Zorua (right) is fairly cute. Zoroark (left), not so much....
A few weeks ago, Nintendo announced that they would be offering downloads for the three legendary dog pokemon - Raikou, Entei and Suicune - as part of the 'Legendary Trio of Johto' mystery gift, in preparation for Pokemon Black & White, which will be coming out at the beginning of March. Far from just being a normal, bog standard legendary Pokemon, these special downloads are what are refered to as 'shiny' pokemon, meaning they sport a different colour scheme to normal. Once downloaded, the pokemon can be transferred over to your copy of Pokemon Black/White, and will give you a chance to encounter the rare pokemon Zorua and it's evolution Zoroark. Each of the trio will only be available for one week - and this week kicks off with...
Raikou
Raikou is a tiger-like, electric-type pokemon, whose long, flowing locks, are said to be made up of thunder clouds. As the legend goes, he's said to represent the lightning strike which ignited the Brass Tower of Ecruteak City, of the HeartGold and SoulSilver games.
Usually yellow with purple hair, the shiny version is orange with a yellow mane. The Raikou you'll download will be at level 30, comes in a Cherish Pokeball (a hallmark of all mystery gift pokemon), and wears a Classic Ribbon. It also comes with four moves that ordinary Raikous can't usually learn - Zap Cannon, which fires an electric blast like a cannon to inflict damage and cause paralysis; Aura Sphere, where a blast of aura power is sent out, and never fails to hit; ExtremeSpeed, a blindingly fast, charging attack, which will always let you attack before your opponent; and Weather Ball, an attack which will vary in power depending on the weather.
To get your shiny new Raikou, all you'll need to do is launch your DS Pokemon game (Pokemon Heart Gold, Soul Silver, Platinum, Diamond and Pearl will all work) and on the start menu, scroll down to select 'Mystery Gift', then 'Receive Gift' and finally 'Get Via Nintendo WFC'. If you've never used the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection before, you'll have a bit of setting up to do - Nintendo's official website explains how. Once you've received the mystery gift, pop to the nearest PokeMart in the game, and have a chat with the man in the green suit and hat, who'll hand over your new pokemon.
With two more Legendary Pokemon still to go over the next few weeks, be sure to check back, as we'll be posting profiles of the new Pokemon as soon as they're up to download.
