Pokémon

One Reason You’ll Like That Silly-Looking Pokémon Game

Boy, Pokémon + Nobunaga’s Ambition is goofy! But don’t write the DS game off just yet: it will have over 200 Pocket Monsters, selected from past Pokémon games. [忍之閻魔帳]

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 13, 2012

Would You Catch These Realistic PokéBalls? Could You?

The Poké Ball, the device which catches and holds Pocket Monsters, comes in various types. There are twenty-six variations, all different. Sadly, they’re not real (neither are Pocket Monsters!). But what if they were? Australian artist Barry Wazzy took the PokéBall out of the game and anime world and rendered them in ours. The result…

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 13, 2012

That Crazy Samurai Pokémon Game Slices Up a Release Date

Pokémon + Nobunaga’s Ambition has a release date: Mar. 17. The game is priced at ¥5,800 or US$75. The game features Pocket Monsters, medieval Japanese samurai, and a whole lotta I-don’t-know-what-to-say. It is a collaboration between Nintendo and Tecmo Koei. Watch the game’s trailer here and feel strange. 『ポケモン+ノブナガの野望』の発売日は3月17日を予定！　はえええええ [はちま機構]

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 12, 2012

North Korea’s Dictator Is So Dragonball

Kim Jong-il passed away last month, leaving his manga-reading gamer son Kim Jong-un as successor. Not much is known about Kim Jong-un, which means the developers of Homefront had to insert his likeness later. One thing that North Korea’s neighbor China knows is that Dear Successor totally looks like a Dragonball bad guy. The above…

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 12, 2012

Darth Vader Riding Charizard

Thank website Doodle of Boredom and be glad Vader is out of the ladies room and back where he belongs: riding a Pocket Monster. Better than Dewbacks [Doodle of Boredom]

By Brian Ashcraft Published January 10, 2012

Pokémon, Digimon, What’s the Difference?

A situation that’s surely played out at hundreds of birthday parties over the years gains new life courtesy of the fine folks at Dorkly. I spent countless hours in toy stores during the early oughts explaining the difference between Pokémon and Digimon to confused parents. Usually the explanation would boil down to Pokémon making better…

By Mike Fahey Published January 3, 2012

America’s PremierPokémon-Playing Family Enter the Guinness Book of Arbitrary Gaming Records

Meet the Arnold family of Frankfort, Illinois, a five-person powerhouse of pure Pokémon battling power. This championship winning team stars in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2012 as the Largest Competitive Pokémon Video Game Family. I should really say re-meet the Arnold’s, as the family was the subject of a feature I wrote after…

By Mike Fahey Published January 3, 2012

New Mario Party and Pokemon Games Hitting the ahem 4 Million-Selling Nintendo 3DS [Update]

Nintendo tipped the world off to its coming software line-up last month, but it seems like they left a few aces up their sleeves as far as what’s coming to the 3DS. In an announcement crowing about the 4 million 3DS units the company’s sold in the United States since launch, Nintendo also declared that…

By Evan Narcisse Published January 3, 2012

Would You Like a Little Pikachu On That Latte?

A “Mocachu” as seen on GameTrailer’s SideMission Twitter account

By Brian Crecente Published December 28, 2011

Farmer Grows Pikachu Fruit

It was about three months ago that sixty-three year-old Toshinobu Takamoto noticed two bumps attached to a Japanese persimmon growing in his yard. After harvesting the fruit, it became the talk of his Fukui City neighborhood, and it was dubbed “Pikachu” for the way it resembled the famed Pocket Monster. Black eyes were drawn on…

By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011

That Weird New Pokémon Game Has a Trailer

It wasn’t a dream. There really is a video game coming that crosses the world of Pokémon with that of Nobunaga’s Ambition, a Japanese history series developed by Tecmo Koei. This is its trailer. See? Not dreaming. That’s a trailer. The game’s full name is Pokémon + Nobunaga’s Ambition, and it’s out on the DS…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 19, 2011

New Pokémon Game Revealed! It’s Not What You Expect.

For years now, a steady stream of new Pokémon games have been coming out. If you’ve played one, you basically know what you are getting yourself into. Not this time. Nintendo is teaming up with Tecmo Koei for a totally different Pocket Monster experience, one that features samurai warriors, and is called Pokémon Plus Nobunaga’s…

By Brian Ashcraft Published December 16, 2011

Pikachu and More Pokémon Take You on a Tour of PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond

You’ve got to save missing Pokémon in the upcoming Wii title. Those Pokémon, they always need some kind of saving or training or both. Here’s a teaser filled with pocket monster cuteness to get you ready for the sequel to Poképark: Pikachu’s Adventure. The game’s out next February.

By Evan Narcisse Published December 13, 2011

The Daily Show Proposes Other Pokemon Dialogue For Former GOP Presidential Candidate Herman Cain

Herman Cain delivered one of American politics’ most bizarre WTF moments when he quoted the Pokemon movie during the press conference where he suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Host Jon Stewart and the writers at The Daily Show take that moment and make it more WTF-er by offering up a few other…

By Evan Narcisse Published December 6, 2011

Scott Hates Pokémon More Than You

If the world was overrun with Pokémon, how would you handle it? Probably better than Scott here. It goes for a bit too long, but then, if poor Scott has to put up with Pokémon, we have to put up with a good joke that overstays its welcome. It’s only fair.

By Luke Plunkett Published December 6, 2011

Here’s Why Former Presidential Candidate Herman Cain Was So Obsessed With A Pokémon Song

If one didn’t know better, it would be easy to think one-time presidential candidate Herman Cain is a gamer. His tax plan seems to be ripped straight out of SimCity and his go-to inspiration quote comes from a Pokémon movie. What gives? GQ recently ran an amazing interview with Cain, who this weekend officially suspended…

By Brian Crecente Published December 5, 2011

Herman Cain Quotes Pokémon as he Suspends his Campaign

Republican Herman Cain quoted a Pokémon movie once more as he suspended his campaign for President of the United States today. “I believe these words came from the Pokémon movie,” Cain said during a speech in Atlanta. “Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It’s never easy when there’s so much on the…

By Stephen Totilo Published December 3, 2011

Bruises Make the Best Pokémon

You might look at a bruise as something to cover up. Hide it until you recover. One Twitter user saw something else: A Pocket Monster. Here, Pokémon Gastly, a black ball of glowing matter surrounded by purple gas, takes the place of an unsightly black-and-blue spot. The text bubble reads, “Ah! A wild Gastly appeared!”,…

By Brian Ashcraft Published November 22, 2011

Pokémon: Gray Announcement Coming?

The long rumored Pokémon: Gray inches closer to reality with a teaser in the latest issues of Japan’s Jump magazine, hinting at an “astonishing announcement” on Dec. 17 at the Jump Festa event in Chiba, Japan. [Twitpic]

By Brian Ashcraft Published November 21, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

When Pokémon and Magic Cards Went to War

They don’t seem that similar aside from the fact they’re printed on cards, and they were never really competition, either, but in October 2003 that didn’t stop the companies behind Magic Cards and Pokémon battling somewhere other than the tabletop or the schoolyard. This story begins in the late 1990s, when role-playing giants Wizards of…

By Luke Plunkett Published November 14, 2011