Pokemon
Pokemon
Pokémon Winds and Waves leaks: Everything we know about Gen 10
Zachary Roberts
Pokémon Winds and Waves has been given one trailer and no official release date. Clearly, The Pokémon Company and Game Freak have kept things close to the chest. That said, there are still leaks coming out all the time that reveal plenty about what Generation 10 will entail. Here’s what we know so far. Thanks to Centro Leaks, we have a lot of (tentative) information about the upcoming mainline Pokémon …
News
Nintendo Direct June 2026: Zelda, Fire Emblem, Pokémon DLC, and more announced
Zachary Roberts
After months of waiting, a real Nintendo Direct was announced for June 9, accompanied by a Treehouse Live afterward. There hasn’t been one since August, which left the Nintendo Switch 2 pretty barren in terms of first-party titles. That changed with this stream. Here’s everything that was announced. First up, the initial reveal at the June Nintendo Direct was Rhythm Heaven Groove. This was not a new revelation, as it …
Pokemon
Pokémon TCG announces 30th anniversary set
Zachary Roberts
Pokémon TCG, as well as the wider franchise, debuted in 1996. That means that this year is the 30th anniversary. Earlier in the year, the Pokémon Company announced several big things for the 30th, including the port of Fire Red and Leaf Green as well as the first look at Generation 10. Part of that livestream included a brief tease about something special for the 30th anniversary, specifically of Pokémon …
Pokemon
All shiny Pokémon available in Pokémon GO in 2026
Zachary Roberts
Getting a shiny Pokémon in Pokémon GO is an absolute treat. It’s not as easy to hunt certain things on that game as it is on something like Legends: Z-A or Scarlet and Violet, but you can endlessly play by walking around. The shiny odds are much higher, too. At 1/512 base odds, it’s much more likely than in a mainline game, where the odds are 1/4096. If you’re interested …
Pokemon
Here’s the difference between mythical and legendary Pokémon
Steven Rondina
Fans of Pokémon are obsessed with rarity, and no other categories of Pokémon are rarer than Mythicals and Legendaries. But what’s the difference between a Mythical and a Legendary Pokémon, and how many are there? Pokémon are loosely categorized in several ways, with one of the most awkward distinctions being between Mythical and Legendary Pokémon. Both are strong, and both are rare, but for casual players and TCG fans, there …
Pokemon
Here is every horse Pokémon through Pokemon Sword and Shield
Olivia Richman
Pokémon designs are inspired by a wide variety of animals and objects in our world. Pikachu is based on a mouse, Piplup is based on a penguin, and Chandelure is, well, based on a fancy lighting fixture. One animal that pops up a lot in the Pokémon franchise is the horse. Through the generations, there have been many popular horse-like Pokémon, and for the most part, they inhabit a special …
Pokemon
Everything to Know About Full Art Pokémon Cards
Steven Rondina
Pokémon cards are all the rage these days, and a big part of that is the eye-catching full art cards. The Pokémon TCG has lured back many lapsed fans thanks to how striking many of the cards now look. The most impressive and expensive of these are full art cards. There are many different types of full art cards, and there is a fair bit of history regarding them. Here’s …
Pokemon
Pokemon Champions will have mega evolution, and much more
Steven Rondina
Pokemon Champions is set to completely upend the competitive Pokemon scene and that was illustrated through the game’s use of mega evolution. Competitive Pokemon has been growing at an exceptional rate. Though an official tournament circuit has existed for over a decade, it has long operated in the shadows. Even in a game like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, ranked matchmaking is buried within the game’s menus. Greater visibility for the …
Will Pokemon Legends: Z-A be a Switch 2 game? There’s word
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is on the horizon, and so is the Nintendo Switch 2, but will the game be available on the next-generation console? The general perception among gamers is that Pokemon is a first-party franchise in the same way that Mario or Metroid is. The reality is actually much more complicated. Nintendo is actually just a part owner of The Pokemon Company alongside Game Freak and Creatures Inc. This …
The best Arceus ex PVP decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket
M Alzamora
Pokemon
Move over, Charizard and Palkia – the newly released Arceus ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket may introduce another strong competitive deck to watch out for in the popular game. With over 100 million downloads already accrued, Pokemon TCG Pocket has become incredibly popular for players whether they like to collect or to do battle. Developers have just released the newest set, Triumphant Light, which focuses on Arceus and other Gen …
Rarest cards in new Triumphant Light Pokemon TCG Pocket set
M Alzamora
Pokemon
Triumphant Light is adding a number of new and rare cards to the Pokemon TCG Pocket digital collection, there’s a higher chance for players to pull some than in past sets. Pokemon TCG Pocket launched its latest mini-set on February 28, 2025. Themed around Arceus, Triumphant Light comes hot on the heels of the Space-Time Smackdown full booster pack and introduces a new take on some previously released Pokemon. Many …
Best cards to pull for Triumphant Light in TCG Pocket
M Alzamora
Pokemon
Pokemon TCG Pocket is set to release new mini-set Triumphant Light and has given an early look at the best cards players can hope to pull from this newest card expansion. Less than six months after launch, Pokemon TCG Pocket has become incredibly popular, already hitting 100 million downloads. Since the end of January players have been opening Space-Time Smackdown packs to try and get a coveted immersive Dialga or …
Pokemon Champions has been revealed, but what is it?
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
A new Pokemon game has been unveiled as part of the Pokemon Day 2025 presentation entitled Pokemon Champions, taking the franchise in a surprising direction. While Pokemon is known by many for its long-running RPG series, it’s much more than that. Put aside the Pokemon anime, trading card game, and apps. It’s much more than that just within the space of video games. Pokemon Unite is a successful MOBA, Detective …
Here’s how to see your missing cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket and where to get the missing ones
M Alzamora
Pokemon
Most Pokémon TCG Pocket players are missing a card or two, and tracking the rarer ones can be more difficult than it initially seems. But with our advice, you should be able to see your missing TCG Pocket cards and figure out which pulls you need to complete your collection. Since its debut in 2024, Pokémon TCG Pocket has released over 3,000 cards for players to collect after the most recent …
The best Pokémon ROM hacks of Nintendo DS games
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
There are many impressive Pokémon ROM hacks, but the Nintendo DS offers some of the most interesting and ambitious. The Game Boy Advance is home to many of the best Pokémon ROM hacks. Pokémon Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen are some of the most beloved Pokémon games, and serve as a great canvas for some creative ideas. But when it comes to the “best Pokémon games,” many fans will point to …
The best Pokemon GBA ROM hacks that you can get right now
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
The GBA is regarded by many as the definitive best platform for Pokemon games and that has seen it produce some exceptional ROM hacks. One of the common criticisms aimed at the Pokemon series is that it’s repetitive. While that’s not really true given how radically different the last three generations’ games have been from one another, the series hasn’t given fans reason to rethink what the franchise has to …
Pokemon Presents coming on Pokemon Day 2025; what we’ll see
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Fans can mark their calendars for Pokemon Day 2025, as a Pokemon Presents event is happening and is sure to have some interesting content. While Nintendo already has a much-anticipated Nintendo Direct slated to reveal the Switch 2, it’s not alone. Pokemon Day is coming, and will reveal the future of the franchise across its many, many different titles. Though the event is an annual tradition, 2025 feels like a …
Pokemon: The best Nuzlocke rules for every single game
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Diehard Pokemon fans are no doubt familiar with the Nuzlocke challenge, but the rules have become more malleable thanks to Sword, Shield, Scarlet, Violet, and Legends: Arceus. The Nuzlocke challenge has grown from being a curiosity among hardcore fans to a broadly popular way to play Pokemon. YouTubers and Twitch streamers who aren’t associated with Pokemon often turn to the Nuzlocke to add extra stakes and drama to their streams. …
Pokemon HOME: Every free shiny legendary, mythical you can get
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Pokemon HOME gives casual fans a great reason to use the app; offering free shiny legendary and mythical Pokemon as rewards. Competitive Pokemon players absolutely need Pokemon HOME. In Scarlet and Violet, powerful legendary Pokemon of previous generations like Landorus and Urshifu are still meta-defining threats. Players can still get them through The Indigo Disk DLC but in both cases, the legendaries have multiple forms that are built completely differently. …
Best ways to counter Darkrai ex decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket
M Alzamora
Pokemon
As the meta settles in Pokemon TCG Pocket following the introduction of new booster packs, many competitive players are looking for ways to counter the emerging Darkrai ex decks. After Pokemon TCG Pocket introduced Darkrai ex with its Space Time Smackdown expansion, the card quickly began popping up in the competitive meta. It has up to 160 HP when paired with Giant Cape, making it able to withstand the usual …
Pokemon stands as the largest cross-media IP in the world by a comfortable margin, but how did it make such explosive gains?
For a long while, pivoting a video game franchise into a larger brand seemed impossible. Iconic titles like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Resident Evil received TV and film adaptations, with the most common result being catastrophic failure. That was the norm from the 1990s all the way into the 2020s; and it probably shouldn’t have been.
While Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and Silent Hill: Revelation were irredeemably bad, Pokemon showed that a video game series can be adapted into many different mediums. Here’s a quick history of the franchise and its future outlook.
Pokemon explodes with Game Boy games, quickly expands
Pokemon first arrived in Japan in 1996 with the release of Pokemon Red and Green; a pair of titles for the Nintendo Game Boy. The two games were largely identical, but each one had a handful of Pokemon that were exclusive to those titles. This encouraged players to collect and trade these monsters with others who purchased the games.
Later on in 1996, the game was reimagined as a trading card game. Then in 1997, an anime adaptation launched in Japan.
Both of those rapid-fire expansions earned strong success domestically. More importantly, it primed Pokemon for an overwhelming global push.
In 1998, the franchise officially crossed over into North America, Europe, and Australia. The games were killer apps for the Game Boy but it wasn’t just a video game. An accompanying anime aired new episodes daily, and the trading card game exploded out of the gate. This made it difficult to ignore Pokemon to the point where characters like Ash Ketchum and Pikachu were universally recognizable. Just like that, the franchise was unstoppable.
Pokemon expands beyond Nintendo consoles, grows even further
For decades, Pokemon video games were among the top-selling games each year they came out. The Pokemon TCG was one of the biggest in the industry. The anime was a constant, without even mentioning its many spin-off movies. Licensing characters for toys and apparel was a golden goose for all involved.
But the franchise was still positioned to grow further.
Almost all of the games were exclusive to Nintendo’s gaming hardware, but mobile gaming was on a sharp rise of its own. The franchise also released a long list of spin-offs, successfully turning the series into everything from a pinball game to a beat ‘em up. The Pokemon Company had dabbled with PC and mobile games previously, but started actively partnering with other studios in the 2010s.
The biggest example of this was Pokemon GO. The Pokemon Company partnered with AR game studio Niantic was an instant hit, being downloaded hundreds of millions of times. It was far from alone, however. Battling-focused gacha game Pokemon Masters, MOBA adaptation Pokemon Unite, and puzzle game Pokemon Cafe launched in the following years.
It wasn’t just licensed mobile games, though. Games like Detective Pikachu and New Pokemon Snap gave players fresh and varied ways to enjoy the familiar franchise.
Modern Pokémon games see mixed response, but sales remain strong
Though Pokémon has many lifelong fans, the mainline releases have long attracted controversy within the fandom. Though the first few generations were generally beloved, opinions on new and modern games releases vary wildly. Starting with the Nintendo Switch, critical response to the games wavered.
Reviews for Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee were lower than previous entries in the series. That pattern held with Pokémon Sword and Shield, which were also met with extreme backlash on social media.
Though each mainline game made every monster from previous generations available up until Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, this ended with Sword and Shield. Several fan favorites, including Beedrill and the Unovan starters, were made unobtainable in the game. The mega evolution and Z-move battle mechanics were also removed from the games. It’s unclear why or what methodology was used to determine which of the little monsters were left out.
Reviews sank further from there, with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, then Pokémon Scarlet and Violet garnering the lowest review averages for mainline games.
Despite this, the games were still an enormous commercial success. Pokémon Sword, Shield, Scarlet, and Violet ranked among the best-selling games in franchise history. Its publisher may have heeded some of the fan criticism however, as the company opted against releasing a new mainline game or expansion in 2024. This was the first year without a major game release since 2015.
