Pokémon

Now There’s an Official App for Watching Pokemon Cartoons

I had no idea I wanted an app that featured a weekly rotation of 50 episodes of the Pokemon cartoon sorted by game region until just now. The free Pokemon TV App is here, and it wants to show you its Pokemons. Not only does the free app, available today on iTunes and Google Play,…

Beware of Fake Pokémon Scans

This Pokémon trainer art does resemble the male trainer in very real Pokémon X/Y screens. But it is not a real Japanese magazine scan. It looks like one, but it’s so fake. Here’s why. For example, here it gives “atarashishii” as the reading for the Japanese word for “new”, which is “atarashii” (新しい). This mistake…

Things Get Weird When You Look At Pokémon As An Allegory For Slavery

Unlike the Pokémon games before it, Pokémon Black/White almost explored something interesting: why we catch Pokémon, and whether or not keeping/battling with them is “okay.” But before the games said anything meaningful or deep, they took the easy route and made Team Plasma—the group intent on “liberating” Pokémon and therefore the reason you’re thinking about…

Hella Jelly: Japan Gets Stupidest, Yet Possibly Most Amazing Event-Pokémon

There are some cool event Pokémon distributed for promotional purposes—legendaries, for instance. And then there are event Pokémon that leave you scratching your head. Enter level 99 shiny Magikarp, which will be an event Pokémon distributed by a Pokémon Centre in Nagoya. The occasion? They’re moving into a new building according to Serebii. The Makikarp…

This Pokémon X/Y Fake Amuses Japan, At Least

Blurry Japanese magazine scans are often a source of new info about eagerly anticipated games. Games like Pokémon X/Y. That is, unless the scans are totally fake. Earlier this month, what’s supposedly (apparently?) a “leaked” image from a Japanese magazine popped up on YouTube. To date, the video has been viewed over 50,000 times, and…

Pokémon Goes Noir In This Terrific Comic For Grown Ups

As kids who were/are Pokémon fans grow up, their tastes are growing up alongside them. Just like you can find more “adult” tales based on, say, the Star Wars universe, Pokécenter is a comic by Ray Bruwelheide that isn’t exactly you’ll find coming from Nintendo themselves. Down the bottom, it says “to be continued”. God,…

If This is What a Free-to-Play Pokemon Game Would Be Like, Then No Thanks.

Zuko Monsters has several advantages over Pokemon, the long-lived monster collecting role-playing game series that clearly serves as its inspiration. It’s got sharp and colorful graphics filled with personality, with nary a pixel to be seen. Timed finger taps during battles add a simple element of interactivity that Pokemon‘s battles lack. Zuko Monsters is also…

Now We Can All Pretend Our 3DS Is A Pokédex

I’ve never used the Pokémon compendium known as the Pokédex much in the Pokémon games, but the idea of having a physical Pokédex is still really cool. Sure, you could buy a toy Pokédex, or, you can put a decal on your red 3DS to make it look like one instead! If you think the…

Let’s Rank the Pokémon Games, Best to Worst

We did it with Halo, Grand Theft Auto, and Final Fantasy, and now we’re back at it again to rank the Pokémon series. The Pokémon world is an enormous one, one that spans over 20 core titles (mostly with slight variations) and countless other side stories (30 by my count), but for newcomers into the…

This Rendition Of The Pokémon Battle Theme Will Put You In A Fightin’ Mood

It’s been years since I’ve heard this specific version of the trainer battle music in Pokémon—I had Red, back then—but hearing it now on violin and piano evokes old memories. This performance by krissalad is great and makes me wonder what other Pokémon songs would sound live. Pokémon Red & Blue – Trainer Battle Theme…

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a Pokémon quiz of sorts. They’re branching out! Test your knowledge

Here’s One Difference Between Pokémon Games in Japan and the West

In Japan, new Pocket Monster games means new logos. In the West, it does not. And that sucks! As pointed out by a KnowYourMeme user, here’s how the the logos for the Japanese versions and the Western versions of all the Pokémon games compare through the years. That’s right, the Japanese logos continue to evolve…

The Most Badass Dragons In Gaming

Whether they’re allies or foes, tiny or towering beasts, robotic, undead or living, the kings of reptiles will always represent brutal power in any game. When they make their appearance, you can be certain that devastation, destruction, and, well, probably the end of the game, will follow. We have collected below some of the most…

How to Make Ash and Pikachu Totally Freaky

This is Pikachu, and his trainer, Ash (or “Satoshi” as he’s called in Japan). This is how they’ve looked in the Pokémon anime. Nothing really strange here at all. Ash and Pikachu, hanging out. Got it. But if you, like Twitter user @KoTa_OTL want to mix things up and get crazy, here ya go: This…

Finding Porn While Searching for Pokémon X? Maybe You’re Doing It Wrong.

The new Pokémon games are titled Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. Have you ever searched either of those games on Google? If you are stumbling upon pornography, it might not be Pokémon, it could be you. Kotaku has been getting tips that point out entering “Pokemon X Videos” on Google turns up X-rated porn. Forums,…

Pokémon Comes To Life In The Most Electrifying Way

Canadian street artist (and animator, and character designer) Aiden Glynn likes to take everyday objects on the street and bring a little life to them, turning them into characters from video games and cartoons. So a power box becomes Diglett, and an old barrel out the front of a restaurant becomes a prop from Donkey…

These Pikachu and Mario Skin Suits Cover You From Head to Toe

You thought the full body tights stopped at Totoro? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are more nightmares to be had. Many more. This post contains imagery and a subject matter not suitable for all readers. However, it is free of GIFs. In Japanese, these outfits are called “zenshin tights” (全身タイツ), with “zenshin”…

Time For Your Late-Night Pokémon Creep-Out

Let’s just say this is a story about what happens to the Pokemon left behind and leave it at that. Wait, no. Let’s also say this is creepy as hell, and that you’ve been warned. OK, we’ll leave it at that The Pokemon Hoarder [00mosama00, via Go Nintendo]

This Pokémon Nerd Hero Is Way Good at Drawing

One of my favorite things is watching people draw. I’m not very good at drawing, but there’s something relaxing about watching people who are. Late last year, Japanese celeb Shoko Nakagawa appeared on a variety program and was able to show off how talented she is at art (and how other celebrities aren’t!). Nakagawa, who…

How a Phony Pikachu Trolled Japanese Twitter Users

Shortly after Nintendo revealed the newest Pokémon, Pocket Monsters X/Y, the above image started circulating on Twitter. “This seems to be an image of the evolved Pikachu from the new Pokémon,” the tweet read. Another image of this evolved Pikachu, which was apparently named “Kaenchu” (カエンチュ), also started making its way around the internet in…