With just a few days left until Pokemon officially celebrates the anniversary of Pokemon Red and Green's original Japanese release on February 27, the long-running monster-catching franchise has seen plenty of reason to celebrate over the past year. The massively popular series released multiple games throughout 2021 and early 2022 between spinoffs like New Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Unite, the long-awaited revival of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes, and the newest main-series game Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Now, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are gearing up to celebrate the annual festivities with a line-up of announcements.Pokemon's 25th anniversary festivities were as much a celebration of the franchise's storied history as a look ahead to what's in store for the world of Pokemon in the future. The Pokemon Trading Card Game saw the release of a 25th anniversary expansion with reprints of many iconic cards, while third-party developer ILCA worked with The Pokemon Company to create the highly-anticipated Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Now, with Pokemon Legends: Arceus presenting a new look for the franchise, the annual Pokemon Day festivities will feature a plethora of brand new reveals related to Pokemon's many games. A tweet posted on Monday by the official Japanese Pokemon Twitter account revealed that the week leading up to the Pokemon Day celebrations will feature daily announcements for many of its ongoing titles. The announcements will start on Monday with mobile game Pokemon Masters EX being the first title to see a new announcement. Other games included in the week of reveals will be Pokemon Sword and Shield, Pokemon Cafe Mix, Pokemon Unite, the Pokemon Trading Card Game, and Pokemon GO, all culminating in the Pokemon Day celebration on the 27th.
While the list includes many expected entries of The Pokemon Company's ongoing games with Pokemon Unite and Pokemon GO included in the mix, the announcement of a new reveal for Pokemon Sword and Shield sticks out as the only main-series game in the set. Sword and Shield makes for an odd inclusion as the games have not seen any substantial new content since the Crown Tundra expansion in October 2020, especially with the far more recent release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
The annual Pokemon Day festivities come at a time when fan excitement for the nearly 26-year-old franchise is running high. The release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus was a massive success with the game topping sales charts for January despite only releasing a few days before the month's end. Pokemon Legends: Arceus' markedly different formula from past games has been praised by both fans and critics as a breath of fresh air for the series and many fans are hoping The Pokemon Company will build on the franchise's new direction into the future.