Sunday, February 27, 2022

Pokémon Day 2022 - 26th Anniversary

Now that the 25th anniversary (see below) of Pokémon has passed, also as noted a month ago, the anniversary returns to regular numbers - at least ones that are not too special - for a few years into the future. This year, the number is 26, which most of the world recognizes as the number of letters in Roman alphabet. That number prompts me to discuss about the "all-inclusive" quality of Pokémon, and for this anniversary specifically, just like how the Roman alphabet is "all-inclusive" in its usage across the world today.

Given the games that were featured over the course of the anniversary week, Pokémon has become rather all-inclusive in that regard. Now there are many ways to play with Pokémon, and they're highly competitive, collaborative, or even both. Some of them are even taking the competitive stage for the very first time and/or continuing collaborative traditions that have persisted, even when the conditions are uncertain. With the "all-inclusive" quality, however one desires to play Pokémon, there's a game that can cover that.

The transformation of the franchise from being of purely games to encompassing all kinds of media is definitely part of the "all-inclusive" quality. It was well-received by gamers at its outset, and as the years went by, it became well received by gamers beyond its initial audience and gradually non-gamers as well. Sure, the competitive "combat" portion of the games might be a bit much even for some gamers, but the exploratory nature of some games and the appeal of the many species with all of their forms make up for the competitive aspect, and these elements are even able to coexist in harmony throughout all these years, which is something I brought up in last year's anniversary post.

For those enjoying the anniversary week, they should have found at least one thing to enjoy throughout the week. Today is notably also the day of Pokémon Go Tour: Live in certain places, as the "offline adjunct" to yesterday's Pokémon Go Tour wherever one might be. That is quite representative of the latter two aspects above, while other happenings throughout the week might be more representative of the first aspect. Evidently, the "all-inclusive" quality is demonstrated through the happenings.

Speaking of "all-inclusive", today as the ultimate concluding day to the anniversary week as above also features another edition of Pokémon Presents, which is all the more appropriate. Since today is purely about the anniversary, I can't really cover it in detail right now, but I can give a preview as always before addressing it later. They may involve islands on the go, the latest updates on mobile from this week, new events and updates on the Switch games, and something wildly new and colorful for the Switch later this year. It has to be "all-inclusive", and this one certainly fits the bill.

With Pokémon now being over a quarter century old, it has the right to be able to be attractive to as many people as possible, and that necessarily means being "all-inclusive". That has been proven in the development and transformation over all those years, even to this very moment. Last year was rather special indeed for that; the next few years might not be too special with ordinary numbers, but at least the "all-inclusive" quality should be something special to be preserved, now and in the years to come.

Happy 26th anniversary.

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