As has become a tradition in recent years, The Pokémon Company held a special live stream today in honor of Pokémon Day. Dubbed Pokémon Presents, the show gave us updates on the monster catching franchise, including some brand new game announcements. Though this year, it was a critical stream for the brand. It followed fan frustrations with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and the public’s warm reception of Palworld, a competitor that has become a smash hit this year. The Pokémon Company needed to knock this one out of the park.
So did it? Not exactly. The very quick stream was short on new announcements, largely focusing on updates to mobile games. Its only bombshell news came in a cryptic teaser for a new Pokémon Legends title that isn’t set to launch until 2025. Perhaps that’s when we’ll see the brand have the big moment it needs. In case you missed the brief show, here’s every announcement from today’s Pokémon Presents stream.
Pokémon Legends Z-A gets a teaser
2025年、『ポケットモンスター』シリーズの新たな挑戦作『Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A（ゼットエー）』が、Nintendo Switchで発売決定！
人とポケモンが共存する街を目指し、都市再開発が進む「ミアレシティ」を舞台にした、新たな冒険が始まるよ！https://t.co/1NKcOvQhS4 #PokemonLegendsZA pic.twitter.com/zxkbdWcF1X— ポケモン公式 (@Pokemon_cojp) February 27, 2024
It took nearly a decade, but Pokémon X and Y are finally getting a Z … though not in the way you probably expected. The stream ended with a brief teaser for Pokémon Legends Z-A, which appears to be the follow-up to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The trailer didn’t really shed light on what that is though, as we only saw some stylish teaser footage of Lumiose City, which is apparently undergoing an urban redevelopment plan. It was a cryptic teaser that only offered one important piece of news: It’ll launch in 2025.
Pokémon trading card game is getting a new mobile app
スマートフォン向けアプリ『Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket』が2024年内にリリース決定！
コンセプト映像が初公開！
世界中で楽しまれている「ポケモンカード」が手軽にコレクションできるアプリだよ。
続報をお楽しみに！https://t.co/cZ6Lwigbwc #ポケポケ pic.twitter.com/jB2GLh8ef2— ポケモン公式 (@Pokemon_cojp) February 27, 2024
The Pokémon trading card game is getting a new mobile app dubbed Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. The app is made in collaboration with Creatures. A trailer for the new initiative showed players opening digital card packs through a new app. Cards are getting an immersive experience where players can dive inside the art. Naturally, fans can also play the card game through the app, though we didn’t see exactly how that works yet. The app will launch in 2024.
A whole lot of mobile updates
As is usually the case, most of the stream focused on updates to preexisting mobile games. Pokémon Go is holding a crossover event with the new Pokémon Horizons series, Raikou is coming to Pokémon Sleep, and Pokémon Masters Ex is getting a photo mode. Pokémon Café Remix fans can now enjoy a Paldea-themed Pokémon Day event too. The biggest news of the batch is that Pokémon Unite is getting new playable heroes in Fallinks and Ceruledge.
