Pokemon
Pokemon
All the Pokémon based on pandas, obvious and subtle
William Davis
Pandas are a frequent inspiration for Pokémon, but fans may not realize just how many there actually are. Despite their rarity, the panda is easily one of the most recognizable animals. These deeply symbolic animals are the crown jewel of zoos all over the world. Pokémon has always taken inspiration from real animals when designing new creatures to catch, and pandas are no exception. Here are three Pokémon with designs …
Pokemon
What your favorite Eeveelution says about your personality
Olivia Richman
Eevee is a unique Pokémon since it can evolve into eight distinct Pokémon, all representing a different element. The Eeveelution that Eevee turns into depends on what stone it touches, or a few other things depending on the game. Everyone has their favorite Eeveelution, whether it’s because of its appearance or its abilities. But what does your favorite Eeveelution say about you? Jolteon can create up to 10,000 volts of …
Pokemon
What is the Vaporeon copypasta? Here’s what you need to know
Olivia Richman
When it comes to the most wholesome Pokemon, people commonly think about Eevee and its evolutions. The Eeveelutions have quickly become some of the most popular Pokemon whether it comes to playing the games or just collecting artwork and plush. But the Eeveelutions have unfortunately not been able to escape Rule 34, and that’s particularly true for Vaporeon. The Pokemon community has become increasingly aware of a creepy Vaporeon copypasta …
Pokemon
Why did Pikachu become skinny? Will fat Pikachu ever return?
Olivia Richman
The Pokemon community is often at odds about which generation of Pokemon is the best, which had the worst designs, which game was the best, if developer Game Freak is putting in enough effort, and more. But Pikachu becoming skinny in its latest iterations has unified many fans who miss the old fat Pikachu design. When the Pokemon anime first appeared in the mid-90s, Pikachu had a rotund design like …
How to find and use Razor Claw, Razor Fang in Pokemon BDSP
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
The Razor Fang and Razor Claw are important evolution items in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining pearl, but can you get them in the early game? For better or worse, Pokemon BDSP follows in the footsteps of the original Diamond and Pearl. This makes for a refreshingly challenging experience relative to other recent Pokemon games, but it also makes things team-building fairly rigid. Gligar and Sneasel are both Pokemon that …
How to catch Unown in Pokemon GO, and what you get for it
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Unown isn’t a powerful Pokemon, but its unique gimmick makes it one that many Pokemon GO players want to get their hands on. Catching every Unown is easier said than done, however. There are 28 versions of Unown with each one representing a letter of the alphabet or punctuation mark. This makes it a highly collectible Pokemon as players will need to be aggressive in completing their collection. In Pokemon …
Guide to the Sky Pillar in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Rayquaza’s domain in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald is the Sky Pillar, here’s where it is and how to get in. The Sky Pillar is found in an out-of-the-way location in gen-three Pokemon titles. Though players can technically come very close to it as soon as they have the ability to use Surf, they can’t gain entry until much later on. Even after gaining access, it’s not easy to reach …
Everything you need to know about Cynthia from Pokemon BDSP
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Cynthia is one of the most powerful trainers in all of Pokemon, which has left the Pokemon community very intrigued by the strong and sassy champion. Known for her passionate pursuit of legendary Pokemon lore, her blonde hair, and her Garchomp, Cynthia has become one of the most popular characters throughout the games and anime. Here’s everything you need to know about the Pokemon League champion of Sinnoh. Cynthia is …
Here’s how to restart in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Pick the wrong starter in Pokemon Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and want to restart the game? Well, it’s not particularly obvious how to do so, but we can help. In earlier Pokemon generations, starting a new game was a straightforward affair. Players simply needed to boot the game and choose the “New Game” option right on the main menu. That has gone away over time as the company has …
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire are coming to Switch, here’s why
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald may be launching on the Nintendo Switch in the near future. Multiple Nintendo Switch data miners have uncovered evidence of a working Game Boy Advance emulator on the console. Files and assets related to a long list of games were uncovered, which included screenshots, standalone apps, and customized multiplayer support. Included in those files were a screenshot and other files that strongly suggest that gen-three …
Use this map to get you through Wayward Cave in Pokémon BDSP
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
The Wayward Cave is one of the most frustrating areas of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but it’s much more manageable with a map. The Wayward Cave isn’t unique in its design, as it’s the kind of straightforward maze that appears in almost every Pokémon game. What sets the Wayward Cave apart from other similar areas in past Pokemon games is the fact that it requires the use of …
How to transfer Pokemon from gen 3 and 4 all the way to HOME
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Pokemon fans have the ability to move Pokemon from the Game Boy Advance, but moving Pokemon between generations is a bit tricky until reaching generation six. So how do you transfer from gen three to gen four? Then how do you transfer Pokemon gen four to gen five? And then gen five to gen six? The method for transferring Pokemon between each generation varied based on the technology required. This …
Here’s how to find the full Unown alphabet in Pokemon BDSP
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
While it’s always been a quirky Pokemon, Unown has taken on renewed relevance over the last year. In both Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the Symbol Pokemon Unown was given a special place in the game. Pokemon Legends: Arceus saw Unown and Spiritomb at the center of different collection quests. But Pokemon BDSP goes in a very different direction. Instead of being a collect-a-thon, Unown …
Here’s How To Read Pokémon’s Unown Alphabet
Zachary Roberts
Pokemon
The Unown alphabet returned to Pokémon thanks to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl (BDSP) and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Since then, though, the alphabetic Pokémon has been largely absent. Unown was one of the many different Pokémon that got put on the shelf in Pokémon Sword and Shield. This made more sense for Unown than for most other shelved Pokémon since Unown’s only move was …
Here’s where to find & catch Shaymin in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
The mythical Shaymin is available for players to catch in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and it’s not particularly hard to do if you know where to look and how to catch it. Shaymin is up for grabs for the first time in years. Players haven’t been able to get the legendary since 2018 when the Pokemon was available in Pokemon Center retail locations in Japan. They haven’t been available to western …
Pokemon Legends: Arceus duplication glitch discovered
Steven Rondina
Pokemon
Duplication glitches and cloning bugs are back in vogue in the Pokemon franchise, and a new one has been discovered in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were a buggy mess upon release and remain troublesome to this day in some regards. Their biggest issue was a duplication glitch that allowed players to clone Pokemon and items freely using exploits in the game’s menus. It seems as …
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.
Pokemon
Pokemon
Pokemon
Pokemon
