New Section: Videos – Launching with a Special Video Project

Well I promised you (and Pikachu3828) I’d be presenting something special on the site today… I still think that sounds more impressive than it actually is… but anyway, moving on

Back in June 2010, a self help knowledge video webiste called videojug.com asked for The Pika Club’s assistance in making some Pokémon related videos. These videos, all of which are presented by me WhoKnows_WhoCares (using my real name, which is something I didnt want being used around here), cover a wide veraity of topics related to Pokémon.

Ok, honestly, most of you will know more that what the videos cover – and that’s fine, these videos are more for the people who’ve never played Pokémon ever – then again, there may be something there you can learn about the Trading Card Game, or learn something fun to do in your spare time… at the very least you can laugh at me, looking like an idiot and with a drawing ability that’s got to be seen to believed. Also, let me just start of by saying that any information that’s wrong in the videos, I appologise now for getting wrong, I was nervous with no real script to read. Any missing information is probably due to editing rather than my memory (I did notice a few important things I did say when recording have been chopped for time…)

To Promote this new addition to the webiste (celebrate really isnt the word I’d use for this) – we’ve launched a new section to the site ‘Videos’ – here you can find a Link to our YouTube page, the link to the videos that were made for the videojug project, and in the future we’ll upload things like trailers to the latest games and maybe some other fun things too

For now, if you want to see the Videos presented by me, you can go to the Videojug Videos Project Page here – We’ve got 5 Video’s embed into the page at the moment, with more added in the next couple of weeks – or you can click the link at the bottom of that page to veiw the rest of the collection.

Enjoy these videos in whatever way you want to, and we’ll bring you news whenever it decides to pop up!

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

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

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

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

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…

Adoption Agency ‘Berrytastic’ Update

The Pika Club Adoption Agency has just been updated once again adding some more new features. This update is probably almost as unexpected for me as it is for anyone who reads this and plays the Adoption Agency as I had originally said that the ‘Water Stone’ update was the last update until winter. It was the plan, but I didn’t feel the Adoption Agency was quite substantial enough to last 3 months without an update. With this update I’ve added some more features with the aim of giving the Adoption Agency some more replay value. Here are some of the new features:

Shiny Pokémon – Yes, for the first time ever on The Pika Club we now have shiny Pokémon! Not even TPC RPG had these. Shiny Pokémon, like in the games, are obtained by chance while breeding. Don’t worry if you’ve got a non-breedable Pokémon you want a shiny version of however – there is a way to turn Pokémon you’ve already obtained shiny!

Berries – After the addition of items last update come berries, which this update is named after. Berries play quite a large role in the new Adoption Agency, having numerous effects on your Pokémon. You can also grow berries yourself.

Bug Catching Contest – Yet another new feature is the Bug Catching Contest, set in the National Park. This is a contest that runs every day with the aim of catching the strongest bug Pokémon you can. What sets this feature apart from others however is in the Bug Catching Contest your opponents are other players!

Of course along with a new update comes new additions to old features! No new achievements have been added this time, but there have been nearly 30 base Pokémon added in this update not including their evolutions or the newly added trade/happiness evolution methods. Adding those we’re around the 200 mark for Pokémon released! Some of the newly released Pokémon include:

This is a short overview of the latest update. For a more detailed overview, including more new features, click here.

Adoption Agency ‘Water Stone’ Update

The Pika Club Adoption Agency has just had its first update, dubbed ‘Water Stone’ due to the two main features added – fishing and mining. The update is about a week behind schedule but this is due to the fact that the update became much larger than I first intended it to be. This is because I will soon be going back to university where I will be unable to work on another update until the winter break, around December-January time. Here’s a quick run down of just some of the new features added in this update:

Your Bag – Items are now available! This adds a whole new world of potential to the Adoption Agency which will be built upon in later updates.

Fishing – For the first time you can now fish and catch live Pokémon! Not only that but you can upgrade your rod just like in the games to catch more and better Pokémon!

Travelling – Another new feature is the option to travel to new and exotic places which allow the capture of all new Pokémon and all new adventures!

Of course there are more features and in addition to these there are 5 new achievements and over 30 new Pokémon including some of these below.

Pokémon GTS website closing its doors

The official Pokémon GTS website has put up an announcement stating it is closing down at 7:00 P.M. GMT on 14/09/10, just under a month from now. You can read the announcement here.

The closure is most likely due to the Japanese release of Pokémon Black/White which is known to have features which allow you to upload your Pokémon to the internet and interact with them there. This feature will most likely supercede the old Pokémon GTS website and so they are closing it down after 3 years of service.

This does not affect the ingame GTS! You will still be able to trade your Pokémon over the GTS. The change only affects the Pokémon GTS website.

New The Pika Club Adoption Agency

The Pika Club Adoption Agency has had a major overhaul. In the past tradition would name such a massive update as something like The Pika Club Adoption Agency v2.0 but for the sake of simplicity I’ll break from tradition and keep the name The Pika Club Adoption Agency. This can be considered the spiritual successor to TPC RPG v4 in many ways as that project has not been worked on in a long time and I am now announcing is officially cancelled. I had always said during TPC RPG v3’s lifetime that if the Pokémon games came up with a decent method of trading, battling and playing with others worldwide then I would quit and I feel that the Pokémon GTS has succeeded in doing just that. For fans of the RPG you’ll find many familiar features in the new Adoption Agency. You don’t battle Pokémon or complete missions, but here’s a quick rundown of all the new features as compared to the old Adoption Agency.

Your Trainer Card – This has replaced your Pokémon. Rather than 1 Pokémon now you have a party of 6 on you at all times that visitors can interact with! You have a box for extra Pokémon that you can use to switch around at any time. Your Trainer Card is highly customisable and will automatically update your card wherever you’re showing it as soon as you make any changes!

Breeding Centre & Trade Centre – You can now breed compatible Pokémon! As long as you have male and female Pokémon of compatible egg groups you can now breed the two to produce an egg! You can then trade this with other breeders on the Adoption Agency if you wish using the Trade Centre. The screenshot also shows off another new feature – many features now take place in real time. That mean, for example, that hatching eggs no longer relies on a certain amount of clicks unlike the old Adoption Agency. Now eggs take time to hatch and clicks help speed up the hatching process!

Your Pokédex – Now you can own more than one Pokémon it only makes sense that you would have your own Pokédex! This will automatically update the seen/caught amounts as you explore the agency and interact/trade with others! With over 100 Pokémon currently available, you will have your work cut out to catch ’em all!

Your Achievements – A brand new feature is achievements. Achievements are small tasks that you can perform around the website in order to unlock various exlcusive prizes. These can be either new trainer images or card bases for your breeder’s card or Pokémon eggs unavailable anywhere else! Most achievements tell you how to unlock them but some are hidden that you must find for yourself!

Daily and weekly events – Real time events have also been incorporated into the Adoption Agency to make sure you always have a new experience every day you visit! For example, as in the picture above every week Buena gives away a new prize for you. It could be a new card base, a trainer image or a new Pokémon egg! You won’t know unless you visit each week!

As this is such a big expansion we’ve given the Adoption Agency its own forum which you can get to here. Please tell us what you think of the new Adoption Agency! We want to know what you think of it, what parts you like and dislike and how you think it could be made better!

Enjoy!

New CoroCoro archive

Searches for CoroCoro magazine scans and leaks rank among our most popular keywords and so I’ve added an archive of all the CoroCoro scans we have which you can access from the ‘Galleries’ dropdown menu. Right now it only goes back to May 2009 but I’d like for it to go back further. If you have any relevant (ie about Pokémon) CoroCoro scans please get in touch and help us flesh out our archive!

Click here to go to the archive.

Isshu Virtual Tour

The official Japanese Pokémon website has just updated to include a full sized map of the Isshu region as well as providing us with some in-game pictures. The tour does not show off many places we have not already seen screenshots from but it does provide us with a full map of the region including what is speculated to be the new starting point for this generation. To get to the virtual tour, click here and then click the white button above the information bar.

A screenshot of the virtual tour

A flat screen TV in the player's(?) bedroom? It's come a long way from a simple NES!

This area to the far left of the map looks a lot like an airfield. Could planes be a new mode of transport?

Thoughts on Pokémon HG/SS

Since the release of Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver recently it’s likely that Pokémon news is going to dry up for a bit. However, that doesn’t mean there has to be any down time here!

Now that Pokémon HG/SS has been out for at least a few weeks in all regions it seems like the perfect time to introduce our new comments system. Now you can comment and share with your friends using your Facebook or Twitter account, follow other commenters, rate comments and have threaded discussions! Why not give it a try? What do you like about Heart Gold/Soul Silver? What do you hate about it? Click the comment button at the bottom of this article and share your thoughts on it with the community!