The first promo is at Target

Yesterday due to seemingly misplaced ads at a Target store, there were rumblings of an upcoming brand new "Pokémon Pass" app that would interact with existing apps/g?ames. Today The Pokemon Company has confirmed directly to Destructoid that the ads were real, and that's basically what it does.

As a free download on iOS and Android, the app is mostly tertiary in that it provides digital stickers and wallpapers for your phone, like a companion Pokémon app normally would. But the main gimmick is the chance to earn shiny Pokemon for various games, like for instance, the first Let's Go campaign. Basically starting on May 11 if you head to a Target store (eliminating much of the world from the promo), you can unlock a Shiny Pikachu or Shiny Eevee for Let's Go. Right now, that's it. Shinies truly have overta?ken legendaries in some ways in terms of craze factor. You can watch? the whole process play out below if you want to see how it works.

So that's it? Well, when I first heard about the app I immediately thought that it was created for Detective Pikachu, akin to the promo of a free Pokémon card for the first feature film. They're alread??y hinting at this with a May 11 "10AM to 1PM local time" celebration giveaway at Target stores (I'm sure retail employees will love na??vigating this potential nightmare).

The Pokémon Company also teases more uses for the app, noting that "it will continue to offer more digital rewards at participating retail stores." While it initially seemed cool, now it looks like the powers that be are controlling the typical distribution events you see at Best Bu??y and Game Stop stores. It makes sense, but it's another step on top of the sometimes inconvenient process. In a perfect world I just want all of these to be in-home events, but money calls.

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Crack open a Mystery Box with the boys

Niantic is giving Pokémon Go players a proper chance to catch the shiny variant of Meltan, one of the series' newest and most huggable critters. It's only a slightly different shade and the tail is just blue instead of red, but still! Shiny! The promo event runs from today through Monday, ??March 4, 2019.

Players can catch Meltan using the Mystery Box item that's awarded for linking Pokémon Go with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee on Nintendo Switch. That's the same now as it's been in the past. Bu?t while this event is running, there's also a chance for shiny Meltan to appear, and players can use the Mystery Box every three days instead of dealing with the normal seven-day wait.

I'm missing Meltan, its beefy evolution Melmetal, and a couple other rare Pokémon in Let's Go, Pikachu. Considering I did all my trading with random strangers and there's n??o online communication (you just scroll through your box until they read your mind or quit??), I feel okay leaving my Pokédex incomplete.

Secure a Shiny Meltan in Pokémon GO [Pokémon]

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It's $10 too

So Pokemon Let's Go is a lot better than some people thought it would be, combining some new sensibilities with old school flair. One of the biggest nostalgia hits is the? soundtrack, which combs through a decades-long history with songs like the Pallet Town theme.

You can relive the glory (and modern) days fairly easily too with the new soun?dtrack that just droppe?d on iTunes. It combines both games into one release, offering up 122 songs and sound effects (some of which are sub 30 seconds) for $10. Individual city and town songs are in, as are classics like the Poke Flute tune and new ones like the Go Park theme.

Having listened through it (and experienced it in-game) I can say that it's pretty much an easy buy. Even things like the seconds-long "level up" noise would make great text tones and th??ey really didn't leave much out: there's even a Jessie and James theme.

Pokemon Let's Go [iTunes]

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A story about a boy and his Lickitung would make for a riveting tale!

In today's episode of Impulse, I sat down once again with Sam Mui from Infinite Backlog to discuss our brief thoughts on Pokémon Let's Go and what features we'd love to see carry over to the next mainline game. But, obviously, the GO approach of catching Pokémon in Let's Go hasn't exactly been a popular inclus??ion to the game??.

I love grinding and battling wild Pokémon just as much as the next person, but I also love being able to see Pokémon within the world itself while running around in the grass. Just being able to pick and choose which wild Pokémon to battle would be a huge improvement to the formula itself. However, Pokémon Let's Go also has a number of other surprising features and smaller details that completely caught me off guard.

For example, I love the small details on some of the battle animations. Seeing the crosses appear on Slowpoke's eyes when damaged (now in HD) never gets old for me. I genuinely think if the next mainline Pokémon game captures the same aesthetic style of Let's Go, while still incorporating the competitive aspects from previous games, it would be another d?efinitive reason to own a Switch.

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I wanna be...

Prettttty much everyone knows the words, or at least some of the lyrics, to the original Pokemon anime theme song. It's embedded in? your brain and in the mind of singer Jason Paige, who re-appears from time to time to cover the tune yet again.

Nintendo and Game Freak are doing the exact same thing, but this time they're using the opportunity to pepper some nostalgia into the Pokemon Let's Go marketing campaign. In honor of the two Switch Pokemon tit??les that just came out there's a new video available of footage from the game mixed with the aforementioned show intro.

Cheap tactics aside the trailer, which seems to be a launch clip of sorts for the pair of games, does a decent job of actually showing you what's up. Battle, exploration and side mission footage is clearly depicted alongside of light glimpses at the interactivity with Pokemon Go.

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Catch 'em all again

I don't remember exactly what compelled me to rush out and buy Pokémon Red before the craze began, but I vividly recall the day?? I went to Toys"R"Us after school ?and picked it up. I got to Mt. Moon in one sitting and promptly turned off the game, forgetting to save: what a first day!

From there I'd go on to collect all 151, hosting all sorts ??of local trainer parties as the resident link cable owner and Pokémon Master. It's one of my most-played games of all time and it's the main reason why I'm always willing to give new entries a shake.

Pokémon Let's Go isn't for everyone, but from the perspective of someone who only?? recently became a parent, this is going to be a perfect entry point for some.

Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee & Pikachu (Switch)
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: November 16, 2018
MSRP: $59.99 (game), $49.99 (Poké Ball Plus), $99.99 (Poké Ball Plus and game bundle)

Let's Go serves a bridge between the more casual Pokémon Go and the mainline series. Remember how Pokémon Yellow sort of retrofitted the anime? Go (not to be confused with the mobile Go) is like a super-charged version of that. I'm talking Team Rocket with Jesse/James/Meowth ?shenanigans, the whole nine yards.

That's awesome in theory, but this dynamic duo is going to really confuse some long-term fans. It is basically an alternate generation-one journey, complete with small geographic and narrative twists. Let's Go is also a bit of an odd duck as far as its control schemes go. As I espoused in our Super Mario Party review, I've come to really admire Nintendo for increasing our options in the Wii U and Switch eras compared to the forced waggle of the Wii, but not every game adheres to that standard. Let's Go completely removes Pro Controller support in favor of addi??ng a new object into the mix: the Pok&e?acute; Ball Plus.

Now I sorely missed the Pro Controller (it's one of the best remotes on the market right now), but I did have access to the one-handed device for this review and it grew on me (here's a closeup). That tiny little bit where the Poké Ball button is? That's an analog stick that presses in for menu confirmations and world exploration. The top button (which is kind of hidden on the red part o???f the ball) opens the menu. Given that Pokémon games are RPGs with a heavy emphasis on turn-based combat, it makes sense why it would work. I went on to play roughly half the game with it, fini??shing the rest in portable mode and with the Joy-Con.

So there are three aspects of the Poké Ball Plus: the aforementioned controller option, the chance to place creatures in the ball and walk around with them (Pokéwalker anyone?), and Pokémon Go connectivity. Although I wasn't able to extensively test the latter out as it wasn't readily available for some time, the walking aspect is a cute little extra and tapping the ball to cue a Poké voiceover is a nice touch. Just know that the little thing is a whopping $50 and is basically only applicable to Let's Go, so maybe don't get too excited. I sincerely felt the hit of not using the Pro Controller, and if you do opt for a Joy-Con, only one is supported -- and only in the upright position. Now if this was Bayonetta I'm sure people would be angry to no end, but again, it's Pokémon: I can make? do. It also comes with a level-one Mew if that gets you going.

Digging a little deeper, I'll get the "big nope" out of the way (I can hear the figurative right-clicks already!): open-world battles don't exist as they're just capture encounters, not unlike those you'd find in Pokémon Go. I get that it's not going to appeal to people who wanted a full 3D generation-one remake, but there's an upside. Taking the focus off of wild battles seems trivial but it cuts out the grinding, a mentality you slowly adapt to while playing Let's Go. I lament that there are fewer chances to try out my Pokémon in the wild (and that the strategy of whittling down their health for a greater capture chance is now reduced to chucking berries), but it'??s a give and take.

That streamlined approach gives way to universally positive improvements. Pokémon are kept in a convenient bag without the need to go to boxes to swap party members. Really good Pokémon like Beedrill (a strai??ght-up Beedrill, fully evolved) can be caught very early on. That's great! I know a ton of people are going to espouse the virtues of leveling up Pokémon from level one to 100 and how you should "earn" evolutions, but this is not that kind of game.

Mechanical talk aside I think everyone is going to fall in love with Let's Go's aesthetics. Kanto is a delightful Arcadia and has never looked this good. Watching the camera pan over the quiet hamlet of Pallet Town gets the nostalgia endorphins going, yes, but Let's Go's sleek visuals sell all of those familiar locations. Game Freak also nails the scale of each Pokémon to make it feel more like the anime: seeing a gigantic Onix tower over his foes is something else. The same thing goes for random environmental cuteness like? napping Meowths. It all adds flavor to the world. Its sense of scale is its biggest strength. Gym battles more accurately mirror the anime with their grand halls, and random trainers (even throwaways) are more emotive.

As far as the big picture is concerned there is some wasted potential. No Pokémon Bank connectivity at launch, or possibly ever, is a bummer; especially when Game Freak and Nintendo are collectively asking you to catch the same Pokémon that have been around for ages (you can nab Alolan forms through Pokémon Go but that's not a big enough incentive). The ability to play it solely in the Switch's portable mode is fantastic (thus not betraying the original "pocket monster" mantra), but you can't help but think that some basic features we've come to expect from the series were held back in favor of a more exp??losive entrance for the next mainline entry.

I can't believe it took Game Freak over 20 years to give us an RPG-oriented console Pokémon game, but with the ever-changing mobile landscape and the success of the Switch, the opportunity finally presented itself. No, Let's Go is not the mainline entry that EV/IV min-maxers hoped for, but that's still on the way. If you happen to miss this ??return to Ka?nto, that's perfectly fine, but I was mostly delighted to go back.

Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee - 7.5/10

Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu - 7.5/10

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game and the Poké Ball Plus, provided by the publisher.]}

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'Most Nintendo Switch Games' do

When we first got details about Nintendo's upcoming "Switch Online" service, one of the promises was cloud saving for "most Nintendo Switch games". While it may have been naive to assume that Nintendo was just being cheeky, I honestly didn't think the company would put limitations on which games users could backup data for. Turns out I'm just an idiot, thoug??h, as Nintendo has now finally confirmed that not every game will allow for cloud saves.

Earlier this morning, a user on ResetEra noticed that the official website for Splatoon 2's Starter Edition noted, "This game does not support Save Data Cloud backup". Going further, Ars Technica did a search for that exact ph?rasing with a limit to Nintendo.com and pulled up a number of other games with the same descr?iption.

According to that search, the following games will not support cl??oud save backup:

• Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu
• Pokemon Let's Go Eevee
• Dark Souls Remastered
• FIFA 19

After running the story earlier today, Nintendo of America issued a statement to Ars Technica. In that statement, Nintendo explained, "In certain games, this feature would make it possible to, for example, regain items that had been traded to other players, or revert to a higher online multiplayer ranking that had been lost." With specific regards to Splatoon 2, Nint??endo said ??the feature is absent, "to ensure that Save Data Cloud backups cannot be used to unfairly affect online multiplayer rankings."

What makes this truly ridiculous is that the original Wii gave users the ability to back-up their data. You could copy most everything to an SD Card in case of needing to do a system format. While some games didn't natively allow it, the Wii was cracked open so fast that even those weren't immune. With Switch hacking being so prevalent, Nintendo putting odd restrictions on its paid service is just going to push people?? to jailbreak their consoles.

I know we won't be able to reverse the decision, but I'm just in awe of how narrow sighted this really is.?? If it wasn't enough that Nintendo's online infrastructure is still lacking, now we have to deal with yet another limitation. There better be something really special in store for Switch's online service, because it sounds just a bit worse now??.

Ni??ntendo's promised cloud saves on Switch won't work for every game [Updated] [Ars Technica]

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