No news, no 2024 Pokémon game?

Welcome back to Victory Road, your best source to beat the summer heat and still keep the sizzle with the week’s best, most entertaining Pokémon news.

If this email was a Pokémon, it would have Awesome nature.

This week’s rundown (estimated read time 3 minutes):

• What no news following NAIC means for Pokémon video games this fall

• Prep yoself for Mightiest Mark Bacon Emboar

• Random Encounters: don’t miss all about Surfing Pikachu

No news out of the NAIC

There was the hope, the dream, the Glalie’s chance in hell that we’d get SOME kind of Pokémon video game teaser news following the North American International Championships last weekend.

Nada.

This tells me unless Pokémon pulls a Beyoncé (never thought I’d use so many é accents in a sentence) and does a surprise drop, we can all but write off an unannounced game coming out this fall.

Part of me thinks Gamefreak is intentionally staying quiet to get back at all those whining fans (you know who you are) who complained about the fast-paced release schedule.

Next up is Worlds, coming in August. Several major creators have already received a special invite to attend (I’m sure the Dragonite postman lost mine) which leads me to believe that we’ll get some kind of teaser for Legends or another major announcement then.

Between now and August, I’ll be shocked if we hear so much as a peep of official Pokémon video game updates. Until then, no news is good news?

Get Electrified in Emboar Tera Raids

If you’ve got a hankering for some microwaved bacon, you’re in luck. Electric-Tera Type Emboar is coming this weekend to 7-Star Raid Battles.

The “Mega Fire Pig” (yep, that’s an official name), arrives today (Thursday, June 13) at 5 p.m. PDT through Sunday, June 16, at 4:59 p.m. PDT, then again Thursday, June 20, at 5 p.m. PDT to Sunday, June 23, at 4:59 p.m. PDT.

Seems like the play here is gonna be a Ground-type, and with Emboar’s fire moves I’m gonna throw out Garchomp as an early challenger.

Card of the Week

I have so many questions, but first and foremost is this: when did Lairon become the Steel-type trash panda? Just look at that beady little eye. If that isn’t grand theft scrap metal I don’t know what is. Don’t you dare try to tell me he’s helping to clean up. Artist: Dsuke. Set: Twilight Masquerade.

Random encounters around the internet

• The collab we never new we needed: Pokémon x premium cookware.

• Every instance of Surfing Pikachu across the Pokémon universe.

• Need more friends? You can now have 450 of ‘em in Pokémon GO.

ICYMI: Links to recent issues & greatest hits

• Water types gone wild

• Mewtwo vs. LeBron & more shenanigans

• What Nintendo’s next console means for Pokémon

Obscure Pokémon Fact (from u/Mx_Toniy_4869)

Until next time,
Cooltrainer “legit news has a worse encounter rate than a full-odds shiny” Ace