TCGP: Welcoming the Shining Revelry

All right, so the Trading Card Game Pocket game has just added a boatload of new features and aspects, so it seems apt to take a few posts to discuss about them. The first aspect is a new Themed Booster Pack, which only seems like it wasn't too long ago that one was added, and yet now there is another. Its composition can be loosely described as a "parade" of sorts with all sorts of novelties that haven't been present in the game until now... and thus its title of "Shining Revelry" fits the bill.

By its title, it would suggest that there are Pokémon of the Shiny sort, and there are. A number of Pokémon in this Themed Booster Pack have Shiny alternates at the tail end of the card selection, and they're well-known Pokémon from the past to the present. And like Shiny Pokémon in other games, one may really have to press one's luck to get them. So gleamingly wonderful are these Pokémon that the rest of their novelties will have to be described separately, but at least they're here, importantly.

Speaking of the present, the Themed Booster Pack also contains a number of Pokémon from the ninth generation and the region of Paldea. One example is the entry of the Sprigatito family, continuing its extended popularity from certain circles of Pokémon fans. It also completes the circle of Trainers as Supporter cards with the presence of a certain superstar Trainer who is ready to bring "oomph" to Pokémon in just about every deck the Trainer appears in. So, this collection of cards will surely have its fans.

Or at least, that's the idea. Some of the new cards in this mini expansion - not of the ones mentioned above - also seem to be "rehashes" of cards from earlier expansions with regard to both technical and artistic aspects. They may or may not present themselves differently when played (the "technical" side), but the "rehash" aspect seems to be self-evident artistically in some ways. Regardless, they still remain a part of the mini expansion, and the least that one can do is to collect the cards for posterity.

Looking at the "parade" of cards that is this Themed Booster Pack, quite a few things are going on within it, all of which might appeal to certain segments of Pokémon fans from past to present. That's certainly what a "parade" is all about: a variety of different things congregating to make a wonderful run that's pleasant to see for as many people as possible. In that sense, the Shining Revelry lives up to its name as the latest spectacle in TCGP, and collecting makes one a part of the "parade".

One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day Classic, 4/7/2024

Two years ago: Quickies: Pokémon in My Countryside

Three years ago: The Silph Arena Factions Post-Season

Four years ago: Let's Go Meet New and Old Friends

Five years ago: Leaping off Ledges

Six years ago: Scat-Poké-Land

Seven years ago: Let's Go Research

Eight years ago: Caravansary

Graphic Improvements, Lagging in Gameplay?

While discussing about Pokémon Go as per the "loyalty program" matter the other day, I thought I'll discuss one more matter that's pertinent even before it and other Niantic games became a part of Scopely. That matter concerns the development of the game, which has seemingly prioritized a certain aspect while leaving another to languish. That leading aspect is the graphical quality of the game, while the lagging aspect is the gameplay itself. It might be a serious matter for some, especially with the way things have always proceeded with the game.

For the leading aspect, it is quite clear that the visuals of the game have massively improved from where they were just several years ago or even at the beginning of the game's life. The environments - overworld and Pokémon encounters - have become richly detailed, replete with visual effects from time to time. Even the Pokédex itself, a source of visual display, has recently been updated with plenty of new visual elements while maintaining much of the same functions. All this is well and good, though it does seem to leave the gameplay aspect lagging.

The gameplay is expectedly all the parts that involve battling of some kind, from PvE (Gyms and other virtual opponents) to PvP (human opponents). For these, issues are seemingly abound, including but not limited to lag (that is, sync failure) among parties, imbalance of moves and Pokémon, and initiating and ending battles in general. They come up from time to time - even yours truly have experienced some of them first-hand - and despite claims of them having been fixed, they just seem to keep coming up when Trainers least expect them.

Some due credit for the issues of today has to be given to the present complexity of Pokémon, which has obviously now pervaded Pokémon Go. Even so, that doesn't completely explain why battle issues persistently return in some form; what may constitute some of the remaining explanation may be as suggested above, being that efforts are diverted more to improving visuals rather than gameplay, even if it's not a total diversion. And then comes the "ultimate" diversion, as the sale of the entire games subdivision to be under another management.

Visuals are important for any game, Pokémon games notwithstanding and especially Pokémon Go in this case. Yet there's something to be said for gameplay that just works, which should apply to any and all Pokémon games, including the one under current scrutiny. For that, it seems that at least some extended effort may be needed to improve the gameplay at some point in order to get it up to the standards of both developers and players, and get that gameplay somewhat on par with the impressive visuals, already so for Pokémon standards.

One year ago: Changes to Slow Cooking in Café Remix

Two years ago: Few Abilities, Much Wisdom

Three years ago: One More Day, Time, and Chance

Four years ago: Quickies: Going to the Safari

Five years ago: PvP Charged Attack Technique

Six years ago: Friend Cascade

Seven years ago: Icons, Images, and Such

Eight years ago: These Foolish Things Remind Me of Pokémon

Reward Road: The Pokémon Go "Loyalty Program"

In the world of business, a loyalty program is a way of marketing things so that people who peruse the goods and services of a particular business will continue to use them, which most likely entails rewards being given to the people. As examples, stores might implement one to keep people shopping there, and travel services might implement one to keep people traveling with them. Conceivably, some games could also do the same to keep people playing them... and Pokémon Go has done just that.

Starting this month, an aspect called "Reward Road" has been implemented in and for the shops of the game (in-game and Web Store). Certain purchases in either shop will also give out points for the Reward Road, and as points are accumulated, the player becomes eligible to gain rewards in the form of specific items. Logging in to the Web Store then allows these items to be claimed for use in the game. Presently, the maximum number of points that can be collected is 3000 for 10 item levels in all.

The mention of "this month" above is because the current Reward Road is due to expire at the end of this month, and a new one is to take place at the start of the next month. As such, this aspect will be expected to become a monthly affair, geared to drive spending with each new month. Some of the rewards are not too shabby either (premium passes and incubators), so they'll certainly be a big incentive. Even the purchase of a certain ticket for a certain familiar event to be discussed later will give out points - yet another incentive.

With that, it's not hard to see how the "loyalty program" method plays out. Trainers keep buying items from the stores - at least, the ones with points attached to them - and they keep earning item rewards for the running month and then again when the month turns over and they continue the spending at that point. It can be considered one of the solutions for what Niantic had previously said is a lack or decline of revenue from the game, though its realization will need to be seen, as this month has only progressed for a few days.

Despite not being called as such, all the hallmarks of a "loyalty program" are present in the Reward Road as implemented by Pokémon Go. Item rewards that can be obtained by points that are themselves obtained by more and greater purchases of things in the in-game shop and Web Store present themselves as a way for Trainers to show their continued reliance on the game and all the things it can provide for that purpose. The translation of this to "loyalty" might just show it to be a well-deserved one for the game's fans.

One year ago: Let's Talk About Common Causes

Two years ago: The Language of Money

Three years ago: Keeping Things Down

Four years ago: Pretty Colors of the Prism

Five years ago: Writer Shortcuts

Six years ago: Pokémon Go Fest 2017 T-Shirt Replica

Seven years ago: 1000 Pokémon Species?

Eight years ago: That Way You've Got

Pokémon and (Other) Sports: New Inroads

Besides facilitating eSports of its own, Pokémon seems to have a way of its own in getting along with other (real, traditional, non-electronic) sports, as with the "Master the Ball" campaign a few years back for futsal. Recently, there have been a few developments with regard to Pokémon and other sports, and they can be considered "new inroads" for putting both of them together and having them get along for the enjoyment of their fans.

As part of the new jersey reveal some time ago for the Indonesian national soccer team, a promotion featuring Pokémon was also made with Pikachu in a video and Cinderace (obviously) at the press conference. It made sense since the country was - or technically, still is now - having a "Pokémon fever", and the two species that count for this purpose are insightfully and wisely used, bringing a whimsy to an otherwise serious matter.

Meanwhile, Pokémon also collaborated with Overtime Elite (abbreviated as OTE), which led to the creation of spiffy new basketball shirts, jackets, and pants that incorporate a slight bit of a psychedelic nod. Then, there is also a Poké Ball basketball, which looks very nice for basketball fans and Pokémon fans alike - almost as if it's ready to catch Pokémon while being bounced on the court. All the items are especially well-done and fitting of the collaboration.

Baseball didn't want to be left out either. Pokémon Go has collaborated with MLB in the U.S. to bring Pokémon to the ballpark in the form of thematic games with Pokémon Go. Special perks of PokéStops, Gyms, routes, avatar items, Timed Research, and raid battles for Pokémon with backgrounds, not to mention special merchandise, await Trainers who come to select MLB games. Obviously, a lot of ball throwing will be at hand in more ways than one.

All the developments above have Pokémon intertwined into them in various ways, from just a festive touch to integration on a deeper level. But more than that, they also have elements of novelty, from introduced ones to expansive ones that might almost make one rethink the role of Pokémon. But if that role is the getting along of people and Pokémon on and off the battle (sports) field, then some of these collaborations might do that effort some justice.

One year ago: The Profile of My Saved WhatsApp Pokémon Stickers

Two years ago: Silph Arena Web Site Quirks

Three years ago: All the Trainers Are Nemesis

Four years ago: Moody Friends, Moody Pokémon

Five years ago: The Primary Warning of Pokémon Go

Six years ago: Local EX Raid (and Nothing), 4/4/2019

Seven years ago: Gambling Not Permitted

Eight years ago: One Thing

A Unite's Dozen of Victories

Recently, Pokémon Unite revived an event framework that had been absent for some time, and it's one that is fascinating in both description and execution. As is the norm, the game has a hidden expectation for a player to become familiar, at least to a certain extent, with not just one Pokémon, but maybe five (given the number of roles) or a few more than that (given the multitude even in a single role). The event framework, meanwhile, proposes a different optimal number: 12 - a dozen, and a characteristic "Unite's dozen" at that.

The framework is called "Victory by the Dozen", because it requires the player to achieve 12 victories, regardless of play mode (except custom ones). As expected, these 12 victories need to be accomplished with Pokémon that are all different, and not just any of them; they must be all taken from a preselected list of 18 Pokémon, which are indicated on the event progression screen as well as Pokémon selection at the start of a battle. Rewards are given out for certain numbers of victories in addition to the ultimate number.

Because of the way the framework is, ideally a player would have to have most of the Unite Licenses available for the preselected Pokémon in order to get almost all of the victories in. For the remaining ones, they can elect to use 3-day or 7-day limited Unite Licenses to fill in the remaining victories, while trying out the Pokémon in question. Of course, there is nothing to stop players - aside from a lack of resources as such - from purchasing all the needed Unite Licenses, especially if they're collectors, and using them in battle.

Certainly, players will also have to pick and choose which Pokémon they want and need to win with. Given 18 of them on the table, there is a good chance many players already use some of them regularly or semi-regularly, so they're no-brainers. It's the ones that they don't use often that might present problems, but at least there are up to six of those that they can cast aside and avoid their problems. The "Unite's dozen" will then be the 12 they can muster victories of, with or without the possibility of extraneous ones.

Getting to know the Pokémon that one will use along with those of the other team members and the opposing team is a vital part of playing Pokémon Unite. While it won't measure up to a "Unite's dozen" in one battle, over many of them, it might just measure up as such, and the process of knowing becomes warranted. Such seems to be the case for the "Victory by the Dozen" event framework, which just might assist in that process and becomes timely when it is revived, as in the case of the present.

One year ago: Three Pokémon Visions in Dreams

Two years ago: Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Sac and The City (SA Factions)

Three years ago: The Type Is Wild

Four years ago: Cosplay: "How Are You, Communities?"

Five years ago: Subcultures and Specialties

Six years ago: Pokémon and eSports

Seven years ago: Fondness for Latias and Latios

Eight years ago: A Story of Love, A Story of Passion

My Prospects for Pokémon Virtual Console Games?

From time to time, I've mentioned Virtual Console, Nintendo's service offering for enabling play of games for legacy platforms on current consoles. The mention is certainly warranted because the service includes a good bunch of Pokémon games, from the main series and even beyond. In fact, a few have recently even been announced for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, affirming its utility and popularity. Even so, despite my interest, I haven't been dealing with this area to a great extent, and it seems I may have to explain and lay out my possible prospects in this area of games should I go on to deal with it.

Right now, I have a few regular Pokémon game affairs going on, so to fit in new game dealings is always a challenge, let alone to fit what I already deal with other life necessities - including ones that may affect the writing of posts such as this one. Therefore, for Virtual Console games of the Pokémon sort, I may want to look into games that I can deal with quickly and effectively. While older main series games likely cannot factor in because of this, as I've mentioned once, other useful games may fit in under these considerations.

One unfortunate barrier for Virtual Console dealings for many including me, however, is cost. On the older 3DS console, I still have to pay for the games to play them, while on the Switch and beyond, that is compounded by paying for a Nintendo Switch Online subscription for advanced services, of which Virtual Console is one. While the latter is also required for current VGC dealings in current main series games, I've let this go by the wayside, so any Virtual Console effort might have to go alongside VGC efforts for posterity.

The growing library of Virtual Console games, including Pokémon ones, still do seem to make it compelling for me to just jump in and play, if I were free of any and all restrictions. At that point, I would take my pick of any Pokémon game that is available... but I would still prioritize the ones I really, really want to play, and there are already a few such games on the lists, including ones slated for addition soon. Again, the keywords are "free of restrictions", so it would have to be a moment of utmost convenience to play the games.

It seems that my prospects for Pokémon games on the Virtual Console might be a bit blurry at the moment, and efforts to clarify that might not be able to be accomplished within the short term. Still, it looks like Virtual Console will be in it for the longer term, and that longer term may just make it viable for me to jump in at some point in the farther future. That would then mean a lot more Pokémon games at my disposal, with more aspects to deal with and discuss.

One year ago: Going through the 13s

Two years ago: Seeing Polkadots in the Silph Arena

Three years ago: Language Bridging Songs

Four years ago: Getting Collective and Connective with Pokémon

Five years ago: Quizzes and Knowledge

Six years ago: Going For New Competitions

Seven years ago: Artistic License

Eight years ago: I Found You, Black and White

April Fool's Day 2025: Balls for You and Me

Things are back to that one day a year where a few things go crazy, including some Pokémon things. That would be April Fool's Day, and already some realms of the world have their own shenanigans for this very day - including for Pokémon (and specifically Pokémon Go), but that's to be explained shortly. Now, a key part of the Pokémon experience is being able to capture Pokémon in special capture balls in the range from Poké Ball to Great Ball and beyond, so the concept of "balls" are inherently tied to Pokémon in this case. Of course, that's in part a formality derived from the main series games, and capture balls may or may not be needed in other cases. Yet the "ball" concept may still manifest itself in other ways.

Perhaps in close relation to the ubiquity of Poké Balls specifically, some Pokémon species have developed appearances that resemble that ball. Then, when they're interacted with - in both intended and unintended ways - expected and unexpected consequences may result. That may still be exceptional, though, and it is likely in the usual cases one will interact with them in good ways, or as in the older main series games, be able to find balls containing items in their place and not have to deal with them at all. The species and mannerism of getting items may be somewhat idealized, but they're still what they are for their worth.

In situations where the capture balls are not pertinent for their actual usage, it may still be nice to have a bit of whimsy with them - like having beach balls in their motif, as some anime episodes have demonstrated, or having figures that closely replicate the look and feel of the capture balls. Both are quite perfectly suited for real-life applications, although the latter is more admittedly so and the former could be considered a bigger whimsy of the Pokémon world itself, but if they can work out for fun, they'll work out nonetheless.

Me: What do you think?

Ash: Poké Balls or any kind of balls or fun!

Goh: Fun and functional. I recall you two demonstrating it last year.

Ash: Oh yeah! 

Me: Of course, that happened. (See below.) 

Ash: But then, Pikachu prefers being outside with me, so it doesn't really care for balls. Right?

Pikachu: Pika chu. ["Right you are."] 

Goh: What's the story on that?

Ash: It's kind of long - it might take a journey for some people to understand.

Me: And now's not the time for that.

Goh: Well, I gotcha.

Me: Anyway, I don't have anything special for Ash this time - I thought I'd just call you up to talk.

Ash: That's fine - hey, is that an Amoonguss over there?

Me: Looks like it. I'll go catch it real quick... What do you know - it's a perfect one.

Goh: Very nice!

Pikachu: Pika! ["Nice!"] 

Ash: Now you have a ball Pokémon you could really deal with.

Me: That's very true. It'll be fun trying to make it work somehow.

All things considered, there's a place for Pokémon balls somehow and somewhere for everyone that enjoys them. There will be ones that are functional for the capture of certain species, while certain species function to duplicate the look of the capture balls, and look-alikes of the balls will be abound in one form or another. It's a ball-filled life for those who fancy and deal with Pokémon, and there is just no substitute for that.

Happy April Fool's ...and have a ball (that is, fun).

One year ago: April Fool's Day 2024: Making Good (Excellent?) on Things

Two years ago: April Fool's Day 2023: For the Birds

Three years ago: April Fool's Day 2022: Life in Duplex

Four years ago: April Fool's Day 2021: Aipom Business

Five years ago: April Fool's Day 2020: Truth in a Post

Six years ago: April Fool's Day 2019: Objectivity and Subjectivity

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

Eight years ago: It's April Fool's Day!