August ‘CoroCoro’ Scans and Translations

Today was another Pokemony day! We went to Kyoto to see the Kinkaku-ji, the same temple that the Brass Tower (Burned Tower) in Gold and Silver is based off. The tower was built at the end of the 1300’s and featured bright gold paint. In 1950, it was burned down by a monk who was trying to commit suicide, though in the games, the reason for the fire is never explained (I think the anime implied a group of soldiers did it). The real-life tower was later rebuilt based on the original design, but of course the Brass Tower in the games stayed burned to the ground (hence why it’s now called the Burned Tower). Just as a reminder, the Burned Tower was the home of Lugia.

The August CoroCoro scans have finally emerged, courtesy of Heart Drops Diary. Click the thumbnails below for larger scans. Thanks go to Yaminokame for translating the scans! Better-quality portions of some of the scans have also been posted on 2ch and are included below.

The first scan was already shown earlier this week, but now we can see Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Entei’s sprites. Overworld shots of Ho-Oh in front of the Tin Tower and Lugia in the Whirl Islands are also shown. The scenes will probably precede or follow those 3D shots of Ho-Oh flying around the Tin Tower and Lugia sitting behind the wave of water – the 3D scenes that were revealed a while ago. Both Pokemon are at Level 45.

The second scan shows the Kimono Girls, Red Gyarados, Pokemon Gyms, and more Pokethlon mini-games. It appears that inside of Ilex Forest, you can team up with one of the Kimono Girls to help her find the exit, similar to Cheryl in DPPt’s Eterna Forest. The scan states that the Kimono Girl holds a “key” to the story, perhaps meaning that she literally has a key for the player. The screenshot that shows the dance studio the Kimono Girls reside in has a Team Rocket grunt in it, so it seems Team Rocket has some involvement with them… the grunt says, “So, you can’t listen to your customer’s commands, huh?”, yelling at the Kimono Girls. When you encounter the Red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage, it will be raining. It’s at Level 30.

In addition to the Dash Hurdle and Bound Field mini-games we learned about yesterday, the scan reveals two new Pokethlon games: Ring-Out Fight and Shooting Snow. Shooting Snow seems to involve… shooting snow, while Ring-Out Fight appears to be like the Hitmontop game in Pokemon Stadium 2 where you have to knock Pokemon out of a ring (though we can’t confirm that for sure). The Pokethlon comes with five different courses, each based on the speed, power, technique, stamina, and jump stats. Each course is made up of three races.

For the third scan we have PokeGear and PokeWalker information. You can check the Johto map on the PokeGear and it has a radio and phone (not real ones of course). Unlike previous Pokemon games, you can now assign two key items (like a Super Rod and Bicycle) using the DS’s Y button and a reserved button on the touch screen. The scan also shows that the Item Finder has been redesigned, which you can see on the middle of the page to the left (the black circle with orange and a dot). You can also use it as you walk – you do not have to stop to use it. The scan also states that when you win a battle, your mom will save up money for you and will sometimes use it to buy items for you.

As for the PokeWalker, you can connect to a friend’s PokeWalker using your own. On the bottom of the scan you can see two PokeWalkers connecting to each other, one with a Cyndaquil and the other with a Pikachu. One of the players receives an Oran Berry in doing so, which means that there will probably be ways of obtaining items when connecting with your friend’s PokeWalker. Additionally, one of the screenshots shows the PokeWalker’s Item Finder discovering a Rare Candy, which may mean it will allow players to obtain rare items. The scan also gives us our first look of a Pokemon getting captured on the PokeWalker – you can see a Poke Ball capturing a Sentret. While battling Sentret, there is a new option – “Dodge.” You can choose to dodge your opponent’s attacks and then retaliate, just like in the anime. It is also revealed that the PokeWalker will record your daily progress in a journal.

As for the fourth scan, it confirms that the Level 1 Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina you receive from Arceus will be able to learn Metal Burst, Hydro Pump, and Shadow Sneak (respectively). There are screenshots of each Pokemon using their attack.

In the final scan, Notched-Ear Pichu’s attacks are confirmed to be Pain Split, Volt Tackle, Helping Hand, and Swagger. It is also stated that it cannot evolve and it cannot be traded out of the two games.

With these new scans posted, we can now say that the Latios, Latias, and Mewtwo factoids posted the other day were most likely fake. There is no indication in the scans of any of those Pokemon being in the games, though if Kanto is included, Mewtwo may be too. Lugia and Ho-Oh having “hidden abilities” was also not in the scans.

Could minor differences in Pokemon sprites like Notched-Ear Pichu and the dodge option be early features of the next generation of games? We’ll find out next year most likely!