OCR04849 - *YES* Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket "At the Drop of a Coin Flip"

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Pokémon TCG Pocket came out 2 months ago (Oct 2024), and people were recommending that I try it out. Uh, well, I ended up getting hooked (my favorite decks are Greninja Starmie water control and Celebi Serperior grass aggro), but I also decided to write a ReMix for it! The OST had such a coherent style, and some incredibly intelligent music theory behind it as well.

I ended up combining the Title theme with the theme you hear during a Wonder Pick ("Feed Challenge Menu"), making sort of a Jazz Fusion arrangement with some 80s sound design. For the writing process, I actually tried playing out chord progressions with my MIDI keyboard instead of trying to visualize and mouse them in, and that led to more explorative results! :-) I also must shout out that a recent FL Studio revision let me put unique fades/volume adjustments on audio clips, which really helped my workflow; I finished this in less than 18 hours across a month.

This actually had quite the overhaul at the beginning - the first version used acoustic drums, but it was just too dull (I think I've gotten spoiled by electronic drums :-P). I also had a few moments where I pulled a Mike Portnoy and said, 'yeah, you know what, I'll break some rules and just ADD or SUBTRACT a beat because it sounds right' (you'd hear him talk about messing with a time signature formula he had established, during his Drumeo video learning 'Pneuma' by Tool). I added a 4/4 measure at 0:33, added a beat at the end of 1:24 and 2:23 (making it 7/8, 7/8, 7/8, 8/8), and took off a beat during 1:41 - 1:55 on each measure (making it 7/8, 7/8, 7/8, 7/8). Other than that, I think this pretty much wrote itself.

The instruments were mainly Zebra2 (E. Piano layer, Bells, Lead, Bass layer), Neo-Soul Suitcase (E. Piano layer), Shreddage 3 Precision (Bass), and Juggernaut (impacts, sweeps). And with that, I hope you enjoy, and... since heads has always been a good result in this game, may your coin flips always be heads!

Extra Info:

Source Breakdown:
0:00.00 - 0:36.13 ~= 0:00.00 - 0:34.76 (Title, loosely-similar chords)
0:36.13 - 0:52.50 = 0:34.76 - 0:53.08 (Title)
0:54.44 - 1:10.70 = 0:53.08 - 1:09.35 (Title)
1:10.70 - 1:23.68 = 0:00.00 - 0:03.87, 0:07.72 - 0:11.60 (Feed Challenge Menu in 7/8)
1:25.45 - 1:41.73 = 0:00.00 - 0:03.87, 0:07.72 - 0:11.60 (Feed Challenge Menu, different bass)
1:41.73 - 1:55.98 = 0:00.00 - 0:03.87, 0:07.72 - 0:11.60 (Feed Challenge Menu chords) + 0:53.08 - 1:09.35 (Title melody in 7/8)
1:55.98 - 2:06.60 = 0:03.87 - 0:11.60 (Feed Challenge Menu; straightforward)
2:10.20 - 2:17.32 = 0:03.87 - 0:11.60 (Feed Challenge Menu; straightforward)
2:24.94 - 2:57.49 = 0:53.08 - 1:09.35 (Title; melodic variation + new bassline)
2:57.49 - 3:10.45 = 0:00.00 - 0:03.87, 0:07.72 - 0:11.60 (Feed Challenge Menu in 7/8)

36.13 + 16.37 + 16.36 + 12.98 + 16.28 + 14.25 + 10.62 + 7.12 + 32.55 + 12.96
= 175.62/197.43
= 88.95% source

36.13 + 16.37 + 16.36 + 14.25 + 32.55
= 115.66/197.43
= 58.58% Title

12.98 + 16.28 + 14.25 + 10.62 + 7.12 + 12.96
= 74.21/197.43
= 37.59% Feed Challenge Menu

---

Games & Sources

---
From what I could find, the in-game credits have these people on the sound team:

Axumi Ito, dattxua, Harumi Yamaguchi, Takuto Kitsuta

---

Title:

Feed Challenge Menu (if you've played the game, it's actually the Wonder Pick screen.):

[prophetik music ⚖️]

as always, thank you for a clear source breakdown.

opening starts with the title theme with a variety of transitional sweeps layered in. we start to get a beat at 0:36 and it picks up from there. this entire opening section feels pretty dull with the instrument choices - there's not much sparkle in any of them for them all being EP-like, and the kick is kind of blah - but we get some pop at 0:54 when the melody comes in. i love the time signature goofiness - the 7/8 section is absolutely the right choice there.

1:27 tones it back down again. there's a surprising amount of sustains that kind of just sit there (really expected to hear some blurbs to keep it moving through that), and the overall texture is still pretty dull outside of the sweeps. i felt like that past the 2 minute mark until about 2:10 when we started getting more percussive elements coming in and more brighter synths, and then again was in a happy place at 2:25 with the melodic material back in. this trucks through the melody of both tracks, and then it's done. the ending is a little abrupt but fits the style.

this track does a fantastic job of saying "wait just a bit longer for the part you want", and then it's there and it's great, and then the track's done and i'm putting it on again. this is a great compositional technique - always repeat one less time rather than one extra time! - and when the track pops, it really pops. i think you do a great job taking a track that's kind of already in your style and making it unique and yours without copying what made it good originally. nice work.

 

 

YES

[Hemophiliac ⚖️]

So I too have been playing this too much and it was immediately apparent how things have been used in the track. Props to tackling something so new and fresh.

Playing with time was a great approach to take and it really works well. I actually never once felt off-kilter or jarred by any time changes and it flows so smoothly.

The opening section (0:00-0:36) is probably the most modified when it comes to source recognition but it still really feels like the title screen theme. Keeping the time changes and similar motion helps in that regard.

The bass and electric guitar do a great job of filling space and making it so warm and cozy, and the synth choices also feel appropriately selected. Not much more I can say, but this is great and what I've come to expect from Truong lately. Smooth, warm, and semi-jazzy vibes. Dig it!

YES

[XPRTNovice ⚖️]

This is a really solid arrangement. You've mixed well, and you've managed to put your own spin on this while retaining that very "pokemon" feel to it. It's almost like I could see it as a bonus track on the actual soundtrack; there's a quality to the lightness, brightness, and joy that comes through this mix. Drums are exactly where they need to be, I love the snappy snare that doesn't get in the way. The soundscape is wonderfully full without being too overwhelming, and the track tells me a great story from beginning to end, and I loved the lead-up to the ending. I could maybe use something a little bigger on that VERY last note; I was left feeling a little underwhelmed considering the mood that it set up for me beforehand, but I am picking the shit out of a nit on that one. 

YES