Pokémon Presents February 2023: a round-up

Come 27 February, Pokémon fans are always ready to receive a lot of news about the future of the franchise – as always, this year’s Pokémon Presents did not disappoint on that front. Here’s a round-up of all the announcements.

World Championship dates

The stream began with the dates for the Pokémon World Championship – it will be held in Yokohoma, Japan, from 11 to 23 August. Players will be able to face off in (among other things) the trading card game, Scarlet and Violet, and GO. The event’s key art was also shared, depicting the three starters in Scarlet and Violet alongside Pikachu.

Trading cards

The Pokémon Company is re-releasing the original Pokémon trading card base set in a deluxe package, which is designed to be an all-in-one way to play the game. The exact nature of the set is currently unclear, as the set appears to boast cards, a game board and pieces. According to the company’s CEO, it will be “a premium Pokémon TCG set that will last a lifetime”, and more details will come.

Concierge on Netflix

In a surprise announcement, it was revealed that The Pokémon Company would be partnering with Netflix to produce a series, Pokémon Concierge. There are few details at the moment – it will be a stop-motion animation featuring Haru, the concierge of the Pokémon Resort, and her partner Psyduck.

Unite and Masters EX

Zacian, the box-art legendary of Sword, is joining the cast of Unite, and it will be able to use its signature Sovereign Sword attack in the game. To mark its addition, there will be a special Zacian’s Weald event, which will run until 26 March – players will also be able to pick up a gold Zacian boost emblem using the Gift Code POKEMONDAY.

Elsewhere, six classic Pokemon champions – Cynthia, Iris, Alder, Diantha, Steven and Lance – will be appearing in a rally in Masters EX, for the player to partner up with. Players can receive a five-star Champion Select Scout Ticket until 27 March, and they’ll be able to use it until 3 April. There will also be content inspired by Sword and Shield.

Café ReMix and Sleep

There’s Scarlet and Violet DLC for Café ReMix, in the form of Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly coming to the game. They’re available as part of the minigames or as a new member of staff, and they’ll be joined by Victini, Mimikyu, Eevee and Celebi as they return as delivery candidates. Greninja also received a special outfit.

The long-mooted Sleep has also been re-revealed, and it’s slated for a summer 2023 release. The app keeps track of your sleeping patterns, and it shows you the different sleep styles of the characters you encounter. According to the stream, the aim is to “turn sleeping into entertainment by having a player’s time spent sleeping, and the time they wake up, affect the gameplay”, letting players “wake up with Pokémon every morning”.

The new Pokémon GO Plus+ is designed to work with the app (as well as GO), and will be available on 21 July. Linked with Sleep, a Pikachu inside the device will sing players lullabies and get friendlier as you get more rest. For GO, it lets players catch Pokémon and spin Poke-Stops automatically.

Scarlet and Violet expansions

Lastly, it was the news everyone was waiting for – Scarlet and Violet updates. Two new Paradox Pokémon as coming to the games. Walking Wake (which resembles Suicine) is coming to Scarlet, while Iron Leaves (which resembles Virizion) is heading to Violet.

There is a new DLC expansion for the games, called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. It will be released in two parts. The first, ‘The Teal Mask’, will be released in autumn 2023 and see players visit the land of Kitakami on a school part. The second, ‘The Indigo Disk’, will come out in winter 2023, and cast the player as an exchange student at the Blueberry Academy. Two new legendary Pokémon, Ogrepon and Terapagos, will be introduced in the DLC, which is now available in the Nintendo eShop.