Friday, February 27, 2026

Six by Five: Pokémon Day 2026 - 30th Anniversary

I say "long in the tooth" from one (personal) anniversary to another, because indeed today is Pokémon Day, and indeed it is its 30th anniversary. I've subtitled it personally as "six by five" since my yearly theme this year has a six in it, and last year's had a five, and six times (by) five makes the number you see (ahem). That's a long stretch of time, and the franchise certainly stretches longer than that, so this year's anniversary is quite special - and as mentioned last year (see below), it falls on a round number, which augments that very much.

Also as I've mentioned last year, by tradition, the number of years for this year's anniversary is considered as the "pearl" anniversary. Pearls, like the regular kind and "Big" kind, which are in-game items in the main series, are round and valuable, and in fact are attested as such in those games. For all the things that have happened with Pokémon so far, each one is a precious pearl (not to mention the main series game that bears the label) among the various segments of the franchise's fans. Strung together, they make for a wonderful piece of jewelry, and every fan will have their own version of this, including me. It's a good imagery for this year.

Closely associated with pearls is the word "wisdom". Taken together, they make an expression that refers to how some valuable sayings or advice are or can be encapsulated in little chunks of words. It may be considered that a lot of things from the Pokémon franchise carry their own weight of wisdom, and it is up to the fans to package them in whatever little chunks (pearls) they choose to have and (perhaps optionally) to string them up into a piece of jewelry they can be proud of. After 30 such years of those things, the "pearls" may end up in different sizes - or may not even be "pearls" at all - but at least they may all look pretty somehow.

Speaking of "pearls of wisdom", there are some of "those" in an edition of Pokémon Presents as is the norm for this very day in many past years. As a preview of what was highlighted in that edition before I discuss them more or less thoroughly, there are the requisite anniversary festivities in many current spinoff games, the next steps for competitive Pokémon battling (including the all-important World Championships later this year), the reminding preview of the content of the latest "main series alternate", and... something that's blowing in the _____ and riding on the _____, two fill-in-the-blanks to be filled with the later discussion.

Of the anniversaries that have occurred thus far, this one is obviously a significant one for all of its merits as above... at least philosophically. The realism of everyone's Pokémon experiences with the games, entertainment, merchandise, and everything in between is what tells the tales, stories, enjoyment, memories, and fun that are at the core of all of those things. Not everyone will get a chance at owning pieces of absolutely all of those things, but what they own might "multiply" the experiences in the same way that this year's anniversary number "multiplies".

Happy 30th anniversary.

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