Pelipper's Carry-Ons

Pelipper has become somewhat of a bird Pokémon with a certain renown (I loath to say "legendary" since that really applies for other bird Pokémon of renown). The reason, of course, is its large beak, which like that of the pelicans of the real world is suited to contain and carry things. In fact, it is even too suitable, as it is rather oversized in contrast to its real basis, and odd things have ended up inside that beak, becoming its "carry-ons". A few of those "carry-ons" are notable, enough for them to be highlighted.

Those watching the current Pokémon anime season of Journeys will recognize that Team Rocket is currently assisted by a Pelipper that brings down a capsule machine from which Jessie and James draw Pokémon to battle with (by way of the call "Come on down!" as in the English dub). It's a sufficiently big machine, which does make one wonder how it could possibly fit; then again, their Pelipper is already somewhat big for its size, and by that, it can and should be reasonable to expect it to carry the machine and similar objects.

According to its Pokédex entry, Pelipper caries small or baby Pokémon and Eggs in its beak. While this "factoid" makes it apparent that these are common things that are carried by this bird Pokémon, it does make things fascinating. The primary consideration is that some Pokémon can actually become foodstuffs for other Pokémon, so for Pelipper to manage to carry them without ending up eating them is a feat - unless they really are destined for a meal of the species, for which their fates are sealed regardless.

Being that it is asked to carry different things in its beak, Pelipper appears to have to possess an innate sense of what it carries in its beak. It has to be able to differentiate between inedible important objects, like the machine above or even, say, mail as evident in the Mystery Dungeon games, and edible but-not-necessarily-so objects, like Pokémon (Eggs) as above or possibly other kinds of organic matter that are especially meant for other parties. Otherwise, the consequences can be dire in more ways than one.

It's intriguing how a vital part of the anatomy of a Pokémon, in this case the beak of Pelipper, can be a front for not only practical situations but also extraordinary ones. And all those  situations depend on the exact nature and contents of the "carry-ons" that Pelipper might be carrying inside its beak and who or what the "carry-ons" are destined for. They legitimize the nature of its rather flexible beak in different ways as well as its renown as a bird with an insanely large body part with possibly insane purposes.

One year ago: The Silph Arena Continentals Meta

Two years ago: Multiple Pokédexes in Pokémon Go?

Three years ago: Local Tailors and My Cosplay Costumes

Four years ago: A New 3DS Story: A Second Monster Home

Five years ago: Personalities

Return Back, Return Forward

Five years ago, a guy's fantasy became reality, in a form never seen since ages, as a return to the popular Pokémon mobile installment of Pokémon Go. (That sounds oddly familiar, for those into food shows on television.) Today, it becomes the time to look back on that moment, as with the posts of previous years. However, in a way, the return at this point can also be described as a "forward" return of sorts, despite the suggested retroactive quality. How that can be so is a matter that is worth discussing, as is that return itself.

The return back (including my personal one) was obviously for a very different Pokémon experience from the main series games, still a particular norm at that time. It was different, but it was also very unique, and there had been a chance for me to experience that initially before being forced to be removed from it due to "technical difficulties". That return can then be described as the ability to overcome those difficulties and to bring back that experience in the perspective of that current time after being absent for a full year at that point.

As for the return "forward", that would be to the Pokémon experiences in the main series games that I experienced concurrently with and/or after the Pokémon Go return, which would be the sixth and seventh generation games, the elements of which have since been implemented (one particular and big one being Mega Evolution). There is now even the "forward" to the eighth-generation games, which I've still yet to experience in their true form and only in tangential form with the addition of their species to Pokémon Go.

Since Pokémon Go came when Pokémon itself had been established for two decades and through several already-existing generations, for most Pokémon fans, going into Pokémon Go serves as a "return back" to them, especially in recent times with the Pokémon Go Tour events. The concurrent development of the main series games along with Pokémon Go today will certainly mean returns in either direction, including a significant amount of "forward" ones, depending on what has or has not been experienced by Trainers.

Whichever direction the return goes, the key point is still the experience, which for me personally involved making that finally be realized again at that time, as much as realizing the earliest generations of Pokémon in a more profound manner. The latter bit progressed further with more developments, catching up with the later generations after the Pokémon Go epoch and making the return "forward" possible. Now, with Pokémon Go firmly established in the franchise, returns in either direction are a testament to its supreme lasting.

One year ago: Returns in Various Guises

Two years ago: Returns Come and Go

Three years ago: Return, Return, Return, Return...

Four years ago: A Happy Return

Five years ago: Here I Go (Again)

The Food Element Categories of Café Remix

Whereas Pokémon Shuffle is a battle combat-based puzzle game against other Pokémon and uses the traditional 18 types to identify each Pokémon, the "combat" in Café Remix is the cooking or assembly of certain foods. For this purpose, Pokémon are instead classified into and by menu element categories, as I've exposed in my selection of dream food items from the game. This becomes the primary determinant for the selection of their capabilities for specific stages, and therefore they are of certain importance for explanation.

The four menu element categories are Beverage, Appetizer, Main Course, and Dessert, as exposed above. They represent four "courses" that are common in many restaurants and certainly cafés as the inspiration for this game. Examples of Pokémon in each category are Rowlet, Squirtle, Wobbuffet, and Lucario respectively. There are also some Pokémon that don't fit into any one of them... or rather, they fit into all of them; male Eevee and Mew in their common state are the ones for whom this applies. The element categories also have adjectival flavor identifiers, which are Refreshing, Crispy, Hearty, and Sweet, in that order.

Additionally, some Pokémon may change categories if they possess specific outfits. Kirlia, which is commonly of the Beverage category, will change to Main Course with the Retro Diner outfit and Appetizer with the Grand Gown outfit, the latter of which happens to be currently available in an event. This highlights the importance of obtaining outfits and may deserve its own discussion at some other point in time. It also highlights the versatility that some Pokémon may have in being put into play in certain stages.

Each of the element categories also have a certain day on which Pokémon that are trained that day will receive a "Daily Bonus" of experience points, with one day each week (or some or all days of certain events) where the bonus applies to all Pokémon. That one day is Monday-Tuesday depending on location, while the rest of the days are variable. All this becomes evident when one goes into the Pokémon section to train Pokémon.

Like the traditional 18 types, the four menu element categories in Café Remix are identifiers that indicate what's special about the Pokémon and what they can do in the process of creating food to be served. There is also a certain versatility about them too in some cases, further affirming the extent of those two matters above. One of the keys to success in Café Remix is then definitely to understand how they work and then take advantage of them to make the cooking "combat" and serve food that Pokémon will surely love.

One year ago: YouTube Pokémon Highlights: The Lighter Side

Two years ago: Worlds Within Worlds

Three years ago: The New PvP Charged Move Mechanism

Four years ago: AFA ID in Memoriam

Five years ago: Cold as the Winds

Tournament: Raid Group Open Great League

It was only last year that my raid group was able to get any sort of tournament going, and they did, for a brief stint of three tournaments starting with a "practice" one. Those, however, were online tournaments, which were held wherever we are or were conveniently located - in my case being at home - and due to Silph Arena's restrictions. Now that things have simmered down slightly and the Silph Arena has allowed in-person tournaments once again, my raid group jumped on the chance to hold them, and so they did today.

Today's format of choice was the Great League, which had become the choice format for the world championship series for Pokémon Go. Even so, it was not completely "open", as a "restricted list" of 25 species was in place, with a maximum of 3 Pokémon on a team of 6 being composed of species from this list; the rest is as open as open can be. This also mirrors the Great League format implemented for the first Cycle of the current Factions season, which had ended a while ago, so to some extent, this may be a good practice for that.

During the first round.

For the number of participants and their composition, 15 Trainers competed, though one dropped out before the fourth round (who would have likely received a bye anyway as that Trainer had not won up to that point); a few others showed interest and/or registered teams but did not attend due to certain circumstances. Most everyone in the tournament were from my raid group, but there were a few others from faraway places, making the tournament feel special even though it is not in the grand scheme of the Silph Arena.

As to how I did, I managed to end up in the middle of the pack, being eighth overall. I won two matches and lost two, ranking third among those with similar results. Interestingly, those two victories came in the first two matches, where I won against a high-ranking guest Ace (who ended up third overall) and just eked out a win against a fellow group member. Had I won another battle in the third match - which strangely was against my PvP "mentor" - I would have been set up for the "grand final" match against another guest Ace.

The valiant competitors. (I'm wearing my Journeys custom shirt.)

Such a personal outcome for a tournament is the first time that has ever happened, for any form of a Pokémon game. Furthermore, in all matches, I managed to win at least one battle, a show of consistency that was ultimately praised. And though I did not win the tournament, I did win a side contest for "Dex arithmetic", guessing a Pokémon by its National Dex number given out by an equation. Lo and behold, the clue given was "five fives", which could only be for the one and only Pikachu. The heavens aligned in that regard.

While I can't speak of this consistency repeating for specialty formats such as those of the Silph Arena and the Go Battle League, I might just be able to make things work for the "open" Great League, with or without restrictions such as the above. I also may or may not be capable for Factions, but I could happily take up the offer to be part of one team for that purpose. Nevertheless, this could be a nice prelude for the upcoming season of the Silph Arena, which will start soon enough and will become the real test for everyone in our group.

One year ago: You Made Me a...

Two years ago: Let's Play and Pokémon

Three years ago: Pokémon and Music Games, Revisited

Four years ago: (Late and Great) Local Ex-Raid, 9/3/2018

Five years ago: Bandai Pokémon XY Swing - Pikachu

Cryptic Field Research Tasks?

Field Research tasks in Pokémon Go have to be as clear as possible - or at least require just enough interpretation - so that Trainers can complete them with reasonable effort. For a game that will be played every day, this is practically necessary to decrease mental blocks. But what if the tasks can require more interpretation to figure out how to complete them, almost like solving little riddles or puzzles - that is, cryptic? The results may deserve to be discussed, which becomes the point of this post.

One of the inspirations for this post is the TV show The Amazing Race, which I discussed along with possible implementations of its challenges for Pokémon Go. Very early on, the clues for the Route Info were based on little riddles or puzzles, but this was dropped as time progressed. Given this situation, the possibility of having cryptic tasks is a certainty, but it would have to be very occasional and for very specific events, or otherwise most Trainers may not be able to complete them unless they've been given the information on what needs to be done beforehand. The challenge seems warranted, but not all the time.

Another inspiration is that in the previous Go Fest event (the finale event), there were tasks that had Trainers capture types according to specific Ultra Beasts, but the types themselves were not explicitly mentioned. Since Trainers were required to synthesize the information, this may be considered "cryptic" on a basic level. And that seems to be just fine, although there could have been minor complaints from certain Trainers, and I've interacted with one or two Trainers on the field that needed help in completing it. This situation seems to support the occasional and specific implementation as above.

If so, a riddled task like what is presented below might possibly be too far out of reach. The task below would demand a Trainer to make 2 Excellent throws, as they would be the best possible kind of throw:

You throw like a master, yes?

Make your throws the very best! (2)

This may be considered the simplest riddle of its kind without giving away all details explicitly, but even that may still be considered too complex for certain Trainers. Yet much still depends on how the general Trainer populace might perceive them.

While Field Research in general is expected to be to the point as much as possible, it is certainly also possible that the tasks can be divergent from that with little riddles or puzzles. The cryptic element that it would provide would be an added challenge for Trainers, but at the same time, the challenge would depend on their whims and may not be able to be easily implemented even when it can. The possibility is still intriguing, and it may be that just someday, Trainers can afford to take up this challenge as they do capturing Pokémon.

One year ago: Countermeasures for Pokémon Go: A Necessary Outreach

Two years ago: Mega Evolution Quibbles in Pokémon Go

Three years ago: Two Flavors of Pokémon Stickers

Four years ago: Cosplay: Utsuru! -the fifth-

Five years ago: (Self) References

The Season of Light

The last paragraph as my concluding statement for the previous season in Pokémon Go may be considered a little cryptic, but that's also for a good reason. It's because it is effectively a teaser for the next Pokémon Go season, which begins today and lasts for the next three months. The keyword for the season is "bright", as in being awash in something luminous. That something is of course called "light", and that becomes the name of this season - the Season of Light.

According to the teaser trailer, nebulae, the stars, the sun, and the moon pertain to the new season, and that automatically means the Legendary Pokémon from the Alola region will be involved - Cosmog, Cosmoem, Solgaleo, and Lunala. The latter two will have their places, likely certainly in raids that may be expected somewhat later on. However, the former two are likely to have their own special places, with the first already unfolding through Special Research that is present from right now. All of these need to be expected as the season progresses and more light is shed on them.

Even though the season as with (some) other seasons mostly pertains to Pokémon Go as an inherent element, some connections may be made to other Pokémon games. In the Unite realm, for example, new ways of doing things have been hinted that involve an arena that is bathed in and closer to the light. Then there's the Scarlet and Violet games, which brings the light of a new region, Pokémon forms, and times behind and ahead. These remain to be seen, especially in their capacities to shine and dazzle.

In talking about light, it is also necessary to talk about the phenomenon that occurs as its natural consequence: shadow. Wherever light goes, there are always certain parts where it doesn't or cannot go, and in those parts, there is shadow. October is coming up soon enough, and that's always the time for the shadows to surface as it has been and always will be, and things continue to need to be seen when that happens. Of course, some Pokémon are already "shadowy" in certain ways and in more than one, so one still needs to look out for the "remnants" of light in this form.

Light remains a wonderful thing, which might be as bedazzling as it is glorious, not to mention that it incites a certain counter-phenomenon. Pokémon evidently manifest themselves well in either of these cases, though some are better at that than others. Regardless, this season in Pokémon Go will be (mostly) about the source phenomenon itself, and brightness is to be expected in relation to that. As they say, let there be light - and may brightness and darkness follow where they may.

One year ago: The Season of Mischief

Two years ago: Let's Go Mega Evolve

Three years ago: Cosplay: Creators' Super Fest by AFA (Regional)

Four years ago: Between Bugs and Features

Five years ago: Takara Tomy Pokémon XY&Z Pikachu Halloween Mascot - Ver. D

The Peak of Go

As usual, the post at the end of a three-month period also marks the end of the current Pokémon Go season, which has been a real "get up and go" affair. It obviously has deep connections to Pokémon Go itself by way of the identifier, but at the same time, it appears neutral enough that it can cover Pokémon happenings beyond that game, as I've suggested early on in that post. Based on the identifier of the season and its happenings, it is good to review just how things had "gone" and "went".

In the realm of Pokémon Go, there is (or was) Pokémon Go Fest, which went swimmingly this season and this year. Old traditions in the form of regional Go Fest editions could have a go once again, and those proceeded with much fanfare. At the same time, the new means of experience - the global "everyone" edition - also continued to go, and it went and bookended the entire run of summer festivities along with a specially dedicated "finale" edition. Overall, with the events proceeding without a hitch, they really did go and run, and in some ways they also went "beyond", like a certain update some time ago.

Going "beyond" may also describe this year's Pokémon World Championships, which also managed to get going again since years ago, this time with Pokémon Go and Pokémon Unite under its wing, as well as to go places, at least in comparison to its previous more recent editions. Pokémon Go finally going forth and Pokémon Unite going ahead in these competitions represent significant advances, and it's likely that others who play these games and others will have their own ways of "going" when the championships roll around next year.

Other Pokémon affairs, as elucidated through the recent Pokémon Presents, are evidently going as well, including the new Scarlet and Violet games, which are on track to go for later this year. This and the other affairs above already show that lots of things are going for them, and with that, the "Go" identifier for the Pokémon Go season really is neutral and can involve, within its scope, a lot of things in the general happenings for Pokémon. 

What may be considered for those happenings is that they are like fireworks. They become ready to be lit up, and once they're lit up, they go and race up into the sky before bursting loudly and in a bright, dazzling array of colors, as is the norm for certain celebrations of freedom. They can almost become as bright as the sun and luminous as the moon, each with their own light that fills the sky. And if the next Pokémon Go season is of any indication, then that may just be the way that things should "go".

One year ago: The Peak of Discoveries

Two years ago: Pokémon: Twilight Wings

Three years ago: The Start of a Decked-Out Adventure

Four years ago: Solidarity Making

Five years ago: Reunions!