What Was Shown During Pokémon Presents
From news on Pokémon Legends: Z-A to the reveal of a new game and everything in between, here’s what video game news was announced on Pokémon Day.
Another Pokémon Day come and gone! Here’s hoping the next one features Switch 2 gameplay.
The presentation kicks off with an update for the long-running Pokémon GO that took the world by storm in the summer of 2016. Pokémon GO Tour: Unova, a new event that is set to take place on March 1st and 2nd. The Legendary Pokémon Black Kyurem and White Kyurem (alternate forms of the original Kyurem from the Unova region) will appear in Raid Battles. During the event, Trainers will also get a chance to encounter Victini with the Tour Pass Deluxe and a Shiny Meloetta by completing Masterwork Research.
Shiny Primal Kyogre and Groudon make an appearance to celebrate Pokémon Masters EX’s 5.5 year celebration. Waiting the extra 6 months was out of the question.
Next up was a brief announcement for Pokémon Masters EX to celebrate the 5.5 year anniversary of the mobile game’s release. In the clip, we got to see that Champion May will be pairing up with Shiny Primal Kyogre beginning tomorrow, February 28th. On the opposite end, Shiny Primal Groudon will be syncing up with Champion Brendan from March 2nd. Not much additional information is shared, but the clip ends with an offer of 3000 in-game gems for players when they log in.
As delicious as this Appletun Fruitilicious Jelly Soda looks, it’s only a promotional piece for Pokémon Café ReMix
For any Pokémon Café ReMix players, the Pokémon Company are hoping to entice you in with a new apple-based menu item, the Appletun Fruitilicious Jelly Soda, which is sadly only available in-game. However, players can also complete the newest apple-based event that starts on February 28th to choose either Flapple or Appletun to join their staff. I’m personally a Flapple man. In addition, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, the starters from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Paldea region will become available in special outfit packs. Finally, players who log in now get Pikachu in its special outfit, and Eevee in its special outfit if they log in for three days.
Yes, Pokémon Sleep is a game that exists.
We get a miniscule amount of information about the next update to Pokémon Sleep, probably because it might put you to sleep if it was any longer. A Cresselia Vs Darkrai event is labelled to be coming soon… and that’s it. That was the announcement. More details will likely come soon. With Darkrai’s whole aspect of nightmares and Cresselia’s ability to banish the bad dreams, maybe that will play into the event somehow.
Suicune comes to Pokémon Unite. May or may not feature cool jacket.
Free-to-play multiplayer battle arena Pokémon Unite will soon be getting three new playable Pokémon: Suicune on March 1st, Alolan Raichu in April, and Alcremie “coming soon.” Fan-favourite arena Remoat Stadium will also be returning to Ranked Matches alongside new battle mode First to 500. This mode will feature new Aeos Technology to unlock a number of special effects with each point milestone on the way to 500. This will be available on an updated version of the Remoat Stadium featuring updated Pokémon. Starting today, players can use all Pokémon as much as they like in the First to 500 mode.
Arceus makes its way to Pokémon TCGP, bringing with it a number of Sinnoh Pokémon.
Mobile juggernaut app Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket gets its next themed booster pack, Triumphant Light, on February 28th. I’m one of the millions who have gotten sucked into the world of collecting digital cards on my phone, so this update is something to look forward to. Triumphant Light features a number of new Pokémon cards with the ability to Link with the main ‘Mon itself, Arceus, to get additional bonuses. This is the first core booster that adds such a feature for cards and the main Pokémon. To round it off, Ranked Matches are confirmed for the end of March.
Generation 9 gets some Shiny updates on Pokémon Day.
The latest mainline entry, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, also get a number of minor updates to celebrate Pokémon Day. Starting with a code players can enter in-game to receive a special case for their Rotom Phone, it’s followed by the bigger announcement of Red-, Green-, and Blue-Coloured Pokémon Mass Outbreaks that will feature higher chances of encountering Shiny Pokémon from February 28th to March 20th. Every week, the final evolutions of the starter trio will appear in Tera Raids for players to catch starting tomorrow, with more Tera Raids planned for the future.
If you miss Pokémon Stadium this entry might be for you.
Moving on to the juicier announcements, we get a glimpse of a new game in development for Nintendo Switch and mobile, Pokémon Champions. The main appeal of Champions is its focus on one of the main aspects of the core Pokémon series, the battles. If you enjoyed competitive battling in previous mainline entries, then this should be right up your alley.
As planned by Game Freak, development will be carried out by The Pokémon Works. It should be noted that Champions is announced for the Nintendo Switch family of consoles, meaning it will be playable across NS2.
If you’ve built up a roster of Pokémon from other games in the series and transferred them to Pokémon Home, you can connect to the app and bring along your favourites. We don’t currently have a release date yet, but we’re advised to stay tuned for more information.
The most anticipated announcement of the show is for the previously announced Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
To round out the presentation, we get a more in-depth look at the next spin-off title, Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The next Switch entry starts off by showing us a look at life in modern-day Lumiose City in the Kalos region from the sixth-generation titles Pokémon X & Y. Unlike previous games, Z-A will take place entirely within Lumiose City, which has been redesigned to feature Wild Zones where humans and Pokémon can co-exist.
We also meet our starter trio: Chikorita and Totodile from Pokémon Gold and Silver, and Tepig from Pokémon Black and White. Not a single actual Kalos starter to be found in Kalos, at least not in the beginning. Wild Pokémon are contained to the aforementioned Wild Zones, though it’s unclear what makes them “wild” except for the Pokémon as some of the gameplay we are shown depicts a taxi and café in the Wild Zones.
Pokémon encounters and battles take place in real time, allowing players and their partners to maneuver around the battlefield and dodge attacks. And if you need a bit of extra power to turn the tide of a fight, you can use the returning Mega Evolution feature to give certain Pokémon a temporary upgrade.
Over the course of the game, players will encounter multiple characters that help bring the story and gameplay into focus. When you arrive in Lumiose, you’ll run into either Urbain or Taunie, most likely depending on whether the player is a male or female. Returning from X & Y is AZ and his partner Pokémon Floette, who ended up playing a significant role in the previous title. AZ runs the hotel the players will be staying at. Other characters announced are the CEO of Quasartico Inc., Jett, and her secretary, Vinnie, though we don’t currently know much about either.
We don’t have a definitive release date yet for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but it is set for Late 2025.
So that’s it! What do you think of the announcements? Were you pleasantly surprised or completely disappointed? Let us know in the comments.
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