Another Pokémon Presents has come and gone, but this one felt a little special, at least in the build-up. This iteration of the Pokémon news program was announced over a month ago, which is never typically the case. And on top of that, DJ Pikachu had an hour-long set before the Presents started. It felt like they were hyping up this specific presentation to have something totally amazing.
So, needless to say, I was curious as to what would warrant all the flair. Hell, I even had a sliver of hope that Gen 5 Remakes or a new Mystery Dungeon game would be announced with how much they announced in advance.
To cut to the chase, nothing major was announced, but that doesn’t mean this Pokémon Presents was devoid of value.
Pokémon has been ramping up its TV presence over the past couple of years. Not only has the anime continued, with Pokémon Horizons giving the long-running series a much-needed boost, but they’ve also been creating smaller projects as well. The most prominent new project was Pokémon Concierge, a stop-motion Netflix series that initially aired back in 2023. I loved the series, specifically all of the Pokémon that had been lovingly recreated in this new art style. The only problem was that it was only four episodes long, which was nowhere near enough. Luckily, more episodes are on the way, as Season 2 of Pokémon Concierge has been confirmed to arrive on Netflix on September 4th.
A new trailer was shown during the Pokémon Presents, which included snippets of new storylines and characters, as well as Pokémon making their Concierge debut, like ma boy Shinx! I’m so keen to experience more from Pokémon Concierge, and here’s hoping Season 2 is more than four episodes.
The other big TV announcement in recent years was the collaboration between Pokémon and Aardman. Aardman is a stop-motion studio based in England, and you probably know them as the studio behind Wallace and Gromit. When this partnership was announced, I already had many questions. What region would it take place in? What Pokémon would be featured? How long will we have to wait? Lucky for me, all these questions were answered in this Presents as we got our first look at the new series, The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d and Pichu.
As the name suggests, the main Pokémon will be Sirfetch’d and Pichu (and possibly Wooloo). The short trailer had Sirfetch’d running after Pichu all over the place, which means Pichu will most likely be a troublemaker. The series will take place in the Galar region (cause it’s British) and will be released at some point in 2027. It’s still a hot minute away, but I’m more than happy to wait for what looks to be a smashing show.
As to be expected during any Pokémon Presents, a decent amount of time was taken up with general updates to various Pokémon projects. The Pokémon World Championship had some time to shine, which ended up just being a reminder that it’s happening in Anaheim on the 15th-17th of August. They showed the promo card that all competitors will be getting, and it looks pretty fun.
We got more information about the upcoming Pokémon theme park, called PokéPark Kanto, that will be opening soon. It’ll be a part of Yomiuriland, an already established amusement park in Tokyo. The area will be based around the Kanto region and be split into two major areas, Sedge Town and Pokémon Forest. Pokémon Forest is where you’ll find most of the Pokémon hanging out, and you’ll be able to explore to your heart’s content. Sedge Town will feel like it’s ripped straight from the games, with a Pokémon Centre, Poké Mart, and Battle Arena being the highlights. The park is scheduled to open next year, which means I need to start saving now to be one of the first people in on opening day (I will fight literal children).
On the mobile game side of things, Pokémon GO will be adding more Gigantamax Pokémon as part of their GO Fest event, with Eternatus making its global debut. You’ll also be able to use a code to receive a free Gigantamax Pokémon, either Cinderace, Rillaboom, or Inteleon. Pokémon Masters EX will be introducing the new sync pair, Carmine & Sinstcha. They’ll be available from the 29th of July, and to help you save up enough gems, you can receive 3000 free gems as a login bonus now.
Pokémon Café Remix will be adding new sea adventure-themed costumes for certain Pokémon, such as Lapras, Totodile, Alolan Meowth, and Minccino. You’ll also be able to customise your café with a pirate aesthetic. Pokémon Sleep will be introducing new research events for the legendary beast trio of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, with more info to come at a later date. A new area is also coming this November called the Amber Canyon, and it features, amongst others, Trapinch and Paldean Wooper (they’re just lil guys!)
Pokémon Unite is celebrating its 4th anniversary by introducing Latios and Latias to the game. Latios was released earlier this month, with Latias releasing in a few days. A new event called Electrode Volleyball is also being introduced for the anniversary. And finally, the next Pokémon TCG set, Mega Evolution, showcased some of the new Mega Evolution cards alongside the 26th of September release date.
The first new game announcement this time was for a new puzzle game called Pokémon Friends. This daily puzzle game will give you increasingly more difficult challenges every day, but the challenge will be worth it, because you can unlock digital plushies, baby! That’s right, I can now have a crippling addiction to Pokémon plushies on my phone now and not just my house (I don’t have a problem, you do). The game is now available on Nintendo Switch and mobile.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet got a little time to shine, with the announcement of four upcoming Tera Raid events. These events will have you face off against shiny versions of the Treasures of Ruin legendary Pokémon. But the catch here is that you cannot obtain the Pokémon until they’ve been defeated over a million times, so better hope the playerbase can come together on this one.
Pokémon Champions showcased its first actual gameplay, and it looks to be every competitive player’s dream. Not only will you be able to import Pokémon from Pokémon HOME, but you can also select from Pokémon inside Pokémon Champions. Think of it like an updated Pokémon Stadium or Battle Revolution, minus the single-player modes. The coolest thing, though, is the streamlined process for training your Pokémon. You’ll be able to go in and reallocate EVs, change natures, and customise move sets all from the same menu. This’ll make competitive Pokémon all the more accessible, and I’m here for it!
The last reveal was a new trailer for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and we got some interesting new stuff. The biggest reveal was the showcase of Mega Dragonite, a Mega that people have wanted since they were introduced. I like the design as it incorporates more of the design elements of Dragonair and actually looks like it’s from the same evo line. Aside from Mega Dragonite, this trailer was mainly focused on the story and characters. We got to meet the new group of friends you’ll work with in the story, as well as some shady characters, but I was more interested in two characters in particular: Emma and Mable.
Emma was in Pokémon X and Y, so her inclusion confirms that this game isn’t too far removed from the OG Gen 6 games. Mable is a little more interesting because she looks like a former Team Flare admin (the evil team from X and Y). She’s taking over the professor role, so maybe she’s turned over a new leaf? Either way, her inclusion in the story already has my brain cooking up loads of different theories, all of which probs won’t come true, but that’s for another time. The game is set to launch on the 16th of October, and if you get the game at launch, you’ll be able to receive a Ralts holding the Gardevoir Mega Stone.
Those were the major news announcements from the Pokémon Presents. While there wasn’t anything that blew my socks off, I still left happy with the new Pokémon we will be getting in the near future.
You can check out the full Pokémon Presents below.
Did you watch the Pokémon Presents? Were you disappointed or pleased? What was your favourite announcement? Let us know in the comments where we can talk all things Pokémon.
