Pokémon Press Conference Reveals More Pokémon

During a press conference in Tokyo on 29th May 2019, Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, showcased the continuous evolution of how the globally popular Pokémon brand will continue to be a trendsetter in gaming. Mr. Ishihara unveiled a broad range of Pokémon products from mobile games and app to connected hardware to show the variety of new ways Pokémon Trainers will be able to play Pokémon and continue to catch them all. Below are what was announced:

Pokémon HOME

With the amount of Pokémon games being so diverse with titles for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices, Mr. Ishihara announced that now, Trainers can bring all their Pokémon together with Pokémon HOME, a new cloud service app that will enables Trainers to continue their Pokémon adventures beyond a single game system and manage their collection of Pokémon across many of their games. Smartphone users can also trade with friends or others around the world directly from Pokémon HOME. Pokémon HOME connects with Pokémon Bank as well as Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games, and Pokémon GO. Pokémon HOME is expected to launch in early 2020 for iOS and Android devices as well as Nintendo Switch.

Pokémon Sleep

Pokémon Trainers will be able to wake up to Pokémon every morning with Pokémon Sleep, a mobile app from The Pokémon Company. The plan is to turn sleeping into entertainment by having the player's time spent sleeping and the time they wake up to have an effect on the gameplay. It was announced that a new peripheral device from Nintendo, Pokémon GO Plus + will connect to Pokémon Sleep and launch with the app. The device will use an embedded accelerometer to track a user’s time sleeping and send this information to their smartphone via Bluetooth. This new device also has the same functions as the original Pokémon GO Plus meaning Trainers can use it with Pokémon GO during the day and with Pokémon Sleep at night. Pokémon Sleep has a planned launch date for mobile devices in 2020. In celebration of the announcement of Pokémon Sleep, an encounter Snorlax that is lying down and deep in sleep in Pokémon GO is available for Trainers all around the world. More details will be announced later in June

Pokémon Masters

A new Pokémon mobile game called Pokémon Masters is on the way for iOS and Android devices from The Pokémon Company and DeNA. Pokémon Masters will allow players to battle Pokémon in a new way and on the go. Pokémon Masters will also feature a lot of the famous Pokémon Trainers from the long history of Pokémon video games. Gameplay will be optimized for smart devices for a casual but uniquely Pokémon experience. Fans can expect more details about Pokémon Masters in June.

Nintendo Switch Gets New Detective Pikachu Game

The release of the “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” movie left fans wanting more of the famous Pokémon sleuth. The Pokémon Company announced today that Creatures Inc. has plans to create a new entry in the Detective Pikachu video game series for the Nintendo Switch. The original Detective Pikachu game for the Nintendo 3DS ended on a cliffhanger. This upcoming game will bring a conclusion to that story.

Pokémon Finally Comes to China with Pokémon Quest

Pokémon Quest will be coming to China via NetEase, the second largest game developer in the world and a new partner for The Pokémon Company. More than 1.7 million players have pre-registered for the game in China. Today it was revealed that Pokémon Quest in China will be an enhanced version of the game with new player vs. player and social features. While Pokémon Quest marks the first mobile Pokémon game in China, it was also announced that NetEase is working with The Pokémon Company to bring more Pokémon games to the country.

Pokémon Shirts

Not only did Mr. Ishihara announced game related news, but he also revealed that Pokémon Shirts, a service currently available in Japan that creates made-to-order original clothing designs featuring the first 151 Pokémon, will officially be coming to the U.S. and Europe.

The full press conference is posted to the official Pokémon YouTube channel.