Video Game Coverage

Lapras, Emolga, Snivy and Fennekin have also been confirmed as support characters.

From the announcement:

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company International have postponed the launch of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter - two software applications that were originally scheduled to launch for Nintendo 3DS on Dec. 27 - due to a large volume of traffic to the Nintendo Network service. Due to the high traffic, players are having trouble setting up Nintendo Network IDs and downloading content in the Nintendo eShop on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. We truly regret the inconvenience, and wish to reassure everyone that providing a solution is our top priority. We apologize for the delay and thank you for your continued patience.

John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, sat down with VentureBeat to talk about Pokémon Go, and revealed a few new facts that'll get you excited for the game his team is developing with The Pokémon Company.

For starters, Hanke promises the game will be fun even if you don't live in a big city: "If we’re going to build a game that works with location, it has to be fun for people anywhere to play, in small towns as well as San Francisco. If we designed something that only worked in San Francisco, it wouldn’t be a real success. We wanted it to work globally." If you're just passing through a location, you'll still be able to interact with it without fully engaging that place.

Hanke also revealed that the game will feature gyms, as well as loads and loads of wild Pokémon. The goal is to ensure that you'll run into at least one Pokémon within five minutes of leaving your house. I don't know about you, but I'm assuming that means Rattatas everywhere. Rarer Pokémon will obviously be harder to find, and all Pokémon will be location/environment specific, meaning you'll only find water types near water.

But if you're landlocked, fear not; you'll be able to attend events to not only battle, but also trade Pokémon with other players. Even more exciting, you'll be able to join teams. According to Hinke, "there will be teams to join in Pokémon, more than two. Those teams will compete against one another."

Fight me IRL (whenever this game comes out), bros.

According to a blurb from Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara's upcoming television appearance on Japanese TV show NHK Professional: Shigoto no Ryuugi, there is a Pokémon game with Pikachu in development.

"This summer, Ishihara started development on a never before seen game," the description reads. "It's a new game featuring the very popular character Pikachu in a bold way. There is concern, however, that if it's bad the long loved character would lose popularity in the blink of an eye."

Could Pikachu ever really lose its popularity?

Ah, what a grand day, indeed. We present, Solgaleo and Lunala, the two newest legendaries in the Pokémon universe. Solgaleo (as seen on left in picture above) will star in Pokémon Sun, and Lunala (right) in Pokémon Moon. Both look like they could deal out a massive whooping on lil Popplio. Here's the new trailer which features the legendaries, as well as new gameplay footage, and a look at the new Pokédex:



In Sun and Moon all players will get a Pokédex inhabited by the ghost-like Pokémon Rotom, who can possess/inhabit objects and machinery.

The Pokémon company said the following about the exciting new Rotom-Pokédex:

“It does much more than record Pokémon info—it sparkles with its own personality. The Rotom Pokédex shows your current location and your next destination, and it also gives you advice on where to go next, based on the conversations you have with others! It’s likely to be of great help to you in many parts of your adventure.”

Lastly, here's a detailed look at Aloha: the Hawaii-inspired region of Sun and Moon:

Quotes from Bulbapedia:

The official Korean Pokémon site has revealed Mega Slowbro and Mega Audino. The pages for them where taken down quickly, and are currently offline. Mega Slowbro is Water/Psychic and has Shell Armor. Its Defense and Special Attack increase greatly. It is 2.0 m (6'07") tall and weighs 120.0 kg (264.6 lbs.).

Description: Energy becomes concentrated on Shellder which is biting its tail. The result, its shell's hardness increases so that it becomes a strong armor which cannot get be scratched by anyone. When a battle begins, it uses it tail to stand upright and moves by bending its tail like a spring and springing up and down/leaping. With its greater Defense and Sp. Attack stats, it can be relied on in long battles.


Mega Audino is Normal/Fairy and has Healer. Its Defense and Special Defense are increased. It is 1.5 m (4'11") tall and weighs 35.0 kg (70.5 lbs.).

Description: It makes a healing pulse and exudes it from its body to break its enemies. This pulse of healing is strong and makes anyone feel peaceful. Anyone who comes into contact with its 2nd extension/antenna-thing falls into a deep sleep. Its increase in Defense and Sp. Defense stats make it a good supporter in Double Battles.

The new trailer for Pokémon Sun and Moon revealed the evolved forms of the starter pokémon, and well, this is very accurate. What's the final form---ponytail and a scraggly beard?

Y U NO PRIMAL!?

Mega Evolutions are a feature of certain Pokémon that allows them to gain special abilities while in battle, possibly by means of a mega stone. Confirmed Mega-Pokémon are MegaAbsol, MegaAmpharos, MegaBlaziken, MegaLucario, MegaMawile, and MegaMewtwo.

Other Pokémon shown include a Grass-type pre-evolution of Gogoat called Meekuru, an n Electric/Fairy-type called Dedenne and a Normal-type rabbit, Horubii. Both Dedenne and Horubii have a new ability called "Cheek Pouches."

Also pictured is a new gym leader named Koruni, who is linked to Mega Evolutions.