Somehow mobile devices don't count

Every now and then, a game developer likes to state something so blatantly obvious that your shoulders will spontaneously shrug in utter bafflement. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Game Freak (the developer behind Pokemon) thought it was necessary to go on record to state that Pokemon is unlikely to be h?eading? to any platforms not created by Nintendo.

Their official claim, as stated by Junichi Masuda (one of the directors from Game Freak), is, "With Pokémon, at least, we really feel it is really important to be with Nintendo, specifically with the Pokémon titles, so I don’t think that [release on ?another platform] would ever happen." Well, gee??, I'm so shocked.

Apparently the topic of ownership over the IP is what brought this about, to which the answer is not just "Nintendo." Masuda said, "Everyone really knows Nintendo; there is a familiarity with the brand, and they have that really strong brand and Pokémon being associated ??with that and being affiliated with that brand is very important." So...?what?

As it turns out, Game Freak maintains partial ownership of the Pokemon b?rand alongside Nintendo and Creatures (a third company). If Game Freak truly wanted to, they co?uld buy out Nintendo and Creature's shares of the franchise and take it to other platform holders. I guess they are sticking with Nintendo out of a show of respect?

I'm really just kind of confused why this was even a question. Why would Nintendo allow for Game Freak to take Pokemon elsewhere? Even if Nintendo doesn't hold total ownership of the IP, if Game Freak wanted?? to leave Nintendo for another company, I??'m almost certain Nintendo would just buy them and their assets and then seize ownership of the brand.

It also then brings up questions about, if Pokemon isn't solely owned by Nintendo, why Game Freak hasn't shopped around the idea to anyone else. Clearly in the late '90s, Nintendo was the only one willing to take a chance, but Sony and Microsoft would love to have something as gigantic as Pokemon on their consoles today?. This whole story seems really odd and I'm just left with more questions than answers.

So, for the time being, here is a clearly obvious answer to a particularly stupid question. Why isn't Pokemon on another platform? Nintendo aren't dumb asses. Case ?closed.

Game Freak Says They Don’t Expect Pokémon Appearing On Any Non-Nintendo Platforms [Siliconera]

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It'll be a long time before you'll have another chance

Just a reminder; the last Pokémon distribution for 2016 is set to end this Saturday, December ??24. This month's Pokémon is Meloetta, and if you miss this opportunity you probably won't have another one for quite some time.

Meloetta is unique among Pokémon for being able to change its?? form and typing while still in battle. By using its si?gnature move Relic Song, it can switch its subtype from Psychic to Fighting and back again. If you'd like to have Meloetta learn Relic Song, take it to Snowbelle City in Pokémon X or Y, or to Mauville City in Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.

If you haven't downloaded Meloetta to your copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, it's not too late. First, select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, a?nd then select Get Via Internet. You'll need your 3DS connected to the internet to redeem it, and each copy can only receive one Meloetta. When you've done that, you'll be able to pick up Meloetta in any Pokémon center.

Meloetta closes out a great year for Pokémon fans. Here's hoping the downloads continue in 2017 now that Pokémon Sun and Moon have taken center stage.

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Hold me closer, tiny dancer

Every month this year, Pokémon players around the world have been able to download a new digital creature to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, one that's not available through normal gameplay. The final Pokémon featured this way is Meloetta, previously only available to people who played Pokémon Black or White or the sequels.

The good news is that this Meloetta is available without the need for code cards or anything but your 3DS, your game and an internet connection. Unfortunately, it'll be stuck in your older games for the time being, as it's only available to players of Pokémon  X, Y, Alpha Sapphire or Omega Ruby. However, it will be transferable once the Pokémon bank allows relocations to Pokémon Sun and Moon early next year.

To get your Meloetta, load up your copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, and then select Get Via Internet. You'll need your 3DS connected to the internet to redeem it, and each copy can only receive one Meloetta. When you've done that, you'll be able to pick up Meloetta in any Pokémon center. The distributi????on runs from now through December 24, so make sure to get it before it's no longer available.

Meloetta is fairly unique among Pokémon, as it's one of very few that can change its element typing during a battle. To do so, it'll need to learn the move Relic Song, which allows it to shift between a Normal/Psychic type and a Normal/Fighting type. Once you have your Meloetta, take it to Snowbelle City in Pokémon X or Y, or to Mauville City in Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.

This Meloetta will come into your game at level 100 and is holding a PP Max, which a?llows you to increase how many times you can use a favored move. It will know only three moves, presumably to make it easier to learn Relic Song. The other moves it starts with are Quick Attack, Confusion, and Round. It has the Serene Grace ability, which increases the chance that its moves will have additional effect -- ha??ndy, since Relic Song has a chance to cause the Sleep status effect.

The other Pokémon available this month won't begin its distribution until December fifth. Magearna is sort of a steampunk, clockwork rabbity thing, and was featured in the most recent Pokémon movie in Japan. Magearna will be the third special Pokémon available to Pokémon Sun and Moon, and the first that won't be available through normal gameplay. You can still get a special Munchlax with a Snorlax-specific Z-Crystal until January 11, and you can also earn a Greninja by playing through Sun and Moon's demo version and transferring your data to the main g??a??me.

Magearna will be made available on the official Pokémon website via a new distribution method, using QR codes. You can already use QR codes to encounter many types of Pokémon you wouldn't normally run across, but this is the first time they're being used as part of an event. To download Magearna using QR codes you'll have to complete the main storyline in Sun or Moon, but you should have plenty of time sin??ce the distribution will run from December fifth until March fifth next year. We'll have more on ??Magearna when it becomes available next Monday.

2016 events [Serebii.net]

The post Meloetta and Magearna are this month’s distributed Pokemon appeared first on Destructoid.

Get a cannon bug before it's too late

As part of the celebration for Pokémon's 20th anniversary, players have been able to download one of the rarest creatures to their cartridges every month this year. The distribution for this month's Pokémon, Genesect, is scheduled to end ?on Thursday, November 24. 

To get your Genesect, you'll have to enter a code from a free card being distributed at brick-and-mortar game stores, and these vary based on your region. In the U.S., Genesect cards can be picked up at any GameStop, in the U.K. they're available at GAME, and people in Australia and New Zealand will need to go to EB Games. Do?n't forget that Thursday is a holiday in the United St??ates, so GameStop stores won't be open.

Once you have the card, load up your co??py of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, and then select Get W??ith Code. You'll need your 3DS connected to the internet to redeem it, and each co??de will only work once. Unfortunately, Genesect can't be downloaded directly to Pokémon Sun or Moon. I suppose the developers didn't want a level 100 behemoth rampaging through the tranquil islands of Alola. You'll be able to import creatures from the older games once Sun and Moon are updat?ed to support the Pokémon Bank early in 2017.

Next month's distribution will be Meloetta, previously only available to those who played Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 or White 2. It'll be distributed over the Nintendo Network, so there won't be any need to get a card at a physical store. Meloetta is fairly unique in that it can change its element typing midway through a battle by using the move Relic Song. We'll let you know more once?? th?is promotion goes live in December.

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You'll have to leave the house for this one

Every month this year, Pokémon players around the world have been able to download a new digital creature to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, one that's not available through normal gameplay. This month's featured Pokémon is Genesect, previously only available to people who played Pokémon Black or White or the sequels.

To get your Genesect, you'll have to enter a code from a free card being distributed at brick-and-mortar game stores, and these vary based on your region. In the U.S., Genesect cards can be picked up at any GameStop, in the U.K. they're available at GAME, and people in Australia and New Zealand will need to go to EB Games. Genesect comes to your game at level 100 and will start with the moves Techno Blast, Signal Beam, Solar Beam, and the Steel type move Magnet Bomb. It?? won't have a hold item.

Once you have the card, load up your copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, and then select Get With Code. You'll need your 3DS connected to the internet to redeem it, an??d each code will only work once. 

Genesect is a Bug and Steel type, meaning it's pretty strong against everything but Fire moves. Its ability Download means it gets a boost to the attack statistic that its foe has less defense against. Additionally, it's the only Pokémon that can use Techno Blast, a Normal move that can be changed to a Fire, Ice, Water, or Electric attack based on the hold item Genesect's trainer gives it. To obtain these items, go to Mauville City in Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, and to Ambrette town in X or Y. 

If you've preordered a digital copy of Pokémon Sun or Moon, you should be able to preload the game data now. It might be a good idea to ask for an extra card, since these codes may work in Pokémon Sun and Moon when t??hey release on November 18. The Genesect event starts today and will run until November 24, so make sure to get those cards while y?ou can.

The post Get a Genesect for any 3DS Pokemon this month appeared first on Destructoid.

Get one while you can

As part of Pokémon's 20th anniversary, at least one of the harder-to-get creatures has been made available every month this year. Although there were two of the special Pokémon available this month, the Keldeo distribution is set to end on Monday, October 24.

Downloading Keldeo doesn't require anything other than a 3DS, an internet connection, and a copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire. You can download Keldeo once to every copy you own by selecting "Mystery Gift" from the main menu and c??ho??osing "Get via Internet."

The Volcanion cards should still be available at your local game store, and you can check this link for the details. The code cards won't be available after October 31 but are still r?edeemable until January 2017, so it's not as time sensitive as download??ing Keldeo.

Next month's offering is Genesect, which will be available from November 1-24. It looks like you'll need a code card for the Bug/Steel hybrid? as well, but we'll let you know when it becomes available.

The post PSA: Keldeo Pokemon distribution ends Monday appeared first on Destructoid.

It's raining Pokemon up in here

We let you know on Saturday about some of the special Pokémon distributions ha??ppening during the month of October. Yet another legendary creature just became available in? North America, the Djinn-inspired Hoopa.

Previously, Hoopa was only available as a special promotion from McDonald's in November of 2015. This one is available to you even if you downloaded the McDonald's promotion though, so it's possible to get a spare for trading. To download it, go to the main menu in Pokémon X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, or Omega Ruby, select Mystery Gift, Receive Gift, open the communication channel, then Get With Code. When prompted, ente??r the code 2016HOOPA. Note that there is one zero and two Os in the code.

Hoopa is a Psychic/Ghost type that can be changed to a Psychic/Dark type in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire when the Prison Bottle item is used on it. Hoopa comes in at level 50 holding a Smo??ke Ball, which makes escaping from wild Pokémon automatic. When you receive it, it will know the moves Psychic, Astonish, Nasty P??lot, and the new move Hyperspace Hole, a special Psychic attack that hits Pokémon even if they're using Protect or Detect.

No end date was given for the Hoopa distribution, so it'd probably be a good idea to downl??o?ad it as soon as you can.

Serebii [Twitter]

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Volcanion makes its official debut

Every month this year, the Pokémon company has been distributing one of their legendary monsters as part of their 20t?h anniversary celebration. For October, there are two creatures availa??ble via different distribution methods, Keldeo and Volcanion.

Volcanion is the final legendary to be revealed in the sixth generation, and this is the first time it's being made available outside of Japan. To get it, you'll need a code card from a retail game store, which will vary by what region you're in. In the U.S., Volcanion cards can be picked up at any GameStop, in the U.K. and Spain they're at GAME, while people in Australia and New Zealand will need to go? to EB Games. The dates for this one seem to be different depending on what region you live in, so if you're in North Am??erica, it won't be available until October 10th. As such, you may want to call your local GameStop before making a special trip to get the card.

Once you have the card, load up your copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and select?? Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, and then select Get With Code. You'll need your 3DS connected to the internet to redeem it, and each code will only work once. 

Volcanion has a unique Fire/Water type combination that will give it some unusual strengths and weaknesses. The Volcanion being distributed comes in at level 70 and is equipped with an Assault Vest, an item that boosts Special Defense but prevents the wearer from using any non-damaging moves. It will arrive knowin??g the moves Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, Explosion, and its signature move, Steam Eruption. Volcanion has the Water Absorb ability, meaning it's healed instead of hurt when hit by a Water type attack.

The other Legendary Pokémon available this month is much easier to obtain. Keldeo was previously only available to people who picked up Pokémon Black 2 or White 2 during its first month of release. Fortunately, all you need this time is an internet connection. To dow?nload Keldeo, select Mystery Gift, Receive Gift, open the communication channel, then Get Via Internet. 

Keldeo is a Fighting/Water type that looks like it was made for Bronies and Equesticles. It can be upgraded to its Resolute form when it learns the move Secret Sword. The Keldeo being distributed comes in at level 10??0 and is holding a PP Max. It has the Justified ability, meaning its attack rises when it's hit with a Dark type move, ?and it will start with the moves Aqua Jet, Leer, Double Kick, and Bubble Beam. Keldeo will be available online from now until October 24, so make sure to get it while you can.

Finally, there's a third, non-legendary Pokémon currently being distributed, though it's not currently available in the U.S. If you live in Europe or Australia, you can download a special Meowth that knows the move Happy Hour, which doubles prize money when used. To do so, follow the same procedure listed above for Volc?anion, but enter HAPPY when prompted to enter a code. No one seems to know when this one is scheduled to end, so you may want to act swiftly to keep from missing out.

Eventdex [Serebii]

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Keldeo distribution coming soon

Heads up, Pokémon players; the Victini distribution event that's been running this past month is set to end on September 24. You'll need an internet connection and a copy of Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, or Pokémon X or Y. 

Victini has an unusual Fire/Psychic type combination and its special?? ability, Victory Star, makes its team 10% more accurate. This Pokémon comes in at level 100, but doesn't have a hold item. 

The Victini distribution is handled online, so you don't have to leave the house to access it. To download Victini, first load up your copy of X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, then select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Select Receive Gift, and then Get Via I??nternet. This distribution ends on the 24th, so don't miss out.

With a new month comes a new legendary Pokémon available for download, and October's offering is Keldeo. Originally only available to those who bought Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 within the first month, Keldeo is a Water/Fighting type that doesn't evolve, but can transform into a different form if you take it to an otherwise hidden location in whichever game you download it to. Keldeo should become available on October first, and that distribution will run until Oct?ober 24.

Pokémon XYORAS Victini event [Serebii.net]

The post PSA: Victini distribution ends this week appeared first on Destructoid.

Game mechanics translate to physical events

This past weekend I attended the UK Pokemon Nationals in Liverpool, the first live competitive Pokemon event I have ever attended. I've played Pokemon religiously since the release of the first generation, but that has never translated? in my wanting to attend any kind of competitive event connected to the series. A lot of this comes down to my mixed past experiences with competitive communities, which felt a lot more isolated from outsider perspectives such as my own.

Competitive gaming events have, in my experience, had too much of a focus on victory to be enjoyable, diluting the community spirit with a healthy dose of smack talk and determined focus. You can make friends there, but there's an amount of ju??dgement if you're not as talented as those you face.There's no room for beginners, tournament environmen??ts are just not designed for you to feel welcome at.

It's a competition, you either win or you lose. The Pokemon Nationals, however, had a different feel to past competitive events I have attended, and were welcoming and inclusive for all sk??ill level?s.

There w?as a sense of community, a desire to support others and welcome y??oung, inexperienced or new player into the scene. There was  guidance, friendship and challenge for players of all skill levels, contrasting strongly with other my previous experience of competitive events. I think the game itself may be part of the reason for the difference in audience perception.

The Pokemon games feature an inherent mechanical framework baked into it for competitive, supportive tournament play which no other competiti??ve video game seems to have. They show the right level of smack talk to throw down before a fight, the right level of humble response to give upon defeat, the etiquette for challenging another player, and the correct ways to manage trading.

The games set up a system where tournament victory is an end goal, but defeat along the way is a sign of progression and not failure. It has a setup where those you play against will help you improve, where losses don't negate progress??ion and where it's okay to play a non-optimal team if you enjoy playing it.

By starting all players who pick up the game at the same level of strength, everybody involved comes from the same place of weakness and has to work their way slowly up to that skill ceiling, with a hard and fast limit on how quickly they can improve. Every Pokemon player had to spend a lengthy period of time not strong enough for competitive play, which seems to stick with people and?? keep them from being too hard on new players.

The games even tell you upon defeat that things are okay, that it's okay that you lost and if you keep working at it you might be able to win next time. I can't think of any other ??competitive scene where in-game mechanics tell you that loss is an acceptable outcome, one that can be worked past given the right time and dedication.

The result of this mechanic set in-game is that the competitive scene for Pokemon is seemingly more open to players of various skill levels, experience levels, ages and play styles. There's a supportive nature to the event that I rarely see in other competitive scenes, and I think the way the video game itself is set up brokers the right expectations to make that ??kind of community possible.

Thankfully, nobody at nationals was ??kn?ocking losers unconscious and stealing half of their money.

The post How Pokemon games create a positive competiti??ve scene appeared first on Destructoid.

The 3DS games, Pokken and the TCG are all on show

Watch live video from pokemonv?gc_eu on www.twitch.tv

If you’re a fan of Pokémon, you might want to get your arse over to Twitch very shortly. For the first time ever the three European Nationals are being streamed online, and the first event? held in Liverpool, England will be starting within the next half an hour.

The stream embedded up top is the main event, tournaments for Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. If you want something a bit different, you can find the stream for the trading card game tournament here, and the Pokkén Tournament stream here.

Laura is at the event this weekend, working hard on getting you the ins and outs of pro-level Pokémon. Oh, and she can get that free Shiny Machamp that's on offer to attendees, which I am incredibly jealous of.

The post Come and watch the Pokemon UK Nation???al Championships here! appeared first on Destructoid.

So you wanna be the master of Pokemon?

As we all know, this year is Pokemon’s 20^th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, this year’s ??National Championships in the UK, Germany and Italy will all be streamed via Twitch for the fi??rst time.

Three differen??t, English-language stre??ams will be run for different events at the championships:

• The trading card game will be streamed on twitch.tv/pokemontcg_eu.
• Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire and X & Y championships can be found on twitch.tv/pokemonvgc_eu.
• Pokken Tournament will be aired on twitch.tv/pokkentournamentEU.

These streams will cover all three of the European national events. The first will be the UK tournaments, held in Liverpool on May 14-15, then the week after will see the German tournaments in Kassel on May 21-22. Finally, the Italian event will be hosted in Milan on June 11-12.

Finally, if you’re lucky enough to be able to physically attend one of these events, you’ll be able to get a special Shiny Machamp for X, Y, Alpha Ruby or Omega Sapphire. Free shiny Pokemon and a weekend watching others fight it out are always good things in my bo?ok!

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Did you need more legendary Pokemon? No? Well have them anyway!

Apparently Nintendo isn’t happy with only giving us one measly mythical Pokémon each month this year. It's giving away Regice, Regirock, and Registeel to Pokémon Bank subscribers, and now it's giving away the three legendary birds through the Pokémon Trainer Club newsletter.

Codes for Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres will be sent to newsletter subscribers soon, so you still have time to sign up for it if you want to nab them. Like all other gift Pokémon at the moment, they’ll be available for players of X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

They each come with pretty ni?fty hidden abilities too:

• Articuno has Snow Cloak, which increases evasion in-battle by 25% when it’s hailing, and decreases the wild Pokémon encounter rate by 50% in snowing areas.
• Zapdos has Static, giving you a 30% chance of paralysing a Pokémon that makes physical contact with it, and also increases the chance of encountering Electric-type Pokémon in the field as long as it is in your first party slot.
• Moltres has Flame Body, meaning there’s a 30% chance any Pokémon physically attacking Moltres will be burned. It’s also great for breeding, as it halves the time it takes for eggs to hatch if Moltres is first in your party.

At the moment, you can only ever catch one of the three in X and Y, and which one is decided by which starter you picked. Being given all three will be really handy, especially in ORAS where they’re absolutely nowhere to be?? found!

You can sign up for the newsletter on the Pokémon website.

Oh, and as a reminder, you can get Jirachi this month through the Mystery Gift.

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#721, Volcanion

We got our first glimpse of Volcanion so long ago, via a leak, that today's official announcement from Nintendo initially felt bran??d new to me. The latest Mythical Pokémon is a fire/water type -- the first of its kind -- should be obtainable in an upcoming distribution event before long.

"This Pokémon uses fire and water to create steam within its body, expe??lling explosive shock waves and scalding steam from the arms on its back. Volcanion's power is said to be so great it can destroy an entire mountain, gouging out the earth and changing the shape of the land!"

Yet anothe??r reminder that perhaps kids shouldn'??t be trusted with these almighty beasts.

The post This new Pokemon is a fire and water type appeared first on Destructoid.

Team Rocket steals all their 3DSes

I’ve never paid much attention to the confusing world of competitive Pokémon. ?EV training, natures, actually caring about a Pokémon's sta??ts... it all confuses me.

However, a documentary currently on Kickstarter called To Be the Very Best looks like it wants to shine some light on the scene and all it entails. The project aims to follow the lives of competitive Pokémon players Ray Rizzo and Aaron Zheng in the run up to the Pokémon Video Game World Championships in August 2015.

The campaign for To Be the Very Best has raised over $6000 of its $50,000 goal, with 23 days still remaining. Joining two-time US national Pokémon champion Wolfe Glick for the project is documentary director Dan Karlok and the producer of the musical Rock of Ages Matt Weave?r, so there is some serious experience involved here.

Whether this will teach me anything about Pokémon has yet to be seen: My favourite type is Normal, so I’m probabl??y the least equipped person to be talking about this. The project still seems interesting however, so here’s hoping it succeeds.

The post ‘To Be the Very Best’ follows real Pokemon trainers appeared first on Destructoid.

Whatcha gonna do, brother?

Great news for all you Pok&eac??ute;maniacs out there: you can now receive Meganium, Typhlosion, and Feraligatr along with their Hi?dden Abilities from the Pokémon Bank, brother.

This comes just after the one year anniversary of the Pokémon Bank, meaning your subscription probably just ran out. Unlike the currently sold-out golden Mario amiibo, the??se will be available through the end of ?November this year. 

Pokémon News [Pokémon]

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Codes are valid until November 30, 2015

The codes for Serperior, Emboar, and Samurott in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are now all redeemable. Just head into the Mystery Gift option and choose "receive via code," then type in POKEMON497, POKEMON500, and POKEMON503, respectively.

These Pokémon are packing hidden abilities (Contrary, Reckless,?? and Shell Armor), so it's worth setting aside a couple of minutes to nab them b?efore leaving 'em inside a box, unloved.

When this distribution event was announced, I asked which of the three monsters was best, and things got weird. I expect that to happen in all Pokémon posts these days. Or all posts, really.

The post The Unova starter giveaw??ay is live in Pok?mon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire appeared first on Destructoid.

You can nab all three in a distribution event for Ruby/Sapphire

The next distribution event for Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will give us a chance to score Serperior, Emboar, and Samurott, each with their own Hidden Ability. You'll need to update your game to version 1.2 and redeem a Mystery Gift code. That'?s it! Here's the schedule:

• Serperior: January 22 - November 30. Use code POKEMON497 in Mystery Gift.
• Emboar: January 29 - November 30. The code will be revealed on Pokemon.com.
• Samurott: February 5 - November 30. The code will be revealed in the Pokémon Trainer Club newsletter.

With that info out of the way, this is your cue to fight about which of the three Pokémon is best. For me, it's unquestionably Emboar. Pokémon Black/White marked the first time I didn't start with a Water t??ype beca?use, sorry, Samurott, but we can't be friends. And Serperior is clearly evil.

The post Who’s the better Pok?mon: Serperior, Emboar, or Samurott? appeared first on Destructoid.

Bob has done it again

On my journey to obtain every Pokémon in X/Y (and eventually give many of them away; no regrets!), this map of catchable Pokémon created by reddit user Bobdor was instrumental. It got my Pokédex off to a great start a?nd helped familiarize me with the then-unfamiliar Kalos region.

Bob has since come out with a similar map for Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire showing where to find Pokémon in Hoenn and what, if anything extra, you'll ne????ed to catch them. So helpful.

I'm not playing the remakes yet -- I'll wait until I don't have quite as many games fighting for my attention, most likely -- bu??t plenty of you are. Hope this serves you well.

[Via reddit]

Also, found this today (Godzilla for scale):

The post This map show?s where to find Po?k?mon in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire appeared first on Destructoid.

Just hop on the internet superhighway

Now through January 14, 2015, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire players can claim a free shiny Beldum via in-game ??internet ??distribution. No GameStop visit necessary!

The Pokémon comes with its Mega Stone so, eventually, you can have your own shiny Mega Metagross. The X on its face turns from yellow to blue during the Mega Evolution process for what I'm sure are highly scientific biological reasons and not because "damn that looks cool!"

The post You won’t have to leave home for this Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire shiny Beldum distribution appeared first on Destructoid.

And got some surprising Wonder Trades in return

For a couple months now, I've been thinking about getting rid of my Pokémon collec??ti?on.

My favorite part of the series is catching 'em all and for years that motivation has fueled my interest in these games. I'm not into forming the ideal team, breeding Pokémon with perfect stats, or finding shinies. Just acquiring them -- all seven hundred of them -- one by one.

With Pokémon X, I finally did it. It took months of whittling down a giant list of absences in my Pokédex but thanks to in-depth online resources detailing locati??ons and catch rates, an active community of online traders, and the ability to easily transfer old legendaries and stragglers from past titles, I did it. I earned a little crown in my National Pokédex signifying 100 percent completion. (Though, admittedly, I never bothere??d to get #719, Diancie. Whatever.)

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire release this Friday and I thought it would be fun to start over. To work my way back up. But rather than let my Pokémon X save file go to waste, I decided to use the Wonder Trade feature extensiv?e?ly. It matches two players at random for a blind online trade and while most people exchange total crap, there are kindhearted folks who take pleasure in handing out rarities. I'm far from innocent, but I've given back on occasion.

Now, originally, my plan was to give away every las??t one of my Pokémon via Wonder Trade (excluding restricted Pokémon obtained from distribution events). I mindlessly made it to around 80 trades before realizing this was a bad idea and started questioning my sanity.

For starters, the trading process is fast, but not that fast. You have to save your game, move the cursor over to the Pokémon you want to trade, wait to be paired up with someone, then watch an a?nimation of your new mystery 'mon leaping out of its Poké Ball. Every single time.

It's not a pain if you're doing a handful of trades here and there, but hund??reds? Those aforementioned actions, miniscule as they are, add up. I had my 3DS to my side and traded while working. Later, while watching a show about one woman who eats bits of tire, and another who consumes vapor rub. Finally, while beginning to piece this article together. It was at that point I decided to be more selective; to stop wasting my time and everybody else's.

This was going to be an hours-long investment even if I avoided giving out garbage Pokémon (like Zigzagoon and Tauros, not that lovable scamp Trubbish). So, after unloading a few boxes worth of hit-or-miss Pokémon, I made the call: good tra?de??s only. Stuff I would've appreciated back when I was filling out my Pokédex and had hundreds of entries remaining. This experiment would still take forever under the new rule but I'd have the satisfaction of making someone's day.

I didn't want anything interesting in return -- again, I'm not transferring Pokémon out of X for ?future games -- but I ended up getting some cool, funny, or otherwise worth-mentioning trades back. And thank goodness for that! This article would've been far less interesting otherwise.

Here are the highlights:

• A Foongus named YOU SMELL. Love novelty names.
• Someone traded me a Rayquaza for, uh, some shitty thing. I need to pay better attention.
• A Squirtle named Schiggy. Haha.
• My one and only shiny, an Octillery, was traded for a common household Swinub.
• The rad Elegant Pattern Vivillon. Never got into collecting all the variations.
• A shiny Absol (!).
• Head Muscle, the Onix.
• My Yveltal went for an Igglybuff called Penile Envy. Fair trade, IMO.
• A shiny Groudon and then a shiny Rayquaza (!!!) right after it. Who are these people?
• Stephen King, the Sewaddle.
• A Spinda named Crazy Ebola. Perfect.

For each of these bullet points, there were, god, I don't even want to think about how many bland Pokémon. Let's just call it "many" so I can retain some dignity here. There are individuals -- and whole online communities, it turns out (#WonderTradeWednesday) -- working to make sure it's not all junk being passed around, but there's still tons of junk. ~Do your part to help!~

Wonder Trading worthwhile Pokémon for the heck of it was something I had done before (you can't just take, take, take) but never to this extent. At first, it felt weird saying goodbye to Pokémon that had traveled with me for years, across multiple games, but it felt even better to declutter. Freeing. They've escaped my languishing PC, and now I can start fresh in Omega Ruby.

Before this exodus, I liked Wonder Trading; it was one of my favorite modern Pokémon features. ?Now, I love it, and I don't want to stop. With enough patience, something great is bound to come your way, possibly from me. You just need to get through twenty Fletchlings first.

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New details on the story, legendaries, and Mine Cart minigame

Legendary Pokémon Deoxys is back in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire -- and he's battling Rayquaza in space! Today's trailer shows some of the new Delta Episode, a storyline centered around an asteroid headed toward the planet (these games don't take place on some alternate-universe Earth, do they? That'd be cool.) A new character, Zinnia, and her ??Mega Salamence are also w??rapped up in the disaster plot, as are Team Magma and Team Aqua. They never stay home.

The Legendary titans Regirock, Regice, and Registeel (plus Regigigas) are in these remakes as expected, but the list goes on and on: Raikou, Entei, Sui??cune, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, Cresselia, and Heatran; all in the games. You'll be able to find them using Mirage spots while flying above Hoenn with the Soar ability.

Lastly, there's a new Pokémon Global Link minigame dubbed Mine Cart Adventure. After spending some of your Poké Miles and Medals, you can play -- "navigate carts on winding tracks to collect Berries," reads the official description -- to win?? different types of Poké Balls.

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Pok?mon Omega Ruby and Pok?mon Alpha Sapphire

In order to reach and catch Latios in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Latias in Pokémon Omega Ruby, we'll need an Eon Ti?cket. And to get one of those, well, it's kind of a pain i??n the ass.

Here in the US, The Pokémon Company will give Eon Tickets to Play! Pokémon League Leaders who will then be able to share the item via StreetPass. In the UK, it'll sel?ect 15 people to meet up with Game Freak's Junichi Masuda and bring a ticket back to their local GAME.

Eon Tickets sho?uld spread around the world but depending on where you live, it could be a while before you see one, if ever. There's always trading, though.

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Those pocket monsters sure are adorable, though

Look, kid -- there's a lot of work that goes into flying somewhere. All your liquids have to be in a tiny bag, your seat needs to turn into a flotation device in the event of a water la?nding, and there has to be plenty of ginger ale aboard. You can't just hop on a Pokémon and "take adventure to new heights."

Well, technically you can, but there's gonna be some 'splaining to do when you get bac??k on the ground.

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200 Potions. Yep, potions

When November 21 hits and Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire arrive, Best Buy will carry an exclusive double pack. It will include both games in one giant box, ringing in ??at $79.98 -- b?asically the price of both games separately.

But the box will have one small extra -- a pair of download codes that can be redeemed for 100 potions each. Yep, regular potions. Those things that heal your Pokemon and are? quickly replaced by better variations of them.

It's something though, and if you're planning on picking up bot??h versions you may as well go?? with this pack.

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Semi-expected, but still disappointing

When Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire arrive, it won't bring any new Pokemon types,? per se as it pertains to the Pokedex. It will have new Mega Evolutions though, which can be achieved by ?way of holding certain items and initiating a transformation.

Sadly, it was confirmed that these Mega Evolutions will not be supported in Pokemon X & Y, whether it's by way of a transfer or in the base game itself. If you want to experience the new evos, you'll have to just do it in Ruby and Sapphire.

Ntower [YouTube via GoNintendo]

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Mega Glalie will eat your face

By now, you've hopefully had a chance to read Steven's words about Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Funny guy, that Steven. The Pokémon Company has since sent over some accompany??ing media showing the new flying sequences with Latios/Latias, the PokéNav Plus navigation tools, and even more Mega Evolutions, including Beedrill and Pidgeot.

There are also details regarding the special demo version of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Codes for the demo will be handed out in a newsletter on October 21 and in order to receive one, you'll need to register a free Pokémon Trainer Club account on Pokemon.com by October 19. More ways t??o obtain a? demo code "will be announced soon."

Mega Pidgeot is p??erfection. You can stop now, Game Freak.

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That poor Swampert

It was all but guaranteed that Rayquaza would be among those Pokémon in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire to have a Mega Evolution -- or perhaps a Primal Reversion, like Groudon and Kyogre -- a?nd as such it's nice to get that confirmation out of the way.

Mega Rayquaza possesses Delta Stream, an ability that makes it so Flying-type Pokémon will only receive normal dama?ge from moves they'd usually be weak to. Also, moves like Rain Dance and Hail and abilities like Snow Warning and Sand Stream will fail.

The new design is a big step up, I'd say. Regular Rayquaza's lips?? always looked so silly to me.

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Featuring unique content

Well, I'll be. The demo for Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire isn't just coming to Japan.

The Pokémon Company International isn't saying when or how codes will be distributed in the West yet, but this special demo will feature gameplay not found anywhere else, and players will be able to transfer? "a familiar Pokémon" and items i?nto the full games.

There's also a new trailer showing off the Mega E?volutions for ??Camerupt, Sharpedo, and Gallade as well as Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre. Those Primal Reversion moves are something else.

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Japan is getting a demo

Japanese magazine CoroCoro has the scoop on three more Mega Evolutions debuting in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as picked up by Serebii.net.

Camerupt's new form is my favorite of the trio -- that grin! Mega Sharpedo looks edgier and has more fins, which is a??ll right. Mega Gallade is ... I actua?lly had to go look up a picture of regular Gallade to get a true sense of what had changed. (It's the arms.)

Also, next month's issue of CoroCoro will contain a code redeemable for a trial version of Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire. W?hat are the chances the rest of the world will get something like that? Non-existent?

Pokémo??n Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - CoroCoro [Serebii.net]

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