Black Friday Weekend 2019 Pokemon Deals: Sword & Shield Bundle, Let's Go Games, And More

Black Friday has a ton of deals across of variety of games, and you expect some great Pokemon deals as well. Deals on the latest Pokemon games are scarce (and involve having to get both), but when it comes to just about everything else, there are some pretty good discounts to get in on.

While the latest entries in the series, Pokemon Sword and Shield, may have only just launched on Nintendo Switch this month, you can already find a good price already--if you're willing to get both. Google Shopping has a deal in which you can get both Pokemon Sword and Shield for $81 (enter coupon code 19CYBER12 at checkout). There are some individual and console bundle deals going around, but those are mostly gone for the weekend. It might be worth it to keep an eye on the listings, though, just in case stock gets refreshed for Cyber Monday 2019.

Some older Pokemon games are also on sale ahead of Black Friday. You can pick up last year's Switch Pokemon titles, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, for $43 each at Amazon, while Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon for 3DS are $23.09. And if you're in the market for a Poke Ball Plus, the accessory will be on sale for only $20 at various retailers as part of Nintendo's official Black Friday sale.

Those are just a few of the good Pokemon deals we've seen ahead of Black Friday 2019; we've rounded up even more below. Plus, check out more of this year's best Black Friday deals across gaming, tech, and entertainment.

Best Pokemon game deals Pokemon Sword and Shield (Switch) Pokemon Sword & Shield | $48 ($60) - sold out

The first Gen 8 Pokemon games take players to Galar, a picturesque region that's home to a variety of new and familiar Pokemon to catch and raise. While the games don't stray very far from the series' established formula, Sword and Shield introduce a handful of new features to help keep the experience fresh, including the Wild Area, an open-world locale where some incredibly strong Pokemon roam about. There are also some new battle mechanics to master like Dynamaxing, which temporarily supersizes a Pokemon during battle.

Right now, the best deal on Pokemon Sword and Shield is sold out. If the deal happens to be back in stock, however, you can get a brand-new copy for $48 with free shipping as part of the Ebay's Black Friday sale.

Nintendo Switch Lite bundle with Pokemon Sword Nintendo Switch Lite + Pokemon Sword Bundle | $230 ($260) - sold out

Nintendo's portable-focused Switch Lite runs for $200 by itself, but you can get it along with a copy of Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield right now for $230--a $30 savings. You'll want to act soon if you're interested, as quantities are likely limited and probably won't last long.

Pokemon Sword and Shield (Switch) Pokemon Sword + Pokemon Shield | $81 ($120)

If you're not sure which new Pokemon game to pick up, you can get a copy of both Pokemon Sword and Shield at a nice discount with this bundle on Google Shopping. While this offer doesn't feature the steelbook double pack, it does get you both games for $101 ($19 less than they would normally cost if you purchased them together), and you can drop that down even further to $81 (plus tax) with the promo code promo code NOVSAVE19--an excellent price for two titles.

Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu (Switch) Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu & Eevee | $43 ($60)

While Sword and Shield take place in an entirely new region, last year's Pokemon games, Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee, instead reimagine the classic Pokemon Yellow version. The titles take players back to Kanto, the setting of the original Pokemon games, where you'll encounter the original 150 Pokemon and do battle against classic Gym Leaders like Brock and Misty. The games also take some influence from Pokemon Go, namely in terms of how you catch Pokemon; instead of battling wild monsters, you capture them by swinging your Joy-Con at the right time. Having a save file of the Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee gets you a free bonus in Pokemon Sword and Shield, as long as you claim it early.

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon (3DS) Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | $25 ($40)

The final mainline Pokemon games to hit the 3DS, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are at their core upgraded versions of 2016's Sun and Moon versions. While the basic storyline generally remains the same, the Ultra games expand the narrative with a new subplot focusing on the Legendary Pokemon Necrozma. A new organization called the Ultra Recon Squad also figures into the story, and there are several new Ultra Beasts to catch as well. Best Buy has them on sale for $25 each for Black Friday.

Poke Ball Plus Poke Ball Plus | $20 ($50) - sold out

Released alongside Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, the Poke Ball Plus is a Poke Ball-shaped accessory that works much like a Joy-Con. The controller is also compatible with the newly released Pokemon Sword and Shield, and it lets you take one of your Pokemon out with you on a walk and earn rewards. On top of that, each Poke Ball Plus comes with Mew as an added bonus, making it the only way you can obtain the Mythical Pokemon in Let's Go or Sword and Shield so far. The accessory normally runs for $50, but Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Amazon will all have it for only $20 during Black Friday.

PowerA Pokemon Nintendo Switch Controller PowerA Wired Pokemon Nintendo Switch controller | $15 ($25)

PowerA's wired Switch game pads may lack some of the features found in Nintendo's official Switch Pro controller, but they're a good budget-conscious alternative, and they come in an array of different designs, including one featuring Pokemon's adorable mascot, Pikachu. You can grab this eye-catching controller at Best Buy for only $15 on Black Friday, down from its normal price of $25. Other PowerA controllers based on Zelda, Mario, and more will also be on sale; you can check those out in our roundup of Best Buy Black Friday deals.

Best Pokemon collectible deals

Pokemon Adventures manga set Pokemon Adventures manga box set | $24.74 ($55)

The Pokemon Adventures manga has been around since the earliest days of the series, continuing to this day. This box set includes the first seven volumes of the series. Volumes 1-3 follow the story of Red as he journeys around Kanto on a quest to become Pokemon League Champion, while volumes 4-7 take place two years later and star a new protagonist, the titular Yellow and her Pikachu.

Pokemon TCG Sun & Moon: Cosmic Eclipse Elite Trainer Box Pokemon TCG Sun & Moon: Cosmic Eclipse Elite Trainer Box | $40 ($50)

Walmart is offering a handful of deals on various Pokemon Trading Card Game box sets ahead of Black Friday, including this Elite Trainer Box for the series' recent Sun & Moon: Cosmic Eclipse expansion. The box includes eight Cosmic Eclipse booster packs, as well as a bunch of Energy cards, 65 card sleeves (featuring Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus), dice, game markers, and more. It also comes with a guide that teaches you some helpful strategies. If you're looking for other Pokemon TCG gifts, be sure to also consider the Unified Minds Elite Trainer Box and Detective Pikachu Greninja-GX Case File. It's currently sold out at Walmart, but you can still get it at Best Buy for $40.

Mega Construx Pokemon: Jumbo Pikachu figure Mega Construx Pokemon: Jumbo Pikachu | $24.97 ($50) - sold out

If you're looking for a gift for the younger Pokemon fans in your life, Walmart is offering this buildable Mega Construx Pikachu figure (normally priced at $50) for only $24.97 ahead of Black Friday. The figure stands at 12 inches tall when constructed and has articulated arms, legs, ears, and tail, letting you pose it however you like. The deal's sold out at Walmart, but if you're still dead-set on getting it, Target it has it for a much steeper $50.

More Black Friday 2019 Deals

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Get Pokemon Sword and Mario Kart 8 for just £20 with this Nintendo Switch Bundle

Black Friday 2019 is almost upon us, which means the deals are only getting sweeter and sweeter – and this Nintendo Switch deal with Pokemon Sword and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is no exception. 

Very.co.uk is offering the Nintendo Switch Neon Console with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Pokemon Sword (sorry Shield fans) for a barnstorming £299, equalling a saving of roughly £60. In the Pokemon world, they'd call this a pretty good catch. 

This bundle includes the new and improved version of Nintendo's hybrid console – sporting a vastly improved battery life which lasts between 6 – 8 hours depending on what you're playing. It's a huge improvement compared to the launch model, especially if you're a lover of playing in handheld mode. 

I've been perusing an endless range of Nintendo Switch bundles in the run-up to Black Friday and this is definitely the best I've seen so far, offering a duo of games which you can play perfectly both alone and with friends. Let's delve into exactly why these titles are so good. 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a port of the Wii U iteration complete with a range of new bells and whistles. New characters such as King Boo and the Inklings improve an already fantastic roster, with all previously released downloadable content available as part of the package. 

'After Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the next Nintendo Switch must-buy. It's the best the series has ever been, offering one definitive package. With the glorious return of Battle Mode, improved visuals and more content than ever before coupled with more ways to play it than ever thanks to the Nintendo Switch, I don't think fans could ask for much more,' reads our 5/5 review.

Pokemon Sword is an equally fantastic experience, cementing itself as a worthwhile new entry in Game Freak's beloved RPG franchise. Taking players to the UK-inspired region of Galar, you'll encounter a variety of new Pokemon, trainers and locations on your journey to becoming a Master.

Black Friday is only just getting started, so be sure to stay updated by checking out our list of Best Nintendo Switch Deals which we'll be updating frequently over the coming days with all the latest and greatest bargains. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to catch 'em all.

If you want to be up to date with the latest deals over Black Friday, follow us @TrustedDealsUK

We may earn a commission if you click a deal and buy an item. That's why we want to make sure you're well-informed and happy with your purchase, so that you'll continue to rely on us for your buying advice needs.

Games Writer

Jade is the dedicated games writer at Trusted Reviews. She handles all things gaming whether it be news, reviews, events or silly features. Seen at outlets such as MTV UK, Kotaku and Trusted Reviews (…

Unlike other sites, we thoroughly review everything we recommend, using industry standard tests to evaluate products. We'll always tell you what we find. We may get a commission if you buy via our price links. Tell us what you think – email the Editor

How Pokémon fever has gripped the world, connecting people of all ages

[unable to retrieve full-text content]I remember playing out in the back garden when I was six years old, armed with nothing more than a plastic bucket and spade. I had recruited several fellow aspiring Pokémon masters in the vicinity, ...

Pokémon Sword and Shield show the turbulent road to Internet and esports stardom

Back in the real world, the younger generation wants to be famous on YouTube when they grow up instead of astronauts. More and more, kids are looking up to streamers and esports heroes, or dreaming of going pro themselves. Sword and Shield are windows into that world: You’re an athlete at the top of your game, but you’re also saddled with all the attendant stress and uncertainty.

Game Freak itself has stated that examining sports culture was the team’s intent.

“In the UK, which serves as the inspiration for [Sword and Shield’s setting] the Galar region, sports like soccer and rugby are very popular and players compete to become the very best and lead their team to winning championships,” said game director Shigeru Ohmori in an interview on Pokémon’s official website. “This kind of sports journey is also a very popular genre in Japanese manga and anime, and we’re taking a similar approach with the story for these games.”

Sword and Shield have similarities to traditional sports, but it expands to esports, too, especially because of the young age group that defines Pokémon trainers: It’s a world that puts child athletes on a pedestal. And along with that spotlight can come pressure, stress and toxicity.

For real-life Pokémon competitors Aaron Zheng and Wolfe Glick, the game reflects their own esports journeys in several ways. Zheng, who began competing at 10 years old, and Glick who started as a freshman in high school, have both found huge success in Pokémon tournaments. Glick won the Pokémon World Championships in 2016, and Zheng has won numerous regional and national championships. Having both played Sword, they connected to its themes of esports culture.

“I think this game is kind of unique because in the previous games, they always have like the Elite Four [the four rivals you normally have to beat], which has been a staple in the games," Zheng said. "But in this game, it was a little bit different where it’s a tournament. And it reminded me a lot of the [Pokémon] World Championships, where they call it the semifinals, and then the finals, and then you go up against the champion. And that was really cool.”

For Glick, it wasn’t just themes and narrative that paralleled his real-life experience of playing Pokémon competitively. It was also meaningful to him that Game Freak put more emphasis on mechanics and items that are significant for competitive play. Combining all these elements, he said, feels like a perfect unison.

“Something I thought was really, really, really cool about these games is that for a really long time, Pokémon never really acknowledged the competitive scene [in-game]," Glick said. "Pokémon would never make any allusions to that. It just felt like it really wasn’t a priority; that Pokémon was for the main game and the competitive scene was an afterthought. But this was the first game for me that felt very different in a lot of ways.”

In Sword and Shield, the player is made to feel like a star not just through your accomplishments, but in how the world treats you. With each battle you win, your fame grows astronomically. You stay in swanky hotels, go to extravagant dinners with the chairman of the league and get interviewed about your stardom from reporters who aim TV cameras at your face. Your fans, many of them children themselves, debate and criticize your strategies as you walk past, or tell you that they want to be just like you one day. This all begins, however, to feel like an insular world: Everywhere you turn, characters are talking about you, the championship and who they want to see triumph. That insular feeling can feel suffocating.

You’re a kid. Your character doesn’t have much of a voice â€" literally â€" outside of the rare moments where you can choose a line of dialogue. This adds to the feeling that you don’t have a choice or a say in whether you actually want to be a Pokémon master at all. It doesn’t matter. It’s expected of you.

And your pursuit can leave you feeling isolated. Your best friend Hop, for example, consistently puts your friendship second and the championship first. As the story progresses, Hop’s wavering self-esteem turns into more of a nervous breakdown. He is, after all, in the same predicament, and his brother is a Pokémon champion. It’s in his blood. If he isn’t the very best trainer, then what is he? Who is he?

Mental health problems have become prevalent in esports. In 2018, Justin “Plup” McGrath had a panic attack in front of millions. He came in third place in a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament at the Evolution Championship Series, the world’s biggest fighting game tournament. Afterward, McGrath took to Twitter to explain that he had experienced his first-ever panic attack and candidly said that his anxiety had him worried about future tournament appearances.

Top esports players are no strangers to long hours beyond a standard 9-5 workweek. Given the high-stakes pressure to perform, many burn out in their 20s.

Zheng is working on his undergraduate degree at Columbia University, and Glick is a full-time consultant, so they both compete in Pokémon on a part-time basis and as a hobby. But even without the same intensity that pro players in esports leagues experience, Zheng and Glick say mental health and balance are a necessity. And it’s not always easy, especially when they both have large followings (Zheng has 74,000 subscribers on YouTube, and Glick has 69,000).

“I think Wolfe and I have been playing for a very long time, and we’ve absolutely felt either burnt out or pressure, because I think as two of the more public figures in the community, you know, whenever you do well, it’s celebrated by a lot of people,” Zheng said. “And the more in the public eye you are, the more often you’re criticized, the more people talk about your performances. That can be kind of rough.”

Because of burnout, Zheng transitioned out of competing in recent years and into casting for the Pokémon Company International.

“I’d gone to a bunch of international events and I really didn’t do very well,” he said. “And that kind of led me to reevaluate everything. I asked myself why I was competing, and what my priorities were.”

Sword and Shield don’t exactly delve into mental health in an in-depth manner, but it’s subtly touched upon. Halfway through the game, Hop has a breakdown and feels inadequate because his skills aren’t where he wants them to be. His character arc never fully resolves these issues, which is a shame, but it’s fascinating to see a series that’s generally been apolitical touch upon the subject at all.

“It’s crazy, the mental pressure you have to deal with, not only when you’re playing, but from all the fans and all the criticism that you get as well," Zheng said. "So it absolutely exists in our scene as well, even though it’s a little bit smaller. I think just the pressure of wanting to do well yourself is already enough.”

Being in the spotlight can be polarizing and add complications, especially when a fan base resorts to harmful behavior. Sword and Shield’s story has a version of a toxic fan base called Team Yell. Team Yell’s attempts to stop you are childish and, at worst, frustrating, but it has a similar anatomy of an Internet mob. Its members see their favorite trainer, Marnie, as an untouchable luminary. Their admiration twists into overzealous obsession: From their point of view, she’s the justification for their wrongdoing, and she herself can do no wrong.

Internet toxicity can have serious ramifications. When Toronto-based culture writer Wanna Thompson criticized Nicki Minaj’s music on Twitter last year, for example, she was harassed by an army of superfans who insulted, degraded and threatened her on various platforms. Of course, we don’t see anything nearly as drastic in Sword and Shield. It’s a Pokémon game, after all, but it has fascinating themes relating to the topic.

Glick has faced similar harassment depending on his performance in competitions.

“Our community can be really critical, because Pokémon is a game where someone can win and maybe it’s not as always clear like how high their skill is,” Glick said. “There’s a lot of just general bitterness within the community. There’s a lot of mockery and a lot of trying to tear other people down. So that in particular is taking a toll on me recently because I’ve been the subject of some of that."

Sword and Shield’s themes of sports culture and Internet toxicity bring a welcome change of pace to the story and overall feel of the game, and while they’re not deep enough to truly be a statement, the fact that they exist sparks excitement for the series’s future.

“I love the game,” Glick said. “I think this is the most fun I’ve had playing through a Pokémon game just casually in a long time. It might be my favorite one ever, honestly."

Nearing the end of my play-through of Shield, I entered the final gym and thought about the culmination of these themes: Team Yell’s toxicity and what it means for Marnie, Hop’s breakdown and what his future would hold, and the pressure facing my own character as a child athlete. I was going to make it. I was going to be the very best. But I couldn’t overlook all my character had endured to reach the top. As Glick and Zheng know, the costs of the climb are very real.

Mewtwo Comes to Pokemon Masters in Game’s First Legendary Event

To the presumed delight of those still playing Pokemon Masters, which I had to quit because the grind was simply too much to take, the sync pair of Mewtwo and Giovanni is coming in the game's first Legendary Pokemon event.

Not only will you be able to go up against Mewtwo, but you'll have the ability to add the pair to your own team.

Additionally announced by the team behind the game in a recent video, other new sync pairs are coming to the game, a few special holiday-themed outfits are planned for December, and details for what's to arrive in early 2020 are also discussed.

If you don't want to watch the entire video, which wouldn't shock me unless you really love this game, here's the overview you need to know.

Mewtwo & Giovanni come to Pasio: In the game's first-ever Legendary Pokémon event, players will be able to battle against the formidable sync pair of Mewtwo & Giovanni. More importantly, they'll even be able to add this duo to their teams.

New sync pairs coming to the game: sync pairs like Grimsley & Liepard, Lance & Dragonite, Cynthia & Garchomp will all be coming to the game in the future. Festive versions of Rosa & Delibird and Siebold & Octillery in their holiday outfits will also be available in mid-December.

Game updates coming in early 2020: new features that allow players to train sync pairs in a more personal way, along with a new single-player mode that focuses on different types and roles of sync pairs, will be coming in early 2020.

Good luck with the Mewtwo battle.

Google Play Link

I accidentally used my Master Ball on Bunnelby, and now it’s my best friend

The Master Ball has been one of the most coveted items in Pokémon since the first game. It's the Poké Ball that never fails to catch wild Pokémon, and typically, you only get one. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, it's Professor Magnolia who gives you a Master Ball after you've become the new, reigning champion of the Galar region. She'll show up at your home when you're visiting your mum and hand over the pink and purple Master Ball.

It's a tool to catch only the most precious Pokémon, like one of Sword and Shield's Legendary Pokémon. Or even a Dragapult, if I ran into one. Or maybe a Shiny Pokémon. The Master Ball is meant for a Pokémon that's both rare or hard to catch — a Pokémon I may never encounter again.

And so I stashed it away and headed back into Sword and Shield's Wild Area to continue filling out my living Pokédex, a collection of each and every Pokémon in the game. The first Pokémon I came across was a Bunnelby, a normal-type Pokémon that's not quite a normal bunny, but might as well be. I don't want to call Bunnelby a garbage Pokémon, but... it's a garbage Pokémon — and oops! Now it's locked within my Master Ball. Yes, I accidentally used my Master Ball to catch a Bunnelby.

Ha ha... Game Freak, The Pokémon Company/Nintendo via Polygon

Here's how it happened, and how you can learn from my mistakes:

I whittled Bunnelby's health down to almost nothing and threw a regular Poké Ball at it. It broke free. In Sword and Shield, you can easily scroll through your Poké Balls without opening you bag by hitting X. From there, you can choose from your available Poké Balls quickly. It happened so fast. I was scrolling through Poké Balls and instinctively hit A over the Master Ball. The second that button push registered, I knew I had made a mistake. My Master Ball was gone. Now I am the mother to a dumb, grey rabbit whose ears are also hands.

My first instinct was to find The Ball Guy, a Poké Ball enthusiast who hands out Poké Balls at Pokémon League matches, and ask him what to do. Unfortunately, he didn't answer with anything particularly useful — something like, "I'm the Ball Guy!"

I ran back to my home in Postwich in search of Professor Magnolia. I checked my house to see if she was still there. She was not. Instead, I got wrecked by my mom: "The Master Ball's guaranteed to catch any Pokémon in one try, right?" she asked. "I bet you'll run into a Pokémon that'll deserve such an amazing Poké Ball one of these days!"

Mom... Game Freak, The Pokémon Company/Nintendo via Polygon

I messaged my co-worker Julia Lee and she offered one perspective: "I'm sorry for laughing, this is horrible." And then, another, which I've repeated to myself each night in hopes I will one day believe it. "This is a very special Bunnelby now, a reminder of hubris."

For most of Sword and Shield's post-game story, I stuffed Bunnelby in a box in hopes I'd forget about it. The pain of my mother's comments just stung way too much. I kept it there until I finished the rest of the story and caught the Legendary Pokémon I had originally intended to use the Master Ball on — Zamazenta, a fighting- and steel-type puppy dog who is perfect in every way — with an Ultra Ball.

I've since retrieved Bunnelby from its punishment box. After all, it's not its fault I'm a big dummy. Or that there are tons of other Pokémon better than it. My Bunnelby is a reminder of how far I've come (I've got a Master Ball!) and how far I need to go (I used it on a Bunnelby). I have since rebuilt my Pokémon team around Bunnelby, to make up for his clear and obvious weaknesses. I have stopped trying to convince my friends that Bunnelby was a side effect of Joy-Con drift.

I'm trying to convince myself that this was fate.

*Sobs*

Legendary is what you make of it.

Pokémon Sword & Shield: How To Earn 99,999 Cash Per Battle | Meowth Money Farming Guide

Image Source: [1]

With the right item, Gigantamax Meowth can turn into a money-spewing fountain in Pokémon Sword & Shield. Money is incredibly valuable in the late-game for one simple reason — you can use cash to buy vitamins that increase stats for your favorite Pokémon. That's important if you want to master Max Raids in the end-game, and having an endless supply of quick money just makes everything easier in the long-run.

Using Meowth, it's possible to earn 99,999 cash from a single battle. Even if you haven't reached the end-game yet, Meowth can earn you huge amounts of cash per fight by combining two multipliers — Meowth's Gold Rush move and an Amulet Coin. You won't get the max amount of cash per battle, but you can still farm for easy cash at any point in the game. Below, I'll explain exactly how this works, where to find your very own Meowth, and where to get the Amulet Coin.

More Pokémon Sword & Shield guides:

How To Evolve All The New Galar Region Pokémon | Evolution Guide | What's Exclusive To Each Version? | How To Catch Shiny Pokémon | Pick This Starter Pokémon For An Early Advantage | How To Easily Evolve Farfetch'd Into Sirfetch'd | Brilliant Aura System | How To Catch Improved Pokemon | Combo & Ultimate Moves | Move Tutor Locations | How To Catch Pokemon Easier | False Swipe & Hypnosis Guide | How To Level Up Fast | Exp. Candy Farming Tips

How To Farm 99,999 Money Per Battle | Meowth Guide

Using Gigantamax Meowth, it's possible to multiply your cash rewards from completing battles. Add the Amulet Coin, and you're doubling your rewards again! The process is simple, but first let's talk about how to get the Amulet Coin, and how to get a Meowth.

How To Get An Amulet Coin: Found behind the sign to Galar Mine #2 in the Motostoke Outskirts area.

How To Get Gigantamax Meowth: Mystery Gift for early adopters — or you can trade for standard (Gigantamax) Meowth in Turffield. Talk to an NPC trainer in the Gym to trade.

Gigantamax Meowth can appear as a Max Raid opponent in the following Wilds areas: Dusty Bowl, Giant's Seat, Stony Wilderness

This trick requires a Gigantamax Meowth, so it only works in Dynamax Battles. Equip the Amulet Coin Held Item on Meowth, then enter a Dynamax Battle – you can farm the Champion Cup and re-battle trainers after you've finished the story.

To earn 99,999 — the max amount of cash possible — you need to enter Meowth's Gigantamax Form and use his special G-Max Gold Rush move three times. Each time you use G-Max Gold Rush, you multiply the cash reward amount for the battle by x100. Use it three times will multiply your reward by x300. Carrying the Amulet Coin doubles your rewards, so you're getting x600 cash rewards per battle.

You'll need to be high level, and you'll need to be able to win even if you waste your three turns as a Dynamax Form. To get the maximum amount of cash per battle, you'll need to reach Level 84 with Gigantamax Meowth. Save up Rare Candy or use your EXP Candy to rapidly level up Meowth, and you'll be good to go.

Pocket Monsters Revealed One Of Pokémon's Most Important Origin Stories

For more than two decades now, we’ve been watching eternal 10-year-old Ash Ketchum make his way through the world of the Pokémon anime series with an assortment of human and Pokémon friends on his quest to become a Pokémon Master. Though Ash has journeyed to multiple regions over the years, both the series and the larger Pokémon franchise have never missed an opportunity to revisit the character’s humble origins in Pallet Town where he first met Pikachu, the Pokémon who’d soon become his closest companion.

Pocket Monsters, the simply named latest entry in the anime franchise, once again looks back to Ash’s roots as part of its larger story that’s going to follow the trainer as makes his way into the new Galar region from Pokémon Sword and Shield, but the series premiere kicked things off this week with a surprisingly different focus.

While Ash has always been the heroic star of the Pokémon anime, Pikachu has always been the star of the Pokémon brand as a whole, even as Nintendo’s gradually elevated the profiles of other Pokémon like Eevee.

Rather than simply retelling the story of how Ash and Pikachu first became partners, Pocket Monsters instead looks even further back into the past somewhere in the Kanto forests, where all manner of Pokémon native to the region lived in relative harmony. Flocks of Butterfree soar through skies above trees that are full of chattering Mankey swinging from branch to branch.

The episode’s opening moments are chock full of nothing but Generation I Pokémon, making the entire setting feel like something snatched right out of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, but there’s one small monster that stands out because originally, it didn’t show up until Generation II.

There’s a Pichuâ€"a baby Pokémonâ€"living among all of the much larger Pokémon, and while the mouse still doesn’t have full control of its electrical abilities, it gets by well enough running around, being cute, and marvelling at its surroundings.

Unlike all of the other Pokémon in the forest, the Pichu appears to be the only of its kind, but it doesn’t seem to particularly mind and the episode follows as it goes for a stroll that quickly takes a turn for the dangerous when it encounters a pair of Koffing that accidentally cause the Pichu to fall off a cliff.

Pichu takes a number of rough hits as it falls, but before it can actually hit the ground, it’s caught by a very surprised mother Kangaskhan, the parent Pokémon. Pichu becomes friendly with Kangaskhan’s child, which delights the Kangaskhan, and the older Pokémon quickly deduces that Pichu’s all alone in the world, and so she decides to plop the baby mouse in her pouch right along with her own offspring.

The Pokémon anime has a long history of doing Pokémon-centric episodes where few humans appear and the bulk of the dialogue consists of different Pokémon saying their names to one another, meaning that we’re left to interpret what’s going on through their expressions and actions towards one another.

Because Kangaskhan is a species of Pokémon known for nurturing their young (all Pokémon do it, obviously, but parenting is Kangaskhan’s whole thing), it makes sense that the Kangaskhan would readily take Pichu in as its own. While Pichu wasn’t exactly unhappy before it ended up being adopted by another Pokémon, being with Kangaskhan and her baby makes Pichu feel loved in a way that a Pokémon could never quite verbally express to a human.

As the episode progresses, you see that, like the other pouch-bound baby, Pichu grows significantly under Kangaskhan’s care, but the strain of carrying two growing Pokémon is something that physically taxes the Kangaskhan in a way that Pichu can’t ignore. To the Kangaskhan, being constantly exhausted is worth it, because she cares about them both deeply.

Pichu loves them both too, but it understands that by being with them, it’s taking away from the overall amount of energy Kangaskhan could be putting into taking care of its biological child. And so, while the three of them are sleeping together in a cave one evening, Pichu makes the difficult decision to leave, and it tearfully looks back at them from a distance to say goodbye.

The important thing to understand about what happens next is that while most Pokémon evolve simply because they’ve reached a certain degree of physical maturity (reflected in levels in the video game), others can only transform under a very specific set of circumstances. Pichu, for example, can only evolve once it’s developed a deep and powerful bond with someone it cares about like a Pokémon trainer who’s raised it. Or, in Pichu’s case, the Kangaskhan family who treated it like one of their own.

After Pichu evolves into Pikachu, the mouse excitedly scurries off to embark on the next leg of its personal journey through the larger world of Pokémon, and while things seem like they’re going to be great for it, Pocket Monster then makes clear just how Pikachu’s story factors into the larger one being told.

Of course, this Pikachu isn’t just any old Pikachuâ€"it’s the Pikachu, meaning that not long after it met a loving group of friends who helped it become a new, stronger person, some old human had the audacity to force it into a Pokéball and then give it to a child who couldn’t even be bothered to wake up on time to begin his Pokémon adventure.

From here, the story becomes that familiar old tale of boy-meets-mouse, but the whole of the episode recontextualises some of the established things about Pikachu’s personality that have always been core elements of the series. Obviously, you can understand why Pikachu harbored resentment towards Ash immediately after meeting him and subsequently refuses to enter its Pokéball again.

More interestingly, though, the episode also introduces the idea that Pikachuâ€"who has always balked at the concept of evolution in the animeâ€"might cherish its current form, both because it likes itself the way it is and because it reminds it of its connection to the Khangaskan in the forest.

It’s a heartwarming, significant deepening of the world’s most famous Pokémon, and, hopefully, the kind of thoughtful storytelling that’s going to define the rest of Pocket Monsters.

Eat Like a Pokémon Master: 7 Iconic Foods of the Pokémon Series

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Pokemon is everywhere now. Long live Pokemon.

This affection, fostered at the age of 68, is a sign of a broader trend: It is simply impossible to escape Pokémon in 2019. It is an entity that has deeply affected universal society â€" arguably for the better â€" connecting people of all ages and from opposite ends of the world to one another for over two decades. It is a game, a world, that is founded upon fun, discovery, exploration, and what it means to wonder, to imagine, and to dream.

As the franchise has grown, the fictional world of Pokémon has become ever more intertwined with our own. Once, the franchise was just an anime series, a trading card community and a pair of ambitious games for the Game Boy Classic. Now there is a mobile game played by millions of people all over the world, with Friday Nov. 15 marking the behemoth series’ first mainline venture onto home consoles via the games Pokémon Sword and Shield. Pokémon are no longer merely a figment of the imagination, some intangible fancy pondered by youngsters as their imaginations blossom. The franchise permeates the boundaries between our worlds, subsequently uniting generations in a shared passion for something wholesome, positive, and deeply invested in community.

The augmented reality of Pokémon Go is the bridge connecting the real world to the virtual world of Pokémon. Nowadays, simply looking through the lens of a phone camera can reveal a Pidgey nestled amid autumnal foliage, a Squirtle riding the inward tides or, terrifyingly, a Mr. Mime comfortably plopped on your living room couch, sizing you up with those ghastly eyes. (As if Mr. Mime wasn’t already frightening enough, I recently realized that it’s not actually wearing clothes: those blue growths protruding from its head and its curled clown feet are actually part of its body.)

However, it is the community behind Pokémon Go that truly makes it special. For example: although game-maker Niantic recently announced it would be introducing an official PVP League to Pokémon Go in early 2020, dedicated fans have made do since the app’s launch back in 2016, with popular Pokémon resource community The Silph Road having arranged The Sinister Cup, an annual competitive circuit designed by the fans, for the fans.

Meanwhile, official events known as Go Fests have been held in cities all over the world, inviting folks of all ages and backgrounds to congregate and share their passion.

One particular show of communal solidarity stands out. Earlier this year, players from Salamina â€" the largest Greek Island in the Saronic Gulf â€" completely lost access to Pokémon Go. Affected players appealed to Reddit in search of a solution, and seven months later, Eurogamer reported that Niantic had rectified the issue.

“Last night a member of our community opened Pokémon Go and came across a huge surprise,” a player wrote on Reddit in a thread. “After seven months of no spawns, the whole Saronic Gulf, including islands Salamina, Aegina, Agkistri and Poros, is once again full of them. Our combined efforts gave us a great victory, and from last night, we are once again able to go out and hunt!”

“We, as a community, owe a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to every single person here that even with his/her upvote helped this effort come true,” the post continues, thanking individual players, streamers, and journalists alike for coming together to resolve the issue.

The community came together to solve the problem. There may have only been 80 avid players in Salamina, but thousands of others banded together to help them get their game back. One player even said they’d name one of their favorite Pokémon “Salaminaia” in honor of the resolution.

Catching Pokémon in your local area â€" Salamina, in the above instance â€" is a curiously affecting thing. Thanks to Niantic’s real-world mapping, playing Pokémon Go converts your local area into a world teeming with fictional creatures. Similarly, Pokémon properties are beginning to align the world of Pokémon with our own in an unsubtle way: the Galar region from Sword and Shield, for example, is based on the United Kingdom.

Pokémon Go has also increasingly integrated real-life activity into its progression systems. You walk to hatch eggs, select a buddy Pokémon to gain more candy, and undertake specific field research tasks in your local area to net significant rewards. The accessible world of Pokémon Go is a prototype of the congenial societal makeup of Rime City from the film “Detective Pikachu,” which grossed over $430 million at the box office. Rime City is a place where people and Pokémon live in harmony â€" not as master and pet (or whatever you call a Pokémon companion), but as co-workers, neighbors and fellow citizens. Now, in our world as in the fictional metropolis, Pokémon extend far past the boundaries of media, permeating reality as an inescapable global phenomenon.

But there’s far more to it than just fitness goals and local landmarks: the fact is that Pokémon has always been something that brought people together to experience a shared passion. It’s a fantasy world, but its status as something that connects people to one another makes it so much more. And now, as it becomes even more intertwined with reality, that effect, that capability to unite people, is increasing at an exponential rate. Whether you’re a near-70 actor or a player roaming a remote island, choosing to spend time with Pokémon is choosing to share joy with others.

Recently, a toxic segment of the Pokémon fandom emerged from the shadows and betrayed the overall community’s sense of wholesomeness. Disappointed by the executive decision to cut the National Dex from Pokémon â€" a Pokedex featuring every creature every designed â€" this splinter faction spat hate at developers, labeling the phenomenon “Dexit.” The community at large responded by creating a “ThankYouGameFreak” hashtag on Twitter, which fans all over the world used to share personal stories of how Pokémon helped them in some special way. This riposte against the toxicity showcased the community’s shared joy and passion.

I remember playing out the back garden when I was six years old, armed with nothing more than a plastic bucket and spade. I had recruited several fellow trainers from the vicinity, all aspiring Pokémon masters between the ages of four and eight, to join me on my expedition. “There’s bound to be a Diglett here somewhere,” I told them, arms tiring from plunging plastic garden tools into sun-baked dirt. “You never know, maybe even a Dugtrio â€" if we’re lucky.”

Now, however, my recollections of hunting for Diglett as a child are no longer tied to children’s playthings. The world of Pokémon has been made accessible, tangible and become a wholly positive force capable of creating real connections between people and, for its fans, making everyday lives extraordinary.

Eat like a Pokémon master: 7 iconic foods of the Pokémon series

© Getty Fans around the world are now getting their hands on Pokémon Sword and Shield, and a few weeks ago, it was announced that Ash finally won a major Pokémon League. Certainly, Pokémon fans everywhere have become Skitty, and personally, reading all the news about Pokémon has hit me with a wave of nostalgia. But as I've become a foodie in college, one thing has caught my attention as I begin to revisit old TV episodes and playthroughs of the earlier games: Pokémon food.

The Pokémon TV series and games abound with iconic foods any veteran Pokémon fan can recognize. Some of these treats are created just so that our pocket monster companions have something scrumptious to munch on. Other foods are staples of the TV series that our fan-favorite characters dine on or even cook up themselves. While this list is not exhaustive, here are some of the most famous foods of the series and recipes to make them yourself.

Brock's Jelly-Filled Donuts (a.k.a. Rice Balls)

What better way to kick off this list than with Brock's famous jelly-filled donuts? Now, these donuts bear a striking resemblance to Japanese onigiri, or rice balls, and if you were confused as I was when I heard the word "donut," then you're in good company. Because of attempts to localize the English dubbing at the time, 4KIDS decided to go with donuts instead of rice balls. Even then, this meme will continue to spark laughter in the Pokémon fan community.

If you're wondering how you can make some of Brock's specialty donuts yourself, check out Binging with Babish's recipe to recreate the donuts. These jelly-filled triangular donuts coated with coconut flakes will give you the energy you need to complete your Pokémon training. If you're not satisfied with these impostor rice balls, there's also a recipe to replicate Brock's rice balls as well. Why not get the best of both worlds and make both?

Brock's Stew © t.shigeta.0584 on Instagram Takuya Shigeta on Instagram: "寒いとすぐる作るやつ。

Another staple in the Pokémon series, Brock probably cooks up this stew at least five times each season. As Ash and his friends journeyed through the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions, they often took breaks along the way to eat some of Brock's specialty stew.

While there's no recipe given by Brock himself, boiling some creamy stew is likely your best bet to snatch a taste of it yourself. Luckily for you and me, there are a variety of recipes for soups and stews with a creamy broth: clam chowder, Japanese style cream and chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup—the possibilities are endless.

Poffins © izum_eda on Instagram Изюм Еда on Instagram: "Вы уже собрали редких и мощных покемонов? Пришло время их кормить! Лайф #Еда выяснил, что покемоны едят поффины, и приготовил для них самые…"

Moving on from people food to Pokémon food, poffins made their debut in the Generation IV games to enhance a Pokémon's chances of winning in a Pokémon contest. Although it's a combination of the words "Pokémon" and "muffin," its appearance makes it look more like buns, scones, or cream puffs. If you're only looking to mimic the in-game poffins, though, try this recipe concocted by Feast of Fiction.

Poké Puffs © animes.food on Instagram Marta on Instagram: "#food#animefood#animesfood#breakfast#anime#animes#otaku#anime#animes#foods#2family2#japan#japanfood#breakfast#onigiri#onigirianime#colazione#videofood#videoanimefood#crayfish#crayfishanime#gambero#gamberoanime#gamberetti#gamberettianime#pokèpuff#pokèpuffs#pokemon#pokèmon#pokepuffs#pokepuff"

This Generation VI classic first appeared in the Pokémon-Amie mini games as rewards players could win. Feeding them to a Pokémon would increase its affection, and reaching higher levels of affection would give the player some special bonuses, like increasing experience obtained from battles. If you want to feast on some yourself, try making your own rendition with this fan-made recipe or making some mini cakes in the shape of your favorite Poké Puffs. I personally want to try my hand at frosting a Supreme Winter Poké Puff.

Malasada © pipelinebakeshop on Instagram Pipeline Bakeshop & Creamery on Instagram: "Hawaii's own... #malasadas #hawaiianstaple #hawaiisdonut #iateitatpipeline #pipelinebakeshop . . . . . . #sugar #portugesedonut…"

Next up on our list is the Alolan specialty, malasadas. Inspired by the real-world Hawaiian specialty, malasadas are fried donuts with roots in Portuguese cuisine. Workers from the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, brought the donuts with them, and they remained in the Hawaiian Islands ever since.

What makes them different from your standard donut is the inclusion of egg within the dough and the use of milk or, in the case of Hawaiian malasadas, evaporated milk. If you're looking to become a malasada expert like Mallow and make your very own Big Malasada, try this recipe inspired by malasadas sold by Leonard's bakery. You can even tweak it to make a sweet, bitter, or sour malasada like the ones in the games.

Rare Candy © rouwhat on Instagram @rouwhat on Instagram: "Them last few levels are always a nightmare . . Created in @procreate . . #rarecandy #pokemon #swordandshield #pokemonswordshield…"

Need some sugar to boost up your energy by a level or two? These treasured candies help raise the level of your Pokémon without having to battle or leave them in the daycare. I'm always excited to get my hands on these in the games. If you want to cook up a sweet treat for yourself, make some of Feast of Fiction's hard candy version. They won't disappoint.

Pikachu's Ketchup

Last but not least, how can we forget Pikachu's ketchup? Our favorite mascot is a big fan of ketchup, even shedding tears when a bottle of the staple condiment is taken away from him. Heinz even sold a limited edition ketchup bottle featuring Pikachu on the label. In case you want to skip the grocery run and make a bottle for yourself, here's a recipe to cook up some homemade ketchup.

Whether you've been a fan for years or just started your Pokémon journey, Pokémon continues to be a franchise beloved by people everywhere. From the games to the TV series, Pokémon's legacy of encouraging kids to dream big and be the next Pokémon master will live on. But while you're in the middle of your training, take some time to reminisce and even cook up some of the most iconic food in the Pokémon universe.

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Pokemon GO’s first 3x Galarian forms leaked in game code

Today we're taking a peek at all the new Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield monsters just released into the code for Pokemon GO. This includes several of the Pokemon to which we pointed earlier this week as potential inclusions in the next major update to Pokemon GO. When you read this article, these new Galarian Form Pokemon might not yet be released into the wild – but they're definitely prepped and ready to rock!

Galarian Weezing

So the ol' original Pokemon Koffing – number 109 in the Pokedex – now has a set of FOUR different "forms" in his coffers. This includes Weezing Normal, Shadow, Purified, and Weezing Galarian! This is just one of a set of new Galarian types that've been confirmed to appear in the game's code this week.

Galarian Weezing is still a Poison Type, but is also a Fairy Type Pokemon – following along pretty close to its standard Sword/Shield specs. The base_capture_rate for this Weezing is 0.2, the base_flee_rate is 0.06 (actually 0.05999…repeating). This Galarian Pokemon has base stamina 163, base attack 174, and base defense 197. The base capture and flee rates are the same as the standard Weezing. The base base stamina, attack, and defense are identical as well.

Galarian Weezing has the ability to get ONE quick move – that is Tackle Fast! Charged moves then include Sludge, Hyper Beam, Play Rough, Hyper Beam, or Overheat! Deciding on this Pokemon over the standard version will depend greatly on the sort of moves you'd like to use – and the idea that this version has smokestack hats! Below you'll see a set of images of these Pokemon as they appear in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield – we'll have imagery from Pokemon GO, soon!

Galarian Zigzagoon and Linoone

Wait a second, you might be saying, why are Zigzagoon and Linoone here in Galarian form, but the third evolution isn't? Because, silly, Obstagoon didn't appear before now, so it doesn't need a "Galarian" bit in its name. BUT, it DOES only appear in Pokemon Sword and Shield (if you're not playing Pokemon GO), so maybe it should have Galarian in its name anyway?

At this moment, Obstagoon is not in the game code. Galarian Zigzagoon does not have a potential evolution at this moment. This would seem to indicate that Obstagoon will only appear as a potential evolution and a wild Pokemon at a later date. This is not unheard of – but it is a bit strange.

We can safely assume the Galarian Linoone will get an update in the Game Master file in the future with an added ability to evolve. At this moment, that does not appear. If you only played Pokemon GO right now, you might never know that Obstagoon ever existed.

NOTE: Obstagoon is the Pokemon that looks like Gene Simmons from KISS. The Galarian Form Zigzagoon and Lionoone also look quite a bit like members of the rock band KISS.

Where the standard Zigzagoon family is Normal Type, the Galarian Zigzagoon family is both Normal Type and Dark Type. Otherwise they've got the same sorta stats: stamina, attack, defense, and the same moves. Zigzagoon both standard and Galarian have quick moves Tackle Fast, Rock Smash Fast, and charged moves Dig, Grass Knot, and Thunderbolt.

Three new Galarian Pokemon

Galarian Weezing, Galarian Zigzagoon, and Galarian Linoone all have gender percentages equal: 50% male, 50% female. They're all the same for capture and flee rates, too.

Galarian Weezing, Galarian Zigzagoon, and Galarian Linoone all have "asset_bundle_value: 31". There is only one other Pokemon in the entirety of the current Pokemon Game Master file – that is Unown U! That could just mean that the values mean little to nothing, as the rest of the Unown asset bundle values go from 11-38 – but we shall see!

Pokemon Sword and Shield Get $10 Discounts and a Nintendo Switch Lite Bundle Deal

Earlier today, Amazon and Walmart ran a $20 off launch day deal on the Pokemon Sword and Shield double pack that came and went quickly. If you missed it, don't worry. The big daily deal on Ebay for November 15th takes $10 of each title with free shipping - you can take advantage of it right here while the sale lasts. If you don't have a Nintendo Switch to play it on, there's another option you might be interested in...

Ebay has another featured daily deal that offers the Nintendo Switch Lite in turquoise plus your choice of Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield for $239.99 with free shipping. That amounts to a $20 total savings for the bundle. Given the fact that Nintendo isn't offering a Nintendo Switch Lite deal on Black Friday (and other retailers don't seem to be offering them either), this discount might be as good as it gets. Then again, you might want to grab the Nintendo Switch Lite Pokemon Zacian and Zamazenta Edition, which is highly unlikely to get any sort of discount this holiday.

On a related note, Walmart unveiled their plans for Black Friday yesterday, and you can check out the full breakdown via our Walmart Black Friday 2019 master list. If you're looking for games for your new Nintendo Switch, there will be plenty of deals to be had. The gaming deals are spread out into pricing tiers that range from $15 to $30. A breakdown of some of the highlights from those tiers is available below (these deals will be live online at 10pm EST on November 27th).

The $30 tier includes many of the classic Nintendo Switch titles that everyone should own (Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, Splatoon 2), as well as other gems like the Resident Evil Origins Collection, Ni no Kuni, and more. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One selection also includes titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, Borderlands 3, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

The $25 tier includes gems like Mortal Kombat 11 (all platforms), Diablo 3 Eternal Collection (Switch), and Spyro Reignited Trilogy (all platforms), Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (all platforms), Final Fantasy X / X2 (Switch), Final Fantasy XII (Switch).

The $20 tier includes Crash N. Sane Trilogy (Switch), Team Sonic Racing (all platforms), Kingdom Hearts 3 (PS4, XBO), Jump Force (PS4, XBO), and Days Gone (PS4).

The $15 (or less) tier includes Assassin's Creed 3 Remasters (Switch), Marvel's Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition (PS4), Watch Dogs 2 (PS4, XBO), The Last of Us Remastered (PS4), Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition (PS4), and God of War (PS4).

Note that Best Buy has also unveiled some solid deals on Nintendo Switch controllers and accessories for Black Friday.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you purchase one of the awesome products featured above, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

Pokémon Masters gets winter roadmap after dev apology for dull launch

After addressing negative feedback about the game back in September, Pokémon Masters producers Yu Sasaki and Tetsuya Iguchi have released a new update detailing some of the changes and improvements on the way.

November's updates will see Pokémon Masters increase the number of gems rewarded for certain tasks, like completing story and training events. The log-in bonus that started at the beginning of this month will now award up to 4200 gems too.

In the middle of the month there'll be a rally event that tracks player's progress and achievements in the game so far, this event will also have its own log-in bonus of gems and items.

At some point in December, the level cap for sync pairs will go up to 120 and courses will get a new difficulty level allowing players to obtain the items needed to unlock the cap.

Developer DeNA has teased a new sync pair will be available to be scouted early in December, featuring a trainer and their legendary Pokémon in a new type of event. It seems like the December update will also include some quality of life changes, all of which can be seen here.

There'll be updates in January and February as well, including revamping training events, reworking EX Challenges to adjust their difficulty, and introducing a Battle Villa mode.

We'll hear from the producers again later this month to see some of the new content being added in December, but in the meantime they encourage players to contact the team through the feedback section in-game if you have any comments on the improvements.

Revisiting Pokémon Colosseum: the home console RPG that paved the way for Sword and Shield

Pokémon Colosseum – the Sword and Shield of its day

Pokémon Sword and Shield are not the first Pokémon games on a home console, as GameCentral looks at the forgotten history of Pokémon RPGs.

Pokémon Sword and Shield may have had a mixed reception so far but, but it is by no means the first Pokémon game on a home console – or even the first to resemble the mainline games. The franchise's journey towards Sword and Shield has consisted of numerous stepping stones and oddities, and Pokémon Coliseum is one of the most important.

Ever since Pokémon Red and Blue was released in 1996 (or 1998 outside Japan), fans have imagined their ideal 3D Pokémon adventure, a game that would transform the series from a portable-only experience into a big budget home console role-player. While it's easy to envisage for anyone who has dabbled in the series, the journey towards that goal has been a surprisingly long sequence of half-steps and spin-offs – veering between entertaining distractions like Pokémon Snap to frustrating glimpses of what could have been.

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The first step arrived in 2000 with Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64 (preceded by a Japanese-only release that only featured a third of all available pokémon at the time). This became the first ever 3D Pokémon title, although it primarily functioned as a home console expansion for the original Game Boy games. Using a Transfer Pak accessory you could bring over your Pokémon roster from Red, Blue, and Yellow and place them in a 3D fighting arena. It was essentially a graphical showcase for those tired of 2D sprites and cuddling bedside lamps to see Game Boy screens and wasn't really a standalone game.

After a sequel in 2001, released to coincide with Pokémon Gold and Silver, a new developer was funded by Nintendo primarily to make Pokémon console titles. Genius Sonority, consisting of programmers who had worked on the Dragon Quest series, made the first Pokémon console role-playing game in 2004's Pokémon Colosseum for Nintendo GameCube. On paper it seemed to be the game fans had always wanted, but it soon became clear that this was, purposefully, very different from the mainline games.

Reviews of Pokémon Colosseum were mixed upon release, scoring 73 on review aggregate site Metacritic – and it isn't hard to see why. Colosseum placed numerous caveats and restrictions on the traditional Pokémon adventure; it wasn't truly open-world, instead letting you explore different locations through a quick travel menu; the catch 'em all mantra was limited to 48 shadow pokémon, there was no wild pokémon, and you're locked into double battles throughout the entire 25-hour story mode.

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In terms of presentation, Pokémon Colosseum felt like a knock-off adventure. Instead of playing a young trainer at the start of their ascent to Pokémon Master, you control Wes; a former member of Team Snagem who turns against the group after discovering they have allied with Cipher, a criminal organisation who plan to rule the world using shadow pokémon. The aim of the game is to 'snag' these shadow pokémon from trainers and return them to normal by purifying them – a bizarre deviation from the usual formula that nobody really asked for. There's also a companion character called Rui who is an obvious riff on Misty from the animated series.

The mainline series has rigidly stuck to its formula across eight generations now, which makes Pokémon Colosseum's irregularities look more distinctive and fresh in hindsight. The 'snagging' mechanic to capture shadow pokémon from trainers, which only worked in battles, might've functioned like capturing pokémon in the traditional games, but the purification process added incentive to play with new monsters. In order to purify shadow pokémon you have to walk with them in your party, send them into battle, or apply scents using a cologne case item – encouraging you to try out new monsters beyond those you want to level up.

There was also an interesting gamble with hyper mode, which saw shadow pokémon enter a heightened, more powerful state at the risk of disobedience and unpredictable behaviour. It perhaps inspired the idea of mega evolutions and dynamax introduced later in the series, but it had an arguably more interesting and balanced risk/reward system. The influence of Colosseum has also extended to Pokémon Go, which features shadow pokémon and adopts its own system of purification to bolster a monster's power.

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The aesthetic of Colosseum is remarkably different to any other Pokémon title though. You start in a vast desert landscape, which Wes navigates using a bulky hovercycle, a far cry from the comforting greenery found in Pallet Town. Locations in the Orre region, like Pyrite Town and Agate Village, are also bleak and unusual in their design, blending natural and futuristic technology in a dour, almost uninviting way compared to the traditionally bright-eyed Pokémon worlds we're used to. They can come off as barren and lifeless, but it's fascinating to see a world occupied by pokémon which looks closer to a primitive dystopia than a cuddly dream space.

Instead of opening with the customary decision of choosing your starter pokémon, Colosseum hands you Eevee evolutions Umbreon and Espeon at the outset. The mainline Pokémon series is oddly rigid in having you choose between a fire, grass, or water type in every new generation, so having the chance to start out with a dark and psychic type further separates it from the pack. In hindsight, it's surprising a similar deviation hasn't happened since, considering a spotlight on more obscure types could shake the feeling of familiarity which has loomed over recent titles.

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Despite not possessing the longevity of a core Pokémon title, Colosseum had a punishing side to keep the dedicated busy. Instead of a hunt to complete the pokédex, you could compete in 100 trainer matches back-to-back on Mount Battle. It's far more achievable than catching them all and surprisingly never became a reoccurring feature in the series – only appearing again in 2005 Colosseum sequel Pokémon XD: Gale Of Darkness.

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Pokémon Colosseum might have stood out as a half-step towards the 3D dream upon release, but its weirder, unusual qualities now present a compelling alternative to traditions the franchise has become a bit too attached too. But as some fans cry foul over Dexit, Colosseum is an important reminder that compromise can often be the secret to welcome innovation.

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MORE: Pokémon Sword and Shield review – gonna miss 'em all

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Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Carry the Franchise to a New Plateau

Since 1996, the Pokémon franchise hasn't strayed far from its simple premise of capturing and battling colorful, cartoonish "pocket monsters." But if you think you're too old for the latest double-feature, Pokémon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch, you're missing out on one of the greatest entries in the franchise, one that delivers a wide-ranging adventure whether at home on your TV or on the go in your hands.

The franchise's biggest challenge might be living up to the impossible task of being all things to all fans. After over 20 years of games, who is Pokémon really for at this point? For a new generation of children perhaps unfamiliar with its role-playing game aspect, Pokemon must be approachable and attention-grabbing. For veterans, the franchise must deliver on the promise of collecting them all, as well as showcase a steady stream of improvements in both gameplay, aesthetics and story. For everyone else, Pokémon must feature at least one sighti ng of the iconic electric mouse, Pikachu.

Nintendo

In Pokémon Sword, you assume the role of a budding Pokémon trainer exploring the bucolic, Great Britain-inspired Galar Region. You spend your time battling each city's Gym leader to become the next Pokémon Champion. You'll trudge through tall grass, caves and bodies of water to catch and train your roster, fighting with opponents and sparring with allies along the way.

Here, trainers are treated like athletes — sponsorships included — and battle in colossal stadiums, complete with cheering fans. Running out from the locker room to the pitch makes every major match with a Gym leader feel like a true sporting event. In these stadium matches you can use the new "Dynamax" feature to grow your Pokémon to gargantuan size. It's a fun gimmick, but one you could easily avoid if you want to up the difficulty yourself.

The new Wild Area puts you in an open-world region where Pokémon roam freely in both tall grass and on the very trails you travel. Its changing environment means you'll encounter different Pokémon depending on factors like weather. Entering the Wild Area while online will reveal (and let you interact with) fellow human trainers camping, looking for Pokémon or banding together to take down supersized Dynamax Pokémon. It's a great addition to a game that's always felt surprisingly solitary, even with the idea of meeting and trading Pokémon with people so ingrained into its gameplay for so long.

New mechanics like sneaking through grass or traveling the world have been expanded upon as well, and force you to stay aware as you make your way through a cave or forest. No longer will you have to deal with "random" encounters. In Sword and Shield, Pokémon sneak up on you. It's a real treat, one that exhibits how alive the world feels.

Story continues

While developer Game Freak has made strides in ensuring you can amass your collection of pocket monsters — Pokémon Bank functions as a cloud storage option for older Pokémon games — not every creature is in this iteration. Some fans of the company's longtime "gotta catch 'em all!" slogan may feel betrayed by the lack of an 800-plus roster of Pokémon to choose from, it's been relatively impossible to amass the entire collection until quite recently anyway. Game Freak responded to the roster controversy, referring to the sheer number of Pokémon as a problem in terms of competitive gameplay as well as fidelity when it comes to making each included Pokémon feel like more than a static model.

Nintendo

That explains why almost everything in Pokémon Sword looks awesome, including the Pokémon. Developer Game Freak ditched the two-dimensional aesthetic in 2013 with the Nintendo 3DS' Pokémon X & Y, and has gone on to offer even more refined versions of the game's selection of creatures. The graphical overhaul encompasses everything from Pokémon (sett ing up a campground lets you play with, or cook for, your team) to your character (who can don new outfits and accessories).

But with that graduation comes a new set of challenges, challenges Pokémon Sword hasn't yet mastered. Navigating menus still feels like an antiquated experience, and still occasionally frustrates despite welcome improvements to team management. In a game so full of well-implemented ideas, it's a minor but persistent annoyance.

Nintendo

And then there's the story. Pokémon has never been particularly strong in terms of its narrative — you are, for the most part, a young trainer capturing monsters, fighting fellow adventurers, and stopping the "villain of the week" style group or individual (in this case, the unruly "Team Yell" gang) from enacting their evil, clichéd scheme. Sword, unfortunately, doesn't change much in terms of structure, and will leave you mostly nonplussed.

The low stakes, childish dialogue and lack of voic e acting left a disappointing void where one would expect a character's enthusiasm or personal mission to slot in perfectly. The more you play, the more you'll wonder why they didn't give all these beautifully rendered, eccentric characters dotting the region actual lines to utter. Even during the final encounter with the story's antagonist, I longed for them to say literally anything instead of reading their monologue in a cutscene.

Minor missteps aside, Pokémon Sword does a formidable job of elevating the series, encapsulating what it means to be a Pokémon trainer. Toward the end of the story, as I approached the final series of battles for the title of Pokémon Champion, I grew surprisingly serious, a familiar feeling welling up after being dormant for over a decade. It was the anticipation of a difficult Pokémon battle, and the uncertainty it entailed. After my defeat, I chuckled aloud, processing what just happened and where I screwed up. You'll lose more tha n a few matches if you're not careful, if you're unprepared or if you're arrogant about your six-pack of pocket monsters. But when you play your cards right to send your opponents home, you'll realize what separates the trainers from the masters, and what puts Pokémon Sword in a league of its own.

Orchestral Release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Music Coming from Materia Collective

The fourth generation of Pokémon games features a really rich amount of myth and storyline with the music to match. Now, an absolutely riveting arrangement of orchestral music from Diamond, Pearl and Platinum is on the way. It comes from Braxton Burks and Materia Collective who've previously released past Pokémon arrangements.

This collection is titled, 'Time and Space' which is very fitting given the legendary Pokémon involved with the games are masters of such areas. The album has 16 tracks packing in all the iconic Sinnoh sounds. Relive your adventure at the start of Twinleaf Town, through various cities and routes, encountering legendary Pokémon and having fierce battles. Burks and fellow artists have infused synth with classical music to create a presence longtime fans must experience.

You can enjoy a preview of the amazing music on Bandcamp. The album releases on November 22 but pre-orders are open now for digital and physical.

Pokemon Synopsis Teases Ash's First Meeting with Professor Oak

Pokemon's next anime series is an exciting one for a number of reasons, and one of the stand outs is that the series will be retooling things for the next step of Ash's journey. Unlike previous anime iterations, this new series will be adding a few more bits fleshing out the origins of both Ash and Pikachu. Not only has the anime confirmed that it will be diving into Pikachu's origin story before he ended up meeting Ash, it turns out that the next series will be adding a bit more to Ash's story before meeting Professor Oak.

A new bit of information from the series shared by @AshandSerena on Twitter teases that we'll see Ash when he was six years old and trying to get in a special Pokemon Camp run by Professor Oak long before he started his own journey to becoming a master:

Along with the cute new look at young Ash, it's teased that his oversleeping is a pretty bad habit of his. Oversleeping is the famous reason behind why Ash ended up with Pikachu, and it seems like this also has much to do with his meeting Professor Oak too. But with this newer information fleshing out more of the past, the new anime series will be setting the table for the series' second protagonist, Gou.

Gou is a ten year old trainer who is just setting out on their journey, and will be a strong comparison to the veteran trainer Ash. As the both of them not only explore new additions from the Galar region of the Sword and Shield games, but past regions introduced throughout the franchise thus far. Pokemon: The Series will be officially making its debut November 17th in Japan.

The first episode of the new series is titled "Birth of Pikachu," and the synopsis for it reads as such, "In a forest somewhere in Kanto, there once was a lonely Pichu. This Pichu – who was still quite young – had a certain encounter and farewell. This took place shortly before Ash and his partner Pikachu started travelling together. This is the beginning of the anime 'Pocket Monster.'"

Pokemon Masters Roadmap Aims to Make the Game Actually Fun to Play

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Pokemon Masters is having a rough time staying relevant in the mobile games space, its producers have noticed. A roadmap of planned fixes and content updates aims to add features, make adjustments, and perform other alterations that will hopefully make Pokemon Masters more fun to play.

The main Pokemon Masters site thanks players for their feedback since the game's launch, then goes into detail about what we can look forward to in November and December. First, in-game rewards and login bonuses will be adjusted, and players can look forward to earning more gems (Pokemon Masters' hard currency) when they complete story missions and start up the app. Mid-November will bring a "rally event" that awards players when they meet certain gameplay milestones.

In early December, we'll see a new event featuring a sync pair based around a Legendary Pokemon. In mid-December, level caps on sync pairs will be doubled to 120. A new difficulty category will be added to courses, and the current rewards for "Very Hard" and "Super Hard" courses will be revised.

You can also look forward to lots of smaller behind-the-scenes improvements through the month of December, like bug fixes, alterations to daily missions, weekly Bingo missions, and balance fixes that should give newcomers "a smooth start."

The next update about Pokemon Masters' improvements is coming on November 26, which is when we'll see some video and image about December's improvements and news about what's coming in 2020.

Many Pokemon fans fell off Pokemon Masters because of its bugs, poor loot, low level caps, and lack of anything for high-level players to do. We'll see if these promised fixes will re-ignite the spark for spurned fans. If you're thinking of hopping back into the fray ahead of the updates, we have Pokemon Masters guides to help you out.