The Pokemon Company held their annual Pokemon Presents on Pokemon Day. Let’s break down what they showed off and how we here at GCR feel about it!
// Pokemon Concierge Season 2
Pokémon Concierge is back for Season 2! Nothing concrete was shown off but there was some behind the scenes stop-motion test footage. Look forward to more adventures with Haru and Psyduck at the Pokémon Resort!
Additonally, if you’ve never watched Pokémon Concierge and wanted to check it out, the first four episodes are up on Pokemon’s official YouTube page now for free! According to the official Pokemon website, this is for a limited time so don’t wait to watch!
Season two of Pokémon Concierge drops on Netflix some time in Septemeber 2025.
Reactions:
2R |
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The first thing I said after I finished watching season 1 was, “they better make more of this.” So, good. |
NAA |
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More animated Pokémon content will always be a win with me. But this project specifically has been so unique and sweet that I can be nothing but happy to see more coming sooner than later. It’s one of those shows that you can’t watch without having a big smile on your face and I look forward to smiling all that much more watching season 2. |
LF |
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We don’t have a freaking out excited emote, so mind blown will have to do. Pokémon Concierge is the coziest show I’ve ever watched, and I am so excited we are getting more soon!! This has to be one of my favourite pieces of media Pokémon has ever put out, and I hope we get more. Just throwing it out there, would love a game like this too. Something dedicated to just spending time with your Pokémon instead of battling? Yes please! |
// Updates Coming to Existing Pokémon Games
Pokemon Go
Pokémon Go saw a few updates:
- Pokémon Go: Unova Tour kicks off March 1, 2025 with Legendary Pokemon Black Kyurem and White Kyurem appearing in Raid Battles and other places! There’s also a chance you may encounter Victini and shiny Meloetta! The event continues on March 2, 2025 as well.
- A new season, Might and Mastery, kicks off on March 4, 2025 and runs until June 3, 2025. The new season focuses on Kubfu and its evolution Urshifu, fighting type Pokémon that were introduced in Pokémon: Sword & Shield”s DLC, Isle of Armour!
Reactions:
2R |
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I’ve been off the Pokemon Go train for a while, but I’m glad they’re still putting out big updates. The odd time I log in it seems like they’ve made significant changes and improvements since when I was a regular. |
NAA |
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I no longer play Pokemon Go, so I guess good for those who continue to play. |
LF |
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I don’t play Pokemon Go anymore thanks to Niantic ruining it so this does nothing for me. |
Pokémon Masters EX – 5.5 Year Celebration
Pokémon Masters EX is celebrating 5.5 years and is introducing two new sync pairs! May (Champion) & Shiny Primal Kyogre and Brendan (Champion) & Shiny Primal Groudon are joining the roster of characters. May drops on February 28, 2025 with Brendan releasing on March 2, 2025. Additionally, according to the official Pokémon website, players who login during the anniversary celebration will receive 3,000 gems.
Reactions:
2R |
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We’re in the obligatory mobile game section of the program that I don’t care about. |
NAA |
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Hard to feel excited for an update to a game I don’t play. |
LF |
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I used to play Pokémon Master EX but I haven’t in a long time. Maybe I’ll re-download it and give it a try again. The trailer for this at least looked really cool. |
Pokémon Café Remix
Pokémon Café Remix is getting an new apple-themed menu item, Appletun Fruitilicious Jelly Soda. You’ll also be able to welcome either Flapple or Appletun to your café’s staff! Special outfit packs featuring Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly are also coming to Café Remix. Additionally, according to the official Pokémon website, if you login now, Pikachu in its sweets outfit will join your café’s staff. If you login for free days, Eevee in its sweets outfit will join you too!
Reactions:
2R |
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We’re in the obligatory mobile game section of the program that I don’t care about. |
NAA |
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My wife stopped playing this because they didn’t put out new levels fast enough for her. SO in that sense, it’s nice they’re putting out more content. But I don’t really care. |
LF |
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I don’t play this game so it doesn’t do anything for me. I did try it but the gameplay wasn’t for me. |
Pokémon Sleep
A new event drops in March 2025 for Pokémon Sleep! All that we know is Darkrai and Cresselia will clash.
Reactions:
2R |
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We’re in the obligatory mobile game section of the program that I don’t care about. |
NAA |
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I’m happy to not gameify sleep. I sleep pretty decently and I don’t need to involve Pokemon in that experience. |
LF |
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This emoji feels fitting since it’s a game where all you do is literally sleep. I’ve played it before but I dropped off. So yeah, this is whatever for me. Happy for those who still play though! |
Pokémon Unite
Suicune, Alolan Raichu, and Alcremie are joining the fray in Pokémon Unite! Suicune is being added on March 1, 2025, Alolan Raichu sometime in April 2025, and Alcremie sometime in 2025. Remoat Stadium is also returning for a limited time.
Unite players can take part in a new Unite battle mode called First to 500–the first to 500 points wins.
The official Pokémon website recommends players keep an eye out for new Aeos tech, granting players special effects each time a number of points have been scored.
Reactions:
2R |
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This game was pretty fun while I was playing it at launch, glad to see it’s still getting updates. |
NAA |
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Don’t play, don’t care. |
LF |
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MOBAs aren’t for me, so pass. |
Pokémon TCG Pocket
Triumphant Light drops February 28, 2025 on Pokémon TCG Pocket! According to the official Pokémon website,
“There will be a couple in-game events. Look for the return of the Genetic Apex expansion with booster packs that are guaranteed to include at least one card of ◆◆◆◆ rarity or higher. There are also special missions you can complete to earn rewards. If you’re ready to get serious and show off your battle skills, look forward to Ranked Matches, arriving in-game at the end of March.”
Reactions:
2R |
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We’re in the obligatory mobile game section of the program that- Oh wait I like this one. I play this every day. More cards = more fun for me! Adding ranked is a great addition that folks have been asking for, glad to see it being implemented. |
NAA |
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Each expansion has significantly changed up the meta for battles, so I really look forward to every new addition of packs. However, the aspect that gets me the most excited is ranked matches being added!! I love battling in TCG Pocket, but outside of emblem events, there’s not much of an incentive to do it. But now, there will be a legitimate reason to keep grinding. Looking forward to wrecking more opponents with my Celebi! |
LF |
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I’m excited for this one because I get to look at more pretty art. Plus, most of us here at GCR also play this and we like showing each other our pulls, so looking forward to more of that! |
Pokémon TCG
Mega evolution is coming to the trading card game sometime in 2025! We don’t know much else but we’re excited to see what that means for the game!
Reactions:
2R |
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Pretty cool, another reason the little pieces of paper will call my name when I’m at the store. |
NAA |
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I’ve never collected or played the TCG but some of these cards look pretty slick and I’m excited at the prospect of this coming to TCG Pocket. |
LF |
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I don’t collect the cards anymore but I’m still excited for this! I’m excited to see what megas bring to the game, as well as the card art. Plus, megas in TCG Pocket maybe???? |
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Pokémon Day has come to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! Mass outbreaks of green-, red-, and blue-coloured Pokémon will be occurring, with an increased chance to encounter shiny versions of the Pokémon! Over the next few weeks, a series of Tera Raid battles will feature a mighty Meowscarada, Skeledirge, and Quaquaval, so be on the lookout for those as well!
Reactions:
2R |
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The raid system never really hooked me in the game and I haven’t gone back to it since I finished my initial playthrough. I don’t expect this will pull me back either. |
NAA |
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Scarlet and Violet are the first games in a while that I ended up fully skipping. |
LF |
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I’ll likely check this out. I haven’t played Scarlet or Violet in a while. |
// New Pokemon Games
Pokémon Champions
A brand-new Pokémon game was announced! Pokémon Champions will be coming to all Switch family systems as well as Android and iOS, allowing for cross-platform play. It’ll be a Pokémon battle focused game, featuring the core battle system fans know and love. The game is being developed in collaboration with Game Freak and The Pokémon Works.
Players will be able to connect the game to Pokémon Home, allowing them to use their own Pokémon they’ve raised and trained.
Excitingly, the game will be playable, at launch, in Latin American Spanish for the first time! All other previous languages available in Pokémon games will also be available in Champions.
No release date was given.
Reactions:
2R |
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I have a lot of thoughts about this one, but I’ll assume the best (dangerous I know) for now. People have been begging for a new Stadium-like game for ages. People also have been begging for TPC to just give us an easy battler like Showdown is where you can make your team easily and jump into battles. They mention Home connectivity which makes me nervous that you’ll have to go through the grueling process of training Pokemon in other games to have a good team in here. Hopefully that’s not the case and there is lots of functionality in the game for building teams. Consider me excited for now! |
NAA |
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I’m always excited to see new types of Pokemon games coming out, so I’ll be happy to check this out. I’m a big fan of battles so this might be fun. |
LF |
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Pokemon Home connectivity for this game is amazing. Makes sense since Home is also on mobile. I’ll likely give it a shot to see what it’s like! I like that it’s also got cross-platform play too. I’m not big on multiplayer stuff, but there’s no harm in trying it out. |
Pokémon Legends: Z-A
We got another look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A! Pokémon Legends: Z-A takes place in Lumiose City, the largest city of the Kalos Region. Players will choose either Chikorita, a grass type, Tepig, a fire type, or Totodile, a water type, as their starting Pokémon. Lumiose City is currently undergoing an urban development plan, aiming to turn the city into a place where both people and Pokémon can co-exist.
Since this is a Legends game, many of the features we saw in Legends: Arceus returns, including the open areas where Pokémon can be found. It looks like we’ll be able to not only explore the city on the ground, but up top as well, since there were some shots of the character running on rooftops and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
The catch mechanics also return, where you can throw a Pokéball in the open world to try and catch it. It’ll either succeed or it won’t, and you’ll have to weaken it by battling.
Battling in Z-A has been improved on from Arceus. According to the Z-A official website:
In previous titles in the Pokémon video game series, Pokémon took action once per turn. In Pokémon Legends: Z‑A, Trainers and their Pokémon will move around in real time during battles, and Pokémon will unleash their moves when their Trainers command them to.
In addition to type matchups, there will be new gameplay mechanics to consider, such as the precise timing for swapping out your Pokémon or using moves, the different lengths of time moves will take to launch, and how big an area the moves will impact. This unprecedented style of Pokémon battling is one of the most thrilling parts of this title.
Mega evolution is also back! So far, we haven’t seen any new megas, we’ll have to wait and see if there will be any new additions.
There are plenty of new characters to meet and some familiar faces. You’ll be able to meet them all when Pokémon Legends: Z-A drops sometime in late 2025 for the Nintendo Switch.
Additionally, Latin American Spanish will also be coming to Pokémon Legends: Z-A at launch!
Reactions:
2R |
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I mean this was the big one we were all waiting for. The starter selection is neutral to me but I have nothing against this bunch. The city looks great, hopefully the smaller, more contained areas will be easier on the dear old Switch than the vast fields of Arceus were. I loved Arceus. The catching and collecting aspect were super fun and addictive. The other thing they mentioned was that some attacks have range and AOE porperties, so positioning will be important. This is so cool to me, and will add a layer of immersion by having to run around the arena with your mon and position yourself. |
NAA |
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I might have given this a mind-blown react if any of the starters did much for me, but they ended up picking some pretty meh ones for me. Otherwise though, the first entry into the Legends series was such a breath of fresh air. I cannot wait to see how they have iterated and improved on that. More new mechanics is always fun ot discover. Will definitely be checking this out at launch. |
LF |
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TOTODILE AND CHIKORITA AS TWO OF THE STARTERS???? SIGN ME UP!!!! So great to see Megas back too!! The catch mechanics from Legends Arceus is also back!! So excited for that. Nice to see a switch up in the battles too–kind of reminds me of the battles from Digimon World Next Order. What was that last little sneak peek??? If you can’t tell, I’m very excited about this one and cannot wait to play it when it releases! Expect a review when it does drop! |
// Final Reactions
2R |
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A solid showing with the big info dump on Z-A we expected being there. This is the definition of meeting expectations. I think we got lucky even seeing Champions considering that next year will be the Pokemon 30th anniversary and likely line up with the reveal of gen 10. I’m sure they’re holding onto a lot of cool things to show off for that occasions. In the meantime, we have some good Pokemon content to keep us going! |
NAA |
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I don’t think anything at this event was mindblowing by any stretch. However, constant updates and the attempts at more new concepts is always good to see from The Pokemon Company. Z-A though is a legitimately one of my most anticipated games of the year so just seeing this here was gonna be enough to make the event worth it. With me getting into the TCG Pocket in the past couple of months, I’m excited to see how ranked battles works. I wonder if once the Switch 2 is announced properly, whether there will be some tweaks are made to some of these announcements. |
LF |
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This wasn’t a mind-blowing Pokemon Presents but it was still a good one. It’s good to see The Pokémon Company continuing to support their existing mobile titles and see some of those new updates. The two big announcements, Pokémon Champions and Pokémon Legends: Z-A are really what make this Pokémon Presents. Champions is a cool twist on the format, especially for those who loves battling. I imagine this will be very good for the competitive scene. I also like that it’s got cross-play and Pokémon Home compatibility. I was reminded of the old Pokémon Stadium games, when you’d use the game paks to load your Pokémon from the GameBoy games. As for Z-A, Legends: Arceus is one of my favourite recent Pokémon games. I’m unbelievably excited for it, especially the new take on the battles. It gives it the anime feel the current battle system in the mainline games lack, and I’m very excited for it. So, TLDR: not a mind-blowing Presents, but enough there that made this worth it. |
