Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2: Super Music Collection launches for iTunes
Starting today, Pokémon fans and collectors can complete a collection of a different sort with the iTunes launch of Pokémon Black 2 & Pokémon White 2: Super Music Collection.
From Kanto to Kalos, music lovers can now take a musical journey through all the regions of the Pokémon world and enjoy a full collection of digitally remastered soundtracks. The Super Music Collection features beautifully adapted and orchestrated versions of the original game music, composed by Junichi Masuda, Gō Ichinose, and Morikazu Aoki.
Pokémon Black 2 & Pokémon White 2: Super Music Collection is the final release in a series of digitally remastered video game soundtracks, which began last year with the release of Pokémon X & Pokémon Y: Super Music Collection and was followed by soundtracks from all six generations of the Pokémon video game
【ご挨拶】みなさま、明けましておめでとうございます。私事で恐縮ですが、2013年12月末日をもって、6年7ヶ月間お世話になった株式会社ゲームフリークを退職(卒業)し、本年1月から独立、新たに SPICA MUSICA(スピカムジカ)という音楽ブランドを立ち上げることとなりました。景山 将太 (@shotakageyama) January 1, 2014
Tweet Translation
[Greetings] Happy New Year, everyone. I'm sorry to discuss a personal matter, but I left (graduated) GAME FREAK, who have been good to me these past 6 years and 7 months, on December 31st to start a new independent music brand called SPICA MUSICA.
The official Korean Pokémon Movie 16 website has revealed that Red Genesect will be distributed to Korean players of Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 as part of the Movie 16 debut in theaters. Details of the event will be revealed on December 12th, 2013 but this Pokémon should be identical to the one released in Japan earlier in the year. Its OT has been revealed as Movie Theater (영화관).
Ghost (ゴースト) and Strike (ストライク) will be distributed to players of Pokémon X and Y in Japan at the 8 Pokémon Centers and the participating 45 Toys R Us locations as a Christmas Exchange (クリスマス交換会) event distribution. In the spirit of exchanging and giving during Christmas time, players can exchange one of their Pokémon in a trade to get either Ghost or Strike starting on December 21st, 2013 until December 26th, 2013.
Any caught Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y can be traded but easily caught Pokémon such as Horubee or Yayakoma are recommended as they are available early in the games. Players can then use the Player Search System (PSS) to trade their Pokémon with a store staff member.
Players can then get the Mega Stones to Mega evolve both Gangar (ゲンガー) and Hassam (ハッサム) during battles.
Lucky Egg Serial Code
Players of Pokémon Black or White, Pokémon Black 2 or White 2, as well as Pokémon X and Y can also receive a serial code to get a Lucky Egg. Only serial code will be given per person and there is only a limited number of serial codes that will be distributed.
Commercial
During Pokémon Get TV 10, a commercial aired to announce the distribution at the Pokémon Centers.
The official Taiwanese Pokémon website at My-Cartoon has posted information about the upcoming distribution of Red Genesect in association with the theatrical release of 16th Pocket Monsters movie Extremespeed Genesect: The Awakening of Mewtwo (神速の蓋諾賽克特 超夢覺醒) and its short Pikachu and its Eievui Friends (皮卡丘與伊布好朋友) which will debut in theaters on August 16th, 2013. Those that bring their ticket stub for the movie to 1 of the 7 participating Funbox locations from August 16th, 2013 until September 15th, 2013 can receive a level 100 Red Genesect. Tickets cost $420TWD for the FamiPort family pack or $210TWD for a single admission.
The distribution locations are the same for the Taiwanese Pre-order Mewtwo. Players need to bring their copy of Pocket Monsters Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 with their Nintendo DS in order to receive the Mewtwo.
Distribution Locations
Living Mall Branch - 5F., No.138, Sec. 4, Bade Rd., Songshan Dist., Taipei City (京華城分店 台北市八德路4段138號5樓)
Mega City Branch - 5F., No.28, Xinzhan Rd., Banqiao Dist., New Taipei City (板橋大遠百分店 新北市板橋區新站路28號5樓)
Big City Branch - 5F., No.229, Zhongyang Rd., East Dist., Hsinchu City (新竹巨城購物中心分店 新竹市中央路229號5樓)
Top City Branch - 5F., No.105, Sec. 2, Taichung Port Rd., Xitun Dist., Taichung City (台中大遠百分店 台中市中港路二段105號5樓)
Kaohsiung Far Eastern Department Store Branch - 6F., No.21, Sanduo 4th Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City (高雄大遠百分店 高雄市三多四路21號6樓)
The official Korean Pokémon website has revealed that the Pokémon based on the ones used to win this year Korean World Championships Qualification Tournament will be distributed to players of the Korean versions of Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 and White 2. Three different at Pokémon will be distributed at the COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu Seoul, South Korea via Infared. There is three different time periods that the Pokémon will be distributed.
Junior Division winner Kwon Do Heun (권도훈) who is 12 years old will have his Hitmontop distributed from August 17th, 2013 until August 18th, 2013. Senior Division winner Sa Seung Heon (사승헌) who is 15 years old will have his Cresselia distributed from August 24th, 2013 until August 25th, 2013. Master Division winner Sejun Park (박세준) will have his Liepard distributed from August 31st, 2013 until September 1st, 2013.
Patrons can take their ticket to 1 of the 7 participating Funbox locations from July 13th, 2013 until August 15th, 2013 to receive the Mewtwo. Players need to bring their copy of Pocket Monsters Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 with their Nintendo DS in order to receive the Mewtwo.
Distribution Locations
Living Mall Branch - 5F., No.138, Sec. 4, Bade Rd., Songshan Dist., Taipei City (京華城分店 台北市八德路4段138號5樓)
Mega City Branch - 5F., No.28, Xinzhan Rd., Banqiao Dist., New Taipei City (板橋大遠百分店 新北市板橋區新站路28號5樓)
Big City Branch - 5F., No.229, Zhongyang Rd., East Dist., Hsinchu City (新竹巨城購物中心分店 新竹市中央路229號5樓)
Top City Branch - 5F., No.105, Sec. 2, Taichung Port Rd., Xitun Dist., Taichung City (台中大遠百分店 台中市中港路二段105號5樓)
Kaohsiung Far Eastern Department Store Branch - 6F., No.21, Sanduo 4th Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City (高雄大遠百分店 高雄市三多四路21號6樓)
The official Pokémon World Championships 2013 website has announced that Smeargle will be distributed to all visitors. Below are the details.
Press Release
Start filling up your Pokédex with the help of a cool Smeargle from the Pokémon World Championships!
This year at the Pokémon World Championships, get Smeargle for your game via wireless distribution. This Smeargle is designed to be the ultimate Pokémon for helping you catch wild Pokémon! It knows the move False Swipe, which does damage but will never make the opposing Pokémon faint, Spore to make the Pokémon sleep, Mean Look to keep it from fleeing, and Odor Sleuth to make sure Smeargle can hit Ghost-type Pokémon and other evasive Pokémon! This Lv. 50 Smeargle even has high Speed and Attack stats to help make sure you’re ready to catch any Pokémon you encounter.
Remember to bring your Nintendo DS or Nintendo 3DS system and your copy of Pokémon Black Version, Pokémon White Version, Pokémon Black Version 2, or Pokémon White Version 2 when you visit the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Smeargle distribution will take place on Saturday, August 10th from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday, August 11th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Don’t miss it!
A new Pokémon Center will open in Japan in late November of 2013. The Pokémon Center TOKYO-BAY will be located on the second floor of the LaLaport TOKYO-BAY shopping mall. People can enjoy their shopping fun with their friends and family as the mall will offer a variety of products and services. Over 2500 products will be available at the Pokémon Center.
Satoshi's Pikachu, Iris' Kibago, Dent's Yanappu and Okido's Rotom will all be distributed to the Japanese players of Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 from August 10th, 2013 until September 6th, 2013. The Pokémon will be distributed at the Pokémon Centers in Japan and there will be four separate distribution periods. Further details will be announced on August 2nd, 2013.
Distribution Periods
Period 1: August 10th, 2013 to August 16th, 2013
Period 2: August 17th, 2013 to August 23rd, 2013
Period 3: August 24th, 2013 to August 30th, 2013
Period 4: August 31st, 2013 to September 6th, 2013
The 2013 Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Battle Competition took place on Sunday 14 July 2013 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This was the final in a series of five competitions taking place in Australia over the past 2 weeks, with previous events in Perth (Western Australia), Melbourne (Victoria), Brisbane (Queensland) and Adelaide (South Australia). The winner of each age division in each state was awarded with flights, accommodation and tickets to attend the first ever Australian National Championships in Melbourne on 20-21 July. The winners and runners-up of the nationals will be given the opportunity to travel to Canada to compete in the World Championships next month.
The Sydney competition took place at Luna Park by Sydney's picturesque harbour. Many hopeful competitors gathered at the park prior to the 10am registration, however the crowds did not appear to be as big as those at the Black and White Battle Competition at Myer in 2011. There were approximately 20 entrants in the junior divison (born 2000 or later) and 76 in the senior divison (born 1999 or earlier). These state competitons only had two age brackets however the National Championships next week will follow the official World Championship format with three age divisons.
There were also a few rule differences to the official World Championship rules. Battles were played as one-on-one knockouts with the winner advancing to the next round, with the exception of the grand final for each age divison, which was a best-of-three. Competitors were permitted to change their teams in between rounds however in the grand final battles, players were only allowed to change the order of their pokémon, not the composition of their team.
After registration, players and spectators gathered in the competition room listening to music tracks from Pokémon Black and White. The large room was set up with chairs for both spectators and battlers, which was a welcome change from previous Nintendo Australia competitions where everybody had to stand in confined areas. There was one large flatscreen TV set up at the front of the room to display battles, however due to the number of participants, there were also other battles happening on players' own DS systems at the same time as those on the big screen. These side battles did rely on honesty as they were not supervised by the host once they commenced, however all players appeared to display good sportsmanship with no disputes, and shaking hands and congratulating each other after battles.
Unfortunately the day started off with some technical difficulties, with the TV's display regularly cutting out during the first two battles. The players were able to keep battling on their DS screens but it was a disappointing start for spectators who were keen to watch the battles and possibly get an idea of potential opponents' strategies. Confusion particularly arose when the TV missed displaying players sending out their pokémon, then cut back in to reveal 3 Rotoms on the field - it appeared that there may have been a rule breach till it was revealed that one player's Ditto had transformed into the other player's Rotom.
Luna Park staff soon brought out a new TV which they set up to replace the first. In order to test that it was working, the host Jamie asked for a volunteer to battle against him using whichever pokémon happened to be in his parties on his own two game cards. A young girl took up the challenge and then proceeded to tell Jamie how bad his team was, which made everyone smile. Fortunately this TV worked without any problems, so it was used for the rest of the competition.
The first round of battles was between players numbered 1-32 from the senior division, then the senior battles took a break while the entire junior division competition took place. The young players in the junior division displayed great strategies and skill, as well as maturity and respect when victories were decided - everyone just seemed to be having a fun time playing. When it came time for the junior finals, the numbers resulted in there being three semi-finalists. To resolve this, the host drew one of the finalists' numbers out of a box to be allowed to go straight to the grand final, resulting in there being only one semi-final match between the remaining two finalists. As it turned out, the player whose number was drawn ended up winning the first two grand final battles, so no third deciding match was required and he was declared the junior division champion.
After the completion of the junior division finals, the competition returned to the senior division, with the rest of the players completing their round 1 matches and then moving on to further rounds. As the matches went on, the host tried to keep the spectators entertained by asking their opinions on the battles happening on the big screen, as well as occasionally passing the microphone over and giving people chances to commentate the battles. There were a few giveaways throughout the day for members of the audience who could answer simple Nintendo trivia questions, however there weren't as many as there were at previous competitions, and the prizes were very minor: some Wii U lanyards, stickers and cards for other Nintendo properties - none of them were actually Pokémon-related. Nonetheless, the little giveaways kept the audience engaged, and the younger players especially seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to display their Nintendo knowledge.
Throughout the competition, there was a wide variety of pokémon and strategies used. Many players used weather-themed teams, with sandstorm being a favourite but also rain, sun and hail seen. According to the host, Sydney had its share of unique pokémon such as Ditto and the Eeveelutions, which were generally not used in the other cities. There was also a much higher number of shiny pokémon than seen in previous tournaments, including shiny legendaries. This may have been due to the introduction of the Shiny Charm key item in Black 2 and White 2, or perhaps people just had a lot of time on their hands!
By 4.20pm it was finally time for the senior division semi-finals.
The tension then built in the grand final best-of-three between players Steven and Hugh, who won one battle each and then went on to the deciding match.
Hugh was finally declared the senior division champion and will be flown to Melbourne this weekend to compete in the Australian National Championships.
Overall, although the competition had the impression of being organised at the last minute and didn't seem to have quite the same grandeur as previous tournaments which were much more hyped and had big prizes, Nintendo Australia still did a great job at providing a fun day for everybody and an opportunity for Pokémon fans to meet each other and hang out. Everbody at the event was enthusiastic about Australia participating in future World Championships, and the host strongly indicated that this would be the case after the global relase of X and Y in October. Hopefully this year's competitions will be the first in a series of more regular official Pokémon events by Nintendo Australia, and Pokémon X and Y truly will bring about the age of a completely global Pokémon community.