KC and Jowy are back to catch up on some news and for our main topic, discuss banned episodes of the anime.

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WTPT – Banned Episodes

The Pokémon Company has announced that they will be revealing a new Pokemon RPG in the February 2010 edition of CoroCoro Comics (think Shonen Jump).

For now, we can only speculate as to whether this is the upcoming Fifth Generation or not, though there was some mention of “a rebirth” and “new Pokémon”. The only non-ambiguous details we have about this game is that it’s an RPG and that it will be released (in Japan) this year. Thank you, Google Translate.

Since the Mystery Dungeon series is also technically an RPG, there is the slight possibility that the announcement will be an expansion to that game-line. Then again, the developer on the main site is stated to be GameFreak, and they usually work exclusively on the main-line Pokémon games.

Let’s just hope that this announcement will lead to some interesting results

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Nintendo just recently released a brand new version of the Official Pokémon Website, and the updated site boasts lots of new features. One of which, is the ability to stream a hefty amount of anime episodes that previously aired on television. That’s right folks, no more having to wait for each episode to air on Cartoon Network. Now you can watch all of your Pokémon favorites whenever you want. The episodes are being added gradually (3 or 4 every couple of days), but the collection is definitely going to become larger.

Another cool new feature that was included in this huge upgrade is the introduction of the Pokémon Trainer Club, which is the equivalent to the Daisuki Club in Japan. My Pokémon accounts have now been replaced by Pokémon Trainer Club accounts, which can be used to participate in the Organized Play portion of the site along with a few other interactive aspects.

Speaking of which, Organized Play has now been split into two categories: TCG and Video Game. This club is also responsible for many events in the past years in which players could obtain exclusive Pokémon.  As one of its first events, the Pokémon Trainer Club has announced that they will be hosting the “Special Colored Pichu” event at GameStop from January 30th to February 14th.

The website has also been updated with all of the new Heart Gold/Soul Silver artwork, a complete TCG database of the trading cards, and loads of new mini-games to play. More additions to the site can be expected to arrive soon, but if you haven’t already checked it out, it’s definitely worth a visit!

It has been three years since Pokémon Diamond was released in the States, and in those three years, we have seen a wide variety of players. Now, generalization is bad, but out of those wide varieties of players, all of them fit either of these three categories: overly competitive, overly aggressive players, lax players that played for social interaction, and players that played to catch them all, or players that played just because they like the game. However, calling, say, the first type, “overly competitive player” is too tiring and boring, is it not?

Therefore, we will name the three stereotypes. We will name the first stereotype, competitive battler, Gary. We will name Mr. Social interaction Brock, and Mr. Catch ‘em all Ash. This article will talk extensively about those three characters, give some examples, and maybe see what makes them tick.

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The holidays have come and gone, leaving trails of gift wrap and discarded eggnog in their wake. However, though the season of giving is behind us, it’s never too late to be thinking about next year, and Pokémon gifts are always a great gift option, even TCG-related gifts. Here is my list of the top 10 TCG-related holiday gifts to consider for next year.

10. Theme Decks
Theme decks have been coming out since there has been a Pokémon TCG. The first was the 2 Player Starter Set in 1998. Theme decks usually contain cards from one or two energy types, along with the other essentials for playing the game (coin, play mat, etc), and run about $10 or so. The themes differ depending on the deck, but they usually have something to do with the energy type or types of the cards in the deck. They also usually include one holo card, like Machamp in the 2 Player Starter Set and Vaporeon in the Water Blast theme deck. You can find these decks online or at stores that sell Pokémon cards, like card stores or even Target, Wal-Mart, and ToysRUs. (more)

This is what happens when you forget to put the fire out before you go to sleep on Christmas eve.

In a special video episode, KC and Jowy go over a few ways to make Pokémon themed Christmas ornaments. Happy holidays from all of us at The Pallet Tribune! You can find the episode on iTunes or save the m4v by right clicking here. You may need to install Quicktime to view it.

KC and Jowy go in depth and review Pokémon Rumble, the new WiiWare game. Stay tuned for a Forum Focus segment at the end of the show!

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WTPT – Pokemon Rumble

In my long history of working with Pokémon music, one of the most frustrating obstacles I’ve run into is not a lack of source material, but a lack of commercial availability. For every song that is available on CD or as a digital download, it seems like there is another not available for purchase. Between movies 4-6 and 8-12 (you may recall that “This Side of Paradise” from movie 7 actually is available on the 4Kids music collection, and is therefore ineligible for this list), as well as the TV show and games such as Pokémon Channel, there is enough music for roughly two to three albums.

Now, I’m not naïve-knowing what I do about the music industry, there are very likely financial, legal, and possibly even technical hurdles to releasing some of these songs, so I’m not trying to blame or vilify The Pokémon Company International (or anyone else in particular). Instead, I’m making a list (a wish list, perhaps) of the ten songs I’d like to see up for consideration the next time a US Pokémon album is being made. To be fair, this was a really hard list to make, and I had to pull from the list of songs I was familiar with and could review easily, so some songs you might have expected (like that one from “Do I Hear a Ralts?” everyone keeps talking about) might be missing from this list: (more)

Jowy and KC discuss all the ins and outs of capturing Pokémon; from the different types of PokéBalls, to the complex algorithms that decide if your catch is successful.

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WTPT – Art of the Capture