Still working like crazy!
Redshark Updated - Redshark has been updated to version 1.95 as a Christmas present! Some new features include card list window filtering when viewing your deck or discard pile, the inclusion of Rock-Paper-Scissors, Quick Ball trainer support, and many other minor enhancements. To download the updated version, [click here].
Organized Play Updates - The official TCG Organized Play website has announced a change to future player rewards, including details on a new tier system for earning rewards and the inclusion of several new countries in the player rewards program. The website also updated the National Championships FAQ page, providing more details on this year's Nationals events.
10th Movie Available on DVD - Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai was released on DVD in Japan yesterday, and it is now available for import from several online stores. You can purchase it from either CD Japan, Yes Asia, Play Asia, or Amazon. It's supposed to be one of the best Pokemon movies (unlike Celebi and Deoxys), so if you can't wait for the dub to come out, you can buy it early!
Christmas vacation has started, and I am working on the new website content like a madman. It took three, I repeat, THREE hours just to work on Base Set's information page. I can already tell I won't be done in time for New Year's. ^_^;
Bronzong and Mothim Translations - Thanks to Bangiras, we have translations of the Bronzong and Mothim promos that will come in the two new Japanese blister packs this New Year's.
Bronzong Lv.44 - Psychic - 90 HP
Stage 1 - Evolves from BronzorPoke-Body: Cursed Alloy - As long as this Pokemon is your Active Pokemon, in between turns, place 1 damage counter on each of your opponent's Pokemon that has any Poke-Powers.
[.] Damage Amplifier: Place 1 damage counter on each of your opponent's Pokemon that already has damage counters on it.
[P][C][C] Coating: 60 damage. During your opponent's next turn, any damage done to Bronzong by attacks is reduced by 20.Weakness: Psychic (+20)
Resistance: Fire (-20)
Retreat: 3Mothim Lv.41 - Grass - 80 HP
Stage 1 - Evolves from BurmyPoke-Body: Withering Dust - Ignore Resistance on your opponent's Active Pokemon whenever any of your Pokemon attack.
[G] Borrow Power: Does 30 damage x the number of different types of Wormadam on your Bench.
[G][C] Quick Touch: 40 damage. You may switch Mothim with one of your Benched Pokemon. If you do, choose any number of Energy attached to Mothim and attach it to the new Active Pokemon.Weakness: Fire (+20)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: 0
Darkrai Reveal Soon? - If you go to Pokemon.com, a shadow of Darkrai floats around when the main page loads and then disappears in around ten seconds (click the thumbnail to the right for a larger screenshot). Since Darkrai is going to be released in Great Encounters in February and the 10th movie should be coming out early next year, Darkrai is going to have to be revealed pretty soon from now. It should be available for download at Toys R Us around the time it is revealed, since when we found out about the Manaphy giveaway, we also received information that when Darkrai would be revealed, it would be available there in the future as well. Darkrai's time is coming soon! Now we just have to wait for Shaymin and Arceus in both Japan and America...
Shinx Promo and Holo Energy - Thanks to Epyon0015, we now have scans of the City Championship promo Shinx and the holo Grass and Fighting Pokemon League energy you can earn from getting your first two Sinnoh Gym Leader badges and from completing two League challenge (both energy are basically reverse holos). Click the thumbnails below for larger images.
Hot off the presses!
President of PUSA to Step Down - No, he's not being fired or anything bad! He's "proudly" stepping down, and will be replaced by Mr. Kenji Okubo. Will we see a new direction for Pokemon soon?
President of Pokémon USA, Inc. to Step Down
Kenji Okubo Promoted as Successor
NEW YORK--Pokémon USA, Inc. today announced Akira Chiba, president, will resign at the end of this year. After years of dedicated service, Mr. Chiba is proud to leave Pokémon USA upon completing his mission to re-establish Pokémon as a successful global brand. Mr. Chiba joined Pokémon USA in 2002 when the company's New York office was established, the brand's first corporate headquarters outside of Japan. Upon stepping down, Mr. Chiba has plans to pursue other opportunities.
Mr. Chiba will be replaced by Mr. Kenji Okubo, previously executive vice president and head of Pokémon USA's Seattle office, effective January 1, 2008. Mr. Okubo will manage Pokémon's operations in New York, Seattle and London, and will oversee all Pokémon initiatives outside of Japan including the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the long-running animated TV series, North American and European licensing and the recently launched, Pokémon Trading Figure Game. Prior to joining Pokémon USA in 2004, Mr. Okubo worked at The Pokémon Company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan as director of international business.
"During Mr. Chiba's tenure, Pokémon USA has greatly expanded," said Okubo. "The brand is topping industry charts across all categories -- including video games, toys, and trading card games -- plus the Pokémon animated TV series is hugely successful on Cartoon Network. We thank Mr. Chiba for his efforts on behalf of Pokémon and wish him success in the future."
About Pokémon USA
Pokémon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia which includes licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, an animated TV series, the Pokémon Trading Figure Game, home entertainment, the official Pokémon website, and online retail center www.pokemoncenter.com. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo's Game Boy® and has since evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Pokémon was introduced in North America in 1998 and today is one of the most popular toy and entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.
Contacts
POKEMON USA
Amy Wexler, 917-369-2028
wexler@pokemon-usa.com
Pokemon Snap is now available for download via the Wii Shop Channel!
Bonsly in SSBB - The official Super Smash Bros. Brawl website revealed today that Bonsly is a Poke Ball item Pokemon. When released, it just walks around, but whoever picks it up can throw it at other players to do massive damage, potentially knocking them completely off the stage if they have enough damage already (apparently it hits so hard because it is heavy, but it only weighs 33 pounds in the games). However, it can be reflected, as shown in the last screenshot. Poor Bonsly - it's everyone's abused toy. Click the thumbnails below for larger images.
So far, Pokemon known to be available in Poke Balls are Goldeen, Chikorita, Deoxys, Groudon, Munchlax, Piplup, Kyogre, Torchic, Snorlax, Gardevoir, Meowth, Entei, Latios, Latias, Electrode, Suicune, Lugia, Staryu, Bellossom, Ho-Oh, Wobbuffet, Togepi, Snorlax, Celebi, Mew, and Bonsly.
New Japanese Blister Packs - Japan will be getting two new blister packages to celebrate the upcoming New Year, each with two new promo cards! The first package will come with Torterra Lv.X (which was already released in English) and a new Bronzong promo, two DP1: Diamond and Pearl booster packs, and one DP2: Mystery of the Lakes booster pack. The second blister package contains Empoleon Lv.X and a new Mothim promo, two DP1: Diamond and Pearl booster packs, and one DP3: Shining Darkness pack. Where is Infernape Lv.X? It was already given out at the Japanese Winter Challenge tournaments, and will continue to be given out as more are held. We will post more information on these two packages, such as the translations for Bronzong and Mothim, once larger images are released.
And yes, that is a Fire resistance on Bronzong. It can probably be attributed to its Heatproof ability in the games.
EDIT: Rewrote 11th movie trailer story upon seeing Regigigas in the background of the movie poster.
Movie 11 Trailer Video - A video of the Giratina and the Bouquet from the Icy Sky teaser trailer that showed during the Japanese TV show Ohastar is now being distributed on YouTube and can be seen below along with some screenshots. To directly go to the trailer of the movie, jump to 2:41 on the video. The trailer shows Giratina, an explosion of flower pedals, and during the actual TV show (not the trailer), the poster of the movie is revealed! The movie poster shows Giratina, Regigigas (in the background and to the left, barely visible) Dialga, and Palkia. You can view the movie poster in the last screenshot below.
Dialga and Palkia may only be in the poster for "teasing" purposes, considering that if Shaymin is in the movie, they cannot reveal it just yet.
However, there is a possibility they may actually have a role, since this is the second time the two legendaries have been shown in relation to the movie (this would be odd, since they just had their own movie with Darkrai). We'll just have to wait and see, but again, they may just be placed into the poster as a character placeholder for Shaymin since it officially does not exist yet. In terms of Shaymin, we can probably say it will be in the movie for sure because of the "bouquet" in the title, the flower pedal explosion shown in the trailer, and Shaymin being the next "hidden" legendary. If this turns out to be true, the name of the movie will probably be extended to Giratina and the Bouquet from the Icy Sky, Shaymin once it is revealed by Nintendo. The official Japanese movie website will probably update with the trailer and new content regarding the movie within the next week or two, so more information should be coming in soon.
Great Encounters Description - The product description for Great Encounters has been released by PUSA. You can view it below. There will be three theme decks for the set, named Eternal Time, Infinite Space, and Endless Night. Also, the "mysterious, powerful Pokemon" referred to below is Darkrai, who still has not officially been revealed by Nintendo.
Witness Legendary Battles... Experience Great Encounters
Palkia. Dialga. A mysterious legend emerging from the darkness to challenge all comers.Who will stand victorious? In the Pokémon TCG: Diamond & Pearl - Great Encounters expansion, these incredible Pokémon come together to battle one another in an epic confrontation that will be a triumph for Trainers everywhere! With more brand-new Pokémon, more Pokémon LV.X, and a titanic clash of some of the most powerful Pokémon ever, Great Encounters is your chance to encounter greatness!
- More new Diamond & Pearl Pokémon!
- More powerful new Pokémon LV.X
- Includes two brand-new Legendary Pokémon, Cresselia and a mysterious, powerful Pokémon...
- Features three theme decks built around new Diamond & Pearl Pokémon!
- Exciting holographic parallel set for players and collectors alike
- Over 100 cards in all!
In Stores February 2008!
In case anyone is wondering why we have not had any card reviews lately, it is because the Strategists are taking a break. There are many tests, papers, and projects due during this time of the year, and as a result, it's too hard to focus on both Pokemon and school at the same time. They will return in a few weeks.
When this site relaunches eventually, I am going to heavily emphasize how while our content is TCG-related, our news covers all aspects of Pokemon.
11th Pokemon Movie Title - We now have the Japanese name of the 11th Pokemon movie, thanks to Bangiras: Theatrical Feature Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl: Giratina and the Bouquet from the Icy Sky. The name of the movie was revealed on the Japanese television show Ohastar along with a teaser trailer, but the contents of the trailer are currently unknown (the trailer was probably the one shown on the official movie website, and if not, it could have just been for "teasing" purposes and not actually meant to depict the true plot of the movie). The official Japanese movie site showed the location scouting crew of the movie visiting a glacier and other icy / green regions as part of the planned setting of the movie, so the title definitely fits.
Knowing this title and the teaser trailer previously released, the 11th movie will feature both [Regigigas] and [Giratina], but what about [Shaymin]'s predicted role? After all, the first teaser trailer for the movie showed Regigigas popping out of a flowery field. Could the "bouquet" in the title refer to Shaymin? Since it is a hidden legendary and the movie is still eight months away, there is still plenty of time to reveal Shaymin, so we don't have to dismiss its potential role just yet. Could it be the one who restores balance to the event that goes on in the movie, if it is the "bouquet" in the title? Could Giratina help with sealing the colossal Regigigas (maybe by sucking out its soul, if it has one?)? Is Regigigas the "bad guy?" Are Regigigas and Giratina truly the only two Pokemon stars of the movie? We'll just have to wait and see... if the Japanese want to fit all of the Diamond and Pearl legendaries into the movies by the next generation, then it seems like putting three legendaries or more into every movie will at least get most of them in.
New (Old) SSBB PokeBall Pokemon - The official Super Smash Brothers Brawl website has revealed new Pokemon that will be available in Poke Ball items. All of the Pokemon revealed in today's update are Pokemon that were originally in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and each will most likely perform the same attacks (or nearly the same attacks). Mew and Celebi, however, will now drop a CD upon being released from their Poke Ball, which will most likely contain additional background music for the Pokemon stage . Click the thumbnails below for much larger images, and hover over the left or right of each image, clicking "Next" or "Previous," to scroll through them.
As of today, Pokemon known to be available in Poke Balls are Goldeen, Chikorita, Deoxys, Groudon, Munchlax, Piplup, Kyogre, Torchic, Snorlax, Gardevoir, Meowth, Entei, Latios, Latias, Electrode, Suicune, Lugia, Staryu, Bellossom, Ho-Oh, Wobbuffet, Togepi, Snorlax, Celebi, and Mew.
Starting to enter finals studying / testing period... Updates may become less frequent until December 12th.
Updated Entry Pack Translations - The [Entry Pack 2008 translations] have now been updated by Bangiras to include the Raichu deck, which is only available in the "Entry Pack DX" package. Some translation errors from the other day were also fixed, including Empoleon, who is now even better!
Snap Update - The official Pokemon website has revealed that Pokemon Snap will be available for download in America on December 10th, which is only in about a week or so! Also, I did not realize this, but you can also use the Gamecube controller to play Virtual Console games. If you do not own a Classic Wii Controller, you can still play Pokemon Snap on the Wii with your old Gamecube controller! You will still need 1000 Wii points to download Snap, though - no way to get around that requirement!
EDIT: Added a new story below concerning our previous "Pokemon Snap on Wii's Virtual Console Soon?" article.
No news was good news?
More Details on Pokemon Snap - Nintendo has sent out a press release stating that Pokemon Snap will be available for download via the Wii Shop Channel on December 4th in Japan. While the game will remain almost exactly the same as the N64 version, an added feature will be the ability to save pictures you take to the Wii Message Board, which you can then send to your friends. The Wii remote will not be used to play the game (no "point and shoot"), but will rather require the Wii Classic Controller to play like most Virtual Console games (if you do not have this controller, you will not be able to play it). The United States download date is still unknown, but it will probably be released soon, perhaps right after Japan gets it. Click the thumbnail to the right for a larger image. Again, the game will cost 1000 Wii points, which is the equivalent to ten dollars. For more pictures and videos of Snap on the Wii, you can check out the official Japanese Pokemon website.
Porygon-Z Lv.X - Porygon-Z Lv.X, a card we first reported on back in the beginning of October, has finally been revealed! Click the thumbnail below for a larger scan (courtesy of Toho) and look below this paragraph for translations (courtesy of Vincent). The card is available in the Japanese Moon Hunting / Night Dashing picture book, similar to how Garchomp Lv.X was released in the Mystery of the Lakes / Shining Darkness picture book. The book itself costs 750 yen and was released today (November 30th) in Japan. Since Garchomp hasn't even been released in America yet, don't expect to see Porygon-Z anytime soon.
Porygon-Z Lv.X - 130 HP [C]
Poke-Power: Crush Mode
You may use this Power when you play this card into play to Level-Up a Pokemon. Discard all special energy cards attached to your opponent's Pokemon.
Poke-Power: Decode
Once during your turn (before you attack), you may choose up to 2 cards from your deck. After shuffling your deck, put the 2 cards on the top of your deck in any order you want. This power stops working when this Pokemon is affected by a Special Condition.
Weakness: (Fighting) x2
Retreat Cost: [C][C]
Pokemon Platinum? - Beckett Pokemon Collector, an unofficial Pokemon magazine, reports in their latest issue the existence of a new Pokemon game entitled Pokemon Platinum, which is apparently set for release in 2009. A scan of part of the article can be seen to the right, courtesy of Nagrom. I have also reproduced the article's text below:
... The first one will be Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 for the Nintendo DS. This game is currently available in Japan. However, Nintendo is planning on releasing this game in America in the Spring of 2008. / There are two more games scheduled as well. They include a new Ranger DS game due in the Fall of 2008 and a Pokemon Platinum release in the Spring of 2009.
While this news seems exciting, it may not turn out to be true, seeing as it comes from an unofficial source who rarely reveals new games first. Beckett has also printed news from random people on random forums in the past, and has sometimes proven to be unreliable when it comes to new information on future games (when it comes to other things, they are extremely reliable, though!). We will have to wait and see if this turns out to be true, but right now we can consider it a "rumor" until Nintendo or another source reveals new information (if there is any to reveal, that is). If this is true, could Pokemon Platinum be the Yellow / Crystal / Emerald of Diamond and Pearl (although D/P/P would be odd)? A Gold and Silver remake (since platinum is a metal)? A new game entirely? Only time will tell!
