The Cartoon Network began showing Pokemon in November 2002. Though, it was only episodes from season 1 of Pokemon. Entering the new year of 2003, Cartoon Network has announced in a press conference in New York, the acquisition to rights of Pokemon, both season 2 and season 3 (which is over 100 episodes combined). Also notable of mentioning, Cartoon Network got rights to more episodes of Dragonball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh. Pokemon will have a slightly different schedule beginning in March. The old schedule was Mondays thru Thursdays, at 9:00 PM. The new schedule beginning in March will be the same as the old one, but with Saturday as well. On Saturdays, two Pokemon episodes will be shown on 7:00 PM and 9:00PM. A Pokemon episode didn’t even existed on the Saturday schedule for Cartoon Network, so an extra two on that day will definitely keep fans happy.

And of course, Pokemon is still showing at Kids WB, Mondays thru Saturdays. One episode per day, 4:00PM Mondays thru Fridays, and 9:00AM on Saturdays.

For a long time now, the official release date for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire has been March 17th. However, a recent update at the official Pokemon website has listed the release date at March 19th, which is two days later than the original release date. Some stores have also changed their release dates from the 17th to the 19th, for example, Amazon.com list Ruby/Sapphire release dates at the 19th now. Though it’s only a two difference, some stores may have it on shelves before the 19th, but your safe bet is on the 19th. In other countries, April seems to be the month Ruby/Sapphire will make its release in Australia and Europe. Anyways, whether 17th or 19th, I’m sure fans will be just as happy to finally get their hands on the long awaited game.

With all the hype of Ruby/Sapphire, Nintendo hopes to spread the word out even more with Ruby/Sapphire commercials. The commercials are said to been seen on Kids WB, Cartoon Network, and Nick. The commercial didn’t show any footage from the game itself, instead, the focus was on telling people about the pre-ordering available for Ruby/Sapphire, along with the collectible coins you’ll be able to get for pre-ordering it. With less than a month to go, it’s still a good time to pre-order your copy of Ruby/Sapphire.

For the week 02/10/03-02/16/03, a total of seven new titles dominated the top seven spots. These titles such as Dragonball Z for PS2 (at #1), Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA, and Lord of the Rings for PS2. Coming in at #8 is Devil May Cry 2. Ruby/Sapphire took in the last two spots on the top 10. However, if you consider the two games the same, then Ruby/Sapphire combined would have received #5 on the list. So, #5 if you combined the sales of Ruby/Sapphire together, or #9 and #10 separately counting.

Even though a drop on the list is reasonable, considering the large amount of new titles, Ruby/Sapphire may be doing better in Japan than you think. Consider this: In recent games in Japan, meaning taking in account the top 50 games sold in the week, none of the games on the top 50 sold over 1 million units. Sapphire alone sold 1.99 million units, and Ruby with a close 1.95 million units sold. Ruby/Sapphire combined will soon reach 4 million copies sold. Not bad for a game that has been released for three months in Japan.

With the release date of Ruby/Sapphire still a month away (March 17th), here’s a chance play Ruby/Sapphire before it comes out. The Pokemon Center NY store in New York City is giving fans a chance to try out Ruby/Sapphire in the demo machines. Six demo stations will be available, containing either Pokemon Ruby or Pokemon Sapphire. Nintendo personnel will be on location, answering any questions you may have about the game. The special opportunity began February 12th, and will continue till February 23rd.

Pokemon Center NY directions and hours:

Address:
10 Rockefeller Plaza
48th Street between 5th and 6th Aves.
New York City
(212) 307-0900

Store Hours:
Sun-Thu: 10AM - 8PM
Fri & Sat: 9AM - 9PM

That’s right, they just keep on pumping them out. Even before the latest Pokemon TCG set was released, it was announced that the next set is called “Skyridge”. Pokemon Aquapolis has been released for about a month now, which released in mid-January. The next set, Skyridge, now has an estimated release date set by Wizards of the Coast (company that produces the Pokemon TCG), which is April. It has been confirmed that this set will have two theme decks, same as Aquapolis. At this point, no names has been released for those two theme decks. Also, the number of cards contained in this set was not released, however, it’s said to be a “large set”. This is interesting, because Aquapolis is the biggest Pokemon TCG set with 186 cards. Will Skyridge be even bigger? We’ll just have to wait and see.

As Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire release date nears, more and more stores are offering pre-ordering for the game. Some stores and online stores alike are offering a free limited edition holographic coin when you pre-order either Ruby or Sapphire. There are two different coins, featuring Groudon and Kyogre, the two Pokemon represent for Ruby and Sapphire. The stores that offer the coins are Target, Electronic Boutique, GameStop, KB Toys, Kmart, Circuit City, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Fred Meyer, MusicLand, Pokemon Center NY, and Fry’s Electronics. Though these are the retailers participating in the coin giveaway, you might want to make sure the particular store you go to offers it, and some other stores not on this list may offer it as well. And keep in mind, this is a “while supplies last” sort of deal. So you might want to get your pre-order done for Ruby/Sapphire as soon as possible before the supply of coins is all out.

The retail price for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire is $40, but if you shop around, you could find a lower price. Toys R Us is selling the game foe $30. Circuit City is selling it for $35. While most other places you’ll find the price at $40.

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire will be released in the US on March 17th.

Ever since the release of the first screenshots of English version of Ruby/Sapphire, more official English names have been pouring in. If you didn’t know already, there’s already a list of the Pokemon in Ruby/Sapphire in the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire section on this site, and then just click on RS Pokemon List. In that list you will find the Pokemon’s number, Pokemon's picture from Ruby/Sapphire, Japanese name, English Name (if any so far), type, location, and evolution. Be sure to check that out if you haven’t already.

To get yourself familiarized with some of the new Pokemon names, here’s a list of their names so far (of course, these names are on the RS Pokemon List page): Treecko, Grovyle, Torchic, Combusken, Mudkip, Marshtomp, Swampert, Poochyena, Zigzagoon, Wurmple, Silcoon, Lotad, Seedot, Taillow, Wingull, Pelipper, Ralts, Shroomish, Azurill, Nosepass, Skitty, Illumise, Roselia, Sharpedo, Wailmer, Wailord, Vibrava, Zangoose, Seviper, Corphish, Kecleon, Wynaut, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Latias, Latios, Kyogre, Groudon, Jirachi, and Deoxys.

Other official English names, other than Pokemon names, that have been confirmed are: Hoenn (the new region of the Ruby/Sapphire world, called “Houen” in Japanese). Littleroot Town (called “Mishiro Town” in Japanese). Odale Town (called “Kotoki Town” in Japanese). Rustboro City (called “Kanazumi” in Japanese). A new device in Ruby/Sapphire, is called PokeNav (as in Pokemon Navigator, called “PokeNave” in Japan), think of it as the PokeGear from Gold/Silver, but better. A new item, called PokeBlocks, known as “Poroks” in Japanese, helps raise your Pokemon’s stats for contests (contest stats include the following: beauty, strength, wisdom, intelligence, and cuteness). The professor’s name in this game is Professor Birch, and the gym leader for Rostboro City is called Roxanne.

That’s all folks, if any new Pokemon names arise, you’ll see updates to the RS Pokemon List. Remember, Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire will release on March 17th in the US!

Straight from the official source, Pokemon.com released more details about the upcoming release of Pokemon 4Ever the movie on DVD and VHS. First of all, they started by saying the following: “Pokémon 4Ever raced through theaters last year as a special limited release, barely giving most Pokémon fans a chance to see the movie more than once.” I have several responses to that. First things first, the last year release of Pokemon 4Ever in theaters was the opposite of special. A wide release is the average, not in my wildest imagination can I ever say a limited release is “special”. It was horrible experience for many fans, who couldn’t find the film showing anywhere near them. Not being able to see it more than once was hardly the problem, just being able to see it once was a rare gift.

Anyways, back to the news about the DVD/VHS release. Both the DVD and VHS will contain the mini-movie not shown in US theaters, titled “Pikachu’s Pikaboo”. The DVD of course, will offer more extra features: sneak peak of the next Pokemon movie (the 5th Pokemon movie), commentary from actors and producers, an interactive trivia game with clips from the movie. Also, a nice little feature, an inside look on the animation process of Pokemon. Pokemon 4Ever on DVD/VHS will be released on March 18th, that’s exactly one day after the release of Ruby/Sapphire (that comes out on March 17th).

The Harry Potter series has generated a lot of critism from many Christians, who claims that the Harry Potter series is “anti-Christ” and “promotes witchery and wizardry (obviously, it does has witches and wizards, the real question is, is it harmful?).” Though in fairness, the response to Harry Potter from Christians are mixed. Well, the Vatican, considered one of the highest authorities in Christianity, recently announced that Harry Potter is not against Christianity. “I don't see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series,” said Reverend Don Peter Fleetwood. “They aren't bad. They aren't serving as a banner for an anti-Christian ideology.” Certainly a big deal when something is cleared a-ok by the Vatican.

Happened to Pokemon Before...

Of course, Pokemon has been down this road before in the year 2000. As you can imagine, various religious groups, including Christianity, had mixed feelings about Pokemon. Some thought it was harmless, while some thought it was simply evil. The Vatican stepped in and said many kind things about Pokemon after a review of the Pokemon phenomenon, “full of inventive imagination” and “has no harmful side effects” and “celebrates the ties of friendship.” Well put, I couldn’t have said it better.

After a long stand at number #1 for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, it finally gave the spotlight to some new releases.

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire was beaten out of the top three spots of the top selling games in Japan for the week of 01/20/03 - 01/26/03. Ruby/Sapphire was released in November 21, 2002. Topping the charts during that week were three new releases. No surprise there, obviously newer releases generally has better sales compared to a game released for months. Thus far, 3.7 million units of Ruby/Sapphire has been sold in Japan, that number is expected to grow and grow for months to come. There's nothing hotter in Japan right now, and having no other title with over a million in sales total on the top 50 for the week, proves the case.

Once again, another reminder, Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire will make it's release in the US on March 17th. The estimated release date for UK/Europe is somewhere around May.