Pokémon

Trainer Battles Make Pokémon Go Finally Feel Complete

Pokémon Go is ready to expand once again with the upcoming addition of trainer battles, offering the first real head-to-head competition the game has seen since it launched in 2016. Last week, Niantic invited Kotaku to try out this new mode at their offices, and much like the game itself, these battles are a little…

Mutated Australian Possum Now Named “Pikachu”

Last month an orphaned possum was handed in to a wildlife rescue service in Melbourne. Born with a “genetic mutation”, its bright colour scheme has earned it a very fitting name: Pikachu. The Age reports that the possum—remember, Australian possums are not American possums—has a specific mutation that “results in low levels of melanin”, meaning…

Trainer battles—PvP, that is—are coming to Pokémon Go “soon,” Niantic has announced

Pokémon Poetry: Nine Haiku About Our Collections

Several of us here at Kotaku are playing Pokémon Let’s Go and collecting new adorable friends and fighters, and these little critters have inspired some poetry. What better form than the haiku to celebrate these pocket-sized monsters and their stories? huge Clefable, please carry me in your cloud arms I name you meringue – Cecilia…

What We Liked And Didn’t Like About Pokémon Let’s Go

Mike Fahey and I have been battling all up and down Kanto in Pokémon Let’s Go. Now that our respective quests are at an end, we sat down to talk about Master Trainers, playing with kids, and how weird Pokémon type weaknesses are. Gita Jackson: Hey Fahey! It’s amazing to be in the presence of…

Jessie And James Are As Evil, Stupid, And Delightful As Always In Pokémon Let’s Go

Pokémon Let’s Go revisits a lot of the same scenarios from Pokémon Red and Blue, including run-ins with members of the villainous Team Rocket organization. In Let’s Go, these aren’t just any Team Rocket members, it’s the notorious Jessie and James from the Pokémon anime. They’re as evil and dim-witted as they’ve always been, and…

Buying Plushies Of The Original 151 Pokémon Is Expensive

Earlier this year, Kotaku reported that a bunch of plush toys based on the first gen Pokémon plushies were going on sale in Japan. Twitter user Sekai bought all of them. The total cost? Roughly 180,000 yen or nearly $1,600. That, it seems, does include sales tax Here are more shots of Sekai’s collection:

Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee Versus Pikachu: Which To Get

It’s Pokémon Let’s Go launch day, and trainers around the world are setting off on a new adventure through Kanto with their partner Pokémon. That is, unless they can’t decide between the Eevee and Pikachu versions of the game. We’re here to help. You should definitely choose Eevee. Or maybe Pikachu. Ultimately, the decision comes…

Pokémon Let’s Go! Eevee and Pikachu: The Kotaku Review

Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee are going to be divisive. The games seem meant to introduce a new generation of players to Pokémon, especially players who started with Pokémon Go. The changes made to gameplay may frustrate longtime fans, including me; I started playing in the late ‘90s and kept up with the franchise…

Pokémon Let’s Go Helped Me Connect With My Son

“Dad, can we play Pokémon together?” my seven-year-old son Seamus asked as I wandered about Kanto in Pokémon Let’s Go! Eevee. It was the first time he’d asked to play a video game with me. It led to the first time we played a video game together. Seamus and his twin brother, Archer, love video…

Let’s Go Are The Prettiest Pokémon Games Yet

The story is familiar and the players are the same, but the scenery has never looked so good. Gorgeous visuals abound in our latest trip through the Kanto region, making Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee the prettiest pocket monster games yet. Take a look! Before we begin our tour of the sights of the…

The Silly Theory About Ash’s Dad In Pokémon 

It’s been called Pokémon’s greatest mystery. Where is Ash’s father? There is one theory that Professor Oak is Ash’s dad. If you think that’s bonkers, then this theory is even more out there. What if Mr. Mime is really Mr. Ketchum? Silly, I know! With Mr. Mime freaking out everyone with its Hollywood movie version,…

Detective Pikachu Movie Version Of Mr. Mime Is Freaking People Out

In the Pokémon games and anime, Mr. Mime is slightly unsettling. But in the upcoming Hollywood movie, the character is freaky Don’t believe me? It doesn’t look out of place when compared with other horror characters. Goodness. This isn’t freaky per se, but it sure is odd! Okay, maybe it is. Maybe people are being…

“Realistic Pokémon” Artist Got A Job On The Detective Pikachu Movie

Six years ago, artist RJ Palmer started drawing Pokémon as though they were realistic dinosaurs. Those sketches, done for fun, led to him getting the job of a lifetime: working on the Detective Pikachu movie, which we got our first real look at today I mean that in the most literal sense; Palmer says that…

The Internet Reacts To The Detective Pikachu Trailer

The Detective Pikachu movie finally has a trailer and it’s some pretty wild stuff. There’s tons of hairy Pokémon, and also Ryan Reynolds. I don’t have many strong feelings about Pokémon, but I felt a strange chill come over me as I watched a hyper-realistic looking Pikachu speak with Deadpool’s voice. Okay, I thought, we’re…

The Detective Pikachu Movie Is Not At All What I Expected

I’m not sure how to feel about Ryan Reynolds turning Pikachu into a gritty, snarky detective, and in fact this first trailer fills me with all sorts of insane mixed emotions, but I do know that Detective Pikachu, which comes to theaters next summer, will be a must-see. Just watch it:

The Reality Of Official Pikachu Donuts 

Mister Donut, the Japanese based donut chain, has started selling Pikachu donuts. Many of the images circulating online look fine. These, however, appear somewhat off. Here are what the donuts are supposed to look like, compared to the reality Via Pokemon Memo, here are the “mistakes” that have been served to customers Of course, people…

Team Rocket!

Cosplay by sailorbeeee & angelicdazecosplay, photography by Christopher Michael Wong

Longtime Pokémon Director Might Be Stepping Down

Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee might be the last time Junichi Masuda sits in the Pokémon director seat. Masuda has been at Game Freak, the studio behind Pokémon, since its founding. After working as a composer on Pokémon Red and Blue, the first game he directed was Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. He’s been…

Pokémon Go Clone Has You Collecting Catholic Saints

The Vatican has commissioned a mobile game called Follow JC Go, an AR title which is almost identical to Pokémon Go, only you’re out there collecting Saints and “blessed characters from the Bible”. It works exactly the same as Niantic and Nintendo’s blockbuster: you hit the streets and run into things you can capture, only…