Next fall is when Pokemon Gold and Silver will appear on US shelves, but the Japanese versions were just released a few weeks ago on November 21. We were lucky (and obsessed enough) to get our hands on the latest Pokemon. To give you an idea of what the game's like and my experience playing it, there'll be updates each day until the end of the week until next Monday so you can see how I'm progressing with the game. Be warned: If you don't like spoilers on the game itself , you may not want to read any further. Not that I'm going to spoil everything for you, but if you're heavy anti-spoiler, stop reading now.

　　Day Three: Four Down, Four to Go

　　I now have the first four badges (of eight) in the game, and I beat another Gym Leader last night in Inju City. Now I've found myself in Asagi City with a brand spankin' new fishing rod. I have a strange feeling that since I'm so close to the water that I'll be hoppin' a boat sometime soon to get over to Tamba City, which is over on what is apparently an island. To my dismay, I have still not seen a Pichu, the devolved version of Pikachu. On the good positive side, I can now control Pokemon up to level 50.

　　There are two Pokemon that are just not pulling their weight in my party - Togepi and Itomaru (a spider-like character). I've been trying to get their levels up so they can evolve or gain more powerful attacks. So far, only Itomaru has evolved, but he hasn't become more powerful. Togepi... using him in battle is a bad idea, as his attacks are unpredictable and not very powerful.

　　In Asagi City, when you first arrive, the Gym Leader's gone. I'm in the middle of scaling a really tall tower in the hopes that will clear things up.

　　Importing Pokemon Gold and Silver

　　Thinking that you have to play these new Pokemon games now instead of waiting for the official US releases? Well, before you think that, you should understand a few things. The whole game is in Japanese. Even if you know Pokemon, there are a few things that you'll probably get stuck on if you don't know at least some of the Japanese language. Nintendo's not going to give you any tips on it (and I'd be hard-pressed to guide someone through this game, too).

　　Since this game will be hard to find even in Japan for the rest of the year, you can bet that import shops will be charging an arm and a leg for it. Is it worth it to play the game in Japanese and not understand the story or wait a few months and play it in English and get the most enjoyment? Also, you cannot transfer Pokemon from the US version of Blue, Red or Yellow to the Japanese Gold or Silver, and you can't use Gold and Silver in Stadium. So before you put it on your Christmas list, make sure you know what you're getting into.

　　I'll be back on Monday with a few more screenshots for you to look at and an update on my progress.