Pokemon Weekly News Roundup [April 31 - May 20]

Hey guys, Chris here with something I'll be doing every week from now on - the Pokémon Weekly News Roundup! This will include a more compact version of the week's news regarding the Pokémon Video Games, Anime, Trading Cards, Merchandise and any other Special Announcements that are made. It'll also be a place to discuss such topics without having the site flooded with separate topics for literally everything. Because LV's been down, we've got a lot of catching up to do, so without further ado, let's get right into it!

VIDEO GAME NEWS ​

Main Series:

• The next Battle Competition, the May 2017 International Challenge, is currently open for registration. The battles will run with VGC 2017 rules. All entrants will get the Tyranitarite, Abomasite and Manectite Mega Stones, and players that are part of the Play! Pokémon program will also earn Championship Points if they rank high enough. Battles will run from the 26th of May to the 28th of May.
• To coincide with the release of the Guardians Rising TCG set, retailers across the US and Europe have begun distributing Lycanroc (Midnight Form) to players with copies of Sun and Moon. This Lycanroc comes at Lv. 50, has the No Guard ability, knows the moves Stone Edge, Fire Fang, Sucker Punch and Swords Dance, and is holding a Life Orb.
• The sixth Global Mission, Harvest Poke Beans!, was a success. All players will receive 2000 FC (4000 if your game is connected to the Global Link), and Global Link players will also receive a Love Ball and Rare Candy prize pack through a serial code on the Global Link by following this link once you've logged in to the Global Link. The next Global Mission involves fishing at bubbling spots.
• An event is currently live for players of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Using the code AZUL, you can collect the Steelixite, Pidgeotite, Heracronite and Houndoominite from Mystery GIft.
• The Ash-Pikachu event is still running in Japan. The time frame for the Hoenn Cap Pikachu is over, but the Sinnoh Cap Pikachu is now available for redemption.
• An update patch was released for Pokémon Sun and Moon. This patch brings the game up to Version 1.2 and provides a few updates. The patch is 296 blocks to download. These patches are required to go online on your games and required to participate at official events. This patch fixes a glitch with Sky Drop where it would keep a Pokémon active despite being knocked out. It also fixes an issue where Scatterbug wouldn't remember Egg Moves correctly. It also fixed a glitch that allowed Poke Pelago to be manipulated with the calendar. It also fixed a glitch where Eggs could be given items and it fixed a glitch where the game would crash if an Evolution Item was the last item in your bag and was used. Battle Videos from Version 1.0 or 1.1 cannot be played on this version. Click here to access the QR codes that link to the eShop page for the update patch.

Spin-Offs:

• Pokémon Shuffle has had many updates over the past few weeks, log into your game to see what's new!
• Pokémon Duel has had many updates over the past few weeks, log into your game to see what's new!
• Pokémon Duel is currently running a Gym Cup Challenge, this time for the Rock Gym. This event has all Rock-type Movement 1 & 2 figures get an increase of 1 for movement and Steel-types getting an Attack increase of 20 for each attack. The event lasts until May 27th.
• Pokémon GO has had an update over the past few weeks. Check your App Store for more information.
• Pokémon GO has had 2 events, one that has passed and one that has just started. The previous event increased the spawn rates of Grass-type Pokémon and made Lures last for 6 hours instead of half an hour. The current event increases the spawn rates of Rock-type Pokémon, allows Buddy Pokémon to earn candy four times faster than usual, gives more items from Poke Stops, sells Poke Balls for 50% off and gives every player a free hat - the Explorer's Hat. The event will run until May 25th.
• A new mobile Pokémon game was released recently - Magikarp Jump. Currently only available on iOS in Italian, the game seems to be a virtual pet-style game, where players must catch and raise different Magikarp in order to create the best Magikarp. Magikarp come in all different colours and patterns. There has been no word on the game's full release yet.

ANIME + MOVIE NEWS ​

Main Series:

• Many new episodes have aired over the past 3 weeks, with the latest episode being "Come Forth, Lycanroc with the Crimson Look!!!". Next week's episode is titled "The Fierce Pokébase Match! Aim for a Home Run to Turn the Tide!!".

Movies/Specials:

• CoroCoro magazine had an article on Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, however no new information was given about the movie. Thus, there has been no news regarding Pokémon Movies or Anime Specials over the past few weeks.

TRADING CARD GAME NEWS ​

• Many new cards and collections were revealed over the past 3 weeks, but there was also an important announcement regarding re-print cards. Up until now, cards that were re-printed (e.g. Xerneas EX from XY being reprinted as a promotional card) were included in the Standard playing format, meaning cards that were previously banned could make their way in. However, this has changed, as cards that are re-printed for promotional purposes will no longer have a special promo number. Instead, they will contain the same number from their original set, but will now also contain a letter in their set number. For more on this, and other TCG news, head over to PokeBeach's TCG page (you'll have to check this one too) for all the news regarding TCG over the past few weeks.

MERCHANDISE NEWS ​

• Lots of merchandise was announced over the past 3 weeks, but there was also an announcement made in regards to a new license between The Pokémon Company International and Wicked Cool Toys, meaning that there are going to be more Pokémon-related products hitting shelves all around the world (except Japan, where this stuff is handled by The Pokémon Company itself) very soon. For more on this, and other Merchandise news, head over to PokeShopper.com's News page for all the news regarding Merchandise over the past few weeks.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS ​

• There have been no special announcements made over the past few weeks.

Well, that's it for the past few weeks! Feel free to discuss any of the news down below, and I'll see you all next week! This is Chris, signing out!