As I type this, I sit atop a nearby Starbucks patio. Overlooking the streets and ocean, I am reminded of the freedom we had (in California) pre-pandemic. Things feel freer than they have in a very long time!

There are a handful of folks around me. Though we all sit in our respective islands, there seems to be a frank happiness. Our masks are off and we all enjoy sitting under the same sun.

This is by no means a Wild Area of the kind seen in the latest main series games, Pokémon Sword and Shield. And it certainly isn’t a frozen tundra the likes of which made up the landscape of their second DLC, Crown Tundra. There certainly is no snow falling for me on this calm, bright, and sunny day.

But I feel here a sense of wonder and openness as the Crown Tundra’s outdoor theme plays in my mind…the world feels magical, yet settled. There is a freedom here that a simple, consumerist cup of cappuccino has enabled! A vaguely familiar face to my left completes the picture of a gradual return to normalcy–albeit, a mindful one.