Tour: Pokemon International Championship Europe 2016

Want to know what was at the Pokemon International Championship 2016 in London, England? We go on a tour to find out:

Tom and Bryce at Anime Milwaukee 2015-Part 6

Ever wonder how jokes are translated in the Pokemon anime? In the final part of a press session held at Anime Milwaukee 2015, voice director Tom Wayland explains the philosophy currently being used:

Many thanks go to Tom and Bryce for taking time out for this session.

Bryce & Tom at Anime Milwaukee-Part 5

In season nine, the Pokemon dub started being dubbed closer to when the Japanese version was released. Does that mean they had to change some of their processes? Voice director Tom Wayland explains some of that in this week's segment:

Tom Wayland and Bryce Papenbrook at Anime Milwaukee 2015-Parts 3 and 4

Our coverage of Anime Milwaukee 2015 continues. In part 3, you can find out how Bryce got to be Red in Pokemon Origins:

And in the fourth part, Tom describes what it's like directing the Pokemon dub:

Tom Wayland and Bryce Papenbrook at Anime Milwaukee 2015-Parts 1 and 2

Last weekend, I was able to attend Anime Milwaukee 2015. This year's convention brought in a number of guests, including some who had worked on the Pokemon anime. A press session I attended featured Tom Wayland (voice director for the current English Pokemon dub) and Bryce Papenbrook ("Red" in Pokemon Origins). You can see some parts of the session here:

The first part discusses their origins as voice actors, and in the second Tom explains how he creates Pokemon voices for the TV show. More parts of this session will be coming soon.

Special Pokemon episode of the Super Marcato Bros. podcast-guest starring me!

For those of you who aren't aware, Super Marcato Bros. is a  podcast that goes over some of the technical and stylistic details of video game music. As it turns out, they just put out a Pokemon episode, and I'm actually on part of it as a guest! Be sure to listen in for some great tunes and some cool insights into the music of the games.

Learning Japanese: A Trainer's Journey

The following is an interview with Jason Simon, a player I met at Worlds 2012. He wanted to share his experience learning Japanese as a result of being a Pokemon fan, which eventually led him on a trip to Japan.

What area are you from?
I am from Los Angeles, California, USA.

How did you get into Pokemon? 
I got into Pokémon around the time that Ruby and Sapphire were released in the United States. Pokémon Ruby Version was my first game for the Game Boy Advance.

What was it about Pokemon that got you interested in learning Japanese? 
Many aspects of the franchise inspired me to learn Japanese. At the forefront, however, would have to be the fact that the games are released there much sooner than they are released here. When I would visit a variety of news sites, I would see information on games that had just come out in Japan. Since I knew that I would not understand anything going on in the games, I decided that it would probably be best to learn Japanese so I could import the games. At the time, taking on a whole new language seemed like a better option than waiting for six months, so I went with learning the language.

How did you go about learning the language? 
First, I went to Costco and bought the Japanese version of the Rosetta Stone software to get myself into the mindset of the language. Realizing that relying on only Rosetta Stone was probably a bad idea (the program does not do a good job of teaching oral proficiency, something that is very important to me), I decided to take a few private lessons. A combination of taking private lessons, using Rosetta Stone, and immersing myself in the language by watching most of my news in Japanese helped me become fairly fluent in the language.

Did learning Japanese enhance your appreciation for Pokemon? If so, how?
Learning Japanese greatly enhanced my appreciation for Pokemon. It also brought me closer to the franchise as a whole. After becoming proficient in Japanese, I began to import the new video games from Japan before they hit the shelves in America. Once I started importing, I began to pick up many of the Japanese Pokemon names, which, due to my knowledge of Japanese, made sense. Aside from the games, my knowledge of Japanese also made me more attentive to all of the merchandise that they release in Japan. Soon after I became proficient in Japanese, I began to investigate these products and contact Japanese-speaking wholesalers who sell these products to retailers overseas. Since I was able to communicate with them, I managed to set up accounts and began to purchase many Japanese Pokemon items. Today, I still deal with these Japanese-speaking wholesalers and sell Japanese Pokemon merchandise online. The online communities that I buy and sell on made me more aware of events such as Worlds. Worlds 2012 was my second year spectating at the event, and one of my favorite aspects of the event is speaking Japanese with all of the people who come over from Japan!

How did you end up going to Japan? What did you see that was Pokemon-related while you were there? 
My dad used to take many trips to Hong Kong, so he promised me that if I managed to fluently speak Japanese, he would take me to Japan on the way to his business trip in Hong Kong. I managed to meet his expectations, so he took me on the trip. In terms of Pokemon-related things in Japan, they are everywhere. In fact, the train I got on from the airport to the Tokyo railway station was decorated with decals promoting the Arceus movie (I went to Japan in summer 2009). Furthermore, I went to three Pokémon Centers while in Japan—Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka. Pretty much everywhere I went, there was something Pokémon-related.

What would you tell other people who might be interested in learning Japanese? 
If you want to take Japanese, be prepared for a big time commitment and a lot of work. For me to speak fluently (not perfectly, but fluently to the point where I could easily get around), it took around 3 years, from the moment I bought the Rosetta Stone disk to the instant I touched down at Narita International Airport. The language has many intricacies, which makes it easier than English at times, but most of the time much harder. I think that learning Japanese should be something that a hardcore Pokémon fan should consider; it truly opens up a whole new side to the fandom that you do not even know exists.

Preview: Geek.Kon 2012

I recently got a chance to talk to Katie Hatheway, one of the staff members from this year's Geek.Kon convention near Madison, WI about this weekend's event:

How did Geek.Kon get started?

Geek.Kon started when a few members of MACS [Madison Area Costuming Society], a few anime enthusiasts, and a few tabletop gamers talked to a group of UW-Madison students and collectively agreed that it would be awesome to have a multi-genre convention right in town. Six years later, we've moved to a larger venue, and we're still going strong!

Eric Stuart (voice of Brock for seasons 1-8) is a guest at this year's convention. What will he be doing there?

Eric's doing some pretty neat stuff for us! You can catch him Friday night opening our rock concert, at Q&A panels and signings throughout the weekend, and performing again Sunday afternoon.

There's also a Pokemon video game tournament. When will that be?

That's a Pokemon Black/White tournament, and that's Saturday evening at 6pm. If you're not interested in competitive play, we'll also have a portable meetup area that will be open all weekend.

What are some of the other things going on at the convention?

We have a great tabletop gaming room this year-there will be representatives from Total Party Kill Games as well as Rio Grande, there to answer questions and show you how to play. We also have a Masked Ball Friday night with live music, a costume contest and trivia challenge, and a special screening with a shadowcast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Where can people find more information about the convention?

Go to www.geekkon.net for general information, as well as access to our community forum. We also have a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/GeekKon.

Geek.Kon 2011: Pokemon Black & White VG Tournament

Here's an interview with the top finishers from last weekend's Geek.Kon 2011 Pokemon Black & White video game tournament:

OC ReMix Artist Interview: Pokémon Red: 'Out of the Palace'

Here's an interview regarding a Pokemon OC ReMix that was posted earlier this year:

(Video removed at request of artist)

Fanfiction: MythBusters-Pokemon Special-Part 1 + Bonus MythRap Parody

MythBusters: Pokémon Special

Note: The outcomes in this fanfic are entirely hypothetical and have in no way been tested by me, nor do I encourage anyone to test them.

(Unless you actually are the MythBusters)

Adam: Attention viewers-do not try anything you are about to see at home.

Jamie: We’re what you call experts.

Announcer: On this bust-‘em-all episode of MythBusters-Can a bird ground a hot-air balloon-and survive to fly again?

(Reaction shot of Jamie)

Jamie: Looks like buster’s blasting off again.

Announcer: Meanwhile, Kari, Grant, and Tory test a shocking myth: Can a sudden jolt of electricity destroy a bicycle in seconds?

(Reaction shot of Kari)

Kari: My bike’s barbequed!

Announcer (Continued): Who are the MythBusters? Adam Savage.

Adam: There are a lot of unknowns here.

Announcer: And Jamie Hyneman.

Jamie: Through this electrode.

Announcer: Between them over thirty years of special effects experience. Joining them-Kari Byron.

Kari: You just totally jinxed us!

Announcer: Tory Belleci.

Tory: I see injuries in my future.

Announcer: And Grant Imahara.

Grant: My kettle corn empire!

Announcer: They don’t just tell the myths-they put them to the test!

Super: Balloon Bird Strike

(Adam and Jamie are in the shop in a typical myth-explaining setup)

Jamie: So what’s our myth?

Adam: Well, it involves hot air balloons.

Jamie: Go on.

Adam: Well, the myth is that a bird, flying at top speed, can fly through a balloon, tearing a hole and causing it to float back down to Earth.

Jamie: Is that it?

Adam: Actually, no-it goes even further. Apparently, not only does the bird make a hole through both sides of the balloon, but it also comes out on the other end relatively unharmed and can still fly back to its owner.

Jamie: Sounds like we’ll need to bring back the chicken gun.

Adam: Yes, but there are some other variables we need to consider.

Jamie: Like what?

Adam: Well, our research indicates that this has been done with varying sizes of birds flying at various speeds. I think we should start out by figuring out how much force and mass it takes to break through two layers of hot-air balloon material.

Jamie: Sound good to me.

Announcer: So that’s the myth.

(An animated sequence begins. Adam and Jamie are standing with Adam holding a dog and Jamie with a bird on his shoulder. Suddenly, Kari, Grant, and Tory appear and grab Adam’s dog and hop into a hot-air balloon shaped like Grant’s head)

Announcer: If a team of ner-do-wells kidnapped your prized pet and try to make a getaway in a hot-air balloon, you can send your trained bird-no, we didn’t make this up-to tear a hole in the balloon and send it back down.

(Jamie’s bird flies through the balloon, punching a hole and causing the balloon to fall)

Announcer: Amazingly, even after this kamikaze attack, the bird emerges on the other side safe enough to fly back to its owner.

(Jamie’s bird flies back, and Adam catches the dog as it falls)

Announcer: So while Adam and Jamie take care of things up above, Kari, Tory, and Grant are getting ready to hit the trail.

Super: Fried Bicycle

(Tory, Grant, and Kari are standing around about to explain a myth)

Grant: So, what’s the deal with this one?

Kari: Apparently, if you zap a bike with electricity from an animal equal to a bolt of lightning, you can actually destroy the bike, twisting the metal and rendering it unusable in a matter of seconds.

Tory (in disbelief): A bolt of lightning? What kind of animal can do that?

Kari: Apparently, some type of electric rodent.

Grant: Somehow I doubt we’ll be able to get one of those. Sounds like a good myth, though, so why don’t we start with the amount of current a real animal can put out, and if that’s not enough, we’ll turn up the voltage.

Tory: As long as I don’t have to be on the bike, that sounds great to me!

Cut to scene of Adam and Jamie

Adam: Jamie, we’ve done tons of myths on this show.

Jamie: Hundreds.

Adam: Well, the network is making a music video and they need us to pick out one hundred fifty.

Jamie: That’s an oddly specific number.

Adam: I know, and kinda familiar.

MythRap
Parody of PokéRap by James Willams/Babi Floyd
With new lyrics by Steven “Yoshi” Reich

We put them to the test,
Yes every one,
You know we won’t rest
Yeah we’re not done

Bumpy Road, Phone Books, Jailbreak, Turkey
Nitrogen, Antacid, Baghdad-Battery
Drafting, Alcatraz, Jawbreaker, Taxi
Sodium, Convertible, Dental Floss, Gravity

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all-Mythbusters

We like to blow stuff up,
Set them on fire
We’ll get to the truth
No matter what’s required!

Scuba tank, Polygraph, Bottle Rocket, Syrup
Coconut, Old Dog, Firewalk, Quicksand
Flat Tire, Franklin, Pole-Vault, Aerosol
Dumpster, Pykrete, Wasabi, Parasol

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all- Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters

Zig-Zag, Prime Rib, Reverse, Butter
Octopus, Resonance, Magnetron, Parachute
Plywood, Fingerprint, Horseback-Arrow
Duct Tape, Eel, Hwacha in Slo-mo

Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Pow!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Bam!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters (Wow!)

Tornado, Air Bag, Sawdust, Laptop
Tailgate, Dynamite, Night Vision, Radio
Hoffa, Friction, Hurricane, Vacuum
Seven-fold, Tortilla, Bus Jump, Sonic Boom!

At least one hundred and fifty, or more to see,
To be a MythBusters fanboy is my destiny!

Exploding Pants, Piano, Tablecloth, Blow Dart
Avalanche, Lights On, Cabin Fever, Catapult
Blue Ice, MRI, Moon Walk, Awning
Costume, Tenderize, Thermite, Yawning

Woo! We’re at the halfway point! What are you doing?
Hey, what’s this? (Crash)
Break time’s over-here we go!

Hamster Ball, Helium, 10%, Red Herring
Mind Control, Seesaw, Cinnamon, Penny
Cheese Cannon, Hammer, Needle, Microchip
Match Heads, Diamonds, Subwoofer, Cycle Flip

Gotta Bust ’em all, Gotta Bust ’em all (Whoa!)
Gotta Bust ’em all, Gotta Bust ’em all (Wham!)

Water Heater, Moss, Elevator, Boom Lift
Bumper, Rain Run, CD (Mythbusters!)
China Shop, Elephant, Goats, Custard
Banana, Ski Lift, Watch out, Buster!

At least one hundred and fifty, or more to see,
To be a MythBusters junkie is my destiny!

Coffin Punch, Hair Spray, Swingset, Cold Feet
Lava Lamp, Cork Bat, Concrete, Ultralight
Right Turn, Tesla, Laminar
Spider, Hindenburg, Stethoscope, Spy Car

Whoa! Catch your breath, man!
We’ve got more myths!
It’s downhill from here-
Just a few more to go!
We’re gettin’ testy,
So listen real good!

Car Cling, Hovercraft, Brown Note, Waterslide
AC, Extinguisher, Soda Pop, Candy
Salami, Rowboat, Fishing Line, Trombone
Regolith, Popcorn, Moose (Don’t try at home!)

Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Zap!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Ow!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters (Yeah-ee-ee)

Potassium, Jackhammer
Car Fall, Tennis Ball, Pressure Sensor
Soda Cup, Crossbow,
Magnets, Rockets, Time to blow! (Explosion)

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Oooo-Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters)
Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Oooo-Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters)
Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all - Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters!

Pokemon VGC Regional: Newark, NJ

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon VGC regional competition:

Spring Battle Roads/Blu-Ray Review

Here's a couple of recent interviews:

Pokemon TCG Black and White Prerelease-Madison, WI

Here's another Pokemon Black and White Prerelease interview:



In addition, I'm giving away a (nearly) free Pokemon Blu-Ray:

Pokemon Black and White Prerelease: Rockford, IL + Get a Free* Pokemon Blu-Ray

Here's a video from a recent Pokemon TCG prerelease:



Also, some of you may know that there is a Pokemon Blu-Ray coming out later this month:

Best Buy
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Wal-Mart

You'll probably want to order this online-it doesn't look like it's going to be stocked in stores very much, if at all.

I'm looking to do an audio review of this, and I'm looking for someone to comment back and forth with. If you meet the following criteria, you may be able to get a free* copy out of it:

-Must be at least 13 years old (18 would be preferable).
-Must have a Blu-Ray player capable of playing discs from region A (I don't know if the disc will be region locked, but it should definitely play in region A players).
-Must have access to a phone or Skype.

If you're interested, go ahead and e-mail me at the usual PokePress e-mail address (hint: It's in the video above).

*Cost of ordering the disc will be reimbursed after the interview is conducted.

Pokemon TCG Midwest Regionals 2011: Senior Division Winner + April Fools Insight

Here's another interview from the Pokemon TCG Midwest Regional 2011:



Additionally, I wanted to share insight into the fictional "Pokemon DJ Hero" game. I'll let you in a good story about one of them:

Rika Matsumoto/Megumi Toyoguchi vs. The Nylons-Kiss 2009 Goodbye

Combination of: High Touch! 2009 and Kiss Him Goodbye

Back in late 2008, right around the time I got the original High Touch! single, I also picked up the 12" (vinyl) remix EP of Kiss Him Goodbye (I've been a Nylons fan for quite some time, and given that they were quite big here in Madison, it's not much of a surprise this turned up here). As some of you probably know, the chorus of Kiss Him Goodbye, much like High Touch!, contains the phrase "Hey, Hey, Hey". The combination was obvious.

Cancelled Pokémon DJ Hero Game Revealed

An unnamed source from FreeStyleGames recently revealed to PokéPress/PIRN that they had been working on a Pokémon DJ Hero game for the Nintendo 3DS. The game, originally scheduled to be released in 2012, was cancelled after Activision, the publisher of the Hero series of music games, laid off its music division earlier this year.

“After seeing our 3DS demo at E3 in 2010, Nintendo approached Activision about producing a Pokémon DJ Hero game for the system,” the source stated. “With the upcoming release of Black and White, they were very eager to capitalize on the wave of nostalgia that the new generation of games would bring.”

The source went on to describe some of the core features of the game. “Basically, we needed to make sure this was both a genuine Hero game and a Pokémon game. One of the ways we did that was by taking locations from the games and the anime and using those as venues. For example, we were planning on recreating Wigglytuff’s Guild from the Mystery Dungeon games and the city from the fifth movie.”

In addition to familiar venues, the game was also slated to offer a wide selection of characters from the franchise as DJs. “That part was actually a lot of fun. We really liked the way some of the Pokémon would use their wings or beaks or claws to scratch the records. For Mewtwo we even had it so it wouldn’t actually touch the records-they would just move on their own and glow like they were being manipulated psychically.”

To complete the package, FreeStyleGames planned to include unlockable Pokémon that could be transferred to Black and White, similar to the Pokémon Ranger games. “One of the things we’ve always been working on with the Hero games is how to keep the player interested and playing through the entire game. This was a unique opportunity to give the player something more lasting than a new outfit or character they might not end up using.”

Finally, the source provided a list of mixes slated to appear in the game:

Aaron Carter vs. Vanilla Ice-(Have Some) Ice with the Funk
Russell Velázquez vs. Rob Base-It Takes Two 2B A Master
Joshua Tyler vs. Rick Astley-Never Gonna Give Up Pokémon-Are You?
Mai Mizuhashi/Sky Boys vs. INXS-Kick No Message
Rika Matsumoto/Megumi Toyoguchi vs. The Nylons-Kiss 2009 Goodbye
James Willams/Babi Floyd vs. MC Hammer-U Can’t Rap This
M2M vs. The Jackson 5-Don’t Want You Back
The B-52’s vs. The Backstreet Boys-The Chosen One (Larger Than Life)
Westlife vs. Super Mario Galaxy Orchestra-Eggs Without Wings
Russell Velázquez vs. The Chambers Brothers-Time to Celebi-R-A-T-E
Blessid Union of Souls vs. The Fray-My Brother Saved My Life
Mewtwo Strikes Back Orchestra vs. Santana-Tears of Victory
“Weird Al” Yankovic vs. “Weird Al” Yankovic-Angry White Boy Polkamon
David Rolfe vs. Bonnie Tyler-I Want to Hold Out for a Hero
Russell Velázquez vs. INXS-What, You Need Pokémon? World…
Mewtwo Strikes Back Orchestra vs. Paula Abdul-Coldhearted Mewtwo
Dream Street vs. Miley Cyrus-Pokémon Can’t Be Tamed, Understand?
Presidents of the United States of America vs. “Weird Al” Yankovic-Can’t Stop Ridin’ the Bus
Yvette Laboy vs. The Pussycat Dolls-Misty Hates This Part
Johto vs. Lady Gaga-Pikachu’s Bad Romance (Buneary Mix)
Emma Bunton vs. Alysha-(Dreams) Free Up Your Mind
50.Grind Feat. Pokémon Allstars-Gotta Catch `Em All (Beat Juggle)
Maddie Blaustein vs. Amy Winehouse-Nobody Don’t Like Rehab

Pokemon TCG WI States 2011: Rogue Deck

Here's an interview from yesterday's Pokemon TCG Wisconsin State Championship:

Pokemon TCG Call of Legends Prerelease: Madison, WI

Here's an interview from last week's prerelease:

Anime Milwaukee 2011-Pokemon Events

Here's an interview regarding the Pokemon events at the upcoming Anime Milwaukee 2011: