Pokémon Day Is Almost Here and I’m Keeping my Expectations Realistic

February 27 is an inconspicuous day unless you’re a Pokémon fan. The penultimate day of the month is also known as Pokémon Day; the one day a year when Pokémon drops all of its biggest announcements including new films, merch, and games for the franchise. Gaming may be full of rabid fandoms, and Pokémon fans have long been fighting to be the greatest of them all. February 27 is the day that the Pokémon mass hysteria reaches its peak. Certain things are expected to appear at every single Pokémon Day Presents. The show always kicks off with seasonal updates to Pokémon’s vast live-service kingdom, which even includes in-game events for the mainline games. However, no one is watching Pokémon Presents to find out the next raid target, the next café worker, or what the next trading card set is. People watch for the game reveals. Fans don’t care whether Game Freak are working on a remake, a spin-off or a new mainline entry; they just want more. Image via The Pokémon Company I am not immune to quixotic dreams of the developers at Game Freak working hard on Let’s Go Johto!, New New Snap, and Colosseum/XD remakes. I am also very aware that these games will likely remain a figment of my imagination. When it comes to Pokémon Day I like to set my sights a little lower, and I think this year I have surfed the line perfectly between hopes and reality. My realistic dream for Pokémon Day 2025 isn’t for a remake, a reboot, or a new game in one of Pokémon’s many series. I’m not even asking Game Freak to make the older mainline games available again despite prices rising to the hundreds on the second-hand market. I don’t even want the opportunity to destroy another touch screen running circles around Entei in Ranger. All I want is my favorite Game Boy Advance game to come to Switch Online. It has been 23 years since the last Pinball game, and I would not be so bold as to ask for the short-lived series to make a comeback, but if Puzzle League can be given a second life through Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack then so can Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire. If you only played the first entry in the series you’d be forgiven for thinking that Pokémon and Pinball mix like oil and water, but with the sequel the formula had been perfected. Image via The Pokemon Company International Not only does the game look gorgeous, but the physics and gameplay are much improved. Based on the third generation, you can hatch, catch, and evolve ‘mons as your ball flies around the board. You try desperately to catch legendary beasts that appear in rare spawns and remain on the board for 30 seconds. It has your heart pounding in a way the mainline games can’t. If you fail a catch in Pinball, you can’t just reset and try again. Many people missed out on Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire due to how lackluster and unwieldy the original pinball game was, and yet it’s still remembered as a cult classic of the franchise. We know that TPCi is willing to dredge up some of its unique spin-offs so they can be slapped onto Switch Online; that’s exactly how the glorious Pokémon Puzzle League and Trading Card Game for Game Boy returned to my life. This Pokémon Day I’m not asking for Pokémon Reconquest, or Black and White remakes. I don’t even want to see reveals for Legends Z-A like Mega Talonflame, Mega Hawlucha, or the funniest possible option, Mega Barbaracle. The only thing I wrote in my letter to big Pikachu this year was the return of a Game Boy classic on NSO, and my hopes are high. After all, I’ve been a very good girl this year. You can catch Pokémon Presents on YouTube on February 27, at 6am PT / 9am ET. The post Pokémon Day Is Almost Here and I’m Keeping my Expectations Realistic appeared first on Siliconera.

Feb 27, 2025 - 00:04

Pokémon Day Is Almost Here and I’m Keeping my Expectations Realistic

February 27 is an inconspicuous day unless you’re a Pokémon fan. The penultimate day of the month is also known as Pokémon Day; the one day a year when Pokémon drops all of its biggest announcements including new films, merch, and games for the franchise. Gaming may be full of rabid fandoms, and Pokémon fans have long been fighting to be the greatest of them all. February 27 is the day that the Pokémon mass hysteria reaches its peak.

Certain things are expected to appear at every single Pokémon Day Presents. The show always kicks off with seasonal updates to Pokémon’s vast live-service kingdom, which even includes in-game events for the mainline games. However, no one is watching Pokémon Presents to find out the next raid target, the next café worker, or what the next trading card set is. People watch for the game reveals. Fans don’t care whether Game Freak are working on a remake, a spin-off or a new mainline entry; they just want more.

I am not immune to quixotic dreams of the developers at Game Freak working hard on Let’s Go Johto!, New New Snap, and Colosseum/XD remakes. I am also very aware that these games will likely remain a figment of my imagination. When it comes to Pokémon Day I like to set my sights a little lower, and I think this year I have surfed the line perfectly between hopes and reality.

My realistic dream for Pokémon Day 2025 isn’t for a remake, a reboot, or a new game in one of Pokémon’s many series. I’m not even asking Game Freak to make the older mainline games available again despite prices rising to the hundreds on the second-hand market. I don’t even want the opportunity to destroy another touch screen running circles around Entei in Ranger. All I want is my favorite Game Boy Advance game to come to Switch Online.

It has been 23 years since the last Pinball game, and I would not be so bold as to ask for the short-lived series to make a comeback, but if Puzzle League can be given a second life through Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack then so can Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire. If you only played the first entry in the series you’d be forgiven for thinking that Pokémon and Pinball mix like oil and water, but with the sequel the formula had been perfected.

New Pokemon Presents Goes Over Games and Updates Next Week — Image via The Pokemon Company International

Not only does the game look gorgeous, but the physics and gameplay are much improved. Based on the third generation, you can hatch, catch, and evolve ‘mons as your ball flies around the board. You try desperately to catch legendary beasts that appear in rare spawns and remain on the board for 30 seconds. It has your heart pounding in a way the mainline games can’t. If you fail a catch in Pinball, you can’t just reset and try again.

Many people missed out on Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire due to how lackluster and unwieldy the original pinball game was, and yet it’s still remembered as a cult classic of the franchise. We know that TPCi is willing to dredge up some of its unique spin-offs so they can be slapped onto Switch Online; that’s exactly how the glorious Pokémon Puzzle League and Trading Card Game for Game Boy returned to my life.

This Pokémon Day I’m not asking for Pokémon Reconquest, or Black and White remakes. I don’t even want to see reveals for Legends Z-A like Mega Talonflame, Mega Hawlucha, or the funniest possible option, Mega Barbaracle. The only thing I wrote in my letter to big Pikachu this year was the return of a Game Boy classic on NSO, and my hopes are high. After all, I’ve been a very good girl this year.

You can catch Pokémon Presents on YouTube on February 27, at 6am PT / 9am ET.

The post Pokémon Day Is Almost Here and I’m Keeping my Expectations Realistic appeared first on Siliconera.