Pokémon

Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow’s Miiverse Is Amazing

Fantastic illustrations. Hilarious screenshots. Nostalgia. Pokémon’s Miiverse has it all—including, surprisingly enough, players who are experiencing Red/Blue/Yellow for the very first time. It’s one of the most heartening things I’ve seen this year. Here’s the best of the original Pokémon’s Miiverse. Kanto is a funny place Stand-out illustrations The newbies Celebrations

Meet The Latest Big-Headed Pokémon Figure And His Powerful Friend

Back in December 2014 I took a look at the first melding of two of my favorite toy properties, Pokemon and Good Smile Company’s big-headed Nendoroid line. Today we get to play with the latest addition to the line, the N Nendoroid, which is not easy to say at all. The misguided but well-meaning leader…

The Original Starter Pokémon, Re-Imagined

“What would the first Pokémon generation look like if they were introduced today?” To answer that question, Pokéfans infinipede and ShedSimas embarked on a project to redesign the original 151 Pokémon, with their first targets being, of course, the original starters. As the introductory post on the New 151 Tumblr blog states, the pair of…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: An Unfortunate Acronym

They probably should have gone with “Bright Sun” and “Dark Moon” or something to that effect for the next two Pokemon games, but they didn’t. Pokemon S&M it is. All we need now is a Pokemon wearing a gimp mask and . . . ah yes, Banette. Close enough. Let’s do this. Those of you…

Meanwhile, In Scenic New York City

That Time My Pikachu Was Kidnapped And Held For Ransom

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Pokemon Red and Blue in Japan, and fans are celebrating by sharing their fondest Pokememories. Mine involve a kidnapping, complete with Polaroid shots and a magazine cut-out ransom letter. It all went down at Dragon*Con 1999 in downtown Atlanta. I’d been working security for the convention…

How To Do The Missingno Glitch In Pokémon Red and Blue 3DS

Oh yes, the most famous glitch in gaming is still present in the eShop versions of the original Pokémon games. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to pull it off, in case your memory is rusty. The easiest way to encounter Missingno is through something called the “old man glitch.” You can’t do this right…

Pokémon Red vs Blue vs Yellow: Which To Buy

The original Pokémon games are out on the 3DS eShop tonight for $9.99, and while they largely offer the same experience, there are some differences between them, too. Each version has exclusive Pokémon which you can only capture within that game. The whole idea is to get players trading monsters with each other, which should…

The Best Starter To Pick In Pokémon Red and Blue

Tonight, many of you will be making an important choice when you pick up the re-release of Pokémon Red and Blue on 3DS: Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle? Truthfully, there are no wrong answers here. But depending on what you’re looking for, certain choices might make more sense for you than other ones. THE CASE FOR…

Possible Leak That Nailed Pokémon Codename Also Lists NX For 2016 Release

A supposed leak full of sensitive Nintendo information published earlier this week on the message board NeoGAF looked a little more solid this morning thanks to some new corroboration. If it’s all true, we may be seeing Nintendo’s next console—along with both Wii U and NX versions of Zelda—later this year. On Monday, a NeoGAF…

Pokémon Sun And Moon Confirmed, Out This Year For 3DS

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for a new generation of Pokémon. About time, too: Pokémon X and Y came out in 2013, so it’s been a while since we’ve gotten a new game in the main series. While the logos for the new Pokemon games leaked yesterday, we actually got to see a second or…

Watch The Pokémon Direct Right Here [UPDATE: Over]

This morning’s Pokémon Direct will only be six minutes long, but we’re hoping it’s full of interesting news nonetheless. Maybe some suns and some moons? Let’s see. The show starts at 10am ET—watch right here. UPDATE – 10:10am: And it’s over. The news: Pokémon Sun and Moon are coming to 3DS later this year

The Snorlax Cushion of Your Dreams Costs $460

Enormous, officially licensed Pokémon cushions aren’t cheap. According to Inside, Premium Bandaiis rolling out a huge Snorlax cushion. You might remember that Kotaku previously introduced a Snorlax pillow (which was official) and a Snorlax bed (which was not). This cushion if an officially licensed product. It’s also huge. How huge? [Image: Bandai] It’s bigger than…

Pokémon Moon And Sun Logos Pop Up

What are Pokémon Moon and Pokémon Sun, recently discovered in the European Union’s trademark database (via NeoGAF)? Could they be, perhaps, video games? Worth noting: Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have registered trademarks for many names that never actually come out, like “Pokémon Gray” and “Pokémon Delta Emerald,” both of which have led to endless…

Pokémon Releases Official Photo App, Whatever Happens Next Is Their Own Fault

As part of its ongoing 20th anniversary celebration, The Pokémon Company just gave thousands of people with too much time on their hands the opportunity to create officially branded mischief on their smartphones. The 20th anniversary celebration kicks into high gear this weekend. Nintendo has an incredibly short Pokémon Nintendo Direct on Friday. On Saturday…

There will be a Pokémon Direct on Friday, the day before Pokémon’s 20th birthday. According to Nintendo’s official site, the five-minute presentation, which will “celebrate 20 years of Pokémon,” takes place at 7AM PT—that’s 10AM ET, or 3PM GMT.

Move Over Steve Austin, Pikachu Can Do the Stunner, Too

And like that, Pokkén Tournament is suddenly that much cooler. The above GIF is from a Pokkén trailer for Masked Pikachu. It’s not a new trailer (it’s old!), but Redditors on r/Pokemon recently pointed out that, yes, this certainly appears to be the Stunner. [GIF via AfraidIdenticalCatfish] During his career, Stone Cold Steve Austin popularized…

Fan Creates Awesome Holographic Pokémon Projections

Great fan project! Kennywdev made a prism of plexiglass and mounted a camera on top for image tracking. Then, he projected some 3D Pokémon scenes that he made in Unity on it. It’s a very smart way to create cool-looking holographic projections. It’s worth watching a tutorial on how these are made, it’s actually not…

Pokémon’s Creators Pick The Best Starters

The age-old question for many Pokémon fans has always been: Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle? Everyone has an opinion on this, and we’ve even used science to answer the question of who the best starter is. Still, the debate is far from settled. [This post originally appeared on October 14th, 2014.] For the longest time, I…

People Used To Tease Pikachu’s Voice Actress

Ikue Otani has voiced Pikachu since 1997. Since Ash’s Pikachu can only say variations of “pika” or “pikachu,” she was often teased for having what some saw as an easy gig. In in Yomiuri Shimbun (via Twitter user Karubiimunomono), Otani talked about her experiences. “In the beginning, I was often ridiculed with people saying, “It’s…