What is Pokemon Day?

Pokemon Day is coming up tomorrow, which means big announcements and giveaways. But what are the origins of Pokemon Day? And why February 27th of all days?

Pokemon Day is an official celebration of the Pokemon franchise, which takes place on the anniversary of the original release of Pokemon Red and Green in Japan. The original Pokemon games were released back on February 27, 1996, but it took about two and a half years for the games to travel across the United States and in become an international sensation in the process.

Interestingly, Pokemon Red and Green are not the equivalents to the US versions of Pokemon Red and Blue. Six months after Pokemon Red and Green came out, Game Freak released a revised version of the game (known in Japan as Pokemon Blue) using new sprites and updated layouts. Nintendo of America adapted Pokemon Blue for the international release, updating them into Pokemon Red and Blue as we know them internationally.

So what’s in store for Pokemon Day? Well, the big news will be the announcement of a new Pokemon game, which will take place at 9 AM. The new games will be new “main series” games for the Nintendo Switch, and will launch the eighth generation of Pokemon games.

Twitch is also launching a major marathon of the Pokemon anime on Pokemon Day, which includes episodes from Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and Pokémon the Series: XY along with some movies. The Pokemon Center retail website will also be releasing a new line of “Poke Ball Classic” merchandise featuring clothes and accessories that have a Poke Ball design on them.

Pokemon Go is also getting in on the Pokemon Day action with a three day event featuring special costumed Pikachu and Eevee, Shiny versions of Pidgey and Rattata, and increased spawns of certain Pokemon encountered early on in the Kanto region.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for all the big announcements coming during Pokemon Day!

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