_melee_

Interesting that it's in Sydney this time. Previously the national and international championships have always been in Melbourne, probably because Nintendo Australia's headquarters is there.

According to the web site https://internationals.eslpkm.com.au there will be entry fees of $30 for juniors and seniors, $60 for masters, and even $10 for spectators. That seems pretty steep. I imagine lots of parents wouldn't be willing to pay $30 (plus the price of spectator passes for themselves) just for their kid to play in a video game tournament. And even a lot of players in the masters division would be students, so $60 is a lot to ask. That's more than the price of the game itself.

I actually kind of hope it doesn't come out till 2019. I would much rather they take the time to make the game the best it can be instead of just shovelling something out. Look at something like Zelda Breath of the Wild which experienced a lot of delays, but just about everybody agrees that it was worth waiting for. I wasn't much of a fan of the 3DS Pokemon games and I'm really hoping the move to Switch makes a big improvement.

Also, my favourite Pokemon games are Diamond and Pearl, and if Game Freak continues its pattern, it's pretty likely we'll get DP remakes on Switch. I really don't want them to mess those up, so I hope the new engine makes a really good platform for the return to Sinnoh.

I guess it's hard to tell what this is going to be like with what little has been revealed, but I am pretty interested to learn more about this movie. In 2016 there was a big push to recapture the attention of fans of the original games. Now it seems like this movie might be trying something similar for fans of the original anime series. I only hope it manages to meet expectations and doesn't end up being a disappointment.

I quite like Rattata's new form, and it makes me interested to see what Alolan Raticate is going to be like. I think it has potential to be really cool . . . I wonder why they held off showing it? Then again, we haven't seen Alolan Persian either. Unless they just evolve into the standard forms, but that seems like a bit of a waste.

I can't help but notice that all the pokemon with Alolan forms so far are from Gen I. I would like to see some of the later pokemon get new Alolan forms, but I can also see that they might stick with the theme of only adding new forms for Gen I pokemon. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

EB Games Australia is also selling this for A$228 (+shipping or you can pick it up from a store): https://ebgames.com.au/loot-220400-Pokemon---Snorlax-Bean-Bag-Chair-Preorder-now-for-Second-Shipment-Loot

The first shipment has already sold out on pre-orders!

It's a pretty cool idea for a beanbag and would look great in a "gaming room". Unfortunately I don't have room for it in my tiny apartment! It also does look a little odd in the second photo where it seems to get its face squashed in when you sit on it, but I suppose that's to be expected with a beanbag. I'll be interested to see more photos of people using it once it's actually released.