[The Daily Catch] ★ 4/9: 5th gen games revealed!

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

☆ Tired of being the last one to know what's going on in the world of Pokémon? Too busy or forgetful to check the news sites? Or do you just not know where to even look? Then fear not, defenders; I shall be your newscaster! As an obsessive stalker of several reliable news sites, there's not much happening in the Pokémon franchise that I'm unaware of. So I shall put my passion to use and help spread the news~.


★ Got a piece of news I haven't posted about yet? Unless it's major news (fifth gen revealed, GSC remake announced, so forth), I ask that you wait a day or two before telling me. Chances are, I already know, but I just haven't gotten around to making a post about it. But after a day or two and I still haven't mentioned your tidbit, feel free to PM me and let me know what I'm missing!


☆ Sources

» Serebii
» PokéBeach
» Bulbapedia
» Pokémon Database/Project Pokémon
» Filb
» Pokémon Collectors

 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Event Name: "Unlock the Secret!"
★ Location: Toys-R-Us stores in Canada and America; Nintendo WiFi Connection.
★ Date: April 19th ~ April 26th; April 20th ~ May 12th.
★ Availability: Pokémon Platinum.

Ever wanted to befriend a microwave? Or send a lawnmower into a battle? Well now's your chance! Starting today and running until May 12th, the mysterious Secret Key will be available for download via WiFi. Once obtained, this item will allow you to access a hidden room in Team Galaxy's Eterna City Headquarters, which in turn will contain items that will enable you to change your Rotom's form.

How do you get the Secret Key, though? First, make sure you have Mystery Gift activated. If it's not, check out this handy guide. But once that's done, go to the start up screen of Platinum and under the New Game option, select Mystery Gift. From there, select Receive Gift, then Get Via Nintendo WFC. Then just connect to the WFC and obtain your Key!

But how to use it? Just go to Team Galaxy's headquarters in Eterna City and in the main room, up in the top left corner "talk" to the wall between that gray machine thing. Don't understand? This YouTube video probably explains it better.


Fridge Rotom, here I come!
 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Event: 12th Movie Lottery.
★ Featured Pokémon: Arceus, Notch-Eared Pichu, Piplup, Giratina (Another Forme).
★ Type: Various.
★ Release Date: Currently unknown.

It seems the prize list for a lottery has been stumbled upon! It's still up in the air on whether or not these are movie theater lottery prizes or 7-11 lottery prizes, but either way they're still pretty damn nifty. Arranged in a hierarchy of sorts, the prizes are as follows:


☆ At the very top is the "special prize" of a 20cm/8in Arceus figure. That may not sound very tall, but measure it out; This thing's rather big and will be the hardest to get, so expect it to go for a pretty penny on auction sites.

☆ Next level is the "first tier" prize of a 33cm/1ft wide Notched-Eared Pichu pillow.

☆ Under that are the "second tier" prizes of plushie keychains. They will be 9cm/3in tall and available as Piplup, Arceus, or Notch-Eared Pichu.

☆ Next up are the "third tier" prizes of 15cm/5in tall pouches. There will be four different designs, two each for Arceus and Notch-Eared Pichu.

☆ And lastly are the "fourth tier" prizes of everyday figure keychains. They vary in size from 5.5cm/2in to 6.5cm/2.5cm and feature Piplup, Notch-Eared Pichu, Arceus, and Another Forme Giratina. These will be the most common prizes and probably the ones everyone get if they don't win something from one of the higher tiers.


Since I don't read Moonspeak, I'm still clueless on how many of each prize will be given away, but I'm pretty sure that little red box in the right-hand corner tells this. Hmmmm.

Also, yes, Nintendo of Japan finally revealed to us the existence of Arceus a few weeks back. No one could've seen that one coming.  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Event: Yuujin Capsule Machine prizes.
★ Featured Pokémon: Giratina (Another Forme), Rotom (Heat, Cut, and Wash Formes), Slowpoke/Slowbro/Slowking, Crandios/Rampardos, Hippopotas/Hippowdon, and Snover/Abomasnow.
★ Type: Zukan.
★ Release Date: May?


So while browsing Yahoo!Japan Auctions today, I stumbled upon what appears to be the next installment of Yuujin's zukan toy series, DP 11. While mostly debuts of previously zukan-less Pokémon, there's two otherwise noteworthy entries: Giratina's third zukan and the other half of Rotom's Formes, the first half of which debuted in DP 10, the previous installment.

It's good to see more focus on "non-popular" Pokémon, but why they felt the need to give Giratina a third zukan (and second zukan of its Another Forme), I'm not quite sure. But if that's the case, I can foresee Dialga and Palkia each getting another zukan as well. Because why the hell not?

But Tippy, what are "zukan"? Well, the word itself is what the Japanese call the PokéDex, and these figures are named after that because they are sculpted to the Pokémon's official dimensions listed in the PokéDex, but scaled down. The average ratio is 1/40, but it can range from 1/20 for the smallest Pokémon all the way up to 1/80 for the behemoths. You can get them from capsule machines in Japan (and select places in Europe) for a meager ¥200, or roughly $2.

They're also highly detailed and pretty damn awesome.  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Name: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Type: Main series.
★ Generation: 4th.
★ Platform: Nintendo DS.
★ Launch Date: Fall of 2009 for Japan. Estimated Spring of 2010 for North America.


That's right, folks. Our dreams have come true; Nintendo and GameFreak have officially announced remakes of the most beloved Pokémon games of all, Gold and Silver. Titled as Pocket Monsters HeartGold and SoulSilver, not much is known as of right now, but the wacky Pokémon-themed variety show Pokémon Sunday has given us the first looks into the games.

Pokémon Sunday has also vowed to reveal new information every Sunday, presumably up to the Japanese launch date, which was stated to be in the fall of this year (speculation is on or around November 21st, which was the launch date for the originals). Today, they not only officially revealed the logos, seen on the left, they also revealed the new Sugimori artwork for the three starters, as well as teased us with a quick clip of actual game play. Currently, the fandom is still frothing at the collective mouth over this.

In addition to... Really, no other information, Nintendo also confirmed in Friday's Yahoo.co.jp article that the new games will also sport features "never before seen" in previous games. That's right. HeartGold and SoulSilver are so badass, they will make Platinum obsolete merely a year after its Japanese launch. Anyway, there hasn't been any word yet as to what these new features will be, but word on the street is that they will include a revamped breeding system, an expansion on the visual gender differences between Pokémon, and the possibility of your starter following you around like Pikachu did in Pokémon Yellow.

Which is pretty cool, except Chikorita's overworld sprite is really fat.

Click on the thumbnails to view pictures and the clip of HG/SS's announcement on Pokémon Sunday.

 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Source: CoroCoro magazine.
★ Info Type: Redesign reveal, new artwork, gameplay.


In keeping with tradition, another issue of CoroCoro has been leaked onto the internet early and just as predicted, holds more information about HeartGold and SoulSilver. Though the leaked scans didn't give us much more new info, they did drop a bomb and reveal the redesigns for Gold and the game's heroine, shown left. As you can see, she is not Crys, the beloved heroine of Pokémon Crystal, and has been confirmed as a new girl entirely. This, paired with her raising the bar of the Silly Hat Standard and Gold's girly capris, has left the fandom with a bad taste in its mouth.

New Sugimori artwork for a handful of other second gen Pokémon were also revealed, probably to distract the fans from the slight fail that are the character redesigns. But aside from showing us pretty pictures, CoroCoro also revealed a few tidbits about the games themselves. First up, location profile shots will make a return. First introduced in FireRed and LeafGreen, they were pixel pictures of certain locations that flashed onto the screen for a few seconds whenever you entered said certain locations. Except this time, they'll be in 3D. If you look under Gold's left elbow, you can see the profile picture for Sprout Tower.

Next, Notch-Eared Pichu and Pikachu-Colored Pichu will be present and have an unlockable event at Celebi's Shrine in Illex Forest. What will happen? No idea, but we'll probably find out in July when the twelfth movie premiers (since those who reserve tickets will be able to download the Pikachu-Colored Pichu to their Platinums).

Other information is a bit lacking on elaboration, but includes expanded WiFi features (again), an upgraded PokéGear, starters AND other Pokémon following you Pokémon Yellow style, and hints that Kanto indeed will make a return as a secondary region to explore. And rumors are circling now, stating that the launch date will be late September (some sites are reporting it specifically as September 11th) and that there will be a skateboard key item that works in addition to or even replaces the Bike.

Oh hell yes. I've been waiting ten years to ride Gold's skateboard. Will we get a pool cue, too?

Click on the thumbnails to view the CoroCoro magazine scans.

 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

[New Announcement]
(Pretend there's a nifty banner here)

★ Concerning: Pokémon Trading Figure Game.
★ From: The Pokémon Company International.


Well folks, I've got some bad news. As we all might know, the odd but pretty Trading Figure Game, or TFG, has been on thin ice for months now. While the first set, Next Quest, did alright, the second set, Groundbreakers, has been delayed several times since it was initially announced last year. No one outside the industry was ever sure of the reason for this, but sensible fans figure it was due to utterly retarded marketing choices (seriously, who the hell is a fan of Machop? Or Geodude?).

But the hopes of those holding out for Groundbreakers, pictured left, were finally crushed today when the head of Pokémon Organized Play confirmed that the TFG has been officially discontinued, with Groundbreakers and the mysterious, unnamed third set never to see the light of day (outside of that small leak of figures to Toys-R-Us stores a few months back, anyway).

A good chunk of the fandom is outraged at this decision, since among some of the more questionable (read as: idiotic) choices for figures were some Pokémon people actually liked, such as Tyranitar and Flaaffy. And once again, speculation abounded, but the same conclusion as usual was reached: The companies in charge of Pokémon outside of Japan don't seem to really give a ******** about maintaining the quality of the franchise; A sentiment I am regrettably starting to believe.  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Name: Melee! Pokémon Scramble!
★ Type: Minor spin-off.
★ Generation: 4th.
★ Platform: Nintendo Wii.
★ Launch Date: June 16th 2009 for Japan. Unknown for North America.


Allow me to introduce you to the most random Pokémon game release of this gen. A mere few weeks after Junichi Masuda remarked in an interview with Game Informer that he'd like to "add some kind action element" to the games, Pokemon.Co.JP announced yesterday a new game that adds exactly that and has nothing to do with HG/SS. Enter Melee! Pokémon Scramble, which will launch later this month in Japan through WiiWare .

Set at a price of 1500 points and recyling the renders from My Pokémon Ranch, the game seems to be in the vein of Super Smash Brothers, but completely with Pokémon and a pinch of RPG. Basically, you control a Pokémon through the WiiMote or Nunchuck, and you button mash and fight with other Pokémon (and other players, through WiFi) until you/only one player remains. Just what everyone wanted. Currently, the fandom doesn't seem very impressed, and I don't blame them.  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Source: Pokémon Sunday.
★ Info Type: Tie-in device.


Oh look, HG/SS news! Kinda. This week's episode of Pokémon Sunday threw us a bone today in the form of the PokéWalker! Given out to the people who purchase HeartGold and SoulSilver, the PokéWalk is an external pedometer into which you can deposit a single Pokémon from your HG/SS game, and as you walk, your Pokémon will gain EXP, Happiness, and even find items! It's basically a portable Daycare, which is actually pretty neat. However, it's unknown right now as to whether or not this will be a pre-order bonus. But I'm tired of mediocre pre-order bonuses, so I hope not.

Reported to be small and Pokéball-shaped, the PokéWalker will sport a black and white screen and a trio of buttons with which you can also play mini games with your deposited Pokémon. Currently known mini games are "Item Finder", which sends your Pokémon out into the grass to try and find items, and an unnamed mini game that appears to let your Pokémon battle. Or something. Does Pokémon want you to lose weight? It sure does!  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Source: CoroCoro magazine.
★ Info Type: New artwork, in-game info, events.


Sweet, guys, another CoroCoro leak! It's about time we got some new HG/SS info that was slightly more groundbreaking than a pedometer. But behold, a few pages of this month's CoroCoro magazine, depicting new art and a few tantalizing tidbits about in-game events.

First and foremost is the shiny new Sugimori artwork of Professor Elm, Silver, and the female Rocket grunt. While most of the fandom seems to love Elm's upgraded look and don't really care about the generic animu-looking Grunt, a few many aren't too sure about the more girly-looking Silver. Is he the brother to Team Galaxy's Mars? Is he Gymleader Roark in disguise? One opinion dominates, however: Sugimori was ******** lazy. (And that if you gave Silver a pair of tits, he'd made a hot chick.)

Next up, the other pages revealed two in-game events that are of epic quality. The first event seems to be a "hidden one" involving, oddly enough, Champion Cynthia and Arceus. There isn't much info on this yet, but in the screenshot of the event, linked to below, the text is of someone saying, "They were given the right to choose one life out of three," which is causing some to speculate that if you transfer to HG/SS the Arceus you receive from attending the 12th movie, it will unlock the event and allow you to obtain a level 1 Palkia, Dialga, and/or Giratina. This last part is pretty unfounded, but hey, why the hell not?

The second event is much more easy to trigger, if you will, and makes me laugh. But apparently, once you beat the Elite Four in HG/SS, you will gain access to Hoenn's titan trio; Kyogre will be found in HeartGold, Groudon will be found in SoulSilver, and if you bring the two together on a single game, you'll also gain access to Rayquaza. Which means less of a reason for RSE remakes. Ha!

Click on the thumbnails to view the CoroCoro magazine scans.

 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Source: CoroCoro magazine.
★ Info Type: New artwork, in-game info, events.


Oh hey, did I mention in the last story that there'd probably be more leaked CoroCoro pages? No? Well, I have now. :D And two more pages hit the 2ch presses earlier today, revealing yet another in-game event and the most epic news thus far, HG/SS boxart!

This new event features Jirachi (makes total sense), and will most likely also be a "hidden" event. You see, from June 19th to July 17th, McDonald's restaurants in Japan will offer a free download of Tanabata Jirachi, and the CoroCoro page states that if you trade this Jirachi to HG/SS, it will unlock a special area called "Edge of the Night Sky". What will it do beyond that? No one knows, because the shot of the page is way too blurry to really see anything, but damn that is one bad a** name nonetheless.

And as you can see on the left, we now can revel in the glory that is the HG/SS boxart, which feature artwork of Ho-Oh and Lugia that hasn't yet been seen. If you also look closely, you can see the Tin Tower in the background of HeartGold's box, and the Whirl Islands in the background of SoulSilver's box, which the fandom agrees is pretty nifty. The boxes are also thicker than normal to accommodate the PokéWalker, confirming that it'll be like the Wireless Adapter that was included with FireRed and LeafGreen.

Chance for RSE remakes: -2.

Click on thumbnail to view the other new CoroCoro scan.

 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Source: CoroCoro magazine.
★ Info Type: New artwork, game mechanics, pre-order bonus.


Okay, this is the last of the CoroCoro leaks, I swear. Actually, only one or two new pages were discovered but they all were scanned in to a good quality and holy ******** guys. This is the most epic update yet, with confirmation on following Pokémon, better use of the touch screen, and the most beautiful pre-order bonuses ever.

First up, that page with Professor Elm and Silver has been discovered in its entirety, revealing much more than just pretty arts. The PokéDex, PC system, Pokémon status pages, and player's bag have been redesigned to various extents, all making better use of the touch screen. Remember how everyone was disappointed when DP didn't have a touch screen-based box system? HG/SS will have it!

And on the other side of the spread, shown left, is the information everyone has been dying to hear; It has now officially been confirmed that ALL 493 Pokémon can follow you, everywhere, anywhere, just like in Pokémon Yellow. You can also "talk" to your chosen Pokémon to get status reports on its mood and stuff, and it can also pick up little trinkets as you walk, like in Amity Square or with the Pick Up ability.

Kanto has also been confirmed to make an appearance, taking up it's old role as a secondary region to explore, and a brand new area can be seen left of the National Park in Johto. What is this new place? No one knows. The events from the previous two stories are also confirmed, but with minimal new details. Tanabata Jirachi will be level 5 and will indeed trigger an event in HG/SS, but there's no confirmation yet on the hidden area "Edge of the Night Sky".

No new information on the PokéWalker was revealed either, but already-known information was clarified, which still didn't reveal anything we didn't already know. However, the bottom of the page shows in-game cut shots of Ho-Oh flying above the Tin Tower and Lugia behind a veil of water, both of which are pretty bad a**.

And speaking of the bad a** brothers, the pre-order bonuses for the games were revealed and holy ******** if NoA does not give us these, I will fly to their headquarters and choke someone. If you pre-order HeartGold, you will be awarded a lovely Ho-Oh sculpture; Pre-ordering SoulSilver will snag you an absolutely gorgeous Lugia sculpture, and pre-ordering both games will nab you both, plus an additional Arceus sculpture. Because Arceus in Johto makes just as much sense as Jirachi and the Hoenn titans in Johto. But pre-orders in Japan begin on July 4th.

ಥ __ಥ These games are beautiful.

Click on the thumbnails to view the scans.

 

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Name: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Adventure Squad, Stormy Adventure Squad, Light Adventure Squad.
★ Type: Spin-off.
★ Generation: 4th.
★ Platform: Nintendo Wii.
★ Launch Date: Unknown at this time.

Oh great. Just what the fandom needs; Three new PMD games were confirmed today on Pokemon.Co.JP after a magazine leak tipped us off to the trio earlier in the week. Slated to be released through WiiWare, the games are titled Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Keep Going! Blazing Adventure Squad!, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Let's Go! Stormy Adventure Squad!, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Go For It! Light Adventure Squad!. What awesome names.

Further details about the games, including the release date, are unknown at this time, but some speculate that they will be related to HG/SS, with 'Blazing Adventure Squad' dealing with Ho-Oh, 'Stormy Adventure Squad' dealing with Lugia, and 'Light Adventure Squad' dealing with Arceus. That would certainly make sense (except for the part where Arceus is in Johto), but seriously. Can't Nintendo go six months without feeling the need to pop another PMD out? If they've got WiiWare fever, why can't they come up with something better? Like a Pokémon Snap! remake?  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: HeartGold, SoulSilver.
★ Source: Official website.
★ Info Type: Release date.







September 12th, 2009.









Also, the image to the left is a nifty wallpaper. Click here if you'd like to download it yourself.  

[[Philosophy In A Teacup]]

★ Game For: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.
★ Source: GameStop official listing.
★ Info Type: Release date.

In the most mediocre news this season, it's been revealed by GameStop that the third installment of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers series, Explorers of Sky, will be released in North America on October 1st, 2009. In case you've forgotten, Explorers of Sky is set in the same time frame as Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, but offers a different point of view on the events that take place in them.

It's basically EoT and EoD, but with Shaymin and Arceus. Hooray. :/