It’s February 27, and that means it’s Pokémon‘s 30th anniversary. As it does every year on this day, The Pokémon Company held a livestream to talk about upcoming projects and updates to ongoing games like Go, Masters EX, and Trading Card Pocket. If you weren’t able to catch the show live, you can watch it below, or keep scrolling to check out the highlights.
Game Music Collection
After a big ol’ montage of footage from just about every mainline Pokémon game and some words from Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara, the show kicked off announcing what looks like some kind of music player based on the original Game Boy that plays different songs from the original games with swappable cartridges that look like Pokémon Red and Blue. All right, weird way to start, but go off.
World Championships and Pokémon XP
The stream then recapped the details on its upcoming in-person events in San Francisco, both the World Championships tournament, and the fan event taking place from August 28 to 30. No real new info, but in case you forgot it’s coming up, there ya go.
Pokémon Trading Card Game
All right, now we’re getting to the games. The first in the showcase was Pokémon Trading Card Game, which is getting new cards celebrating the 30th anniversary later this year.
Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go‘s 10th anniversary is this year, and the AR game is bringing back previously phased-out monsters to celebrate.
Pokémon Masters EX
The classic iteration of Red, the main character from the original games, is joining the gacha game as a sync pair alongside his Pikachu. New versions of Florian and Juliana, the protagonists of Scarlet and Violet, are also joining the game with Ogerpon and Terapagos respectively.
Pokémon Cafe Remix
The puzzle/management sim game is hosting an event in which you can recruit all the starter Pokémon from the first nine generations, as well as adding new outfits, Pokémon, and 30th anniversary decorations for your shop.
Pokémon Sleep
Mew missions are coming to the Sleep app tonight, and the teaser hinted that Latias and Latios will join as well.
Pokémon Unite
The MOBA announced several new additions to its roster, including Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos, as well as all three of the Johto starters: Meganium, Feraligatr, and Typhlosion.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
A new card set called Paldean Wonders is coming to TCG Pocket, which spotlights Pokémon and characters from Scarlet and Violet.
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, one of the more obscure RPGs from the GameCube era, is coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but only on Switch 2. This will be nice for people who haven’t been able to track down a copy, which typically costs way too goddamn much. It will be available next month.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
FireRed and LeafGreen are coming to Switch and Switch 2 after the presentation, and they will be compatible with storage app Pokémon Home so you can transfer your monsters to other games. This compatibility will be coming at a later date.
Pokémon Champions
Next we got a new look at Pokémon Champions, the upcoming battle simulator for Switch consoles and mobile, which will be the first time Mega Evolutions from Legends: Z-A like Raichu and Hawlucha will be playable in the usual competitive format. It’s coming to Switch consoles in April, with a mobile version coming later this year.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension
After hiding in the code for months, Mega Garchomp Z is finally coming to Pokémon Legends: Z-A as a free update after the stream provided you have the Mega Dimension DLC . This will give you a new quest that will unlock the new Mega Stone.
Pokémon Pokopia
We’re a week away from Pokémon Pokopia‘s launch, and it’s bringing another new form for an old Pokémon with DJ Rotom, a stereo version of the ghost Pokémon that possesses technology, which will play music from across the franchise’s many games. We also met other new characters like Chef Dente, a Greedent that cooks for your town. The show also revealed some more multiplayer footage, which included what looks like a Prop Hunt mode that lets you play hide-and-seek while transforming into items to disguise yourself. The game is coming to Switch 2 on March 5.
Pokémon Winds and Waves
Closing out the show is the reason we all showed up. Pokémon Winds and Waves are the next mainline RPGs in the series, kicking off Generation X. In this first footage we see players running through a large open world with different ecosystems mostly filled with old monsters. But we did also meet the new starters: the grass-type Browt, the fire-type Pombon, and the water-type Gecqua. The games will come to Switch 2 in 2027.
