Why it Works? "This Time" By INXS

Happy April Fools' Day! Today we'll be discussing a song that has absolutely no relationship to Pokemon whatsoever. This 1985 release still manages to have some relevancy to the franchise. If only there had been a Pokemon movie in '85/'86:

Transcript:

“This Time” by Australian rock group INXS has zilch to do with Pokémon, though I suppose you never know what they’ll do next with Detective Pikachu. In any case, the song was originally released in 1985 on the “Listen Like Thieves” album, and would eventually become a single and music video for the band. While the lyrics seem to be referencing a bickering couple, there are some elements that parallel the dynamics of the original traveling group of the Pokémon anime. Ash, Misty, and Brock often have differences that seem irreconcilable, leading to a lot of arguing. As far as wasting time…they’re good at that too, repeatedly getting lost, taking unplanned detours, and being easily distracted in general. Anyway, if you’d like to explore this April Fools’ Day joke further, believe it or not, I had a discussion with Anne from Pikapi Podcast about this very song, and she had some thoughts of her own, so look for a card for that video. Thanks.

Shelved Pokemon 20th anniversary tribute album revealed

An insider from a major American record label recently revealed to PIRN the existence of a shelved tribute album, originally intended to be released as part of 2016's Pokemon 20th anniversary celebration. The album contained a number of re-arranged covers of Pokemon songs performed by a range of artists. According to the information provided, the album was put on hold shortly after the release of Pokemon Go, as the resources needed to support the game forced The Pokemon Company to shift its focus. The source did not know of any immediate plans to revive the project.

According to the source, in early 2015, The Pokemon Company approached several labels about the possibility of having some of their performers do a cover of one or more songs. In some of these instances, The Pokemon Company suggested specific combinations of songs and artists, and in other cases it was left up to the label. Either way, artists were encouraged to tweak the songs to better fit their style.

Production continued through 2015 and into 2016, targeting a November 2016 release. However, as the album was nearing completion, Pokemon Go was released, placing an unexpectedly high demand on employees at The Pokemon Company, forcing them to assign the individuals working on the album to other tasks. The future prospects for the album remain uncertain.

The insider was able to provide a partial track list:

Double Trouble (Team Rocket)-Fall Out Boy
Misty's Song-Katy Perry
The Legend Comes To Life-London Symphony Orchestra
Pokemon Johto-Pentatonix
Nobody Don't Like Christmas-Mannheim Steamroller
Aim To Be A Pokemon Master-2Cellos

2.B.A. Master, Pokemon: The First Movie pop soundtrack to be re-released on cassette, vinyl

In a press release sent out this morning, The Pokemon Company International announced that 2.B.A. Master and the pop soundtrack to Pokemon: The First Movie will be re-issued on audio cassette, and for the first time ever, vinyl record. Both albums will be released on June 28th for $19.99 each on LP and $12.99 each on tape.

"After the success of Pokemon Symphonic Evolutions, we decided to explore more avenues for music-related Pokemon products," a representative for The Pokemon Company International stated. "With the recent revival of records and tapes, we thought it would be a great opportunity to put something out for the 20th anniversary celebration."

Pre-orders are scheduled to begin on April 11th. The TPCI representative declined to indicate how many units of each format would be available.

April Fool's Day Recap + Pokemon Colosseum Part 10

If you were wondering what went into the April Fool's article published earlier this month, you can find out in this video:

Transcript:

Hi folks, Steven here. First off, I wanted to tell you about a written interview I recently posted on the PokePress blog with a player that used a Primal Kyogre deck at Wisconsin states last month. We talk about how he chose the deck, what his matches were like, and so forth. It’s a pretty good read and I’ll post a link here so you can take a look if you haven’t already.  

The next thing I wanted to do was sort of dissect the April Fool’s Day gag I posted on the site back on the first. If you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend you take a look through first before listening to the rest of this. Now, I think came up with this idea of the most ridiculous Blu-ray combo pack sometime last year, probably around when the bogus Blu-rays of the first three Pokémon movies started appearing on eBay. My goal was to come up with things that started out plausible, and then got progressively more absurd as the article went on.  

So, since this is supposed to be a fake news article, we start off with a summary paragraph that contains the basic information about the combo pack-the movie, who’s releasing it, the date, and the price. The price should probably be your first tip-off that this is a gag article, because although I think $99.99 is a somewhat fair price for what you get in the made-up package, it’s obviously a bit more than your typical multiformat combo pack goes for.  

The next paragraph describes the first piece, the standard Blu-Ray. To give this a bit of credence, I started off by linking it to the resmastered version that was shown in early 2014. I also made sure I mentioned the Pikachu short and a few key features that people would definitely want to know about if this was a real story. At the end, I note that there will be retailer-specific special features, a facet of movie releases that I’ll admit I’m not a fan of, but I do think it enhances the story a bit. 

Next up we have the 3D Blu-ray. This part ends up being particularly silly since from what I’ve heard it costs about a million dollars to do 3D post-conversion on ten minutes of video, so just converting the main feature would cost about seven million dollars. Typically this would have been funded for a catalog title by doing some sort of theatrical re-release, but in this case it’s being figured into the cost of the set. Home 3D never really took off as well as the studios would have liked, so I seriously doubt we’d ever actually see something like this anyway.  

Nearly every combo pack includes a DVD and/or a digital version of the movie, so I figured why not include both of them on this one. 

I always try to put in some sort of musical angle on my April Fool’s Day articles, and this one is no exception. For the special edition of the pop soundtrack, I wanted to point out here that every one of the extra things I list does actually already exist-there is a Spanish version of the First Movie Pokémon theme, several remixes of “Don’t Say You Love Me”, a very minorly remixed version of “Makin’ My Way”, and an alternate version of “We’re a Miracle”. I also threw in a digital version of the score, because why not at this point? 

Next, I knew I needed to represent the card game in some way, and thankfully there are some recently released Mew and Mewtwo cards that I was able to pull in. The online TCG is also still out there, so I made sure to include a code for it. 

Finally, we finish off the set with a Mewtwo Amiibo. Originally it was going to be a plush, but after Mewtwo was announced as DLC for Smash Bros. and the frenzy for Amiibo kicked in, I knew I had to include one to make the set complete. I also realized that some people buying this set wouldn’t have gotten the DLC by registering the games, so I decided to throw in yet another code so they can unlock the character. I will say that I feel a bit lucky that I was able to get this out there just before the Nintendo Direct that announced that there will, in fact, be an Amiibo for Mewtwo.  

Finally, as a way to wrap up the article, I state that advance copies will be given to the top finishers at this year's Pokemon US Nationals.  

So, I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the article I posted. I do hope that someday a real Blu-Ray for Pokémon: The First Movie does come out-preferably a little less excessive than this one. Thanks.

If that still wasn't enough for you, check out the latest episode of Pokémon Colosseum:

Warner Home Video Announces Pokémon: The First Movie “Catch ‘em All” Blu-Ray Combo Pack

In a press release sent out today, Warner Home Video announced a special “Catch ‘em All” Blu-Ray combo pack for Pokémon: The First Movie that will be released on August 11th with a suggested retail price of $99.99. The pack includes multiple versions of the movie, music, and several physical bonus items.

The pack starts off with a Blu-Ray edition of Pokémon: The First Movie, based on the digitally remastered version that was shown on Cartoon Network in early 2014. In addition to the full main feature, the disc also includes the “Pikachu’s Vacation” short and the extended “Story of Mewtwo’s Origin” featured on 2001’s “Mewtwo Returns” DVD. Additional special features will vary by retailer.

The next item in the set is a 3D Blu-Ray, the first time that the movie will be available in this format. A representative for Warner Home Video stated, “We had an excellent opportunity to bring this movie to life in a new way using 3D conversion. In particular, the underwater segment and the fight scenes look incredible.”

Rounding out the video portion of the set, both a widescreen DVD and digital HD version of the film are included. The digital HD code will be redeemable on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Instant Video.

The combo pack also covers the musical aspects of the film, starting with a special expanded edition of the Atlantic pop soundtrack to the movie. In addition to the original 16 tracks, the album includes a Spanish version of the Pokémon Theme, remixed versions of “Don’t Say You Love Me” and “Makin’ My Way”, and an alternate version of Christina Aguilera’s “We’re a Miracle”. A digital code for the score to the movie is also bundled in.

Much like when the movie debuted in theaters, the Pokémon Trading Card Game is also represented in this collection. Both Mew ex and Mewtwo ex from the Legendary Treasures expansion are included, with special foil stamps similar to the ones on the promos given out back in 1999. A digital code provided in the box will let players unlock the cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online as well.

Finally, the set includes what is described as a “North American exclusive” Amiibo of Mewtwo for use in Super Smash for Wii U and 3DS, which like other Amiibo in that series will allow players to train the character within the games. Additionally, the set will include a code that will unlock Mewtwo in one copy of one of the games.

While the set is scheduled for release on August 11th, the press release notes that “special advance copies” will be given to top finishers at the 2015 Pokémon US National Championships being held in Indianapolis, IN from July 3rd-5th.

“Epic Rap Battles of Pokémon” series announced, slated for 2014 release

In a press release sent out today, California-based Maker Studios announced “Epic Rap Battles of Pokémon”, a spin-off of their popular “Epic Rap Battles of History” series. No specific release date (only “2014”) was provided, but a track list was included:

Disc 1
1. Brock vs. Cilan
2. Celebi vs. Dialga
3. Mewtwo (First Movie) vs. Mewtwo (16th Movie)
4. Lawrence III vs. Kodai
5. Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka vs. Junichi Masuda
6. Max vs. Conway
7. Nurse Joy vs. Officer Jenny
8. Rice Balls vs. Doughnuts
9. Ditto vs. Zorua
10. Jigglypuff vs. William Hung
11. “Weird Al” Yankovic vs. Coba
12. Misty vs. May

Disc 2
1. Professor Oak vs. Professor Layton
2. Meowth vs. Garfield
3. Altru Inc. vs. BP
4. Lt. Surge vs. Guile
5. Pokémon Rangers vs. Power Rangers
6. Hitmonchan vs. Little Mac
7. Meloetta vs. Luciano Pavarotti
8. Looker vs. Columbo
9. N vs. Captain N
10. Tracey Sketchit vs. Dr. Katherine Pulaski
11. Gary Oak vs. Lucas Barton
12. Giovanni vs. Vito Corleone
13. Arceus vs. God