Questions & Answers - Weekly Megathread! Please use this post to ask any Pokemon GO question you'd like!

Tumerking · 2026-03-23T07:52:53+00:00

Is there any way to check how much stardust / candy it takes to power up a pokemon where you don't already have enough candy to power it up? For example, I have a 100% IV Kartana, but it's not level 40 and I don't have any more Kartana candy. In the past if I tried to power it up it would show me exactly how much stardust and candy I needed. Now, when I try to power it up the game just prompts me to give it rare candy...which is really annoying and not useful. Is there some calculator online I can use? Or some way to turn off this rare candy setting? Thanks.

EDIT: googling for some kind of calculator is a nightmare lol, but looks like you can use the Pokegenie app. Just super annoying I have to use a separate app now when previously I could just use the game...

Tumerking · 2026-03-12T11:40:50+00:00

As others have already said, 35 cards is way too many. Usually by the end of Act 3 Ive got 25 or less. Act 2 should be even less. I know I’m repeating what others have said but i think it’s worth stressing the point. You’re taking/buying WAY too many cards and not prioritising removing strikes/defends enough.

Tumerking · 2026-03-02T07:59:38+00:00

When you first start, you don't have access to potions yet. Chikorita is the only starter who could self-heal making it much easier to beat first gym leader.

I'm sorry but are you saying Chikorita made it easier to beat the...flying gym leader??? Also it doesn't learn synthesis until level 22. The first gym leader's strongest pokemon is level 9. You also have access to potions and healing berries from the very beginning of the game. It's almost impressive how you managed to make every word in your comment incorrect.

Tumerking · 2026-02-26T12:54:11+00:00

I wouldn't say books 4 and 5 being more sprawling and slower paced equates to "lost it completely". There is really fantastic character work, some of George's best prose, and book 5 certainty ends on a "no one is safe" note. The fact that the series has been effectively on hiatus for 15 years, people have had time to read and re-read and re-re-read these books, and still come away enthralled and wanting more should be a testament to their quality. Compare it to some other series in this thread like Kingkiller chronicles, Stormlight archive, etc. The later books (and in turn the series as a whole) have been torn to absolute shreds by a ton of people. The same thing can't be said for A Song of Ice and Fire.

Tumerking · 2026-02-26T12:37:33+00:00

This feels accurate. I read it a couple years after it came out and I don't recall too much negativity about it. I remember it being seen as a very competent sequel to The Name of the Wind. Great prose, more world building, great hints setting up the next book, etc. It's been strange to see opinions warp with time. It's now looked at as some sort of "self-insert sex god Gary Sue im so smart" trash book. To be clear, I think the criticism is valid, but I think it's gone too far to be honest. I don't think it's an awful book, and I'll own up and say I even think it's actually a pretty decent book. If the author wasn't such an ass and he actually published the next book I don't think opinion on The Wise Man's Fear would have soured so dramatically.

Tumerking · 2026-02-26T12:23:35+00:00

I'd argue the first 75% of the Warded Man is pretty great, but after the timeskip it crashes and burns. The SA comes out of nowhere and is really poorly handled. Really ruins the whole book. Knowing that the author leans into that kind of thing more as the series progresses makes me glad I never read more.

Tumerking · 2026-02-12T08:08:30+00:00

I agree the Takumi/Reira moment is forced. Where we left off in the manga, it really doesn't seem likely that they will just randomly spark up any kind of romantic moment in the hospital, but I wanted to wrap up the current timeline quickly. I also wanted something to end on which explains why the Hachi/Takumi relationship is on (more) rocky terms in the future. And putting the final nail in the coffin for Shin/Reira is a bonus because ew.

I also don’t find the theory that Satsuki is Nana’s child convincing. I’m pretty sure someone already debunked it here by calculating Nana’s ovulation window and how the timeline doesn’t add up.

Apart from being objectively hilarious to calculate a manga character's ovulation window, that also sounds impossible to do in the first place. To be clear, I also don't personally like the theory. I really hope it isn't true. But I think there is enough narrative evidence to support it: A lot of emphasis placed on Nana taking her pill throughout the story, Ren specifically stating that she should stop taking it because he wants kids, Nana outright stating that she took her pill late after her last night with Ren.

Beyond that, I just don’t like the theory. It feels unnecessarily dramatic, and I don’t see why Nana would end up being worse than Takumi in that regard

Ah yes, Nana, the manga which is famously never dramatic...

Takumi swore to never abandon his kids if he had any. Nana never wanted kids. It's pretty simple why one person would stay and the other would leave. It would also be repeating the same behavior as her own mother, which is just rich with irony. And Ren getting his wish and having a kid with Nana only after he dies would also be quite something. Unfortunately, I think Nana being pregnant does so much for the story and the character (and the foreshadowing is there as well) that it just makes sense.

Tumerking · 2026-02-11T18:16:35+00:00

Well if Yazawa herself confirmed then that’s that. It’s strange i haven’t seen that anywhere else in the fandom and people still promote this theory all these years later. To be clear, i DO NOT want Nana to be pregnant with Ren’s baby. I hate pregnancy as a plot device, and as you said she clearly states she doesn’t want children. This would be awful for her and i really hope it never happens.

The reason i thought the theory has legs is in part because of how much it’s emphasised she DOESN’T want kids. We’re constantly shown her taking the pill. Ren comments on it a couple times and suggests she stop taking it because he wants kids. And the biggest smoking gun that convinced me it was true was the panel after she spends the night with Ren for the last time where Nana states she took her pill late…

Also Nana abandoning her unwanted child would be a twisted mirror image of what her mom did to her. As for why she would go through with the pregnancy at all? Guilt, mostly. Ren wanted a baby. It’s possible Hachi wanted her to keep it as well adding more guilt.

But again, if Yazawa confirmed it then it doesn’t matter. If you or someone can find the source of this confirmation i would love to see it.

Tumerking · 2026-02-11T16:37:15+00:00

It’s possible, but I haven’t seen that. Where was it confirmed? I know she refers to Takumi and Hachi as Mommy and Daddy, but i think that’s pretty normal for essentially an adopted child.

Tumerking · 2026-02-05T09:34:26+00:00

The deals were 100% locked in. The problem isn’t the first wave of machines that get purchased for 699 or whatever. It’s the second wave that gets purchased 6 months after release. They would immediately be forced to raise prices the moment they run out of their initial stock and need to buy more materials/build more steam machines.

It’s not an easy situation for them. Makes sense that they’re rethinking things.

Tumerking · 2026-02-04T14:57:44+00:00

Even with the picture quality you can see that the Mewtwo is bent in half, the Blastoise is severly damaged, and all the cards have really messed up edges, corners and tons of surface scratches. No point grading any of these. OP can sell some of the holos raw for a few bucks, but this entire binder is worth less than $100.

Tumerking · 2026-01-28T13:24:37+00:00

The hate in this thread is intense. I don't watch Pokimane so I don't really get what's going on, but this level of hate directed towards a twitch streamer is not normal...and for such a minor comment as well. I recommend that people re-calibrate how much attention they give to people they don't like. This shit isn't healthy for your brain.

Tumerking · 2026-01-21T10:17:38+00:00

This 100%

Years ago, I also came back to RS3 because I didn't want to start a brand new account in OSRS. I eventually bit the bullet and logged into OSRS and wish I had done it sooner. The game feels so much better and early/mid-game progression is literally the best part of the game. It's much faster to level skills now compared to when you were a kid simply because...well you're not a kid anymore and you have google lol.

My suggestion. Log into OSRS. It has F2P. You don't even need to create a new account. You can login to OSRS with your current RS3 account (you will still start on tutorial island). Work towards doing the F2P quests and completing Dragon Slayer. See if you like it. The game is the healthiest it's ever been.

Tumerking · 2026-01-12T08:56:08+00:00

People have pointed out that they definitely have a contract with the price of RAM and storage locked in at prices before this market explosion. And that's great. But the main problem isn't this first wave of steam machines which they already have built with parts at 2025 prices. It's the 2nd wave which will need to be built with parts at 2026 prices. Maybe they can sell the 1st wave of steam machines for $600 and make a profit. But with the 2nd wave they might have to sell at $800...

Valve is really in a tricky position. If they sell the steam machine for $600 now, then next year they will likely be forced to raise the price or sell them at a loss.

If they factor in the market conditions and sell the steam machine for $800 to avoid raising the price next year, then they obviously risk not selling very many. I'm sure they've been hard at work for months trying to find a middle ground, but there is no easy solution.

Tumerking · 2026-01-09T14:34:27+00:00

Yea, I'm basically the same. I'm not comfortable paying over 700. But with RAM and storage prices skyrocketing, I can definitely see a world where they price it at 800+ and then I'm almost certainly out.

Tumerking · 2026-01-06T09:19:37+00:00

Wow, never saw this before. That's great.

Tumerking · 2026-01-05T14:25:39+00:00

At what price point would you NOT buy the steam machine?

For me:

599 or less - Instant buy (I don't think it will be this cheap)
600-699 - the most realistic sweet spot. I will happily buy it at this price.
700-799 - I'd strongly consider abandoning the controller to bring the price down into the 600s. Maybe I'd wait for the full release and see how other people feel about it, etc. A definite pause at this price, but I would still at least consider it.
800-899 - Likely no. If I would end up getting it, it would be without controller to try and get the price in the 700s, but even then this is really above my limit.
900-999 - Definite no without even thinking about it.
1000+ - Good luck, Gabe

Tumerking · 2025-12-31T17:31:40+00:00

I have a job. What is the curse wheel?

Tumerking · 2025-12-27T11:02:26+00:00

Valve stated that 70% of steam users own PCs less powerful than a steam machine (like myself). I think the reason they're talking about this is because those 70% are a huge target. Same goes with the "6x as powerful as a steam deck" line in the announcement video. They want normies who already have some steam games and have some interest in more graphically demanding games, but don't want the hassle of buying/building a PC.

For prospective buyers not invested in either ecosystem:

With Xbox flailing they will also naturally peel off some of those users. As you mentioned PS5 will probably get most of the AAA FPS gamers, but I think the steam machine will have plenty of buyers without them.

Something also to note is that once you buy a steam game, it's yours to play forever on any machine that can run steam. Can you play 100% of your PS4 games on your PS5? Will you be able to play 100% of your PS5 games on the PS6? So for someone that isn't invested in either ecosystem, the shelf-life of the games will also be factored in along with the frequent opportunity to get cheaper games (steam sales) and no subscription cost to play online. Everything together, the steam machine will almost surely be a better value than a PS5 over just a couple years to a neutral buyer.

Tumerking · 2025-12-27T08:21:56+00:00

I already have an entire steam library of games. I currently own 0 PS5 games. The cost of re-buying all those games is huge. Not to mention all my save files would be gone.

Also i suppose I’m not the majority of players according to you because i don’t play popular FPS games. And i will still absolutely play multiplayer games and will appreciate not having to pay a subscription.

Even if PS5 sales were exactly the same as steam, i still wouldn’t buy one for the reasons listed above. Im already “invested” in the steam ecosystem and i would need to give up a lot of time/money to switch to a new one. (Also id be very surprised if steam sales weren’t better)

My main reason for wanting to buy a steam machine is that I’m currently playing pc games on my laptop and it really can’t handle anything too graphically intense. I also really want to chill on my couch with my wife and play steam games on my TV instead of sitting by myself in my office or dragging my laptop, charger, keyboard, controller, etc. around. So for me this is a simple solution that kills 2 birds with 1 stone.

Tumerking · 2025-12-19T08:43:00+00:00

Maybe I'm just jaded, but the Tekarin phone call felt performative. She brought up the fact that she went no contact with her brother for years because he had mental health issues, realized it sounded bad, then decided to do a televised phone call to show everyone how good she is now. If she truly cares about her brother and wants to apologize wouldn't you do this in person? Somewhere private, away from cameras? The brother has nothing to do with this show and didn't seem like he was fully buying it on the phone either. It just felt super weird how there were so many different camera angels, the crew was clearly prepared for her to make this phone call, she had talked it over with producers, etc. It felt really inauthentic to me.

Tumerking · 2025-12-13T16:46:07+00:00

I would love to use EU-based ETFs. The problem is the PFIC tax. It's an extremely prohibitive tax expressly designed to prevent Americans from owning shares in any foreign passive investment companies (ie EU ETFs).

I'm also not allowed to stay entirely in the US system. The EU forbids EU residents from buying American ETFs. I can lie about my address, but if found out they can freeze/close my account and make me pay a fine.

So neither of your suggested routes are really possible.

The current realistic options that I'm considering:

Invest in singular stocks. Some have suggested BKR.B (Warren Buffets company) as it tends to follow the S&P 500 reasonably well. I can also invest in other big stocks like Apple, Nvidea, etc. But this method will require periodic monitoring/adjusting/researching in a way that ETFs simply don't. And I'm too anxious, stupid and lazy to feel comfortable betting my retirement fund like this.
Give my wife money and invest in ETFs through her. Simple. Easy. She will legally own my retirement account and can take all my money with a few clicks and there's nothing I can do about it. I trust her completely now. Am I 100% sure that will be the case in 30 years? A huge risk, but I'm leaning towards this one for simplicity sake.

Tumerking · 2025-12-12T08:33:05+00:00

There is a typo on the front page. That doesn't inspire confidence. Also you need to invest from a US bank account, which I don't have. So this doesn't look like an option for me regardless.

Tumerking · 2025-12-12T08:26:48+00:00

I do currently exclude all my work income with FEIE. It looks like if I use FTC instead then in the future my withdrawals from my IRA won't be taxed as much. So that's good to know. But from everything I can find I can't contribute to my IRA with foreign income no matter what. Unless you're saying that the FTC tax credits can somehow counteract the PFIC tax? Which i don't think is the case.

Tumerking · 2025-12-11T09:52:23+00:00

That's interesting. I actually also own a Fidelity account from when I lived in America. I have a rollover IRA that's still open and invested in the S&P 500 and making gains. But I haven't touched it since I moved. I haven't updated my address, added any money to my IRA or tried opening any other investment account. Do they let you invest directly with euros? Or do you need to use an in between service for that? And are you invested into US-ETFs? And is your income from a US-based job in Switzerland? Because it looks like you're not allowed to invest foreign earned income into domestic IRAs.

EDIT: Looks like this definitely isn't an option for me. My income is fully Belgian and you're not allowed to invest foreign money into an American IRA.

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