This August sees the release of yet another all-new expansion pack for the Pokémon Trading Card game, Pokémon Diamond & Pearl - Legends Awakened. More than 140 new cards are ready to join the cardboard boxes and plastic binders of fans everywhere, including the Pokémon most likely to be an accidental Tenacious D lyric, Regigigas. The set also includes seven new LV.X Pokémon, one of which is fan-favorite Mewtwo. Whee!

The set hits stores on August 20th, with collector's tins arriving in September. Meanwhile, I haven't gotten a new video game installment of the card game for eight years. I ask you, where's the justice?

Are you the best Pokémon trainer in the entire world? Are you willing to admit that? Pokémon USA has just announced the first ever Video Game Showdown, which will pit the very best the United States has to offer against the top Pokémon Diamond and Pearl players in Japan to determine once and for all which country has more free time. Tournaments will be taking place in New York and Los Angeles on July 19th and 12th respectively, with 256 players in each city vying for sixteen paid trips to Orlando to battle against the Japanese players, who incidentally get a much better trip.

"Pokémon strives to create fun products and events for players of all skill levels and interests," said J.C. Smith, director of marketing for Pokémon USA, Inc. "The Pokémon Video Game Showdown provides the most skilled Pokémon players an opportunity to determine who is truly the best."

Dojo Dump: Best Week Ever?

In general, a week's worth of updates to the official Super Smash Bros. Brawl web site peaks with a single character reveal and bottoms out with lame item update. But this week, not only are two characters confirmed, one assist trophy profiled and four shots of Zero Suit Samus added, the Sticker option is revealed. Woohoo! Feels like 1984 again.

Keep on reading for this week's Dojo Dump!

Finally, A Pikachu Nintendo DS

America Gets the Upperhand (Finally) with Pokemon

Japanese players can't enter English characters for their Pokemon names. (And American players can't enter Japanese text.) English words are "cool" for some reason in Japan and since they need American players to trade their Pokemon to get ones with English names, they will make excellent deals (for Americans) to get English-named Pokemon. I believe the game has also sold around 6 million copies in Japan and probably about a million in the US so far, so, theoretically, the demand far outstrips the supply at this point, making sellers market.