Pokemon25 Anniversary

Photo Credit: Catlynn Dang (@c4tlynn)

Throughout this whole year of 2021, Pokemon25 is an ongoing celebration to celebrate the Pokémon franchise and its 25th anniversary.

For some background, originally the Japanese release of Pokémon Red and Green for Game Boy was released on February 27th, 1996. Since then, the franchise has become one of the highest-grossing franchises in the world, and there has been roughly $90 billion in total franchise revenue!

So, what has happened so far this year for Pokemon25? I'll tell you a bit of what collaborations are going on right now that you might be interested in.

January 14

Pokémon Snap is a new first-person simulation video game with rail shooter style gameplay. It will be published for the Nintendo Switch. In the game, the player would visit various islands in the Lental region and help take photographs to build a Photodex for Professor Mirror and his assistant Rita.

February 9

Photo Credit (Left to Right): Tammy Cao, Catlynn Dang (@c4tlynn)

Many of you might have already noticed by now that McDonalds was celebrating Pokemon25 with the release of their happy meal collaboration. There was an exclusive collection of Pokémon Trading Cards included in the happy meals, and this is for a limited time.

I bought one myself, and I can confirm that it is very cute! There's 25 total cards that include every starter Pokémon from every generation and also includes Pikachu. If you include the holographic version of each starter, there's 50 anniversary cards total.

As with every happy meal, there'll be a toy included as well. You're able to get one of four things: card holder, deck box, small sticker set, large sticker set.

February 15

Levi Strauss & Co. also had a collaboration with Pokémon, launching a '90s-inspired Levi's x Pokémon collection. I have yet to buy anything from this collection, but you can find out more about it on this official press site!

February 19

The start of February 19th kicked off the 8 day countdown to Pokémon Day. These 8 days each represent the 8 generations of games out so far. On the Pokémon Day website, they displayed results of a Japanese fan voting that went on for three days starting on the 19th and up till the 22nd. This voting was for favorite of the year. Are you surprised with the results? Did your favorite make it in?

February 25

A special Pikachu that will know the move Sing will be distributed in the Pokémon Sword and Shield games. If you play the game, keep a look out as Pokémon Company International will give out a special password on that day so that players can claim their special Pikachu.

February 27

Pokémon Day! Pokémon reveals that there will be a virtual music concert with Post Malone to celebrate the 25th Anniversary. Katy Perry was announced as a premier artist for the program as well. As part of P25 Music Program, it will begin 7PM EST / 4PM PST. You can watch this concert for free on the official Pokémon Youtube channel, Twitch channel, and on the anniversary website.

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That concludes what I know about Pokemon25! If you want to keep up more closely with what's happening with Pokemon25, you can look here for more information: Pokemon.com/25

Tammy