Pokémon

Calling Pikachu “Slow” Leads to Destroyed Childhood Dreams

Pikachu is not slow! Except for when he’s crossing the street in South Korea. Courtesy of YouTube and tipster Sang, the above video is titled “Pikachu, the Childhood Destroyer.” At around the thirty-second mark, as the crosswalk is ticking down the seconds before the light changes, someone says, “Pikachu is too slow. Shit, there are…

Pokémon is the Latest Casualty of the Government Shutdown

In America, we’re 12 days into our government shutdown, and apparently everyone is cool doing without frilly things like benefits to military survivors or food inspections, because assigning blame for this stupid temper tantrum is terribly uncivil. But we draw the line when it affects our right to bear Pokémon, right?! This sign hit Tumblr…

Pokemon X Versus Pokemon Y: Which To Buy

Coke or sprite? Scrambled or sunny side up? Paragon or renegade? The world is full of difficult existential questions, and while you’re on your own/SOL with most of them, we here at Kotaku would like to offer a helping hand in choosing between Pokemon X & Pokemon Y. Some context, before we talk specifics: traditionally,…

Pokémon X & Y: The Kotaku Review

It’s impossible to escape the influence of Charles Darwin: even if you’ve never paid attention in class, his theory of evolution has influenced everything from science to pop culture—including, yes, the highly popular Pokemon games. You could say evolution is the backbone of the series: from its inception back in 1998, the idea behind the…

Poké-Proposal Makes Pikachu Giddy With Excitement

Look at Pikachu! I mean the little (well, big) fella looks legitimately fired up by this marriage proposal last night Nintendo World’s gala event for the launch of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. Fiancée, I choose you! This couple, Debbie G. and Jeff W. are the co-founders of Long Island’s StreetPass club. And yes, she…

What Pokémon Is

I write a whole lot about Pokemon here at Kotaku—and every time, at least one person asks what the deal with the franchise is. Why is it so big? Why do people care about it? What’s it about, even? Maybe you wonder these things, too—it’s an especially relevant set of questions now that Pokemon X…

It’s Official: Real-Life Pokémon Look Awesome

We’ve seen live-action Pokémon before, but that was all fan-made. Consider these fantastic beasties the official real-life versions of your favorite critters, straight from the folks at Nintendo. None of the screens, trailers or character art have made me quite as nostalgically excited for tomorrow’s launch of Pokémon X and Y as the 15 seconds…

I’m Not Sure, But I Think PETA Is Upset With Pokémon.

Remember when we had to wait years for a follow-up to our pro-animal rights propaganda video games? The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals return to the Unrelated Region a year after Pokémon Black & Blue with Pokémon Red, White & Blue: Loosely Connected to McDonald’s. Last year’s game called out all of humanity…

Pokémon Family Portraits Are The Best Family Portraits

This is a family portrait. So in thirty years time, this kid will look on her parent’s wall, see this weird picture and realise that, in 2013, her parents were awesome Note: if you’re wondering why a cosplay portrait, the Bulbasaur is Lindze, who we’ve featured here on Kotaku a few times previously. Pokemon [Benny…

A Committee Of Five People Decides Which Pokémon Live And Which Die

Five silhouetted figures sit in a smoke-filled room, sipping brandy as they vote upon the most important issues of our era: which Pokémon will make it into the next Pokémon game. Every few minutes they make the decision: who will live… and who will die? That’s how I like to imagine the Pokémon Selection Committee,…

Three More Pokemon X & Y Mega Evolutions Leak

Though we’re rather close to the official release to Pokemon X & Y, there are still new snippets of information that are bubbling up. Today, for example, CoroCoro magazine scans that showcase three new Mega Pokemon appeared on Serebii. Obviously, if you don’t want these Pokemon spoiled, you should probably stop reading now! Otherwise, you…

What comes after Mega Evolution in Pokemon X & Y? For Blastoise, evolution has gotta mean more cannons, right? You can never have too many cannons. (Memebase viaAndrew Kane)

Pokémon Explained In One Very Enthusiastic Musical Tribute

If you’re curious what Pokémon is all about, hopefully you took the time to read Patricia’s great breakdown of the series, its history, and its appeal. But if you don’t have time—or just like exuberant! musical! numbers!—this smurfy mini-musical from AvByte might be just the thing. (Via Laughing Squid)

Brock Is A Major Creep In This Pokemon Anime

If you’ve watched Pokemon: Origins, the TV special that recently aired in Japan earlier this month, you may have noticed two things. One: Origins is a thing that should have lasted more than four episodes. And two: why in the world is Brock, the original rock-type gym leader, so creepy? The first time we see…

Report: They’re Making a New Pokémon Game Starring Pikachu

Pikachu, I choose you! For a starring role in the next Pokémon game, that is. Later this month, Japanese broadcaster NHK is airing a profile on Pokémon Company honcho Tsunekazu Ishihara. The profile will feature, of course, interviews with Ishihara as well as provide an exclusive look at the company. But there’s more: According to…

If Pokémon Had Been A Western Cartoon…

First airing in Japan in the 1990s, Pokémon is a very, well, Japanese cartoon. Let’s imagine for a second, though, that it had been released in the 1990s in the United States. Instead of King of the Hill. Or inside King of the Hill. Pretty sure I wouldn’t need another show on TV. Poké-King-of-the-Mon-Hill [YouTube]

No, It’s Not Official Pokemon X & Y Art. But It Could Be.

Mark Avila may not be able to play Pokemon X & Y until later this week, but that hasn’t stopped him from drawing a bunch of kickass art of the new Pokemon in the meantime. It’s so excellent, you could almost mistake it for the official art. Like the recently-revealed Mega Charizard X, pictured above.…

The Latest Pokémon Anime Really Nails Pokémon Red And Blue

How closely does the Pokémon Origins anime mirror the events of Pokémon Red and Blue? See for yourself in these 24 awesome animted GIFs shared by Pokémon fan Robin on his Tumblr. Minor spoilers and childhood memories ahead! Pokémon Red vs. Pokémon: The Origin [Rabalogy, Tumblr] To contact the author of this post, write to:…

Starting December, You Can Pay For Your Very Own Pokémon Storage Unit

Is your apartment too small to hold all of your Pokémon? Don’t worry! You can buy more space soon! On December 27, Nintendo will launch the Pokémon Bank, a cloud-based storage system that can be used to hold Pokémon in the digital world for eternity—or at least until the servers all collapse. There will be…

Pokémon X And Y Is Everything You Wanted Pokémon To Be As A Kid

Here’s what I like to imagine. Game Freak shipped Black and White 2, and production then started for a new Pokemon game. They didn’t have any specifics yet, but they knew they want to breathe some life into the franchise—make it feel fresh, sure, but still keep the core of what makes Pokemon games so…