After being away from the series since Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, secret bases have returned for Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby.

In previous games, trainers could convert certain areas into secret bases, which could then be decorated with furniture, dolls or other trinkets. Other players could even visit these bases and do battle with that base’s owner.

Many of these features are coming back in the Gen III remakes and they’re being improved to take advantage of the 3DS’ wireless features.

Now, when trainers visit other secret bases, they can become Secret Pals with that base’s owner. Secret Pals can battle each other or help one another on their journeys by using “special skills.”

To help make secret bases easier to share with others, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby lets you turn your base into a QR code that can be posted anywhere.

Source: Pokemon.com

More than 100 million pokémon have been traded on the Pokémon X and Y Global Trade Station. So, as promised, The Pokémon Company will celebrate by giving away an exclusive Fancy Pattern Vivillon to everyone via Mystery Gift.

All you have to do is follow the instructions from the Pokémon website:

1. Connect your Nintendo 3DS system to the Internet.
2. Select Mystery Gift on the main menu.
3. Select Receive Gift, then Yes.
4. Select Get Via Internet, then Yes.
5. Watch as you receive Fancy Pattern Vivillon!
6. Speak to the delivery girl in any Pokémon Center to receive your Vivillon.
7. Be sure to save your game!

Vivillon won’t be available for very long, so be sure to get it while you still can.

Source: Pokemon.com

Don’t live near any of the 11 Pokémon Center store locations? Don’t worry. Soon you’ll be able to get tons of official Pokémon merchandise online.

The Pokémon Company announced that they will be opening an online Pokémon Center store for customers in the U.S. on August 6.

While the full store doesn’t go online until next month, you can already head over to PokemonCenter.com to buy a small sample of their products.

Source: Polygon

To make it easier for Pokémon fans to get their fix, iTunes has gotten a new page (will ask to open iTunes) dedicated solely to Pikachu and friends.

iTunes users can download all of the soundtracks to the games up to Pokémon X and Y, Pokémon-related apps and even episodes from the first two volumes of Pokémon the Series: XY.

As a little treat, the episode “Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!” is free for a limited time.

Source: Pokemon.com

The Pokémon series is filled with fantastic music that really brings the games’ worlds to life, and now you can have a chance to listen to it performed by a live orchestra at the Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions tour.

You can hear many of your favorite tracks from Red/Blue/Yellow, Gold/Silver/Crystal, Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, Black/White and X/Y. Oh, …and Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.

Tickets are already on sale for the first two stops on the tour, and more locations will be announced in the future.

The tour begins on August 15 in Washington, D.C. to coincide with the 2014 Pokémon World Championships going on that weekend. After that, the concert takes a break and comes back on September 19 in Philadelphia, PA.

Source: Pokemon.com

The Speed Gamers‘ Pokémon marathon begins today at 6 p.m. CST and they’ll be spending the next 168 hours streaming their efforts to capture all 719 pokémon while raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

There will be plenty of prizes auctioned off, including copies of Pokémon Red and Blue signed by (Gen 1-4) series translator Nob Ogasawara. Ogasawara also donated the silver Game Boy Pocket he used to translate Red, Blue and Yellow to have it be auctioned off during the marathon.

While the event hasn’t started yet, donations are already being taken to let you nickname pokémon. $50 lets you name one starter (and its evolutions), while $20 lets you name any non-Legendary. Auctions for Legendary naming rights will take place during the marathon. You can see the list of available pokémon at the TSG.tv Pokédex page.

Scans from the latest issue of CoroCoro confirm the existence of Mega Evolutions for Blaziken, Sceptile, Swampert and Diancie.

The games’ cover legendaries are also getting their own form of Mega Evolutions, called “Ancient Devolutions,” which transform them into Primal/Prehistoric/Primeval Groudon and Primal/Prehistoric/Primeval Kyogre, according to Serebii.

Like the Mega Ring in Pokémon X and Y, Mega Evolutions will be triggered with the Mega Bangle.

Also spotted in the scans are the redesigns for the main trainers, Brendan and May, along with Team Aqua and Team Magma.

Steven Stone, the son of the Devon Corporation president and powerful wandering trainer in Pokémon Emerald, also returns and appears to now have a Charizard X in his party.

Source: Serebii.net

The pokémon Vivillon is a sixth generation Bug/Flying type notable for its many wing patterns, which differ depending on the trainer’s real-world location. It’s because of this very trait that the pokémon has become highly desired among collectors on the Global Trade Station.

So far, more than 90 million pokémon have been traded through the GTS, and that number continues to grow. Once the GTS reaches 100 million trades, The Pokémon Company will celebrate by kicking off a special distribution event where trainers can get a rare “Fancy Pattern” Vivillon.

Details on how to get the pokémon will be revealed on the official Pokémon website once the goal has been reached.

Source: Press Release

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 The Band of Thieves and 1000 Pokémon is a free 3DS eShop game that ties into the upcoming movie Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction. It’s set to launch in Japan on June 5, roughly a month before the movie hits theaters, and it will be available until September 30.

Players do battle against thieves, presumably connected to the movie’s antagonists Marilyn Flame and Ninja Riot, using an army of pokémon. They can grow their army and increase their chances of victory by StreetPassing with more and more people.

There are also apparently special bonuses if you use the game during the movie or connect with Pokémon X and Y after completing a certain challenge in-game.

A western release for Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction was announced last month. It’s possible that The Band of Thieves and 1000 Pokémon could come with it, but Nintendo hasn’t said anything.

Source: Nintendo Life

The last of the Pokémon soundtracks announced for release this year is now out in the iTunes music store.

Pokémon Black 2 & Pokémon White 2: Super Music Collection contains 173 tracks from the Pokémon Black and White sequels plus some bonus tracks from Platinum and Emerald, all for $9.99.