Pokemon Day plans revealed for Pokemon Go, Sword and Shield
Pokemon CompanyIt seems like yesterday that we were being first introduced to Pokemon Sword and Shield at last year’s Pokemon Day. Fast forward nearly a year and plans are already in motion for the 2020 Pokemon Day.
Pokemon Day is an annual celebration of, you guessed it, everything Pokemon. It falls on February 27, which marks the release date of Pokemon Red and Green in Japan. It is widely considered to be the birthday of the Pokemon franchise.
In recent years, it has been seen as a day for announcements and not just celebration. This was evidenced last year with the hugely anticipated reveal of the eighth generation of Pokemon game.
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Announcements teased
With the precedent set, trainers are already earmarking the day for news on the latest happenings in the Pokemon Go world. Now, nearly a month before the big day, the subject of those announcements has been teased. While there are no spoilers, we have been given a rough idea of what to expect.
New Mythical Pokemon
The big announcement appears to be the revealing of a new Mythical Pokemon which will feature in Sword and Shield, and also appear in the upcoming Pokemon Movie: Coco. That movie is set to be released on July 10.
Whether this new “Phantom” Pokemon will be introduced to the Gen 8 game before or after the movie remains to be seen. However, given there is a clear legendary theme in the second of the two Pokemon Sword and Shield DLCs – The Crown Tundra – it could well be released in this. That expansion is expected in the fall of 2020.
Could it be the Pokemon featured at the end of the Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion pass trailer? Or does its “Phantom” description suggest something else entirely.
Additions to existing games
According to the Japanese Pokemon website, which revealed these details, a special Max Raid Battle will be held within Pokemon Sword and Shield. Given the significance of the event this will likely be a species worth having.
Elsewhere, the ever popular Pokemon Go will have its own special event to commemorate the day. The mobile game had something similar in 2019 which was focused around some classic Kanto species.
New game announcement?
The likelihood of a brand new 2020 Pokemon game has been called into question following the announcement of the Sword and Shield expansion pass. However, that doesn’t guarantee that the Pokemon Company don’t have something big up their sleeves.
A follow on to Sword and Shield would make zero sense but, even with a lot of content for the latest game scheduled, a sequel to Pokemon Let’s Go or a much demanded remake of the Gen 4 games – Pokemon Diamond and Pearl – remains a possibility.