Every year, The Pokémon Company and its partners put together a presentation to celebrate Pokémon Day and showcase some of the new games and media fans can look forward to over the next year or so. This time, Feb. 27 will see the latest Pokémon Presents reveal upcoming content for the Pokémon franchise, and here are some of the things you might see during Pokémon Day 2023.
Set for Feb. 27 at 8am CT, the 2023 Pokémon Day Pokémon Presents will run for roughly 25 minutes. This will encompass a number of areas for the franchise, but the main focus will be on existing and upcoming games.
Based on previous years, fans will likely be treated to new reveals for Pokémon Go, Pokémon UNITE, other Pokémon mobile titles, and the next wave of content for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. That also doesn’t take into account world premiers for entirely new games or projects—though don’t get your hopes up too high for the next big game just yet. Here are a few of the announcements you can reasonably expect to see.
What we expect to see from Pokémon Day 2023 Pokémon Presents
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC and Expansion Pass
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have been out for just over three months now and the stage is set for TPC to reveal just what the next year or two for the latest generation of Pokémon will truly look like.
With a new performance patch on the way before the end of the month, it is also likely we will see the official confirmation of the SV Expansion Pass. This should also include a first look at upcoming DLC for the games that will expand upon the base game just like it did for Sword and Shield from 2019.
Going off of that Sword and Shield timeline, this Scarlet and Violet Expansion Pass is most likely going to include two big updates that will be split up over the next two years. The first part of that DLC roadmap will be heavily detailed during the Pokémon Presents and given a release date for the summer or fall of 2023 depending on other internal content plans.
Some of the DLC content has already been hinted at in the game, including a third Legendary Pokémon that is tied to Terastallization and more Paradox Pokémon. We still don’t have any official info yet, however, and the framework set back in Gen VIII might not apply at all to IX.
Pokémon Go’s next season of content
With Pokémon Day falling right before the end of February, it is likely Niantic will showcase some of the March content lineup for Pokémon Go during the Pokémon Presents. This is due to the current Mythical Wishes season ending around the same time and no info about the future really being available yet.
The themes and general content for Pokémon Go seasons is always up in the air ahead of time, but don’t overlook it since it could very well include more Sword and Shield content being the focus moving forward. There might even be news on that Gimmighoul event that ties into Scarlet and Violet.
Pokémon UNITE’s next wave of playable Pokémon
This is one area of the Pokémon Presents that we already know a lot about thanks to datamines and an early confirmation from Pokémon on Twitter. The main point being Zacian will be joining the roster as a playable Pokémon in the very near future.
There is also data for the next four Pokémon after Zacian too, with Goodra, Lapras, Umbreon, and Chandelure all being fully playable using third-party tools. So this could be another UNITE anniversary situation where TPC reveals an entire slate of upcoming Pokémon and gives a timeframe for their release to promote the game while trying to get more players to try it out.
In addition to that, you can expect some information about potential new or returning game modes as part of the updates too.
Pokémon HOME connectivity update
This is another easy call since we know the new connectivity update for Pokémon HOME is due out relatively soon.
Fans will likely get a short announcement confirming a date for when Pokémon HOME will finally be updated with compatibility for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This means players can bring over Pokémon from HOME or other games that are featured in Gen IX to the new games, or store Scarlet and Violet Pokémon in their database for the first time.
Additional updates for the service may also be announced, but the Gen IX connectivity is the biggest piece of info fans are waiting on.
Other Pokémon mobile title updates
While Pokémon Go and Pokémon UNITE are almost guaranteed a spotlight, don’t be surprised to see some info drop for upcoming Pokémon Masters EX or Pokémon Café ReMix updates get shared around too. Those titles are still popular and receive frequent content drops—and have also been featured in several Pokémon Presents in the past.
Who knows, maybe Pokémon Sleep will be shown after years of no news too. But that is unlikely.
Classic Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch Online
Earlier this month, Nintendo announced Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games were being added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. This allows subscribers to access a curated library from both handhelds and play them anywhere on the Switch—with added features like online play being enabled for select titles and more.
For the Pokémon franchise, only the Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy was shown as an upcoming title in the initial announcement. This led to some speculation about if the Game Boy classics from the main series, and maybe even the GBA titles would be added at some point in the near future.
Related: All confirmed Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games on Nintendo Switch Online
Well considering Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal were all discovered in the initial datamine of the GB NSO features more than a year ago, it is likely they will be announced during the Pokémon Presents.
Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Fire Red, and Leaf Green might be harder sells since their information in those data dumps were just placeholders for the most part, but there is still a chance they will make it in. Just don’t expect them all to drop at once.
If they are announced, we should also hear about how the Link Cable functionality will work using the NSO features too. There might even be a way to link them with Pokémon HOME—though that is a long shot.
New spin-off titles like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
It can easily be said that 2022 was the biggest year ever for Pokémon in terms of major releases—with Pokémon Legends: Arceus releasing along with Scarlet and Violet. But it also broke one of the Pokémon franchise’s longest streaks, marking the first year since 1997 that there was not a Pokémon spin-off game released.
Since Scarlet and Violet’s DLC will likely be the only “main series” content we see announced for 2022, this opens the door for a return to spin-off titles. There are a number of games that could be announced, including entirely new games, but the two most likely candidates are also the most heavily rumored.
Leaks from last week point to a new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon title being revealed on Pokémon Day, though the specifics aren’t locked down. It could either be referencing a remake of Explorers of Time and Darkness to coincide with 2020’s remake of the original Red and Blue Rescue Team. It could, however, also finally be a new entry in the franchise—which would be the first since Super Mystery Dungeon in September 2015 on the Nintendo 3DS.
If it isn’t Mystery Dungeon then most fans have their fingers pointing to the long-awaited sequel of Detective Pikachu, which was confirmed to be in development all the way back in May 2019 after the live-action film hit theatres. We still have heard nothing about this sequel title since then in an official capacity, but it could make an appearance here.
Related: Three years later, Pokémon fans are still solving the mystery of Detective Pikachu’s sequel
There is also a chance for other titles from years gone by to get revived. Pokémon Ranger is a franchise some fans have been clamoring for more of after the trio of titles ending with Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs in March 2010. Maybe a New Pokémon Snap 2 could be on the way too, we will just have to wait and see.
Published: Feb 23, 2023 03:11 am