Pokémon Day on 27th February is a celebration of the franchise’s debut on Game Boy back in 1996, and if you’re quick at maths, you’ll realise this year is the 30th anniversary of Pokémon as a whole.
As is tradition, a Pokémon Presents showcase will brief us on what’s new in Pokémon for the year ahead — and with such a significant milestone, there’s the potential for some exciting (and hopefully leftfield) reveals.
There’s already been a few anniversary announcements, including a Super Bowl commercial, a Pokémon Day TCG collection, and new merch - it’s a “yearlong campaign”, after all - as well as the confirmation of Game Boy Advance classics Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen coming to Switch as soon as the presentation wraps.
But there’s still many question marks about what else we’ll see, so here’s my predictions for the Pokémon Presents stream (things that are likely) and hopes (things less likely, but I’d like to see) from Pokémon Day this year.
The next mainline Pokémon games will be revealed
Let’s begin with the showstopper: what better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary with the next generation of Pokémon games being revealed? Pokémon Day has played host to mainline reveals before, and adding fuel to the fire is a recent data leak revealing a handful of upcoming projects, including specific details of the Gen 10 game in particular, from name to setting and a late 2026 date. (Sorry to speak with such mystique about the sneak peek Game Freak leak - too much? - but I want to avoid mentioning spoilers ahead of the reveal itself. Eurogamer has the details, but remember things can change, so take them with a pinch of salt.)
Matthew Reynolds
Prediction or hope? Solid prediction. Even without the leak, it’s been four years since the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, so we’re due new mainline games anyway: the 30th anniversary timing is just the cherry on top. In terms of what we’ll hear, the Scarlet and Violet reveal showed a healthy amount of detail, from starters to the setting and its more open-ended nature, so expect plenty to whet your appetite.
Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow come to Nintendo Classics
We know Game Boy Advance’s FireRed and LeafGreen are coming to Nintendo Switch systems as separate, premium Pokémon Home-enabled releases, but what about the originals?
There’s currently a Red, Blue and Yellow-shaped hole in the Nintendo Classics service on Nintendo Switch, where practically every other notable Game Boy game can be revisited - including the (excellent) Pokémon Trading Card Game. Even if we’ve seen multiple remakes by now, including 2018’s Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee games on Nintendo Switch, for most millennials (hello!) the originals simply hit different.
Prediction or hope? A bit of both. The Kanto Game Boy Advance releases means this probably won’t happen, but there’s a logic that also releasing the Game Boy originals as a gesture to Switch Online subscribers won’t hurt, especially since they have aged considerably, and are locked away in the Nintendo Classics app without the (supposed) Pokémon Home support that makes the FireRed and LeafGreen ports much more attractive. With that in mind, I can see it possibly happening.
