Pokémon

Pokémon Go Players Are Preparing For Legendaries By Powering Up Golem

Legendaries are typically the most powerful monsters in the compendium, so getting one this weekend is likely going to be tough. Fortunately, players are already figuring out the most efficient counters to all the possibilities. During the legendaries trailer, we can spot a handful of familiar faces: Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno, Ho-oh, Lugia, and even Mewtwo.…

Pokémon Go Update Makes Gyms Less Annoying

A big update to Pokémon Go is plugging some leaky holes in the game’s gym mechanics. The mobile app’s current gym system forces players to swing by the gyms where they leave their Pokémon if they want to feed those Pokémon berries. Berries increase monsters’ “Motivation” stat, which keeps them from leaving the gym. Feeding…

Perhaps The Most Surprising Thing About The New Pokémon Movie 

The new flick Pokémon: I Choose You! ditches Brock and Misty, but there’s something that might be even more surprising. (Warning: this article has spoilers!) Up until now, Ash’s Pikachu has communicated by saying variations of “pika” and “Pikachu.” Last year, Pikachu voice actresses Ikue Otani recalled how she was teased because others thought voicing…

Popular Pokémon Minecraft Mod Gets Shut Down [Update]

Pixelmon, a robust Pokémon-themed modification for Minecraft released in 2012, can no longer be downloaded. The developers say the take down is the result of a request by The Pokémon Company itself. “With much sadness, but keeping all our fond memories, we must announce that Pixelmon is ending its development,” MrMasochism, creator of the mod,…

How Ash from Pokémon Has Changed

The Pokémon anime debuted in Japan back in 1997, following the adventures of ten-year-old Ash, Pikachu, and their friends. That was nearly twenty years ago. Ash might still be 10, but he sure has changed. Note: This article was originally published on February 8, 2016. It has since been updated. That shouldn’t come as a…

Toy Time Plays A Combo Of Pokémon and Jenga Called Beasts Of Balance

Beasts of Balance is a game of balancing skills featuring stylized plastic animals and icons. It’s also a colorful mobile strategy game involving collecting and evolving fantastic hybrid animals. It’s how both of these elements come together that make it a game that’s hard to stop playing. Beasts of Balance comes in a big friendly…

Pikachu McFlurry Coming To McDonald’s Japan

Last week, McDonald’s Japan asked folks to guess which Pokémon-themed McFlurry it was releasing, such as a habanero Charmander McFlurry or a broccoli Bulbasaur one. The correct answer was a chocolate banana Pikachu treat. According to Entabe, the Pikachu McFlurry goes on sale July 14 in Japan, with a chocolatey banana flavor that is supposed…

New Pokémon Movie Rewrites History, Ditches Brock And Misty

The upcoming Pokémon movie is a re-telling of the Indigo League stories, with two glaring omissions. Warning: This article has spoilers. Namely, the absence of Brock and Misty, who were two of Ash’s first cohorts in original anime. Both might be Ash’s most well-known friends, with Misty even appearing in the first episode I Choose…

Thousands Of Fake Pokémon Plush Toys Caught In South Korea 

In South Korea, authorities have seized a massive haul of fake plush toys. Reports put the total at 530,000 phoney plushies. Think they caught them all? According to Yonhap News, the unofficial plushies were smuggled into South Korea between April 25 and June 2. They were then illegally circulated in arcades as crane game prizes.…

Only Tiny Pokémon Could Fight In This Official Tournament

The Pokémon Company offered players a chance to mix things up last weekend with an online competition where only shrimp-sized monsters could strut their stuff. The Tiny Tournament let players use almost any Pokémon in the ever-growing National Pokédex, as long as they were under one meter (3’03”) in height. That means Pokémon such as…

Pokémon Go Players Are Making Themed Gyms With The New Update

In the main Pokémon games, every gym had a shtick, or at least a type affinity. In real-life Pokémon Go gyms, players often had to face the same handful of monsters over and over again. While that’s still true to some degree now, the big gym overhaul also makes it possible for players to set…

Pikachu Marriage Forms Help You Choose Your Spouse 

Japanese wedding magazine Zexy is including a Pikachu-themed marriage form for people to fill out. They can then take it to City Hall and get hitched. As Anime News Network (via AnimeAnime) points out, this isn’t the first of its kind: Japan has already seen Sailor Moon, One Piece, and Detective Conan. Kotaku East is…

Pokémon Go’s New Gyms Are Off To A Rocky Start [UPDATE: Coin Problem Fixed]

Pokémon Go’s big gym overhaul hasn’t been live for very long, but many players already dislike some of the new mechanics. PokeCoins, as many of you know, are the currency of Pokémon Go—you can use coins to purchase shop items, such as incubators (150 coins) and lures (100 coins.) Previously, players could install monsters at gyms,…

The Pokémon Company Is Changing Player Names On Pokkén Tournament Streams

Christian “Suicune Master” Patiernoearned his second straight championship belt for Pokkén Tournament at this past weekend’s Community Effort Orlando. You might not have known that, even if you watched the stream, because the commentators and the on-screen overlay referred to him by a slightly different name. At CEO, he wasn’t “Suicune Master.” He was “Sui…

Recent Japanese Pokémon Tournament Full Of Monsters You Rarely See

This weekend’s Japanese National Championships proves that competitive Pokémon plays almost like an entirely different game in the franchise’s home country. While every Japanese top eight team had some common picks you might spot at other tournaments around the world, players made plenty of choices that are almost never seen anywhere else. As an example,…

Pokémon Go Revamping Gyms, Adding Co-op Raids

In celebration of its anniversary, Pokemon Go is undergoing some major changes. Before you get too excited, no, player-vs-player battles aren’t among them. Gyms, though, are about to get more accessible, and you’ll soon be able to team up with friends to go on raids against mega-powerful Pokemon. The gym overhaul should launch at some…

Pokémon‘s First Japanese Theme Song Returns

When the original Pokémon TV anime debuted in Japan on September 8, 1998, the theme song was “Mezase Pokémon Masutaa” or “Aim to be a Pokémon Master.” Now in 2017, the theme is back! The current series Pokémon Sun Moon began using the theme this week to mark the 20th anniversary of Pocket Monsters. If…

A ‘Core’ Pokémon Game Is Coming To The Nintendo Switch (Eventually)

Many were disappointed about the 3DS exclusivity of Ultra Sun and Moon, but worry not, Pokémon fans. Your console hybrid will get some pocket monster goodness too! While there’s no footage to show off yet, or an exact release date, Nintendo announced that a Pokémon game will be making its way to the Switch. “Game…

Next month in Japan, Pokémon is getting totally official “real escape games” in eight cities across the country to promote the upcoming Pokémon film. 

Competitive Pokémon Player Risks It All With Fragile Ultra Beast, Wins Tournament Anyway

Pheromosa, an Ultra Beast known for its fragility and power, normally seems like a risky pick for competitive Pokémon. But this weekend, Andrew Nowak won the Madison Regional Championships largely thanks to an uncommon Pheromosa moveset. The perennial glass cannon, Pheromosa is often used to get important one-hit-knock-outs before getting KO’d itself. It uses attacks…