Vol. 2, Issue 3 - Luke's Pokémon Memories: Nintendo Konga Beach Road Trip
A Pokémon fan remembers the time he went hands on with FireRed & Leaf Green prior to official launch. We also have the latest Pokémon news, and more from the Johto Times mailbag
It’s time for another issue of the Johto Times! In Vol. 2, Issue 3, we are sharing a Pokémon memory from Luke (of Luke Loves Pokémon), who attended the Nintendo Konga Beach Road Trip in the summer of 2004. While there, he was able to go hands-on with the upcoming Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen games, prior to their official European release on October 1st of that year. In addition, we also have the latest Pokémon news and more from the Johto Times mailbag!
News
The Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Epilogue is now available for fans who have completed a certain postgame event in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, as well as both stories in the DLC. Once players claim the Mythical Pecha Berry via Mystery Gift, they will be able to start the Epilogue. Full details can be found on The Official Pokémon Website (see the source link below).
Additionally, a new distribution of a special Kitakami Rotom Phone case in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has begun. It can be obtained via Mystery Gift by using the code NE0R0T0MC0VER.
Source: Pokémon
Pokémon GO’s Community Day classic featuring Porygon will be taking place on January 20th, 2024 between 14:00 and 17:00 local time. It’s another opportunity to capture the classic Pokémon and maybe even a Shiny! Chansey will be February’s Community Day event Pokémon, which takes place on February 4th, 2024 between 14:00 and 17:00 local time. This Pokémon in particular is a sponge for attacks, making it quite useful for in-game gyms.
Source: Pokémon GO
The next English Pokémon TCG set has been announced as Temporal Forces and will be released on March 22nd, 2024. The set contains over 160 cards, and it will see the return of ACE SPEC cards, which were introduced in the Black & White era of the game. With the Scarlet & Violet expansion Paldean Fates soon releasing on January 26th, 2024, players and collectors alike will surely be cringing at their bank statements in the coming months…
Source: Pokémon
Pokémon Horizons: The Series will now debut on Netflix in the United States on March 7th, 2024. Originally, The Pokémon Company announced that the show would be released on February 23rd and it has already debuted in English in the United Kingdom via the BBC iPlayer.
Source: Pokémon
Feature: Luke's Pokémon Memories: Nintendo Konga Beach Road Trip
Between July 24th, 2004 and September 3rd, 2004, Nintendo hosted an event called the Nintendo Konga Beach Road Trip, which travelled to eighteen different locations in the United Kingdom, allowing attendees to play new titles and win prizes. Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen were two of the games present at the event, predating their official release on October 1st, 2004. The tour made its penultimate stop in Bristol, at Woolworths Big W. One of those in attendance was Luke (of Luke Loves Pokémon), along with his little brother and his best friend at the time.
In the summer of 2004, I saw in the UK's Nintendo Official Magazine that a promotional tour event for upcoming games would be coming near my home in Southwest England. I was, and still am, a major fan not just of Pokémon but of Nintendo in general.
Somehow I convinced my mum to take me, my little brother, and my best friend at the time. Around this period, we had a little website called "Pokémon X", and I bought some stickers and wrote our names and website on them and we wore them at the event. I don't think there was anyone there to interview, and we didn't even end up writing anything.
The event was primarily focused on Donkey Konga, as this was an upcoming big release for the GameCube. There was a big inflatable game where players were tied to a bungee cord and had to take big, plastic bananas as far along a wall as possible and attach them with velcro.
There were playable demos of loads of upcoming games including, yes, Pokémon. I played it and also took photos with the big inflatable Charizard and Venusaur. I played the demos but of course, they didn't really change my mind one way or another about the games!
The event was fun and I feel nostalgic when I see those old pictures, but as far as I recall there wasn't anything interesting or unique about what we saw and played there, nor was anyone from development involved that the public could talk to.
We wanted to know if Pokémon still meant a lot to Luke, so we asked him how Pokémon continued to play a part in his life.
I've been a Pokémon fan since it arrived in the UK. I got my copy of Pokémon Blue at my very next birthday and from there was obsessed. I played every generation from there out, with that leading to a love of Nintendo and developing into an interest in Japan.
I moved to Japan in 2018 and immediately started noticing how much Pokémon was around me. There was actual merchandise and promotional material, but also I could see the cultural touchstones that inspired the games or certain monsters.
After that I knew it was time to start the Pokémon Podcast I'd been thinking about for a while. At this point, I'm 400 episodes deep into covering various Pokémon families every week!
It has been almost twenty years since the event, but we hope that Luke, his brother, and his friend all have some happy and fond memories from visiting the event together. Special thanks to Luke for sharing his memory with us, and be sure to check out his podcast here!
Mailbag
Want to be a part of our newsletter? You’re welcome to submit content including (but not limited to) questions, fan-created art, short stories, cherished memories, photographs from your collection, and anything else you think we would like to see. Today we have some more Pokémon fanart from Poké Trainer Theo.
I drew the Morty artwork due to the fact that I really like his design and ghost types are usually one of my favorite typing. I also like to draw a somewhat spooky setting since it was near Halloween when I first made the artwork.
Poké Trainer Theo, Philippines
It’s wonderful to feature your artwork yet again, Theo! Morty is one of my favourite Gym Leaders from Johto, and I think you did a fantastic job with this artwork. As always, keep up the great work, and thank you once more for sharing it with us!