On the Origin of Species: Cyndaquil, Quilava, and Typhlosion

A stolen collection of Pokémon cards is allegedly being traded on markets in France, according to information released by Dutch police on the television program Opsporing Gezocht earlier this week. Dutch police have asked for public assistance in reporting possible sales of the stolen cards. According to French Pokémon fans who have been in contact with the Dutch police, the cards were apparently sold to buyers in Paris at the beginning of this year, and have continued to circulate on French markets since then.

The Pokémon Company has sent out an alert to Pokémon Home users warning them that the upcoming June update will end the mobile app's compatibility with older models of certain smartphones.

After what might generously be described as a disaster of a release in the United States earlier this year, with widespread stories of scalpers picking stores clean of all available stock, McDonald's will be bringing Pokémon 25th Anniversary Happy Meals to stores in the United Kingdom from May 19th, immediately following the current Spongebob Squarepants Happy Meal promotion.

To celebrate the release of New Pokémon Snap on the Nintendo Switch on April 30, 2021, an event inspired by the photography-focused game and the Lental region will be held in Pokémon GO.

Niantic has revealed more details on the Sustainability Week event in Pokémon GO. In partnership with the Niantic Sustainability Campaign, Trainers can earn in-game bonuses by achieving various sustainability-related goals in the real world.

Nintendo has announced the release of a new color for the Nintendo Switch Lite handheld console: Blue. The new color will come to market on May 7, 2021 in Europe and on May 21, 2021 in North America, at the suggested retail price of $199.99 USD (£179.99 GBP). Despite being called "Blue", the specific shade used for the console appears to be a dead ringer for the Indigo colour of the original Nintendo Gamecube.

Niantic has sent out a warning to Pokémon GO players, alerting them to an issue with older versions of the game that might be preventing Skrelp and Clauncher from appearing. Both Pokémon had been set to make their debut with the Rivals Week event running from April 13th until April 18th. An ongoing issue also continues to impact Team GO Rocket encounters, and they have not been available in-game for the past few days.

Niantic has announced a new event for Pokémon GO, Friendship Day, an event that’s all about having fun with your friends and enjoying various bonuses while playing Pokémon GO.

In this first Friendship Day, Grass-type Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild. There will be a Collection Challenge to receive XP, and an increased chance of receiving Lucky Pokémon when trading with a friend. The event will take place on April 24, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time.

Features

• Various Grass-type Pokémon will be appearing more often in the wild.
• Complete the Friendship Day Collection Challenge before the event concludes to earn 100,000 XP!
• Take part in the Friendship Day Global Challenge! For each hourly challenge you complete, you’ll earn 20,000 XP!
• Green confetti will be appearing on the map in celebration of Grass-type Pokémon!

Bonuses

• You'll have an increased chance of receiving a Lucky Pokémon when you complete a...

Continuing to expand their extensive lineup of Pokémon clothing alongside the franchise's 25th anniversary celebrations, Original Stitch has launched a new line of Pokémon aprons. As with all Original Stitch Pokémon products, customers can customize their clothing from a wide array of patterns. Available for these Aprons are a set of 151 different patterns, each inspired by one of the Pokémon from the first generation of games.

A limited-time distribution was announced for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield during the Pokémon Players Cup III Region Finals livestream. Players can redeem a Dream Ball if they use the code「DREAMB1GPC3」. This code is only redeemable until April 12, 2021.

Ralph Schuckett, the Composer for the Orchestral Score of the English dub versions of the first three Pokémon movies, as well as the English dub of the Pokémon anime TV series, passed away on Sunday at the age of 73.

The next expansion in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Sword & Shield—Chilling Reign has been officially announced by The Pokémon Company International. It will be made available on June 18, 2021.

Chilling Reign introduces the Mythical Pokémon Calyrex in both its Ice Rider and Shadow Rider forms as seen in The Crown Tundra expansion of the video games; Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Thet appear as both Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX. The expansion will also feature the Galarian forms of the Legendary birds: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, as Pokémon V.

Over the past few months, it's been depressing just how frequently we've covered stories of Pokémon Card heists. What sets apart this week's case, from Ikebukuro in Tokyo's Toshima ward, is the extreme lengths to which the alledged criminal went to get their hands on these valuable cardboard rectangles. Nakanishi Kensuke, a resident of Toshima ward, was arrested on Monday March 29th after investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police managed to identify him from security camera footage that happened to catch him in the act of walking down the side of a building.

On March 30, 2021, The Pokémon Company announces a set of four books published by Pikachu Press known the "Pokémon Primers" series. The first two books in the series, Pokémon Primers: ABC Book and Pokémon Primers: 123 Book were launched upon the announcement, while two more books, Pokémon Primers: Shapes Book and Pokémon Primers: Colors Book are slated for release later this year. Features in the book include over 100 tabs per book for readers to lift up and enjoy, as well as a pronunciation guide for various Pokémon featured in the books.

Earlier this month, John Walker wrote an article for Kotaku entitled “Pokemon Go's Eggs Aren't Lootboxes, They're Fun Presents”. In this article, John in effect tried to convince readers that something that walks like a Psyduck, quacks like a Psyduck, and holds its head in pain like a Psyduck, is in fact not a Psyduck. It didn’t take long until for the article to attract appropriate derision for its arguments, including from gaming luminaries like Jim Sterling. But what really concerns me is that John’s arguments also attracted a large defence force of people who, quite frankly, seemed to take personal offense at the idea that a mechanic they used in a game they enjoyed could possibly be a loot box. So with that in mind, I think it’s time we all had a bit of a chat about Pokémon GO’s various forms of loot boxes, why John’s claim that they're not loot boxes is just flat out wrong, and why these being loot boxes is something we shouldn’t be in denial over.

Sometimes a Pokémon’s inspiration is straightforward. One glance at Pidove, for example, easily shows it’s meant to be a pigeon. Others are slightly obtuse: Mightyena seems like it’s a wolf, but it’s based off a hyena. Then you have Pokémon where their origins aren’t very clear. Today’s subjects, Remoraid and Octillery, have baffled a good majority of Pokémon fans since their introduction in 1999.

glik discusses the recent Pokemon Day announcements and reveals with TheCapsFan, Fitzy, WyndonCalling, and Rhodehawk.

People end up liking a Pokémon for a variety of reasons. It could be due to how well the Pokémon performs in battle, particularly what types it has or what moves it learns. Generally, though, Pokémon become popular because of their design. A Pokémon’s physical appearance is the very first noticeable attribute, and how loved the Pokémon is strongly dependent on first impressions. Luckily for today’s subject, they flew – or, rather, rolled – straight into people’s hearts. It’s fair to say that the Alolan Starters are all popular, but Rowlet is likely the most popular of all.

If you've been wanting to invite your friends to Pokémon GO but have lacked the motivation, you're about to be in luck. Pokémon GO will soon be giving players an incentive to lure friends on-board in the form of a referral program and reward scheme.