Global link now live… and other stuff (updated)

Good news – the global link is now active and available for use by everybody around the world. By syncing your game with the site using the c-gear, you can access the dream world letting you catch pokemon not available in Black/White normally, along with getting pokemon with abilities they would normally have. There are other things you can do on the global link, which our forthcoming guide will explain.

In order to access the Global Link, you’ll need a Pokemon Trainer Club account, which you can get from pokemon.com – you can also access the global link from here, so its really the only url you need to rememeber. Check out our guide found in the black and white section of the site for more info (also can be found from the link to the left)

In other news, that i’ve not been able to update for the last couple of days (sorry about that)

The US website for Black and White has announced that Toy’s R Us is holding an event April 27th and May 31st that will allow you to get a secret egg. The egg is the same one that was given away in Japan several months ago, which was done to coincide with Ash getting an egg in the Anime Series. The pokemon you get inside has nothing to do with the pokemon that’s in Ash’s Egg (that was given away seperatly in Japan) but it does link in with the Anime Series anyway. Inside the egg is one of 3 pokemon, you’ll get one of them randomly and you have no idea which you’ll get when you download the egg. The 3 possibilities you could get are Ash’s Pidove, Cilian’s Pansage or Iris’s Axew. Each will come with 4 preset moves, a preset nature and one of thier IV’s at its maximum level. Over in the UK, we havent missed many of the events that have ended up in America in the past few years, but whether this event will come out over here is currently unknown.

The Liberty Pass event that allows you to get Victini has been extended in Europe. It was due to end on April 22nd but has been extended till April 27th. America’s event was due to end on the 10th of Arpil, but while it hasnt officially been annoucned as being extended, it still seems to be ongoing. It may be available until April 27th as well, but if you havent got it you may just want to try and download it right now.

Speaking of Victini, the Victini being given away as a Pre-order bonus for the latest Pokemon Movie in Japan has had its details announced, available from April 16th until August 31st, Anybody who pre-orders thier movie tickets will be able to get a level 50 Victini, holding a Fire Gem in a Cherish Ball and has a Wish Ribbon (meaning it cant be traded on the GTS) – it will know V-Create and Searing Shot, along with Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt, the signiture moves for Reshiram and Zekrom. No word yet on what, if anything, will be handed out to the people who go to Movie itself.

And that’s all we have for you right now – we’ll bring you more info when we know it

Global Link Promotion and TCG Training Aid

Ok, So here’s something you need to know. Remeber The Global Link Site, which links up your Black and White game with some stuff on your computer (including battle stats and the Dream World), it was due to be released internationally tomorow but has been delayed due to the ongoing problems in Japan. Anyway, before it was released in Japan last year, they ran a promotion where you played a game, and at the end got to pick an Eeveelution. When the Site when live, you would get this pokemon when you synced up your game to the site…

Well its now available to all use International users too…

The Eeveelution that you get comes with a different ability than they can usually get. Most Pokémon now can have a 3rd ability which can only be got through other means beyond getting them randomly in game. Mostly this will be from the dream world, although there are 2 pokemon you can encounter and get their Hidden/Dream World ability in game, Daramanitan and Mushrana… these are special encounters though and wont be found randomly

The Eeveelutions you can get, and the abilities they have are:
Vaporeon – Hydration
Jolteon – Quick Feet
Flareon – Guts
Espeon – Magic Bounce
Umbreon – Inner Focus
Leafeon – Chlorophyll
Glaceon – Ice Body

Vist Pokemon.com for more info on this offer and how to access the game you need to play

While your there, you might like to try the TCG training aid. This program lets you play the TCG game against a computer opponet. At the moment you can only chose from 3 theme decks, based on Meganium, Typhlosion and Feraligatr… When the Black and White TCG theme decks are made available next month, they’ll have a code inside them allowing you to use those decks in the program as well. By this september/october, the program will have all cards within the modified format available for you to build your decks with, and allow player vs player matches as well – allowing all those of us who dont have many physical players to play against to try out TCG decks against proper thinking opponents.

The program currently uses Rule updates that will be introduced once the Black and White TCG set is released next month

You’ll need a Trainer Club ID to access both the TCG training aid and the Global Link Site when it launches… Head to Pokemon.com to get yours now

The Most & Least Recognisable Pokémon

There has been little official Pokémon news as you might expect following the recent release of Pokémon Black/White so in the meanwhile we have some more lighthearted news straight from the fans.

Now that our Pokédexs our over halfway to cataloguing 1,000 of the creatures, some Pokémon are bound to stick out more than others. Pikachu is probably the most recognisable Pokémon of all, but what about the least recognisable? Quiz website Sporcle recently ran a series of quizzes asking how many people recognised the Pokémon from different generations and with over 1 million participants it’s certainly a good estimation of some of the most and least popular Pokémon. Here, then, are the most and least recognisable Pokémon from each generation with the percentage of people who recognised them. Do you know them all?

Most Recognisable

Gen I: Pikachu 93.5% / Charmander 92.7% / Squirtle 91% / Bulbasaur 90.7% / Charizard 89.6%

Gen II: Chikorita 84.4% / Cyndaquil 83.9% / Totodile 82.8% / Bayleef 81.4% / Lugia 81.3%

Gen III: Mudkip 93.7% / Torchic 91% / Blaziken 86.2% / Treecko 85.7% / Swampert 83.5%

Gen IV: Piplup 90.1% / Chimchar 88.9% / Turtwig 87.6% / Infernape 85.5% / Empoleon 84.2%

Gen V: Snivy 88.3% / Tepig 87.7% / Victini 81.1% / Oshawott 81.1% / Emboar 73.4%

Least Recognisable

Gen I: Marowak 36.7% / Kingler 35.4% / Lickitung 33.7% / Exeggcute 31.4% / Exeggutor 31.1%

Gen II: Slugma 37.1% / Shuckle 35.9% / Magcargo 34.3% / Qwilfish 34% / Corsola 33.9%

Gen III: Chimecho 41.3% / Crawdaunt 41.1% / Corphish 41.1% / Whiscash 39.2% / Barboach 38.8%

Gen IV: Finneon 38.1% / Lumineon 37.9% / Chingling 37.4% / Chatot 37.1% / Mantyke 36%

Gen V: Accelgor 20.6% / Stunfisk 20.5% / Elgyem 17.7% / Amoonguss 16.6% / Beheeyem 15.6%

 

So what do you think of the results? It’s probably no surprise the most recognisable Pokémon are nearly all  starters but how about the least recognisable? Can you picture them all by name alone? With the exception of Gen V because it is so new I can recognise them all, how about you?

More Pokémon Black/White Guides

We’ve been busy updating our Pokémon Black/White section today and we plan to have more guides up in the next coming days to help you along while you play Black/White. We’ve also added a menu section devoted to them on the left of each page to make them more easily accessible.

Some of the new pages include:

Look out for more to come in the near future!

Pokémon Creator Satoshi Tajiri alive and well after Japanese quakes

Following the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Japan rumours began circulating about the death of Pokémon creator and Gamefreak CEO Satoshi Tajiri. These fears were assuaged when Tajiri himself posted a message on his own Facebook page stating:

Dear Hummingbirds, what’s this nonsense about me being dead?

While Japan recovers from the devastating natural disasters with the help of international aid we can all wish Japan a speedy recovery safe in the knowledge that rumours of the Pokémon creator’s death were false.

Source: http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/122160/20110314/pokemon-creator-satoshi-tajiri-is-still-alive-belies-earlier-reports-he-died-in-japan-quake-on-his-f.htm



Hey look… Stuff!

Wow, nothing’s actually happened for a few days, interestingly

But hey, tomorow is the European release of Pokémon Black and White… and Sunday see’s it out in the USA

So, we’ve been making some helpful pages for your assistance, and here’s a few things you might need to know for Black and White

First up, here’s an Unova Pokédex, giving some details on all the new Pokémon from Black and White

Want to know all the new abilities in the game? Well you wan’t this page

There’s a lot of new moves Pokémon can learn now… and on this page you can learn what they’re called and what they do

Want to know what the new Gym Leaders have ready and waiting for you? Here’s our Gym Leader and Elite 4 Page detailing just that

On the forums we have our a Black/White section for you to discuss the games… and on there is This Important Topic which details how to use your new Shiny Legendary Dogs and recent event Celebi to unlock Zoroark and Zorua in B/W… its a little different than you might think so you may want to check it out… then check out other Black/White topics or make your own.

We’ve got more Black/White stuff on the way, including an update to all the forums defualt Avatars which should be happening over the weekend… got an idea for an article on Black/White? PM WhoKnows_WhoCares on the forums or post it on the Ideas/Suggestions forum and we’ll see what we can do

That’s all we’ve got for you right now, we hope you really enjoy playing Black and White and we’ll bring you more news when we learn it

UK Celebi announced… Finally

Finally, after every other country in the world had gotten details on thier Celebi give-a-way, the UK finally gets its details… and by the looks of the dates it got them increadibly late. Today is Wednesday (at least it was when I posted this) and the first set of events are starting this Saturday – that’s in 4 Days time. And after that, there is only 1 other weekend of events.

To be honest, this is shocking and astonishing. Not only is the whole country severly under representated (where’s birmingham, wales or most of the north east, for example) but the time frame is short and the notice even shorter. Why this couldnt have been combined with the Black and White tour (which starts just after this, for referance) I have no idea. I know Nintendo have a lot of promotional things on thier plate with the 3DS out in just over a months time, but that’s no reason to deny most of the country a Celebi which has 2 important functions (one i HG/SS and one in B/W) while also being one of the most absent pokemon from this country since Gold/Silver came out. Especially when the rest of the world seems to be having a fair deal on how/when they’re getting thier Celebi’s

Anyway, enough of my opinionated ranting, here’s the dates for the Celebi tour in the UK:

On Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th Feb 2011
Meadowhall – Unit 29 (High Street), Sheffield S9 1EN
Oxford Street – 100 Oxford Street, London W1D 9LL
Liverpool – Unit 44, South John Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 8BU
Cabot Circus – SU16 Cabot Circus, Broadmead, Bristol, BS1 3BH
Bedford – 27-29 Midland Road, Bedfordshire, MK40 1PL

On Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th Feb 2011
Glasgow Fort – 285 Provan Walk, Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre, Junction 10 – M8, G34 9DY
Brighton – 43-44 Western Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2EB
Preston – Unit 8, Fishergate Centre, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8HJ
London Hamleys – 188-196 Regent Street, London, W1B 5BT
Reading – Unit 8, Oracle Shopping Centre Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2AQ

We’ll bring you more news when we learn it… assuming it doesnt come out too late to be of any use to anybody

Movie 14 news…

First up an amendment from yesterday’s news story – it seems like IGN’s statment about black and white having additional enhancments on a 3DS has been removed from the article. This puts further in doubt the actual statment’s meaning, but we’ll have to find out for ourselves when the 3DS is released in Japan later this month.

This moth’s CoroCoro magazine has leaked. It leakes every month but we only ever care if its got some interesting news in it… and this month it has.

The magazine features some details on the movie: Victini and the Dark Hero: Zekrom by saying that on the same day another movie will be released titled Victini and the Light Hero: Reshiram.

What? 2 Movies? Well it looks like it, but how it will work is a mystery. The most likely scenario will be that they are 2 shorter movies shown back to back (but can be viewed seperatly) – which is how Marvel did thier ‘Hulk Vs’ movie a couple of years back. Then again, Pokebeach has suggested it could be the same movie with minor differences – exactly how the games work. It’s a long way till July 16th, so we’ll find out more details along the way

Oh and in case you were interested, here’s the scann of CoroCoro with this info in it

That’s all we have now, we’ll bring you more when we learn it

Black and White… in 3D???

So here’s an interesting piece of news that was kind of dropped on everybody. According to a ‘buying guide’ for the Nintendo 3DS by gaming website IGN, Pokemon Black and White might have some kind of 3D support on the forthcoming handheld system

While it wont be in Full 3D like games made specifically for the system, IGN said that the 3DS will be backward compatible with DS games, which will play as normal – but some recent releases, including (and specifically naming) Pokemon Black and White will have “some enhanced functionality”

What that means, we dont know… we’re not even sure if its a genuine comment, or if IGN accidently mistaken the DSi extras (like the face to face conversation mode – Xtransceiver) as only available on a 3DS (which they will be, but not only)

It’s also not unheard of that a game having enhanced features on the next ‘console’ – upon the release of the Gameboy Colour, lots of remakes of classic Gameboy games came out with a DX after the name (Super Mario Land and Zelda: Links Awakening to name 2) – the games worked on normal Gameboys, but were in colour on a GBC, while Links Awakening had a whole new dungeon available only on the Gameboy Colour. Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons/Ages, while being Gameboy Colour games, had additional features available to you if you were playing the games on a Gameboy Advance

Pokemon is no stranger to this action either. The original Gold and Silver were built for the original Gameboy, but were available in Colour when played on a Gameboy Colour… could the same happen again. Could Black and White, when played on a 3DS, have some sort of 3D effect over the battles – it would be perfectly made for it.

We’ll find out more about the enhancements later this month when Japan gets its 3DS released/

On a side note, following up yesterday’s Mammoth amout of translated names, there’s another one revealed on the official website, Karakusa town, the first town you travel through (which, as standard, doesnt have a gym), is now called Accumula Town

We’ll bring you more news when we learn it!

Another News Round Up…

Once again I suffered a few bad days preventing me from posting news… Sorry. I try to keep on top of this but its tough to do when its just me and I’ve got my own life to deal with. In this news update, news on a UK Black and White preview tour (most of which coming after the release of the game) and a whole load of Translated names for Black and White

But first, dont forget that a Shiny Raikou is available over Wi-Fi until Sunday 13th March, when Entei will be available from the 14th for a week and Suicune the week after. This can be downloaded onto ANY English version of the game, North American, European or Australian (and yes, still works even if the game isnt set on English mode). You’ll only need one of the Dogs to activate the Zoroark event in Black or White, but if you want the whole set you better hurry and download Raikou now.

Similar to the Mall Tour going across America currently, there is news that a UK version is soon to be underway. Featuring demo’s of Black and White, Scavenger hunts, the chance to meet the new starter pokemon, activities and Pokemon Center Store offering unique merchandice (the last one is the one i’m interested in) – the tour however wont be screening the 13th movie like America is, nor will it be distributing Celebi (which we are still awaiting details on where/when we in the UK will be getting that). The tour dates are as follows (thanks to pokemonworld and bulbapedia for this info):
Sat 26th & Sun 27th February: Westfield London (Site GE1), London, W12 7GF
Sat 5th & Sun 6th March: Silverburn Glasgow (Site Main Entrance – Debenhams), Barrhead Road, GLASGOW, G53 6QR
Sat 12th & Sun 13th March: Birmingham (Site – outside Selfridges), Birmingham Bullring, B5
Sat 19th & Sun 20th March: Metrocentre, Newcastle (Site – Town Square), Metrocentre, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE11 9YG
Sat 2nd & Sunday 3rd April: X Factor Live, Glasgow SECC, Exhibition Way, Glasgow, G3 8YW

Ok, now for the big one: Translation news. IGN and the UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine revealed more English Pokémon names recently… this only further confirmed the leak list, which almost every site now believes in… and since we’re amongst the almost – click here for the full list of Black/White Pokemon, with English names, Broken up into each Evolution Chain

As for the rest, well for the attacks we know that:
Grass Mixer is now known as Leaf Tornado
Nitro Charge is now known as Flame Charge
Shell Blade is now known as Razor Shell
Incinerate keeps its Japanese names
Elecball is now knows as Electro Ball
Dragon Tail keeps its Japanese Name
Flame Burst Also keeps its Japanese name
Healing Wave is now known as Heal Pulse
Evil Eye is now known as Hex
Wood Horn is now known as Horn Leech
Sing a Round is now known as Round
Retaliation is now known as Retaliate
Boiling Water is now known as Scald

New names for abilities are:
Regeneration is now known as Regenerator
Tension is now known as Unnerve

Locations:
Raimon City, where the Musical hall and the 4th Gym is, is now known as Nimbassa City
Sekka City, one of the main locations in the Demo version of the game, is now known as Icirrus City
Dragon Spiral Tower, which is near Icirrus city and also features in the demo, is now Dragonsprial Tower
Yagaruma Forest, which is just after the 2nd gym and before the long bridge into Castelia City, is now known as Pinwheel Forest

Names:
Anole, the 2nd Gym leader’s name, has now been confirmed to be called Lenora

In addition to the above, a leaked list of other locations and Gym leader names has been released. These arent 100% confirmed, but like the leaked Pokemon names list a month or two back, its most likey true.

Leaked Locations:
Kanoko Town, starting location, Nuvema Town
Sazanami Town, Undella Town
Kagome Town, Lacunosa Town
Souryuu City, Opelucid City
Fukiyose City, Mistralton City
Hodomoe City, Driftveil City

Leaked Gym Leaders:
3rd: Arti [Bug] – Burgh
4th Kamitsure [Electric] – Elesa
5th Yacon [Ground] – Clay
6th Fuuro [Flying] – Skyla
7th Hachiku [Ice] – Brycen
8th (black only) Shaga [Dragon] – Drayden

the 1st, 2nd and 8th for white have already been announced, in case you were wondering

Leaked Elite 4:
Shikimi [Ghost] – Shauntal
Giima [Dark] – Grimsley
Renbuu [Fighting] – Marshal
Katorea [Psychic] – Caitlin (this IS the same Caitlin from the battle castle facility)
Champion: Adeku – Alder

Leaked names, other:
Geechisu, Plasma head/admin/Sage – Ghetsis
Black, Male Trainer’s Default name, Blair
White, Female Trainer’s Default name, Whitlea

And that’s it… for now – at the rate this info is leaking/being revealed, i’m sure there will be more to post in an hour or two

That’s all we have for now, we’ll bring you more as soon as we can