The biggest celebration of Pokémon in 2023 has just started. Pokémon Day is today, Feb. 27, and The Pokémon Company is already revealing its plans for the entire franchise across all platforms and games. I have been a fan of Pokémon for over 20 years, and I’m sure if you’re a fan like me you feel like you must be excited about what could be coming today.
The key moment of the day was the Pokémon Presents livestream. Its start time was at 8am CT today, Feb. 27. A new Scarlet and Violet DLC has been announced, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, releasing in two parts, along with news on a new Classic TCG and a Netflix anime. Also, Pokémon Sleep is real.
Everything in Pokémon Presents 2023 and all Pokémon Day announcements
New Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are getting a new DLC called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, which will be split into two parts. The first one is called The Teal Mask, featuring the legendary Pokémon Ogerpon, and releasing in Fall 2023. The second one is called The Indigo Disk, featuring the legendary Pokémon Terapagos, and releasing in Winter 2023.
Three new Pokémon, aside from the legendaries, have been confirmed for The Teal Mask: Munkidori, Fezandipiti, and Okidogi. Over 230 returning Pokémon will be introduced to Scarlet and Violet with the new DLC.
New Paradox Pokémon Suicine and Virizion
Paradox forms of Legendary Pokémon Suicune and Virizion are now live in Scarlet and Violet as Tera Raids running until March 12. They are called Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, respectively, and the former is a Scarlet exclusive while the latter is a Violet exclusive. You can get capture those from the version you don’t own by joining online Tera raids hosted by other players.
Related: Best counters for Walking Wake and Iron Leaves Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Pokémon Go Gimmighoul and Scarlet and Violet sync
You can now connect Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to Pokémon Go so you can hunt and catch Gimmighoul. After gathering 999 coins in Pokémon Go by spinning golden PokéStops, catching Gimmighoul, and using it as your buddy, you can evolve it into Gholdengo.
Pokémon TCG Classic
Pokémon TCG is getting a Classic set that includes reprints of some cards of the first sets ever released for the card game. No further information is available at this time.
New anime series by Netflix
Netflix is working on a new Pokémon anime series to release this year, called Pokémon Concierge. No exact release date has been revealed yet, and it looks like a spin-off of the main series.
Pokémon Sleep is really coming
Pokémon Sleep is finally releasing years after its initial announcement. It will have shared features with Pokémon Go through a new device called Pokémon Go Plus+, already up for preorder.
Other announcements
- A Pokémon UNITE update went live earlier today, officially adding Zacian as a new playable character in the game. You can obtain it for free by playing daily on a new event or by paying around 1,200 gems for an instant unlock. Players have reported Zacian is overpowered right now.
- Pokémon Café ReMix got new events and the Paldean starters in an update today
- Pokémon Masters EX also received an update today that will allow you to get various champions to celebrate Pokémon Day.
Wrong Rumors
Those hoping to see announcements of old Pokémon games on the Nintendo Switch were let down by The Pokémon Company. There was literally not a single announcement of old games. No Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 Pokémon games for anyone. Also, no new games of spin-off series were announced.
Live coverage (now finished)
- 9:32am CT – No Pokémon Day Mystery Gift just yet
Those expecting a new giveaway in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet via Mystery Gift as a celebration of Pokémon Day will walk out empty handed for now. No new codes have been revealed yet, so you can’t get anything in the game to celebrate this day, aside from fighting your way to capture the two new Paradox Pokémon.
- 9:26am CT – New Paradox Pokémon Tera Raids are easier than special ones
Fortunately for those hoping to grab Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, the two new Paradox Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, they are live now as 5-star Tera Raids. Players experienced with raids should have an easy time beating them. Remember to bring Pokémon over level 70 for the fight.
- 9:20am CT – New Paradox Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet are live now
Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, the two new Paradox Pokémon announced today, are now live in Scarlet and Violet Tera Raids. They look like Suicune and Virizion, respectively. They will be in the game until March 12. It’s unclear whether they will return after that.
- 9:16am CT – New Pokémon aren’t everything coming to Scalet and Violet DLC
The new accessory Pokémon Go Plus+, which we still can’t believe is called “plus plus”, is up for preorder at the Nintendo store for $54.99 USD, shipping in July 2023.
- 9:13am CT – New Pokémon aren’t everything coming to Scalet and Violet DLC
On a press release, The Pokémon Company has confirmed that over 230 returning Pokémon will be released in the two stages of the Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. This will bring the number of Pokémon in the Paldea Pokédex to over 600 total.
- 9:10am CT – Early reactions to Pokémon Presents are bad
Players expected a little more from Pokémon Presents, maybe something closer to what rumors built up expectations for. Some say most news were disappointing, while others are memeing about Pokémon GO Plus+ and Pokémon Sleep.
- 9:02am CT – Yes, many rumors were wrong.
Pokémon fans really didn’t get any news regarding old game on Nintendo Switch’s new Game Boy and Game Boy Advance virtual consoles. Also, nothing on Pokémon Stadium and other spin-off titles have been announced. Rumors of a new Pokkén title are also just speculation for now and have not been announced in today’s Pokémon Presents.
- 8:56am CT – New Pokémon teased in Scarlet and Violet’s DLC art have been fully revealed
The three Pokémon shown in the artwork of the The Teal Mask, the first part of the DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, have been fully revealed. The monkey-like one is Munkidori, the swan-like one is Fezandipiti, and the dog-like one is Okidogi.
- 8:52am CT – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC are a few months away
Remember that the new DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is releasing in two parts, one in Fall 2023, which means August 2023 and later, and the second one in Winter 2023, which actually could go from Holidays 2023 to all the way into March 2024.
- 8:45am CT – Suicune and Virizion Paradox forms are version exclusives
Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, the Paradox versions of Suicune and Virizion, respectively, will be version exclusives. Players with Pokémon Scarlet can only find Walking Wake, while players in Violet can only find Iron Leaves. However, if you’re playing Tera Raids with friends locally or online, you can join Tera Raids from players in the version you don’t own, allowing you to fight and capture the exclusive from that version.
- 8:40am CT – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet new Paradox Tera Raids start today
Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, the two new Paradox Pokémon releasing in Scarlet and Violet are coming today, Feb. 27, and are not tied to the new DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. The time it stats hasn’t been confirmed yet, nor the star rating of these opponents.
- 8:35am CT – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC early purchase bonus
A Hisuian Zoroark will be sent as a gift to players who make an early purchase of the new DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. It knows the move Happy Hours, has a tera type Dark and the Charismatic mark. It will be unavailable in the game outside of this event.
- 8:29am CT – All Pokémon releasing in Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
The first part of the expansion, The Teal Mask, will feature Chingling, Milotic, Vikavolt, Shiftry, Yanma, and Ninetales, along with their evolution chains. The Indigo Disk features Zebstraika, Dewgong, Alcremie, Metagross, Espurr, Whimsicott, and their evolution chains.
Ogrepon is the new legendary Pokémon in The Teal Mask and Terapagos is the new one in The Indigo Disk.
- 8:29am CT – All Pokémon releasing in Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
The first part of the expansion, The Teal Mask, will feature Chingling, Milotic, Vikavolt, Shiftry, Yanma, and Ninetales, along with their evolution chains. The Indigo Disk features Zebstraika, Dewgong, Alcremie, Metagross, Espurr, Whimsicott, and their evolution chains.
Ogerpon is the new legendary Pokémon in The Teal Mask and Teropagos is the new one in The Indigo Disk.
- 8:25am CT – New Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC confirmed
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is getting DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero “soon”. The DLC will be split into two versions, The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk, to be released in Fall 2023 and Winter 2023 respectively, available in both games.
- 8:21am CT – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet get two new legendary-like Paradox Pokémon
Suicune and Virizion-like Paradox Pokémon Walking Wake and Iron Leaves are releasing as exclusive Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. These tera raids are releasing today, Feb. 27.
- 8:18am CT – A new real-world Pokémon device is extra-extra unique
Pokémon GO Plus+ (yes, read it as “plus plus”) will release this year that will be able to sync with Pokémon Sleep along with Pokémon GO.
- 8:15am CT – The weirdest Pokémon spinoff is real
Pokémon Sleep is an actual thing. The themed mobile app that should help you track your sleeping habits is releasing later this year on Android and iOS. The greatest challenge to players is to have a good night of sleep, which can be hard to all the insomniacs out there. You’ll be able to collect sleep styles as you progress though the game.
- 8:12am CT – Pokémon Masters Ex baits everyone
The Pokémon Company baits everyone with a Pokémon Masters Ex update intro showing old generation main games series gameplay. New champions were announced for the title.
- 8:11am CT – Pokémon Unite and Café Remix news are shown again
News that released earlier this morning on Pokémon Unite and Café ReMix are now being shown in further detail on the livestream. Remember
- 8:08am CT – Pokémon new anime series by Netflix is coming soon
Pokémon Concierge is the new Pokémon animated series releasing soon by Netflix. No dates have been shown, and an art of Psyduck on a beach is the most we’ll get for now.
- 8:06am CT – Pokémon TCG Classic cards are coming
In an announcement with a very serious tone and with actors on a fancy-looking board, Pokémon announced Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic, which seems to be a re-release of the first few Pokémon cards ever released. A classic Charizard and Professor Oak cards were shown.
- 8:03am CT – Pokémon World Championships theme revealed
Pokémon World Championships will be held in Japan for the first time, and its art was officially revealed on stream.
- 7:55am CT – Pokémon Presents starts in 5 minutes.
The main event of Pokémon Day celebration starts in 5 minutes, which is the Pokémon Presents on YouTube. Get ready for a lot of news here in the following updates!
- 7:48am CT – That’s a weird name for a Pokémon
Zacian released in Pokémon Unite earlier today with a very weird name. A bug caused some of its banners to show its name as OpsEvents_Banner_Title_14289_001, probably an internal code tied to the Pokémon data.
- 7:40am CT – Pokémon Unite players claim early adopters of Zacian are “paying to stomp”
Zacian is not easy to unlock. You have to go through daily missions and roll a dice to be able to play with the new Pokémon in Unite. Unless you pay a bunch of gems, of course. And players being stomped by this new overpowered Zacian aren’t happy.
- 7:28am CT – Exclusive Pokémon Day codes for Pokémon Unite
You can unlock a golden Zacian medal and some temporary character and holowear in Pokémon Unite by using the gift exchange codes pokemonday and pokemonday23.
- 7:15am CT – Pokémon Game Sound Library is released, but only for specific countries
You can now listen to the official soundtrack of all songs from the first generation of Pokémon games for free, but only if you’re in Asia. This is also a limited-time promotion.
- 7:07am CT – Pokémon Presents starts in less than an hour
Remember that you can watch the new Pokémon Presents on the official Pokémon YouTube channel at 8am CT today.
- 7:00am CT – Pokémon Unite fans already want Zacian nerfed, but they don’t think it’s happening soon
Zacian is wreaking havoc in Unite after just a few hours of release. After players noted you need around 1,200 gems to unlock Zacian, they now calculated you can only get it for free, at best, in 17 days. Since developers probably want most players to experience Zacian as it is now, fans calling for nerfs doubt any changes are coming before the unlock event is over.
- 6:51am CT – Rumors about Pokémon Day have spread last week
Fans in internet forums spread rumors about Pokémon Presents announcements, saying they can confirm Scarlet and Violet DLC are coming along with old games on Nintendo Switch online. A new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon title and a revival of the fighting series Pokkén Tournament would also be coming, according to these leakers. None of this information is confirmed, though.
- 6:46am CT – While we wait… did you know?
Pokémon Day is celebrated on Feb. 27 because that’s when the original Pokémon games Red and Green released for the first time in Japan for Nintendo’s Game Boy, kicking off the franchise worldwide. They were the first time the world learned about Pokémon, and the first anime episode debuted in Japan only a year later.
- 6:36am CT – Yes, Zacian can also demolish Rayquaza
At this point I’m asking myself what Zacian can’t do in Pokémon Unite.
- 6:27am CT – Main series fans have high hopes for Pokémon Presents, but are ready for disappointments
Yeah, having a full set of old Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch inside Online virtual consoles would be amazing. But what if Nintendo screws this up? Players don’t want this to happen, but they have some thoughts on how it can all go wrong.
- 6:17am CT – Zacian deletes four opponents in Pokémon Unite with one simple combo
The video below speaks for itself. This time, Zacian was not too overleveled and all opponents were at full health. I bet the Pokémon Unite community will ask for nerfs for many, many days.
- 6:10am CT – Pokémon Day official wallpapers just released
How about some cute official wallpapers to celebrate this date? We’re all in for it, and Pokémon UK shared both desktop and mobile wallpapers for you to download and use.
- 6:03am CT – Here’s how to unlock Zacian in Pokémon Unite if you’re impatient
If you don’t want to wait for days to play with Zacian, you have to spend around 1,200 gems in Pokémon Unite to unlock it.
- 5:55am CT – Fan makes fake Joe Biden and Donald Trump argue over infamous Pokémon community debate
“What Pokémon generation is the best?” is the kind of pointless conversation players could avoid on Pokémon Day. But watching this debate with the AI-generated voices of two of the United States’ most polarizing politicians make it worth it again.
- 5:45am CT – You can share your love for all Pokémon generations with a fan tool
If you have a long history with Pokémon, you will probably love to spend some time recalling old generations. With this tool, you can create your own list of your favorite creatures by type and generation. It’s easy to screenshot the page and share it with friends. I’m already working on mine but apparently you can’t put Espeon in all slots for some reason.
- 5:32am CT – Zacian may already be too strong in Unite
Players think that Zacian is… well, completely broken in its first day in Pokémon Unite. Fans are already memeing about its damage being too high, while other are showing clips of devastating ambushes they are already pulling off. It seems like everyone will have a hard time learning how to counter it.
- 5:20am CT – Pokémon Café ReMix follows the lead with an early update
The starters from Scarlet and Violet are now in Pokémon Café ReMix. Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly are now part of the Hospitality event “Welcome to Paldea”, where you can unlock them in your game and also get a series of other rewards. The specialties of these starters are Small Plates, Sweets, and Drinks, respectively. A new Greninja (Great Chef) outfit is now also available.
- 5:10am CT – Pokémon Unite gets an update and Zacian is now playable
You can unlock Zacian for free by playing the mission “Adventure in Zacian’s Weald” or buy it with gems. This Pokémon is a ranged all-rounder and considered of intermediate difficulty to play with. Two new held items are also now in the game, with Slick Spoon letting your Sp. Atk moves ignore a percentage of opponents Sp. Def., and Rescue Hood increasing healing and shields granted by you to ally Pokémon. This update is already live in the game.
