Category Archives: Pokemon

A glimpse into my (random) Pokémon collection

Though I have a few other posts currently in the works (including my much-overdue best of 2012 list), yesterday’s Pokémon X/Y announcement seemed like the perfect opportunity to whip up another Pokémon goods-related post. This time, however, I won’t be gushing over items I don’t have, but things from my collection found during my recent trip to my parents’ house in the US! 

First up is an adorable mini playing card set that came free with a Japanese monthly manga magazine aimed at young girls called Ciao. As you can see, it’s actually for a series called Pi Pi Pi Adventure, better known as Magical Pokémon Journey in the west. I know next to nothing about the series, but I was lucky enough to receive these cards from a friend of my host mom who knew I liked Pokémon. Even though the stamps on the box “ruin” it from a collector’s point of view, I love the fact that it was an unwanted item that found a new home with me.

The box is very cute, but the images on the cards themselves just might be cuter:

backs of the cards

I think all of the characters shown on the cards are not random, but actual characters from the manga… Too bad I don’t know more about it!

Next up is perhaps one of the coolest random gifts my mom has ever gotten me:

That’s right, a remote-controlled Pikachu car! I’m happy to report that it still works after many years of sitting in a box!

I’ll tell you, I’m not one for remote-controlled gadgets, but it’s a surprising amount of fun to watch a teeny-tiny Pikachu car zoom around the kitchen table. Now, if they made a real car that just looked like it… 
It’s always quite the adventure to go through my things, and such a pleasant surprise to come up with a few old gems! Now I’m definitely in the mood for Pokémon X/Y‘s upcoming release this October… 

Japan Envy: POKÉMON with YOU Train

Anyone who’s a fan of Pokémon probably knows that Japan has plastered the lovable critters faces in virtually every inanimate object available – including trains, school buses, and even airplanes. The upcoming POKÉMON with YOU train (yes, that capitalization is intentional), however, takes the trend a little bit further by featuring a full Pokémon-inspired interior and special play carriage with the theme of a “Pokémon forest” for rambunctious children!

Of course, these images are an artist’s interpretation and do not reflect what the final train will look like exactly, but it will probably be fairly similar to what’s pictured above and below.

Now, I can safely say that I would definitely ride the POKÉMON with YOU train if given half a chance, but I’m not really impressed with the color scheme, especially those horrid bright-colored seats in the first illustration. Yuck! 
If I were the president of The Pokémon Company (and I clearly should be), I would’ve utilized the gorgeous designs used in the Pokémon Time merchandise series exclusive to Pokémon Centers in Japan. Well, at least the outside looks pretty adorable: 

The POKÉMON with YOU train is part of the POKÉMON with YOU program, which was established as a way to spread happiness to the children of Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It will run in the Tohoku region of Japan (the Northern section of Honshu, Japan’s main island, which was most affected by the disaster last year), consist of two cars, and have 100 different Pokémon featured throughout. The first week of service, December 22nd to the 28th, will be exclusive to victims of the disaster, following that it will be open to the public for 160 days. That means it’ll still be running when I visit Japan in June! Now, if only I could find a reason to go to Tohoku and a child to bring along so I don’t come off as a total weirdo…

I wonder if the stewards will wear Pokémon-themed uniforms like the attendants on the Pokémon planes?

Note: I’ve just switched to Disqus for comments, so please let me know what you think of it! 

Japan Envy: Pikachu Cookware

source

Have you had enough of Pikachu’s adorable face yet? I sure haven’t! Japan always comes up with the greatest ways to plaster cute characters over everything, and from the 20th of September, Pokémon Centers across the nation will be selling these adorable Pikachu-inspired kitchen goods. As you can see, everything from kettles to knives have been Pikachu-ified. I think it’s safe to say that I’d get one of everything! If I lived in Japan, that is.

My favorite is this kettle. Check out the adorable back! Even the knob for the lid is shaped like Pikachu’s head! Boiling water in this every morning would be sure to put a smile on my face.

I wish they had a close-up of the knife, too, but this pot will have to do:

I’m not entirely convinced I like the three different facial expressions… Thoughts?

And since I’m on the subject of kitchenware, I thought I’d give this Rilakkuma espresso machine a mention:

Certainly it’d be much better if it were bright yellow with Pikachu’s face on the front!

Japan Envy: Pikachu Yellow 3DS LL/XL

Guess what? Japan’s getting yet another amazing limited edition console, and this time it’s a Pikachu-themed 3DS LL (or XL for us westerners). I’m fully ready to admit that this is the most beautiful handheld I have ever seen. I want it with every fiber of my being. Okay, that’s a little creepy, but I definitely like it more than the last exclusive Japanese 3DS I gushed over (this Kingdom Hearts one).

This brilliant 3DS LL, titled “Pikachu Yellow,” will only be available for preorder at Japanese Pokémon Centers from August 25th to September 14th for 18,900 yen, strictly limited to one console per customer. Believe me, if I lived in Japan, I would literally line up outside my local Pokémon Center for this, if need be!

Pikachu’s pleading eyes bore right into my very soul.
Funnily enough, I’ve actually been warming up to the 3DS XL as of late, not in part due to shidoshi’s rave comments regarding his first-hand experience with one on our latest Nichiest Podcast Ever. This bright yellow with the white hinge definitely takes the cake –– I only wish that they showed the inside, which I’m assuming is white. If it’s actually yellow… Well, that would be quite jarring to look at, wouldn’t it? 
So what do you think: is the Pikachu Yellow LL the handheld of the century or an unbelievably garish monstrosity? I think you know where I stand! 

Japan Envy: Pizza Delivery Chain Tie-in Merchandise

Here’s another thing about Japan that will stump me for all eternity: American pizza chains are actually cooler over there than they are in their home country! Sure, some may argue that squid ink pizza doesn’t sound all that appetizing, but this time I’m not talking about the pizza itself, but rather all the awesome freebie tie-in merchandise American chains like Pizza Hut and Domino’s get in the land of the rising sun.

First of all, here’s what spurred me to write this post in the first place: Pizza Hut is currently having a campaign until October 21st where if you buy a kid’s crispy pizza, you get a Rilakkuma bowl for free:

200 lucky customers will get their pizza in that adorable box!

For the curious, the pizza contains the following ingredients: sausage, sliced potato, corn, parsley, mayonnaise, and tomato sauce. As it’s a kid’s size, it’s only 15 cm big, but is priced pretty reasonably at 500 yen (about $6.40). More importantly (why would anyone order Pizza Hut for the food?), here’s the bowl that comes free with every purchase:

official site

Unlike a lot of these campaigns, obtaining the bowl isn’t a matter of buying x amount of kid’s pizzas to collect stamps or points, but you’ll actually get a bowl with your very first order. If you’re a sucker like me who’d want to have both bowls, it’d still only set you back about $13 –– a pretty good deal for two little pizzas and two adorable bowls, if you ask me!

Though it pains me that I can’t partake in this awesome campaign, I think this is a fine occasion to share my own pizza delivery tie-in merchandise experience. And what better franchise to feature a tie-in than with Pokémon?!

This Pokémon x Domino’s Pizza campaign was going on back when I was in Japan in 2009, and my host mother was sweet enough to order me one! And it came with not one, but two awesome freebies:

Plastic tote bag – front
Plastic tote bag – back (note the Domino’s logo and the Arceus;
this promotion coincided with the release of the film Arceus
and the Jewel of Life
An adorable pouch! I use it to carry my camera 
Close-up of pouch detail

Oh, I have no doubt moving back to Japan would make me go broke… from buying so many pizzas for their adorable freebies!

Taste test: Pokémon lava cookies by Gourmet Gaming

I’ve been meaning to try a Gourmet Gaming recipe ever since I discovered the video game food blog back in October of last year, but up until now I hadn’t come across a recipe that I really wanted to do that I didn’t think was way out of my cooking comfort zone (let it be known that I am not any kind of whiz in the kitchen). But when a recipe for Pokémon lava cookies came up, I just couldn’t resist!

Image by Gourmet Gamer

First of all, not only are these cookies from one of my guilty game pleasures (yes, that’s where I file  Pokémon), but this recipe combines two exceedingly tantalizing ingredients: dark chocolate and nori (a kind of seaweed)! Can you even imagine? I certainly couldn’t, but it sounded so quirky and potentially delicious that I just had to give it a go!

The end result… Mantyke approved!

The recipe was very simple, and didn’t require a lot of ingredients or any complicated procedures. The biggest issue I had was being too eager to try the end product that I didn’t wait for the chocolate that’s used as adhesive for the green nori strips to dry!

And I have to say, the end result was surprisingly delicious. I did find that it could’ve used a little more nori, as though the nori strip tasted good with the cookie, the areas that weren’t covered felt like they could’ve used a little more texture and saltiness. Next time I’ll try mixing a little more into the batter and see how I like it. If you you don’t mind your sweets mixed with something a little salty, I definitely recommend giving these a go! It would certainly be a crowd pleaser at any nerdy event.

Try the recipe out for yourself!

Japan Envy: Even more Pokémon merchandise

If you’re at all familiar with this blog, you know that I’m not a stranger to posting about Japanese Pokémon merchandise. So what more could I possibly have to say about the topic? Prepare to be amazed. 

Recently I stumbled on to what might be the best Pokémon-related website ever, Pokémon Tokyo. What is it, exactly? Oh, you know, just some pictures of Pokémon merchandise the author finds in Tokyo. Except they post virtually every day. Sometimes multiple times a day! If you need a Pokémon merchandise fix, Pokémon Tokyo is all you need. 

Granted, it would be nice if they wrote a little bit about all of the different items they post pictures of, but the titles are generally more than enough to figure out what the picture’s of, even if you don’t speak Japanese. I suppose actually writing about each thing would take away from the time they could be posting more photos, so I won’t hold it against them.

I highly suggest you head over there and scroll though a few pages of Pokémon merchandise goodness.  Here are a few of my personal favorites: 

I don’t really wear too many t-shirts, but I quite like the design of this one! I would totally wear it, even though I never thought myself much of a Keldeo fan. 
Classy handkerchiefs! Love the retro pixel art. 
If the postman showed up with any one of these, I would die of happiness. What great designs! I honestly can’t decide which I like the best… 
But I am quite partial to grass Pokémon (don’t ask why, I have no idea), so perhaps this one? Oh, but the water Pokémon-themed design is so cute, too… Can I just have them all? 
A dancing Scraggy?! Now if only there was a video of him in action… Oh, wait… 
Okay, admittedly that wasn’t as mind-blowing as I hoped it would be, but it’s still pretty darn adorable. 
And finally, I’ve saved the best (?) for last: 
I give you: the Stunfisk section. Is there some kind of hidden love for Stunfisk in Japan that I’m not aware of? I always thought of him to be some kind of sad Pokémon joke, kind of like Luvdisc (granted, Luvdisc is much, much worse). Anyway, I’m glad to see so much merchandise for this under-appreciated (?) Pokémon!