BELLEVUE, Wash. – January 3, 2011-The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo are giving fans the opportunity to get a jump start in Pokémon™ Black Version and Pokémon White Version video games with a special character distribution at all U.S. and Canadian GameStop stores. Starting today through February 6, 2011, Pokémon players can add a Legendary Trio of treasured Shiny Pokémon-Raikou™, Entei™, and Suicune™-for their English language versions of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver Version games. Transfer any one of the Legendary Trio into Pokémon Black Version or Pokémon White Version to unlock the opportunity to encounter a brand-new elusive Pokémon!

Receiving any of the Shiny Legendary Trio is a treat for Pokémon Trainers, and even more exciting is the chance to catch the mysterious Illusion Fox Pokémon Zoroark™, a Pokémon that cannot be obtained through normal gameplay-for Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version. Make sure you are one step ahead of Zoroark when the new video games launch for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems on March 6, 2011!

Pokémon fans will also see Zoroark, along with the Tricky Fox Pokémon, Zorua™, in a brand new Pokémon feature film, Pokémon-Zoroark: Master of Illusions, premiering on Cartoon Network in February. The movie begins with the Legendary Trio, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting residents of Crown City. Do the new Dark-type Pokémon Zoroark and Zorua have anything to do with this chaos?

Details for receiving the Shiny Legendary Trio:

What: Shiny Raikou, Shiny Entei, and Shiny Suicune character distribution

Where: U.S. and Canadian GameStop stores.

When: Shiny Raikou-January 3 through January 9, 2011
Shiny Entei-January 17 through January 23, 2011
Shiny Suicune-January 31 through February 6, 2011

How: Players must have a Nintendo DS™ system and their own copy of the English language versions of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver Version video games (each sold separately).

Players must have acquired the Pokédex within their game.

Players must have no more than two Wonder Cards in their possession.

Visit any U.S. or Canadian GameStop during the designated distribution period.

More information on how to encounter Zorua in Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version will be coming soon.

For more information about the Shiny Legendary Trio distribution and new Pokémon characters from Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version visit www.pokemon.com.