Tag: Pokémon

Gaming, Mobile Games2 Comments

New Shiny Pokémon are Now Live in ‘Pokémon GO’ Halloween Event

Jamal Michel

It’s the most wonderful time of year again, and by that I mean the amazing new shiny Pokémon that come out during Niantic’s Halloween Event for Pokémon GO. This year’s festivities stretch a full two weeks, from today to October 31. Each week is themed after different Halloween related Pokémon affairs, with the first week being “Creepy Companions” and the next, “Ghoulish Pals.” As is the custom for most POGO events, Niantic is highlighting the bond we share with our Pocket Monsters and the good times associated with the season.

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Gaming, Video Games2 Comments

Shiny Zacian and Zamazenta for ‘Pokémon Sword’ and ‘Shield’ Comes with a Twist

Jamal Michel

PokéBeach, the popular fan site and gathering place for all things Pokémon news and rumors, recently announced that GameStop will soon be distributing codes for shiny versions of the legendary Galar Pokémon Zamazenta (Pokémon Shield) and Zacian (Pokémon Sword). Japan and South Korea were the first regions to get their hands on distributions of the shiny Pokémon and now the codes are making their way west. The first distribution, said to be for Zamazenta, will reportedly take place October 22.

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Gaming, Video Games1 Comment

Niantic Responds After Players Boycott ‘Pokémon GO’ Ahead of Significant Changes

Jamal Michel

Pokémon GO, the 2016 mobile game phenomenon that spanned the globe, is currently facing a boycott. Thousands of players, and dozens of high-profile POGO influencers, believe developers are ignoring their concerns over significant quality of life changes in-game. Over the last year, Niantic, the developers of Pokémon GO, have been pivoting and adjusting to pandemic constraints with new changes to gameplay mechanics.

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Gaming, Video Games1 Comment

‘Pokémon UNITE’ Reveals First Major Update

Jamal Michel

The Pokémon MOBA on Nintendo Switch, Pokémon UNITE, is set to receive its first and most impactful update since its release. The game’s official Twitter page tweeted yesterday that the update would be rolling out Wednesday, August 4 12AM PDT/ 7:00 UTC, with significant balancing changes at the heart of the update.

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Streaming, Television1 Comment

Live-Action Pokémon Series in the Works at Netflix

Jamal Michel

Variety broke the exclusive news that Lucifer executive producer Joe Henderson is “attached to write and produce” a live-action Pokémon series for Netflix. Henderson’s current title is that of co-showrunner for Netflix’s Lucifer, as the series reaches its sixth and final season. Sources at Variety also reported that the live-action series is looking to match the same style of Detective Pikachu, the 2019 comedy starring Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds.

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Gaming, Video Games1 Comment

‘Pokémon UNITE’ Official Release Date + New Roster Addition, Zeraora

Jamal Michel

The amazing new multiplayer online battle arena Pokémon UNITE has finally announced its official release date. July 21 the game will be dropping on Nintendo Switch and fans are understandably stoked for the new brawler. With over 20 Pokémon available to choose from, the announcement also came with a new roster addition, the Electric-type Mythical Pokémon Zereora.

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Animation, Gaming

Appreciating the Diversity of Late-Generation ‘Pokémon’

Jamal Michel

When I first caught sight of Pokémon Neo Genesis cards being sold on the Home Shopping Network as a kid, I almost took my mother’s credit card and picked up the phone to put in a few hundred orders. I remember on one such occasion using the spare change from a trip to the gas station to buy a single booster pack. I came home with a gallon of milk and yet another holographic Machamp, all while receiving the admonition I knew was waiting for me at home.

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Gaming, Video Games

More ‘Pokémon UNITE’ Details + Hands-On Gameplay Footage

Jamal Michel

Pokémon UNITE, TiMi Studios and The Pokémon Company’s free-to-play, multiplayer online battle arena video game for Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch, is set to release in July and the details continue to showcase what a unique title it’s set to be. The game’s beta, released in Japan, runs from June 24 to 26 and allows players the opportunity to experiment with the game’s mechanics hands-on.

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Gaming, Video Games1 Comment

‘Pokémon UNITE’ Finally Gets a Release Date As Nintendo Shows Off More In-Game Details

Jamal Michel

A year ago at Pokémon Presents, we got an amazing first-look at a Pokémon themed multiplayer online battle arena, Pokémon UNITE, a MOBA in the same vein as League of Legends and Smite where teams face off against each other for control of various resources over the course of a given match. In Pokémon UNITE, “players will compete in Unite Battles, where they form teams of five and compete against each other to see who can score the most points before time runs out.”

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Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel, Streaming

Hard NOC Life 213: One World, One Dovich (with Desmond Chiam)

Hard NOC Media

Dominic, Jamal, Keith, and Britney analyze the penultimate episode of Disney+’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier with an actual Flagsmasher! Desmond Chiam, who plays Dovich on the series, sits in with the crew to talk about rebellion, revolution, and representation. He also talks about Cap’s shield, an irrational fear of water, and also nerding out on JRPG video games!

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Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies, Streaming, Television

Hard NOC Life 205: Up, Up, and A Witch

Hard NOC Media

Dominic, Keith , and Jamal return to speculate about what the title Spider-Man: No Way Home means for the franchise, break down the role of grief in the latest WandaVision, analyze the news about JJ Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates working on a Superman reboot, the controversy behind The CW’s Superman and Lois, and more!

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Books, Movies5 Comments

Spider-Man, Pokémon, and Star-Crossed Lovers: Mixed Race Characters Take the Lead

Lauren Lola

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the films, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Detective Pikachu, and The Sun Is Also a Star.

Although Loving v. Virginia officially abolished all remaining anti-miscegenation laws in the United States in 1967, it really hasn’t been until recently where the portrayals of mixed race characters and interracial couples on the big screen have improved significantly. Within the last six months alone, several films have had either mixed race characters as the leads or interracial relationships as the central focus. An added dimension to some of them is that apart from some of the characters being of the younger generation, the focus wasn’t on their race(s). That didn’t, however, stop these films from acknowledging their backgrounds. While it’s good that films like Aquaman are out there that get really real about being mixed, not all mixed race protagonists need to go on a journey of self discovery to that extent.

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Movies, Reviews, Video Games

NOC Review: ‘Detective Pikachu’ Falls Short of Being the Very Best

Mike Manalo

Did I like Pokémon: Detective Pikachu? For the most part, yes. Would I recommend this movie to everyone? I don’t know if I can.

To elaborate, growing up, I played Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, and Silver. Then my mom wouldn’t buy me a Game Boy Advance, so I stopped counting after 251, and never played another console Pokémon game thereafter (at least until I became a grown-ass man, got a job, bought a Switch, and started playing Let’s Go Pikachu!). Then naturally the Pokémon Go phase happened, and I got obsessed again. However, as they began expanding the roster of Pokémon beyond the 251 I knew, I was completely lost about what any of the Pokémon that appeared from the Advance generation and up were, and ultimately stopped playing.

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Anime, Movies, Video Games

New Sneak “Pika” at ‘Pokémon: Detective Pikachu’

Mike Manalo

Charizards! Flareons! MEWTWO! Oh my!

A new trailer and poster for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu just hit this morning!

I think I’m officially devoid of any other words for this one folks. Just know I’m all in 1000% for this movie based on what we’ve seen so far!

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Movies, Video Games1 Comment

‘Detective Pikachu’ is on the Case in First Teaser Trailer!

Laura Sirikul

When it was first announced that the world of Pokémon was finally getting a live-action film, fans all over the world of the video game, card game, and animated series were excited at the prospect of seeing their favorites come to life. Pikachu was finally becoming a live action creature, but many wondered… how?

Whoever had to create this live-action world for all of the Pokémon would have to really work closely with Japan’s The Pokémon Company to ensure these iconic characters are detailed for the hardcore fans. Fortunately, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu looks like it just did that.

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Guest Post, Video Games1 Comment

‘Pokémon Go’ and Choosing the Blackest Joy

Guest N.O.C.

by Lauren Bullock | Originally posted at Black Nerd Problems

As you might expect, it begins with a selection of starters: today, do you choose fuming rage, crushing grief, or helpless fear? Perhaps you feel all three. Or none. Being Black in America is not just some game that anyone can control, after all.

As a Black Nerd it’s impossible to ignore that in the same week that we gained Pokémon Go, arguably one of the most anticipated games of the year, we lost Alton Sterling and Philando Castile to police brutality (who in reality are part of an even longer list of murders by the police this week alone). Once again the debates flare up between distraction and self care, between what people “should” be talking about or feeling at any given moment. But if Pokémon taught me anything, it’s that there is always another option than the “starters” you’re given, and sometimes this, too, is its own revolutionary act. I’m talking about allowing ourselves to sometimes choose Black joy. No, the Blackest Joy.

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Gaming, Guest Post, Video Games3 Comments

I Let My Pokémon Down

Guest N.O.C.

by Dave Lee

Pokémon is the shit on many different levels.

First of all, I don’t consider myself a true gamer in the sense that I’m looking for more of an experience and less of a challenge. Also, I don’t have time to be consumed by a game for that long of a time. I’m trying to get that run-through action similar to when you set aside those weekends to binge-watch all of Breaking Bad. Yeah, there’s post-game content, online play, and it’s definitely heads out there on a serious quest for shiny pokémon (#veryrare). But the RPG format provides that one and done feeling.

Also, the game is marketed towards a younger audience. You know what that means to me? I’m not piling on more stress on top of the stress I already face as a dude in his late 20s, still trying to find his way in the world. Just some good ol’ fashioned fun that’s easily accessible, especially for dudes who haven’t been keeping up with the new generation consoles and getting their subscriptions of Gamepro, which doesn’t even exist anymore.

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