Labyrinthine Expectations

In the structure of things for SLA as I've discussed last month, there was no monthly themed cup in favor of a bit of a break and a different kind of action. But of course, the season has to continue, and it does so with a themed cup this month. Now, PvP battling in Pokémon Go is as simple as it is complicated, and that may perhaps be the spirit that the SLA themed cup for this month tries to capture. It's almost as if one is present in a labyrinth, and one can come out on top if one is able to find the way out. Appropriately enough, this month's themed cup is named "Labyrinth".

For this month, the restrictions are somewhat different. As always, the themed cup necessitates battling in the Great League, which should go without saying at this point; Mega Evolution is also absent thusly. There are theme restrictions, but they are not of specific types for a team, rather in a team: a team can have only one Pokémon for a specific type - for example, if one has Venusaur on a team, no other Pokémon may have either the Grass or Poison type. There is also a multitude of species restrictions or "bans", which includes among others Azumarill, G-Stunfisk, and Machamp, and the full listing (16 species total) can be seen on the page for the themed cup. Other than that, all viable species remain fair game.

This themed cup bears a certain resemblance to the Fusion Cup of last year, except that dual types are not absolutely required, and they may in fact make things harder to build a team as they may block off useful slots for other Pokémon of their type. Barring the team type restrictions and the species "bans", it can also be considered a slightly modified open Great League format. Because of the way this theme is structured, it prevents Pokémon popular across different themes as "meta" from coming out, as well as teams made up of an assortment of species with one type being the same (monotype), though the latter may be of least concern as monotype teams in practice rarely make a well-formed team.

Even so, it is possible for some species to make it well in this themed cup. A-Marowak is not on the "ban" list and can continue to stand up to Ice types and deal with "titans" of the Steel type. The latter may provide backup against the former and certain Pokémon in the Dark realm. the "fighter" realm is also another backup against both as well as Ground types. Ice types themselves can deal with the Dark realm and Ground types, and Ground types go back to A-Marowak. These species and more may be selected through a selector chart to make teambuilding easy, but on the whole, many species from these realms are likely going to become top picks of many Trainers.

After a break from the action last month, it's time for Trainers to get back into the SLA action, and it couldn't be better than something simple enough to follow and yet complicated enough to have its own dynamics. Without some of the backbones of earlier themes, this could be construed as a "proving ground" for both Trainers and Pokémon, old and new alike. The elements have been placed in the labyrinth, and they all have to find their way out. Once that is done, it may very well be that the actions to be made in this "labyrinth" and the next will be completely different.

One year ago: Editing PokéStops

Two years ago: Under a Truck

Three years ago: Formality of Ownership

Four years ago: The Sweetest Days - Ash and Pikachu

Pass Challenges with Pokémon

Some social media challenges are creative and worth to be followed, unlike those that are silly and potentially dangerous. One of the former is a challenge (or rather, a group of them) called a "pass challenge", where people take videos of them passing an object from one side to another as if they're actually giving the object from one person to another, all the while doing something with them. Thus interred, it can become a very creative challenge. In the hands of a few capably creative people of different fandoms, it can be even more so, and because this topic is being discussed on a Pokémon blog, the direction also becomes understandable.

The original incarnation of the challenge, as found on specific social media, is a "pass the brush" challenge involving a makeup brush to highlight one's face. In its evolution, the challenge may have cosplay costumes incorporated to show a transformation of the person. True to that, one of the fandoms that I relate to created a "pass the book" challenge some time ago with a specific transformation sequence for those involved in it to become certain characters. Back to incarnations that less involve cosplay, a "pass the cake" challenge may be predictably incurred for special occasions such as anniversaries or commemorations, or else it could be something else highly related to them. The possibilities are naturally endless, and they could be really simple or really complex.

The same would naturally be true for Pokémon possibilities. Of these, there are a few intriguing ones. A very obvious and well-suited one would be a "pass the ball" challenge, where one receives a Poké Ball, does something, then passes it to the next person; that something done could involve cosplay as expected above, or it could reveal other Pokémon things. Some challenges that are suited for the respective owners would be a "pass the doll" or "pass the figure" challenge; these would naturally demand something specific to be owned, and that may be something that is difficult for certain people, especially in these times. It can be seen that these may not be ideal choices even for groups of fans that have them, and a better option would be to tailor one of the more general ideas above with inclusion of Pokémon elements. All the possibilities would certainly be attractive regardless.

The "pass challenge" is, by its design, something very creative for both its creators and its viewers. It is also evidently very much adaptable with different things and scenarios as well as different fandoms. Predictably, Pokémon is included, and even this challenge can have its specific twists for that fandom. Keeping that in mind, there is much to explore for this challenge and many ways to make the challenge relevant across all kinds of situations, for which it is certain that Pokémon fans would be interested to take part in.

One year ago: Total Experience

Two years ago: Legends Among People

Three years ago: Pictures Worth Thousands of Words

Four years ago: Pokkén Sentiments

In Search of Friends or Accounts

One of the most currently demanding things about Pokémon Go is the management of friends through its system. It can be a fun yet troublesome thing to deal with. Apparently, there is yet another troublesome issue: that of Trainers who are searching for "accounts" instead of "friends" through the system. This issue is one that I've had to deal with at times to the point of affecting my friendship relationships. Because of its gravity of associated problems, I've chosen to discuss this issue in a post of its own.

Perhaps it is best to start with what I consider the "bleak" side of things, that of Trainers looking for "accounts". Their goal is to have friends not for the sake of being "friends" (trade partner, raid helper, Gift giver, and so on). One of their likely goals is to gain XP through the system up until the Best Friend level, and sooner or later after that has occurred, the bond is then broken. Another possibility is that they not only manage their own accounts, but also help out others in certain ways, and when that happens, accounts of other people may be relegated to only be bonded with others for the sole purpose of assistance.

I've had both of the above cases happen. For the former, it has happened at least twice with Best Friends who no longer feel they have any use for me, and I was cut off without warning in both cases, and I still feel that I was robbed of their assistance even today; for the latter, it has happened with a Best Friend who likely feels that I'm better off bonded with another Best Friend who is sometimes assisted by that other friend, leaving me helpless if my Best Friend isn't being assisted. In all cases, it's clear they were considering all other aspects than the friendship bond, and therefore they're looking for "accounts".

As for Trainers looking for "friends", that becomes rather obvious. They're willing to do all the things that friends can do as above, to go through the system of friend progressions no matter how and what, and after reaching the Best Friend level, to stay as such to still be able to do everything. And if they for some reason are unable to continue at any of these points, then it would be possible to amicably separate with understanding. All of these would be something difficult to do, but they are all still quite possible regardless of distance and communication.

This is, in fact, what I've been able to do with one of my Best Friends ever since the beginning with that friend, and it has been quite worthwhile. While I haven't had a case of amicable separation as the above, I've had a few cases of forced separation due to certain circumstances, though I tried to make them as amicable as possible. In my particular case, given my side of things and others' side of things, it could be seemingly difficult, but I am sure that everything can work out well. For all the Best Friends (or any friend) that I have, I want things to continue to work out.

The friendship system of Pokémon Go can have its demanding moments, and the issue I've illustrated above is particularly demanding based on the severity of the issue. I personally would prefer that most Trainers of Pokémon Go to be searching for "friends" like me, but this isn't a perfect world, and there will always be those that are searching for "accounts". In that regard, there will always be problems as the progressions of friendship continue, but hopefully just as many ways to resolve them.

One year ago: Let's Go Fight to the Top

Two years ago: Wrap the Light Fantastic

Three years ago: The Workings of Raids

Four years ago: Poké Ball Food

Zorua in Mareep Clothing

Lately, there have been a few real happenings that appear as if they were orchestrated from the inside out. It is as if the instigators for those happenings were "wolves in sheep's clothing", if described with an idiomatic expression from the real world. Of course, I'm a Pokémon fan, so I tend to think of that in Pokémon terms as well, which in my mind then becomes "Zorua in Mareep clothing". But then, there seems to be more to say about those happenings and the thought process for this expression in general, so it would be wise to take a post in order to describe them all in both realistic and Pokémon terms.

For those real happenings, it may be considered that the instigators did not intend for them to happen the way they did, but what's done is done, and the instigators make themselves out to be like the idiomatic expression, or at least my Pokémon version of it. They might "just have been ordinary Mareep" in the first place. Still, there have been indications that prior to the happenings, they had developed mentalities that were far from anything that is well-meaning. Therefore the interpretation of the expression stands, and that they are in fact Zorua that had put themselves into the "clothing" of Mareep. Even with that, the idiomatic expression does lead to a few considerations when Pokémon considerations are included.

Those well-versed in Pokémon behaviors will know about the behaviors of the Zorua species family (with Zoroark), in that it has the capability of making itself appear to be other living things by transforming into their likenesses, as one episode and a feature film can attest. In that respect, Mareep is very much within the possibility of their realm of transformations. The transformation can also appear to be perfect for those oblivious, though the discovery of their transformations may be quick, for those who detect them. Their transforming behavior also technically doesn't represent them as "wearing" the clothing that is their transformations - rather, they are the clothing, or at the very least could be described as being one with it. It seems that the idiomatic expression could be a little off in this sense.

The real happenings that have happened remain regrettable well after their happenings and even when they have appeared to be resolved. There is no hiding the fact that the instigators as the primary actors may have been acting as the false likenesses they are, under a different guise. That, however, doesn't stop this Pokémon fan from attempting to analyze the happenings under a Pokémon context, as well as the Pokémon context itself. Both of them have their aura of fascinating intrigue and deceiving trickery.

One year ago: Reading About Pokémon Lore

Two years ago: The Magic of 25

Three years ago: Et Tu, Shuffle? (Thy Hath Bugs)

Four years ago: It's Been a Month...

Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/30/2021

Another one of the loose ends that I need to tie up before this month ends is the event rollup for Pokémon Go this month. Owing that it's the start of a new year and this year has a big Pokémon anniversary attached to it, it would be understandable if January happens to be a busy month for events, and it is (or was), additionally being quite celebratory. With that in mind, I decided to delay the rollup for as long as possible, and today is the best possible day that isn't the last day for that rollup. Henceforth is this month's rollup of Pokémon Go events.

To start off the year, there was a New Year's event within a span of four days. This event actually began on December 31 at 10 PM, and because of that, the bulk of the event couldn't possibly be in December and therefore it couldn't be a December event. Regardless, the event featured the appearance of a unique Slowpoke wearing "2020" glasses that if evolved to a Slowbro (and only to a Slowbro) would be had with "2021" glasses instead. The "2020" Slowpoke was available from Field Research and raids, while the "2021" Slowbro was only available in raids in addition to the evolution method as above. Other Pokémon that joined the fun were the Pikachu family with a New Year hat, other Pokémon with party hats (Raticate, Wobbuffet, Wurmple, and Eevee), and Wynaut. It was an odd kind of celebration in many ways, though much of the oddness could be said to have stemmed from the previous year.

Most of the events for this month were regular events, all of them making use of the newly introduced Collection Challenge framework, and they're all truly celebratory in nature as they pertained to specific regions of the Pokémon world. The first one, as introduced at that time, was the Unova Collection Challenge, and therefore, the associated event was the Unova Celebration event in the week following the New Year's event. Many of the region's Pokémon appeared in all the usual channels (wild, Research, raid, and Eggs), including the debut of a Genesect with a Burn Drive in raids. All the Pokémon in the Collection Challenge in fact could be captured in the wild, which perhaps made it a little easy. The next one would turn and roll a few heads.

As predicted, the regional celebrations went backwards in time, and next came the Sinnoh Celebration with its Collection Challenge. Remarkably, this was the first time a Collection Challenge forced Trainers to capture a specific form of Pokémon, in this case a Stunky and Snover that were required to be Shadow Pokémon. This made the challenge a little more difficult if one was not diligent. Then there was the Hoenn Celebration, and this time two of the Pokémon (Plusle and Minun) needed to be captured from Field Research and one (Bagon) needed to be raided until an accompanying event made them available in another way. Currently, there is the Johto Celebration, and while all the Pokémon can be captured in the wild, some are more likely to be obtained through Field Research. These celebrations continued the weekly method of the Unova Celebration, also with adding twists such as prior exclusive Community Day moves being available for some specific Pokémon. Evidently, they demanded more effort and attention.

Besides the "Celebration" events, there were a couple of one-day events that came back after a good absence. Incense Day made its return last Sunday, and it acted as the "transition" or "make-up" for the Hoenn Celebration above, as it featured Electric-type Pokémon for four hours and Dragon-type (to be) Pokémon for two hours, with special emphasis on the Mareep family. Meanwhile, Limited Research returned today for Sneasel, and it also helped with the progression for an extra Timed Research for the Johto Celebration event, which has particular emphasis on elements of Team Go Rocket. It is as if both were planned for their relationships to other events. Whether or not this is the case, both also should have provided a useful diversion from the main events.

The time in the world isn't quite right for celebration, at least of the extremely jubilatory kind. But for Pokémon, with a major anniversary coming up, it is clearly time to get into the action. The events for the month of January in Pokémon Go made the celebrations possible in just about every way: by region, by species, and even by oddities. That has to be amazing for the month and will likely be so for the upcoming big anniversary as well, for which the events are just the beginning.

One year ago: Bringing It Home

Two years ago: Three TCG Booster Packs

Three years ago: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Series 2 Figures

Four years ago: Always 21 - Memories of 21

Road to 25th Anniversary: One More Month

It's near the end of the month, and it's a good time to tie up a few loose ends. One of those is my run-up to the big 25th anniversary of Pokémon, for which the big day is coming up in just one more month, minus a couple of days. As it so happens, today is a personal anniversary of sorts with a lot of give and take, but that's beyond the point. The point is that there is one more month to go before the big Pokémon anniversary happens, and it's time to continue to run up to that.

One part of that is a preliminary video (in other words, a "trailer") for what's to come in later months. The video contains a Rube Goldberg-style contraption that contains many elements of Pokémon from the past 25 years, including game cartridges from the early years and even as recent as a PokéStop representation from Pokémon Go. The video ends with the 25th anniversary logo displayed as a neon sign along with the usual Pokémon logo... as well as a little something extra for what's to come. Fans of all ages are invited to take a look; I recommend it as well, and it might be possible to find something that struck one's fancy into appreciating Pokémon over this past quarter-century.

As for what's to come, there are some significant ones, thanks to more information in a special edition of the Pokémon e-mail newsletter. One of those is called "P25 Music", a collaboration of Pokémon with some popular artists, and one of them happens to be Katy Perry, also revealed thanks to the preliminary video above. The newsletter also confirmed the anniversary merchandise for the TCG as well as a special skateboard from none other than Bear Walker - this latter merchandise was also involved in a brief preorder goof, which partially indicates its demand with fans. The newsletter also indicates plenty of other celebrations for this very special anniversary, including of regions and more.

For those who want to independently seek information on what's happening, I also recommend checking out the special web site for the big occasion, which would be at 25.pokemon.com. Certainly, I will also be checking it out in order to update on the 25th anniversary happenings on this blog so I can provide my takes on them as well. And it is, in fact, where some of the links in the e-mail newsletter refer to, and that lends support for the site overall.

After waiting for some time - in my case, expectant for almost half a year and even more - the big day is almost here, with (a little less than) one month to go. If there is anything that I have expected since then, it's going to be big, and the celebrations above indicate no less than such. This 25th ("silver") anniversary is a real milestone after all, and real fans like me wouldn't want to miss it - and the patience will pay off real soon within the next month as the anniversary unfolds.

One year ago: Expecting the Contrary

Two years ago: Color Me (Shiny) Groudon

Three years ago: More Pokémon Hanging Things

Four years ago: Fire Power!

Prospects for My Pokémon Cosplay

Well, the current situation of the world is not about to subside anytime soon, and in fact it may be getting worse (again) in certain places. It also means that cosplay and especially my Pokémon cosplay is not about to move forward either. However, there are a few things that I can still discuss about the latter, considering the framework of this blog and my interests. Specifically, they regard what will or would take place when things do move forward once again. For these, there are various things to be considered.

When I discussed about measurements for cosplay costumes, there was in fact a hidden reason for the discussion. At that time, I was about to get measured for a certain piece of clothing for one of my existing costumes. So something is about to happen on that front, but I'll explain about that when it's ready. Still, what I've discussed indicates that I can still make improvements to parts of existing costumes that I do have, and they would be ready in time for when things resume. It would be well worth it regardless before undertaking any new projects, especially in these times.

The next matter is one that I sometimes get asked during these times. Would I go somewhere outside my local area for a theme event or convention if one somehow took place? The answer is no, and I wouldn't go until it's relatively safe to do so. There will certainly be a transition period for everything, and after that has occurred, then I can start to take my Pokémon cosplay where it has been again and possibly where it has never been for the first time. But all things will come in due time, especially if a local edition can tell the tale of safety.

In the later future, there may also be the possibility of Pokémon cosplay "commissions", but this may come with a footnote. Lately, there's also been talk that cosplay "commissions" may have to come with a separate "commission" for the character and the relevant parties to that, especially if it's a major one such as that which occurs in Japan, which also became the starting point for the issue. It seems that while the issue can be sidestepped for local "commissions", it may be another story for ones that cross many and different borders. This remains an area that I may need to be observant of.

The situation is still not quite right for cosplay, at least for some time ahead. That means there is very little that can be done to advance the progression of cosplay, including my Pokémon cosplay. Yet it has become apparent that a few things need to be considered once the wheels of cosplay are set into motion once again. It remains a specific interest of mine and especially with Pokémon in tow, and it would be great to get things going for it considering certain prospects, once the world gets going as well.

One year ago: Bear Walker Pokémon Skateboards

Two years ago: (Scripted and Connected) Local EX Raid, 1/28/2019

Three years ago: Cosplay: Japanese World 2018

Four years ago: The First-Generation Bicycle Theme