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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 -
Pokémon Fans Cannot Escape Victini This Holiday Season
With a Victini-themed sweepstakes, the limited theatrical release of Pokémon the Movie: White-Victini and Zekrom, and a special December distribution event, players will be hard-pressed to elude the victory Pokémon this holiday, not that they’d want to. The Pokémon Company International is leading Victini’s victory lap this holiday, starting with the V for Victini Sweepstakes,…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2011 -
Kid Denied Pokémon Cards, Completely Freaks Out
UPDATE – Video removed at request of persons involved. Some Yu-Gi-Oh fans were in their local Toys R’ Us when they spotted a kid reacting…poorly to his mother’s decision to not let him buy any Pokémon cards. So they did what any group of semi-grown men would have done seeing such a thing: filmed it.…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 3, 2011 -
Dead Rats Reborn as Pokémon
Tokyo has a rat problem. Shibuya is crawling with “super rats”. They’re called “super”, because the rodents seem highly resistant to rat poison. One thing these rodents aren’t impervious to? Artists. A few years back, Japanese art collective Chim Pom caught rats in Shibuya with nets and rat traps. According to the Huffington Post, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 28, 2011 -
You Know What the Pokémon Franchise Really Needs? Your Fresh Ideas
Commenter Balmung of the Azure Sky has been thinking about Pokémon lately, and believes it’s high time the franchise gets the modern-day makeover it desperately needs. How would you folks bring Pokémon up to date? Speak Up on Kotaku, I choose you! So I have been thinking a lot about Pokémon lately. These games need…
By Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2011 -
Should You Buy Pokémon Rumble Blast? No.
Pokémon Rumble Blast is the first Pokémon game for the Nintendo 3DS, but it’s not a real Pokémon game any more than the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon or Pokémon Ranger games are. This is no role-playing game involving turn-based battles and gym trainers. You’re controlling Pokémon directly in this one, collecting some 600 of them in…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 24, 2011 -
Pokémon Finally Comes to World of Warcraft, and No One is Safe
After collecting non-combat in-game pets for nearly seven years, Mists of Pandaria will finally give players the ability to collect, level, battle, and trade these monsters in their pockets. Who will be the very best like no one on Azeroth ever was? You can keep your pandas and your Monks; the most exciting feature of…
By Mike Fahey Published October 21, 2011 -
Pokémon Gray Incoming?
Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services recently registered pokemongray.com. This is the same company that registered pokemonblackwhite.com, an official Nintendo site. When you mix black and white you get…gray. [IGN via Gimme Gimme Games!]
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 20, 2011 -
You Don’t Need a Badge to Play With Nintendo’s Pokémans at the 2011 New York Comic Con
While you will need a badge to check out Nintendo’s holiday line-up on the show floor, down the street on Saturday the Pokémon Gaming Lounge will be servicing the public’s pocket monster-related entertainment needs. While con-goers flood booth 1538 on Saturday afternoon to get their hands on Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, and…
By Mike Fahey Published October 12, 2011 -
When A Pokemon Game Becomes a Dungeon Crawler (I Might Actually Play It)
I’ve never been able to get Pokemon. I’ve tried, first through the cartoons, reviews and endless fan sites, and then by finally biting the bullet and playing through an entire game. Still nothing. So when I had a chance to check out the first Pokemon coming to the 3DS, it wasn’t exactly at the top…
By Brian Crecente Published October 12, 2011 -
Crazy Christians Say Pokémon Are “Oriental Demons”, Minecraft‘s “Distracting”
Minecraft, congratulations! You’ve officially arrived. Religious nuts are railing against you. For years now, Pokémon‘s been a favorite target of those outside the religious mainstream. Dorothy Spaulding from Watchmen Broadcasting, a local Christian broadcast network in Georgia, discussed the perils of Pokeémon with guest Henry Lewis. Apparently, Pokémon are “Oriental demons”, and the names of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 10, 2011 -
A Grand X-Men Finale, 1950’s Avengers, Sonic and More of This Week’s Comics Worth Buying
There are new comics to buy each week, and, as always, I have some suggestions… Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops) Action Comics #2 Grant Morrison continues his tale of the re-booted Superman, back when Superman was young and an anti-authority super-hero activist. Morrison’s first issue was superb. Animal Man #2 One of…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 6, 2011 -
So the Adventure Time Guy Made a Cartoon About Pokémon (and Farts)
Pendleton Ward (creator) and Natasha Allegri (artist) of Adventure Time fame have made a short cartoon about Pokémon. In which Ash instructs Pikachu on the etiquette of farts. Despite running for only 1:35, it is both amusing and horrifying. You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 6, 2011 -
There’s a Little Pokémon and World of Warcraft In Forza 4
I love it when games are inspired by games that are nothing like them. Take sports games, and how they’re up to their eyeballs in RPG mechanics like character creation and levelling. Or driving games. Gran Turismo 5 is inspired by elevator music, for example, while it seems Forza 4 —according to Turn 10 creative…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 30, 2011 -
Duke Nukem, Pokémon and Reviews of the The Final Wave of DC’s New 52
Here are our weekly new-comics recommendations. Plus! You’ve heard about DC Comics New 52? The reboot of the company’s entire line? This week, I’ve got capsule reviews of the final 25 books. I’m tired, and you’ve got some reading to do. There are some gems in there. Dare I suggest you buy a comic called…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 28, 2011 -
When Pokémon Comparisons Don’t Piss You Off
The idea of raising monsters and then having them fight didn’t start with Pokémon. In 1992’s Dragon Quest V, players could select monsters and have them duke it out. That was years before Pocket Monsters came out. Yet, Dragon Quest spin-off Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, which focuses on capturing and breeding monsters for battles, is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 26, 2011