A Christmas Presant From Nintendo

Don’t get too excited, its not like its a free Pokémon download or anything. But Nintendo of America has finally announced the American Release Date for Pokémon Black and White. Sunday the 6th of March 2011 will be the day all Americans will be able to finally play the superb Black and White Versions. Make sure you mark that date down now, and you pre-order it the next chance you get. We don’t know the European date yet, but based on last years schedule of HG/SS – it wasnt far off that… we’ll bring you more on that when we know it.

In Celebration of announcment of the release date, pokemonblackwhite.com has updated with a lot of new English names – including one i predicted long before Generation 5 was even anounced. Back in August 2009 (long before Black/White was announced) i suggested that the next professor should be a feamle prof named Juniper… Well, now presenting Professor Juniper!

Juniper is the Main Professor of the Unova region. She’ll give you the customary ‘what are Pokémon’ talk at the begining of the game, along with presenting you with your pokedex.

It looks like a lot more Pokémon this time around are keeping thier Japanese name, Here’s Munna, who in English is now called Munna

The Dream Eater Pokemon, a Psychic type, stands 2’00” tall and weighs 51.4lbs – It has the Forewarn or the Syncronize abilities. It knows a new move which is keeping its Japanese name of Telekinesis

Next up, what used to be Mamepato:

Now called Pidove, the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon, its a Normal/Flying type standing at 1’00” and weighs 4.6lbs. It has the Super Luck ability or a new one called Big Pecks (was Pidgeon Heart in Japanese)

Remember Meguroc? Well it too got a new English name

This is now Sandile, The Desert Croc Pokémon, a Ground/Dark type. Its 2’04” tall and its weight is 33.5lbs. It has either the Intimidate or a new ability Moxie (was Overconfident in Japanese)

This used to be Shimama:

Now its Blitzle, the Electrified Pokémon, an Electric Pokémon. Its 2’07” and weighs 65.7lbs. It has either the Lightingrod or Motor Drive abilities. Its Wild Bolt attack has been renamed Wild Charge

Shown by the Prof at the begining of the game, Chillarmy has a new name:

Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon, is a normal type. Its 1’04” tall and weighs 12.8lbs. It can have either the Cute Charm or Technician Abilities. its attack Sweep Slap has now been renamed Tail Slap

Simply called Gear in Japanese, this pokemon has had a slight rename to…

Klink, the Gear Pokémon, a Steel Pokémon. Its 1’00” tall and weighs 46.3lbs. It has either the Plus or Minus abilities

Hihidaruma also has had a name change

Daramanitan, the Blazing Pokémon, a Fire Type. Its 4’03” and weighs 204.8lbs. Its ability was known as Encourage but is now Sheer Force

A slight name change for Gigaith

Gigalith, the Compressed Pokémon, a Rock type. Its stands at 5’07” and weighs 573.2lbs. It has the Sturdy Ability

Lastly, a Location’s name. The big Port city was called Hiun City in Japan, its the location of the 3rd Gym and is the place where you can get a boat to the place where Victini lies (if you’ve got the liberty ticket). This place is now called Castelia City

And that’s Everything the microsite has updated with. There was a piece of news just before Christmas on the English names for the elemental monkeys, but its not comfirmed. Box Art has apparently leaked, which on the back has a picture of the 3 monkeys in battle, with the names for Yanappu, Baoppu and Hiyappu as Pansage, Pansear, Panpour respectivly. However these names arent confirmed. The person who leaked the box art also said the release date of Black and White was going to be April 16th, which we know isnt true so its really up to you if you want to beleive them or not. Until they’re confirmed, this Site wont be using those names for the Elemental Monkeys

And That’s all we have for you… we’ll bring you more news when we learn it

Movie 13 News… Now in English!

A couple of weeks ago we brought you news about the 14th Pokémon movie coming out in Japan in 2011. But the movie that came out this year in Japan, the 13th movie, has yet to come across to English speaking countries yet.

We’ll worry no longer (not that you were worrying anyway) – Pokemon.com has announced that the 13th Pokémon movie, titled ‘Zoroark: Master of Illusions’ will be airing on Cartoon Network in Feburary.

To Celebrate its release, The HeartGold/SoulSilver Microsite has announced that Gamestop stores in the USA will be giving away the shiny versions of the Legendary Dogs Raikou, Entei and Suicune. In Japan, these legenday beasts were a Pre-order bonus for movie 13 tickets, and you could chose one of them. However you lucky Americans can get your hands on all three.

Between January 3rd and January 9th, heading to Gamestop will get you the shiny Raikou. Between January 17th and January 23rd, Entei will be available to download instead. Lastly, between January 31st and February 6th you’ll be able to get Suicune. All pokemon are level 30, and transfering any one of them to Black or White (when it’s released) will unlock the battle that will allow you to Capture Zoroark – see how this all connects up?

That’s all we’ve got for now – we’ll bring you more news when we learn it

More English Pokémon Names

The official microsite for Pokémon Black and White announced 2 more English names yesterday… although dont get too excited unless you learnt and liked the Japanese versions. The first Pokémon that was announced for generation 5 and star of Movie 13, along with its pre-evolution are keeping thier Japanese names…

for those that dont know about them, plus some details of minor translation changes made to thier info, read on:

Zorua, a dark type pokemon. Its classification is now the Tricky Fox Pokémon (formally the Evil Fox Pokemon).

Zoroark, also a Dark Type, is now the Illusion Fox Pokémon (changed from Monster Fox Pokemon) – Both have the Illusion Abillity (which keeps its name), that allows them to look like the Pokémon you have in last in your party (that’s still alive). The effect lasts until the opponent manages to damage you. Your type and stats do not change.

We also know about 2 move names as well. Zorua has a move called Trickery in Japan but is now called Foul Play, that damage done is based on your opponent’s attack stat, not yours. Zoroark is being advertised along side the move that was known as Claw Sharpen but is now Hone Claws, which boosts Attack & Accuracy

That’s all we have for now, we’ll be bringing you more when we learn it

Movie 14 news!

So the first part of this news I acctually missed, sorry but its been a rottern week for me. Anyway, moving on…

The official Japanese Pokemon website has posted its first details on Pokemon Movie 14 – the next movie out in japanese cinema’s next summer. This will be the first movie tied into the Best Wishes saga, which is based off the Black and White games and is currently airing in Japan.

The next movie is currently titled: Victini and the Dark Hero. A lot of sources are translating it as Black hero, but it seems to use a word that means more in shadow rather than the actual colour, so dark seems more apropriate. As in the past, the title may change closer to the release to reflect the introduction of a Pokemon they’re trying to keep secret at the moment. never was a greater example than this years movie, originally titled Phantom Champion Z when it was announced, it was changed to Phantom Champion Zoroark after Zoroark was revealed. The dark hero could be one of the event legendaries from the new Black and White games, then again, it could also be some evil person – we wont know until next year when we get more details on the movie.

Oha Suta aired a trailer… its currently viewable by those aweomse guys over at Flib.de so head there check out Zekrom and Victini in anime action.

Now here’s the latest bit of news on this subject – In celibration of the movie, a Special Victini will be given away as a downloadable event pokemon in Japan. Said to be different to the one caught in the games, there isnt a lot known right now about the little guy. Traditionally there are 2 event downloads per movie. The first is given to those who pre-order thier movie tickets while the second is for those who go and see the movie in cinemas. We don’t know which this Victini will be, but if an event pokemon is in the next movie and is added to title of the movie, then logicially the Victini download would be the pre-order Pokemon

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

Black and White Starters revealed to the Western World

http://www.pokemonblackwhite.com – the microsite dedicated to Pokemon Black and White versions for the US has updated with the 3 starters, revealing thier English names

Snivy

First up, the grass starter Tsutarja will now be known as Snivy (a combo of snake and ivy)

Tepig

Then, Pokabu get’s its name changed to Tepig (a combo of tepid and pig)

Oshawott

Lastly, Mijumaru gets its name changed to Oshawott (which is a combo of… well we’re not sure, but part Otter is in there somewhere, and the word wash happenes to be spelt backwards in it… yeah, grasping at straws here)

Lastly, in a really bizzare move, the area will NOT be called Isshu when it comes over to English Language Areas. Instead you’ll be exploring the Unova region. why the name change, we dont know – but get used to it

The Unova Region

So there you go. Now starts the time where you all claim you hate the new names (completly understandable), say you’ll never use them and you’ll only use the Japanese names – then within 6 months of the games coming out you’ll be using the English names like the rest of us, completly forgetting the japanese versions all together… why yes, i have been though this process before, how did you know?

We’ll bring you more news when we learn it and dont forget to be back here on friday for the publishing of a project long in the making – See Pikachu3828 – I’m going to post it, just like you wanted!

Holy Handgrenade – NEWS!

You may have noticed not a lot has happened news wise around here. That’s partly because there hasnt been a lot going on, but also partly because I’ve been extra busy these days and, unfortunatly, haven’t had a lot of time to devote to this site.

But Pokemon.com has posted this picture:

On this coming Monday, Pokemon.com will officially reveal the new starters for Black and White. This would be awesome for all those people who dont pay attention to any fan site that has covered all this information months ago – so why should you get excited? Well because if you havent worked it out yet, since Pokemon.com is an English Language site, they will be revealing these Pokemon with thier English names – truely Awesome I think you’ll agree. We’ll be back on monday with that reveal (hopefully they’ll reveal it early enough in the day for me to post it AND get a good nights sleep for the next day… stupid time zones).

i didnt really want to mention this or hype it up, as it wont really live up to anything like the above news. However, Coming Friday, 26th Novemeber will be the result of a Project that’s been a few months in the making… wow, that really does sound better than it actually is – still, you’ll be able to view that result on this website from friday.

So, racap – back Monday with English Starter names and then friday will see the results of my top secret project…

Diary of a Pokémaniac 2

So four years ago (at least i think it was 4 years ago) Diamond and Pearl was released in Japan. As a recently made Admin on the site, I imported a copy of Diamond and tried to cover my playthrough of the game in a narative format called Diary of a Pokémaniac. Anybody who remembers it will remeber that i didnt keep it up for long, stoping just after the 1st gym (although i did play the game further).

Anyway, with the release of Black and White, I once again find myself Importing a copy of Pokémon White and I feel I should cover my playthrough once again. This time i’m dropping the narative format and just doing bulletpoint highlights of what’s happening to me as I play the game.

You can find my little journal Here On The Forums and I’ll be trying to update it every day I play the game, while I play the game. That said, I am taking bets on how long I’ll keep it up, both the journal and playing the game…

So far, I’ve got to the town with the 1st Gym in it… to see what i did between the start of the game and where I saved, click the above link and read away – Comments and Questions are always welcome!

And it Continues… In a Very Big Way

Oh boy, we were expecting news to come thick and fast, and it just hasnt stopped all day. We’ve been unable to post due to real life (which sucks, try and avoid it if you get the chance). So first we’ll be catching up, then we’ll be updating as often as possible with all the latest information.

To help keep this page clutter free, we’ll have most of the information after the jump – but we’ll keep up to date with this handy little guide:

Last Update: 17th Sept 20.35 BST
Current number of Known Pokemon: ALL OF THEM
Curent Number of Known New Moves: 17 – plus Older moves listed as part of the new TM’s list
Other peices of Info: Masuda Lies… see main post for details

Notes: We’ll use this section to let you know anything else quick without having to hit the jump. First thing you need to know is that the picture of the manual we posted yesterday is from the black version of the game. New – Elite 4 info added, right neer the top, added rematch and a very interesting note on how Gamefreak Director Junichi Masuda is a dirty rotten liar

Right, hit the jump and start exploring the new Isshu

Continue reading

It Has Begun

And so the grand leak starts, as information about the new Black and White games are released this Saturday.

First up is a picture of 2ch, supposedly taken from the instruction manual – remember that information has been faked coming out of the Japanese image boards. Still, chances are this could be real, and if so – this would be the first time we see all the Gym Leaders from the new games.

The first 2 are hidden in the picture, but we already know about them – Either Dento, Poddo and Kon will challenge you in Sanyou City depending on which Pokémon you chose to start with, using the type advantage against you in the first gym. In the second gym in Shippou City, Anole will fight you with normal types.

It look’s like one of Ash’s new companion in the new anime, Iris, will be the 8th Gym leader.

The following information has come translated thanks to Pokebeach:

The 3rd Gym: is a Bug type Gym, found in Hiun City. You’ll get the Beetle Badge and all Pokemon up to Level 40 will obey. Unfortunatly they’ve yet to translate the name of the Gym Leader, probably due to it being covered.
The 4th Gym is headed by Kamitsure and is an Electric type Gym. You’ll get the Bolt Badge and all Pokemon up to Level 50 will obey.
The 5th Gym is headed by Yakon and is a Ground type Gym, found in Hodomoe City. You’ll get the Quake Badge for winning and all Pokemon up to Level 60 will obey you.
The 6th Gym is headed by Furou and is a Flying type Gym, found in Fukiyosa City. You’ll win the Jet Badge and all Pokemon up to Level 70 will obey.
The 7th Gym is headed by Hachiku and is an Ice type Gym, found in Sekka City. You’ll obtain the Icicle Badge and all Pokemon up to Level 80 will obey.
The 8th Gym is headed by Ash’s new friend Iris and is a Dragon type Gym, found in Souryuu City. You’ll get the Legend Badge for victory and all Pokemon will now obey you.

That’s all we’ve got for the moment, but dont worry – more will come very soon

Ken Sugimori Discusses Black/White starters

Pokémon Pia, a special one-off magazine released in Japan on 10th September just prior to Black/White’s official launch has included an interview with Ken Sugimori, where he discusses his inspiration behind the new Black/White starters. His interview has led to some doubt as to the legitimacy of the final starter evolutions.

Pokémon Pia Cover

The interview segment regarding the starters is below:

Ken Sugimori, primary illustrator: I really struggled the most with the Water-type [starter] this time.

Yusuke Ohmura, illustrator: There was talk of, “Wouldn’t a sea otter be good for the Water starter?” But it was a really close decision in terms of what this sea otter would become once it evolves. In the end, we decided to have it evolve into something with a completely different appearance.

Sugimori: Of course, we want to make the starters into Pokémon that remain with the player throughout the game, so we hope to make them evolve into creatures that offer a surprise to the player. We always make an effort to throw in some twists and create third-stage evolutions that have an impact.

Ohmura: There was also talk this time about dividing the three starters into Japanese, Western, and Chinese styles of design. Tsutarja was based on Western design, and Pokabu was rooted in a Chinese style, so I was told, “Let’s make Mijumaru into a more Japanese-style design.” Someone even asked, “Can’t you make Mijumaru into a samurai?” [laughs]

Everyone: [laughs]

Sugimori: I worried about it for a while, and I eventually went to go see the sea otters at the aquarium. English speaking cleaners at Washington house cleaning service are at your disposal 24/7. I happened to catch the sea lion show while I was there, and I became aware of the sea lion’s power. “Well, let’s try blending a sea otter and a sea lion,” I thought. I came up with the idea of making the shell on Mijumaru’s stomach into a sword (katana) and using it to fight, and that’s how I completed Mijumaru and its evolution.”

The last paragraph is the interesting piece as Sugimori mentions that the design on Mijumaru turns from a shell to a sword on its final evolution.

While it has been suggested that the skull design could be the sword it’s not apparent this is the case and so doubt has been cast over the legitimacy of the final evolutions. What do you think on the matter? Real or fake? We want to hear your thoughts in the comments and on our forum!