Pokemon
Pokemon
Everything included in the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC
William Davis
Over 200 Pokemon will be added to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in the upcoming DLC titled Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. Here are all the Pokemon you can expect in the DLC. The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is the next update to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The DLC is divided into two parts, The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. This DLC brings new adventures, new Pokemon, and some …
Pokemon
Froakie to be featured in the Pokemon Go August Community Day
William Davis
Froakie is the featured Pokemon for the August Community Day in Pokemon Go. The event will take place on August 13 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time. You might recognize Froakie as the Water type starter from the Kalos region. It has two evolutions, Frogadier and Greninja. Froakie made its Pokemon Go debut back in 2020 during the Kalos Celebration Event in December of that year. The shiny …
Pokemon
How does Pokemon Sleep work?
William Davis
Pokemon Sleep is the latest Pokemon game to be released. This mobile app is aiming to improve player’s sleeping habits. Pokemon Sleep is now available for Android and iOS. It is a mobile-exclusive app that rewards players based on their sleeping habits. Pokemon Sleep tracks the user’s sleep using mainly the phone’s microphone. The app tracks the activity during the day, and the better sleep people get, the better rewards …
Pokemon
Pokemon Go Spotlight Hours for August 2023
William Davis
August brings a major content update in Pokemon Go. This month’s spotlight hours include some classic first-generation Pokemon you will want to catch. Every month Pokemon Go features a different set of Pokemon in its different monthly events. These monthly occurrences are raids, spotlight hours, and in August, the Pokemon Go Fest 2023: Global. Every Tuesday is a spotlight hour day. Between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time, one …
Pokemon
How do you find Cosmog in Pokemon Go?
William Davis
When it comes to rare Pokemon in Pokemon Go, Cosmog is high on the list. If you are looking to get your hands on it, here is how to get Cosmog in Pokemon Go. Cosmog is a Legendary Pokemon from the Alola region. It is a Psychic type that evolves into Cosmoem. The final evolution of the line will depend on what time of the day you decide to evolve …
Pokemon
Keeping Sharp schedule and pricing in Pokemon Go
William Davis
Axew will be featured in the upcoming June 2023 Community Day in Pokemon Go. The event includes a special research named Keeping Sharp. Axew is a Dragon type Pokemon from the Unova region. Its final evolution is Haxorus, a bipedal Pokemon that was featured in the Pokemon anime. Axew made its Pokemon Go back in 2020 during the Trade Evolution event. The shiny version was added during the Pokemon Go …
Pokemon
Obsidian Flames set introduces Tera Type Charizard card
Olivia Richman
The Pokemon TCG has announced a new Scarlet & Violet set, Obsidian Flames. This set features a new and highly desirable Charizard card and the introduction of Tera Types. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet have a featured called Tera Types, which is a transformation that makes a Pokemon appear gem-like and get a changed type. This transformation is called a Terastallizing. It’s now going to be possible in the TCG thanks …
Pokemon
Pokemon players outraged after HOME release date is retracted
Olivia Richman
The Pokémon community is outraged after The Pokémon Company revoked the launch date for the long-awaited Pokémon HOME. In the early morning of May 19, the Pokémon Twitter announced that Pokémon HOME version 3.00, which will connect to Scarlet and Violet, was coming later this month. They even gave an exact date — May 25, 2023. Upon hearing this, trainers around the world rejoiced over the sudden announcement of the …
When are Pokemon TCG Online servers shutting down?
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokémon TCG Online is shutting down, but your cards don’t have to vanish into thin air. The Pokémon TCG was one of the first card games to embrace online play. The Online client first launched in 2011, and it has enjoyed more than a decade of constant updates and parity with the tabletop version. However, Nintendo announced plans to shut down the game in 2022 as part of a transition …
Pokémon Go streamer threatened and harassed for attending Go Fest 2023
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Pokémon Go has been heavily critiqued by trainers after Niantic limited Remote Raid Passes. The backlash has become so strong that even some Pokémon Go streamers are facing death threats. The goal of limiting the Remote Raid Passes was to get people to socialize outside like initially intended before the global health crisis. But trainers have lashed out at the change, with over 100,000 players signing a petition that demands …
How to receive a souvenir from your Buddy Pokémon in GO
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Having a Buddy Pokémon is one of the cutest parts of playing Pokémon GO. And if you become close enough to your Pokémon pal, you can get a souvenir! Here’s how to receive a souvenir from your Buddy Pokémon in GO! The Buddy Pokémon system was added to GO in 2019, allowing trainers to travel around with a Pokémon by their side. You can reach different affection levels that strengthen …
Pokémon GO Fest 2023 location and date leaked
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Pokémon GO players may have uncovered the next location of the Pokémon GO Fest 2023. GO Fest is an annual celebration that has trainers coming together from all over the world. The in-person event features exclusive Pokémon and community-based activities. It pops up in different locations all over the world, leaving Pokémon players anxiously awaiting the official announcement. But this time around, the location has possibly been discovered early. On …
Community Day Classic returns to Pokemon Go
William Davis
Pokemon
The Community Day Classic is back in April in Pokémon Go, this time featuring Swinub. A Community Day is an opportunity for Pokemon Go players to come together as a community and catch as many Pokemon as possible. In 2022, Pokémon Go hosted four Community Day Classic, featuring some fan favorites like Bulbasaur. In 2023, the Community Day Classic is returning, highlighting a Pokémon that already had a Community Day …
How to beat the Blissey Tera Raid Battle in Scarlet and Violet
William Davis
Pokemon
Blissey is the next Tera Raid Battle boss in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This will be a special 5-star and 6-star event, and it will run from April 21 through April 23. This new Tera Raid Battle is one that you cannot miss. Blissey is a Normal type Pokémon from the Johto region. This pink and friendly Pokémon can be underestimated because of its appearance. But the truth is, Blissey …
Everything we know about the new Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet
William Davis
Pokemon
A new Pokemon made its official debut in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This Pokemon was featured on the first episode of the new Pokemon show. The Paldea Pokedex keeps expanding, this time with the addition of a new Pokemon. On this occasion, it is a bejeweled turtle Pokemon that appears on the Pokemon TV show and made it to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. …
Pokemon Go celebrates the Sustainability Week
William Davis
Pokemon
Sustainability Week, the next Pokemon Go event, is upon us. Here is everything you need to know before it starts. Sustainability Week in Pokemon Go is all about Bounsweet. This fruit Pokemon will be making its Pokemon Go debut. Bounsweet is a Grass type Pokemon from the Alola region. It evolves into Steenee, which evolves into Tsareena, and both evolutions will be available in the game. To evolve your Bounsweet, …
Pokemon Cafe Mix vs. Pokemon Cafe ReMix: All the differences
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokemon has a variety of spinoff games including Pokemon Cafe Mix, a puzzle game for Nintendo Switch. If you try to find it today, you won’t see it on the Nintendo eShop. Instead you’ll find a similar title named Pokemon Cafe ReMix, but what exactly are the differences between both games? Pokemon Cafe Mix is a puzzle game where players manage a cafe entirely staffed by Pokemon. This is a …
Pokemon Stadium is now available on Nintendo Switch
William Davis
Pokemon
Pokemon Stadium is now available for Nintendo Switch. Here is everything you need to know about the Nintendo 64 classic. Pokemon Stadium is the first 3D Pokemon game to be released in North America. The game hit the stores in 2000 and quickly became a fan favorite. It is one of the best-selling Nintendo 64 games, with over one million copies sold in less than a year. Pokemon Stadium is …
Pokémon Go players getting robbed when responding to Campfire flares
Olivia Richman
Pokemon
Pokémon Go players are weary of the Campfire app after some trainers were robbed when responding to a Raid Flare. Niantic created an app called Campfire to be downloaded alongside Pokémon Go. The social app allows Pokémon players to find other trainers in their area by lighting flares. Unfortunately, the app hasn’t been the wholesome community tool that Niantic originally hoped for. Since Campfire has been around, multiple Pokémon players …
What is Campfire, the new Pokemon Go app?
William Davis
Pokemon
Campfire is the new social app by Niantic. Learn how to join using your Pokemon Go account and everything you can do on it. If you are an avid Pokemon player, you might need more than one app to take full advantage of your games. Campfire is the new app by Niantic that integrates, among other games, Pokemon Go. In Pokemon Go, players can improve their friendship level and invite …
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.
