The , officially branded as Pokémon25, was a celebration held throughout 2021 in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

'' franchise, which began with the original Japanese release of '' Pocket Monsters Red and Green'' for the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

on February 27, 1996. The franchise was celebrated through various media of the franchise including

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

, the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

, music and events. The anniversary saw the announcements of ''Pokémon Brilliant Diamond'' and ''Shining Pearl'', which both released on November 19, 2021, and '' Pokémon Legends: Arceus'', which released on January 28, 2022. They are remakes and a prequel, respectively, of the 2006 games ''Pokemon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' on the Nintendo Switch.

2021 Timeline

The first official mention of the anniversary celebration was on November 26, 2020, at the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

The Pokémon Company , simply known as Pokémon is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video games, a trading card game, anime television series, f ...

presented the logo for the anniversary in front of a giant balloon of Pikachu, who has made a regular appearance at the parade since 2001. This was followed by news that Pokémon would be collaborating with Japanese Space Exploration Agency,

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

to celebrate the new year. The collaboration involved seeing Pokémon in

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

aboard the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. *January 13: news revealed about the celebration, involving that American singer

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

was collaborating with Pokémon on a new music program for its 25th anniversary. This was done via a video released on The Pokémon Company International's official YouTube channel, featuring a

Rube Goldberg machine A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a s ...

travelling through the history of the franchise. * January 14: The Pokémon Company announced that '' New Pokémon Snap'' would be released worldwide on April 30, 2021. * February 9:

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

released an exclusive collection of Pokémon Trading Cards from the official TCG that were included in

Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...

s for a limited time. 25 cards were available to collect with 50 total (25 non-holo and 25 holo). * February 15: ''Pokémon'' collaborated with Levi Strauss & Co., launching the '90s-inspired Levi's x Pokémon collection to celebrate the anniversary. * February 19: Pokémon Day website in Japan launched which displayed live results of a Twitter hashtag-based fan vote that ran from February 19 to 22, for favorite Pokémon, with final results to be revealed afterward. The website includes Pokémon trivia and information on each generation. February 19 also began Pokémon's official 8 day countdown to Pokémon Day (with each of the eight days representing the eight generations of starter Pokémon) on their social media accounts. * February 25: a special Pikachu knowing the move Sing (a move it normally can't learn) will be distributed to the ''Pokémon Sword'' and ''Shield'' games to tie in with the Pokémon 25th anniversary musical motif. * February 27, ''Pokémon'' Day (Japan & Korea) / 26 (international): a Pokémon Presents presentation occurred. It showed new information about '' New Pokémon Snap'' and ''Pokémon Brilliant Diamond'' and ''Shining Pearl'' and '' Pokémon Legends: Arceus'' were announced. * February 27, ''Pokémon'' Day: the ''Pokémon'' 25th Virtual Concert featuring American rapper

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

was held as part of the P25 Music Program that was first announced on February 11. Four songs were featured: Psycho,

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is called the radius. The length of a line segment connecting t ...

, Only Wanna Be with You and

Congratulations Congratulations may refer to: Film and television * Congratulations (2010 film), an Egyptian film * Congratulations (2023 film), a Gujarati drama film *'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme ...

. * February 27, ''Pokémon'' Day: For a very limited time, 25th Anniversary Pokémon TCG three-card booster packs were included inside select General Mills cereals. There are a total of 14 exclusive cards to collect. *March: Galar Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *April: Alola Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *April 30: '' New Pokémon Snap'' released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch *May: Kalos Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *May 6: The 24th English dub season of the ''Pokémon'' anime '' Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series'' is revealed *May 14: "

Electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

" by

, the lead single of ''Pokémon 25: The Album'', is released *June: Unova Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *June 12: 24th English dub anime season, '' Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series'', season premiere in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

*July 16: The Pokémon Company partners with American snacks manufacturer

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

for special edition boxes of mini-branded Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, and Nilla cookies. There are 3 boxes total with each box showcasing the game's starter line of Fire, Water, and Grass Pokémon. *July: Sinnoh Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *July 21:

Pokémon Unite ''Pokémon Unite'' (stylized as ''Pokémon UNITE'') is a 2021 free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by The Pokémon Company for Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. It was announced i ...

, a spinoff

MOBA Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete on a structured battlefield, each controlling a single character with distinctive abilities that grow stronger as the match progr ...

, released for Nintendo Switch *July 6: 5th anniversary of

Pokémon GO ''Pokémon Go'' (stylized as ''Pokémon GO'') is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game originally developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android devices. It uses mobile devic ...

, mobile game *July 16: "Take It Home" by

Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...

, another single from ''Pokémon 25: The Album'', is released. *August 6:

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper. Born in Compton, California and raised in Long Beach, California, he first became known for his appearances on projects by Odd Future members—''Earl (mixtape), Earl'' by Earl Sw ...

, Cyn and Zhu were announced as part of ''Pokémon 25: The Album'', where the former two perform the songs "Got 'Em" and "Wonderful" respectively. Alongside that, the ''Red EP'' was released. The EP failed to chart. *August 18: Another Pokémon Presents presentation took place. It gave updates on the Diamond and Pearl remakes as well as the

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

. *August 20: The ''Blue EP'' is released, including remixes by Zhu. The EP failed to chart. *August: Hoenn Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *September: Johto Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *September 1: "Game Girl" by French artist Louane for ''Pokémon 25: The Album'' is released. *September 9: ''

Pokémon Evolutions is a 2021 Japanese animated original net animation (ONA) series released on YouTube and Pokémon TV by The Pokémon Company , simply known as Pokémon is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, market ...

'', a web anime series celebrating the 25th anniversary, aired on YouTube and Pokémon TV *September 13: Limited edition Pokémon

Oreo Oreo (; stylized in all caps) is an American brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits with a sweet fondant filling. Oreos were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco, and the brand has been owned by Mondelez International since its me ...

packaged cookies were made available. Each cookie featured 1 out of 16 different Pokémon. A Walmart exclusive 12 pack box of mini Oreos was also released. *September 22:

, a spinoff MOBA mobile game, mobile release for iOS and Android *October: Kanto Month celebration on the Pokémon official international social media accounts *October: New Pokémon cards will be released as part of the celebration. *October 15: Release of '' Pokémon 25: The Album'', featuring

, Cyn, Zhu,

, Louane,

Tierra Whack Tierra Helena Whack (born August 11, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. She originally performed as "Dizzle Dizz" as a teenager but reverted to her birth name in 2017. Her debut mixtape, '' Whack World'', was released in May 2018 and recei ...

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

Jax Jones Timucin Lam (born Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo; 25 July 1987), known professionally as Jax Jones, is an English DJ, record producer and remixer. He rose to prominence in 2014 by featuring on Duke Dumont's number-one single "I Got U". He follow ...

, and

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...

. The album did not chart on the Billboard 200. *November 19: ''

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and are 2021 remakes of the 2006 Nintendo DS role-playing video games ''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl''. The games are part of the eighth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series and were developed by ILCA and published by Nintend ...

'' worldwide release date for the Nintendo Switch.

Pokémon 25th Anniversary Region Exhibit

From March (the full month right after Pokémon Day), each region of the Pokemon world had been celebrated by the official Pokémon international social media accounts. During each month, an online exhibit had been opened on the official Pokémon website. All the regions are arranged in generation reverse order.

References

External links

Official Pokémon 25th anniversary site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokemon 25th Anniversary Pokémon Video game anniversaries 2021 in video gaming Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry Katy Perry Post Malone Lil Yachty