Pokemon Announces Special New York City Takeover

Pokemon is ready to take over New York City, and we have the anime to thank! If you did not know, the franchise launched a new show last year following Ash Ketchum’s leave. It won’t be long before Pokemon Horizons launches stateside, and in light of the upcoming Pokemon Day celebrates, the Empire State Building is ready to pay homage to the anime.

Not long ago, The Pokemon Company announced plans to honor its upcoming anime launch with a NYC event. It turns out the Empire State Building will be lit up in Pokemon’s colors on February 27th. According to the company, the deal was made to hype the impending launch of Pokemon Horizons as well as Pokemon Day. And if you are local to NYC, a special Pokemon GO event will be running at the Empire State Building on the same day to boot.

Now if you are not familiar with Pokemon Horizons, the anime was released in April 2023 in Japan to curious viewers. The show marks the 26th Pokemon anime, and most notably, it does not star Ash or his partner Pikachu. Pokemon Horizons focuses on two original characters, Liko and Roy. The show follows the two young trainers in the Paldea region after they team up with a group of adventurers called Rising Volt Tacklers. Not long ago, Pokemon Horizons enjoyed its English premiere in the United Kingdom, and now it is slated to launch statesideMarch 7th.

Originally, Pokemon Horizons was expected to go live in America on February 23rd courtesy of Netflix, but that date was later changed. No reason was given for the push, but fans suspect it has something to do with Pokemon Day on February 27th. The annual event is known to share incredibly important updates about the Pokemon IP, and a big announcement could have overshadowed the new anime if the show premiered too early. So if you are a fan, you best keep your eyes locked on Pokemon this month. 

What do you think about this big Pokemon takeover? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!