06/11/09 A Rush of News

First of all, there is Melée! Pokémon Scramble, an upcoming WiiWare game that is to feature the crude 3D models from Everyone's Pokémon Ranch battling it out in a real-time action battle system. It has both a story mode and multiplayer battling.

It looks like it could be fun; even though it is obviously watered down (Pokémon only know two moves and the mechanics will probably be simplified a la Mystery Dungeon) and the Pokémon will not look that great, it could probably be amusing. I wonder if this is the "action element" that Junichi Masuda spoke of wanting to add to the series or if he really meant adding one to the RPGs. (If they do add one to the RPGs, I dearly hope it's a minigame and not an addition to the actual battle system; I like how Pokémon is exclusively turn-based.) Apparently the game will also be available for DS Download Play.

See a few screenshots from the game here at the PocketMonsters.net Imageboard.

Then we have an abundance of new HeartGold and SoulSilver information. First, it will come with a "PokéWalker", a real-life pedometer that allows you to raise your Pokémon by real steps instead of your player character's steps. The device can communicate wirelessly with the DS to let you raise your HG/SS Pokémon with the PokéWalker and then put them back onto the game. Apparently it will have minigames as well.

Of course, be aware that the chance this will be exclusive to the Japanese version is considerable. It's an unnecesary gimmick addition that Nintendo of America might well decide we can simply be without. But we could still get it. Who knows?

Anyway, then we have this month's CoroCoro. First of all, we have a page showing the new artwork for Professor Elm, Silver (who has not been significantly redesigned) and the female Team Rocket grunt, as well as some screenshots: one of Gold talking to Elm in his lab, presumably about to receive a starter Pokémon; one of Gold starting a battle with Silver (I like Gold's new back sprite - but is it just me, or is the pose of Silver's sprite amusingly similar to Coronis's sprite of him?); and then two cut off ones that I find interesting. The first, right by the Team Rocket grunt's side, seems to show a beach with a mountain below it - is it post-eruption Cinnabar Island or am I jumping to conclusions too quickly? In the lower right corner, we then have a small portion of a screenshot of a cave with water in it, which I'm fairly certain must be Tojho Falls. I think the full version of this scan must have some information about HG/SS's Kanto, which should be interesting.

Then, we have with the a scan with the box art for both versions. Unlike normal DS games, they seem to be in more GBA-style boxes in order to contain the PokéWalker with the actual game - I'm guessing there is a normal DS case inside the box. Let me just say that I love the box art - it's different art of Ho-oh and Lugia than the normal Sugimori art seen in the recent Famitsu scans, and I really love especially how Lugia looks. Also, in the background, instead of just being a shiny swirly pattern or something, it's a faint map of Johto focusing on the homes of the respective legendary Pokémon, which is pretty neat.

(The above two scans were obtained from the PocketMonsters.net Imageboard.)

Apparently both Arceus and Cynthia will appear in HG/SS (though of course, odds are there will be an event to active that part). Finally, it seems that Kyogre and Groudon will be making an appearance in HeartGold and SoulSilver respectively - no, not the other way around. Possibly, they replace each version's non-box legendary - that is, in HeartGold one would find Kyogre instead of Lugia at level 70 after the Elite Four, and in SoulSilver one would find Groudon instead of Ho-oh - in order to make the box legendaries version exclusives as in the more recent games, but I hope not; though Kyogre being in Whirl Islands could work, I really can't see Groudon in Tin Tower (how in the world would it get up there?). And not having anything in Tin Tower in SoulSilver would be kind of lame. At least, if you have both Groudon and Kyogre on one HG/SS game, Rayquaza will somehow appear, which should be kind of neat.

The last bit of news is that there will be a Jirachi event - presumably for Platinum, since it appears to be a Wi-Fi event - and this Jirachi will unlock a special area in HeartGold and SoulSilver if traded there (called "Edge of the Night Sky"), similar to the special shiny Pichu that unlocks the Notched-Ear Pichu event.

Comments

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Oh-Paching
The two cut-off screenshots are Goldenrod City (by the radio tower) and Slowpoke Well.
Fox McCloud
Conspiracy theory time.

1: The Unown are involved in the Sinnoh Creation myth. I can't believe I didn't notice this earlier...
2: They spell Arceus's judgement? :/

3: The Third Eye of Jirachi has similar powers to Arceus, but not with the power to bestow good upon the Pokemon created. Dark Groudon ate everything and stuff, but Arceus's Groudon... yeah. Is normal. And was made by a drawing in the ground like the other thing. Except better and involving Unown coding it. I hear they're expert programmers. Lulz.

And those are my crazy theories this time. :D
ShadScy
New video! The new battle HUD is actually pretty schmexy.
Fox McCloud
Lol... usually someone makes a comment on my insane theories... XD
Giratar (Website)
Fox McCloud, maybe they're speechless. <3
And interesting theories. Very likely that these might happen, I think.