Nintendo Unveils Brand New Pokémon, Magearna — And It’s A Weird One

Fans of Nintendo are familiar with the ever-growing list of pocket monsters from their popular game franchise Pokémon. But usually new Pokémon get added in large groups every time Nintendo releases a new official Pokémon game. But this week has brought a bit of unusual news, because Nintendo has revealed a brand new mythical Pokémon made to appear in a feature-length animated film.

According to Techno Buffalo, the new Pokémon will occupy the 722nd slot on the Pokédex and has the localized North American title Magearna. The name was reportedly changed from the Japanese name Magiana. Magearna was first announced by Nintendo of Japan in an issue of CoroCoro, a monthly Japanese manga magazine. The announcement claims that Nintendo will be featuring Magearna in an upcoming feature-length Pokémon movie.

“The newly discovered Mythical Pokémon Magearna will appear in the next Pokémon movie, expected for release later this year.”

But what is Magearna exactly? Some of the more recent Pokémon games by Nintendo have earned a bad reputation for featuring some exceptionally strange monsters, including one that looks like an ice cream cone and another that resembles a ring of keys. Some Nintendo fans may be disappointed to learn that, while Magearna isn’t identical to a household object, it’s still a pretty bizarre-looking Pokémon. You can see the first image of Magearna below, courtesy of Nintendo.

But there’s actually a good reason for the strange appearance of Magearna. Like many of the mythical Pokémon, Magearna comes with an elaborate back story involving the legend and lore of the Nintendo universe. And this particular monster was actually created artificially by humans, so it makes sense that it looks wildly unnatural. The official Pokédex entry lists Magearna’s stats.

Magearna

Category: Artificial Pokémon

Height: 3’03”

Weight: 177.5 lbs.

“Known as the Artificial Pokémon, Magearna has a metallic body and was created by humans 500 years ago.”

At this time, it’s unclear if Magearna will appear in an upcoming Nintendo Pokémon game, or if the players will be able to capture and train it like they can with the other 700 plus characters. Like other legendary Pokémon, the 722nd monster has been described as incredibly powerful and is considered the “ultimate invention.”

According to ComicBook, Nintendo may not have any plans to move Magearna from the big screen to the gaming platform since the creature didn’t appear in the most recent titles Pokémon X/Y or Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. However, it is possible that the new addition will be patched into one of those games via an online update in the same way that Nintendo adds new characters to Super Smash Brothers for 3DS.

It was also recently announced that the mythical Pokémon Mew will be added to those new Nintendo titles.

Magearna seems to have been created specifically for the newest Pokémon film, which continues the ongoing story of the beloved Nintendo character Ash. The current Japanese title is Volcanion & The Ingenious Magearna. You can read the official Nintendo synopsis below.

“In this latest Pokémon full-length feature film, a mysterious force binds Ash to the Mythical Pokémon Volcanion when it falls from the sky. Volcanion can’t get away, and Ash is dragged along as it continues on its mission. They arrive in a city of cogs and gears, where a corrupt minister has stolen the ultimate invention: the Artificial Pokémon Magearna, created 500 years ago. The minister plans to use Magearna’s mysterious power to take control of the mechanical kingdom. Can Ash and Volcanion work together to rescue Magearna? One of the greatest battles in Pokémon history is about to unfold!”

Nintendo also reportedly has some more special surprises in store for “Pokémon Day,” which is on February 27. This day commemorates the anniversary of the release of the very first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue.

What do you think about Nintendo’s newest Pokémon addition? Does Magearna pique your interest?

[Photo courtesy of Nintendo]