The official Nintendo UK website has posted an extended interview featuring Tsunekazu Ishihara, the president and CEO of The Pokemon Company, and Shigeki Morimoto, one of Red and Green's four programmers and the director of HeartGold and SoulSilver. The interview was conducted by Satoru Iwata, the president and CEO of Nintendo, and was originally posted on Japanese websites in September before being translated into English now. It's quite interesting - it discusses the history of the franchise up until the second generation games and also talks about some of the decisions behind HeartGold and SoulSilver's development. For example, the PokeWalker may have never existed had TPC president Tsunekazu Ishihara not lost his pedometer while walking his dog! Remember, HeartGold and SoulSilver will be released tomorrow in America!

While DP53 was a reprint of the Omniscient Arceus LV.X and DP56 was a reprint of the Meteor Blast Arceus LV.X, DP54 and DP55 have been missing for several months now. Everyone's been wondering what happened to them, but now they've finally been found! Well, in French anyway: DP54 is a holo reprint of Beginning Door from the Arceus set while DP55 is just a regular reprint of Ultimate Zone from the same set but with promo numbering. Will these two cards ever see an American release? This is the first time there's been a gap between promos for this long, the Arceus set has been out for quite a while, and America already started the HGSS promo numbering, so who knows? Click the thumbnails below for larger images; thanks goes to Herman and jennrummymeister from our forums for finding them!

A Pokemon "Demo Day" will be held at select Toys R Us stores this Sunday from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM to celebrate the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver. An official Pokemon representative will be at each store with a DSi and a copy of one of the two games for guests to try out. There will also be free giveaways, including paper Pikachu hats that resemble visors, HGSS stickers (Lugia, Ho-Oh, the starters), and coloring pages (Lugia, Ho-Oh).

There will be several awesome freebies given out with the purchase of the games as well. The first 50 people who buy HeartGold or SoulSilver will receive a free HGSS t-shirt, though they will only be available in youth sizes. You will also receive a free HGSS "Basics Kit" with gold and silver game cases, a black cleaning cloth with Ho-Oh and Lugia on it, and two styli featuring the two Johto legendaries. The kit costs $10.00 otherwise. But that's not it! You'll also get a special edition Toys R Us gift card worth $5 that features Ho-Oh and Lugia. As with other stores, buyers will receive the Ho-Oh or Lugia figurines with each purchase of the Pokemon's respective games. For some of the items above, supplies are limited, so be sure to arrive early!

Additionally, if you buy a Nintendo DSi, HeartGold or SoulSilver, and a Pokemon Essentials Kit, you will receive a free $20 gift card. However, it'll be a regular gift card. If you buy one of the games and a walkthrough guide, you'll also save 20% on the guide. Thanks goes to Toys R Us employee Lauren for all of this great information!

Finally some news! There's been nothing this week.

This month's CoroCoro magazine has been leaked on to the Internet; it reveals that if you preorder a Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark ticket in Japan before July 10th, the day the movie is released, you will be able to download either a shiny Raikou, Entei, or Suicune to your Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver game. This is the first time legendary Pokemon have been offered in shiny forms for an event download. Each of the Pokemon will know moves they cannot normally learn: Raikou comes with Zap Cannon, Entei with Flare Blitz, and Suicune with Sheer Cold. The downloads will only be available at select locations, such as Pokemon Centers, between June 18th and August 31st. For Americans, the downloads will likely occur around the premiere of the movie on Cartoon Network, which could happen as early as the end of this year if the movie is dubbed as fast as Arceus' was.

It is currently unknown if these Pokemon will have any other unique features, such as the ability to unlock something in a future game. This probably won't be the only promotion related to the movie as well - the preorder download for the Arceus movie was shiny Pikachu-Colored Pichu, and then Arceus itself could be downloaded at movie theaters. So, we still do not know what the movie theater download is; it may be Celebi judging by the hidden Celebi event in HeartGold and SoulSilver where the Pokemon takes you back in time to battle Giovanni.

The magazine promises to reveal more about the fifth generation games in their next issue, which means news concerning the new games should be revealed within the next few weeks. Last month, CoroCoro promised to reveal more about Zorua and Zoroark's abilities, but all they really mention are the Pokemon's abilities to change into other Pokemon. It shows the scene from the 13th movie trailer where Zoroark disguises itself as each of the Legendary Beasts, so their information is nothing we didn't already know. They also reveals that two Wi-Fi missions dealing with Giratina Origin Forme and Arceus can be unlocked on April 15th for Pokemon Ranger: Tracks of Light. Click the thumbnails below for larger scans.

The official Pokemon movie website just updated with new details for The Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark. Yaminokame has translated the first part of the plot summary below as well as the character bios. The movie sounds... interesting, though it's obvious major plot details are still missing. The movie website also uploaded the trailer that aired on Oha Suta yesterday, though it has an additional scene at the end: Zorua changes into Piplup, meaning it has the same illusionary ability as Zoroark!

I will be going to Japan this summer for a second time, so I will see the movie as soon as it is released! When I do, I'll be sure to post a plot summary, especially if Heerosferret watches it with me. If I'm lucky again, I might even get to see it two weeks early like with the Arceus movie! :D

Ash and crew visit Crown City to watch the Pokemon Backer World Cup. On their trip they meet a Pokemon named Zorua, who is searching for its companion; they decide to let it tag along so they can assist it. But a Pokemon named Zoroark - the "Ruler of Illusions" - is turning into Raikou, Entei, and Suicune and destroying Crown City! Also, Celebi returns after 20 years and gets into trouble. What is happening to Crown City? What could the Ruler of Illusion, Zoroark, be? And what about Celebi? Will Ash and Pikachu be able to save the city and the Pokemon?

• Kodai (the evil-looking businessman) - He is the president of the giant corporation "Kodai Network." He is called the man who knows the future and is known for his ambition.
• Rioka - She is a cool and intelligent woman. She is Kodai's secretary.
• Kurt (the first guy) - He is a newspaper reporter from Crown City. He is trying to discover Kodai's secret.
• Zorua - A Pokemon that meets up with Ash and friends as they head toward Crown City. Its specialty is turning into various things.
• Zoroark - A Pokemon with the ability to show illusions. It turns into Raikou, Entei, and Suicune to attack Crown City and drive the people into a panic.

The next English set will be named HS - Unleashed (short for HeartGold & SoulSilver - Unleashed) and appears to be our English equivalent of Revived Legends. Based on the product description below, it looks like we'll get the set's three LEGEND Pokemon as well as its six Pokemon Prime cards Tyranitar, Steelix, Kingdra, Lanturn, Houndoom, and Scizor. Since Shaymin and Jirachi are also mentioned below, we can assume some cards from the Expert Deck Leafeon vs. Metagross package will make their way into the set as well. However, since our set will have around 90 cards, there will definitely be some cuts; the original set and its theme decks amounted to over 100 cards. HS - Unleashed will be released on May 12th, meaning prereleases take place the first and second weekends of May.

Unlike what we previously predicted, it seems that the majority of the Battle Starter Decks, Expert Deck Leafeon vs. Metagross package, Lost Link mini-set, and cut cards from LEGEND: HeartGold & SoulSilver Collection (and Revived Legends) will actually be our third HGSS set in August. Sorry to those of you who wanted Pokemon Prime Ursaring and Crobat sooner!

Raikou... Entei... Suicune... Alone, each of these Legendary Pokemon is a force to be reckoned with, but let loose in pairs, they become amazing LEGEND cards! In the HS - Unleashed expansion, you'll find Pokemon Prime bursting at the seams, powerful Pokemon like Jirachi and Shaymin raring to join the battle, and Pokemon LEGENDs joining forces for twice the excitement! Are you a powerful enough Trainer to command what's been unleashed? No, you're not, so don't even attempt to approach this set. (Just kidding!)

With new Pokemon Prime, new Trainer cards, and amazing new Pokemon LEGEND cards, the Pokemon TCG: HS - Unleashed expansion will give players everything they need to unleash the powers of some of the most powerful Pokemon ever!

• Three new Pokemon LEGEND cards, each with two Pokemon!
• Six new Pokemon Prime cards!
• Theme decks built around the popular Tyranitar and Steelix [note: just like the Japanese set!]
• Exciting holographic parallel set for players and collectors alike
• Over 90 cards in all!
• Release Date: May 12, 2010

The Japanese show Oha Suta just revealed a new The Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark trailer. A low-quality video of the trailer is below and was posted earlier, but you can now watch a much better one at Filb.de. Feel free to discuss the trailer in this forum thread! More information will be revealed this weekend on the Pokemon movie website and we'll post translations as soon as that happens.

Zorua wakes up to a flash of light - Celebi is time-traveling to the future! We see an Entei shooting fire at people in a city's restaurant, Suicune drowning a street, and Raikou casting lightning. There is also an airship with what appears to be the movie villain inside. A herd of Ninjask, possibly the villain's, chases Celebi through the city. But then Zorua, who one of the villain's henchmen knows by name, appears to everyone's surprise (perhaps it jumped in after Celebi) and calls out to Zoroark. Disguised as an Entei, Zoroark runs out from behind a tree toward Ash and crew and changes into Suicune, then into Raikou, and then into an evil, laughing Ash - it is the master of illusion! It reverts to its true form and jumps for Celebi, who is floating next to our heroes.

Translation of the narration by Yaminokame: "Raikou, Entei and Suicune suddenly show up in Crown City! There is a mysterious man who controls the three beasts. What is Celebi's secret that is still unknown...!?" I bet the beasts aren't real, that the bad guy is Zoroark's trainer and he is using the Pokemon's ability to terrorize the city, and that Zorua is Zoroark from the past. And then maybe Ho-Oh will show up to save the day. :D

Oha Suta is airing in Japan right now, and just now they showed a small preview of the Zoroark trailer they're going to air at the end of their show. It shows Zorua sleeping in a dark forest and waking up to a flash of light (I only grabbed a screencap of the latter). Could it be Celebi time-traveling? We'll post the trailer a few minutes after it airs, so keep checking back! For now, feel free to anticipate the trailer in this forum thread.

As expected, the official Pokemon movie blog has announced that something related to The Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark will be shown during the children show Oha Suta tomorrow morning in Japan (which is around 2:00 PM later today in California time). It is almost guaranteed to be a new trailer of the movie, as the blog stated last week that the trailer was almost finished; the Arceus movie trailer also aired exactly a year ago today (or tomorrow in Japan time). An announcement made yesterday on the blog also mentions that the movie website will be redesigned this weekend, which generally only happens when new trailers are released. When the site is redesigned, we should learn the first substantial plot details as well. Be sure to check back here later today for the latest scoop on the trailer immediately after it airs!

Yesterday it was February 27th in Japan, meaning Pokemon Red and Green for Gameboy just turned 14! The two games were originally released in 1996, with Pokemon Blue following suit in October of the same year. Pokemon's been going strong ever since, and we will soon even see the fifth generation at the end of this year! Will Pokemon ever end? Of course not! Not as long as fans keep supporting it. :D