Poke Press @ Anime Milwaukee 2019

Anime Milwaukee was held last weekend, and I was able to get some footage out of the event. First, I had a chance to interview Yokon, the winner of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament. He used Gannondorf to climb his way to the top, and provides some insight into the character:

I also recorded a recap of the event, which you can see here:

A press pass was provided for this event.

Anime Milwaukee Website

The music of "The Power of Us" with Pikapi Podcast

Another Pokemon movie has come out, and as usual Anne and I are here to share our thoughts. This time, however, we recorded it live:

Discussing the music of "The Power of Us" was a lot of fun, and we hope you'll join us next time when we discuss the music of "Genesect and the Legend Awakened" in about a month. If you're wondering where our previous discussion of "Kyurem Vs. the Sword of Justice" is, it'll be coming to the channel soon, but you can listen to it on Anne's Patreon.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 23-Pokemon Cries/Wizard World Madison

In the first segment (0:51-10:53), I interview "Dots" from the YouTube channel "Retro Game Mechanics Explained." We talk about how he started his channel, and a recent video he did about the cries of Pokemon from generation 1. "Dots" also explains the sound generation application he created as part of his research.

The second segment (11:59-21:41) has some interviews from the recent Wizard World Comic Con event in Madison. You'll hear from Pokemon YouTuber RealBreakingNate, as well as Jerry Milani, the PR rep for the Wizard World organization.



Links:

Segment 1:
Retro Game Mechanics Explained Channel
Pokemon Cry Generator

Why it Works: We're A Miracle:
First Movie music discussion

Segment 2:
RealBreakingNate's Channel
Wizard World* Website

*A press pass was provided for this event.

Why It Works: We're A Miracle

Christina Aguilera's "We're A Miracle" has some obvious things going for it in regard to Pokemon: The First Movie, but some of the reasons this pre-existing song fits so well are a bit more obscure:

“We’re A Miracle” wasn’t written or re-written to work with Pokémon: The First Movie-and, if for some reason you don’t believe me on that, I do have an e-mail from one of the folks behind the song. In any event, despite its unrelated origins, it seems to do a great job matching up with the film-but why is that? There’s the obvious stuff, like references to a storm and tears early in the piece, and some later lyrics that provide a good summary of the relationship between Ash and Pikachu. However, there’s another possible explanation-“We’re A Miracle” definitely features some of Christina’s more aggressive vocal qualities. Normally this gives her songs a sensual vibe, but here it has the benefit of making her sound a bit more like, well, you know. Anyway, if you’d like to hear a more in-depth analysis of this song, as well as its Japanese equivalent, “Together With The Wind”, a few years ago I recorded a discussion with Anne from Pikapi Podcast.

Pokemon TCG Team Up Prerelease Recap

Another new Pokemon TCG set is coming, so get ready for another recap! This time, I'll be going over the cards I got at the "Team Up" prerelease in Madison, WI:

What happened to the hosts of "WTPT: Pokemon Radio"?

Spoiler Alert: Jowy and KC are still alive and kicking, but they have undertaken some new endeavors, particularly in the last few years:

Running from 2007 to 2010, WTPT, also known as “The Pallet Tribune” was one of the dominant Pokémon podcasts of that era. Helmed by Jowy Romano and Keith “K.C.” Smith, the Brooklyn-based show covered various aspects of the franchise, as well as whatever was happening in the world of Pokémon at the time. It also brought in a number of guests, including myself, along the way. Despite its success, however, the show would come to an abrupt end in 2010 for several reasons, notably a conflict with K.C.’s employer. There were a few tidbits and a spinoff that came afterwards, but that was more or less the end of WTPT.

Nearly a decade later, you may be wondering-what happened to those guys? Well, they actually both run new podcasts that are active to this day. K.C. co-hosts “The SwitchCast”, a Nintendo Switch-focused show that covers the system and its games, and Jowy has started “Level 5 Radio”, which discusses Pokémon Go in the New York City area-and has a rather familiar-looking logo. If you’re interested in either, there are links in the video description. If you just want to relive some classic WTPT memories, Jowy was nice enough to let me upload some of the old episodes to my channel.

Some of the information in this article came from the Bulbapedia article for WTPT.

Unboxing the "Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee" Soundtrack

While the "Pokemon Let's Go" soundtrack may be available digitally in the states, in Japan you can pick up a three-disc CD set. The music may be the same, but the added contents may make it more appealing to some. Oh, and haircuts are...interesting: