Pokemon
Pokemon
How to defeat Mega Charizard X in Pokemon GO
Olivia Richman
Mega Charizard X has returned to Pokemon GO. From April 4 to the 13th, there will be Pokemon GO Mega Raids featuring the X version of Mega Charizard, a powerful Fire monster that gives you Mega Energy. If you want to beat this iconic and imposing Pokemon, here is what you’ll need to do. Related | How to get Rayquaza in Pokemon GO Mega Charizard X is a Dragon and …
Pokemon
How to get Rayquaza in Pokemon GO
Olivia Richman
Rayquaza is one of the most popular Legendary Pokemon, thanks to its incredible design and powerful attacks. Pokemon GO players have been getting terrorized by this dragon and are wondering if they can catch it for themselves. Rayquaza is a Pokemon in Pokemon GO. Mega Ray was released on August 4th, 2023, as part of the Pokemon GO Fest 2023: Osaka. The Shiny form was also released that day. Rayquaza …
Pokemon
What is Pokemon Legends: Z-A?
Olivia Richman
Pokemon Presents celebrated Pokemon Day with a handful of new game and event announcements. The most exciting was a reveal at the end for a game called Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Here’s everything we know so far. Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a new Legends-style game that will bring trainers to Lumiose City. This big city was first introduced in Pokemon X & Y and it will now be the entirety of …
Pokemon
Pokemon responds to Palworld, claiming it will “investigate”
Olivia Richman
As Palworld has continued to grow in popularity, The Pokemon Company has apparently been figuring out how to approach the blatant copycat creature designs in the survival game. Palworld has sold over 8 million copies in under a week as it continues to break player count records. Since the game was launched, players can run their private server on Palworld hosting, this feature also attracted a lot of players. Gamers have been …
Pokemon gift guide: Best Pokemon gifts for the holiday season
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
The holiday season is upon us, which means friends and family gatherings, winter festivities, and — of course — gifts. If you have an extensive list to check off this holiday season, we are here to help with the best Pokemon-related gift for everyone on your list. If you have a mom who loves to garden or spend time outdoors, Pokemon has the perfect gift. This tin gardening sign has …
Everything included in the Ticket of Treats in Pokemon Go
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokemon Go released its Halloween-themed paid event, Ticket of Treats. The Ticket of Treats is now available in the game. In October, Pokemon Go trainers will have access to a spooky list of Timed Research opportunities. Each week will last for a week and will grant premium items to those who complete them. The Ticket of Treats can be acquired on the game for $5. It grants access to the …
An NSFW Pokemon Go challenge has left trainers blushing
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Pokemon Go shocked players with one of its latest Field Research challenges, which has an odd title. An avid Pokemon Go player took to Reddit to show a strange Field Research challenge they came across during their travels. The challenge is titled “Scan The Cock,” which sounds possibly NSFW. What is this whacky challenge really all about? Here’s what we know about “Scan The Cock,” the latest Field Research challenge …
Ludicolo makes Pokemon Scarlet and Violet debut
William Davis
Pokemon
Fans of Generation 3 will love the new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC, The Teal Mask. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is slowly bringing back Pokemon from previous generations. As part of The Teal Mask, several Pokemon from generation 3 will make their Paldea debut. These Pokemon can be found in the wild, especially around Katakami. This is the sub-region unveiled in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. This region includes, …
How many Pokemon are there in each generation?
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokemon officially came out for the first time in 1996. Since then, nine generations of Pokemon have been released, with a tenth in the works. If you haven’t kept up with the games, here is how many Pokemon are there in each generation. The first generation of Pokemon is, arguably, the most recognizable iconic Pokemon like Pikachu and Charizard. This was also the first generation featured in the Pokemon TV …
Will there be another Eeveelution?
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
One of the most popular Pokemon in the entirety of the franchise is Eevee, a cute cat-fox hybrid-of-a-creature with a wholesome personality and adorable features. Will there ever be another Eeveelution? Eevee has different evolutions based on which elemental stone it’s given, all of them also beloved by the community. There are currently eight Eeveelutions that Eevee could possibly become. They are: Jolteon Flareon Vaporeon Espeon Umbreon Lefeon Glaceon Sylveon …
How to evolve Feebas in every Pokemon game
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokemon trainers looking to evolve Feebas will learn how to do so in every major game right here. Feebas is one of the weirder Pokemon in the series. From a battle perspective, the Pokemon is all but worthless. From an aesthetic perspective, it’s one of the ugliest Water types in the entire series. However, its beautiful and powerful evolution Milotic is a frequent favorite among fans. If you’re looking to …
When is the second part of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC coming out?
William Davis
Pokemon
The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is the current Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC. The update is divided into two parts. The Teal Mask, part one of the DLC, went online on September 13. When is the second part of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC coming out? The second part of the DLC is titled The Indigo Disk. In this part, players will attend the Blueberry Academy as exchange …
Who is Sarah Natochenny? Ash’s VA says goodbye to anime
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
The current voice actor for Ash Ketchum has said an emotional goodbye after 18 years of voicing the main Pokemon protagonist. Sarah Natochenny recently shared an emotional goodbye with the Pokemon community after watching the final scene of the Pokemon: To Be a Pokemon Master anime. She can be seen clapping and in tears, but admitted she probably can’t watch it on Netflix because it would be too overwhelming. “It’s …
Every Pokemon to catch in Pokemon Sleep
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Pokemon Sleep is the latest way to capture Pokemon, this time by, well, sleeping. Here are all the Pokemon you can catch in your sleep. Pokemon Sleep was first announced in 2019, said to track your sleep and provide rewards for keeping on a healthy schedule and experiencing deep sleep. The mobile app has mixed reviews, but trainers can’t help but want to catch ’em all, even when they are …
How to download and play Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC
William Davis
Pokemon
Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is the upcoming DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The DLC includes an early-purchase bonus that can be claimed before October 31, 2023. Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is divided into two parts: The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. The Teal Mask is scheduled for release on September 13, while The Indigo Disk will come out in Winter 2023. The DLC is now available …
Pokemon and Hatsune Miku collab announced
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokemon has announced a collab album featuring the Vocaloid program Hatsune Miku. Pokemon is known for its frequent collaborations, and now Nintendo has set its eyes on the world of digital pop stars. Hatsune Miku is the most famous Vocaloid program in the world, and soon, Pokemon will be releasing an official 18-song album with the program. Here are details on the Hatsune Miku Pokemon album, how to listen to …
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
