I'd hope so too, but honestly they have lost a lot since 2013, and not just votes. Also actual political goals. And while the hopes for political seriousness and organisation quality are increasing, the actual implementation seems to stagnate.

> What about the Pirate Party? I hoped I'd see Piratenpartei Deutschland in the elections...

It is in the elections, cf. for example

> https://www.merkur.de/politik/bundestagswahl-2017-diese-part...

They essentially killed themselves. First, there was the step to have a stance on everything, which a, IIRC small but don't take my word for it, majority wanted and they lost the people who supported them for their core values. Added to that lots and lots of internal strife and they became irrelevant, sadly.

They're technically competing, in the same way that dozens of small parties are technically competing. That ship has sailed. (Pun not intended.)

They had there chances and botched it.