This year, the Pokémon Company International is leading the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, and there has been no shortage of events and products for that cause.
Among the planned celebrations include an advertisement for the upcoming Super Bowl 50, a Pokémon day on Feb. 27 where select retail locations will hold special events and special edition New Nintendo 3DS bundles.
Another way of celebration for Pokémon's 20th anniversary is the special distribution of mythical Pokémon for every month of this year starting next month. The distribution will be for gamers that own copies of Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X or Pokémon Y for the Nintendo 3DS.
Kicking off the special distribution will be Mew, who will be offered through GameStop stores for about three weeks from Feb. 1 until Feb. 24. The downloadable Mew will have a level of 100 once it is loaded into the games of Pokémon fans, and the code for the mythical Pokémon will have a validity of until May 31.
For the rest of the mythical Pokémon that can be downloaded in connection with the 20th anniversary, here are the schedules and from where they can be acquired.
- Celebi: March 1 to March 24 on the Nintendo Network
- Jirachi: April 1 to April 24 on the Nintendo Network
- Darkrai: May 1 to May 24 from GameStop outlets
- Manaphy: June 1 to June 24 on the Nintendo Network
- Shaymin: July 1 to July 24 on the Nintendo Network
- Arceus: August 1 to August 24 from GameStop outlets
- Victini: September 1 to September 24 on the Nintendo Network
- Keldeo: October 1 to October 24 on the Nintendo Network
- Genesect: November 1 to November 24 from GameStop outlets
- Meloetta: December 1 to December 24 on the Nintendo Network
Including Mew, four of the mythical Pokémon can be downloaded through outlets of video game chain GameStop, while the remaining nine can be obtained through the Nintendo Network.
The Pokémon Company International has recently released an extended version of the advertisement that will be played on Feb. 7 at Super Bowl 50. The ad, which was filed in Rio de Janeiro, follows young people in the journey to greatness.
The basic idea of the ad is summed up by the "train on" mantra, with several nods to the Pokémon franchise included.
In terms of video games, the special edition New Nintendo 3DS bundles that will be released to celebrate Pokémon's 20th anniversary will include a pair of interchangeable faceplates that feature the art from Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, which are the first two games from the franchise that were released for the Nintendo Gameboy in North America. The portable gaming consoles included in the bundles will have Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow pre-installed, along with a code which will unlock an exclusive Pokémon-inspired theme for the New Nintendo 3DS home menu.
Pokkén Tournament, which is a fighting game that will have Pokémon face off in one-on-one battles similar to Tekken, will also be released this year for the Nintendo Wii U.
