Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's Ranked Battles Regulation Set G will come into force with the start of the next Season on May 1st, running through to August 31st at 11:59pm (UTC). This new regulation set expands the list of allowable Pokémon to include a variety of Legendary, Paradox, and Mythical Pokémon.

The votes are in and the people have spoken: with 71% of the votes, Larry is once again your winner of the most popular Gym Leader in Paldea! The hardworking man presently serves as both a member of the region's Elite Four, where he uses the Flying-Type, and the leader of the Medali Gym, where he uses the Normal-Type.

The next past generation first partner evolution to appear in special Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will be the Herb Pokémon Meganium, who will be making its first appearance in 7-star Black Crystal Tera Raid Battles between April 5th at Midnight (UTC), and April 7th at 11:59pm (UTC), with a follow-up appearance one week later from April 12th at Midnight (UTC), and April 14th at 11:59pm (UTC).

April 1st is an excellent opportunity to have some fun, and it seems like Niantic and Pokémon GO are getting into the spirit of it with the An Excellent Opportunity event, running April 1st between midnight and 11:59pm local time. Nice Throws or better will register as Excellent Throws throughout this event.

In celebration of the release of a special highlight video from the Pokémon Sleep CHAMPION TOURNAMENT 2024, a special gift is now being distributed in-game in to all Sleep Researchers. The currently ongoing Raikou Research event is also receiving an unannounced bonus, with all Snorlax beginning Week 2 starting at Ultra 4.

Jacq & Farigiraf make their Pokémon Masters EX debut today in a new limited-time Poké Fair Scout alongside the continuing Researcher and Seeker Story Event. This scout is available in-game now, and will run through to April 17th at 10:59pm (PDT).

The 2024 edition of the Catch a Million charity marathon starts next Sunday April 7th, running through to Sunday April 14th. This annual event has raised over $60000 since its inception for St. Baldrick's Foundation, an organization that supports research into childhood cancer. Any and all streamers are welcome to participate in this event, no matter their channel size, level of viewership, or preferred streaming platform. Bulbagarden will itself be streaming 24/7 throughout Catch a Million 2024, with a rotating crew of Bulbagarden staff baton passing to each other to keep the catches and donations going at all hours of the day and night.

What a great way to end the second chapter of Pokémon Horizons! The raid battle against the Black Rayquaza in this week's episode was intense! Liko, Roy and Dot all show off their improved battling tactics alongside Friede and Amethio, who shows up unexpectedly after his colleagues retreated. Just seeing the fruits of their hard work, from Amethio mastering Terastal, to Liko and Roy battling so competently without the need of Friede’s handholding, to Liko’s Sprigatito evolving into Floragato, a rare occurrence for Grass-type starters.

A new video on the Pokémon Trading Card Game's official Japanese YouTube channel has revealed new Feebas and Milotic cards, which will be released in Japan next month on April 24th as part of the Transformation Mask expansion for the Scarlet & Violet series of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Cards from Transformation Mask will be released internationally later this year as part of the Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade expansion on May 22nd.

A set of 5 new Poké Lids have been unveiled ahead of their installation across Wakayama Prefecture in Japan over the coming two months. These Poke Lids were illustrated by Saya Tsuruta, who fans may recognize as a prominent TCG card artist and the designer of Pokemon like Audino and Goomy. Saya also illustrated the location previews in Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver Versions.

Speedcon will be holding the 2024 edition of their on-site marathon out of "Club Spartacus" at the Freiland Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany over this Easter weekend, from March 29th to March 31st. A run of Pokémon Scarlet/Violet will feature in the event, which can be watched from the event's Twitch channel.

As previewed earlier this week, Volo & Togepi are making their Pokémon Masters EX debut today in a new Poké Fair Scout. Alongside this scout, Volo will be taking center stage in the brand new Researcher and Seeker Story Event that is also launching in-game today.

The Pokémon Center is offering lots of new merchandise for spring, the latest of which is their new graduation collection, which is themed after the orange and purple colors of the Naranja and Uva Academies from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Fans in the U.S. and Canada are getting a full line of grad gear, which includes two display figures; Pikachu in purple and Eevee in orange, a diploma frame, an insulated mug, and several pins and stationary options. Customers in the UK can find an exclusive 8 inch Graduate Pikachu plush as part of the Pikachu Celebrations line, which retails for £16.99. The graduation collection is available now online at the U.S. and Canada’s Pokémon Center websites, while Graduate Pikachu is available online via the Pokémon Center UK.

A new version of Pokémon Masters EX, version 2.43.0, is now available to download. Together with this update, the monthly message from the producers of Pokémon Masters EX has teased several upcoming events that will run in game over the next few weeks, including a brand new Story Event featuring the debuts of Volo and Jacq. The next letter from the producers is slated to be released in late-April.

Pokémon Masters EX is putting a spotlight on Sync Pairs with Passionate Spirits this week with the new Challenge from Passionate Spirits Solo Event, which will be running through to April 8th, at 10:59pm (PDT).

A new video on the Pokémon Trading Card Game's official Japanese YouTube channel has revealed new Volbeat and Illumise cards, which will be released in Japan next month on April 24th as part of the Transformation Mask expansion for the Scarlet & Violet series of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Cards from Transformation Mask will be released internationally later this year as part of the Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade expansion on May 22nd.

Team GO Rocket are back to their old tricks this Easter, with the latest Team GO Rocket Takeover event, World of Wonders: Taken Over, launching in Pokémon GO this week, starting Wednesday March 27th at 12:00am local time, and concluding Sunday March 31st at 11:59pm local time.

Sygna Suit Cynthia & Giratina are returning to Pokémon Masters EX today in a special Master Fair Scout, alongside the usual collection of regular events and presents on offer for the monthly Pokémon Masters Day celebrations. All players who log in today will receive a special present of 500 gems from Pikachu, and have the opportunity to take advantage of special events and co-op battles. As always, several Sync Pairs are also receiving upgrades alongside this monthly event.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are celebrating the Easter Weekend this year by giving players opportunities to catch a selection of baby Pokémon in Mass Outbreaks, starting Friday March 29th at midnight (UTC), and running through until Sunday March 31st, at 11:59pm (UTC).

Things are getting intense now, with the Brave Olivine sustaining major damage in this week's episode from the Black Rayquaza crashing into it. I think the third arc of Pokémon Horizons being a school arc makes a lot of sense now, as the kids can spend time at school while they wait for the airship to be fully repaired, which you have to imagine could take a long while.