30th anniversary of the series had a killer celebration!
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise. Pokemon Day, the ultimate celebration for Pokemon trainers, didn't disappoint! There was something for everyone announced during the presentation; news covering all kinds of Pokemon games/properties. We got information regarding Pokemon Champions, Pokemon Pokopia, and more so lets get right into it.
Pokemon Champions is coming to the Nintendo Switch in April. It's also hitting mobile devices this year later this year. The game will also be used on the Main Stage of the Pokemon World Championships in San Francisco. Today, Trainers were able to get a new glimpse at both PokémonXP and the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, including the official event artwork and more details about the interest list and ticketing information for both events in San Francisco later this year. PokémonXP is an all-new fan convention where Trainers from around the globe can celebrate their love of Pokémon with a variety of unique offerings and engaging activities, with something for everyone.
On March 5, 2026, the Pokémon Pokopia game will launch on Nintendo Switch 2, inviting Trainers to embark on a cozy new adventure and build a world for everyone to live in.You'll be able to play Pokopia with up to three of your friends. It will be interesting to see how Pokemon handles the life sim genre and if they add any new features such as brand new Pokemon.
One of the more interesting announcements was The Pokémon Company group released the Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue Game Music Collection: Game Boy Jukebox. Modeled after the original Game Boy system from Nintendo, this sound device provides a nostalgic audio tour through the Kanto region, using 45 cartridges to play familiar melodies or sound effects from the original Pokémon video games. I'm a sucker when it comes to video game music so when I was able to grab it on the Pokemon Center web site, I dove right in.
You'll also be able to get a brand new Mega Garchomp form in Pokemon Legends Z-A as a mystery gift. Mega Garchomp Z can be obtained by players from mystery gift that will unlock the opportunity to enter a special hyperspace distortion where you can battle and defeat Mega Garchomp Z to obtain a Garchompite Z stone.
Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green weren't the only games coming to the Switch. Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, the Game Cube game, is finally coming to the Switch Online in March. Fingers crossed its early March and not the end of the month but I digress. There was one other game announcement and it was a big one. Generation 10 has finallly be revealed in Pokemon Waves and Winds. Trainers will have to wait for a bit because the game doesn't come out until 2027. That's ok because it gives The Pokemon Company plenty of time to make it perfect. That being said, we got a glimpse of the new region as well as the brand new starter Pokemon. We saw the bean chick Grass type, Browt, the puppy Fire type, Pombon, and the water gecko Water type, Gecqua. Which one will you be taking on your journey?
By the looks of things, Pokemon is in great shape for 2026 and beyond. It's hard to believe that I was in the 5th grade when Pokemon came out and now all this time later, I'm still playing the games and can't image my life without the series!