Pokémon Day

This article is about the anniversary of Pokémon Red and Green. For individual events named Pokémon Day, see Pokémon Day (disambiguation).

The contents of this article have been suggested to be split into Pokémon Day and Pokémon of the Year. Please discuss it on the talk page for this article.

Pokémon Day is an annual celebration of the original Japanese release of Pokémon Red and Green, held on February 27. Various events are held around the world to mark this occasion.

Logo used for Pokémon Day since 2018

2016

Logo used for Pokémon Day in South Korea in 2016

Releases

As part of the year-long 20th Anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, the Pokémon Day in 2016 saw the Virtual Console releases of the Generation I games Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. In Europe, Australia, and Japan, special edition Nintendo 2DS bundles were released, pre-installed with one of the Virtual Console titles; the systems are transparent, matching the color of the installed version. The Japanese bundles included a map of the Kanto region, a set of stickers based on the VC game's mascot, and a serial code for a Mew for the Generation VI games. The European and Australian bundles included a download code for a HOME Menu theme and a different sticker set. In North America, New Nintendo 3DS bundles were released, with pre-installed copies of both Red and Blue, two cover plates themed on Red and Blue, and a HOME Menu download code.

A New Nintendo 3DS cover plate was also released in Europe, Australia, and Japan, featuring in-battle sprites from Red and Blue.

In Japan, the BREAK Starter Pack was released. The set only features Generation I Pokémon and emulates the Original Era Starter Deck in design and semi-random card inclusion.

At 12 a.m. JST, Pokémon Sun and Moon were announced in a worldwide Nintendo Direct.

Online events

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online gave a set of commemorative card sleeves to players who logged in on Pokémon Day.

On the official Pokémon Twitch channel from 1 to 9 p.m. EST, Pokémon gameplay, interviews, and discussions were shown. A 24-hour anime marathon began on the officially-endorsed channel Twitch Watches Pokémon at 9 p.m. The channel streamed several movies and Pokémon Chronicles episodes, as well as the Pokémon Origins series on the following schedule:

Mewtwo Strikes Back The Power of One Spell of the Unown: Entei Celebi: The Voice of the Forest Lucario and the Mystery of Mew Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea The Rise of Darkrai Giratina and the Sky Warrior

Arceus and the Jewel of Life Zoroark: Master of Illusions Black—Victini and Reshiram Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice Genesect and The Legend Awakened Pokémon Origins The Legend of Thunder! A Family That Battles Together Stays Together!

Cerulean Blues We're No Angels! Showdown at the Oak Corral Oaknapped! Training Daze Putting the Air Back in Aerodactyl! The Search for the Legend

On-site events

Several on-site events were held in various countries.

In Brazil, the local TCG distributor Copag sponsored tournaments held at select stores. The stores each received a kit with 55 prints of the exclusive XY Promo Pikachu card, three Badge cases, three bags with the Play! Pokémon logo, and 12 Mewtwo deckboxes. Exclusive merchandise was also available at these tournaments. The promotional Pikachu card could also be obtained at RiHappy, PB Kids, BMart, and Planeta Brinquedos from February 27 to 28, when customers bought two TCG products (barring booster packs).

In South Korea, a week-long event was held at Pangyo Hyundai Department Store in Seongnam. Stamps were hidden across four areas of the department store that, when collected, rewarded customers with a Pokémon Day notebook. On the 27th and 28th, players could receive a Mew between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Video game and TCG tournaments were also held for the two days. A Generation I Pokémon-only "Kanto Champion" tournament was held on the 27th, while an "All Star" tournament took place the next day; only Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games were permitted to be used. The "3 vs 3 Winners League" TCG tournament ran for both days and competitors received the promotional All-Night Party card. A Pokémon Mini Museum and a Pokémon Mini Attraction were also held over these two days.

In the United States, select GameStops hosted Early Access Tournaments for Pokkén Tournament, with a grand prize of a trip to the 2016 US National Championships. All stores had exclusive Mew plushes and gave customers buying any Pokémon products a Mythical Pokémon poster. Holofoil Pikachu and Magikarp cards, activity books, and a poster featuring the original 151 Pokémon were given away at Toys "R" Us stores for the day. Binders themed on the Generations TCG expansion were available for sale as well. In New York City, New York, an event was held at Nintendo New York from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In Los Angeles, California, the JapanLA Pop Culture Shop had a Pokémon-based pop-up shop run from Pokémon Day until March 27.

2017

For the 2017 Pokémon Day, Mewtwo Strikes Back, Celebi: The Voice of the Forest, and Zoroark: Master of Illusions were made available on Pokémon TV for a limited time. Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel was also released on Amazon Video, Google Play, and the iTunes Store, as well as a bundle of episodes of the Gold & Silver arc of the anime. On the official Pokémon Twitch channel, championship matches of the TCG, video games, and Pokkén Tournament were shown all day.

From 1 p.m. PST February 26 to 1 p.m. PST March 6, Pikachu found in Pokémon GO wore a party hat (which lasted beyond the event time). In the week leading up to Pokémon Day, the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online made extra Trainer Tokens available on the Bonus Wheel. A special Daily Bonus was also given out on the 27th.

The first set of the Pokémon Gallery Figures was released on February 27. The set of Pokémon figures was made exclusively for the US Pokémon Center Online.

2018

Logo used for Pokémon Day in 2018

Pikachu Talk was released internationally on February 26 to celebrate Pokémon Day in 2018. Snapchat lenses featuring the Kanto starter Pokémon were also made available. Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was also made available for streaming on Pokémon TV for the first time. A Pikachu with the move Present wearing a party hat was also made available in Pokémon GO. Merchandise released on the Pokémon Center website include a Charizard Pokémon Gallery Figure DX, and to commemorate the year of Legendary Pokémon, Dialga and Palkia pins.

In Brazil, the episode Alola, Kanto!, which features the return of Misty and Brock after a long absence, premiered on Cartoon Network Brazil at 4 p.m. BRT. Later that day, starting at 6 p.m. BRT, the channel aired a special marathon with the episodes The Guardian's Challenge!, Big Sky, Small Fry!, A Crowning Moment of Truth!, a rerun of Alola, Kanto!, and the premiere of When Regions Collide!, followed by Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!. On their social media, the channel also posted several Pokémon-related images and wallpapers. Additionally, the local TCG distributor and event organizer Copag used its Facebook account to share many code cards for the Trading Card Game Online.

2019

At 10 p.m. JST, Pokémon Sword and Shield were announced in a worldwide Nintendo Direct.

Pokémon Shirts went on sale in Japan.

2020

Logo used for Pokémon Day in 2020

A new Mythical Pokémon, Zarude, was revealed. Its inclusion in M23 was also announced, alongside a new poster.

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution was released on Netflix worldwide, excluding Japan and Korea.

In Brazil and Latin America, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us aired at 8:00 p.m. local time on Cartoon Network.

DisneyXD played the first three Pokémon movies starting at 3:30 p.m. EST.

In Pokémon Sword and Shield, from 4:00 p.m. PST February 26 to 3:59 p.m. March 1, 2020, special Max Raid Battles featuring Dynamax Mewtwo were available. The Mewtwo was uncatchable but did reward rare items to players who defeated it such as Ability Capsules, Bottle Caps, and PP Maxes. Max Raid Battles featuring Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Charmander, Charmeleon, Squirtle, and Wartortle were also available.

Pokémon Masters celebrated its six-month anniversary, adding the sync pair of Red and Charizard, new story chapters and events, the Battle Villa, and a 3,000 gem log-in bonus available until March 15, 2020.

Starting February 25, 2020 and running until March 2, 2020, Pokémon GO held a Pokémon Day Celebration. To coincide with the release of Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, Armored Mewtwo with Psystrike was available in five star raids, along with clone Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise in four star raids. Other clone Pokémon also had a chance of spawning within the GO Snapshot mode. Additionally, party hat-wearing Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, and Eevee were available, the former three via 7 km eggs and one star raids, and the latter two in the wild. On the Raid Day on March 1, 2020, Nidorino and Gengar wearing party hats (in reference to the opening cinematic of Red and Blue) were available in two star and four star raids, respectively. They were cancelled in Japan, Italy and Korea due to the coronavirus. The Shiny variant of all party hat Pokémon were also available.

The Pikachu Classics Collection was released on the US Pokémon Center Online. Additionally, all orders had free shipping for the day.

New fabric pattern designs were announced based on Johto Pokémon for Pokémon Shirts, as well as the launch of shirts in children's sizes.

Pokémon of the Year

Logo for Pokémon of the Year

From February 5 until 5:59 a.m. PST on February 14, 2020, the first Pokémon of the Year vote was run in collaboration with Google. Searching Pokémon vote on Google between those dates would allow a person to choose one favorite Pokémon per category. The 890 Pokémon were split into eight categories based on the region they were first discovered (Galar was labeled "Galar, etc" to include Meltan and Melmetal). The voting results were revealed on Pokémon Day 2020:

Overall

# Pokémon Votes 1 Greninja 140,559 2 Lucario 102,259 3 Mimikyu 99,077 4 Charizard 93,968 5 Umbreon 67,062 6 Sylveon 66,029 7 Garchomp 61,877 8 Rayquaza 60,939 9 Gardevoir 60,596 10 Gengar 60,214 11 Dragapult 57,973 12 Tyranitar 56,834 13 Bulbasaur 56,015 14 Toxtricity 55,032 15 Lugia 53,268 16 Rowlet 52,367 17 Aegislash 51,517 18 Chandelure 50,943 19 Pikachu 48,060 20 Eevee 47,762 21 Luxray 46,032 22 Decidueye 44,011 23 Zoroark 43,782 24 Lycanroc 42,792 25 Corviknight 41,711 26 Flygon 41,420 27 Hydreigon 40,054 28 Sceptile 38,724 29 Blaziken 38,307 30 Snom 38,034

Kanto

# Pokémon Votes 1 Charizard 93,968 2 Gengar 60,214 3 Bulbasaur 56,015 4 Pikachu 48,060 5 Eevee 47,762 6 Dragonite 36,873 7 Mew 36,266 8 Mewtwo 34,585 9 Arcanine 29,795 10 Lapras 23,411 11 Snorlax 19,768 12 Ninetales 19,044 13 Squirtle 18,476 14 Blastoise 16,795 15 Vaporeon 14,887 16 Muk 14,358 17 Charmander 14,049 18 Ditto 13,843 19 Slowpoke 12,369 20 Nidoking 11,586 21 Porygon 11,311 22 Vulpix 11,224 23 Psyduck 11,212 24 Raichu 11,196 25 Pinsir 11,162 26 Jolteon 11,064 27 Dragonair 11,051 28 Venusaur 10,454 29 Articuno 10,450 30 Magnemite 9,955

Johto

# Pokémon Votes 1 Umbreon 67,062 2 Tyranitar 56,834 3 Lugia 53,268 4 Typhlosion 35,184 5 Scizor 34,691 6 Ampharos 32,009 7 Espeon 30,052 8 Cyndaquil 28,332 9 Suicune 26,227 10 Totodile 22,526 11 Crobat 21,548 12 Furret 21,447 13 Celebi 20,492 14 Chikorita 18,521 15 Ho-Oh 18,278 16 Feraligatr 18,245 17 Heracross 16,577 18 Natu 15,699 19 Pichu 15,695 20 Houndoom 14,742 21 Togepi 14,288 22 Quagsire 13,308 23 Entei 10,404 24 Quilava 10,032 25 Porygon2 9,902 26 Wooper 9,323 27 Misdreavus 8,156 28 Shuckle 8,129 29 Wobbuffet 7,745 30 Kingdra 7,418

Hoenn

# Pokémon Votes 1 Rayquaza 60,939 2 Gardevoir 60,596 3 Flygon 41,420 4 Sceptile 38,724 5 Blaziken 38,307 6 Mudkip 36,920 7 Metagross 35,631 8 Jirachi 29,611 9 Milotic 28,295 10 Absol 27,781 11 Swampert 26,540 12 Salamence 24,920 13 Aron 24,389 14 Aggron 18,120 15 Latias 17,478 16 Altaria 16,814 17 Kyogre 15,585 18 Mawile 15,523 19 Breloom 12,801 20 Torchic 12,568 21 Latios 12,487 22 Groudon 11,982 23 Deoxys 10,842 24 Grovyle 10,746 25 Banette 10,579 26 Treecko 9,339 27 Sableye 9,012 28 Ludicolo 8,708 29 Shedinja 6,703 30 Mightyena 6,459

Sinnoh

# Pokémon Votes 1 Lucario 102,259 2 Garchomp 61,877 3 Luxray 46,032 4 Piplup 34,680 5 Infernape 33,267 6 Darkrai 30,544 7 Glaceon 26,161 8 Arceus 24,502 9 Empoleon 21,773 10 Giratina 21,366 11 Leafeon 20,859 12 Torterra 20,632 13 Shaymin 17,465 14 Dialga 14,292 15 Gallade 14,144 16 Staraptor 14,054 17 Togekiss 13,426 18 Gliscor 12,676 19 Lopunny 11,411 20 Bidoof 10,924 21 Turtwig 10,865 22 Weavile 10,854 23 Froslass 10,408 24 Pachirisu 9,694 25 Rotom 9,417 26 Roserade 9,092 27 Mismagius 8,833 28 Shinx 8,373 29 Munchlax 7,289 30 Porygon-Z 7,040

Unova

# Pokémon Votes 1 Chandelure 50,943 2 Zoroark 43,782 3 Hydreigon 40,054 4 Volcarona 24,389 5 Haxorus 22,937 6 Serperior 22,269 7 Oshawott 21,990 8 Zekrom 21,477 9 Victini 20,957 10 Reshiram 20,123 11 Krookodile 19,628 12 Whimsicott 17,855 13 Snivy 17,020 14 Zorua 14,910 15 Scolipede 14,536 16 Reuniclus 14,129 17 Meloetta 13,915 18 Samurott 11,444 19 Excadrill 11,376 20 Lilligant 11,292 21 Litwick 11,140 22 Bisharp 10,975 23 Kyurem 10,338 24 Cinccino 9,892 25 Emolga 9,798 26 Keldeo 8,915 27 Joltik 8,796 28 Minccino 8,739 29 Golurk 8,035 30 Genesect 7,905

Kalos

# Pokémon Votes 1 Greninja 140,559 2 Sylveon 66,029 3 Aegislash 51,517 4 Noivern 34,795 5 Goodra 30,209 6 Talonflame 22,328 7 Dedenne 21,691 8 Yveltal 20,852 9 Goomy 20,299 10 Tyrantrum 18,778 11 Xerneas 17,415 12 Hawlucha 14,607 13 Meowstic 13,661 14 Fennekin 13,508 15 Zygarde 11,943 16 Diancie 10,918 17 Delphox 10,889 18 Braixen 10,807 19 Espurr 10,402 20 Hoopa 10,327 21 Aurorus 10,321 22 Pancham 10,187 23 Dragalge 9,882 24 Pumpkaboo 9,162 25 Trevenant 9,019 26 Pangoro 8,859 27 Phantump 8,231 28 Malamar 6,503 29 Heliolisk 6,386 30 Froakie 6,293

Alola

# Pokémon Votes 1 Mimikyu 99,077 2 Rowlet 52,367 3 Decidueye 44,011 4 Lycanroc 42,792 5 Zeraora 31,691 6 Incineroar 29,925 7 Golisopod 26,975 8 Primarina 25,953 9 Bewear 17,181 10 Solgaleo 16,274 11 Buzzwole 14,747 12 Pyukumuku 14,358 13 Litten 14,005 14 Silvally 13,897 15 Vikavolt 13,375 16 Salazzle 12,863 17 Kommo-o 12,790 18 Marshadow 12,107 19 Rockruff 10,986 20 Tsareena 10,900 21 Lunala 9,887 22 Lurantis 8,889 23 Togedemaru 8,531 24 Toxapex 8,221 25 Tapu Koko 8,090 26 Mudsdale 7,787 27 Necrozma 7,739 28 Popplio 7,542 29 Cosmog 7,515 30 Ribombee 7,126

Galar

# Pokémon Votes 1 Dragapult 57,973 2 Toxtricity 55,032 3 Corviknight 41,711 4 Snom 38,034 5 Alcremie 30,612 6 Cinderace 26,892 7 Zacian 26,158 8 Yamper 25,695 9 Wooloo 21,266 10 Inteleon 20,697 11 Sirfetch'd 20,217 12 Scorbunny 20,058 13 Hatterene 18,581 14 Sobble 17,155 15 Meltan 16,077 16 Falinks 16,009 17 Appletun 15,989 18 Eternatus 15,699 19 Morpeko 13,945 20 Grookey 13,478 21 Grimmsnarl 12,923 22 Zamazenta 12,641 23 Melmetal 12,356 24 Centiskorch 11,619 25 Dracovish 11,436 26 Frosmoth 10,988 27 Eiscue 10,392 28 Obstagoon 8,705 29 Rillaboom 8,625 30 Cramorant 8,436

Other events

"Pokémon Day" was also the name for a series of yearly events held in various European countries such as Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands since 2004. These events were usually to promote recently released Pokémon games or movies, often with event Pokémon distributions. These events have either ceased or been replaced by Pokémon Kids Tours.

In Singapore on November 24, 2014, an event also called "Pokémon Day" was held after a soccer game between Albirex Niigata and Home United FC. The event was sponsored by Nintendo and local distributor Maxsoft, and a Shiny Gengar was given away to visitors.

In other languages

Language Title French Journée Pokémon German Pokémon Day Italian Pokémon Day Portuguese Dia de Pokémon Russian День Покемонов Den' Pokémonov Spanish Día de Pokémon