Kotaku

Pocket Monsters isn't only about monsters. It's also about those Monster Ball packing characters. You know, trainers.

Over the generations, there have been a host of Pokémon trainers. Some of them have become iconic—such as Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Hilda. Being iconic in gaming means there are countless numbers of folks who enjoy dressing up as these characters. But who did it best?

Let's have a look at a few—by no means all—of the Pokémon wranglers and see who pulled off the best trainer cosplay.

[Blashina]
[canispanthera]
[Captain-Pan]
[chibikooh]
[Chihouban]
[chococo]
[DugFinn]
[DynamiteBreakdown]
[egomotion]
[Emi-zone]
[Foxy-Cosplay]
[GandaKris]
[Kimba616]
[Majikku-Tejina]
[missdang]
[miyurii]
[P0kyu]
[PriSuicun]
[Puzzle-Productions]
[Renokev02]
[SailorMappy]
[ShionTheCookie]
[slashero3]
[SSJ4Theo]
[twinfools]
[Zettai-Cosplay-red]
[Zettai-Cosplay]
[Touya]

From iReadyGo, the Much 3G is an Android-powered handheld that sure looks like the PS Vita (though, it seems to be missing rear-touch and proper analog sticks).

Tech company iReadyGo even had its own Much 3G booth at China Joy, showing off its handheld for all to see, with unabashed promotions and booth companions. The whole thing seemed like it was all a bit, well, much.

MUCH摩奇3G掌机首秀ChinaJoy 高调亮相引围观 [21CN]

摩奇3G掌机 [Zol]

MUCH3G [Sgame]

Vader appears in the Samsung Galaxy spots for Japanese mobile carrier Docomo. Debuting last fall, the commercial is part of the "Walk with You" series of commercials that turns celebrities in personified cell phones and previously featured Kaera Kimura and Ken Watanabe.

Even though Darth Vader is supposed to represent the Samsung Galaxy, don't let that squash your dreams of palling around and playing the guitar with him. Vader loves hanging out. That, and chokeholds.

Darth Vader wants to hang out with your Samsung Galaxy X [Japanator]

Recently, Nana-chan donned Naruto gear as part of a campaign for the new Naruto animated film, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, giving Nagoya the opportunity to see what Naruto would look like elongated and with breasts. Finally!

名古屋の皆様へ素敵なお知らせです [Twitter]

Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase confirmed to Famitsu that work on the latest entry in the Lightning Saga has "just begun". At the Final Fantasy event, the game's official title will also be revealed. So, Final Fantasy XIII-3: Lightning's Saga?

スクエニ北瀬氏「FFXIIIプロジェクトの新展開"ライトニングサーガ"は走り始めたばかり」 [ゲーム情報！ゲームのはなし]

The wuxia game is a single player role-playing title set in ancient China, and its arcade demo cabinet was outfitted with buttons and a joystick for those who like arcade controls as well as a keyboard with a tracking ball for those who prefer PC controls.

Always nice to have the keyboard option, especially in China where PC gaming dominates.

中国メーカーレポートその1 [Game Watch Impress]

横スクロールアクション「斬魂」をアーケード機でプレイ！ [OnlineGamer]

In Japan, plastic food is called "shokuhin sample" (食品サンプル) or "food sample". These samples have existed in Japan since early 20th century—well before World War II. They're a way for restaurants to show off their menu in an easy to understand way and draw in customers.

Shokuhin sample are made from plastic resin; however, some restaurants occasionally leave out actual food for the day if they need to show off a dish and they do not have the fake version.

Typically, fake food is made in Japan, and the fake food manufactures work very closely with the restaurants to reproduce the food in plastic form that is both appetizing and faithful.

Even now, shokuhin sample are such a part of the dining experience in Japan that many people stop in front of glass cases filled with fake food, decide what they want, and then enter the restaurant. Some Japanese even complain about the lack of fake food when dinning abroad—that they don't get to see what they are ordering beforehand!

At the recent Wonder Festival, an event dedicated to plastic figurines, a company called Kodinmari Seisaku Kobo Co. showed off its cell phone straps with fake food trinkets. The fake food straps are not cheap—they run between ¥500 and ¥900 (US$6.40 to $11.50)—but damn, they look good. Good enough to eat.

Have a look at the shokuhin sample straps in the above gallery, courtesy of Akiba Blog.

Swedish artist KJ Andersson pays a strangely powerful tribute to Ernest Kline's "When I was a Kid".

I say strange because, you know. For all the cheery retro graphics on display, cutting just those two lines out and sticking them front and centre reminds me a little too much of my own mortality.

Embroidery [kjandersson, via 22 Words]

Crysis developers Crytek (or, at least, their Kiev satellite studio) have been working on Warface, a multiplayer shooter for the PC that while looking entirely unremarkable also boasts visuals that look bloody amazing.

The game's actually playable right now, and what's more it's free! But there's a catch: it's only live in Russia, and the Cyrillic alphabet is a nightmare to try and decipher if it's not your native script.

Thankfully, PC Gamer have released this trusty guide to getting into the game, which thankfully includes the option to switch to English after the game's installed.

If you're wondering "why Russia?", remember: 14% of Steam users speak Russian, so they make up a pretty damn significant percentage of the world's PC market.

Also: the trailer above. Is that the Team Fortress 2 announcer?

How to install Warface, Crytek's upcoming F2P shooter, and play right now [PC Gamer]

Meet Thomas Scholes. Well, meet his art. An illustrator and concept artist who has worked at 343 Studios, ArenaNet and Disney, he's now a freelancer who can draw some of the nicest pieces of environment art around.

In the gallery below you'll see examples of his work on games like Halo 4 and Guild Wars 2 (bizarrely, the second day in a row we've featured an artist who has worked on both games), along with newer projects and some personal pieces as well.

You can check out more of Tom's work at his blog. Or his other blog.

To see something really cool, take a look at this concept he's made up for a touch-based adventure game.

To see the larger pics in all their glory (or so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab".