Pokémon Sword and Shield

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POK É MON SWORD AND SHIELD

If monster battles are your thing, you’ll want to make the tough decision: are you going to play Sword or Shield ? Or both?!

Calling all Pokémon trainers, it’s time to get back to the gym! Pokémon Sword and Shield , the series’ fi rst mainline Switch release, have been praised for being solid, hugely fun games for players whether you are a noob or a fan from way back. Will you pick Sword or Shield ? The diff erences include version-exclusive Pokémon (cool!) and version-exclusive gyms. Whichever you choose, you are guaranteed big-eyed, squee-worthy characters (even the non-Pokémon animals are adorbs, such as a goofy sheep at the start of the Sword version). It’s time to put your skills to the test and see if you’ve got what it takes to be the very best.

Sobble: Evolves into a Drizzile then an Inteleon. Can hide itself in water, climb walls and run on two or four feet. Scorbunny: Evolves into a Raboot then a Cinderace. Loves to run and can start small fi res under its feet. Grookey: Evolves into a Thwackey then a Rillaboom. Has the ability to grow grass and is full of curiosity. Your starter Pokémon of Galar

Snackable!

Spilling and rumour-milling with bite-sized pieces of goss!

WENGIE’S NEW TUNES Multi-talented YouTuber Wengie has the pipes to climb the charts. Yep, life’s good as she’s made her Billboard chart debut with Minnie of South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE. Their single, ‘Empire’, started at number 22 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart. (Guess who’s right up top? Yes, it’s BTS feat. Lauv.) It’s an international kinda collab as Wengie is ChineseAustralian, Minnie is from Bangkok, Thailand, and they’re singing in Korean with some English too. With the clip hitting 1 million streams on YouTube within 21 hours, Wengie shouted out to her #Wengiecorns and all the #Neverlands to thank them for their awesome support.

DANCE MOMS AUSTRALIA IS CASTING! Do you dance? Do you think you might be the next Maddie Ziegler or JoJo Siwa? Step right this way! An Australian version of Dance Moms is casting now (OM TG !) and you can take part. Either upload videos as described here dancenikkiwebster.com.au/ dancemomsaustralia or you can head along to the wildcard auditions for a chance to skip video casting and move straight to the live audition stage. These are on at: Erina, Central Coast on January 25; Leichhardt, Sydney on January 27; and Minchinbury, Sydney on February 2. Get all the deets at Nikki Webster’s website and may the best dancer win!

BYE ISABELA MONER, HELLO ISABELA MERCED Wondering why Dora the Explorer actress Isabela Moner is going by a diff erent name? While she was born a Moner, she’s changed her last name in tribute to her grandmother. “This is when I begin writing my own story as Isabela Merced,” she wrote late-2019. Isabela explained she wanted to say goodbye to a diffi cult year and start a new chapter. The name Merced “represents the values that were passed on from my grandmother”, which include her fearlessness and love for family.

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SPOTLIGHT ON SHAWN A sharp-eyed fan spotted Shawn Mendes in Brazil. Sure he was probs there for the São Paulo leg of his tour but he happened to be there with a team from Netfl ix. Could a Shawn Mendes documentary be happening?! He was apparently also spotted fi lming in New York. Netfl ix hasn’t, at the time of writing, confi rmed a Shawn doco, but stay tuned!

TAYLOR’S NEW RECORD Ever ask yourself where Tay Tay even keeps all her awards? At the time of writing, she’s just scooped up another six American Music Awards, for a total of 29 –a new record! It’s not all a Taylor love-fest though with Lover , her latest album, missing out on a nomination for Album of the Year at the Grammys on January 27. DW too much –she did get three other noms including Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop

READER SUBMISSION “I just wanted to let you know there is a new Wallace and Gromit short out that people may be interested in. It’s on YouTube.” – TG Jennifer

Hey TG s! Can you believe Tay holds the record for the most American Music Awards?! What a #GirlBoss! I heard Netfl ix might be making a documentary about Tay too, cool! I love watching award shows – I love all the performances, pretty outfi ts and the fact there’s all these amazing artists in one room. Like, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande who are also nominated for Grammys on January 27. Good luck, errybody! I can’t wait to fi nd out the results. Anissa :)

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