• Pokémon Update: Mewtwo, Hugh, Tournaments, and Charity Water!

    As promised, the first episode of Marriland.com's new bi-weekly series — Pokémon Update — is now up! This week's Pokémon Update talks about the new form of Mewtwo for Pokémon X and Y, the exclusive Hugh Pokédex Skin for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, an overview of some of the recent tournaments, such as the Spring Regional Championships and the International Challenge April, as well as The Elite Four: Charity Water stream going on, to which Curse will donate $500 to the cause.

  • The Elite Four: Charity Water, streaming Pokémon for Charity!

    From April 22nd until April 29th, Sephazon on YouTube (host of The Elite Four) is bringing together some of the biggest Pokémon Let's Players and most influential people in the Pokémon community for a united goal: livestream playing Pokémon and Pokémon-related games for charity! What charity are they playing for? Charity Water, which is a charity to help supply clean water to developing nations.

    Their goal is to raise $50,000 for charity over the whole week. While that may seem quite ambitious, with some big names in the Let's Play community such as SuperSkarmory, Haydunn, JWittz, Shofu, and even myself, Marriland, as well as over nearly 30 more awesome Let's Players with at least as much talent and passion, it is certainly possible that goal can be met, although not without your help!

    You'll be able to watch the stream live on The Elite Four Twitch.tv channel starting April 22nd. Since the stream is divvied up into three hour shifts, there's a schedule available online showing you when everyone is streaming, as well as what game(s) they'll be playing. What am I going to be playing? I'll be streaming Pokémon Puzzle League on Sunday, April 28th, from 6:00pm Central Time to 9:00pm Central Time.

    Definitely be sure to tune in during the stream and to donate whatever you're able to. It's all for a good cause!

    How do YOU game? Are you loyal to Nintendo or do you branch out to other systems and platforms as well? Do you prefer handheld games such as Pokémon, console games, or PC games? How much time would you say you spend gaming each week? We would love to hear what gaming is to you, so check out this short survey by Curse to let your voice be heard!

  • Marriland's thoughts on the "Awakened" Mewtwo and Sylveon in Pokémon X & Y!

    Yesterday's announcement showing off Mewtwo transforming into its new "Awakened" form definitely roused some discussion amongst fans, speculating as to what it could mean. Additionally, the official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel released a trailer for the upcoming Genesect and Mewtwo movie shortly thereafter. The above video shows my impressions of these new developments, where I talk about the new Mewtwo form as well as new scenes of the eighth Eevee evolution, Sylveon, from the Japanese trailer.

    Looking for the new Japanese movie trailer? You can check it out below! Just keep in mind that it's, of course, in Japanese.

  • UPDATED - New Mewtwo confirmed to be a new form on the official site!

    While a lot of people out there were convinced over the fact that the "new Pokémon" with a resemblance to Mewtwo was indeed a new form, especially given the recent CoroCoro leak, I held off on confirming that it was a new form until the official Pokémon website said something about it. The above video, which was just posted, shows Mewtwo clearly transforming into its new form.

    That pretty much seals the deal that it isn't a new Pokémon, but is instead an alternate form of Mewtwo. Unless Mewtwo is somehow capable of evolving, that is, which is highly unlikely.

    What are your thoughts on this recent development? Do you think it should have been a new Pokémon altogether or are you satisfied that it is just a new form for Mewtwo? Let us know in the comments!

    UPDATE: The Japanese movie website now shows Mewtwo's "post-awakening" form. The filename for the new image is named "m2x", which may just be a placeholder, but may also be a clue as to its actual name, assuming "post-awakening" isn't its form name.

  • Hugh Pokédex Skin for Pokémon Black 2 & White 2, and introducing Jess for Pokémon Update!

    Interested in spicing up your Pokédex on Pokémon Black 2 and White 2? Well you're in luck, because you can now download a special Hugh-themed Pokédex Skin for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 by logging on to the Pokémon Global Link, heading on over to the "Promotions" tab, and then selecting the promotion for the Hugh Pokédex Skin.

    You'll need to fill in the missing word in order to receive the download. The quote is "Five years ago... Team Plasma stole my little sister's [______]." What did they steal? If you guessed Pikachu, you're wrong! The correct answer is simply "Purrloin", which, when entered, unlocks the Hugh-flavored Pokédex Skin. (Note: You must use proper capitalization! "purrloin" does NOT work, so make sure you type it with the capital P.)

    You'll need to tuck in a Pokémon to the Dream World and then wake it up after setting the Pokédex Skin, though, in order to have it appear on your game.

    Starting Monday, we'll be launching a biweekly video series on the Marriland website. That's right: it's the return of Pokémon Update! Jess from Curse will be going over what's been happening throughout the Pokémon World every two weeks, which is great if you want to keep up with all of the news going on but are pressed for time. Not only that, but we're also looking to feature cool stuff going on in the community as well, such as videos, artwork, and other fan projects! Feel free to let us know in the comments if there's anything cool you think deserves a mention!

    Think Jess is up for the challenge? I think the following video shows just how ready she is for any challenge!

    Skyla's got nothing on her! Go on ahead and give a warm welcome to Jess as our video host for the upcoming Pokémon Update series!

  • Pokémon 2013 Spring Regional Championships results!

    Over the weekend, the 2013 Spring Regional Championships took place across North America. These Regional Championships determined who the best of the best was in five different regions across North America, and I had the opportunity to participate in the Midwest Regional Championship in my home state of Wisconsin.

    The winners for each event, in each age division, are listed below. Congratulations to them all!

    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    DivisionTrading Card GameVideo Game
    Junior  Carson St. Denis  Elsian Atienze
    Senior  Hayden Jacobus  Hayden McTavish
    Master  Bidier Jing  Tony Chueng

    Athens, Georgia

    DivisionTrading Card GameVideo Game
    Junior  Keegan Abley  Wyatt Gardner
    Senior  John Croxton  Erick Bowen
    Master  Mike Newman  Jerry Woods III

    Foxboro, Massachusetts

    DivisionTrading Card GameVideo Game
    Junior  Ian Robb  Lucas Monroe
    Senior  Orrin Wilson  Paul Chua
    Master  Dylan Lefavour  Aaron Zheng

    Salt Lake City, Utah

    DivisionTrading Card GameVideo Game
    Junior  Elisa Covitz  Caleb Gardiner
    Senior  Ryan Harris  Zach Thornberg
    Master  Roberto Lozada  Michael Fladung

    Madison, Wisconsin

    DivisionTrading Card GameVideo Game
    Junior  Joey Ruettiger  Beau Berg
    Senior  Ben Moskow  Brian Hough
    Master  Casey Smith  Corey Moeller-Fountain

     

    So how did my time at Madison, Wisconsin go? Well, here are some pictures along with my report of the event! (Click the "Read More" button to the right if you don't see them!)

  • UPDATED: "Mewthree" confirmed as new Mewtwo form? Or is it?

    The upcoming issue of the Japanese magazine CoroCoro has been leaked, and information regarding the upcoming Pokémon Movie, Godspeed/ExtremeSpeed Genesect and the Reawakening of Mewtwo. It shows a few pages about the recently revealed Pokémon, although reveals no additional information about it. It does, however, go through and show the old movie poster alongside the new one, which was previously leaked.

    One noteworthy thing that has been going around on several sites is that the translation of the text seems to confirm that the "new Pokémon" is actually just indeed an alternate form of Mewtwo instead of a whole new Pokémon altogether. I've taken a look at the Japanese text on the scans and, while I'm no expert at Japanese, I don't see anything conclusively confirming this. It could simply be a translation issue, referring to the change between the background images of the original movie poster and the new one that shows the "Mewthree". There are many references in Japanese referring to it as a "new Pokémon" — far more than the one mention in the scans that hint it has changed.

    I guess the point is to take this news with a grain of salt. The "new Pokémon" may indeed be just a new form of Mewtwo instead of a new Pokémon altogether, but personally I don't believe there is enough to confirm without a doubt that it is just that and will wait until it is announced elsewhere that it is a new form, because it seems contradictory to a lot of what has already been revealed about it. I'll go ahead and leave some of the Japanese text I could transcribe from the scans in the comments so, if you happen to know a bit of Japanese, you can take a look at them yourself and give an extra opinion!

    UPDATE: It turns out there was another page I had not yet seen posted at the time of writing this post early in the morning. An additional page does indeed imply that the new form is an "awakened" Mewtwo. It's more of an implication than a strong confirmation, and I would say it is still possible it is a new Pokémon, but it's looking more and more likely that it is just a new form for Mewtwo. Hopefully we will receive more in the way of official confirmation next week sometime.

  • 2013 International Challenge April registration now open!

    Ready for another Wi-Fi tournament for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2? Or are you just unable to make it to this week's Pokémon Regional Championships and itching for a battle? Well, good news, because registration for the 2013 International Challenge April is now open!

    Like last month's 2013 International Challenge March, this tournament takes place on the Pokémon Global Link, so you'll need an account registered there that has been Game Synced to your Pokémon Black 2 or White 2 version. Participation is limited to the first 50,000 registrants, so it's better to register as early as possible to ensure you get a chance to play!

    The tournament itself starts on April 18th at 8:00pm Eastern, 7:00pm Central, 6:00pm Mountain, and 5:00pm Pacific for North American timezones, or 00:00 UTC, Friday, April 19th for everyone else. It's the same time, don't worry! If you want to be sure you know right when it starts, here is a world time calculator that should help. It runs until April 21st (23:59 UTC), giving you a full 72 hours to battle it out online.

    Rules for the tournament are essentially the same as for January and March's challenges, utilizing the Double Battle format, restricting the use of certain Pokémon, items, and moves, and grouping everyone into one of three different age divisions, based on their age.

    Players that have played at least five completed games will enter the rankings for the tournament and will be eligible to receive two special berries — the Salac Berry and Liechi Berry — as a reward. The top 128 ranked players in each age division, for both North America and Europe, will also receive coveted Championship Points, which can help secure an invitation to enter the 2013 Pokémon World Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada!

  • Pokémon Spring Regional Championships coming this weekend!

    The Pokemon Spring Regional Championships are coming up very soon for North America, so in preparation for these events, let's take a look at where they'll be held. The Trading Card Game portion of the Regional Championships takes place on April 13th and April 14th (Saturday and Sunday), while the Video Game (VGC) portion is only on April 14th (Sunday). Keep that in mind while making plans!

    Links to the official details page for each event (and additional relevant links):

    If you're playing in the Trading Card Game...

    The full rules of participating in the Trading Card Game portion of the tournament can be found on the official website, but here are the important things to keep in mind:

    • You must have a modified-legal, 60 card deck, as well as your own dice/coins/damage counters. Modified-legal cards are cards from the Black & White expansion set and all sets past that.
    • You must know your Player ID (POP ID). If you participated in any local Pokemon TCG league or tournament, you should have one if it was sanctioned. Make sure you get it ahead of time to save the organizers trouble.
    • You need to have a deck list filled out containing your deck's contents. You can either fill that out at the event or print it out in advance using a tool like PokeGym's Decklist Creator.
    • It's recommended that you read both the General Event Rules and the TCG Rules and Formats documents.

    Participating players for the Trading Card Game Championships will receive a special Pokémon Regional Championship Series Umbreon card (on a first come, first serve basis, although there's usually plenty).

    If you're playing in the Video Game...

    The full rules of the Video Game event can be found on the official website, but here are the basics:

    • You need to bring your Pokemon Black 2 or Pokemon White 2 version (no older versions are allowed), along with your Nintendo DS, DSi, or 3DS, a charger, and a legal team in your Battle Box.
    • Your team must be a legal team, as defined by the VG Rules and Formats document. In a nutshell, this means no duplicate Pokemon, no duplicate held items, no illegal moves or items, and none of the following Pokemon: Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Chatot, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Meloetta and Genesect. The moves Sky Drop and Dark Void are banned, as is the Soul Dew item.
    • All battles will be in a Double Battle. You'll be able to see your opponent's team before each battle and will then choose four of your Pokemon to battle, so you and your opponent won't know for sure what the other will use.
    • You need to have your team deposited in the Battle Box instead of your party! Do this before the tournament. You can put Pokemon into the Battle Box from Amanita's PC.

    Starting at noon (on Sunday), a special Ludicolo modeled after the 2012 Senior Division World Champion, Toler Webb, will be distributed over Local Wireless at each of the Regional Championships. This Ludicolo has the same ability, nature, and moves as the one Toler used to win the 2012 Pokémon World Championships in his division. You don't have to be entered in the Video Game Championships in order to play and can receive this special gift on Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2.

    I'll be playing at the tournament in Madison, Wisconsin on the 13th and 14th, so who knows, you may just see me there! I assure you that all of the tournaments listed will be fun, even for spectators! There are going to be tons of side events and activities all throughout both days, so you'll have plenty to keep you occupied even if you're just a casual player.

  • New Pokémon in X & Y revealed with connection to Mewtwo!

    Well, the big announcement is finally here, and it appears to confirm the leaked Pokémon movie images showing what appeared to be a new form for Mewtwo. It turns out that it is not a new form of Mewtwo, but from the sounds of it, a new Pokémon altogether!

    The official Pokémon website has unveiled this new Pokémon, taking care not to call it a new form of Mewtwo. Instead, they say things such as "Who is this new Pokémon?" and refer to it in several places as a new Pokémon, all but confirming that it is, indeed, a totally new Pokémon.

    It does not yet have a name, not even in Japanese, but it's likely its name will be revealed soon. Popular fan names for this Pokémon are "Mewthree" and "Newtwo," although these have yet to be confirmed.

    In the meanwhile, here are some screenshots of "Mewthree" (for lack of a better name!) in Pokémon X and Y:

    Here's also another look at its official art:

    That is certainly some pretty big news! It also should help confirm that this new Pokémon will make its appearance in the upcoming Pokémon movie in Japan, as reported in the previous news update.

    What are your thoughts on this new Pokémon? How do you think you will obtain it in Pokémon X and Y? What do you think its name will be? What about its type? Let us know in the comments!

    Update 4/6/13, 9:23pm (Central): Added official Sugimori artwork for the new Pokémon as well as additional high-quality screenshots!