Having Pokémon Friends Over for the Night

I recently had the privilege of being able to lend an overnight stay to one of my friends at my home when my friend really needed it. That friend of mine also happens to be a sizable Pokémon fan in some respects, whom I've also mentioned on this blog in various contexts - that's for the reader to figure out, as it is important but not the point. What is the point is that I'm no stranger to letting friends who I really can trust to be able to stay over if needed, moreover if they are Pokémon fans. And that makes for a good discussion regarding who they might be and what might we do in that time.

Most Pokémon fans play the main series games, and I have the potential of letting one of them stay. If they do, then we might play together to make progress on our adventures no matter where we might be. After assisting, we can then put our teams to face off against each other, which should result in a fun battle or two. If they happen to be VGC players as well, it is likely that we might adapt our battles and assistance toward whatever ruleset might be active at that time; on my end, things might be too meager for VGC, but it might still be helpful regardless. Though the core game is mostly single-player, there is no substitute for a human opponent in battle, and that might happen as my friend stays.

With the world of Pokémon games as today, it is conceivable that my friend would be playing a spinoff game such as the hugely popular Pokémon Go or the fledgling Pokémon Unite. For the latter, we may be able to engage in one or more matches of different types during the stay; for the former, short tours of neighborhood PokéStops and Gyms might be possible, as well as PvP bouts of different kinds depending on whim and necessity. If the game happens to be entirely different, things may still just be workable by playing the same game together. With my friend, any possibility might be open.

Of course, it is possible for my friend to play the TCG or not be too involved with the games (alternatively, only with collectibles). The latter case might prompt a few exchanges of collectibles if possible during the stay, while the former case might prompt a few test matches with certain decks, possibly if my friend brought more than one as I'm not always fully equipped to play the TCG. In both cases, the fun might be a little more strained than with other cases, but my friend and I should always be able to have some fun.

Currently, I'm not certain if and when that Pokémon friend of mine will be able to stay another night at my place, but I'm open for the possibility if my friend is also open. And since my friend is a respectable Pokémon fan, that means possibilities of playing certain Pokémon games or initiating certain exchanges while my friend stays the night. As for what those possibilities might be, it will have to wait until the perfect opportunity for my friend to come and stay over. The same goes for all my other friends who are Pokémon fans and desire or need to stay over, at which point certain Pokémon things might just happen.

One year ago: I'm Gonna "GOTCHA!" Good

Two years ago: The Singapore Pokémon Center

Three years ago: (Welcome Back to) Local EX Raid, 10/2/2018

Four years ago: Preparing for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

Everyone's MOBA?

A few years back, I discussed how the LGPE games are representative of RPGs that can be "played by everyone". This time, I'd like to take the "everyone" aspect and throw it around the discussion of another Pokémon game, which from the title of this post clearly refers to Pokémon Unite, which is now released on mobile platforms after a few months ago being released on the Switch. The discussion therefore centers on whether this game could be called the "MOBA for everyone".

From what others have said about the game and in light of a prior preview, it is a MOBA through and through. The evidence partially lies in each Pokémon having what are called "skill trees" by which they upgrade their moves, in similar way to characters in other similar games obtain better skills. Yet something that is characteristically different about this game is the scoring of accumulated points in specific zones, which has been compared to a game of basketball. The time limit of 10 minutes for a standard and ranked match - obviating that of the even shorter "quick" matches - has also been felt to be shorter than comparable games. Thus, on one hand, the MOBA concept is sufficiently present, but on the other hand, it has been changed up somewhat for greater appeal, moreover by incorporating Pokémon. In covering these bases, the "MOBA for everyone" idea seems to be somewhat realized.

Meanwhile, from my experiences and particularly those of several days ago, I've found the game somewhat appealing even if most of the action goes by in a flurry, which I tend to have a hard time with. I've also been able to attain the MVP status, even if only among players of comparable levels, which I thought would take a long time. There is still much to do, including to learn more advanced tricks and techniques as well as to familiarize myself with the aforementioned "skill trees" of the Pokémon I can currently play. Still, the experiences above show how accessible the game is even for those who are just starting out, and this in turn affirms the "MOBA for everyone" idea. It won't replace the main series of Pokémon games as something to always deal with, Pokémon Go as a convenient game on the go, and other Pokémon games, but it can be sufficiently dealt with each day, which is what I've done.

The fast pace and high complexity of many MOBA games admittedly might be something that keeps some away from these games. However, it seems that by maintaining some of the pace and complexity while throwing in the most valuable media franchise in the world, something that can be played by relative newcomers like me as well as valiant experts can be created. That pretty much describes the state of affairs of Pokémon Unite, deeming it sufficient to be indeed called the "MOBA for everyone".

One year ago: The Road Ahead: More Pokémon Game News

Two years ago: Renewing the Anime

Three years ago: I Wanna Be a Pokémon (_____)

Four years ago: Playhouses, Children, and Pokémon

Pokémon Shuffle Personal Feature Wishlist

By now, with there being no major updates (as "extra data" or otherwise), Pokémon Shuffle on the 3DS is likely about to meet its demise along with the online services of the 3DS itself. Shuffle is still a great game regardless of what may be about to happen. Even so, it could still be an even greater game if a few of its features were to be revamped. Based on my most recent plays, I've identified a few of those features as well as what could be (or have been) done to improve them.

The "area browser" and the next/previous area buttons are good for basic navigation purposes, but they can stand to be more integrated. Specifically, the next/previous buttons could have options to navigate to stages instead, with the most viable options being to stages that have not been cleared, had its Pokémon captured, or received an S rank. The latter two is notably included for reference in the "area browser", so they constitute logical upgrades for the buttons. Better yet, they could be somehow be integrated to provide all of these conveniently, even with an "advanced navigation" feature. All of these could be improvements regardless.

Every stage demands the selection of Pokémon, and the Pokémon selector allows to do just that, especially with the help of the search filter options. However, with the advent of the Raise Max Level and Mega Speedup enhancements, it would be conceivably beneficial to filter Pokémon according to the condition of these two enhancements. For example, it could be helpful to search for Pokémon that have not been fully enhanced in order to enhance them, or the ones that are fully enhanced to be selected for battle. The addition of these filters would help to find those specific Pokémon instead of having to check each of them one by one, as I've sometimes had to do.

While some people love the Mega Evolution music, it seems rather frenzied for others, as I've noted once; I've known a few people who think it's grating in the latter case - even I've mostly played with music off recently. Therefore, a potential future request is a way to disable the Mega Evolution music in favor of a different auditory indicator for Mega Evolution, for example a constant buzzing over the normal stage music, which would indicate that Mega Evolution is active without being over-the-top in doing so, possibly leading to annoyance or frustration in doing so. Of course, for those who enjoy the music without any ill effects of any kind, they can still do so; the option would be simply and wholly optional for certain people.

It's been a great ride for Pokémon Shuffle since its launch, and it may be disconcerting that it along with 3DS online services are likely about to end soon, based on the current state of things. Before that happens, it may be wise to try to implement, as above, just a few additional improvements to its features somehow in order to improve the quality of the game even as its lifetime nears its end. In that way, people like me may just be able to enjoy the game for quite a bit more before it "shuffles" to a demise.

One year ago: The State of Nominations, Part 6

Two years ago: Standing Pikachu Keychain

Three years ago: The Merits of Sleep

Four years ago: Elite Four: "Courses" vs. "Selections"

The State of Nominations, Part 12

There are things that I'm fond of and not so fond of when I'm nominating places to become PokéStops in Pokémon Go. I'll get to them shortly, but for now, as it has been two months since my last update on the matter, it is certainly time to bring it up again and see how I've progressed on it over that time. The things that I've mentioned above certainly apply in that progression, but so is the actual progression and how things have turned out since the last time.

That progression would be indicated by the hard numbers. Notably, across the board, the numbers of results have increased on all fronts. The total of approved nominations has increased to 64 from 61, which is wonderful. The total of superseded nominations has increased to 13 from 11, which is slightly regrettable but still works out somehow. The total of rejected nominations has increased to 29 from 27, which is very much regrettable. Currently, I have 9 nominations in progress, including 1 renomination, and they should have some potential to contribute, which will be seen next time.

One of the things that I'm fond of is when a nomination gets approved quickly, which happened with a recent nomination. The review process only took six days to approval, in comparison to other, more recent approvals, which took two or more months. Another thing is being able to go into an area with relatively sparse PokéStops and being able to spot places that definitely need to be nominated in order to not only add to the overworld map but also point out its existence. This last bit is not only important but also fun.

On the other hand, one thing I'm not fond of continues to be "wild" rejections, something that has persisted even from last year. This is when a nomination is rejected but the reason itself doesn't appear to be valid, and even now it still occurs, from clear pictures thought to be blurry and pictures that are deemed irrelevant when they are not. The solution seems to remain the same as before: to be persistent in nominating, at least when it is appropriate to do so in order to avoid a "wild" rejection.

In the times ahead, I may focus my nomination efforts to renominate places that deserve it, including considering ones that have been rejected twice; new places may also be need to be found to supplant rejected nominations. And of course, as above, I'm interested to go into places I've never been to and to spot places to nominate, which may then be nominated then and there or whenever I find it appropriate.,

It seems that whatever happens with nominations, including things that I'm fond of and not so fond of, one thing is clear: I'm fond of nominating new PokéStops and reporting or detailing on my progress for that. It partially reflects my progression in Pokémon Go and my sense of adventure to seek new places and make them known in the best way I can, just like this Trainer strives for the best with Pokémon.

One year ago: The Leek and Pokémon

Two years ago: Cosplay: Isekai

Three years ago: A Merchandise Dream

Four years ago: Unified Centers and Marts

Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 9/28/2021

This month and the next two months have been established as being part of the Pokémon Go season that is called the Season of Mischief, and Trainers ought to know by now who's responsible for all that - Hoopa. It would be expected that the events would have some correlation to the Mischief Pokémon, and they do - some albeit more distantly than others, but many of them do. Thus, the rollup this month is intended to explain that and a whole lot more related to that.

Being a Mythical Pokémon (though a minor one), Hoopa is expected to be begotten through a Special Research, and it is. Unlike other Special Research sets for other Mythical Pokémon, this one is being revealed gradually using the "episodic" framework that I described as an "evolution" of Special Research. Specifically, the Special Research set is being revealed by the events in this month and throughout the Season of Mischief, which is why it is being mentioned here. Hoopa itself in its Confined form can already be encountered on the second full page, but that is of course not the whole story; that will come later on as more of the set is gradually revealed.

After the initial reveal at the start of the season, the reveal continued with a dedicated one-day event on September 5 to mark the coming of the Mythical Pokémon, which is titled Hoopa's Arrival. Though dedicated, the event actually uses the Incense Day framework with alternating type hours (Psychic and Ghost/Dark) corresponding to the types of Hoopa. The event was made more enticing with a Collection Challenge, double transfer Candy, and helpful Field Research tasks with lots of Poké Balls as rewards. It was in many ways a fitting welcome for the Mischief Pokémon, as well as its species of kin that may have their own brand of mischief... which is then spectacularly followed.

True to one of its types, the reveal continued with the return of the Psychic Spectacular from September 8 to 13, with two of Hoopa's kins taking the stage: Inkay and Malamar, the Psychic-type Pokémon with affinities for turning over, literally. They are joined by other Pokémon of the Psychic type and appear in the wild, in raids, and as rewards for Field Research tasks; Inkay also appeared in photobombs once a day and new stickers were available. The event celebrated Pokémon of the type along with an "overturning" of its own with certain Pokémon, certainly with Hoopa itself included.

As an aside from the Hoopa-related events, Go Battle Night returned on September 18, only it wasn't for a night, but for an entire day; the event has become Go Battle Day as a result, with other particulars remaining the same. This change ought to have freed the constraints (that may lead to a "burnout" as I have experienced) of the event and made it more accessible to more Trainers, though they'll have to wait until November until they can get in on the event again, twice at that point.

Hoopa has a certain "style" to it, and style is definitely part of fashion; with that, Fashion Week returned from September 21 up to today, also revealing the next part of the Hoopa story. This edition also had a story all its own, with Furfrou debuting and taking the stage with its various trims, some available globally and others in certain locales with a new mechanism called Change Form. Certain Pokémon with fashionable outfits, including some from last time and with Shiny possibilities, also appeared in various means. Other lively parts of the event were a Special Research set for Meloetta for everyone, the return of NPC Trainers - in the same fashion as Pokémon Go Tour - this time known as "Fashion Challengers", a Timed Research set with stylish challenges, and stylish possibilities in the shop, all for a celebration of style with some mischief included.

The Season of Mischief will continue with certain events, as will the Special Research with Hoopa, which will also have its further parts revealed by then. Until that point, it is safe to sufficiently say that there has been a lot of mischief in this month, from both the Pokémon of concern and many other things as well. It's a lot for Trainers to deal with, but that much is to be expected when mischief is in play.

One year ago: The Future of LINE Pokémon Stickers

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 9/28/2019

Three years ago: A New Age of EX Raids

Four years ago: To Teach and To Delight

Road of 25th Anniversary: Two for the Show

In May, I noted how the big Pokémon anniversary of this year, its 25th, is like a "show" of sorts. This month seems to reaffirm that quite well with the happenings on the official anniversary web site. In particular, the happenings are linked to a factor of "two", and that leads to the descriptor above, in the title of this post. That's fascinating, and so are those specific happenings.

One of the elements with a factor of "two" is the featured region of the month, and thus it's not hard to guess that the featured region is Johto, the main region of the second-generation main series games. As the first expansion to the world of Pokémon, it represents a unique novelty, with new species, new types, and new mechanisms, many of which are now well-known and considered standard. I've shared my "dual" memories of this region, and it truly was like that in a sense. It could be construed that Trainers like me had a "second life" with this region, and that says something about its "two" factor.

Last month, the P25 Music program brought about the existence of two complementary EP editions, and that has remained. What's new this time is the selection of two and two (that is, four) more artists for the program, who are Louane, Lil Yachty, Tierra Whack, and Jax Jones. They join the previously revealed lineup of artists for the compilation that will be due out soon. With the range of artists that have been revealed, there seems to be a good selection of big names and not-so-big names, but obviously they remain important for the entire program, and there's no two ways about that, except maybe with the two EPs.

A snack that many will recognize as having two sides is the Oreo sandwich cookie, and after having collaborated to decorate the packaging for their mini versions, now Pokémon appear on the cookies themselves. 16 species appear embossed on the chocolate wafer of the sandwich cookies for a limited time instead of the traditional cookie markings. This is very unique indeed, and fans may be torn in two whether to collect the cookie markings or to eat the cookies when presented with them - particularly after the specific method of twisting them in two to do so. It's double the fun and double the enigma.

Presently, there is also another online anime miniseries called Pokémon: Evolutions, and now it is up to its second episode. The miniseries is more than just that, however, as its core premise is to show facets of the story of the regions and how the particular characters of those regions measure up - in a way, "evolve" - to meet the challenge. Naturally, I won't go about it here and will do so in another (that is, "secondary") post just like I did with Twilight Wings. It's made to be a great miniseries, and it needs that "secondary" post to quantify that greatness, and by that time, there will be more than just two episodes.

Twin happenings are rather abound at this point for the big 25th anniversary of Pokémon. Yet, the factor of "two" has always been fundamentally important to Pokémon, so even with the twosome quantity, there is always a certain quality to expect. And in the midst of two anniversaries - this year's big one and the next year's - the "show" that Pokémon is putting on is still incredible even now.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 9/27/2020

Two years ago: 1000 Posts!!!

Three years ago: Meet Meltan

Four years ago: Pokémon Stuff at a Neighborhood Store

The Challenge of Uniting Myself

Four days ago, Pokémon Unite was released on mobile platforms, having already been released for the Switch a couple of months beforehand. It's a very new Pokémon game that is unlike other Pokémon games but very much like popular mobile games of the present. A new player will likely face some challenges in starting to play this rather new game, and that would include me, if I were to play... and the matter of fact is that is what happened (or is happening presently) as I've started playing.

Being that I don't have a Switch, I've started playing with the recently released mobile version. I've had to clear out a bit of space to do so, and it seems fine for now. The plan is that once I get a Switch, I will transition my play over to the console, but keep the mobile version in case friends wish to get together and play and all I have is my phone. If the circumstances work out somehow, I may be able to keep Unite on both my phone and a Switch, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The important thing now is to play.

After going through the tutorials, I hopped in for a number of games with others. Sometimes things worked out and victory was attained, while other times they didn't and a loss resulted. This game and kind of games are heavily action-oriented, and if one doesn't act, one stands to lose; therein lies the challenge of "uniting myself". It's very different from Pokémon Go and the main series games, and it presents a challenge similar to the time I first started to play the latter. Unite is billed as "simple to learn, difficult to master", and that is true to some extent; what seems to be also true for me personally is a slight difficulty in maneuvering and attacking. In my case, I found myself sometimes not going where I'd like to go or not attacking when I meant to. At present, I chalk this up to the difficulty of using my phone for this purpose, and the situation may be helped once I'm on the Switch. Regardless, on my phone, I still have to deal with this directly as well as current others for the game; a review of the tutorials may be in order before I proceed anyhow.

I'm rather certain that Pokémon Unite is an exciting game, on par with other games of its kind but with something very recognizable. I'm also rather certain that the challenge above may not be unique to me, but it is regardless the challenge that I face - that of "uniting myself". The battles still rage on in the arenas of the game, and there are still lots of challenges to face in them. Yet the challenge of "uniting myself" in familiarity and progression remains the foremost challenge in diving into the workings of the Pokémon Unite action.

One year ago: More and Yet More LINE Pokémon Stickers

Two years ago: The Name of the Game

Three years ago: The First English Anime Opening Theme

Four years ago: Strong Opinions