A Pokémon Best Friend Dream

It's rare that I have Pokémon dreams when the circumstances of the dream present themselves, but that happened with a dream I just had. The circumstance is that a friend came for an overnight stay yesterday - and yes, it's the same friend that prompted one of my posts from around a couple of weeks ago. Of course, my friend is also a good Pokémon fan, so now the circumstance is evident: my friend was in my dream. And that makes for a good story to tell, at least while some of it remains vivid in my mind.

Like the real circumstance, my friend was staying over at my house; however, it seems that it was a different house than the ones I've stayed in and could call "mine". In the progression of the dream, we talked and affirmed how great our friendship is because we like Pokémon, even if that may be manifested differently. That was then followed up by a few matches of Pokémon Unite, some mutual tasks in Pokémon Go, and a few discussions on merchandise... at which point I woke up. I informed my friend about the dream, though my friend was neutral about it.

What seems to be a coincidence is that we did exactly all of those things the evening before. Yet, I'm still not one to believe in coincidences, so I'm sure all of that plays a role in the dream. If I were to make an interpretation about it, it is that there is a certain importance that Pokémon has for the both of us. There are the exchanges that occur in the games and merchandise, and that was what happened. Through them, we have grown as friends - perhaps in unexpected ways - to accumulate our interests in it. These all fit within the framework of the "four pillars", and our links have pretty much proven the verity of the concept.

My friend has decided to take another overnight stay at my place due to unforeseen circumstances, but I have no problem with that. It only means that our link as friends has grown beyond Pokémon and we have completely forged trust in each other. Whether that might mean more appearances in either my or my friend's dreams is unknown, but if that happens and Pokémon is involved, then it might just be welcome to be noted.

One year ago: Workouts, Exercise, and Fitness with Pokémon

Two years ago: Community vs. Central Management

Three years ago: Cosplay: Akatsuki no Matsuri

Four years ago: Never Stop Exploring

Tournament: Raid Group "Relaxed" Lunar Cup

So, the reason why explaining the Lunar Cup quickly becomes relevant is because of yet another tournament by my raid group, this time as part of the current running Silph Arena season with this first themed cup. Since it's my raid group and I have a stake in PvP, it becomes pertinent for me to participate and see how my skills fare against those of others.

Participation was quite diminished this time around, with only eight of my raid group members, including me. Others may have wanted to participate but couldn't get a team in by the starting deadline, which was 8 PM on Friday. Regardless, eight participants is the absolute minimum for getting things going, so it's still fortunate that happened.

The reason why this particular tournament has a "relaxed" tag is that the scheduling is even more flexible, in that now a round can be given 2 days to complete. With eight participants, this resulted in three rounds, and all of the rounds were completed at 8 PM a few hours ago, allowing me to make my write-up of how I did.

As for that, I thought I could do well, but I in fact didn't and ended up in sixth place. I won my first round with a sweep against one of the more masterful participants, but then ended up getting shut out in the next two rounds by two very masterful ones. Had I just gotten one more win, I might have been able to bump up my ranking slightly.

There were no "close calls" this time - and if there were, I averted them with a win - which is a good thing. The bad news is that pretty much all of the losses were by a sizable margin. This leads myself to question either my team-making abilities or my prediction abilities, or both, though considering prior tournaments, this isn't exactly a new problem.

Silph Arena's current season has just begun, and there will be more themed cups to come. Whether my raid group will deal with them, given a year's absence of sorts, is another matter, but if my group does, then I'll certainly deal with them also. There's time to consider how well I can make things work out as this season works out for me and the others.

One year ago: The Day-Night Cycle and Pokémon Games

Two years ago: Cosplay: KAI ESports Exhibition

Three years ago: Pokémon and Adventure Games

Four years ago: Respect for Ikue Ootani

Thrills and Spills in Quick Unite Battles

I have to say that I'm enjoying many things about Pokémon Unite despite still not being very proficient in it, which may or may not be the case as I proceed. As much as I enjoy it, presently I'm often tied up with other affairs that make playing a Standard or Ranked match infeasible (especially when no other friends are present to play with and communicate, which becomes something particularly vital for Ranked matches). Fortunately, the game provides a way out of this through the half-length Quick matches, which also happen to provide their share of what I call "thrills and spills".

Quick matches occur in one of three battle arenas that change out each day, and one of those arenas is called Mer Stadium. Functionally, it can be described as a simplified version of the standard Remoat Stadium, and much of the struggles in the latter do occur in the former, only with four Pokémon a side instead of five. There is the same "thrill" of being able to push back opponents by eliminating their goal zones and the same "spill" when they do likewise. The individual parts of the arena, including "key boss" Zapdos appearances as an example, also happen in quicker succession. It may or may not be able to serve as a "live practice" for the standard arena, but at least some of the processes are emulated.

Shivre City is another one of those arenas, and as can be discerned, it is set in city streets that somewhat resemble Ryme City of Detective Pikachu fame. Here, there are only two goal zones - one for each team - and predictably, much of the action takes place there as one team attempts to score and the other attempts to block. Defeating the "key boss" of Avalugg becomes make-or-break (and "thrill and spill") for matches in this arena, as the team that didn't will be blocked in essence. Also of unique concern are exploding Electrode when they are not quickly dealt with after being attacked; some points may be gained, but the cost of being affected by the explosion may be severe. It is thus a city of total mayhem.

The third arena is Auroma Park, based on the locale where Pokémon are commonly found. Unlike the other two above, a team consists of three Pokémon a side for this arena. The two goal zones here are special in that once any Pokémon scores, a double scoring bonus for other Pokémon is activated, making scoring imperative and necessitating an action plan. Here, there is also a dizzying array of conveyor belts that can quickly whisk Pokémon to different areas, whether intended or not; the "key boss" of Regigigas is enclosed within one circular loop. Other peculiarities include the high-scoring but teleporting Abra, and dynamic duos of Dewpider and Araquanid. Cooperation is in essence totally required for this arena.

With these "thrills and spills", there are certain dynamics that Quick matches bring to the table in order to be able to experience the former while avoiding the latter. I've gone through those dynamics and consequently have experienced those "thrills and spills", and others are likely to do so as well once they take up Quick matches in Pokémon Unite. They might not measure up to the conformity of Standard or Ranked matches, but I would consider them unique and noteworthy challenges to take up, as I have done, when there is only a bit of spare time and before returning to Standard or Ranked fare.

One year ago: The Deprecation of HMs

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 10/12/2019

Three years ago: Finding and Re-Finding Players

Four years ago: The (De Facto) Series Mascot

Lunar Mysteries of the New Season

Well, this is quickly becoming overdue and will be even more so soon, so I've got to get right on it and cover it, moreover with it being relevant soon enough. In the writeup for the tournament in which I participated with my raid group with a "spooky" format, I noted that the Silph Arena was in between seasons at that time; as of this month, the new season has started, and as usual, there are monthly themed cups with different meta restrictions, with the first one being this month.

The themed cup this month is called "Lunar", in contrast to last year's Sunrise opener and in keeping with the "spooky" aura of this month. For this, the allowed types are Grass, Electric, Bug, Ghost, and Dark, with dual-types of at least one of these types permitted as is the norm. As for the ban list, that contains Mega Evolution (as usual) and Shadow Pokémon (for a change) as well as the species of Alolan Marowak, Pachirisu, Scrafty, Stunfisk, and Vullaby. Altogether, there are 259 species forms - including Legendary and Mythical Pokémon - available for use in this themed cup.

Considering the main five types, it would be expected that teams and the meta would have to shift across the Grass-Bug and Ghost-Dark dualities, plus Electric types as a "transfer". That is pretty much what happens, with key species being Mandibuzz, Heracross, Galvantula, Alolan Graveler, and Froslass, among others. Notably, the ones mentioned above are dual-types that have potential to take care of practically each other and a few isolated threats. A good team of 6 Pokémon as is required by the Silph Arena ought to contain some of these and/or alternatives that can also power through.

In fact, as explained in the development notes for the themed cup, the selection of types is intended to break up and even out a few triangular relationships, particularly involving the Bug, Ghost, and Dark types, with Grass and Electric as neutrals. Each of the banned species also comes with a rationale, mostly to avoid them dominating as attackers and/or defenders. The ban on Shadow forms is also to provide a "warm welcome" to newcomers given the current circumstances, in addition to preventing dominances also caused by their naturally superior nature against normal forms.

After the break between seasons, the Silph Arena has started up again, and this time the themed cup is both welcoming to get Trainers to jump in and haunting to suit the current month's aura with its selection of restrictions. It almost has an aura of "mystery" in that manner - as well as for the progression of the current season of Silph Arena - but the "mystery" should be able to be solved with a good amount of prior planning, while the mysteries of this season solve themselves.

One year ago: Making (Personal) Breakthroughs in the Go Battle League

Two years ago: Shuffle Secrets

Three years ago: Pokémon Game Journals

Four years ago: All That He Wants... (Is Another Victory)

The Music of Unite

Pokémon Unite has become a hot Pokémon game recently as the foray of the franchise into the game genre of MOBA. Games of this genre tend to be fast-paced, intense, and heroic in some ways, and this applies equally to the music used in them. The same fortunately also goes for Unite, and it has its own musical suite for all situations in the game, indeed with all of the above qualities that make it just as impressive as the game itself.

Shota Kageyama is the composer of this entire suite, and that's just a small feat. Shota also worked on music for many of the main series games after the fourth generation and even Pokémon Masters, one of the "next-door" games to Unite. Such a track record is an excellent one as far as games in the Pokémon franchise are concerned, and that becomes evident in what Shota has composed for Unite.

All the battle arenas have their own dedicated music, including for when a match enters what is called the "Final Stretch". The regular music for the arenas is stimulating, but when the "Final Stretch" happens, the music becomes more intense and dramatic. In general, the music can be described as "symphonic rock", with some areas more of either the former (Remoat Stadium) or the latter (Mer Stadium).

The same is also true for the music for non-battle parts of the game. The main menu music is a symphonic wonder, while the Pokémon selection music is a valiant rock piece that neatly ties to the pre-battle loading screen, which is 16 seconds of intense rock looped over for listening pleasure. The post-battle music still has a rock feel but subdued, and the shop music has a  totally subdued lounge flavor.

My personal favorite is the main theme music, which plays after the game fully loads and before one taps "Start" to play, and also when one becomes acquainted with the game for the first time. Some have noted similarities of the music in the game to music in other games, not the least of which is the aforementioned main theme, which evokes a certain "windy park" on platforms, so to speak. 

I've stated it previously, but I cannot state it enough, especially for modern electronic games: music makes the game. In the case of games of the MOBA genre, the music has to be able to complement their intensely action-packed nature. The music for Pokémon Unite is very much able to do just that with its symphonies and rock melodies, befitting a heroic and fast-paced entry into a new game front for Pokémon. 

One year ago: How Simple Is Pokémon Really?

Two years ago: Illusions of Success?

Three years ago: People-Adventure or Pokémon-Adventure?

Four years ago: Kanto Starter Keychains

Pokémon Go Community Day, 10/9/2021

October is typically a spooky month for all things concerned, including in Pokémon Go, though there will be more on this later. Yet it also doesn't hurt to try to start early (and I mean really early - also more on this soon), which would be with today's edition of Community Day. By the cue word above - spooky - it becomes clear that the edition for this month has to feature a Ghost-type Pokémon, and it does, thereby making it very appropriate for this month.

So, the featured Pokémon of the month is Duskull, a Ghost-type Pokémon of the third generation that evolves twice, eventually to Dusknoir of the fourth generation. Duskull already has its Shiny form, but it has been quite rare, and this edition is thus also to make that less of a case. For Dusknoir in this edition, it gets the Charged Move of Shadow Ball, which some have noted to be a slightly poor choice with Shadow Claw preferred, but at least it still works somehow. The bonus for this month's edition is tripled Stardust from captures, which also works out for those who are always hungry for it and need as much as one can get.

As is the current norm, there is the option for using extended Lure Modules or Incense within the timeframe from 11 AM to 5 PM local time to increase appearances. There is also the additional paid Special Research, which this time is titled "Nothin' Dull About Duskull", covering its spooky oddities. Yet as it takes Sinnoh Stones to evolve Dusclops to Dusknoir, four of them are provided through an additional Timed Research if one lacked the items. The rest of this edition of Community Day is regardless standard according to the current situation.

Earlier today, I thought that it would be possible to have Community Day in the same manner as last time, but that was quickly proven otherwise when no one could confirm to do so and I met only one person on the way to check that it was the case. However, two friends of mine - one I'm frequently in contact with and another that I had never met in person before - decided to get together and invited me. It became a "mini" Community Day in some ways, which resulted in more than 15 Shiny Duskull for me and 5 evolved Dusknoir with various characteristics and different purposes. The camaraderie was a bonus in itself.

An additional side note about this Community Day is that it was divulged early on, nearly a week and a half before the previous Community Day event took place. It was surprising, considering that most times the reveal for the forthcoming edition takes place either just before or some time after; this is obviously the "really early" aspect that I had previously mentioned. As of now, there is no word on the edition for next month, so this may be construed to have been a one-off thing.

I've been spooked today with all the happenings for this Community Day, as well as with the early announcement along with others, so it may be said that the Community Day has fulfilled its purpose of early spookiness. This month has only partially passed by, and there's a certainty of more spookiness to come. Whatever that may be, at least this Community Day might have just shed the light... or unleashed the shadows.

One year ago: On the Buying and Selling of Gameplay Elements

Two years ago: Hunting for Physical References

Three years ago: What Pokémon Eat

Four years ago: Pokémon Jigsaw Puzzle

Record-Keeping in Pokémon Games

What is always useful is if a game were to provide one or more features to keep track of what has happened in the game. The feature is usually in the form of a list of those happenings and at what time and date they occurred, plus all other significant information related to those happenings if the need arises. This is what I call the "record-keeping" feature, and as it turns out, certain Pokémon games are no stranger to this feature; it becomes useful to discuss and detail about the forms and realizations of this feature.

I got the inspiration to write this post due to having used one of these features on a currently popular Pokémon game, and that would be Pokémon Unite. It has a "Battle Record" feature that is accessed (on mobile) by going into Trainer Info and tapping it; it then shows the list of battles that have taken place along with certain statistics, and tapping on a battle shows detailed information for that battle, the same as what is shown at the end. I had to use the feature to remind a friend about a battle we both took part in, and it was helpful for that purpose. Of course, it should also be very useful for those who are very analytic about this kind of game.

On another popular Pokémon game, Pokémon Go, record-keeping is established through the Journal, which is accessed through the Trainer profile and keeps track of adventure actions by the Trainer, and Notifications, which is accessed through the News feature and keeps track of external actions indicated by messages on the top of the screen. Both of these note the actions as well as their dates and times, and used to be together until separated. They're rudimentary, but then so are the actions and not much more detail is needed other than what is necessary.

Some of the older main series games also kept a "journal" of sorts of actions from the past few days since the games were played, which is then shown upon loading a save file. This is (or was) useful for those who do not play the games frequently or sometimes spend extended time away from them to do other things or play other games. It's a bit of a shame that this feature wasn't retained in newer games afterwards, but at least the feature worked well in the time that it lasted. 

No matter how complex the games are, a certain amount of record-keeping seems welcome and necessary in order to keep the action going, particularly in the Pokémon games that were mentioned above. The information that they keep track of has the potential to be useful not just for tracking things of past plays but also tracking the path of future plays, becoming more than merely records on lists for whichever game they may be.

One year ago: Countermeasures for Pokémon Go: Taking Stands, Taking Chances

Two years ago: Someone Else's Points

Three years ago: A Poké Ball Keychain

Four years ago: Cosplay: Kisetsu no Matsuri