Pokémon Pokopia At a Glance

• Pokémon Pokopia is rated E (Everyone) with Interactive Elements for Users Interact and In-Game Purchases.
• Pokémon Pokopia on the Nintendo Switch 2 console for $69.99.
• Pokémon Pokopia is a “life simulation” game set in the Pokémon universe where players will explore their surroundings, harvest materials, and (most importantly) befriend Pokémon to unravel mysteries.

---

As ESRB’s resident Pokémon Master, I’m ready for Pokémon Pokopia. This Pokémon spinoff (distinct from the many others like pinball, turn-based tactics games, dungeon crawlers, and more) brings the series into the simulation genre. Rather than stepping into the shoes of a Pokémon trainer, players will instead embody a Ditto on a mission to attract wild Pokémon back to a deserted region.

While still Pokémon, Pokopia plays nothing like the core games. Read on for more information to help you decide if Pokémon Pokopia is appropriate for your family.

Is Pokémon Pokopia Appropriate for Kids?

Pokémon Pokopia is rated E for Everyone, with no Content Descriptors. However, there are Interactive Elements assigned, including Users Interact (meaning players can communicate through the game) and In-Game Purchases (meaning users can use real money to purchase virtual currency that can be used to purchase in-game content).

According to ESRB’s Rating Summary Pokémon Pokopia “is a simulation game in which players assume the role of a Pokémon that works to transform a desolate world into a thriving habitat. As players interact with characters, they can collect resources, fulfill requests, and build various landscapes.”

Keep in mind that ESRB ratings are intended to help you decide if a game is appropriate for your kids from a content perspective. In other words, Pokémon Pokopia is likely appropriate for your family given its E for Everyone rating, but some younger players may struggle to manage some of the more complex gameplay systems by themselves. Having said that, if you decide that Pokémon Pokopia is appropriate for your kids, it’s a great opportunity to play together regardless of age!

Where Can I Play Pokémon Pokopia and How Much Does It Cost?

Pokémon Pokopia is available for the Nintendo Switch 2 and retails for $69.99 physically and digitally. As mentioned, the ESRB rating also includes the Interactive Element for In-Game Purchases. This means that there may be additional options to spend real-world currency on in game content (items, DLC, etc.).

Make sure you check that you’ve set parental controls to manage spending on the console!

What is Pokémon Pokopia About?

In Pokémon Pokopia, the player awakens in the gooey pseudopods of a Ditto, a Pokémon with the ability to transform into any other Pokémon. This Ditto, however, has apparently been napping for a long, long, long time. Its trainer is nowhere to be seen, and its surroundings are unrecognizable.

The game begins with Ditto transforming into its best approximation of its trainer to ask around if anyone has seen them. This also acts as a sort of character customization for the player – allowing you and your kids to pick hair, clothes, and other visual elements of Ditto’s trainer.

If you’re familiar with Ditto, you may know that its transformations are… not always exact. For example, here’s my Ditto, which I created to approximate yours truly (it’s flawless!):

Ditto soon discovers that the they have woken up in a dilapidated Kanto region (the explorable continent from the original Pokémon games). It is completely devoid of all life… save for one Pokémon: Professor Tangrowth. The Professor informs Ditto that the humans are long gone (though they don’t know why) and the Pokémon that once packed the region’s tall grass and caves have gone into hiding.

Luckily, Professor Tangrowth has some thoughts on Ditto can attract other Pokémon to the region and hopefully unravel the mystery of what exactly happened!

How Does Pokémon Pokopia Play?

In Pokémon Pokopia, you and your family will explore, harvest resources from your surroundings, create habitats for Pokémon, and build structures. In this “life simulation” game, your major goal is to attract as many new Pokémon as possible, keep them happy, and level up the environment to expand your array of craftable structures, items, decorations, and more.

All of these mechanics build on each other to allow you and your family with (quite literally) hundreds of options to customize each environment throughout the game.

The general loop will go like this:

Discover Clues to New Habitats

Ditto will find clues around the environment or via the in-game Pokédex that outline habitats that will attract new Pokémon. This can be something like cultivating patches of tall grass in a certain way, crafting/placing items or in a specified pattern, building structures near bodies of water, and more. Some habitats can be significantly more complicated than others but may attract rare Pokémon with valuable skills.

Meet a New Pokémon

If you nail the habitat requirements, you’ll attract a new Pokémon resident to the area! Hooray! Some of your Pokémon residents will teach Ditto a new move, while others may will open up new avenues to interact with and mold the environment. For example, your Ditto will  learn Water Gun from a Squirtle to water plants and hydrate soil. Meanwhile, you’ll need a Timburr (or another Pokémon with a “build” skill) to build houses and other structures.

Some Pokémon will even teach Ditto an entirely new transformation.

Use What You’ve Learned

Moves, skills, and transformations offer new ways for Ditto to traverse and manipulate the environment. Eventually, you and your family will use these skills and moves in concert to build homes, infrastructure, and more. Eventually, all these systems intersect and layer, allowing you and your family to think outside of the box and use your collective imagination to mold the region as you see fit.

Be a Good Friend and Level Up Your Environment

The Pokémon that move into your region also have “requests.” Pokémon will ask Ditto to help them out with something, be it a new piece of furniture for their habitat, or an entirely new habitat altogether! My Charmander buddy asked for a literal new house. In this market, Charmander?!

Anywho… Satisfying the request will increase the Pokémon’s comfort, and in turn raise the Environment Level.

As the Environment Level of the area increases Ditto and your family will unlock new customization options, recipes, items, and more. Which can all be purchased in the in-game shop.

For the record, this shop uses in-game currency earned from challenges (collecting a number of a specific resource, finding a number of unique Pokémon, etc.). During my play time I did not see any option to make a purchase with real world currency.

Single Player and Multiplayer

Pokémon Pokopia can be played both in single player and multiplayer. Up to four players can collaborate on an island at one time, so if you have the number of devices to support that, it could be a fun, age-appropriate experience for an entire family. Otherwise, you and your kids can join a shared, online territory with friends and family members. This is a more open-ended experience, with no real objectives other than whatever your kids’ imagination dreams up.

It also takes advantage of Nintendo’s GameShare, which allows one player to share a game with friends and family without needing more than one copy of a game. If you live in a house with multiple Nintendo Switch consoles, you and your family can all play together wirelessly. To be clear, a Nintendo Switch 2 is needed to “host” the game, but with GameShare it can be streamed to a Nintendo Switch console as well.

Despite the inclusion of both local and online multiplayer, your kids cannot communicate with others directly when playing the game online. Even so, I always recommend activating parental controls around communication as a backup. And remember… discuss with your children how to safely use platforms like Discord if they plan to chat with their friends off platform.

Making Sure Your Kids’ Video Game Expeditions are Safe and Appropriate

I always like to say that checking the ESRB rating before buying or downloading a game is a perfect first step. While many parents may get exactly what they need from a rating to decide, some parents may want more information. If you’re still on the fence, there are likely dozens of previews, reviews, trailers, and gameplay videos available for most titles that can give you a more in-depth look at the moment-to-moment gameplay. Some games even have demos that you can try out yourself!

When it comes down to it, there’s no better way to keep an eye on your kids’ games than staying involved! ESRB’s Family Gaming Guide has tips to help you start and maintain an ongoing conversation about what your kids are playing and why they love it. Keeping it judgement-free will also help your kids understand that you’re on their side, and they can come to you if they ever have any questions or concerns about something they’ve experienced while playing… be it alone or online with others.

From there, you can also establish some commonsense household rules around video games to outline things like spending and play time limits. To back up those rules, virtually every video game device also has parental controls to help you manage what your kids play, when and for how long, with whom, and whether they can spend money on in-game purchases or new games. Visit ParentalTools.org for step-by-step parental controls guides.

The post A Parent’s Guide to Pokémon Pokopia appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

The latest Pokémon game is a cozy life simulator like "Animal Crossing" or "Minecraft," but in a way that feels more grounded to our actual world.

Pokémon Go's yearly in-person event, Pokémon Go Fest, officially hits Chicago this weekend. The fest promises massive citywide exploration events, as well as a big ticketed meetup in Grant Park to play the game based on Nintendo's hit franchise. This is the 9th annual event, and the first time since 2018 that the event is coming back to Chicago.

Tie-up between blockbuster toy brands offers hi-tech play sets that will allow fans to ‘feel like the trainer’

Many Pokémon fans secretly fantasise about being a trainer and that dream has become a bit closer as hi-tech Lego bricks bring Pikachu to life for the first time. And that can only mean one thing – epic battles.

The sets are the latest to feature the Danish toy company’s motion-sensitive “smart” bricks that produce an array of sound effects and flashing lights when paired with different sets.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Lego

© Photograph: Lego

© Photograph: Lego

As the Switch 2 celebrates its first birthday, GameCentral looks back at the highs and lows of Nintendo’s most recent console and tries to predict where it goes from here.

Since the internet, and the real world beyond it, increasingly only deals in extremes it’s difficult to talk about the Switch 2 in any kind of nuanced fashion. It is neither the best thing ever nor the worst and determining exactly where it sits along that gradient is not easy. Today is its first anniversary, which is slightly awkward as there’s reason to hope there’ll be a major Nintendo Direct next week which will, possibly, answer some of the questions we’re about to pose.

Looking at the console with the benefit of 365 days of hindsight, we’d say that that the hardware itself was largely faultless. The design hasn’t changed much, of course, and it could do with a longer battery life and maybe a better screen, but for the price it’s almost perfect, with the click of the magnetic Joy-Cons still seeming magical to this day.

It’s still baffling that Nintendo has made no attempt whatsoever to demonstrate the power of the console – we didn’t get so much as a tech demo pre-launch – but multiple third party games have made it clear it’s far more powerful than you would expect, with excellent versions of everything from Resident Evil Requiem and Cyberpunk 2077 to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Star Wars Outlaws.

The remake of Star Fox 64 does seem to be a step up, in terms of technical prowess, but other upcoming games, like Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, still look like Wii U games. Nintendo games are rarely sold on their graphics, but the Switch 2 clearly has raw power to spare and yet it’s not being used – one of many strange decisions orbiting the console.

Ever since the unveiling of the console and its games in April last year, it’s seemed as if Nintendo was only showing and doing the bare minimum. Despite having eight years to prepare, and no deadline to meet in terms of when the console had to be released, everything to do with the Switch 2 has felt hurried and poorly thought out, like a student who was out partying the night before their big report was due and only just scrabbled together what they needed.

That impression has not changed over the last 12 months, but it has morphed into an industry default for most publishers who, in their wisdom, have decided that it’s best to have as little to look forward to as possible and to know as little about what is announced as can be contrived.

That logic obviously makes sense to someone, somewhere, because it’s taken deep root within so many different publishers, but Nintendo has taken it to an absurd extreme, to the point where it’s now June and we haven’t had a single large scale, first party Nintendo Direct all year. That in turn means we have no idea about anything coming out after July (except that supposedly Fortune’s Weave and FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods will be along at some point, if they haven’t been delayed).

At exactly the point where a first party Direct would seem the most useful to both Nintendo and its customers – considering a price rise is on the horizon – they’ve decided to say less about their future plans than they ever have before.

This seems to be in large part because of the industry wide problem of games costing too much, and taking too long, to make. The Switch 2 may be impressively powerful, but Nintendo’s not used to working with that kind of hardware and that’s no doubt part of the reason behind some of their stranger decisions.

We had hoped, before the Switch 2 became a reality, that Nintendo, who have always benefited from keeping a tight rein on their budgets, would cope better than most with the issue, or demonstrate some new way of avoiding it, but sadly that hasn’t happened.

Instead, the software line-up has been a strange mixture of A-listers and deeply underwhelming lower budget games. Mario Kart World as a launch game makes perfect sense, but the strange way the open world was handled – which was exacerbated by the misleading marketing – left a bad taste in the mouth of many fans. While the continued lack of any DLC at all (why does Donkey Kong only have one extra costume?) is impossible to explain.

Mario Kart World is a good game, and Donkey Kong Bananza is even better, but in hindsight the latter would’ve made a much better Christmas release, rather than having the line-up fizzle out with the deeply disappointing Metroid Prime 4. You can see the sense of releasing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment early on, because it meant at least some kind of new Zelda game was available, but surely there was a better choice than yet another brain dead Dynasty Warriors knock-off.

Kirby Air Riders does have its fans, even if we’re not amongst them, but why did Nintendo feel it was so important to release a second cartoon racing game within the launch window? Especially one that was only ever going to be popular in Japan. They did later admit that they’d focused too much on games for their home audience, but surely Nintendo has been in the business long enough not to make that mistake in the first place?

There are many other strange decisions beyond that, including the highly experimental Drag x Drive, which might have been a cult hit if hadn’t been so utterly devoid of content that you could see all there was to see within a couple of hours. Does Nintendo really not employ enough people that they couldn’t have whisked up a quick single-player mode or a proper tournament structure? Or, you know, used any colour other than dark grey for the graphics?

Why did the marketing for Yoshi And the Mysterious Book make it seem like a game for pre-schoolers when it’s actually one of the most inventive and open-ended platformers Nintendo has put out for years, and much better suited to adult players than anyone else?

And how is it that of all the games Nintendo has released in the last year a Minecraft clone by the makers of Hyrule Warriors turned out to be the most compelling? That certainly wasn’t on our bingo card and it clearly wasn’t on Nintendo’s either, who were caught out by the success of Pokémon Pokopia and have been scrambling to leverage it ever since.

One of the most encouraging announcements this year (not that there have been many of any type) was the reveal of Pokémon Winds and Waves, which does look like a generational leap from Scarlet and Violet. Having that next year does seem a useful anchor but the overriding problem with the Switch 2’s line-up is the mystifying logic behind how Nintendo has been prioritising its various franchises.

Kirby Air Riders is one thing but why on earth is Star Fox deemed so important all of a sudden, such that it was shore-horned into the Mario Galaxy movie, of all things? A decision that takes on reality-bending levels of bizarreness when you realise that Nintendo hasn’t yet breathed a word about a new Super Mario game since before the Switch 2 was announced.

Why are we a year in and there’s still no sign of Splatoon 4 and instead it has to wait in the queue behind a primarily single-player spin-off? And why was a new Fire Emblem announced so early on when we still haven’t heard anything about far more mainstream games, like a new Animal Crossing?

Not furnishing Mario Kart World with constant updates is one thing but we felt sure that the reason support for Animal Crossing: New Horizons – the breakout hit of the entire franchise – was cut short was so the team could get a new game ready for early on in the Switch 2’s career, so that it could benefit from new content throughout the whole of the console’s life. But instead Nintendo announced a Switch 2 Edition that adds almost nothing of note and implies a new game is several years away.

Nintendo not making sense might seem like their natural state of being, but in reality everything they do is perfectly logical, from their point of view, and only becomes so to others over time. The Switch 2 has been stretching credulity since the beginning though, to the point where everything feels like they switched to Plan B sometime in 2024 and they’ve been on that track ever since.

Even if sales at Christmas were less than hoped for, the Switch 2 is still the fastest-selling console of all-time and well ahead of where the Switch was at the same time in its lifetime. But you could tell the Switch 1 was special before its first Christmas, with a GOAT launch window line-up that Switch 2 hasn’t come close to matching.

The changing nature of game development may make the Switch 1’s achievements impossible to repeat (especially given the boost it got from being able to use Wii U ports to fill gaps in its schedule and provide a cast iron classic of a launch title) but that still makes it impossible not to be at least a little disappointed with the Switch 2.

We’ve long ago learnt not to try and predict Nintendo, or believe any rumours about them, even if the one about a Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is very persistent. Who knows what they’ll announce next week, if there even is a Direct next week, but while we’d welcome a modernised version of Ocarina Of Time as much as anyone, what we really crave is something new, in terms of both IP and gameplay ideas.

Nintendo always delivers eventually but they’ve certainly not made it easy waiting for that to happen with the Switch 2, which continues to be a great console supported by a merely good games line-up. Other publishers would be happy with far less but the problem with Nintendo’s reputation is that they’ve trained people to always expect the best thing ever, and this time that hasn’t happened. Or at least not yet.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Comments Add as preferred source

The Wednesday letters page is worried about the September release schedules, as a reader is unconcerned at not being able to afford a ROG Xbox Ally.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Unexcited state
So that God Of War Laufey looked good… can’t say anything else surprised me or excited me about the State of Play though. I don’t feel we really need a new God Of War game, and would’ve preferred to see Santa Monica Studio do something new, but I’m sure it’ll be a good game.

I’m not sure how much the State of Play being a little dull is the fault of Sony, compared to the fact that everything leaks out in advance, but while this might be happening at the same time that E3 used to, you’re definitely not getting the swarm of new announcements you used to get back then.

Lots of the games looked good but apart from release dates I don’t feel I really learned anything new about any of them. It was informative rather than being exciting, is probably how I’d put it.

I’ll be interested to see how it compares to Xbox on Sunday, because I expect they’ll try and go all out with reveals and such, even if Sony don’t need to be that desperate. I’m not sure what I’m expecting from Summer Game Fest but that’s such a slog given how long it is – I think I’ll just see the edited highlights the next day.
Gorf

A familiar mess
Watching the State Of Play and it seems everyone was so terrified of being out at the same time as GTA 6 they’ve decided all to release in September instead.

Even if Nintendo or Microsoft don’t announce anything for September (which is unlikely) the Sony presentation has already packed out the schedule in a way which means some titles are going to suffer.

I’m hoping the new Control game isn’t one that suffers in the scrum, as it looks excellent.

You would think that when putting together this show someone might go ‘Hang on, these are all a bit bunched up aren’t they?’ But then logic and sense rarely seems to feature in release schedules.
Euclidian Boxes

GC: The problem is only Sony knew all the release dates ahead of time and most of these publishers will be finding out about them at the same time as everyone else. Now that everything is made public, they have the chance to change them, as that last week of September is madness. We share your pessimism that they probably won’t though.

As predicted
I don’t regret staying up late to watch the State of Play but now it’s just finished I can barely remember any of it. God Of War Laufey looked good but also not very surprising. I know nothing is allowed to just end nowadays but I’m really not sure there’s much point in making the game, especially when the only new gameplay idea seems to be making it more like Devil May Cry.

Couldn’t you just… play a Devil May Cry game if that’s what you wanted to do? It looks great though, so I’m sure it’ll be cinematic and all that, so I might give it a go if I can get it cheap, but I’m not exactly going to pre-order it or anything.

It was fine, I guess, but the days of being blown away by these kind of livestreams, where it’s shock reveal after reveal are long gone. Now it’s more like waiting to see how much of the rumours were right, which this time was almost all of them.
Focus

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Game of the show
Well, I know what must have been GC’s favourite game in the otherwise predictable State of Play: The Lost Wild! Anything with dinosaurs is good with me too and this one looked really good. Weirdly I got confused with it at first, as I thought it was the trailer for the movie The End of Oak Street, which the beginning of the game trailer seemed very similar too, whether on purpose or not.

I’m not clear what the explanation for the dinosaurs is in the game, but I appreciate it using current scientific information and for making it look so cool and realistic. Here’s hoping it plays as good as it looks. Even better, let’s hope it’s the start of a new trend for dinosaur games, then we can finally get Capcom to take notice!
Radar

Unwanted story
I would be very glad if the success of Forza Horizon led to lots of games trying to do similar kind of things but as much as I want to see Clutch succeed, I’m really not sure adding a story is the way to make your game seem different.

I don’t think it’s an accident that other racing games have little or not story so I’m not really sure what they think they’re going to gain by bucking that trend. At best, if the game’s good, I’ll just end up ignoring the story. After all, as bad as the tournament stuff is in Forza Horizon it’s fairly easy to ignore and switch off.
Tolly

Luxury device
I agree that releasing another ROG Xbox Ally (I still don’t understand what the ROG bit means) seems a bit silly but I think the other reader has it a bit wrong. Obviously, spending a grand or more on a handheld console is not something most people are going to want to do but I also don’t think they’re really missing out on much.

None of these PC handhelds have exclusive games, they’re just a way to play existing PC games on a specialist device. If you want to be portable most ordinary laptops can play indie games at the very least, plus the Switch 2 has most of the same ones. So you’re not even really missing out on that portability front.

I’d put this sort of thing into the same category as the PS5 Pro, where even quite hardcore gamers see them as an unnecessary luxury and not something they want to spend money on or, more importantly, feel like they’re missing out on if they don’t have one.

We’d all love to own whatever hardware takes our fancy, I’m sure, but they’re just not essentials or anything that’s going to have a big impact on the rest of gaming. I feel that Project Helix will fall into that category as well. It’s a neat option if you’ve got infinite funds but it’s not something any ordinary gamer actually needs.
Grando

GC: ROG stands for Republic of Gamers, which is a brand Asus uses for most of its gaming hardware. They seem really keen on it.

Nintendo discount
Good Star Fox preview, GC. I pre-ordered the game from Currys straight after reading it.

I don’t normally pre-order but there was a 10% discount for doing so, which meant I only paid £40.49 for a physical copy with free delivery too.
Arteta26Legend

GC: Currys almost always seems to have that sort of deal for Nintendo games, to the point where it almost seems like an official relationship.

Spaceship adventures
I really like the sound of the Star Fox 64 remake, but I also like the idea from the Reader’s Feature at the weekend, of turning the series into a space trading game. I feel this would be a great idea as the problem with all the games after Star Fox 64 is that they’ve got so far away from the original game, which was focused on the spaceships.

They kept trying to turn it into a generic modern shooter, but Star Fox needs to be either an on-rails shooter or something where you’ve got a bit of freedom. To me, using something like Elite as your starting point sounds great, especially as I’d love to see what Nintendo would do with that kind of idea.

I consider the absolute worst Star Fox game to be Star Fox Adventures, which had nothing in common with the original games. It was just a boring Zelda clone, with no puzzles or anything that makes Zelda good, and then the Star Fox characters dumped on to top. I know it used to be a different game, before Star Fox was added, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a bad Zelda clone.

So I think you’ve got to stick to the spaceships as the focus first of all. The characters are cool (or amusingly not cool, depending on how you want to think about it) but you shouldn’t base the gameplay around them, in my opinion. I don’t even pick Fox in Super Smash Bros.
Curly

Inbox also-rans
My kids are going to love those Lego Pokémon sets. I was shocked at the prices of the first lot they announced but these are pretty reasonable. It’s crazy how much adults are willing to pay for Lego nowadays.
Olliephant

These Pokémon sets are all well and good but where’s my Lego Arwing?! Don’t tell me that wouldn’t sell, and if it wouldn’t make it anyway!
Benson

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Will tonight’s State of Play be a good one?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is this the most important week for gaming in 2026?

MORE: Games Inbox: Will Modern Warfare 4 save Call Of Duty?

Comments Add as preferred source

Lego has unveiled 12 new Pokémon sets and these ones are cheaper and simpler than before, and they use new smart bricks to make noises and interact with each other.

As soon as a team-up between Lego and Pokémon was announced, it was obvious the collaboration was going to be massively popular. That was confirmed when one of the sets started going for almost £2,500 on eBay.

So far, there have only been three sets, but they’ve all been aimed at adult collectors, with the prices ranging from £54.99 to £579.99. Even if a kid could afford that, some of the sets are huge and they’re all display pieces rather than actual toys.

But that is set to change with a second wave aimed squarely at a younger audience and using Lego’s new Smart Play technology, that makes noises and reacts to Lego being moved and played with. There are 12 new sets in total, with the cheapest being £12.99 and the most expensive a relatively modest £109.99.

As you can see, the style of the designs is closer to the Super Mario line than the ultra-detailed adult sets, which makes sense given the game’s origins and the fact that it makes them less delicate to play with.

We got to play around with them this morning and Lego explained that the squatter designs also ensure they can be held in one hand by a child.

The smart bricks are optional – the cheaper sets don’t come with one, so you have to use one from a more expensive set, or from the range of Star Wars ones that are already out. Once a brick is inserted into a model it interacts with various special tiles, much like the Super Mario Bluetooth minifigures.

Since the smart brick is able to make MIDI style sounds, and also has motion and colour sensors built in, it means you can do things like pretend to feed a pokémon, and have it respond. Or you can tickle it to get it to laugh or lay it down and have it fall asleep and snore.

The idea is that you mimic the process of training and creating a bond with a pokémon, not just by feeding and playing with it but training it up via the various training tools included in many of the sets.

Battles can be simulated to be closer to the games than you’d expect, with each critter having a normal and charged attack, and a dash move so they can get out of the way or pull back in defence. Even the types matter, so that electric-based Pikachu is better against water-based Squirtle.

The sounds as they fight are particularly fun, as they sound like a halfway house between the cries from the original video games and repeating their names as they do in the anime. Likewise, music plays while you battle but while it sounds like 8-bit Game Boy music it’s actually all original tunes.

Also similar to the Super Mario line is that there are two starter sets that give you all the basics, including at least one smart brick, while the other sets all require you to use a smart brick that you’ve got from elsewhere.

Training House with Pikachu (72164) – £59.99

This All-in-One set is the obvious place to start, as it’s relatively inexpensive and yet includes a smart brick, a smart brick charger, and 4 smart tags (the special tiles that the smart brick interacts with). All that and it features series mascot Pikachu, with a little treehouse model, and a training dummy. Living in a giant Pikachu head may be intended as a reference to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, although it wasn’t a treehouse in that, as far as we remember.

Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle (72167) – £109.99

The other all-in-one set is considerably more expensive, as it includes two smart bricks and two large figures, as well some targets for training, that the smart bricks can recognise has been hit. The Charizard figure is 18cm tall and the Jolteon is 12 cm, so they’re quite tall. The set has an 8+ age rating, so it’s a little more complicated than some of the others, but still much more manageable than any of the adult sets.

Berry Bash with Bulbasaur and Bidoof (72155) – £17.99

From here on in none of the sets come with a smart brick, although they do all have at least one or two smart tags that work with one. We actually think this Bidoof might be our favourite design of the lot, although the Bulbasaur is also pretty neat, as is the berry juicer that comes with it.

Trainer’s Buggy Adventure with Squirtle (72156) – £24.99

Some of these sets come with vehicles, but unless we’re forgetting something they seem to be made-up. Which is a bit odd as the Zero-One from Pokémon Snap would’ve been a neat inclusion, especially as you wouldn’t have thought Squirtle needs a buggy. Still, Squirtle and the pokéball are cool and you do get some stud shooters with it.

Charmander and Geodude’s Cavern Clash (72157) – £17.99

Although some of these match-ups seem pretty random there is a theme to it all, with the Gen I starters all appearing in low cost sets and each of them having background themed accessories. In this case you get a Geodude and a section of cave to explore, along with some crystals and a lamp.

Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly Battle (72158) – £29.99

Although the majority of the pokémon featured in these sets are from Gen I, aka the original Pokémon Red and Blue, there’s also this set which stars the three starters from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – the most recent of the video games. As usual for starters you get a grass, fire, and water type and in the set a little brick-built wheel you can spin to see who the next opponent is.

Jigglypuff Concert (72159) – £12.99

The cheapest of all the sets includes Jigglypuff, a microphone stand, and a set of speakers… and that’s it. You still get a smart tag though, so if you insert a smart brick into him, he can react to stimuli just the same as any of the expensive sets.

Drone Search for Mythical Mew (72161) – £44.99

We’re not sure if this drone is from the anime or something but it can interact with Mew too, and there’s a Great Ball, as well as some ancient ruins to hide Mew in. This is where you can really see the aim is to make a set that kids can play with, rather than just a display piece for adults.

Eevee and Lapras’s Treasure Hunt (72162) – £54.99

The organic shapes of pokémon do not lend themselves naturally to the angular bricks of Lego but this set has some of the best smart brick designs, especially when you compare the Eevee with the adult-orientated one released earlier in the year (which is the same price as this set). The Lapras is cool too, with a shipwreck motif going on as well as hidden treasure and a map.

Mewtwo’s Lab Break (72163) – £59.99 

It’s up to you whether this counts as a reference to the Detective Pikachu movie or the anime, but Mewtwo in a science lab setting is definitely an iconic Pokémon image. The containment capsule he’s in breaks apart and you get a Master Ball to try and catch him again.

Umbreon vs. Garchomp Championship (72165) – £69.99

All of these sets are suitable for ages ranging from 6+ to 10+ but this is one of the latter, with slightly more complex builds for dark type Eevee evolution Umbreon and Gen IV pseudo-legendary Garchomp, from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. You also get a trophy and a giant pokéball.

Cubone and Gengar’s Spooky Showdown (72166) – £79.99

The Gengar here is larger than many of the other pokémon and has a moving tongue that you can slide left and right. The playset is also more complex than the other sets, with targets to aim at (and an Ultra Ball to throw), so you can try and knock him off his perch and get to the treasure underneath.

All these Lego Pokémon sets are available for pre-order from today, from the Lego website, but they won’t be released until August 1. They’ll also be available at Lego stores, which will be running smart brick demos to show how the sets work.

Some stores will also become PokéStops and Gyms in Pokémon Go, with exclusive rewards – including an extra smart tag – between August and September (or while stocks last, which probably won’t be very long).

Also, likely to run out quickly is a gift with purchase that features a Poké Ball-shaped TV and Ditto from Pokémon Pokopia, but transformed into a Squirtle. It’s not clear how you get it yet, but usually it’s after spending a set amount of money on related sets.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Comments Add as preferred source

If you’re someone who was immediately put off by the audacity of the MSRP for this year’s LEGO Pokémon sets, you’re not alone.

The new wave of LEGO Pokémon is thankfully more varied and affordable, offering all sorts of “Smart Play” sets with some cheaper alternatives for those who aren’t looking to spend hundreds of dollars on plastic but still want to dabble in the hobby. Yeah, I’m looking at you, $650 set with Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur.

This isn’t just building… it’s TRAINING!

Pre-order LEGO® Pokémon™ SMART Play™ sets now. ⚡ pic.twitter.com/ZiqBVXnfRw

— Pokémon UK (@PokemonNewsUK) June 2, 2026

Don’t get me wrong, there are still some pricy ones in this new lineup, like Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle for $119.99 or Cubone and Gengar’s Spooky Showdown at $89.99, but several sets roam in the $15 to $60 range, and that’s a bit easier to contend with (at least in my brain), especially if you’re buying for kids.

Unfortunately, none of the sets come with the LEGO Smart Brick, which enables “interactive play” with lights and sounds, so those feel kind of like a necessary add-on for the sets unless you strictly want to display them.

The full lineup of Smart Play sets also includes:

• Jigglypuff Concert – $14.99
• Berry Bash with Bulbasaur & Bidoof – $19.99
• Charmander & Geodude’s Cavern Clash – $19.99
• Trainer’s Buggy Adventure with Squirtle – $29.99
• Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly Battle – $34.99
• Drone Search for Mythical Mew – $49.99
• Eevee and Lapras’s Treasure Hunt – $59.99
• Training House with Pikachu – $69.99
• Mewtwo’s Lab Break – $69.99
• Umbreon vs. Garchomp Championship Battle – $79.99
• Cubone and Gengar’s Spooky Showdown – $89.99

I personally have a massive backlog of unopened LEGO sets since I currently have nowhere to display them, so I probably won’t be picking any of these up. But the Mewtwo set, Squirtle on a buggy, and the set including all three Paldean starters are definitely speaking to me.

These sets all officially launch on Aug. 1, but pre-orders are available now.

0

The post Newest wave of LEGO Pokémon sets are smaller and mercifully more affordable than launch lineup appeared first on Destructoid.

If you're playing the Pokémon TCG right now, or are at least curious about it, you likely have (or will soon) come across Dragapult ex. After originally debuting in the eighth generation of mainline games, the Sword & Shield era, Dragapult has become one of the most important Pokémon, given its stature as the driving force in the TCG's single most dominant deck. At the recent regional competition in Melbourne, the three top players in the master's division all played a Dragapult deck.

The reasons for its dominance, specifically the Twilight Masquerade print of Dragapult ex, are varied but simple, and it starts with its dragon typing. As a Dragon-type Pokémon, it has no weakness. Every other type of Pokémon in the game has a weakness from which they take twice as much damage, but not dragons. Colorless-type Pokémon — usually the TCG's equivalent of Normal-types — still carry weaknesses of their own. Birds like the second-generation Noctowl are weak to lightning, and original 151 Pokémon like Kangaskhan are weak to fighting. Dragapult's lack of weakness, however, is only one piece of the puzzle and why, across its overwhelming share of the competitive Pokémon TCG meta, it comes in so many different forms.

Dragapult ex is a Stage 2 Pokémon, meaning it evolves from Dreepy through Drakloak before reaching its final form. Drakloak — which you need in play to evolve anyway — does real work while it's on the board. Its Recon Directive ability lets you look at the top two cards in your deck and pick one to add to your hand while putting the other on the bottom. It acts not as a raw draw engine but as a filtering tool that brings the deck a level of consistency other decks lack. Dragapult ex itself arrives with 320 HP and a single retreat cost; difficult to one-shot, easy to move out of the Active spot without losing tempo. It's also a Tera Pokémon, meaning it's protected from direct damage while sitting on the Bench, letting it wait safely while you set up.

Even across the deck's many variants, there's a consistent trainer package. Specific counts vary by build, but you can always expect several staples: Boss's Orders to force any of your opponent's Benched Pokémon into the Active spot, Lillie's Determination to shuffle your hand in for a fresh six or eight cards, item cards for Pokémon search like Ultra Ball, Buddy-Buddy Poffin, and Poké Pad, and recovery in Night Stretcher. The ACE SPEC slot — the one card per deck that exists outside the usual four-copy limit — is one of the most build-dependent decisions in any Dragapult list; Sparkling Crystal, Neo Upper Energy, and Unfair Stamp have all had their moment depending on the variant and the meta read.

The most important Trainer, still, is Crispin. Because Dragapult's primary attack, Phantom Dive, costs just two energies — a fire and a psychic — Crispin turns what should be a normal two-turn power-up into a one-turn supercharge, fixing your Energy mix to enable another level of momentum and get you swinging a full turn ahead of schedule. As Crispin's card instructs: "Search your deck for up to 2 Basic Energy cards of different types, reveal them, and put 1 of them into your hand. Attach the other to 1 of your Pokémon. Then, shuffle your deck."

In a format where many top attackers demand either a single energy type or even three or four energy to get going, one card that finds both energy types Dragapult needs in a single action is why Crispin is almost always a four-of in every build.

As for Phantom Dive itself, well, it's busted. For those two energies — or one with Sparkling Crystal or just the Neo Upper Energy attached— it's doing 200 direct damage to your opponent's Active. It gives you six damage counters to place freely across your opponent's Bench, simultaneously pressuring the main threat and setting up future knockouts. Because you're never forced to commit to a single target, you can adapt mid-game; if your opponent benches a new threat, future Phantom Dives can redirect counters there, meaning you're rarely wasting damage.

As for support Pokémon staples, Budew is a near-universal inclusion. Their Itchy Pollen attack deals 10 damage and leaves your opponent unable to play Item cards on their next turn, all without costing a single energy. That disruption buys the critical turns needed to evolve through the Dragapult line, since getting a Stage 2 onto the board takes time that a well-timed Item lock can protect. Munkidori's Adrena Brain ability lets you move up to three damage counters off one of your own Pokémon onto one of your opponent's. This is a crucial complement to Phantom Dive's spread, letting you consolidate scattered counters onto a single target to reach knockouts that Phantom Dive alone couldn't finish. And since Perfect Order's release in March, Meowth ex has become a staple across builds as well, its Last-Ditch Catch ability letting you search your deck for any Supporter card the moment you play it to your Bench.

Dragapult variants make up roughly 25% of the competitive meta right now. It's not uncommon to sit down at a tournament and face Dragapult all day. Here's a breakdown of the most common builds:

1. Dragapult - Sometimes referred to as "straight Dragapult," this build is the most self-contained of the variants. The core remains consistent — four Dreepys and Drakloaks, at least two Dragapult ex, if not three or four — but without a secondary Pokémon line to build around, the flex slots are where the interesting meta reads live.

Andrew Hedrick won the LA Regionals by filling those slots with Crushing Hammers, and then Hiromu Sasaki played hammers in Melbourne, too. It's a coin flip per copy: heads strips an energy from your opponent's Pokémon, tails, nothing happens. That variance sounds unreliable, but at four copies it creates enough pressure to slow opposing attackers. At the same time, Phantom Dive does its job — and it succeeded specifically because it was occupying space previously taken by now-rotated trainers like Iono, Counter Catcher, and Professor Turo's Scenario. You aren't relying on the Hammers to win; you're using them to buy a turn or two, and that's often all Dragapult needs. A current example of the same logic applied differently is the single-prize Moltres from Phantasmal Flames, which hits ex Pokémon for 90 damage at a single fire energy cost — a cheap, unexpected answer to threats the spread damage alone can't close out cleanly.

2. Dragapult Dusknoir — Before the April rotation, "PultNoir," as it's sometimes called, was the definitive version of the deck, the benchmark by which everything else was measured. Dusknoir's Cursed Blast ability lets you place 13 damage counters on any one of your opponent's Pokémon at the cost of Dusknoir knocking itself out, while its Stage 1 predecessor Dusclops offers a softer version of the same trick at five counters. Together, they turn Phantom Dive's scattered spread into exacting finishing blows, engineering the kind of multi-prize turns and come-from-behind wins — reaching damage thresholds as high as 330 — that made PultNoir feel genuinely unfair. It was also the variant with the most to lose from rotation — Counter Catcher, Iono, and Hawlucha, whose Flying Entry ability seeded one damage counter onto two Benched Pokémon to prime future knockouts, all gone simultaneously. PultNoir survived, but it's a leaner, less forgiving version of itself. 

3. Dragapult Dudunsparce — Dragapult is already one of the most consistent decks in its stock forms, and this variant is even more so. Dudunsparce's Run Away Draw ability lets you draw three cards, then shuffles itself back into your deck — meaning you can cycle multiple Dudunsparces across a game, seeing more and more of your deck without ever discarding. In a TCG where random variance is supposed to be baked into the design, this deck is remarkably predictable. Paired with Drakloak's Recon Directive filtering, the two engines complement rather than overlap: one gives you selection, the other gives you volume. Dudunsparce isn't exclusive to Dragapult either — it's currently powering Alakazam, Mega Lopunny, and the incoming Beedrill swarm deck ahead of NAIC, which is why a stamped Dunsparce has climbed from $0.52 to $3.39 on TCGPlayer since March.

4. Dragapult Blaziken — Blaziken's Seething Spirit ability lets you attach a fire energy from your discard pile to any of your Pokémon, giving Dragapult a built-in acceleration engine that synergizes directly with Phantom Dive's fire energy cost. But Blaziken isn't just a support piece — its Smoldering Assault attack hits for 200 damage, enough to one-shot many of the grass-type decks currently crowding the meta, which is a meaningful tool in a format where Charizard's departure made grass viable again. The catch is that Smoldering Assault can't be used on back-to-back turns, so you're rotating between Blaziken and Dragapult rather than leaning on either exclusively. Running two Stage 2 lines means more things have to go right, and in a deck whose appeal is consistency, that's a real ask, which is why it made the cut in Prague but was absent from LA's top placements. In the right hands, though, the combination of energy recovery and a secondary attacker can close out matchups that Phantom Dive can't, giving this variant a ceiling the others don't have.

5. Dragapult Noctowl/Tera Pult — This is arguably the most technically demanding variant and, by some accounts, the strongest (but also the least used) of these. Noctowl's Jewel Seeker ability lets you search your deck for up to two Trainer cards when you evolve into it — but only if you have a Tera Pokémon in play. That's where Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex comes in, primarily as the Tera condition that unlocks Jewel Seeker, but also as a legitimate situational attacker in its own right. Sob costs just one energy and locks the Defending Pokémon from retreating, while Torrential Pump hits the Active for 100 and places an additional 120 damage on a Benched Pokémon. This is just more spread damage feeding directly into the same counter-manipulation game Phantom Dive is already running.

When the engine works, Jewel Seeker gives you surgical access to exactly the Trainer you need at exactly the right moment. It's also why you'll see Noctowl in a lot of other decks, like Tera Box and Flareon Noctowl. Notably, this variant tends to run more Rare Candy to expedite the evolution line and skip Drakloak altogether when the board calls for it. This sacrifices Recon Directive's filtering in exchange for faster setup and more Noctowl triggers, betting that Jewel Seeker's targeted Trainer search more than compensates. The same Noctowl engine appears across other archetypes, but here it amplifies a deck that's already difficult to disrupt. The setup dependency and the piloting ceiling are why it hasn't taken hold the way Dusknoir or Dudunsparce have. This is the variant where the skill gap between pilots is most visible.

Final Thoughts

As a relatively new player, I don't have the historical background to say whether this format is healthier than past ones ruled by Lugia/Archeops or Regidrago VSTAR decks, which were statistically dominant in their own eras. But I do think Dragapult is more interesting than the doomer framing around it suggests in league tables and across the internet. For players getting into the game, it offers something valuable: a top deck with multiple viable builds, visible decision points, and room for experimentation.

Then there's the upcoming expansion Pitch Black, due out July 17, 2026. That's going to introduce Mega Darkrai ex and the Ghost Veil archetype, a deck focused around a range of Pokémon with a new shared Ghost Veil ability already being touted as a possible direct counter to Dragapult. It prevents "secondary effects of attacks or Abilities from your opponent's Pokémon," meaning Phantom Dive gets nerfed and the Dusknoir line potentially neutered in the process. That doesn't mean the Dragapult deck shouldn't be criticized, or that the format is necessarily worse or stronger for it, but the conversation around Dragapult should be more precise than "the game is broken." A dominant deck can still produce interesting games, especially when its best version has not been fully solved.

Dragapult may be dominant, but dominance can be an entry point to understanding the game rather than a reason to write off the format. 

Time to swap your bug catchers for Poké Balls. Pokémon GO announces the debut of Blipbug at the Bug Out event from March 17 to 23, 2026. 

With spring right around the corner, Pokémon GO unveils the Bug Out event as it kicks off from March 17 to 23, 2026, featuring the debut of Blipbug, event bonuses, and many more as Trainers seek and capture bug-type Pokémon in the wild. Alongside the debut of Blipbug, Niantic shares more details about the Memories in Motion GO Pass.

The biggest highlight of the Pokémon GO Bug Out event is the debut of Galar region bug-type Pokémon, Blipbug. As Trainers capture the sleek Pokémon to add to their Pokédex, Blipbug can evolve into Dottler using 25 Blipbug Candy, and fully evolve into Orbeetle using 100 Candy. Alongside capturing Blipbug, Trainers can encounter many event-themed regular and shiny Pokémon in the wild, including Caterpie, Dwebble, Sizzlipede, Nymble, Scyther, and more. 

Alongside the Pokémon available in the wild, the Pokémon GO Bug Out event will offer event bonuses based on the regular Lure Modules, attracting various bug-type Pokémon and increasing the chance of luring the shiny Paras, Combee, and Cutiefly. Depending on the day and time, the Pokémon that will be attracted to the regular Lure Modules are:

• March 17 at 10 AM to March 19 at 10 AM local time – Paras and Sizzlipede.
• March 19 at 10 AM to March 21 at 10 AM local time – Cutiefly and Sizzlipede.
• March 21 at 10 AM to March 23 at 8 PM local time – Combee and Sizzlipede.

In addition to the Regular Lures event bonuses, Trainers can earn rewards from reaching Major Milestones in the event-themed GO Pass. The rewards that will be offered in each tier include:

• Tier 1 – 2x XP for successfully catching Pokémon with a Nice Throw or better. 
• Tier 2 – 2x Candy for successfully catching Pokémon, or 3x Candy for successfully catching Pokémon with a GO Pass Deluxe. 

For Trainers looking to participate in Raids during the Pokémon GO Bug Out event, the raids that will be running are:

• One Star Raids – Blipbug
• Three-Star Raids – Pinsir
• Three-Star Raids – Scizor
• Three-Star Raids – Kleavor

As Trainers partake in Raids, event-themed Field Research tasks will be available during the Bug Out event. Completing the limited-time tasks will reward Trainers with items and encounters with event-themed Pokémon.

Throughout the event, the GO Pass: Bug Out will be available for Trainers to collect GO Points to increase their ranks and earn rewards. For those looking to take it to the next level, Trainers can upgrade to the GO Pass Deluxe: Bug Out for $4.99 to unlock upgraded rewards and faster progression, with the GO Pass Deluxe: Bug Out + 6 Ranks available for $6.99 USD to receive the previously mentioned benefits and jump to Rank 7. From what we know so far, the free and GO Pass Deluxe rewards include:

• Encounter with Blipbug
• Encounter with event-themed Pokémon
• Stardust
• XP
• Lure Modules
• Great Balls
• GO Pass Deluxe: Additional encounters with even more event-themed Pokémon
• GO Pass Deluxe: Premium Battle Passes
• GO Pass Deluxe: Lure Modules
• GO Pass Deluxe: Rare Candy XL
• GO Pass Deluxe: Candy XL

For those who purchase the GO Pass Deluxe: Bug Out or GO Pass Deluxe: Bug Out +6 Rank on the Pokémon GO webstore, Trainers will receive 10 Ultra Balls, five Max Revives, one Premium Battle Pass, and five Max Potions. Exclusive to the Web Store for Trainers wanting to elevate their event experience, the GO Pass Deluxe: Bug Out +6 Ranks Ultra Box offers 20 Ultra Balls, 10 Max Revives, 10 Max Potions, two Premium Battle Passes, one Incubator, and one Super Incubator. 

Following the announcement of Pokémon GO’s upcoming season, Memories in Motion, Ninantic has shared more details about the GO Pass, running from March 3 to April 7, 2026. On top of the free GO Pass for Trainers to unlock rewards and climb the rank from completing Pass Tasks and collecting GO Points, Trainers can upgrade to the GO Pass Deluxe for $7.99 USD for upgraded rewards and faster progression, or opt for the GO Pass Deluxe +10 for $9.99 to receive the benefits of the Deluxe and jump to Rank 11. From what we know so far, the rewards that will be offered through the regular and deluxe GO Pass are:

• Encounter with Raikou
• Stardust
• XP
• Max Particles
• GO Pass Deluxe: A Timed Incubator
• GO Pass Deluxe: One Super Incubator
• GO Pass Deluxe: Additional encounters with more Pokémon

As Trainers climb the GO Pass ranks, players can unlock bonus rewards from reaching Major Milestones. The bonus rewards included in each Major Milestone are:

• Tier 1: Rank 25 – Open up to 40 Gifts per day, hold 10 more Gifts in your Item Bag, and receive up to 125 Gifts per day from spinning PokéStop and Gym Photo Discs. 
• GO Pass Deluxe Tier 1: Rank 25 – Open up to 50 Gifts per day, hold up to 20 more Gifts in your Item bag, and receive up to 150 Gifts per day from spinning PokéStop and Gym Photo Discs.
• Tier 2: Rank 50 – 2x Daily Adventure Incense duration.
• Tier 3: Rank 75 – Increased Stardust and XP from hatching Eggs. 

Before wrapping up, Trainers who purchase the GO Pass Deluxe: March or GO Pass Deluxe: March +10 Ranks on the Pokémon GO Web Store will receive 10 Ultra Balls, five Max Revives, one Premium Battle Pass, and five Max Potions. For Trainers looking to take it to the next level, the Web Store exclusive GO Pass Deluxe: March +10 Ranks Ultra Box includes 20 Ultra Balls, 10 Max Revives, 10 Max Potions, two Premium Battle Passes, one Incubator, and one Super Incubator. 

Ready to catch some bug-type Pokémon? Pokémon GO Bug Out event will run from March 17 to 23, 2026. To Learn more about the Bug Out event, Trainers can visit the page here. Alongside the event, visit the Pokémon GO website for more details about the GO Pass: March.

As snow continues to fall, Niantic announces Pokémon GO’s upcoming season, Memories in Motion, featuring Daily Discovery, new events, and many more. 

Wrapping up the Season of Precious Paths, it’s time for Trainers to don their training caps and grab their Poké Balls with the announcement of Pokémon GO’s upcoming season, Memories in Motion, launching on March 3, 2026. Stepping into the new season, the update features Daily Discoveries, adjusted event paces, Community Day, and more. 

Released in 2016, Pokémon GO brings the beloved creatures to real life, allowing players to explore their surroundings to capture Pokémon and battle their rivals in designated Gym areas from their mobile devices. Entering their virtual realm, the title features many Pokémon across the generations, Raid Battles, Max Battles to fight and capture Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon, and fun events. 

Kicking off on March 3, the biggest update to arrive in Pokémon GO: Memories in Motion is the Daily Discoveries, making every day of the week unique for every player. Running from 12 AM to 11:59 PM, each day will host:

• Double-Time Sunday – Incense, Lure Modules, Glacial Lure Modules, Mossy Lure Modules, Magnetic Lure Modules, and Rainy Lure Modules activated on Sunday will last 2x longer.
• Fast-Track Monday – 2x GO Points from Pass Tasks for both monthly and event GO Passes.
• Max Monday – Power Spots refreshes more frequently, additional Power Spots will be active on Mondays compared to the rest of the week, and Max Battles will rotate to feature different Dynamax Pokémon. 
• Showcase Tuesday – PokéStop Showcases are active on Tuesdays, featuring up to 20 categories.
• Wednesday (Raid Hour) – Each week at the start of the day, Raid Bosses for five-star Raids and Mega Raids will rotate. Additionally, Raid Hours will continue featuring the five-star Raid Boss between 6 PM and 7 PM local time. 
• GO Battle Thursday –  Trainers can earn up to 4x Stardust from winning, and the maximum number of sets for play per day has increased from five to 10 – for a total of 50 battles. 
• Friendship Friday – Up to two Special Trades, increased chance of Lucky trade for any trades, guaranteed two Candy XL from trades for Level 31+ Trainers, and Stardust costing up to -10% for trades. 

Alongside the introduction of Daily Discoveries, events will be receiving updates to adjust their pacing. Taking effect during the launch of Pokémon GO: Memories in Motion, the update includes:

• Adjusted Events to follow a more regular schedule. 
• Weekend Events will move to Saturday, local time. 
• Events will shift away from paid tickets to event GO Passes. 
• Later in the season, Trainers can access the in-game event calendar with the latest information.

For the shiny hunters, previously debuted shiny Pokémon that are evolved can be encountered in the wilds. In contrast, Pokémon from Raid Battles and Eggs have a higher chance of being shiny. Additionally, Trainers will have the chance to save a debuted shiny Pokémon from the Team GO Rocket, with the chance being higher when rescued from the Team GO Rocket leaders and Giovanni.

Starting on March 3 at 10 AM local time, Trainers are invited to participate in the Special Research Story, Pressure Rising, available after completing the Glitz and Glam Special Research. After completing the Pressure Rising Special Research, Trainers can encounter the Mythical Pokémon, Volcanion. For those who have completed the Pokémon GO Fest 2025-exclusive Special Research, they will be awarded with an Volcanion Candy after completing the Pressure Rising Special Research.

Running from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time on March 14, the Community Day will spotlight the Galar Fire-type starter Scorbunny, increasing its encounter rate in the wild. After catching Scorbunny, Trainers can participate in March Community Day-themed field research to earn Stardust, Ultra Balls and additional Scorbunny encounters, some of which may feature a special background. If evolved into Cinderace during the event or within four hours afterward, it will learn the Charged Attack Blast Burn. Pyro Ball will also be added permanently to its moveset.

For Trainers looking to maximize the event, a Scorbunny Community Day-exclusive special research ticket will be available for $1.99 US. Completing the special research will reward players with three Scorbunny encounters featuring a special background, additional encounters, one Premium Battle Pass, one Rare Candy XL and other bonuses.

In addition, event bonuses will run from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, featuring:

• 1/4 Egg Hatch Distance when Eggs are placed in the Incubator during the event.
• 2x Candy for catching Pokémon.
• Level 31+ Trainers will have a 2x chance of receiving Candy XL from catching Pokémon.
• Incense will be activated for three hours during the event, excluding Daily Adventure Incense. 
• Earn surprises while taking Snapshots during the event.
• Lure Modules will last for an hour and have a chance of attracting the featured Pokémon. 
• One additional Special Trade can be made per day, for a maximum of two.
• Trades will cost 50% less Stardust. 

Following the March 14 Community Day, Trainers can look forward to the future Community Days on April 11 and May 9, 2026. Not to mention, Community Day Classic will be taking place on May 16, 2026.  

As Trainers seek to catch’em all, Pokémon GO: Memories in Motion will include many new features for players to look forward to. The features that will be joining the update are:

• What’s Your Favourite? –  A new camera mode for players to showcase their favourite Pokémon as they celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pokémon GO and the 30th anniversary of Pokémon. 
• Themed Stickers – Trainers can earn themed stickers from spinning PokéStops, opening Gifts, and purchasing through the in-game shop. 
• GO Battle League – Battle in the Kanto Cup, Fantasy Cup, Jungle Cup, and more. Trainers can visit the GO Battle League webpage for more details. 

While partaking in new events, Memories in Motion features many Pokémon that will be available through the Research Breakthrough and Egg hatching. The Pokémon that will be available in this season are:

• Research Breakthrough encounter – Regular and Shiny variants of Gyarados, Honedge, Dhelmise, Sinistea, Duraludon, and Dreepy.  
• 2km Eggs – Dunsparce, Wimpod, Tadbulb, and more. 
• 5km Eggs – Sizzlipede, Snom, Fidough, and more. 
• 7km Eggs – Galarian Meowth, Galarian Corsola, Galarian Zigzagoon, and more. 
• 10km Eggs – Deino, Honedge, Impidimp, and more. 
• Adventure Sync Rewards: 5km Eggs – Chingling, Happiny, Audino, and more.
• Adventure Sync Rewards: 10km Eggs – Goomy, Turtonator, Toxel, and more.
• Route Rewards: 7km Eggs from Mateo’s Gift Exchange – Hisuian Growlithe, Galarian Slowpoke, White-Striped Form Basculin, and more. 

During the Memories in Motion, the GO Pass will be available for players to climb the rank and earn rewards by completing the Pass Tasks and earning GO points. Additionally, Trainers can upgrade to the GO Pass Deluxe to unlock upgraded rewards and progress faster. 

Before wrapping up, Pokémon GO will offer seasonal bonuses throughout the duration of Memories in Motion. The seasonal bonuses that will be available are:

• Level 31+ will receive a guaranteed Candy XL when trading Pokémon in-person. 
• One additional Candy when trading Pokémon in person.
• Increased XP for a seven-day PokéStop spin streak.
• Increased XP and Stardust for a seven-day Pokémon catch streak.

That’s about everything arriving in Pokémon GO’s latest season, Memories in Motion. To learn more about the season, Trainers can visit the Pokémon GO website. 

It’s about to be a massive week for Pokémon fans, as a double helping of the cuddly creatures is on the way.

The Pokémon Company has announced that a new Pokémon Presents is scheduled for February 27 at 6 am PT, which just so happens to be Pokémon Day. It’s fair to assume this might be a big show, considering the series is on the cusp of celebrating its 30th anniversary. And because we already have a game announcement tied to it.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, remakes of the first two games in the series, will hit Switch Online right after the presentation on February 27 — running $19.99 each as digital-only titles.

Originally released in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance, these were the first “enhanced” remakes for the Pokémon franchise, something we’d see many times again afterward. Outside of a visual overhaul, the remakes added a contextual tutorial feature, allowing players to look up info at any point in the game by simply pressing the select button. Here’s a quick description of the games via a press release.

“Enjoy the classic soundtrack and turn-based gameplay, and meet-up familiar faces like Brock, Misty, Professor Oak and Giovanni! These classic Game Boy Advance RPGs feature all of the updates introduced during the Game Boy Advance era, including abilities, natures, weather conditions, held items and the ability to select your player character’s gender. Nintendo Switch players can also now link up with friends via local co-op² without the need to use a Game Link Cable like you did in 2004!”

FireRed and LeafGreen getting announced before the show certainly begs the question of what else is going to get announced, however. Over the last few months, there have been multiple leaks of information on Generation 10 of the series, and r/Pokeleaks has been packed to the brim with information.

Presumably, with the series’ anniversary, it’s not unreasonable to think that might be the centerpiece of this upcoming Presents. We’re also waiting for more info on the battle-focused Pokémon Champions. But it’s always possible we could also see a bit TV show or movie announcement, and plenty of new merchandise.

Having suddenly appeared on the Nintendo eShop, Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green are coming to the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 next week on 27th February – that’s Pokémon Day, which will have a traditional stream with new announcements, for which this was no doubt meant to be a surprise.

The games are priced pretty highly, set at £16.99 / $19.99, but also have the quirk of having distinct versions released for every language that they were shipped in.

The reason for this, per the eShop store page, is that “Because this version replicates the way the game was originally released, each language version is separate and there are no in-game options to change the language.” That’s an unnecessary complication for modern gamers, and honestly doesn’t make too much sense, but it hopefully won’t catch too many people out.

These Game Boy Advance remakes of the original game are rare enough to be prized possessions amongst game collectors, if you can find an original cartridge – it will be a great way to mark the Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary, that’s for sure.

The remakes updated the originals with the graphics of the GBA era – also making it so that Green was the pairing to Red, instead of Blue as it had been for the original western release – and added the Sevii Islands to visit, while bringing some other improvements like a contextual tutorial, save game recaps, and ties to the other Game Boy Advance and GameCube Pokémon games. Fire Red and Leaf Green also came with a special wireless adapter for local link play, and since wireless is now built into everything you own, this will also be supported on Switch.

Most importantly for the here and now, these games will have support for Pokémon Home added to them, so Pokémon caught in this game can be brought through to the newer titles.

This weekend will be Pokemon Go local Kalos Tour, and as we mentioned in our prep guide, it hasn’t been looking good. We’ve been expecting a big announcement to drop right before the event, and we were right, but it’s not a great one. The problematic-since-release feature, which has seen some improvement, is taking another […]

Nintendo Music has proven to be a nice little addition to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service adding a wide array of soundtracks from classic games from many different eras. The latest addition is the arrival of Pokemon FireRed & Pokemon LeafGreen which are arriving on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on 27th… Read More »Tracks from Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen added to Nintendo Music

Source

Nintendo has announced a special physical bundle for the upcoming rereleases of the beloved Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen and it looks rather special. It should be noted that the games themselves are download codes which expire in July 2026. The expiration date is presumably to stop people from hoarding and selling at a later date… Read More »Japan: Nintendo announces special physical bundle for Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen

Source

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company announced earlier today that both Pokemon FireRed & Pokemon LeafGreen will be arriving on the Nintendo eShop on Pokemon Day which is 27th February. Many of you have questions about how these releases are being handled and to answer some of the more pressing issues Nintendo has published a full… Read More »Nintendo publishes Pokemon FireRed & Pokemon LeafGreen Switch FAQ

Source

The time has arrived to celebrate the Pokémon franchise's birthday. The 30th Anniversary Pokémon Presents Livestream will take place on Pokémon Day at the end of February, offering a look at the next several months of releases and additions to the series.

Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen are officially making their way to Nintendo Switch and the upcoming "Switch 2," and honestly, it’s about time.

Nintendo is forcing a Pokemon TCG store in New York City to change its name, following concerns over the beloved franchise's branding and trademark. The massively popular TCG based on the monster-catching series is easily one of the biggest collectible card games in the world, with a long and storied history throughout its nearly three decades. The Pokemon TCG has grown into one of the biggest branches of the Pokemon brand, with tens of thousands of cards for players to collect across its many expansions. The past year has seen a particular boom for the TCG as well.