Pokemon:
Well, it's been a long wait as I gone through all the non-Pokemon (as in the creature themselves) news, but finally I get the one which, let's be honest, is the most important one: the Pokemon themselves! There's a whopping 18 Pokemon to talk about, so let's lets not hold this off any longer:

Pokemon: Xerneas
Type: Fairy
Ability: Fairy Aura (NEW! Makes Fairy-type moves stronger (though how much isn't known) for all Pokemon in the battle)
Species: Life Pokemon
Height: 3 m/9'10"
Weight: 215 kg/474 lbs
Known Moves: Geomancy (NEW! Fairy-type. Xerneas's signature move)
Based On: The letter "X" & a deer.
Name: "X"; possibly "cervus" (Latin for "deer"), Cernunnos (horned Celtic god), & Ceryneian Hind (mythical Greek deer with gold antlers & bronze hooves, caught by Heracles/Hercules as one of his 12 labors).
Triva:
1. Xerneas's eyes have an "X" symbol on them.
2. If looked at from the front with its legs stretched out, it forms an "X" shape.
3. Xerneas's antlers look somewhat like chromosomes.
Thoughts/Opinion:
Some new info has come out about Xerneas, mainy it's type, Ability, species, and signature move. It' finally revealed why they were keeping Xerneas's type secret (and Yveltal's, though not for the same reason): Xerneas is indeed a Fairy-type, a pure one also which to me is odd as I thought it would also be part Steel. More then that, we're told that Xerneas is the "Life Pokemon" so it looks like it have a life & death... oh, sorry, "destruction" theme going on between it and Yveltal, but we'll get to that. I imagine Fairy Aura will probably only be useful to Xerneas, even in Double or Triple Battles, especially if it powers-up Geomancy (which sounds more like a Ground- or Rock-type attack since "geo" means "Earth"). Speaking of which, I'm not to sure what to make of Geomancy, all pictures of it just shows rainbow lights surrounding Xerneas but never the opponent being hit by something so is it a status move? If so, what kind of status move is it? I get Yveltal's signature move since it's an attack of some sort, but I have no clue what Geomancy is suppose to do. Either way, Xerneas is honestly something the Fairy-type needed. Not only does it show that not all Fairy-types will be cute and pink, but also give the Fairy-type at least ONE Legendary (which is one more than Poison-types do, the only type not to have a Legendary with their type aside Arceus holding a Toxic Plate) to represent them in the Uber tier which all the mascot Legendaries go (and considering how many Dragon-types are in the Uber tier, it could really use something to balance things out a bit). Of course Xerneas is only one side of a coin, so let's flip that coin to the other Legendary mascot.

Pokemon: Yveltal
Type: Dark/Flying
Ability: Dark Aura (NEW! Makes Dark-type moves stronger (though how isn't known) for all Pokemon in the battle)
Species: Destruction Pokemon
Height: 5.8 m/19'0"
Weight: 203 kg/447.5 lbs
Known Moves: Oblivion Wing (NEW! Dark-type. Yvetal's signature move)
Based On: The letter "Y" & a bird and/or wyvern.
Name: "Y"; possibly "yvel" (Middle English spelling of "evil"), & quetzal (colorful Central & South American bird).
Triva:
1. When its wings and tail are stretched out, it forms a "Y" shape.
2. Vein like markings appear throughout Yveltal's underbody.
3. The diamond shapes on Yveltal's back create a double helix shape in the negative space.
Thoughts/Opinion:
Since the Mascot Legendaries always have to be opposites of one another, since Xerneas represents life, than Yveltal represents DEATH... oh, sorry, I mean "DESTRUCTION". Now that brings to question what the theme of XY is going to be since recent games always had the Legendaries somehow involved with the story, especially with the syndicate. However, as we saw, XY's syndicate is just a bunch of suits who just want to make money. Now aside from all the jokes you can make involving life, death "destruction", and money; the way they're being presented just doesn't seem to fit. If Team Flare's goal is to get control of Xerneas/Yveltal, how are they going to use them to make money? Does Xerneas control life and can give life? Does Yveltal control death and can stop/use it? With so much power, why would they simply stop at just "making money", the power to control life and death is some serious power you can use to take over the world. Do they plan on selling the Legendary to the highest bidder? Once again, they're practically giving away a HUGE amount of power and I can't see any amount they get from selling the Legendaries will make up for what they could have make from using their power. The pieces just don't seem to fit together now that we know the Mascot Legendaries theme and Team Flare's goal.
Move on, I imagine some people might get annoyed that they kept Yveltal's type secret though in the end it ended up as the same type as the Murkrow family and Vullaby family. However I can understand them keeping the type secret as revealing Yveltal's but not Xerneas would be a huge hint of a new type, so they kept both secret. Present-wise, Yveltal's strong relation to the Dark-type is a strong hint that Dark and Fairy to have a relation that isn't neutral. And being Fairy is already strong against Dragon, and death is the last thing a life wants & will happen to it, I think Fairy might be weak to Dark-types (a bit grim, but hey, THAT'S LIFE! *rim shot*). Unlike with Xerneas, we at least know Oblivion Wing is an attack (and though it sounds Physical, the move animation makes it look like a Special move. It all depends on how it "interacts" with the target) thus can see how Dark Aura can affect it.
And one last thing: YVELTAL IS HUGE! 19 FEET? That's bigger than Dialga, Lugia, Giratina Altered Forme, Kyogre, Palkia, Ho-Oh, Kyurem, Groudon, all of Kyurem's forms, Arceus, Reshiram, and Zekrom! And even if that's only its wing span, then it still beats Lugia, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh since there height would be their wing span as well. The only Legendaries who beats it are Giratina Origin Forme and Rayquaza, but only by a few feet. Talk about the shadow of death "destruction" looming overhead, it's probably blocking out the sun!

Pokemon: Pangoro
Type: Fighting/Dark
Ability: Iron Fist (Increases the Power of Punching Moves by 20%) or Mold Breaker (negate other Abilities effects if they affect the user Move's Power or would nullify the user's Move)
Species: Daunting Pokemon
Height: 2.1 m/6'11"
Weight: 136 kg/299.8 lbs
Known Moves: Parting Shot (from Pancham), Hammer Arm
Flavor Text: The evolved form of Pancham. It's a cantankerous Pokemon, but it has a strong heart and doesn't forgive those who pick on the weak. The leaf Pangoro carries in its mouth can predict its opponent's moves.
Based On: A Giant Panda & a bancho (Japanese delinquent)
Name: "Panda", "gorotsuki" (Japanese for "rogue"), and/or "gorogoro" (Japanese onomatopoeia for rumbling)
Thoughts/Opinion:
Sorry Scraggy family, but this, THIS is a Fighting/Dark-type! This Pokemon looks like it'll beat out your organs just for looking at it the wrong way... except it won't since it's actually a nice Pokemon who defends the weak (Game Freak, you do remember the Dark-type is called the "Evil-type" in Japan, right? Absol and Umbreon are special exceptions to the rule, but something that looks like this ISN'T nice and looks like IT'S the one picking on the weak). It's definitely going to be a physical attacker, being its Abilities are Iron Fist to make its punches stronger (like Hammer Arm) or Mold Breaker to make sure no other Ability keeps it from attacking. It sort of reminds me of Darmanitan actually, in terms of looking like it'll be a brute.


Pokemon: Inkay & Malamar
Type: Dark/Psychic
Ability: Contrary (Reverses stat changes to all battling Pokemon) or Suction Cups (Negates opponent's moves which forces the user to switch out)
Species: (Inkay: Revolving Pokemon)(Malamar: Overturning Pokemon)
Height: (Inkay: .4 m/1'4")(Malamar: 1.5 m/4'11")
Weight: (Inkay: 3.5 kg/7.7 lbs)(Malamar: 47 kg/103.6 lbs)
Known Moves: Topsy-Turvy (NEW! Dark-type. Reverses stat changes of the target), Hypnosis
Flavor Text:
(Inkay: Transmitters above Inkay's eyes have the ability to drain the will to fight from other Pokemon. It uses this skill to run and hide when attacked by stronger enemies. The transmitters are also used to communicate with other Pokemon of its kind.)
(Malamar: The evolved form of Inkay. Malamar wields some of the strongest hypnotic powers of any Pokemon and can make its opponents bend to its will. There's never a shortage of humans attempting to use it to achieve their own nefarious purposes.)
Based On: A squid, possibly deepsea squids.
Name:
(Inkay: "Inkfish" (other name for cephalopod (octopus, squids, etc.))
(Malamar: "Mal-" (bad) & "calamari" (seafood made from squid))
Triva:
1. Inkay & Malimar were rumored long before they were revealed. The rumor also said they way to evolve Inkay to Malimar is to flip your 3DS upside-down (the 3DS has a gyroscope thus can detect if its upside-down)
Thoughts/Opinion:
Hey, a new type combination (and a rather popular fan one too, though not quite this way)! Ignoring the Fairy-type for now and assuming the type chart won't change, Inkay and Malamar will have a quadruple weakness to Bug, an immunity to Psychic, and no resistances. While having no resistance is a bit of a downside, having a lone weakness isn't bad (even if its a quadruple weakness, though Bug isn't a common attacking type unless you're facing a Bug-type or a Pokemon who can learn Megahorn or X-Scissor), and immunity to Psychic is a nice bonus.
As for the Pokemon themselves, they sound just like how a Dark-type should be, especially ones with psychic powers. Also if Team Flare wasn't revealed I'd think these would be XY's syndicate main go-to Pokemon (some members may still use it, but it'll clash with their fire theme a bit). As I mentioned, Inkay and Malimar were rumored before as well as a method of evolution. At first when I heard the evolution method I immediately thought this was a fake rumor. But now that not only were the names spot on but also their theme is about revolving... well it's looking more plausible. However what's keeping me from believing it is that the evolution involves the use of hardware which who knows will be in the predecessor of the 3DS. What if it's decided to save some money Nintendo removes the gyroscope since it was barely used as anything but a gimmick? Now there's no way to evolve Inkay to Malimar without them creating a new evolution method. And before you say that won't happen, may I remind you of the story of Feebas and Milotic? Feebas evolved to Milotic by maxing out its Beauty stat for Pokemon Contests in Gen III and IV. But then Gen V took out the Pokemon Contests thus those stats as well meaning they had to create a new way to evolve Feebas to Milotic (this time its Feebas holding a Prism Scale while being traded. Also Milotic were catchable in the wild). And that was a software decision which Game Freak decided to remove, they have no control over what Nintendo may do with the next handheld systems hardware. Also, what if your gyroscope is broken or is off kilter? Your 3DS still works fine, it's just that one piece of hardware and now we have a Pokemon which NEEDS it to evolve! It just seems like a bad evolution gimmick, it honestly reminds me of all those fake rumors on how to catch a Mew or Celebi which involved doing something physical to your game, except with the 3DS it's now may hold some merit!
Move and Ability-wise, I can see them becoming interesting support Pokemon. Not only do you have the Ability Contrary (no one is going to use Suction Cups) which will reverse any stat changes, but the move Topsy-Turvy guarantees that the opponent always get stat downs while your allies get stat ups. Hypnosis could be helpful for stalling and pulling these tactics off, all these Pokemon need now is decent defensive and HP stats.

Pokemon: Swirlix
Type: Fairy
Ability: Sweet Veil (Prevents the user's allies from falling Asleep)
Species: Cotton Candy Pokemon
Height: .4 m/1'4"
Weight: 3.5 kg/7.7 lbs
Known Moves: Draining Kiss (NEW! Fairy-type. Does damage while healing the user some HP)
Flavor Text: Swirlix loves sweets and eats nothing else, making its body as sweet and sticky as cotton candy. In battle, it shoots out strings of candy-like sticky thread to bind its opponents.
Based On: Cotton Candy, also known as "Fairy Floss".
Name: "Swirl" & corrupted spelling of "Licks".
Triva:
1. Swirlix is exclusive to Pokemon X.
Thoughts/Opinion:
No, you're not seeing things. This is a cotton candy Pokemon, that's even its species name. Here when you thought they couldn't get any more ridiculous than an ice cream Pokemon, Game Freak proves us wrong! Oh, and it's also an exclusive Pokemon for those who get X version (but don't worry, people who get Y version get something just as insane). However, we all made fun of the Vanillite family and in the end they came out alright so I don't think we should be quick to judge (I'll admit it's insane, but not stupid). And honestly out of all the pink Fairy-type Pokemon, as a boy I wouldn't be embarrassed using one of these since for some reason pink colored food is less emasculating than pink colored animals (of course, I'm getting Y version...). It's description makes it sound like its sort of a trapping Pokemon, its Ability also indicate it may have a supporter role as well (though Sleep isn't really that common of a status condition), and if Draining Kiss is as good as Giga Drain it may also have a staller role. Only one last thing I can say is that I hope this thing gets Self-destruct or Explosion. Just when you thought it was safe to eat sweets... EXPLOSIVE DIABETES!
(continued next post)