things.

Special tasks are directly present, and for the purpose of getting to Mew, there are eight tiers of tasks. Each task rewards experience individually and other rewards as a whole, and each tier must be completed to move up to the next one. These tasks are considerably more involved and more difficult than the Field tasks, but the concept is the same: complete objectives, get rewards. Moreover, they have to be as such, considering that Mew is at the end of the road, and that is the incredible thing.

I've made my way through the first seven days of Field Research tasks and obtained Moltres as a result. Moltres is popular as one of the Legendary Pokémon present when raids were first introduced; getting it this way seems as special as a raid, though admittedly it takes time. Meanwhile, there are several stalwart tasks that keep me (and others) from getting to Mew, and this becomes an oft-discussed point within my raid group. A few group members have been able to obtain Mew, though, and that's pretty great. I hope I can follow suit soon.

These Research tasks are certainly fascinating and especially rewarding for all players, veteran and newbie alike. The point of Pokémon Go from the very beginning has been to get players moving, and I'd say this really does the trick while bringing in new challenges and opportunities. It's hard for any Trainer to say no to that, especially with exciting rewards that await. It would certainly keep Trainers on their toes - me included - while they go about their Go business.

One year ago: Caravansary

Icons, Images, and Such

As I've explained in my April Fool's post for this year, Pokémon Go changed its static Pokémon images to 8-bit icons taken from the main series games, and this is billed as an "innovation" as part of the joke. However, in some cases this change seems to work well, as in the Nearby tab at the bottom; sometimes the rescaled static 3D images seem unclear, while the icons are neatly visible. This has gotten me to think about how Pokémon are represented in icons, images, and other graphics, as well as the purposes they may have.

There are, of course, typical representative images of individual Pokémon. These have been around since the beginning, though they are also updated from time to time. In most cases they also show Pokémon from the front, though they can show lateral views as well. For the purpose of just showing or indicating, they are sufficient, though it might be hard to have them in the games. But for media that aren't games, such as books and web sites, they are especially useful. It's expected that every Pokémon will have one of these.

Then there are icon-type images. These may be even more restricted in which parts of a Pokémon to show and may be more optimized for small sizes. Such is the case with the 8-bit icons above, where the icons only show the most important details from the front-left side. This might be the reason why the icons work so well in the Nearby tab. As well, there is also a different icon set which is popularly used in the Pokémon puzzle games of Shuffle and Battle Trozei; they feature either a miniaturized Pokémon or the upper body or head of that Pokémon, as much as can be displayed within a small circle, and this is particularly noticeable in many icons from the icon set. These icons don't see much use elsewhere, yet at one time they have been used in an infographic for Go. It seems that these would be beneficial for any concise/small applications as well.

For the games, they may have their own specific kinds of imagery, including sprites and 3D models, which I've discussed in their own post. Different sprites can be made to have forward and backward views of the Pokémon concerned, while 3D models are all-inclusive. But then, not all games can have either or both, and there may be other types of imagery, including animated ones. The game dictates the graphics and therefore their purposes.

Pokémon are versatile, and it seems so do their graphics, which do take different forms and can be used for different purposes, as the 8-bit icon revival in Pokémon Go. A graphical feature of the main series makes its way to a spinoff game to a humorous effect, but is purposeful as well. I will somewhat miss the 8-bit icons when they disappear after a week, but it's nice to know that Pokémon graphics can and do work when they need to.

One year ago: These Foolish Things Remind Me of Pokémon

1000 Pokémon Species?

I play a variety of games besides Pokémon, so it's no surprise that I keep up with information about them too. And recently, one of those games just reached 1000 "features", or "facets" if you will. The game has consistently had a large number of these "facets", and for a good long while, the number has outpaced that of the number of Pokémon species. That leads me to consider if the number of Pokémon species will ever reach this lofty milestone of a number.

First, there are always some considerations. Currently, there are just over 800 species of Pokémon. On average, every generation comes out with about 100 new species, not including new forms. In the two most recent generations, the number has strayed just below this average. If this trend is taken to continue, then it's only reasonable to expect that the milestone will be reached by the tenth generation, presupposing that the calculation works out this way. Otherwise, given the circumstances, it may be reached as soon as the ninth generation. The milestone, then, seems to be at hand in any case.

The problem is that it may seem that there are things that keep the milestone from being reached. One of those is certainly the current number of Pokémon species as above. Even now, that's a lot of species to keep track and feature, for players and creators alike. That leads to the reasoning that the current below-average addition trend is to keep the species total from reaching 1000, at least too quickly. The technological limitations of the 3DS may also be an additional contributing factor that keeps the total species lower in recent times; time will tell if the Switch can provide greater leverage and make this feasible, even if it means more species to deal with.

Admittedly, 1000 is a nice, neat round number. Once there are hundreds, thousands naturally follow, and this is the first of those. Given how far things have progressed, it's not that hard to think that there will be this many Pokémon species soon, though not soon enough due to certain obstacles. Even so, with Pokémon still going strong, those obstacles are surely able to be surmounted, and 1000 species will surely be achievable, just like how my other game achieved its 1000 "feature" count.

One year ago: That Way You've Got

Gambling Not Permitted

If you play the Pokémon main series games, you might have noticed that the first-generation up to the third-generation games included the Game Corner with certain mini-games, most notably slot machines, that can allow the player to earn more coins out of coins to get certain things. In the fourth-generation games, these became spotty (or replaced with Voltorb Flip for example), and they simply disappeared from then on. The reason is that the slot machines are of course gambling machines, and with the games being supposed to be friendly to different ages, this just would not do, and gambling was ousted.

Understandably, for a good number of people, gambling is a scourge. It has the potential to be helpful, but much of the potential is also harmful. There are stories of addicts who can't stop spending their wealth to try to get more, and big losers who keep losing large amounts of money. It's just not a good thing to bring up people and possibly lead them to do this, and people who have understood this have taken to restrict (even simulated) gambling in games, at least for the oldest of gamers. Naturally, the Pokémon main series games follow suit to maintain appeal to a variety of ages.

I personally have had little interest in the gambling mini-games. I rarely obtained good results out of them, even on my best of days. Wherever the coins concerned were directly purchasable, I went ahead and purchased them right away, though I always ended up short for the higher rewards. I found Voltorb Flip to be a good replacement since it is almost completely logical and isn't technically gambling. Ever since these kinds of mini-games disappeared, I haven't missed them, except for Voltorb Flip.

Pokémon appeals to everyone, but gambling is a different story. By some standards, the latter is more of a bad thing than a good thing, let alone something that younger people should deal with. There may never be a trace of gambling in the main series games again, but that may very well be a blessing. Everyone can and should enjoy what this great big world has to offer without the need to turn over wealth to the odds.

One year ago: One Thing

Fondness for Latias and Latios

Players of Pokémon Go got a treat today. The reason is that the Eon Pokémon Latias and Latios are now the game's newest Tier 5 raid bosses, replacing the outgoing Lugia. Each is available in different halves of the world for a time, after which they will swap and be available in the other half; my half got Latias, and already my raid group is on it, though I'm sure when Latios comes, we'll be on it too. This exciting turn of events brings to mind a certain fondness I have for them, one that has been present since the Pokémon first appeared.

Considering the anime, their most well-known appearance is of course the fifth Pokémon feature film, which in English is titled Pokémon Heroes. It was as the movie became popular (and I became attracted to its setting), in fact, that I also showed a slight attraction to the two Pokémon. Of course, the movie turned out to be quite harrowing for the two, but that didn't decrease my attraction. They were a unique pair of Legendary Pokémon that seem more close-knit than others, and they still are today; it seems one just won't do without the other, as evidenced by their double raid showing.

In more recent times, they only seemingly became more ethereal. They became the bearers of their own Mega Stones starting with the third-generation game remakes, with dazzling purple Mega forms that only serve to unify the two further. Most importantly, they also allowed Trainers to "Fly" almost to anywhere and at anytime. This was obviously a revolution, as normally Trainers needed to have a Pokémon with Fly in the party in order to go somewhere. In that way, this was the precursor to the Charizard Ride in the seventh generation, owing to acceptance of the revolution. I do too, and this is such a fantastic aspect.

I'm so fond of them that I've come up with four nicknames for them: "Little Red" and "Big Blue", based on their color, and "Little Sis" and "Big Bro" based on their gender (Latias is female and Latios is male). I'm not sure if others are inclined to use them as well, but I think the nicknames are fancy and playful, enough for me to keep referring to them in this manner.

Latias and Latios are not the primary Legendary Pokémon of their generation, but with everything that goes on with and around them, they might as well be. They're special for any fan of Pokémon, especially if they play the games and even if the game is something different like Go. To that end, I'm sure I'm due for a good time with them now in Go, as well as how they've been all these times and they will be in the times ahead.

One year ago: A Story of Love, A Story of Passion

Artistic License

In another game series that I play, there is a term that gets around and is used to describe and relate how some parts of the games appear to their conceptions. The term is the same as the title of this post: "artistic license". I was prompted to think of this term as I was considering what to mention in regard to the "progress" of Mauville City. When really considered, it seems the term can and does apply to Pokémon (and its games in particular) in certain ways as well.

The term concerns the depiction of in-game objects, things, and places as they appear or function, and its comparison with how the actual forms of those would appear or function. For example, a place in the game may look a certain way with certain things, but in actual conception would appear very different despite still having the same things. Granted, the latter's idealized version may take a stretch of the imagination, but it's also that imagination that gave rise to at least parts of the former's realization; this discrepancy is what is covered by the term "artistic license".

As to how this is realized in Pokémon, the simplest example would be the cities and towns found all over. It's not that hard to imagine that these cities and towns are more or less like cities and towns in the real world; however, as they appear in the game, these cities and towns look much simpler for their purposes. That is where "artistic license" comes in, as the appearance is altered to suit the work, only including the necessary aspects. If the example of Mauville City is to go by, it would be that either the rectangular structure would be somewhat larger and contain more things than what are shown, or that there would be minor settlements outside, or both. The case for other cities and towns would be similar.

"Artistic license" will always be present so long as the realizations are different from their ideal conceptions, but that doesn't seem to be a bad thing - it just means the idealized situation is imaginatively bigger and more detailed/complex than what can be realized. Such is what seems to be the case for that other game series, and also the conception of cities and towns in Pokémon. It's still something to be considered between our imaginations and the depicted reality.

One year ago: I Found You, Black and White

April Fool's Day 2018: Stepping Back, Moving Forward

It's April 1, and that means it's time to revel in the day of shenanigans known as April Fool's Day. And from what I can discern, especially in relation to Pokémon, there seems to be a theme for this year's edition, which is "stepping back, moving forward". It means that there are a few things that are a throwback to the past, yet are the means for or indicate a way of proceeding to the future.

This year, Pokémon Go gets into it with an interesting throwback: all static images of Pokémon in the game (particularly in the Pokémon list, Pokédex, and the Nearby popup) are replaced with their 8-bit icons from the main series games. They all have a high degree of pixelation due to their expanded size in some cases, but strangely enough, they seem to work, save for certain cases. It's still a fun throwback that may also remind Go players of where Pokémon came from. While it may not drive some players to pursue greater successes in the main series games, at the least the reminder is a powerful one that serves to remind players of the long and varied presence of Pokémon. I'd love to see this implemented as a persistent but optional feature, though I can understand why it wouldn't if it involves some re-architecting of the interface. It's still pretty neat anyhow.

Also, for the day, my local association decided to change things up a bit and "switch" to a different fandom, one that involves young horses and wondrous linkages - I trust you know which one. It's a move that is understood with as much concern as humor, because some time ago, one of the local fans did declare such a switch, except on a more serious note. Thus it could be considered a rib on that, as it brings to surface an old issue. It should be noted that I appreciate the fandom, but as with other things, it only serves as a complement, not a replacement. Of course, if by some miracle they could cross over, then that's appreciable too. The "switch" is still worthy of a chuckle, and after that, things go on.

Meanwhile, I pulled off the same thing I did last year: cosplay, play mahjong, and enjoy the day with friends. This time, I did some of that from the comfort of my own home, as they paid me a visit, and I'm only happy enough to oblige. It wasn't as lively as I thought it would be, but it was fine. It was the least I could do, and it's loads better than spending the day alone, no matter how insignificant the occasion is to others. The costume was the same as for the Ex-Raid a while back, but that's a good thing, since now I think I'm affirmed of the direction I need to go with this.

Everything today has been all about looking back on certain past happenings while still maintaining a vision for the future. Thus, as I discern it, the theme is "stepping back, moving forward". Regardless of the theme, there's still the aura of April 1 and tomfoolery all around, so some jest is still welcome. I dare say that this year's April Fool's and shenanigans have been unique yet meaningful to me as a Pokémon fan; hopefully it's been the same for you as it was for me! 😄

One year ago: It's April Fool's Day!