Pokemon.com launched their updated site design today while adding a bunch of new features. The website is still heavily based on Adobe Flash but is loads faster than the previous version. Below is the press release from the official site.

We've been hard at work making Pokémon.com the place to visit for Pokémon fans, and now the new site is ready for you to explore! Have a look around and check out all of the amazing new features we've added, including:

* The Pokémon Trainer Club. Join today and start earning Trainer Tokens!
* Pokémon episodes that you can watch online
* Free games to play in the Pokémon Fun Zone
* Updated, easy-to-use Pokédex with new Pokémon artwork
* Searchable Pokémon TCG Card Database
* Lots more!

We also want to give a big welcome to everyone from go-pokemon.com. Everything you've always found at go-pokemon.com is now here, plus much, much more. Be sure to check out the updated league information pages and how you can use your Pokémon Trainer Club account to keep track of your Organized Play statistics.

Source: http://www.pokemon.com/us/news/welcome-to-new-pokemon_com-2010-01-06/

The Pokemon Company also released a email to media outlets and it is posted below.

Bellevue, WA- January 11, 2010 --- The Pokémon Company International announces today the complete re-launch of the online Pokémon universe with the new and improved Pokémon.com. Providing fans with a comprehensive entertainment destination for all things Pokémon, the new site brings together Pokémon animation, video games and the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), like never before. The new site will introduce free online mini-games, episodes of the popular animated series, a fully interactive Pokédex, a "Pokémon Trainer Club", all the latest news and more. The new Pokémon.com gives visitors a user-friendly layout, improved functionality and the first one-stop destination in Pokémon history.

"Pokémon.com unifies the Pokémon experience under one roof, providing fans with a fun entertainment destination where they can play mini-games, watch Pokémon animation, and explore the Pokémon universe," said J.C. Smith, director of marketing. "The re-launch of the site includes a number of exciting new features and functions with an emphasis on being a fun and parent-approved place to visit online."

To celebrate the new site's launch and highlight one of its most important additions - the "Pokémon Episode Viewer" - Pokémon.com will showcase the very first season of the animated series, which is now in its 12th season. Each week, new episodes of the series will air allowing fans to see where it all began. This schedule will continue beyond the first season, giving younger fans a chance to follow the series in its entirety for the first time.

The Pokémon Fun Zone, a new totally immersive and free casual games area of the site, allows kids to play mini-games and collect Trainer Tokens, rewarding fans for time spent on the site. These mini-games are quick to pick up and play, but are challenging enough to keep Pokémon fans entertained for hours. For example, in Pachirisu's Click-Clack Attack, players must shoot pucks into corner pockets of the playing board. You can earn bonus points by deflecting the pucks into each other to sink more than one in a single shot. And there are already plans to add more fun titles to keep Pokémon fans coming back for more.

Additional areas to access in the Pokémon Fun Zone include: a Trainer Builder, which allows users to completely customize their personal Trainers; a Trainer Store, where they can buy new gear for their Trainers; and a downloads page for wallpapers and screensavers.

Additional highlights fans can expect on the site include:

- The most current and up-to-date news announcements featuring information on video game character distributions, Pokémon promotions and partnerships

- The ability to keep track of Pokémon Organized Play ratings and stay aware of upcoming local Pokémon TCG and Video Game events

- New ways to search through the Pokédex containing all 493 current Pokémon including new artwork from the upcoming Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver Versions

- Updated search functionality in the Pokémon TCG card database that lets players search 2,500+ cards by sorting from more than a dozen different card elements

- The first place to find information on the eagerly anticipated 2010 Pokémon Video Game and TCG World Championships and other Pokémon tournaments

The news of the website re-launch comes in advance of some eagerly anticipated product launches for Pokémon in 2010, including the February 10 release of the Pokémon Trading Card Game: HeartGold & SoulSilver expansion, the March 14 release of the Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version video games for the Nintendo DS™, and the DVD release of the brand-new, feature-length film, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life.

Pokémon is one of the top children's franchises in history. The Pokémon video game series has sold more than 197 million units worldwide since its inception 13 years ago. Additionally, Pokémon is one of the top collectible trading card games of all time. Other extensions of the property include 12 seasons of the animated television series, which is currently broadcast in as many as 153 countries in more than 25 languages. Pokémon films and DVDs continue to reach fans in amazing numbers, ranking at the top of the box office in Japan.

Yet no release date of the Movie 12 dub DVD. The way they word it sounds like the DVD is going to be release after HG/SS game. I was right. 6 months it is!

And the new site is, of course, a flash-based abomination that runs slow as dirt. Plus the search is completely frikkin borked. Good job, Pokemon Company, as usual!

The site is so slow but at least that annoying loader bar from the previous version is gone. No RSS feeds or Mailbag section.

Well, in my computer it works fine. And there's pictures in the episode guide!