Pokemon Shares Adorable 2020 Sketch for New Years

Pokemon is a series wherein the weather plays a serious role. Certain attributes of a pocket monster’s ability can be affected by the environment taking place in the outdoors, as well as sometimes even allowing for certain evolutions to take place based on the climate. Keeping this in mind, Game Freak has sent out a brand new “Winter Wonderland” 2020 New Year’s card that might not be causing any power ups among the Pokemon themselves, but certainly does a good job of having the popular creatures ring in a new decade!

Twitter User Carsolanite shared this recent artwork, presenting a frigid environment wherein several of the most popular Pokemon around, including Pikachu, Pichu, Sandshrew, Raichu, and Rattatta among others, enjoy the snowy weather to ring in the new year proper:

So why were these particular pocket monsters chosen to help ring in 2020? Well this year, according to the Chinese Zodiac, is the “Year of the Rat”, so the more rodent like Pokemon would clearly be the best ones to help welcome a brand new year for fans and non-fans alike. Within this Zodiac, 2020 is said to be a year of “fortune and personality, focusing on the better traits of the scurrying rodents such as their clever nature or quick thinking.

With last year giving us both Nintendo Switch’s exclusive video game of Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as a brand new season of the anime that focuses on Ash Ketchum performing a victory lap as a Pokemon champion, 2020 has some big shoes to fill to be certain. On top of these, Pokemon had also received its first live action feature length film in the form of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, which became the highest grossing video game adaptation of all time!

While we don’t know what the future has in store for one of the most popular franchises the world has ever seen, it’s clear that the future of Pikachu and his rodent pals will be a bright one regardless of the direction it takes.

What do you think of this artwork that rings in the new year with Pokemon? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Pokemon!

Pokemon: The Series, is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. Staff confirmed for the new series include Daiki Tomiyasu serving as chief director for OLM, Maki Odaira as series director, and Kunihiko Yuyama as creative supervisor.