Article By BB of OPG

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 Has it really been 30 years of Pokémon adventuring? For some it's hard to be able to remember a time when there were no Pokémon, they have been around for most of our lives if not all of our lives for those who are younger. To be able to celebrate 30 years of a company who had brought so many people together and the countless friendships that were made trading and collecting Pokémon, and the friendships still being made today. I remember when the first gen of Pokémon games and cards came out alongside the animated series. Getting my first copy of Red I can still remember to this day, trading my cousin a copy of Mega-man for the Gameboy for Red. Staying up on late nights and on the way home from school I would just play these games. Eventually I got my hands on a copy of Red, Blue and Yellow, I wish I would have been able to hang onto those original copies. The only original copy I still have to this day is a copy of Pokémon Silver for the GBC, I did end up losing my old save due to the battery in the cartridge dying though the memories are still there. Some of you might have similar stories about different generations of Pokémon depending on when you were growing up, not everyone is going to have the same game as their favorite Pokémon game mine just happens to be Gold/Silver. Speaking of favorites, the Pokémon company has released a campaign for "who's your favorite". They put out a commercial during the Super Bowl and on their YouTube page asking world wide trainers and celebrities who their favorite Pokémon was. Now with the thousands of Pokémon out there people are asking each other who their favorite is and why, so feel free to join our community tell us who your favorite is and why. 

 On February 27th the Pokémon Company showed a video presentation for their 30th anniversary event for exciting new updates and announcements for the Pokémon franchise. It was streamed at 6:00 a.m. PST / 2:00 p.m. GMT / 3:00 p.m. CET on the official Pokémon YouTube and Twitch channels. Prior to the event they have already released a copy of Fire red and Leaf Green for the Nintendo switch and switch 2. Now some people are already complaining that they are $20 a piece but if you look at current physical copies for the Gameboy Advance system they are currently up to triple that price for just a cartridge. A sealed graded copy is worth well into the thousands. To me this is a chance to give the people what they want and giving new people that have never had the experience of playing the first gen Pokémon games and chance to dive head first and see what made the first 3 gens of Pokémon are so special, personally I don't think most player now a days are not playing the older generation of Pokémon games. Almost feel like the first 3 gens of Pokémon are almost lost in the media. Not many people at all are still playing these games. 

 The beginning of the video is a very heartfelt message to the Pokémon community for 30 years of love and appreciation for the Pokémon world from the president and CEO of the Pokémon Company. A man that has brought countless joys to the world. We have gone from the first generation Pokémon filled with 151 iconic Pokémon. Today there are a total of 1,025 Pokémon to collect and trade, these diverse Pokémon have been a part of the stories trainers world wide have been able to experience. 

 The first Product they chose to show during the broadcast is what seems to be an old school Gameboy cartridge that you will load into a miniaturized Gameboy and play like an mp3 player. There will be 45 different cartridges and each will have a different song from the iconic first generation of the games. For those who are old enough to remember these games will have a blast scrolling down memory lane with these classic tunes and each cartridge has screen print of the games to be able to see through the screen of the player. Me personally I don't know why they decided to separate all of them into multiple cartridges other then just being kind of a cash grab for older players to wanna buy these. The did try and make it sound like it coming from the original Gameboy speakers from back in the 90's. These will be available the same day this broadcast airs, February 27th so if these sound like something you'd want to collect well good news they are out now and ready to be added to your collection.  

This year's Pokémon world canon-ship will be taking place alongside the new fan experience Pokémon XP in San Francisco. The Pokémon championship will welcome nearly 3,000 competitors from all over the world. They will battle in the new Pokémon Champions game alongside the Pokémon Trading card game, Pokémon Go, and Pokémon Unite. Each finals battle will conclude in the Chase Center Arena, an arena that is 3 times the size of the arena from last year's finals. They also plan to expand the event even further with interactive new events from last year and many new pins to trade and collect at the new pop up Pokémon Center at the event. Both of these events will be coming to San Francisco near the tail end of this year on August 28-30th of this year, two incredible events on one unforgettable weekend. 

One game that did catch my attention was Pokémon Pokopia. It was an interesting game with strong hints from both Minecraft and Animal Crossing. You as a player take control of the Pokémon ditto, with the help of other Pokémon you build up a town that's a shell of its former self. The game will show you how to cook fun and new foods through the Pokémon Greedent, he also goes by another name "chef Dente". With his help these foods will be able to power up some of your abilities to rebuild this old world and create a new one however you see fit. You will also be able to take some of the other Pokémon you encounter and befriend on adventures to find new areas, crafting materials, and more Pokémon to befriend. In multiplayer mode you can go and explore other people's worlds and play fun games like hide and seek where you can choose to either hide as your character or transform into objects to try and throw the others off your trail. Also with the multiplayer you can also build structures together they show off a giant ditto all made by what looks to be 6 different players. They show off a slew of different areas and Pokémon you can encounter including legendary Pokémon as well. This game will be available on March 5th of this year on the Switch 2 console. 

They are also set to release a slew of new additions they are adding to current games and trading cards. The Pokémon trading card game is going to get a new 30th anniversary set due to release worldwide simultaneously. They have new events set up in Pokémon go to have a huge range of Pokémon to return in game for new and old players to have the chance of getting their hands on them again. They also added new content to 6 games including Pokémon Z-A. I strongly recommend going and checking out the full presentation on the official Pokémon YouTube channel. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is set to hit the Nintendo GameCube Classics this March. 

They end this presentation with a trailer for their new games set to come out sometime in 2027. I know some people might get upset with a 2027 release date but in my opinion let them guys cook a little bit. They are set to release new content all year long with this being the 30th anniversary of Pokémon. Let them do what they need to do for the fans and make this one count. You only get one 30th milestone event like this in a lifetime. Now they do show off a beautiful trailer showcasing the new area of these games called Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves. They also introduce the new Gen starter Pokémon for these games, the first one being the grass type is called Browt, it looks to be a small bird of sorts with green feathers and black feet. The next is the fire type Pokémon called Pombon, it looks like what seems to be a tiny lion with orange fur. Last but not least you have the water type Pokémon called Gecqua, it looks like a small blue gecko with pink eyes. Some people I had talked to before this event weren't sure if they were even going to announce the next gen starter Pokémon or if they were going to keep them hidden away till closer to the actual release date. If you want your own look at this trailer feel free to hop over to YouTube and check it out for yourselves.