Pokémon 25th Anniversary
 | |
| Date | January 1 – December 31, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Type | Anniversary event |
| Motive | Celebration of the 25th anniversary of the 1996 Japanese release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green for the Game Boy, the first games in the Pokémon franchise |
| Organized by | The Pokémon Company |
| Website | 25 |
The Pokémon 25th anniversary (Japanese: ポケモン 25周年), officially branded as Pokémon25, was an ongoing celebration that went for the entire year of 2021 in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, which began with the original Japanese release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green for the Game Boy on February 27, 1996. The franchise was celebrated through various media of the franchise including video games, the anime, the manga, toys, clothing, music and events.
The anniversary saw the announcements of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which both released on November 19, 2021 and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, set to release on January 28, 2022. They are remakes and a prequel, respectively, of the 2006 games Pokemon Diamond and Pearl on the Nintendo Switch.
Background[]
The Pokémon franchise began as Pocket Monsters Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue) for the Game Boy, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, on February 27, 1996. The Pokémon franchise is divided into groupings known as generations. In each new generation, a new set of Pokémon and a new region are introduced for the first time. The first generation began in Japan with the release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green on February 27, 1996. As of 2021, there are currently eight generations of main series video games.
Pokémon has since become the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, with $90 billion in total franchise revenue. The video game series is the second-best-selling video game franchise (behind Nintendo's own Mario franchise, which had recently celebrated its 35th anniversary) with more than 368 million copies sold and one billion mobile downloads, and it spawned a hit anime series that has become the most successful video game adaptation with over 20 seasons and 1,000 episodes in 169 countries. In addition, the Pokémon franchise includes the world's top-selling toy brand, the top-selling trading card game with over 30.4 billion cards sold, an anime film series, a live-action film, books, manga comics, music, merchandise, and a theme park.
2021 Timeline[]
The first official mention of the anniversary celebration was on November 26, 2020, at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Pokémon Company presented the logo for the anniversary in front of a giant balloon of Pikachu, who has made a regular appearance at the parade since 2001.[2][3] This was followed by news that Pokémon would be collaborating with Japanese Space Exploration Agency, JAXA to celebrate the new year. The collaboration involved seeing Pokémon in augmented reality aboard the International Space Station.[4]
- January 13: news revealed about the celebration, involving that American singer Katy Perry was collaborating with Pokémon on a new music program for its 25th anniversary.[5][6] This was done via a video released on the Pokemon Company International's official YouTube channel, featuring a Rube Goldberg machine travelling through the history of the franchise.
- January 14: The Pokémon Company announced that New Pokémon Snap would be released worldwide on April 30, 2021.[7]
- February 9: McDonald's released an exclusive collection of Pokemon Trading Cards from the official TCG that were included in McDonald's Happy Meals for a limited time.[8]
- February 15: Pokémon collaborated with Levi Strauss & Co., launching the ‘90s-inspired Levi's x Pokémon collection to celebrate the anniversary.[9]
- February 19: Pokémon Day website in Japan launched which displayed live results of a Twitter hashtag-based fan vote that ran from February 19 to 22, for favorite Pokémon, with final results to be revealed afterwards. The website includes a Pokémon trivia and information on each generation.[10] February 19 also began Pokémon's official 8 day countdown to Pokémon Day (with each of the eight days representing the eight generations of starter Pokémon) on their social media accounts.[11]
- February 25: a special Pikachu knowing the move Sing (a move it normally can't learn) will be distributed to the Pokémon Sword and Shield games to tie in with the Pokémon 25th anniversary musical motif.[12]
- February 27, Pokémon Day (Japan & Korea) / 26 (international): a Pokémon Presents presentation occurred. It showed new information about New Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus were announced.[13]
- February 27, Pokémon Day: the Pokémon 25th Virtual Concert featuring American rapper Post Malone was held as part of the P25 Music Program that was first announced on February 11.[14][15] Four songs were featured: Psycho, Circles, Only Wanna Be with You and Congratulations.
- February 27, Pokémon Day: For a very limited time, 25th Anniversary Pokémon TCG three-card booster packs were included inside select General Mills cereals. There are a total of 14 exclusive cards to collect.
- March: Galar Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts[16]
- April: Alola Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts[17]
- April 30: New Pokémon Snap released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch
- May: Kalos Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts[18]
- May 6: The 24th English dub season of the Pokémon anime Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series is revealed[19]
- May 14: "Electric" by Katy Perry the lead single of the Pokemon 25 music album, is released
- June: Unova Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts
- June 12: 24th English dub anime season, Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, season premiere in Canada
- July 16: Pokémon partners with Nabisco for special edition boxes of Oreos, Chips Ahoy and Nilla wafer cookies.
- July: Sinnoh Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts
- July 21: Pokémon Unite, a spinoff MOBA mobile game, release for Nintendo Switch[20]
- July 6: 5th anniversary of Pokémon GO, mobile game[21]
- July 16: "Take It Home" by Mabel, another single from Pokémon 25: The Album, is released.[22]
- August 6: Vince Staples, Cyn and Zhu were announced as part of Pokémon 25: The Album, where the former two perform the songs "Got 'Em" and "Wonderful" respectively. Alongside that, the Red EP was released.[23] The EP failed to chart.
- August 18: Another Pokémon Presents presentation took place. It gave updates on the Diamond and Pearl remakes as well as the prequel.
- August 20: The Blue EP is released, including remixes by Zhu. The EP failed to chart.
- August: Hoenn Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts
- September: Johto Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts
- September 1: "Game Girl" by French artist Louane for Pokémon 25: The Album is released.
- September 9: Pokémon Evolutions, a web anime series celebrating the 25th anniversary, airdate on YouTube and Pokémon TV
- September 13: Special Pokémon edition Oreo cookies with the faces of 16 selected Pokémon were made available.
- September 22: Pokémon Unite, a spinoff MOBA mobile game, mobile release for iOS and Android[24]
- October: Kanto Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts
- October: New Pokémon cards will be released as part of the celebration.
- October 15: Release of Pokémon 25: The Album, featuring Post Malone, Katy Perry, Vince Staples, Cyn, Zhu, Mabel, Louane, Tierra Whack, Lil Yachty, Jax Jones, and J Balvin
- November 19: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl worldwide release date for the Nintendo Switch
Pokémon 25th Anniversary Region Exhibit[]
From March (the full month right after Pokémon Day), each region of the Pokemon world will be celebrated by the official Pokémon international social media accounts. During each month, an online exhibit will be opened on the official Pokémon website.[25] All the regions are arranged in generation reverse order.
| Month | Region |
|---|---|
| March | Galar |
| April | Alola |
| May | Kalos |
| June | Unova |
| July | Sinnoh |
| August | Hoenn |
| September | Johto |
| October | Kanto |
References[]
- ^ Coggan, Georgia (November 27, 2020). "Pokémon gets an unpopular new logo for its 25th anniversary". Creative Bloq. Future plc. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ^ Shea, Brian (November 27, 2020). "Pokémon Teases 25th Anniversary Celebration In 2021". Game Informer. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Ivan, Tom (November 26, 2020). "Pokémon reveals 25th anniversary logo and teases 'very special' celebrations". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ N. Adams, Robert (November 25, 2020). "Pokemon promises 'a new form of entertainment' with ISS augmented reality broadcast". Game Revolution. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Craddock, Ryan (January 13, 2021). "Pokémon Teams Up With Katy Perry To Kick Off 25th Anniversary Celebrations". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Katy Perry and Pokémon celebrate its 25th anniversary". CNN. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (January 14, 2021). "New Pokémon Snap releases in April, with over 200 creatures to film". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Collect 25th Anniversary Pokémon TCG Cards in McDonald's Happy Meals | Pokemon.com". www.pokemon.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ ""LEVI'S® X POKÉMON" - The Pokémon Company International Official Press Site". pokemon.gamespress.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "「Pokémon Day」公式サイト". 「Pokémon Day」公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ Pokémon [@Pokemon] (February 19, 2021). "Grookey's excited, Scorbunny's amped up and Sobble...will figure it out, eventually. The countdown is on, Trainers. Just 8 more days until #PokemonDay! How are you planning to celebrate? t.co/YtkrA4Imgr" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Get a Pikachu that knows the move Sing in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield!". 25.pokemon.com. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ Pokémon [@Pokemon] (February 25, 2021). "❗ Get ready, Trainers. A Pokémon Presents video presentation will be taking place on the official Pokémon YouTube channel tomorrow—Friday, February 26—at 7:00 a.m. PDT.