Pokémon

The History Of Gaming Balloons In The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Since 1927 the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been filling the skies of New York with colorful balloon representations of pop culture icons. Video games didn’t enter the picture until 1993, and only three gaming icons have made the cut so far. This piece originally appeared 11/26/14. Some updates have been made for the…

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, The Swimmer Has Evolved Into A Hot Dude

You know, the Swimmer, right? Save for swapping briefs for trunks, the male version hasn’t changed so much over the years. But the one in Sun and Moon sure has! Note: This article contains spoilers. Past male Swimmers wore swimming caps and googles, and since Pokémon Red and Blue, they’ve always looked similar. But here…

Four Times Pokémon Sun and Moon Get Way Too Real

Something that really surprised me about Pokémon Sun and Moon were the random spurts of bleakness. The latest generation of Pokémon games aren’t afraid to go there, even if it leaves the player uncomfortable about the implications. I’m not just talking about the dark Pokedex entries, which make everyone reconsider their favorite monster, as well…

Pokémon Sun and Moon‘s Characters Are Dancing All Over The Internet Thanks To Fans

The 3D models for Pokémon Sun and Moon have been co-opted to make dance videos, and it’s amazing Players have been using MikuMikuDance, a program developed to make Vocaloid fan videos, to make Team Skull, Professor Kukui and the protagonists from Sun and Moon boogie down. The models have only been available for a few…

Pokémon Go’s ‘Nearby’ Feature Is Now Actually Useful

Having begun testing in August, Pokémon Go’s new nearby system—which actually works—is finally rolling out to select users around the world. It only kicks in if you’re near a Pokéstop. Instead of just saying a Pokémon is nearby…somewhere, the new system shows a little image of which Pokéstop it’s closest to, which lets you zero…

Ditto Finally Appears In Pokémon Go [Update]

For months, nobody could find find Ditto in Pokémon Go. It wasn’t in the game. Today, reports are flooding in from a variety of players who say they’re spotting the elusive shapeshifter. UPDATE 11/23 2:57 PM: It’s official. Twitter and other social media platforms are flooding with images and reports of Dittos out in the…

Pokémon Sun and Moon Players Busted After ‘Glitch’ Turns Out To Be A Broken Cheat

Right now there’s a scare going on within the Pokémon community. “Don’t save inside Pokémon centers,” people are warning each other. “Your save file might get borked.” Well, about that… Recently, there have been reports online of a serious Pokémon glitch that renders the game completely unplayable, as the avatar disappears and the second screen…

How To Capture Shiny Pokémon In Sun and Moon

There is about a 1 in 4,000 chance a unique color variant of a Pokémon will appear in a random encounter, making “shiny Pokémon” the rarest type of monster you can capture. Some people have played Pokémon for decades and have never seen a shiny. Here’s how you can beat those odds and get a…

Japanese Twitch Streamer Briefly Interrupted By Earthquake

Yesterday’s 6.9 magnitude earthquake off Honshu island, Japan, sent waves as far as Tokyo, where it rocked a humble Twitch streamer playing Pokémon Kai Hamano, whose streams as Kaihama, was sorting through his inventory in the new Pokémon game when his bedroom started shaking. “What the fuck?” he asked his viewers. “Oh my god, it’s…

Rare Pokémon Card Just Sold For $54,970

At an auction in Beverly Hills, a Pokémon Illustrator card fetched an eye-watering $54,970, setting a new record for Pokémon card prices. According to Barry Sandoval, Director of Operations for Comics at Heritage Auctions, a Pokémon Illustrator card went for around $23,000 during the early 2000s. As noted on Go Nintendo, this latest auction smashed…

People Are Finding Pokémon Sun And Moon Glitches, It Seems

Pokémon Sun and Moon hasn’t been out that long. Bugs and glitches pop up in previous Pokémon games, so they’re bound to be in Sun and Moon. These could be the first ones folks are finding. Note that while I do have a copy of the game, I haven’t been able to replicate these glitches.…

In Japan, Pokémon Sun And Moon Didn’t Outsell Pokémon X/Y At Launch 

While Nintendo was ready for Pokémon Sun and Moon to hit historic sales figures, the company announced today that its numbers did not surpass Pokémon X and Y’s Japanese launch. Don’t worry, because Sun and Moon still did crazy good. Famitsu reports that in its first three days on sale, Pokémon Sun And Moon sold…

Vote For The Best Toys Of The Year

DC Super Hero Girls versus Pokémon. Funko Pop! vinyls versus Lego Disney minifigures. Fossil Hunter Lottie versus Fortress Maximus. We’ve got some tough choices to make to determine the winners of the Toy Industry Association’s 2017 Toy of the Year awards. The TIA probably doesn’t have a special group that just sits around playing with…

Game Awards Show Mysteriously Removes Two Nintendo Fan Games

The Game Awardswill be held next week, celebrating AAA gaming as well as smaller projects. Two fan games based on Nintendo IPs, AM2R and Pokemon Uranium, have disappeared from the “Best Fan Creation” nominees. AM2R is afan remastering of Metroid 2: The Return of Samus. Released earlier this year, the project was hit with a…

Pokemon Sun and Moon‘s Wonder Trade Is Full of Monsters Named Donald Trump

The Wonder Trade feature in Pokémon Sun and Moon is dice roll: you put a Pokémon in, get a random Pokémon from somewhere else in the world in return. Out of 700+ possibilities, players keep spotting Yungooses named Donald Trump circulating on Wonder Trade. Fans have thought the reality tv star and the Alolan Pokémon…

Pokémon Go is giving thanks for obsessed players everywhere with a special Thanksgiving event. From November 23 to November 30, XP and Stardust gains will be doubled. Sounds like a lovely excuse to wander away from the dinner table before the fighting starts.

Slowpoke Tails Are Still Tasty 

Slowpoke tails are nutritious and delicious! We’ve known that since Pokémon Gold and Silver. And now, we get to know that some more. Note: This article contains Sun and Moon spoilers.  Previously, Slowpoke tail plushies went on sale in Japan. And in Sun and Moon, we have this… Goodness. There’s more. This is grim stuff!

How To Evolve Pokémon In Sun and Moon

While most Pokémon evolve by achieving the appropriate level, many Alolan monsters in Sun and Moon have special requirements that the game never tells you about. Here’s how to meet all the unique evolution requirements. (Spoilers!) Rattata evolves into (Alola) Raticate at level 20, at night. Pikachu evolves into (Alola) Raichu with a Thunder Stone,…

Tips For Playing Pokémon Sun and Moon

Alola, fellow trainers. With many of you undergoing the island challenge today, I wanted to share some pointers on how to best make your way through an exciting new Pokémon adventure. Pick whatever starter you want Seriously, there’s no right choice. Rowlet, Litten and Popplio all make fine additions to a burgeoning squad, though they…

Some Pokémon Players Are Spending Hours Restarting Sun and Moon For Better Monsters

Now that Pokémon Sun and Moon are officially out, you’d expect trainers everywhere to jump right into the world of Alola. Actually, though, veteran players with a lot of patience are opting to restart their games endlessly, up to hundreds of times, all in the name of gaming the system. As many of you know,…