Solidarity Making

In all my life, I've heard many terms - some good, some confusing, and some intriguing. The latest term that I've heard seems to be a mixture of all three. That term is "solidarity maker". This is a term that has rich and enigmatic meanings behind it. And of course, I wouldn't discuss it on this blog if I couldn't relate it with my adventures with Pokémon.

Let's start with the history and explanation of the term. This term was coined in 1962 by Herbert Feith, who used it to describe the characteristic of leaders that attempt to gain support through emotional connections and feelings. This is in contrast to "administrators", who gain support through technical proficiency - at least, this is how I understand this, as I'm not quite an expert in political science. Interestingly, I've researched the term, and it seems to apply to only really one context: Indonesia, as Feith had coined the term as part of his research on democracy in Indonesia; the term does not seem to apply outside that context. So it appears to be an English neologism about an Indonesian state of affairs. The goodness, confusion, and intrigue is now apparent.

As for the connection of this term to my Pokémon adventures, the application seems to be no different. I and some of my other fellows seem to have to be positioned to fulfill this role. During raids in Pokémon Go, for example, it seems that I have to attract those that raid separately, as if attempting to merge emotions and feelings. The national group of main series players seems to not be above and beyond this style of leadership... at least initially, until the more serious stuff needs to be carefully managed. This style of leadership seems to have a place, as does the other style, though this is still localized after all.

Though this term has a lot of political ideals behind it, there is a sense that this may also be needed beyond politics. For something as rich and broad as Pokémon, it may be necessary to get others involved through emotion as much as through technical aspects. Someone who is a "solidarity maker" seems to be suited to do this, and I seem to fit as such a person at certain times. As good, confusing, and intriguing this term seems to be, it may very well just work when tied to Pokémon.

One year ago: Reunions!

Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 8/30/2018

It's been another month, more or less, so it's time to recap some of the things that have gone on in Pokémon Go. And there has been quite a bit of fascinating events. A keyword of a couple of these events is "Johto", as they do indeed concern Pokémon that hail from this region, or in other words the second-generation Pokémon. Another keyword might be "social" as some parts of the events do concern the newly added interaction features in the game. These can be said to make up that fascination.

Earlier, an event involving the trading feature ran for a couple of weeks, so this satisfied the "social" keyword. During that time, trades were discounted by 25% from their normal Stardust costs, no matter the trade. All trades were also given an additional bonus of three Candies in addition to the ones earned on the basis of distance regarding where the Pokémon came from. Lastly, experience points gained from a trade that added a new PokéDex entry were tripled, making this particular Special Trade rather desirable. By my experience, this event was so attractive to members of my raid group that some even made plans for trading what to whom each day; I didn't, but at least I became a backup on a couple of occasions when someone's plan to trade fell through that day. Due to other things I had going on, I didn't thoroughly partake in the event, but it seems good enough that if it's ever repeated, I'd like to take further advantage of it.

Meanwhile, this month, Field Research became interesting again as its reward returned to a Legendary Pokémon, specifically the Electric beast Raikou, thus satisfying the "Johto" keyword. I appreciate this since I missed the moment when this Pokémon appeared as raid bosses, allowing me (and many others in the same boat) to have the chance to capture it. Along with Raikou, a bevy of quests related to Electric-type and second-generation Pokémon also appeared. This sweetened the deal for many players, but since I'm not a particularly aggressive research player, it was generally business as usual. I'm just glad that Raikou is the big deal.

Just a few days ago, an event had ended, and that event is the Johto Festival. The big thing was increased appearances of Pokémon from this region, but the biggest thing was the introduction of the Celebi Special Research for everyone else; the Special Research was first available for those attending the Go Fest event, but in a different format. This does not replace the Mew Research, and it is concurrent and permanent... at least until it is completed. What is notable is that certain tasks of this research require usage of the newly-introduced interaction features, such as friends and trading, and some tasks are "bottlenecks" that force Trainers to do things over consecutive days, which meant that it took over a week before any Trainer was finally able to capture Celebi. Meanwhile, there was a bit of drama over a weekend as Ho-Oh reappeared as a raid boss, in particular for capturing its Shiny form. Overall, this event satisfied both of the keywords above.

Perhaps the most important thing about the most recent events in Pokémon Go is relevance. The three events above fulfilled one or both of the keywords presented above, and by doing so, they've maintained relevance with them. They're both inherently important to the game as well as Pokémon in general, in a way. There is no doubt that this will continue over the next month and the rest of the year with the events to come. By then things surely will become as big as they are relevant.

One year ago: Stories That You Don't Know

Media Master

Here's a fun recently-discovered fact: according to one source, Pokémon is now the biggest-valued media franchise in the world, ahead of four others that have been around for (a lot) longer and even one other of Nintendo's own. The value is quite staggering too, at nearly 60 billion dollars, while the other five are separated only by about tens of billions of dollars. I find this quite fascinating and quite meaningful too, for both myself and everyone.

Since the first time I became attracted to Pokémon, I felt that it has a certain sense of popularity, and I'm even more certain about it today with this revelation. There's something attractive that compels me to spend some of the money I have in Pokémon things, whether by careful deliberation or impulsive action. I've even read a magazine article that indicated that the valuation of the franchise has existed since a long time ago, though perhaps not at the same level as today. I too feel like I've contributed to this by what I get from the franchise. To hear about this is thus hardly surprising but quite reassuring as well.

For everyone, we have to be glad that we've made Pokémon what it is today. This is the result of us investing our hard-earned money on something we really like. It means a lot of people can stand to do the same, and do it on a consistent and continuous manner. People wouldn't do this if they don't regard Pokémon with a high value, so the fact that this is so means that people place a high value on Pokémon in ways that go beyond numbers and money. Even so, that high value still translates into higher earnings for the franchise, and that's a good thing.

I'm glad that I've become attracted to Pokémon and see that it is indeed as valuable as it is popular. In all the two- plus decades that it has existed and I've been with it, it is amazing to see it on the top of the global financial ladder of franchises. It has always been popular through its existence, and this only affirms that this is in fact the case. If many people dream about becoming a Pokémon Master, today Pokémon itself has become a Media Master.

One year ago: Catching Up

PokéVerbalisms

A verbalism in one sense is a verbal expression, as the words used and their arrangement. In regard to Pokémon, this would mean verbalisms that are particular to and characteristic of the franchise. Any particular subject, field, or realm tends to have its own set of verbalisms, and quite possibly many of them. Pokémon too has its share of verbalisms, also to a great number. At the moment, though, I can point out three such verbalisms that are most popular and most relevant, at least to myself personally.

"It's Super Effective" - Anyone who has ever played Pokémon games know that some types are superior to others, and when Pokémon of those types inflict hits by moves to the less superior types, it's called a "super effective" hit. In the main series games, this is succinctly expressed as in this particular verbalism. Even the Pokémon Pixel Artwork sticker pack for LINE contains this verbalism in one of its stickers, exactly as a battle scene. What is important about this one is that this is probably one of the most well-known verbalisms in and out of Pokémon, having a general interpretation of "superiority or success over something". It becomes a particularly Pokémon way of saying that things happened as such.

"But Nothing Happened" - This verbalism can be considered the totally opposite counterpoint to the one above. Those who deal with Pokémon that know the move Splash will recognize this verbalism, because these are exactly the words that are incited after the move is executed, as the move does absolutely nothing. This can then be interpreted as "failure, being unsuccessful, not working", and it is likewise a Pokémon way of speaking about it. This too is immortalized in the same sticker pack as above, with the humble Magikarp as its symbol. As I play Magikarp Jump quite a bit nowadays, I am frequently reminded of this verbalism.

"Next Time... A New Beginning" - While this one is less well-known than the other two above, it is still quite tied to Pokémon, and more specifically the anime. These words replace "To Be Continued" upon the ending of a particular saga. It becomes a strong and poignant reminder that things have come to a close, and something new will open up and present itself. Hence this too becomes a verbalism that is quite intricately connected to Pokémon, as much as it is representative of endings and beginnings of life in general. This is something I have been thinking about quite recently.

The individual words that make up these verbalisms are nothing special. However, when structured as above, they are indeed special, because they become relevant to and invokes Pokémon. That's the power of many verbalisms like these, whether for Pokémon or otherwise. Personally, it amazes me that such expressions are both meaningful in their own ways and at the same time meaningful for involving Pokémon.

One year ago: After the Faraway Tournament

My Pokémon Groups on Facebook

Even with all its issues, Facebook is a good social network. Many of my friends are on it - old ones, new ones, and everyone in between. That includes many who also like Pokémon just as much as I do. With the use of the Groups feature, we can even keep things relevant and talk about specific details. Thus it would be expected that I'd be in certain groups related to Pokémon, and I am. There are a few that I am a part of.

One of those groups is a national group for the main series games, which is also managed by the same group of players I ally with. Here, news and latest information are posted about the games, including beneficial news about VGC battling. There are also occasional posts about questions on gameplay, surprise happenings, and Mystery Gift code giveaways. Every so often something interesting gets posted, so it becomes worthwhile to check things out. This is certainly something I can't do without.

Another group is a group for Pokémon Go. Since some players in the main series group also play the game, they manage the group too, but this tends to be a bit hands-off. The group has gotten quite a bit of activity as of late thanks to the new friend system and Community Day, but on the whole there doesn't seem to be any activity of real interest recently. This may change as old and new players get back into the game and start to enliven the group again.

Yet another group is a special group for Pokémon figure collectors. I was actually "scouted out" to join this group by someone who saw me with my Pokémon cosplay, so I joined by request. As it turns out, many of my fellow players are also in this group, so it doesn't feel too unfamiliar. As expected, information about all kinds of Pokémon figures are posted here, including periodic gatherings for local chapters, which was how I got the info about the first local gathering I attended. Through the buying and selling group feature, there are also posts on figure sales, which becomes advantageous for those seeking new figures or letting go of portions of their collection. I'm glad that I'm a part of this group too.

There are additionally two smaller Pokémon-related groups that I'm a part of. One is an alternate game group for Pokémon, but I'm practically an observer in the group. Another is a Pokémon cosplay group, though I'm relatively disconnected from the others in the group in terms of space. I still consider the connections valuable, though, and I seek to peruse them at a later time.

All these Pokémon groups show that the franchise is appreciated in different ways by different people, though many also share the same interests. I find them all very neat, as an expression of attachment to the franchise. Of course, social networks like Facebook are big, so I may just be able to find more people who are attached to Pokémon and all related things... as well as link up with them in groups as I happen upon them.

One year ago: In-Town vs. Out-of-Town Events

Figure Gathering, Again

On this Sunday, I had a bit of time to spare, so I decided to attend another gathering of figure collectors, which happens to be the same group that I met the last time. Since then, they've graciously accepted me as part of their extended connections, which allows me to partake in the gatherings when able. It just so happens that this time I was somewhat able, so that was what I did.

More and yet more figures.

This time, the gathering took place indoors at a local Japanese eatery, which also allowed us to sit on the floor from a height, and eat at low tables. More people also came to this one - 10 at its height, albeit only one more from the previous one. Naturally, this also meant that a more diversified array of figures were contributed for exhibition. I brought in four of mine: the two Pikachu figures from a convenience store, and the Pikachu and Slaking figures I got out of a draw of Poké Balls. They are either new enough or innovative enough, and most importantly able to be conveniently brought for the occasion. This also lent itself well for photography of the figures, which some of us did, taking advantage of the figures present.

I call this "a composition of four Pikachu".

As before, a game was in order, and someone came up with a good one: using a web site and service on the Internet, a quiz was created and administered to the people willing to participate in it. The quiz was mostly about Pokémon descriptions in the PokéDex, including their stated species identifier (as in Wailmer being the Ball Whale Pokémon), which I have to say that I only remember bits and pieces. Yet the results of the quiz show that most people also remember only bits and pieces too. The quiz also acted as the only giveaway of this gathering, and it was won by someone I made friends with from the previous gathering. I myself took third in the quiz, which isn't too shabby; perhaps I could have done slightly better.

The lucky soul received... this!

The gathering that occurred this time personally served as a kind of validation. I know that there are Pokémon fans in the right places if I know where to look, and I knew where and who to look for. To seek their company is a good thing, in the case that alternative gatherings with other people are infeasible. In this case, they like the figure aspect, which I do too, to a fair extent. I'm certain that as long as I collect the figures, I can still connect with them. Hopefully they can accept my paces and strides as well.

After a hard, good day.

I'm pleasantly amused to be part of this gathering. I'm taking back home an experience in more ways than one, and for a Pokémon fan like me, that means a lot of things. As always, the next one will be wait-and-see, but at least I'm inspired to see if I can conceive something to bring to the table (literally) next time. As long as it relates to figures and Pokémon, there should be no problem and a whole lot of fun.

One year ago: Cosplay: B-Bunkasai 2017 - Yume no Tobira

PokéMusicians

I've discussed how Pokémon Trainers may resemble or be likened to musicians, so I can't shift discussion topics without discussing the other side: how some Pokémon are actually musicians too, and not just resemble one. As far as musicians go, they're fairly rudimentary; they don't have much going for them, but what they do is more or less what musicians do.

Of these, the most famous has to be Jigglypuff, which is famous for the hypnotic melody that results from the use of the Sing move. If it weren't for its hypnotic qualities, this could indeed be an interesting melody to listen to, but as it stands, people and most Pokémon won't be able to listen to it without falling asleep, with the exception being Pokémon with the Insomnia and Soundproof abilities. All told, they might just enjoy it. As a side note, Jigglypuff is not the only Pokémon that can incite the Sing move; others can, but admittedly Jigglypuff is the one most associated with the move, and therefore the most representative example.

Some Pokémon appear to have a penchant for using certain musical instruments, and Ukulele Pichu is one of them. For those not in the know, Ukulele Pichu is the companion Pokémon to the protagonist in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. Ukulele Pichu possesses a blue-colored ukulele that is played when it is summoned by the protagonist to aid in the capture of certain Pokémon, in addition to providing an electric shock of a sufficient duration. The melody of the ukulele is short and simplistic, but it seems to be a wonderful one. Though its development in the game is limited, it might not be hard to surmise how its instrument skills can develop - with a possibly brighter sound. Yet it's still Pichu after all, which means that its development may be restricted in this form; it's still enjoyable regardless.

Other Pokémon appear to suggest that they might have musical capabilities. Chatot is one of them - its head in part looks like a quaver (eighth note), and if its appearance in the second Mystery Dungeon series of games is of any indication, it is that it has a rather sufficient musical capability, vocalizing its expressions, and helped by its songbird appearance. Another one is Meloetta in its Aria form. An aria is a musical piece with prominent vocals, so it's not hard to expect that it can measure up to the qualities of such pieces. Other Pokémon may not have the qualities that suggest they're musical, but they could indeed be so in certain circumstances.

Music seems to not be limited to the Trainers, the people who make Pokémon be all that they can be. Pokémon too have some roles to play in musical endeavors, even if these are not as complex as what people do. They might be simple, but they still have great effects, musical or otherwise. They are truly PokéMusicians in that regard.

One year ago: Wallpaper: Ash XY Tribute Style