Pokécharms

It has been announced that Dada Zarude and Shiny Celebi will be given to Pokémon fans signed up to the Pokémon Trainer Club newsletter.

This event celebrates the release of Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle which is being released on Netflix on the 8th of October. The newsletter will give fans a code which can then be redeemed in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield for the two Pokémon.

To get the code make sure you're signed up for the newsletter before September 25th!

The first episode of the recently announced Pokémon Evolutions series of shorts, The Champion, is now available. Set in the most recent Pokémon region, Galar, this 8 minute episode takes a brief look at the very end of the main story in Sword and Shield from Champion Leon's perspective.

Episode 2, based on Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon will be released in two weeks time on the 23rd September, with a further 2 episodes based on Kalos and Unova to follow throughout October. The rest of the series will then run through the remaining four Pokémon regions weekly throughout December.

A new 8-episode mini-series has been announced, taking us on a retrospective journey through all 8 current Pokémon regions and the stories that shaped them in the games.

Each episode will focus on a particular region and tell a new version of what seems like the games' central stories. From the hints we can see in the key art above and the trailer below, it seems that the most recent versions of those stories will primarily be the main source, based on things such as Green's first in-game appearance in Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, Zinnia's story in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire's Delta Episode and Dawn Wings Necrozma from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

The series is being produced as a collaboration between The Pokémon Company International and OLM Studios, much like the main Pokémon Anime series, although the art styles seem to be very different.

They will be available to watch exclusively on the official Pokémon Youtube...

Finally, after weeks of waiting, Blastoise is coming to Pokémon Unite as a playable character as part of 1st September's game update.

Despite originally teased before the game's Switch launch in July, there's been no word until now on when we could actually expect to be able to play as the final remaining original Starter Pokémon alongside Venusaur and Charizard. Since then, we've had updates adding Gardevoir and Blissey, as well as confirmation of Sylveon and Mamoswine being added in the near future. But Blastoise - who was actually playable in both pre-release beta tests - has been totally MIA.

We'll have to wait until the update next week that adds Blastoise to confirm any details on its in-game role or moves, but it should be a Defender type, joining the ranks of Snorlax, Crustle and Slowbro.


Meanwhile, it's also been confirmed that there have been more than 2.5 million...

With a release date of 28th January 2022 re-confirmed, Pokémon Legends Arceus finally gave us an in-depth look at its Breath of the Wild inspired gameplay changes as well as a few surprise announcements of some new Pokémon and regional forms.

Although we knew Legends would be set in a past version of the Sinnoh Region, we now also know that originally the land was called the Hisui Region, in a time where it "was rare for humans and Pokémon to live in harmony".


As a member of the Galaxy Expedition Team (...uh-huuuh...), you'll visit Jubilife Village, a bustling settlement in this wild continent that also serves as your on-going base of operations. Upon receiving an assignment, Trainers set out from the village to study one of the various areas of the Region. After finishing their work, trainers return to Jubilife to prepare for their next task....

Although it's been a fair few months since we last got any updates about this year's Gen 4 remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, it seems to have been worth the wait. While the detailed look we got in today's Pokémon Presents suggests a largely pretty faithful remake (and one that certainly looks better to our eyes than it did in February), there are some pretty significant new features and updates as well.

The original game's Underground has been upgraded to the Grand Underground. While the core feature remains of being able to visit this area with your friends (now also available online) and play some mining minigames to get rewards such as fossils and evolution stones, you'll also now be able to find areas where wild Pokémon freely roam.


These areas are made up of multiple types of biomes, which inform what kind of Pokémon you'll find within. Some of these Pokémon are only available to catch...

The cute coffee shop puzzle game, Pokémon Café Mix is receiving its first major update this Autumn, including a brand new name: Pokémon Cafe Remix.

Updates will include new puzzle elements, more Pokémon, new dress-up options, and more ways of growing and developing staff Pokémon.

Once this update goes live, Pokémon will now able to eat the delicious meals prepared for them, making them more friendly and more willing to become staff Pokémon. New puzzle skills that will make it easier to clear puzzles will also be introduced, as well as the ability to combine megaphones to make them more powerful. Any Golden acorns collected in Pokémon Café Mix will transfer to Pokémon Café ReMix.



For Pokémon Masters EX, the two-year anniversary celebrations start now with 3,000 gems available for opening the app up today. Fan-favourite, N, will also be returning with a new Synga suit and Reshiram, a Pokémon capable of...

The first reveal from today's bumper Pokémon Presents is that the Android and iOS versions of Pokémon Unite will finally be available on the 22nd September - just over a month away. Pre-registration is available on both platforms now, and a special campaign means it's worth doing even if you're already playing the Nintendo Switch version.

If 2,500,000+ pre-registrations can be achieved, all players will receive the Unite License for Pikachu for free (or the equivalent coins if you've already bought the license). For 5,000,000+, however, a special new Festival Style Holowear will be distributed to all players.

Meanwhile, we got a brief tease of two new Pokémon coming soon to the game: Mamoswine and Sylveon. Still no word on when to expect Blastoise, finally, but hopefully all three won't be too far away!

We'll have more news from Pokémon Presents throughout the afternoon.

Hope your calendars are clear for this Wednesday because there's suddenly a lot going on. First of all, Blissey is the latest playable character coming to Pokémon Unite. A Supporter type Pokémon with moves that heal or increase basic attack speed.

Although Blissey hadn't been officially announced before launch, we have seen evidence of its imminent arrival thanks to datamining efforts. That simply leaves Blastoise, who was previously included in the pre-release tests and was announced alongside Gardevoir - already added two weeks ago - to finally be announced and released. With the mobile version on the way next month, perhaps we can expect the two to coincide?


Also on Wednesday, at 2pm BST, the silence on the upcoming Pokémon games, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and Legends Arceus will finally be broken after absolutely no new...

In the UK from next month you'll be able to catch the adventures of Ash & Pikachu as they travel across the Sinnoh and Unova regions for free (if you have a TV License...) through the BBC's iPlayer.

From the 2nd August, the entire dubbed Diamond & Pearl arc, consisting of 189 episodes, will be exclusively available for streaming in the UK via the iPlayer. Later this autumn, the 142 episodes of the Black & White arc will also be added on a non-exclusive basis. An undisclosed number of movies from these two Generations will also be added to the service over the coming months.

This is the first time the Pokémon series (although some of the movies have been aired on BBC channels previously) has appeared anywhere on the BBC network.

Famously, the series launched in 1999 on rival commercial channel, ITV, and at the peak of Pokémon's early popularity was a central part of family entertainment program,...