My 24th year as a Pokémon Trainer has (much like my 23rd one) been one where I haven't actually been able to train any Pokémon, and being deprived of the ability to play my favorite video game (or any other video games for that matter) has been incredibly frustrating to say the least.

I would like nothing more than to return to the Hoenn region (in my Ω Ruby Version) and hunt for more Shiny Pokémon (I was trying to catch a Shiny Giratina in particular), breed more max IV Pokémon (that's a REALLY good guide on how to do that BTW), and just go through my regular routine of doing all of the daily battles and collecting all of the daily freebies and such every day.
(Gen 6 Hoenn has the best dailies of any Pokémon games BTW, and some of y'all here know why.)

I'd also like to return to the Alola Region (in my Ultra Moon Version, my other Ultra Moon Version, and also my Sun Version) and work on getting all of the version-specific clothing items that I hadn't gotten yet through Festival Plaza, as well as doing my daily routine there, working on catching and breeding more Pokémon there, and taking plenty more cool photos of myself with my Pokémon and uploading them here on Paint.
(I've certainly uploaded quite a few pictures of my Pokémon here already, but they're only a small fraction of all of the photos of my Pokémon that I've taken in the 3DS Pokémon games over the years.)

Of course, there's also the Kalos region (in my Y Version) on my O2DS, but I also miss Johto (in my SoulSilver Version), Sinnoh (in my 2 Platinum Versions, which I unfortunately haven't yet uploaded any pictures from), and Unova (in my Pokémon White Version 2, but also my White Version 1) on my DS Lite, and I could also be trading, battling, and doing lots of other fun stuff with y'all here on Paint in any of these different Pokémon games as well (over Wiimmfi in the case of all of the DS games that I just mentioned), but unfortunately I cannot do this for one reason and one reason alone: my O2DS and DS Lite are still broken, almost 3 years after my O2DS first stopped working back in 2020.
(And that's almost 1 year since my DS Lite first stopped working BTW, although it was only "semi-functional" for much longer than that.)

Although I still hope to get this issue resolved eventually, my ever-complicated RL situation makes this far more difficult than it otherwise would be, and it has also (so far) even complicated my ability to battle on Pokémon Showdown when I want to, as well as my ability to do things here on Paint.
(Even things as simple as featuring blogs and polls, which could easily be done by me simply taking a few minutes to pop online and check for new submissions a few times a day.)

I still plan on getting most of these issues resolved one way or another before Member Appreciation Day this year, but I also have many RL obligations to my family, and so in the interest of fulfilling those, I will try to exercise more patience with regards to pursuing my own personal goals, here on Paint or IRL.
(Because like most of y'all here, I love my family a great deal, and they need me IRL RN.)

Although this may seem a bit random, I would also like to reiterate a point that I had made in my 3rd Member Appreciation Day blog here:

“…Growing up isn't about being forced to give up the things that you loved as a kid, it's about getting to do all of the things that you had always wanted to do as a kid, but were never allowed to do.”

Aside from wanting to start a family of my own some day, this is the only reason that I have any desire whatsoever to exercise more freedom and independence as an adult, and while some people might dismiss my love of things like video games (especially E-rated games like Pokémon) as being "childish", I don't particularly care what those people think of me, and God Himself gave me the right to pursue whatever it is in life that brings me happiness, and it just so happens that what brings me happiness in life is video games, just as they have for over 25 years now.
(That's right, I've been a gamer since I was just 3 years old, lol!)

Anyway, going forward I plan on continuing to work on the (REALLY cool) Drovana Fakemon region with my good friend royal-rawr, as well as updating and improving my Pokémon tiering system, and also holding a Pokémon Showdown tournament like I had tried (and unfortunately failed) to do last year, so y'all certainly have a lot to look forward to from me here, even if my game systems don't get fixed for quite a while.
(Plus I can always battle y'all on Pokémon Showdown in the meantime as well.)

Lastly, I wanted to say that after repeatedly doubting myself at various points over these past 4+ years I've spent here on Paint (due entirely to the criticisms of some of my Pokémon blogs in the past by certain Pokémon players here), my more recent experiences battling on Pokémon Showdown over these past couple of years have (as far as I'm concerned) confirmed what I have long suspected to be the case, and once claimed (in the past) in my profile bio here on Paint: that I am the best Pokémon player here on Paint.
(And if anyone here would like to prove otherwise, they are more than welcome to try, lol!)

Anyway, sayonara everyone! And happy Pokémon Training!
(Hopefully I'll be rejoining y'all in the world of Pokémon soon!)

“I want to live in a world of games, anime, and comics forever.”

—Maid Cyanea (Battle Subway)