This is a clarification / followup to our "New 'Platinum' Forms or 5th Generation Pokemon?" news story from two days ago.

There seems to be confusion among some Pokemon websites and forums about the silhouetted Pokemon ad from the other day, so let's straighten everything out word-by-word. Filb.de's webmaster, who is in Japan, went to a Toys R Us store, picked up the ad personally, and scanned it on to his website. Bangiras has translated the ad, and I have placed her translations over the original Japanese text so everyone can see exactly what the Japanese see. Click the thumbnail to the right for a larger view. This helps us to better understand the ad now that we can visually see it.

As for what is happening between September 28th and November 4th, let's examine the yellow rectangle on the ad. The first and second lines in the yellow rectangle say, "Tools relating to these Pokemon will be distributed September 28th to November 4th," while the small box to the left of the second line says "Distribution Dates." Doesn't that sound like actual "tools" or "items" will be distributed to people's Pokemon Platinum games during those dates to help them unlock the Pokemon, especially since it specifically says "distribution dates?" Originally we thought Pokemon Centers would be distributing paper products giving clues about the Pokemon and how to unlock them during that time period, but it seems they are giving out actual items to people's games. What helps to prove this even further is the blue oval within the section, stating "Can't be seen during normal play!" "Normal play" implies whatever they are giving out is for the game itself, meaning this is an item distribution. It could also refer to the silhouetted Pokemon, but this is doubtful since it is obvious they cannot be seen in the game normally, and plus that blurb is within the section discussing the "tool" distribution. Also, how would you be able to see the new Pokemon in the game if there was no item to unlock them? So, an apparent item distribution is going to take place starting September 28th, revealing these silhouetted Pokemon within Platinum. But just who are these Pokemon?

While there will be fliers in Platinum's box with information about these Pokemon, we have to wait until then to learn about them. Here are three scenarios about the new Pokemon, which are all speculation, of course. Shaymin needs to be exposed to Glacidia's Flower to change into Shaymin Sky Forme, so perhaps other Pokemon within the game will need special items to change into new forms as well. The items they need could be given out through this distribution, morphing some Pokemon, like Rotom, into new forms. The second scenario deals with the Reverse World. The silhouetted Pokemon look rather mechanical and odd, right? Perhaps they are Pokemon that reside in the Reverse World, and you need a sort of "Silph Scope" to see them. The "Silph Scope" is a tool to see ghost Pokemon, so maybe this distribution is giving out a "tool" to see the Reverse World Pokemon (if there are, in fact, such Pokemon). Of course, this scenario is less likely, since when capturing the Pokemon and using them in battle against players with Diamond and Pearl, the games would not be able to recognize the new Pokemon (unless they are forms of existing Pokemon, in which case the original forms of the Pokemon would be shown to the Diamond and Pearl players). The third scenario could be that these Pokemon are 5th generation Pokemon appearing in the game, but you can't actually capture them or take them anywhere. This is similar to Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, where Bonsly appears in the game, but you can't do anything with it since XD is a 3rd generation game and Bonsly is a 4th generation Pokemon.

Only time will give us more answers!

Didn't have time to post this yesterday...

GoNintendo has posted pictures of a Gamestop advertisement revealing a special Dialga and Palkia-themed DS lite. The DS will come in a bundle package that costs $129.99, which includes a matching Nintendo DS carrying case, a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time and Darkness DVD (this is a special that has not aired in America yet), a poster featuring Grovyle, and a special Gamestop Pokemon t-shirt. That's a lot for $129.99.

We've found out from a Gamestop employee that this is part of next week's Gamestop advertising, so expect the package to become available "soon." Since this is a limited edition bundle, they will probably sell out quickly.

The Dialga and Palkia DS was released simultaneously with Diamond and Pearl in Japan, so it has been about two years since they have had it. The next Pokemon-themed DS lite features Giratina Origin Forme in celebration of Platinum's release, so there is a possibility we could receive that in the future as well.

Yes! My mom is letting me go to Worlds! I'll be there Wednesday morning until Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday to Thursday playtesting, Friday in the Grinders, Saturday to Sunday covering the event (since we all know I won't make it past the Grinders because I never get to play), and Monday going to Epcot or Disney World. I can't waittt!

Here are the last 40 Legends Awakened scans. Click each thumbnail for a larger image. I decided to post all the remaining scans now because I'll have the theme deck lists and prerelease sleeve image tomorrow, and those deserve their own update. The only scan we are missing is Gliscor LV.X. If you obtain the card, please scan it for us at 300 DPI (or twice the size of the current scans) and e-mail it to wpm at pokebeach dot com. Thank you!

A full-blown Worlds 2008 website is now open. Before there was a "mini site" up, but they have now expanded it into a larger website. The website will update with pairings and photos of both the Video Game Showdown and Worlds TCG Championship on each day of the events.

According to the event schedule, a special Lucario distribution will take place at Worlds on Sunday. Lucario will probably be marked with the event's name, just as Pikachu was last year for Worlds 2007 in Hawaii. Legends Awakened prereleases will also occur on Sunday, just as with every Worlds in the past and the latest set.

Special guest signings at Worlds include Junichi Masuda (Games, D/P Director), Shigeki Morimoto (D/P Battle Director), Tsunekaz Ishihara (TCG, Games, Anime, Creatures Inc., Pokemon Company), and Takumi Akabane (Creative Director of the TCG).Check the website's event schedule for when the signings take place.

POP 8 will be shipping with the next Pokemon League season, which starts September 15th. The season will feature Grass Pokemon. As usual, the set will have 17 cards. Will it be as bad as the previous two POP sets? We'll find out in a while!

Two of ten CoroCoro magazine Platinum pages from this month's issue have been revealed, though one of them is a bit small. Click the thumbnails below for larger images. Since these two pages were revealed early this morning, expect the other eight pages to come soon after.

Nothing of major importance is revealed in the scans, though we do see redesigned Gyms, Shaymin using Leaf Storm, and learn that the detective hunting Team Galactic is code-named "Handsome." Again, more information should be revealed soon when someone from Japan scans the remaining eight pages.

In terms of other Platinum-related news, demo stations are set up throughout Japan that allow players to play small portions of the game. Filb.de, who is on-site in Japan, reports that Porygon will be obtainable early in the game at Veilstone City. Blue Sky, a Japanese Pokemon blog, says that the player's rival has a Gible on their team early. What other changes will occur?

EDIT: The "Pokemon / forms" are confirmed to appear in the next issue of CoroCoro (see bottom right page).

A few images of a Pokemon Platinum pre-order advertisement have surfaced on 2ch, potentially revealing new Pokemon silhouettes. The photos were taken at a Toys R Us and a gaming store in Japan, where the advertisements are apparently available at Platinum pre-order booths. There are actually two versions of the advertisement, so there is a possibility these are genuine.

The text on the advertisements ask, "What's up with these Pokemon silhouettes?" then say, "Hints are scattered on leaflets attached to Pokemon Platinum. More information related to the Pokemon will be given September 28th through November 4th." This probably means that when Japanese Pokemon fans pick up Platinum (starting September 13th, its release date), leaflets will be attached to it containing clues about these Pokemon. Then, information will be released starting September 28th, potentially revealing what the Pokemon are or more information about discovering what they are from the clues on the leaflets.

The Pokemon have to be hidden Pokemon forms in Platinum or future fifth generation Pokemon, since clues about the Pokemon will be revealed after the game is released in Japan, and by then most fans will already know what is in Platinum. It would be pointless to "reveal" Pokemon or forms already obtainable, thus the reasoning that they are hidden Pokemon forms in the game that possibly will be unlocked through something like a Nintendo event or new Pokemon entirely for a future 5th generation game.

As with all "new" Pokemon and "forms" appearing on the internet before a game is released, the advertisements may be fan creations. The Pokemon silhouettes certainly look... weird, as if someone took Rotom and through it into a food blender with scrap mechanical parts. Time will reveal if these are fake or real though, so be sure to check back here for the latest! CoroCoro magazine scans should be coming out very soon, so hopefully, more light will be shed on the validity of these images.

Here's 23 more Legends Awakened scans, including Probopass, Regigigas, and Uxie LV.X. Click the thumbnails below for much larger scans, and use your left and right arrow keys to scroll through them like a slide show. You can also open multiple scans at once and drag them across the screen, just for fun.

Animelee from our forums noticed yesterday that Staryu's PokeDex entry is actually Tentacool's. It appears as if Pokemon USA copied and pasted the wrong entry, and then it was missed because it could vaguely fit Staryu. Since Staryu is a Water Pokemon, they probably thought it could be made of water, and like Tentacool, it does have a crystalline eye.

New CoroCoro scans should come out sometime within the next few days, and they will probably contain a bunch of new Pokemon Platinum information. Be sure to check back for translated information!

And now many more Legends Awakened scans! Click the thumbnails below for much larger images. Good luck playing the Froslass at the prereleases. There's no Snorunt for it.

We'll reveal the prerelease sleeve on Friday, as well as whatever scans are leftover by then, so we'll have scans every night until Friday! By Friday night, we will have every scan but two of the LV.X's.

EDIT: Added a better-quality scan of Drapion LV.X thanks to Brianjapan.

I am going to have to delay the next batch of Legends Awakened scans until tomorrow. Since I knew I was going to be home all day and can't go to Worlds because of the expense [which I'm very bummed about, since I was orignally going to go and it was supposed to be the highlight of my summer :(], I spent most of the day organizing all of my cards and pulling out cards for the next format. I also spent most of the latter part of the day fixing the forums, as many of you probably noticed, so that sucked up a lot of time as well. I'll make up for it tomorrow - I don't want to stay up super late again editing scans, so just wait another day. ;) I didn't get to work on my school report today either! Ahh!

Wow, I can't believe I missed such important promo news. Bangiras told me about it last month, but I completely forgot to post it.

The visual book promo for Intense Fight in the Destroyed Sky is Drapion LV.X. A visual book is basically a book of card scans for the latest Japanese set, and they always come with a LV.X that winds up being reprinted in the set after the book's release. Thus, Drapion LV.X will probably be released in the next Japanese set, just as Lucario LV.X, Garchomp LV.X, Porygon-Z LV.X, and Heatran LV.X were. Brianjapan from eBay was able to obtain the visual book before its release date of August 6th and scanned the card. Click the thumbnail below for a larger scan. Bangiras has also translated the card (which she sent to me last week, though for this excuse, it was buried under a pile of emails containing Legends Awakened scans, so I missed it).

Drapion LV.X - Darkness - HP130
Level Up

Poke-Power: Triple Poison
You can use this Power once during your turn. Flip a coin, if heads 1 of your opponent's Active Pokemon is now Poisoned. In between turns, place 3 damage counters on the Poisoned Pokemon instead of 1. This Power can't be used if this Pokemon is affected by a Special Condition.

[D][D][C][C] Snipe Tail: 40 damage. This attack also does 40 damage to 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokemon. The Defending Pokemon can't retreat during your opponent's next turn.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 3

While we're on the topic of promos and "forgotten / missed" promo cards, we reported before Intense Fight in the Destroyed Sky was released that a new Porygon-Z and Gliscor would be released in two "IFDS" blister packs. Bangiras has also translated those two new cards:

Porygon Z L.56 - Colorless - HP120
Stage 2 - Evolves from Porygon 2

Poke-Power: Install
You can use this Power any number of times during your turn. Move 1 Technical Machine card attached to one of your Pokemon to 1 of your other Pokemon. This Power can't be used if this Pokemon is affected by a Special Condition.

[.] Running: Search your deck for a Pokemon LV.X card that Levels Up from 1 of your Pokemon, and play it on top of that Pokemon to Level it Up. Shuffle your deck afterward.
[C][C] Overclock: Does 40 damage + an additional 20 damage x the number of Technical Machines attached to Porygon Z.

Weakness: Fire (+30)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

---

Gliscor L.47 - Fighting - HP90
Stage 1 - Evolves from Gligar

Poke-Body: Bind Eye
As long as this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon, even if your opponent's Pokemon Evolve, De-Evolve, or Level Up, their Special Conditions aren't removed.

[C] Slash Turn: Flip a coin, if heads place damage counters on the Defending Pokemon until the Defending Pokemon has 10 HP remaining. If you place damage counters, return Gliscor and all cards attached to Gliscor to your deck, and shuffle your deck.
[F] Frictional Heat: 20 damage. The Defending Pokemon is now Burned.

Weakness: Water (+20)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0