On Friday May 1st, 2009, the official Pokemon web site made an announcement that on Sunday, May 10th, the newest Pokemon game would be revealed to the world. The announcement will be made on the Japanese TV show Pokemon Sunday during the Pokemon Game Arena segment. You can read the announcement (if you can read Japanese) by clicking on the link above and scrolling down to information about the May 10th Broadcast (its the one with the red jpg I posted above.).
An announcement teaser was shown featuring Chimchar, Lucario and the cast of Pokemon Sunday gazing up at two party balls, one gold and one silver. This is, of course, a direct reference to the second generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Gold and Silver, along with the remix, Pokemon Crystal. Fans have been waiting, demanding and salivating over a remake since 2004, and come May 10th, youll finally be getting the official announcement.
Of course, if youve been reading Diehard GameFAN or Becketts Pokemon Collector Magazine for a while, youll have noticed that Ive been dropping hints as to the official announcement since the beginning of the year. I was even pretty blatant about it in my Pokemon Platinum review in mid March. I also gave the exact date of the announcement in a feature entitled Best. Pokemon. Game. Ever. a week later.
Longtime readers also know I receive two different Pokemon paychecks for work that I do both here in the States and across the ocean, as I disclose this information everytime I write a Pokemon review. As such, Im sure youre expecting me to spill the beans before CoroCoro publishes screenshots and information on May 15th. Unfortunately, although I know the exact nature of the game and the titles, I cant reveal them here due to some confidentiality requirements. What I can do is dispel a few rumours for you all.
1. The games (yes, there will be two) are NOT Pokemon DuskGold and DawnSilver. These names are not trademarked by Nintendo, Creatures Ltd., Game Freak OR the Pokemon Company. Part of the reason this rumour came about is because of the Dusk and Dawn stones introduced in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. However a simple check shows neither website domain is owned by any of the parties that would (Creatures Inc., Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, or Nintendo). This is a bad rumour based on poorly written Pokemon articles claiming both stones evolve Johto related Pokemon. This is not true. The Dusk Stone does evolve the Johto originated Pokemon Misdreavus and Murkow, but the Dawn Stone evolves two Pokemon from Hoenn aka Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire (Snorunt and Kirlia).
2. There is a rumour floating about that PokemonWhiteGold and MoonSilver would be the names. No. This is not the case either. Pokemonwhitegold IS a redirect to Nintendo.com, but notice PokemonMoonstone.com is not. Nintendo of America purchased Pokemonwhitegold.com in 2002.
3. The games release date is still hush-hush, but I will remind you all that this November is the 10th anniversary of Pokemon Gold and Silver in Japan. So theres more than a slight chance youll be seeing these remakes hit Japan then.
4. There have been rumours that this will be a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game set in Johto. THIS IS INCORRECT AND 100% false. This is confusion by Western readers and journalists between the upcoming Johto games and the recently released Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky which was released on April 18th, 2009. This is an understandable confusion when youre trying to sift through Pokemon websites written in a language you dont understand. To learn more about Eots, you can read my review of the Japanese version of the game , which will be hitting US stores around the same time the Johto games will be released in Japan.
5. There were some rumours that the return to Johto would not be a game ala Fire Red and/or Leaf Green, but instead something akin to a new Pokemon Snap or other Pokemon spin off that just HAPPENED to be set in the Johto region. I can confirm this is not the case, although I really would like another Pokemon Snap or Pokemon XD/Coliseum.
6. No, the anime is not going back to Johto, unless its for a special one-shot or the like. I will say that Pokemon: The Johto Journeys has the greatest theme song out of all the seasons of the anime. No, I have no idea when or if the Johto Journey episodes will be compiled into a full DVD set. I have nothing to do with that in any way, shape, or form.
So there you go. A quick rundown of what you can expect to hear on Pokemon Sunday next week. Ive tried to dispel all the big rumours around the Pokefan communities with this editorial. For those of you wanting the solid title and screenshots, youre going to have to watch Pokemon Sunday on the 10th, or youll have to check out sites like this, Serebii, Pokebeach, and Bulbapedia for screencaps and a breakdown of the episode once it has aired. Diehard GameFAN will also have game screenshots for you next week the same day CoroCoro hits the stand in Japan, so as not to step on their toes.
Until next time Pokemaniacs
It had many cities and routes.
