Pokémon

Don’t Worry, Japan Still Loves Pokémon

The fever over Yokai Watch might have caused some to wonder if Japan still gets excited by Pokémon. The answer to that is rather simple: Yes, it does. Over the weekend, pre-orders began for Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. The longest line was at the Pokémon Center in Tokyo, which had a three-hour…

No Kotaku ‘Shop Contest winners post this week. Last week’s contest involveda news story about a man dressed in Pokemon garb wandering onto the White House lawn. Now that information has come to light regarding the mental state of the individual in question, I no longer feel the contest’s subject matter appropriate. We’ll be back…

Terrible Pokémon Can Be Traded, Eventually, For Legendaries

Even a piece of crap Pokémon can result in a legendary trade. The trick? Patience, and an eye for trading up. It’s sort of like the Pokémon equivalent of One Red Paperclip, where blogger Kyle MacDonald managed to barter his way from a paperclip to an actual house over the course of a year. Only…

Metal Gear Solid Characters As Pokémon Trainers

Otacon would probably take Professor Oak’s place, and the Pokémon themselves would look a lot different if the Metal Gear universe met Pokémon Japanese artist Ikuyoan transformed Snake, Liquid and Raiden (I like his new “sword”) to Pokémon trainers, with cuter versions of a Metal Gear REX or Blade Wolf. Fan-art by Ikuyoan [Pixiv, via…

These Limited Pokémon New 3DS Consoles Sure Look Luxurious

Probably because they’re covered in suede! Available for pre-order through Japan’s Pokémon Center stores starting September 20, these limited edition New 3DS consoles come with suede faceplates stamped with Pokémon—Groudon for the red Groudon Edition, and Kyogre for the blue Kyogre Edition. As you can see on the top image, the handhelds’ front features each…

The Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: White House Pokémon

What possesses a Pokémon fan to storm the most protexted lawn in the United States of America decked out in Pikachu gear? Perhaps this week’s Photoshop contest can shed some light on the matter. In case you missed it, an obvious lover of all things Pikachudanced with the Secret Service on the White House lawn…

Okay, I’m Interested In Pokémon’s Legendaries Again

I had what one might call ‘legendary fatigue‘ in Pokémon. New legendaries weren’t really cutting it for me. But after the reveal of Primal Reversion, and the reveal of the special abilities that Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre have in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, I gotta admit: they’ve hooked me again. The new abilities…

“When I heard that there was such a thing as the Pokémon World Championships in 2000 I became obsessed with getting there.” Keza MacDonald from our sister site, Kotaku UK, summarizes her experience at the recent Pokémon World Championships. You can read her story here

​Man In Pokémon Gear Charges White House Lawn, Gets Shut Down

Now here’s something you don’t see every day. According to multiple reporters who were on the scene, a man wearing a Pikachu hat and carrying a stuffed Pokémon jumped the White House fence today and ran across the lawn before being apprehended by Secret Service agents. The White House was reportedly placed on temporary lockdown,…

Insanely Popular Game Is Drawing Long Lines at McDonald’s in Japan

Yokai Watch is incredibly popular in Japan. The anime, the toys, and the 3DS games are all smash hits. They are the biggest thing going at the moment. So, you know if McDonald’s rolls out a Yokai Watch Happy Meal, then that’s going to be popular, too. As noted by Buzz News Japan, the recently…

Squirtle post-it art. Via R/Gaming You are now looking at Screenburn, a Kotaku blog dedicated to the best gaming images, videos and GIFs online.

Number Of Different Teams Possible in Pokémon Pokémon is endlessly fascinating to me. It has layers of complexity that keep it that keep it both accessible to younger players and interesting for adults. While on a very long and boring plane ride this past week, I got to wondering just how many different Pokémon teams…

Pokkén Tournament Even Surprised Tekken‘s Producer

The upcoming Pokémon/Tekkenarcade fighting game, Pokkén Tournament caught a lot of us by surprise, but apparently we weren’t the only ones. According to Tekken series lead man Katsuhiro Harada, originally, after the offer to collaborate he approached Pokémon Company head, Tsunekazu Ishihara, with a different idea, but Ishihara already had his mind set from the…

The Guy Who Hunts The Rarest Pokémon of Them All

Not all Pokémon are created equal. Some legendary Pokémon, like Groudon and Kyogre, feature more prominently in the games’ stories. Other Pokémon, like Garchomp, have superior stats. And some, like Lucario, are fan favorites. None of those, however, are as coveted as the fabled Shiny Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon are special monsters that come in sparkly…

The Internet Reacts to the New Pokémon Fighting Game

There’s a new Pokémon game! It’s an action fighting game. For arcades. In Japan. I bet the internet has something to say about that. As previously reported, The Pokémon Company roped in Namco Bandai, the makers of Tekken, for the arcade game. It’s called Pokkén Tournament and will be out next year in Japan. And…

Pokémon Arcade Fighting Game Announced in Japan

The Pokémon Company just announced its new project: Pokkén Tournament. It’s a fighting game in which Pocket Monsters square off. Tsunekazu Ishihara, the head of the Pokémon Company, said on a NicoNico broadcast he wanted to offer an experience that players haven’t had until now. This, it seems, is the result. The game was first…

Pokemon’s Official Reggae Is Slowpoke Centipede

Well, everyone’s favorite pink and slow Pokemon now has a reggae song. It’s totally official, too. The music video for it is…just watch it. The song is title “Donai Yanen Yadon” (どないやねん ヤドン), which loosely translates as, “How You’re a Slowpoke After All.” The lyrics are very humorous and say things like, “Your big mouth…

Woah, Someone Is Building Pokémon Inside of Dota 2

Ever think to yourself, man, Tidehunter is pretty much just a really buff Squirtle? No? That just me? Regardless, someone is working to mash together both Pokemon and Dota, and it’s an idea that might just be crazy enough to work. It’s called DotaMon, of course, and it’s a mod that’s being developed by Sma11P1ays…

Meet The People Who Are Pokémon Gym Leaders In Real Life

Every Pokémon journey has the same goal: become strong enough to take on and defeat gym leaders, Pokémon’s version of boss battles. What if you could actually fight your way through a real Pokemon league? And what if this League was actually better than the ones found in the games? To understand what I mean,…

Nintendo, You Should Listen To These Diehard Pokémon Fans

Have you ever played a video game in another language? Maybe you understood that foreign lingo no problem and were fine. Maybe it was difficult. Maybe you just wanted to play the game in your native language. Then, you’ll understand these Chinese Pokémon fans. As South China Morning Post points out, there hasn’t been an…