UPDATE: Bangiras has just informed me that the original advertisement for these pogs actually just said "Pokemon A" and "Pokemon B." I think it is safe to assume that the "Pokemon A and B" of the below advertisement have nothing to do with the "NEW Pokemon" A and B of the other advertisements, meaning that it is still likely 5th generation Pokemon will depute in movie 11.

One of the pieces of proof for the existence of "New Pokemon A" and "New Pokemon B" was an advertisement for "Pokemon Battle Wheel 2," a sort of spinning pog game. The advertisement for the second set of pogs to be released for the game showed eight of the pogs featuring known Pokemon, but with two blacked out and labeled as simply "Pokemon A" and "New Pokemon B" (that advertisement is below to the left; click for a larger image). Those two blacked-out pogs are now known to be Shaymin and Giratina, as the new advertisement for the pogs shows (the first picture below; click for a larger image). Within the context of that advertisement, "New Pokemon A" and "New Pokemon B" are not fifth generation Pokemon.

Unless "New Pokemon A" and "New Pokemon B" (being Shaymin and Giratina) are the same across all of the 11th movie promotional products (such as the products shown in the April 11th news story), there is still the possibility that both new Pokemon still exist. Being Shaymin and Giratina may ONLY apply to this advertisement, and not to the others.

However, if it turns out that any mention of "New Pokemon" A and B refers to Shaymin and Giratina, all proof of the existence of 5th generation Pokemon will be shot down. This possibility does exist, and if it turns out to be the case, one cannot help but to think that the product advertisements advocating these "new" Pokemon were misleading. Why would the advertisements label the question marks as "New Pokemon" when they are not new? One could argue that the advertisements were referring to both Pokemon being "new" on those products, but even then, both Shaymin and Giratina have been shown on many other products, thus not even necessitating the term "new." This fact alone may continue the idea that 5th generation Pokemon still exist. After all, in the April 11th news story, all of the stars of the 11th movie were shown on the poster, with "New Pokemon B" still being placed next to them (refer to the story for details). This also helps to support that "New Pokemon" A and B are only Shaymin and Giratina in the above advertisement, and not the others.

At this point, the existence of any fifth generation Pokemon, or rather, the revealing of any fifth generation Pokemon within the upcoming months, is still up in the air.

The next Japanese TCG set is named Intense Fight in the Destroyed Sky and will hit shelves on July 10th in Japan. It will feature six LV.X cards.

Known Pokemon to be in the set are Shaymin, Giratina, Dialga, Empoleon, Torterra, and Infernape (the first two will probably be LV.X's). Empoleon, Torterra, and Infernape will appear in the set as their second Gameboy elemental types (Metal, Ground, Fighting). In the TCG, those translate to a Metal-type Empoleon, a Fighting-type Torterra, and a Fighting-type Infernape. Like with EX Legend Maker and DP3: Shining Darkness, the set is themed after the next Pokemon movie, which is in this case Giratina and the Bouquet from the Icy Sky: Shaymin. Thus, Pokemon who appear in the movie will probably appear in the set.

The theme deck package for the set is named Giratina vs. Dialga, and features two 30-card theme decks centered around the two Pokemon.

There is limited information right now, but more should be coming soon! This is the first set of the new TCG block (DP5 was the last Japanese Diamond and Pearl set), so there are bound to be design changes to the cards.

The official Pokemon Trading Figure Game website has posted an image of ten figures from the third TFG set, which as of yet has no name. The set will be released in 2009. Click the image to the right for a larger photo. Some of the Pokemon in the third set include Seviper, Magnemite, Aipom, Gyarados, Flareon, Snorlax, Croconaw, Diglett, and Tyranitar, while Lieutenant Surge is confirmed as one of the human figures.

The article in which the photo is posted also confirms that Groundbreakers, the second Pokemon TFG set, is set for release sometime this fall (this date has now been added to the 2008 calendar in the right menu for future reference). Originally, Groundbreakers was set for release late last year, with some stores like Wal-Mart even receiving the actual figures, but the date was pushed back several times. Some stores still have the figures in stock, so you can essentially buy them months before the set is officially released.

Will Pokemon USA start supporting the TFG at the tournament scene? It seems like the entire TFG has been neglected since it was first announced, perhaps due to poor planning, but it looks like the situation is starting to shape up with the release of this third set. The future success or failure of the TFG remains unknown at this point however, especially if there will be huge gaps between the release of each set.

And now its Cresselia's turn! Cresselia was originally a promo card in Japan and was given out at Toys R Us stores. It will premier in Majestic Dawn as a holo card. Click the thumbnail below for a larger image.

All of the set scans are up again! Use the right menu's "Card Scans" section to access each set. The promo pages are not ready yet, but they should be by the end of the week!

Note that if you want to access a set quickly, type: http://pokebeach.com/tcg/[set-name]/scans

Technical details: Most of the bad quality cards were rescanned by Shakespeare, our master card scanner, and there are only a couple of cards here and there with poor quality (since he does not own a few cards yet and we had to use poor-quality prerelease scans). All Diamond and Pearl sets were rescanned, the latter two using Shakespeare's new high-quality scanner. All card scans from every English set are present and have been digitally remastered for superior audio and video quality. ;)

More technical details: The scan pages are generated by a backend database system thingy created by Meowth346 (the webmaster of the old Pokemon Forever website). Him and I have only been working on it for about 1.5 years, and soon, it will be used to generate the new Card-Dex (which is close to completion). Because of the new backend system, when a new set or card is released, all I have to do is enter its info into the database and everything will automatically be updated (set scan pages, the Card-Dex, and the eventual card search). Everything will now be up-to-date and consistent as soon as a card is released!

As we reported a few months ago, Darkrai would be distributed at Toys R Us sometime this year, and now we know when!

According to Pokemon.com, a Darkrai distribution will occur on both May 31st and June 1st (Saturday and Sunday) at Toys R Us from noon until 4:00 PM. The method by which it will be given out is unknown; it could be directly downloaded to a player's game though Mystery Gift, or the Canalave Inn event could be unlocked (where players are transported to Newmoon Island and have to face Darkrai within their game). If Darkrai is anything like its 10th movie counterpart from Japan, it may come with an Engima Berry and inside a Cherish Ball (this is if it is directly downloaded, not if the in-game event is unlocked). Its attacks could include Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, Dark Void, and and Dark Pulse.

The Rise of Darkrai will be released earlier in the week on Tuesday, May 27th, so if you plan on buying the DVD, you should hold it off for a few days so you can get both it and Darkrai at the same place (don't waste gas!).

I have added the date and time to the 2008 calendar in the right menu for future reference.

The official Pokemon movie website updated today with two brand new trailers for Giratina and the Bouquet from the Icy Sky, Shaymin, each with different scenes from the movie (though they share many as well). Screenshots for both trailers are below - to enlarge them, click a thumbnail, and to scroll through them, click one and use your left and right arrow keys. You can also drag them around and open multiple images at the same time as well.

Personally, I have to say these preview trailers are the most interesting out of any movie in the past. The animation is also high-quality again, like it was with The Rise of Darkrai. Perhaps Pokemon decided to work extra hard on this film, since they will be competing against Studio Ghibli's Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea.

1st New Trailer (the one in the left column on the Japanese site)

2nd New Trailer (the one in the right column on the Japanese site)

Because of the threatening letter sent to Pokemon Card Laboratory (PCL), Japan's remaining Battle Road tournaments were canceled, leaving many wondering how the leftover invitations would be given to Japanese players. PCL has come up with a solution to the problem: to have all of the remaining invitations distributed through the annual "Pokemon World Championship Japanese Delegate Selection Conference." Try saying that name ten times in a row. Basically, the tournament is their sort of "Nationals" where Japanese players battle it out for a spot at Worlds. This year, there will obviously be more invitations given out to make up for the canceled Battle Roads.

The date and location of the tournament was originally printed on page 15 and 20 of May's CoroCoro magazine, but PCL has stated the location is incorrect and undecided at this point. It's odd that they would print the specific location and date knowingly, but then retract it right away; perhaps they were told by the police to change the location, or it is some sort of plan to catch the person who wrote the original letter if they try to send another (I am thinking of a complicated Death Note-style trap here - don't ask me what it is). Either way, the location, date, and details are unknown at this point.

When more information is released about the tournament, we will post it here!

New screenshots from Giratina and the Bouquet from the Icy Sky, Shaymin were posted on the official Pokemon movie website a few days ago. Click the thumbnails below for larger pictures of them.

What an exhausting two days... ever since that last news story, the backend to this site has not been working, preventing me from logging in and doing anything. I am so tired right now to explain anything, so I'll just say this: There may be more downtime today and tomorrow, so please bear with me. I am trying to fix stuff.

This new website was put up far too prematurely, but I suppose the events of April 1st necessitated it.