io9

8 Nerdy Lofi Beats, Ambient Sounds, and Meditations to Finally Chill the Heck Out This Weekend

Anyone else feel like this week was especially…you know. After over a month of social distancing with not much of an end in sight, things can start feeling overwhelming. So we’ve put together an amazing playlist of lofi beats, ambient sounds, and other calming experiences to keep calm and nerd on. Look, social distancing may … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Razer Just Won the Wireless Headphone Wars With Pikachu Earbuds That Charge Inside a Poké Ball

If you want the best wireless earbuds out there, we recommend the Jabra Elite 75t. If you want an equally excellent pair that also works great with the iPhone, you can’t go wrong with the Apple AirPods Pro. But if you want to charge and carry around your earbuds in a replica Poké Ball, you’ll … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

We Live in a World With a Dak Ralter Action Figure, and More of the Most Unbelievable Toys of the Week

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular round up of all things toy. This week, we’re catching up on New York Toy Fair with some lovely Star Wars reveals, snoozing with Pikachu, and swinging into action with Spider-Man. But there’s also a truly weird Chia Pet, and K’nex takes on the architectural icons of the … Continued

io9Movies

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution‘s Uncanny Aesthetics Feel Like a Step Backwards

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution is a remake in the truest sense of the word. If you’ve seen the animated film from 1998, Evolution’s story of a vengeful Mewtwo seeking to assert its dominance over humanity and naturally born Pokémon will ring familiar, as it more or less recreates every scene from the original shot for … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

Halo Gets Nerfed, Pettable Pokémon, and G.I. Joe‘s Grand Return Are Already Toy Fair’s Most Fun Reveals

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular roundup of the latest and greatest toy news. This week, we’re basking in the glorious surprises that are already coming out of this weekend’s New York Toy Fair. You can head elsewhere for major Baby Yoda goodness, but here we’ve got Transformers, G.I. Joe, Halo, and more to … Continued

io9

Pocket Monsters Made Pikachu Appropriately Chonky Again

Oh, Arceus. He comin’. When Nintendo first introduced Pikachu back in the mid-‘90s, the electric type mouse Pokémon was everything you’d expect from the official mascot of a video game franchise poised to take over the world. It was cute, never let you forget its name, and it had a pretty solid sense of humor … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

Tiny DeLoreans, Big Bugs, and Yet Another Baby Yoda Are Among the Week’s Best Toys

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular round-up of the latest and greatest toys and merchandise. This week, a very buggy action figure, Pokémon gets its skate on, and Hot Toys makes a promise to bring so much Baby Yoda into your life. Check it out! Scalextric Back to the Future DeLorean Slot Car Slot … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

Jinkies, Gang, It’s Only the Most Mysterious Toys of the Week

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular roundup of the coolest toys and merch we’ve seen on the internet lately. This week the Black Widow movie slinks its way into the world of Lego, plus there’s Batmen aplenty, and a very adorable excuse to let those meddling kids get away with solving crime. Check it … Continued

Tech NewsNews

You Can Now Forget Your Existential Dread With Pokémon ASMR

The world is terrible and everything is on fire, but heading into the weekend, you can at least try to stifle the urge to scream with two new Pokémon ASMR videos. The first features a cheeky little Chespin nomming on some macarons, while the second stars a snoozy Charmander napping by a crackling campfire. You … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Pokémon Sword and Shield Is Secretly About Climate Change—and My Weezings Are Here to Prove It

In good news for Pokémon-obsessed people (me), Nintendo appears to only be getting started with its Sword and Shield world. The company has plans to add expansion packs later this year to bring new adventures to the Galar region. That’s dope! And I hope the expansions keep building on one of the key themes in … Continued

io9

There’s Something Very Wrong With Pokémon: Twilight Wings

While Pocket Monsters, the primary Pokémon anime, has already followed Ash Ketchum into Galar, the newest region where monsters from Pokémon Sword and Shield can be found, The Pokémon Company’s also just dropped Twilight Wings, a supplementary web series that more deeply explores the culture and lives of Galarian people. Like the Pokémon movies and … Continued

io9

2019: The Year in Babies

It’s been a long year, we’re going to have some silly fun, dammit. While the io9 staff was discussing all the media we consumed in 2019, we realized there was an interesting recurring theme: babies! While Baby Yoda stole most of the headlines (and our hearts) near the end of the year, there were a … Continued

io9Games

Pokémon Sword and Shield‘s Opal Is the Gym Leader This Generation Deserves

Each generation of Pokémon games has introduced a variety of interesting Gym Leaders who all speak to the ideals of their home cities and try their hardest to make you a better trainer as you work toward becoming the latest regional Pokémon Champion. For the most part, gym leaders have led relatively static lives that … Continued

io9

Pocket Monsters Revealed One of Pokémon‘s Most Important Origin Stories

For more than two decades now, we’ve been watching eternal 10-year-old Ash Ketchum make his way through the world of the Pokémon anime series with an assortment of human and Pokémon friends on his quest to become a Pokémon Master. Though Ash has journeyed to multiple regions over the years, both the series and the … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Climate Change Is Even Ruining Pokemon Now

It’s not enough for humans to screw up our planet. Apparently, we’ve screwed up Earth in the Pokemon universe as well. A new character appears in the recently released video game Pokemon Sword and Shield called Cursola, a ghost version of the once vibrant Corsola. The new Pokemon is the product of runaway climate change … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

An Even Smaller Lego 1989 Batmobile Races Into the Best Toys of the Week

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular roundup of the best new toys we’re salivating over on the internet. This week, we’ve got a very neat take on one of Netflix’s Ultraman stars, and Batman gets to not only crack nuts in the most uncomfortable looking way possible, he gets yet another sweet Lego take … Continued

io9

Listen to the Original Voice of Ash Ketchum Congratulate Him on a Long-Awaited Pokémon League Win

He’s finally bloody done it. Ash Ketchum, star of the Pokémon anime and perennial clutcher of defeat from the jaws of victory, is finally the winner of a Regional Pokémon League. The world of Pokémon fandom is rejoicing with him, including…himself? Well, actually it’s sort of herself: in the first eight seasons of the western … Continued

io9Movies

Watch the Birth of Detective Pikachu‘s Terrifying Mewtwo in This 10-Minute Clip

Remember when Ryan Reynolds thought it’d be cute to troll everyone with a fake leak of Detective Pikachu before the movie came out earlier this year? Warner Bros. would apparently like to make up for that. Warner Bros. has uploaded the first 10 minutes of Detective Pikachu for all those folks out there who’ve yet … Continued

io9

Craig of the Creek Turned Pokémon Into an Important Life Lesson

For all the jokes that have been made about the Pokémon anime’s protagonist never really aging, the larger franchise has always been focused on telling stories about change and growth. Even setting aside the anime, the games themselves are, at their core, about understanding how evolution’s a natural part of life. The Pokémon games don’t … Continued

io9Toys & Collectibles

The Week’s Best Toys Are All Garishly Colored

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular round up of the coolest bits of plastic tempting our wallets lately. This week: He-Man rides into battle for his fancy new action figure line, Pikachu comes for your desk and your teeth, and the Green Lantern Corps faces its deadliest foe yet. Check it out! Mattel Masters … Continued