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Kotaku East
Why Is Ash from Pokémon Such a Loser?
The Pokémon Origins anime special offered a reminder of one thing: Ash is a pretty lousy Pokémon trainer. If only he could reach his true potential! Eh, he can’t. Note: This post contains spoilers. If you’ve followed the Pokémon anime, you’ll know that Ash (or “Satoshi” as he’s called in Japan) isn’t exactly the best…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2013 -
Pokemon Leaker Says “Heads Are Rolling” At Nintendo
A bevy of alleged Pokemon X & Y images and videos are currently floating around the web right now, but one leaker in particular caught the attention of a lot of folk on the internet…and Nintendo. The images we posted earlier today, came from Instagram user kosthedin—but by the time of publication, all pictures had…
By Patricia Hernandez Published October 2, 2013 -
The New Pokémon Anime Was So Brutal
Oh. My. Goodness. You thought Pokémon was safe and all? Ha! Just look how Charmander gets jacked up and starts screaming like bloody hell. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! This appeared in Pokémon Origins, a Pocket Monster special based on Pokémon Red and Blue. It was not effing around. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [AppleHack@YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 2, 2013 -
Leaked Images Show Off Pokemon X & Y’s Version of France
We already know that Pokemon X & Y’s world is based on France—earlier this year, Junichi Masuda, Game Freak founder and director for the latest Pokemon, explained that the games picked up on France’s love of fashion and beauty. We’d even seen an artistic rendition of the game’s map, pictured above, which seemed to feature…
By Patricia Hernandez Published October 2, 2013 -
Bathe In The Blue Flames Of Mega Charizard X
We knew classic Pokemon Charizard would be getting a Mega evolution in Pokemon X & Y. We didn’t know it was getting two, one of which changes the creatures iconic colors completely. Mega Charizard X, making its big debut on October 12 in the two new Pokemon titles, evolves temporarily via careful application of Charizardite…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2013 -
‘I’m an RPG-Kind-of-Girl’ Says Newly Crowned Miss World
Megan Young enjoys Assassin’s Creed, Fable, and especially Pokémon—her favorite is Blastoise (a “basic Pokémon with a lot of strength and spunk.”) Last night she was crowned Miss World 2013. If we’re ever in a beauty pageant with aliens from other galaxies, folks, this is the woman we want representing humankind. Young was crowned Miss…
By Owen Good Published September 29, 2013 -
Kotaku East
You’ve Never Seen Tattoos Like Banana Tattoos
Think human beings are the only ones who can enjoy tattoos? Ha! Bananas can get them, too. Japanese artist End Cape specializes in giving the yellow fruit tats. His process is time consuming and taxing. End Cape punctures small holes in the banana’s skin using a pin, and this causes the peel to “bruise” and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 27, 2013 -
The Original Pokemon Hero Returns In Pokemon Origins
Ash Ketchum was never the very best, like no one ever was. It was always Red, the hero of the original Pokemon Red and Blue. His story is Pokemon Origins, a four-part animated series premiering November 15 on Pokemon TV. This is the Pokemon trainer I became when I first fell in love with this…
By Mike Fahey Published September 26, 2013 -
Mega Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise, In Classic Red and Blue Style
One of the more distinctive things about the first Pokemon games—aside from nostalgia—is that we got to see the older, distinctive art style drawn by Ken Sugimori (Pokemon’s art director). And thanks to artists like Tomycase, we can still have the pleasure of seeing new Pokemon in that older ‘Sugimori style,’ too. Like the original…
By Patricia Hernandez Published September 26, 2013 -
Pokemon Hasn’t Really Felt Exciting In A Long While…Until Now
I remember the first time I played Pokemon as a kid—the sense of awe that came with being able to set off on an adventure with cool monsters at my side. It’s just the kind of childish fantasy that seems destined to grow less enchanting as we grow older. Sure enough, despite being a Pokemon…
By Patricia Hernandez Published September 25, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Seventeen Years of Pokemon in a Single Image
Has it been seventeen years? The time has just flown by. Here’s how the in-game maps have evolved. The above image was uploaded by Japanese Twitter user @Ugusyan and has been retweeted over ten thousand times. ポケモン17年の歴史 [Twitter] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 24, 2013 -
Naw, Digimon Had Nothing To Do With Pokémon’s Mega Evolutions
After the ‘Mega Evolution’ announcement for Pokemon X & Y, some fans couldn’t help but wonder two things: wait a minute, aren’t those temporary power-ups you gain in-battle kiiiind of like Digimon’s ‘Mega Digivolution’? And how would the games maintain balance with said power-ups? Both Pokemon and Digimon involve a variety of creatures humans use…
By Patricia Hernandez Published September 19, 2013 -
Pokemon Deserve A Companion This Pretty
After years of fan-made efforts, Nintendo finally went and released their own Pokedex app for iOS. It works, but it’s kinda gross, and nowhere near as pretty as this gorgeous design by Jake Moore, which brings Pokemon into theiOS7 era One day, Nintendo might put as much effort into stuff like this (and its console…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Here’s How Pokémon X/Y Lets You Dress Trainers
In Pokémon X/Y, you can customize your trainers. This is something The Pokémon Company previously revealed, but here’s a good look at how dress-up works in Pokémon X/Y There seems to be a big game in how the characters look in this mode and in the actual game, but whatever. Not sure which is better…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2013 -
Pokemon Brings Back “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” With A Bad Music Video
“Gotta Catch ‘Em All” never truly left our hearts, but it did leave official Pokemon channels for a bit. The Pokemon Company is bringing it back, and they’ve recruited renowned electronica artist Pogo to produce this bit of nonsense. That’s right kids, this was the big tease. The song is called “Catchatronic”, and it’s a…
By Mike Fahey Published September 16, 2013 -
Kotaku East
Pikachu (And Friends) with No Ears
You’ve seen a Pikachu numerous times, but have you ever seen the character without ears? Online in Japan recently, a thread on 2ch, the country’s largest forum, popped up with people contributing altered photos of iconic characters sans ears. Like this. And here’s the Miffy we all know and love. Here’s Miffy without ears. Rilakkuma,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 16, 2013 -
Looks Like Pokémon Announcements Are Blasting Off Again
The Pokémon Company has teased us with even more news about something Pokémon-related. The official Pokémon Twitter account tweeted around noon today: “Heads up, Trainers! We’ve got a surprise for you! Tune in Monday at 8 a.m. PDT for a special announcement!” With exciting news like Pokémon Bank and scads of other details about Pokémon…
By Dan Crabtree Published September 14, 2013 -
Okay, Real Talk. What’s Going On With Ash Ketchum’s Age?
Now that we’ve seen what Ash will look like in the newest season of the Pokemon anime, once again discussion of one of the show’s greatest mystery flares up: just how old is Ash Ketchum supposed to be, and why does he almost never seem to age? “Almost” is important there, since the newest version…
By Patricia Hernandez Published September 13, 2013 -
Mega Mewtwo X Is Cool. More Gender-Specific Pokemon Forms Are Cooler.
It’s been two days since the big Corocoro Pokemon X and Y news explosion and, like clockwork, here comes The Pokemon Company to verify everything and add a little spice. Two Mega Mewtwos and a Mega Garchomp? True. Starter evolutions? Cute! A customizeable Pokemon? Interesting. New Pokemon with male and female forms? Awesome. Let’s take…
By Mike Fahey Published September 13, 2013 -
Culture
Pokemon, Ranked
Screw ‘gotta catch em all’—some Pokemon are clearly better than others, and I ain’t boutta carry around no lame-ass pocket monster around with me. You know? The things that make a Pokemon superior aren’t always cut and dry, though. Sometimes, it’s the design. Sometimes it’s the Pokemon’s combat usefulness. And sometimes, the Pokemon is just…
By Patricia Hernandez Published September 12, 2013