The entire year of 2016 was celebrated as Pokémon's 20th Anniversary, as February 27, 2016 marked the twentieth anniversary of the original Japanese release of Pokémon Red and Green Versions, and therefore the twentieth anniversary of the Pokémon media franchise as a whole.
The Pokémon Company International aired a 30-second commercial advertisement on February 7, 2016 with the motto "Train On." during Super Bowl 50. An extended version of the commercial was posted on Pokémon.com's official YouTube channel on January 25, 2016.
#Pokemon20: Pokémon Super Bowl Commercial (extended version)
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.
#Pokemon20
Posts with the hashtag #Pokemon20 on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube were selected and displayed on Pokemon20.com. The official website states that selected submissions "may get something special".
Special events were hosted on February 27, 2016 at retail locations.
In the United States, Toys "R" Us had special Holofoil Pikachu and Magikarp TCG cards from the new Generations set, a Pokémon activity book, and a poster with the original 151 Pokémon. There were also binders themed around the Generations expansion for sale. GameStops had an exclusive Mew plush and gave customers buying any Pokémon products a Mythical Pokémon poster. Stores in select cities also hosted Early Access Competitions for Pokkén Tournament, with a grand prize of a trip to the 2016 US National Championships. Nintendo New York held an event from 9 AM to 5 PM. The JapanLA Pop Culture Shop in Los Angeles, California had a pop-up shop dedicated to Pokémon merchandise that ran until March 27.
In Brazil, Copag promoted Pokémon Trading Card Game tournaments at selected stores across the country, where players received exclusive products. The company also sent a kit with 55 exclusive Pikachu Promo cards, three Badge cases, three bags with the Play! Pokémon logo, and 12 Mewtwo deckboxes to each selected hobby store. Players could also receive the Pikachu Promo card by buying two Pokémon TCG products (except boosters) at RiHappy, PB Kids, BMart, and Planeta Brinquedos from February 27 to 28.
In South Korea, events are set to be held at Pangyo Hyundai Department Store in Seongnam from February 27 to March 6, 2016. During this time, visitors could collect stamps hidden across four areas in the department store. Visitors who successfully collected all four stamps were able to receive an original Pokémon Day notebook. The Pokémon Store shop is also set to sell various exclusive items. The store also distributed cards illustrated by Game Freak on the 26th to visitors who purchased a certain amount of goods from the store or online. A Mew was also be distributed via infrared on February 27 to 28, 2016. This Mew was level 5, similar to the Mew distributed to Japanese games rather than the international Mew. During these two days, a Pokémon Battle Event was also held. On the 27th, only Kanto Pokémon could be used in the "Kanto Champion" tournament, while on the 28th, all Pokémon were allowed in the "All Star" tournament. Only players with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were allowed to participate. During the 27th and 28th, a Pokémon TCG "3 vs 3 Winners League" tournament was also held, with all competitors receiving a special promotional card. A Pokémon Mini Museum and a Pokémon Mini Attraction were also held over these two days.
The official Pokémon Twitch channel showed Pokémon gameplay, interviews, and discussions from at 1 to 9 p.m. EST. At 9 p.m. EST, a 24-hour anime marathon began on the officially-endorsed channel Twitch Watches Pokémon, which showed the following movies and specials:
Pokémon Sun and Moon, the primary paired versions of Generation VII, were announced at midnight JST on February 27, 2016 in a worldwide Pokémon Direct. They were released on November 18, 2016 worldwide except in Europe, where they were released on November 23, 2016.
On February 25, 2016, North American versions of Nintendo Badge Arcade celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Pokémon with ten sets of Pokémon badges, including the first badges of Mega Evolved Pokémon. Pokémon-themed HOME Menus were displayed on the game's Miiverse Gallery for a period after March 6.
Callie and Marie announcing the Red vs. Blue Splatfest in North America
In commemoration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary, a Splatfest was held on February 20, 2016 at 6:00 AM UTC, pitting players who prefer Pokémon Red against players who prefer Pokémon Blue*/Green*. The Splatfest, like all Splatfests, was divided and tallied by game region. At the end of the Splatfest, in all three regions, Red lost to Blue and Green.
In Japan, replicas of the Red Team and Green Team T-shirts distributed in-game to participants were sold in Pokémon Centers across the country.
An Event Course entitled I Choose You! was uploaded on February 11, 2016. When the player completes this course, they will unlock a Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle costume. Completing the course three times will unlock all three. Unlike the Super Smash Bros. Pokémon costumes, these costumes have a full set of custom sound effects and music taken from Pokémon Red and Green.
The English expansions Generations and Evolutions were released in commemoration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary. The expansions primarily focus on Generation I Pokémon and concepts. The Evolutions expansion and its Japanese equivalent, Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary features re-releases of Original Era cards revised to fit the current game's meta. For example, the Charizard based on the famous Base Set Charizard now has 150 Hit Points instead of 120 HP, and its signature Fire Spin now does 200 damage, as opposed to 100 damage.
Merchandise
Several merchandise items were made in celebration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary.
Figurines and plush toys are set to be sold exclusively at Toys "R" Us, Walmart, GameStop, Walgreens, Target, and specialty stores in the United States, depending on the item, being released throughout the year.
Clothing and other accessories are set to be sold from the online Pokémon Center in the United States.
This article is part of Project Real-Life, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on Pokémon activities and events experienced in the real world.
