Anticipation of what you may ask? Well, my fair reader, let me enlighten you.

For those of you that are unaware, Nintendo has remade the second generation Pokémon games. Originally titled Gold/Silver (and rapidly after, Crystal), these two new titles will be called HeartGold and SoulSilver. While I’m not entirely fond of the title choice, I am absolutely stoked for these titles to be released in America.

What day will that be?

MARCH 14th, 2010!

Now, these games have already seen release in Japan. Reception has been initially positive in Japan; the games sold over two million units in their first six weeks of sales. A Japanese gaming magazine known as Famitsu gave the games a combined score of 37/40 based on four individual ten-point reviews (9, 9, 10, and 9). Each reviewer praised the games for retaining the quality that drew them to the original Gold/Silver. This is high praise, considering Gold/Silver were perhaps the most innovative and well-received of the series. We can only hope America feels the same way.

These two games will retell the story of Johto. The player will start in New Bark Town, as he did in the original Gold/Silver games. However, while the story remains very similar, there are a lot of things that will be changing between the games. I have outlined many of those changes below:

First of all, the characters themselves will be changing. While the original “Gold” remains the male playable character, he has received an updated design. The female character will be known as Lyra.

All of the game’s music has been rearranged to better utilize the DS’s more sophisticated sound systems. (After all, the DS is a far cry away from the Game Boy Color we all grew up with and loved very dearly.) There will be a key obtainable item, however, that will allow the player to switch between the new, updated arrangements of the music and the original chiptune soundtrack. Ambient sound effects will also be much more prominent in these remastered games: players will be treated to the sounds of running water and rustling grasses among others. This should add an entirely new layer of texture and realism to the games.

Many of the Johto region Gyms have been redesigned. This provides new puzzles and challenges for those individuals who played the original Gold/Silver games. While the Leaders themselves remain unchanged, their teams have also been updated in some cases as well as their surroundings.

Perhaps the biggest change in gameplay is a new peripheral called the Pokewalker. This external pedometer-styled device comes packaged with every game. The Pokewalker is shaped like a Pokeball and can communicate with the DS game cartridge through infrared signals (the same technology used in some other current DS titles, such as Personal Trainer: Walking). A single Pokémon can be carried in the Pokewalker at a time. Walking with the Pokewalker will not only increase the Pokémon’s experience and improve its overall attitude toward its trainer, but also provides the player with Watts, a currency for the Pokewalker that can be used to purchase items and catch wild Pokémon.

Similar to what Pikachu did in Pokémon Yellow, all 493 Pokémon have the ability to walk behind the character sprite in-game. While size isn’t necessarily accurate in comparison with the player’s sprite, the player does have the ability to interact with the Pokémon following them by pressing A. When entering battle, the Pokémon following the player will appear from the side of the screen as opposed to from a Pokeball. (Which makes sense, as the Pokémon was obviously not in a Pokeball prior to the start of battle.) Choosing what Pokémon a player wants to follow them is as easy as putting said Pokemon in the lead party slot.

A new sidequest called the Pokethlon makes its appearance in these games. It appears to be HeartGold/SoulSilver’s equivalent of the Contest system in previous games. The Pokethlon pits Pokémon in 10 minigame styled competitions against each other.

Swarm Pokémon are also making a reappearance. Like in the original Gold/Silver games, you can listen to Professor Oak’s radio station daily and he will you when there is a swarm of Pokémon at a particular location. These Pokémon will appear in vast quantities in a particular location for a very short time after Professor Oak’s announcement.

Due to the absence of a VS Seeker, the Pokegear has updated its former “Cell Phone” feature. The new Cell Phone has a limitless call list. Going back to rebattle trainers now depends on the day and time, though. Thus should cause players to plan wisely as well as letting the player interact with these NPCs as though they were more like real individuals by “scheduling” times to battle.

Many Pokémon have received updated, improved, and more well-rounded movesets through breeding. Togepi, for instance, now has the ability to learn Extrasensory through breeding. Breeding has also taken a step up in that specific Individual Values (which is basically a measure of how Pokémon grow in their stats as they evolve) can be passed down through Breeding with the use of certain items.

Commemorative photos can be taken at certain points in the game and viewed later from the Pokegear. While these photos have no real effect on the overall game, they do add a sense of immersion. They’re also sort of a kitschy addition that, while not necessary, I’m still sort of excited for.

Like in Pokémon Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver will allow players to rebattle Gym Leaders. The Gym Leaders will have widely superior teams than in their first battles. The Gym Leaders will be found in the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City after you have scheduled a rematch with them. (Thankfully, they stay there until you’ve beaten them so you don’t have to reschedule if you lose the first rematch.)

I hope this has given you a good sense of what the new Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver will have to offer in the upcoming month. This is not all the information currently available on these spine-tingling new games, but what I’ve covered here I feel to be the most exciting and vital. Now please, try not to drool over the empty “preview boxes” at your local Gamestop.

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10. Beautifly (EX Ruby & Sapphire)

Aside from the cool art common to all holo cards, this card is a pretty decent addition to your deck. To start things off, Beautifly has a Poké-Body called Withering Dust that lets you not apply Resistance as long as Beautifly is in play. Since Resistance reduces the amount of damage you do to an opponent, to be able to simply ignore it is great. Beautifly’s two attacks, Stun Spore and Parallel Gain, aren’t bad either. Stun Spore, just like in the video games, can cause paralysis while Parallel Gain lets you remove 1 damage counter from each of your Pokémon.

9. Plusle (EX Dragon)

As a Pokémon Ranger fan, I obviously have a soft spot for Plusle. But that aside, this card is very good. Plusle’s Poké-Body, Chain of Events, takes full advantage of the new double-battle format introduced to the TCG by the Ruby & Sapphire set by allowing you to use Cheer On, Plusle’s main attack, after your partner attacks (but only once). Cheer On lets you remove one damage counter from each of your Pokémon, which would be a big help to your partner. Plusle’s other attack, Extra Circuit, lets you choose one of the opponent’s Pokémon and do 20 damage to it, or 40 if it’s a Pokémon-ex. Not bad.

8. Team Aqua Technical Machine 01 (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua)

This card is a fairly useful Trainer, though you have to discard it right after using it. It lets you choose one Special Condition to give to the Defending Pokémon. Though you need a Team Aqua Pokémon to attach this card to in order to use it – which means the card can only really be played with other cards from its set – the ability to control statuses is definitely a plus.

7. Ninetales ex (EX Hidden Legends)

Ninetales is usually a good choice, but this Ninetales is a really good choice. Its first attack, Intense Glare, allows you to switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon with one of his or her Active Pokémon (though your opponent gets to choose which one). On top of that, the incoming Pokémon is now Burned and Confused. Nice! Ninetales’s other attack, Fire Blast, requires one fire energy to be discarded, but has a base damage of 100, which is almost unheard of in the TCG. Ninetales’s low one-energy retreat cost is also useful, in case things don’t go your way.

6. Phoebe’s Stadium (EX Power Keepers)

It doesn’t hurt to have a few Stadium Cards in your deck, as they can generally come in useful with their myriad abilities. Phoebe’s Stadium, based around Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four, is no different. It allows you to pay two less energies to retreat Psychic-type Pokémon. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of Psychic-types in Power Keepers to take advantage of this card, but the type makes sense since Phoebe is a Ghost-type trainer in the games, and Ghost-types are usually Psychic-type in the TCG. Plus, any card that makes it easier for you to retreat is worth having.

5. Lunatone (EX Legend Maker)

Lunatone is a highly underused Pokémon. But this Lunatone is a card that could be useful if used right. Its attack Moon Guidance lets you search your deck for a Trainer card and add it to your hand – something that’s always useful. Its second attack, Psyshock, has a chance of paralysis but causes 10 damage regardless, which isn’t too bad for a one-energy attack. Lunatone also has a Poké-Body, Sol Shade, which prevents any fire-types from using Poké-Powers, but you have to also have Solrock in play for it to work.

4. Milotic δ (EX Dragon Frontiers)

EX Delta Species introduced Delta (or δ) Pokémon to the TCG, and this Milotic is one of them. The strangest thing about this Milotic is that it is fire-type (whereas Milotic is water-type in the games). It has an interesting Poké-Power, Sharing, which lets you use the effect of a Supporter card in your opponent’s hand as the effect of the Poké-Power. The difficulty in this is that you wouldn’t know beforehand if your opponent has any Supporter cards in his or her hand, so using the power might end up useless. Unfortunately, these two things are all that makes Milotic δ interesting; its one attack, Flare, takes three energies and only does 60 damage.

3. Gardevoir-ex (EX Sandstorm)

Gardevoir is an interesting Pokémon that doesn’t seem to be seeing much use in the TCG yet, as far as I know. This particular Gardevoir has a couple attacks that make it worth using. Its first attack, Feedback, lets you put damage counters on your opponent’s Active Pokémon equal to the number of cards in your opponent’s hand. This is a nice revenge move if your opponent has a full hand or has just used some card like a Professor card or Gambler which lets him or her draw a bunch of cards. Gardevoir’s second attack, Psystorm, requires four energies but does 10 damage times the total amount of energy attached to all Pokémon in play. If either you or your opponent is playing an energy-heavy game, this attack could hit for a lot.

2. Latios ☆ (EX Deoxys)

You can only have one ☆ (Shiny Rare Holo) Pokémon in a deck, so if you need one, check out this Latios. Its first attack, Miraculous Light, does 10 damage and lets you remove one damage counter and all Special Conditions from Latios. This could be really useful in a pinch, especially since this Latios only has 80 HP. Its second attack, Shining Star, normally does 50 damage, but can do 150 damage if the Defending Pokémon is a Stage 2 Pokémon – though you have to discard all of Latios’s energy cards to do it, so it’s probably best as a hit-and-run tactic.

1.Mew ex (EX Holon Phantoms)

Who doesn’t like a good Mew in their deck? Mew is hard to come by in the TCG – generally only being released as promos and the like – so the chance for one in a normal deck is awesome. This Mew’s not bad on its own either. Its Poké-Power, Psychic Vision, lets you look at your opponent’s hand if Mew ex is on your Bench. This is a good set-up move for the Pokémon actually fighting, since it would attack after Mew uses its Poké-Power. Mew also has an attack called Devo Crush, which lets you force your opponent to remove the highest Evolution card on his or her Active Pokémon and put it back in his or her deck – and does 50 damage besides. Not too shabby. Mew’s regular attack, the 30-damage Super Psy Bolt, isn’t bad either.

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Thanks for reading my list this month! Next month, I’m going to take a look at the new HeartGold and SoulSilver TCG expansions in honor of the North American release of HeartGold and SoulSilver for the DS. ‘Til then, keep collecting!

The latest CoroCoro officially revealed the first generation 5 pokémon. Zoroark (left) and its pre-evolution Zoroa (right) are dark type. The 13th movie title, originally “The Ruler of Illusion: Z” has been updated to include the newly announced pokémon, to “The Ruler of Illusion: Zoroark.” More information is set to be unveiled in the next issue of CoroCoro, if not sooner on the Pokémon Sunday television program.

Direct Download Link:

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

[Pokemon of Japan]

[Bulbapedia]

View the very first appearance of Gary using the new episode database!

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!

The new layout.

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.

Up first is Gary. Possibly the most common on the forum. These guys play only to battle people on Wi-Fi. Their greatest joy is seeing their perfect IV Scizor sweep a team. They scoff at Ash and Brock, and cannot understand the concept of casual game play. Not that this means these users are mean or anything: they just think the game is made for competition. In fact, these users can be some of the nicest guys on the forum. They can be found hatching million eggs, or resetting for that perfect IV against a legendary Pokémon, or if they are not doing that, they can be seen EV training that one Pokémon they like.

A few examples of these guys on our forum are Starship Pain, Deztroya, and Picklesword. Smogon perhaps is the best example of a Gary-nest out of countless other sites out there.

Then we have Brock, who is somewhere in the middle. These guys battle to find interactions between Pokémon. They like to see that NU team win against an OU team. Their greatest joy is seeing that one team win after countless losses. Even if they lose 300 out of 340 times, the 40 times their team won makes all the loses worth it. These guys are engineers, always looking to progress the game. They don’t battle to win. Rather, they battle to have fun. These guys can be seen making up new movesets, catching new Pokémon, and talking about their new team with their friends.

A few examples of Brocks on our forum are (but not limited to) MeowthMix, Mister Mauer, and MCPuppeteer. Serebii is the best place to find Brocks, out of countless other sites out there.

Ash is the guy who bought the game to beat the storyline, to beat the contests, then to catch them all! They play because Pokémon is fun, not because they want to battle competitively. They like to use their favorite Pokémon, no matter how “stupid” it is to use them competitively. Seeing their Kecleon beat Cynthia’s Milotic fills them with joy only rivaled by that same Kecleon beating a contest or two.

A few examples of Ashes on our forum are HighMadameShmoo, Mira, and Reigning Dragoness. The Pallet Tribune, to some degrees, contains a large number of Ashes, but to this day there has not been a Pokémon community solely dedicated to noncompetitive playing.

And the categorization ends here. All three player profiles are unique in their own merit, and none can be ranked higher than others. What about you, TPT? Are you Ash? Gray? Brock? Maybe you are all three at the same time! No matter what you are, don’t forget to have fun playing the game, and moreover, know that there’s always room for more diversity!

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.

9. Pokémon Cards Holiday Bag
Pokeorder.com features this holiday set, which retails for $49.99. It contains 5 different booster packs, 1 holo pack, 1 Pokémon grab bag, 1 deck box, and 50 card sleeves. All of this comes in a nice holiday-themed bag. I’m not exactly sure why this retails for the amount it does, but you do get quite a lot of stuff for the money, especially considering that just the “grab bag” by itself (containing 75 cards) runs for $29.99.

8. Pokémon Advent Calendar
This item was released in October 2008. It contains a set of 24 cards from several Diamond and Pearl expansions, each with special foil stamps of snowflakes on them. It also contains one regular Diamond and Pearl booster pack and a base of some sort for the cards. The promo cards include Abomasnow, Stunky, Plant Cloak Burmy, Chingling, Glaceon, Munchlax, and the Sinnoh starters. I’m not sure if you can find it in stores, but it retailed at theintoy.com for “from £14.67” (about $24 at current exchange rates); however, it is now out of stock.

7. Regigigas Colossal Box
This was released in February 2009, probably as a promotion for the Regigigas giveaway at ToysRUs the following month. It contains the usual promo card of the featured Pokémon common to the special boxes in both a playable and a jumbo size. This box also includes 2 Diamond and Pearl booster packs and 3 Platinum booster packs. This appears to be the first special box set to feature Platinum expansion cards. It retails for £18.15 (about $30) on Amazon UK.

6. Classic Trio Sets
This trio of Pokémon TCG tins was released in conjunction with the release of Diamond and Pearl. The tins feature the three Sinnoh starters – Turtwig, Piplup, and Chimchar–respectively. They have a slightly different shape and design than other collector’s tins, being larger and less rectangular. The sets include holographic reprint cards of their featured starters, two booster packs of late-released cards from the EX series, and one Diamond and Pearl booster pack. They retail for $10 or so.

5. Giratina and the Sky Warrior Collector Tins
These TCG tins were released in Spring 2009, in conjunction with the U.S. debut of Giratina and the Sky Warrior, the 11th Pokémon movie. There are three of these tins, featuring Dialga, Origin Forme Giratina and Sky Forme Shaymin respectively. They each contain a Lv. X promo card of their featured Pokémon and two booster packs apiece from the Diamond and Pearl and Platinum sets. They were originally supposed to also include a Trading Figure Game figure, but this idea was dropped when the TFG was discontinued. A set of all three tins retails for $36.86 on Amazon, so the tins probably retail for about $10 individually.

4. Darkrai Premium Box
This large box set features, among other things, the Darkrai card that made #8 on my promo card list. The box includes the card in its playable size as well as a jumbo size, as is customary for the premium boxes. The jumbo Darkrai card was the first jumbo card to be released since the jumbo Shadow Lugia card. Aside from the Darkrai cards, the box includes one EX Crystal Guardians booster pack, one EX Dragon Frontiers booster pack, and one Diamond and Pearl series theme deck. This box retails for $29.99. You can find it online or at Target.

3. Arceus Poster Pack
Released on November 4, 2009, this special box set is the first box set released for the newest TCG expansion, Platinum: Arceus. It features an Arceus promo card (from the DP Black Star promos) that is level 100 and has the attack Judgment. It also contains 2 booster packs apiece from the Platinum: Arceus expansion and the POP Series 9 expansion, which contains cards originally released at special Pokémon Organized Play events. You can find it in stores such as Target and ToysRUs for $11.99.

2. TCG Puzzles
Looking for a nice free gift to send someone over the web this year? Then give them a fun re-playable gift by sending them a free TCG-related puzzle this holiday. You can find these available for download at go-pokemon.com in the “Fun Stuff” section. The currently featured ones are from the Platinum expansion, but they have ones archived going back to the EX Dragon Frontiers expansion.

1. Platinum Arceus Collector’s Tin
Due to release December 16th – just in time for Christmas – this tin is the first collector’s tin from the new Platinum: Arceus TCG expansion. It contains 4 booster packs from this new expansion along with a special foil Arceus Lv. X card (there are 3 different ones in the expansion set) in a tin with a nice display window for you to display your favorite card. The tin itself features Arceus on the front in all its glory. Since there are no restrictions on how many Arceus cards you can have in your deck, this tin can be the start of a super-powerful all-Arceus deck that will provide quite the challenge for your opponents. I do not know what stores will sell it for; prices are varied on those online retailers who have it.

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In conclusion, these 10 gifts will surely bring a smile to any Pokémon fan’s face for the holiday season. Except for #9, none of them are very expensive either – an important consideration in these tough economic times. So go out there and bring some cheer to the holiday with these great gifts. Have a happy holiday season – no matter what holiday you celebrate – and keep collecting!

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