And it’s that time of the year again, where I am preparing my second write up for the blog in 2026.
Much has happened since the last update, while I also kind of feel like not much has happened since then.
I am starting this write up on the 20th of July at Banapple, here at Terminal 3 of our dearest NAIA. I am awaiting my flight to Cebu City, just in time for an upcoming over the board and in person Pokémon Champions tournament. The first of its kind that I am participating in since ending up as runner-up at a local tournament in Davao during the XY/ORAS era of VGC.
For 2027, it is my personal side quest to participate in as many VGC events as possible and try collecting points for that year’s Pokémon Worlds.
Yes, in the ripe age of my mid-thirties, I am planning to play Pokémon competitively.
Pokémon Champions has just made it all very accessible for someone with a hectic schedule like mine. It doesn’t take ages to breed the perfect Pokémon anymore, and people owning a Switch are kind of incentivized as they are able to transfer their Pokémon from other games over.
And just like that, it’s July 23 already. Three days have passed since I started writing this article.
As of writing now, I am already in Cebu and the tournament is two sleepless nights away (I mean, I do sleep in the morning).
At some point, I was excited. But in the last dozen hours, thanks to stress and a freaking losing streak, I am not so sure whether I can make a decent cut. I’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.
Other than the competition on the weekend, I am also looking forward to my travels abroad (again). I am headed for Vietnam on the first of August with optional onward travel to Europe. With conflict in the Middle East not fully resolved, I do have a little bit of hesitation. Not to forget a number of items that I need to pay soon.
Fast forward another week.
It is now the 31st of July, shortly after midnight, and in just a few hours I will once again be boarding a Philippine Airlines flight. First to Manila, then onwards to Ho Chi Minh City. Those two flights will become my 31st and 32nd flights of the year already. More interestingly though, they will also be my 24th and 25th flights with Philippine Airlines in 2026.
Some people collect stamps. Others chase hotel nights. Apparently, I count airline segments.
There is actually a reason behind that.
With Philippine Airlines officially set to join the Oneworld Alliance in 2027, keeping and hopefully improving my PAL status has suddenly become a lot more interesting than it already was. I have been trying to figure out whether fifty PAL flights this year are still realistic. Looking at my spreadsheet, probably not. I am still roughly ten flights short if everything goes according to plan. Then again, plans have a tendency to change throughout the year, especially when your hobby somehow revolves around airports.
Speaking of plans.
The Cebu tournament is now behind me.
I actually did much better than I expected.
I finished in sixth place and managed to make Top Cut. Unfortunately, that was where my run ended. Looking back, I think I lost for two reasons. First, my opponent’s team had a genuinely favourable matchup against mine. Second, I simply played too cautiously. Maybe even a little scared. I found myself making safe plays instead of trusting my instincts, and against strong opponents that usually gets punished.
To be fair, my opponent had already competed at the Pokémon World Championships in Yokohama back in 2023, so it certainly wasn’t an easy draw.
Still, I walked away surprisingly happy.
Considering this was my first proper in-person VGC event in over a decade, making Top Cut felt like confirmation that maybe this little side quest of mine isn’t completely unrealistic after all.
One thing I have realised over the past few months is just how much Pokémon Champions has changed competitive Pokémon.
The barrier to entry has almost disappeared.
Gone are the days where you would spend countless hours breeding for perfect IVs, the correct Nature, or that one Ability you desperately needed. If you already own the mainline games, transferring Pokémon over is incredibly straightforward. Team building has become significantly easier, training takes a fraction of the time it once did, and the game lets you spend much more time actually battling instead of preparing for battles.
For someone like me, whose schedule constantly alternates between airports, hotels and coffee shops, that accessibility makes all the difference.
Outside of Pokémon, I also managed another trip to Vietnam back in May. I spent roughly two and a half weeks there, just before Yannah’s birthday.
Speaking of which, she finally got her iPhone 13.
As for myself, I briefly owned a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL before eventually deciding it wasn’t really for me. Instead, I picked up a tablet, which has honestly become one of my favourite purchases this year. Whether I am writing articles like this one, watching movies during layovers, or playing Pokémon Champions while waiting for yet another boarding call, it has become part of my everyday carry.
It is funny how some years are remembered because of one defining event.
This year does not really feel like that.
Instead, it feels like a collection of smaller moments. Another flight. Another country. Another tournament. Another coffee shop. Another hotel room. Another conversation. None of them particularly spectacular on their own, but together they somehow define the year far better than any single milestone ever could.
Originally, my plan after Vietnam was to continue onwards to Europe.
Germany was on the table. Greece as well.
For now, however, I decided against it.
The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Middle East has made me a little more hesitant than I normally would be. While I still hope to return to Europe sooner rather than later, this simply did not feel like the right moment. I am adding another month’s delay to my inevitable return to Schengen soil.
So Vietnam it is.
Again.
Not that I am complaining.
There are certainly worse places to spend a few weeks.
Before wrapping this up, I suppose I should mention football.
The FIFA World Cup has come and gone. Hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, it was the first tournament featuring the expanded 48-team format.
Spain lifted the trophy for the second time after defeating Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the final.
Germany made it out of the group stage, which was already something to be happy about considering recent tournaments. Unfortunately, the journey ended in the very first knockout match against Paraguay.
Looking back, Paraguay proved to be a difficult opponent for several European sides, so perhaps the result wasn’t quite as disappointing as it initially felt.
The bigger story for German football, however, might just be what comes next.
Jürgen Klopp is set to take over as Germany’s national team manager.
Now that is something I am genuinely looking forward to.
As for me, I think the remainder of 2026 will continue looking very much like the first half.
More flights. More tournaments. More cafés that somehow become temporary offices. More countries. More stories.
Hopefully a few more blog posts as well.
And perhaps that is enough.
Life doesn’t always have to consist of dramatic turning points. Sometimes it is simply about slowly moving forward, one boarding pass at a time.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t take me another six months before I sit down and write the next one.
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