For the last several Pokémon games, The Pokémon Company and its partners have been very conservative in showing off or using new Pokémon and evolutions in promos leading into and during the first several months after launch. It has been almost two months since Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched for Nintendo Switch and we have just been given official artwork, more details, and the National Pokédex numbers for the game’s new species.
This big blowout of information was featured at the end of a new commemorative video uploaded by TPC to celebrate the franchise officially breaking 1,000 total unique Pokémon. The main focus was creatively showcasing each and every Pokémon in unique ways and groupings based on various factors like encounter methods, evolution types, and more.
For the Pokémon introduced in Generations I through VIII, all of the Pokémon were tossed into those segments with no real order to them. It ended with a focus on Legendary and Mythical Pokémon before fading away and putting the spotlight entirely on Gen IX’s full Pokédex for the first time.
As the video slowly rolled through all 102 Pokémon introduced in the Paldea region, TPC put a specific focus on the reveal of Gholdengo—Gimmighoul’s evolution that is officially Pokémon No. 1,000 in the National Pokédex. It didn’t spoil anything about its evolution method, but slipping the golden surfer between Paradox Pokémon and new Legendaries sure emphasized how gaudy the Coin Entity Pokémon truly is.
“We used to talk about how one day we would exceed 1,000 varieties of Pokémon, and we really have,” longtime director Shigeru Ohmori said. “The reason for such a wide variety of Pokémon is due to the involvement of many different people who came up with their own ideas for settings, designs, and plans.”
This is also the first time every Paradox Pokémon has been shown in an official TPC-related promotion. Only Great Tusk and Iron Treads have been featured prior to this—if you don’t include Koraidon and Miraidon—and some official artwork for them was also shared in the Ken Sugimori-style used across generations.
Additional artwork was shared for some of the starter Pokémon evolutions, a few more gym leaders, and Team Star’s bosses too. That’s not a bad way to celebrate Pokémon’s chief creative fellow Junichi Masuda’s birthday.
Published: Jan 12, 2023 11:46 am