Switch Era
Pokémon conquers the living room again — Let's Go, a Hollywood Detective Pikachu, Sword & Shield and the Dexit revolt — while a pandemic-era collecting boom sends trading cards to prices nobody thought possible.
Part of Pokémon
73 moments in this segment.
- — 3D Pikachu latte art. A sculpted 3D Pikachu foam latte in Harajuku in 2018, the year the permanent Pokémon Café opened in Tokyo with reservations booked out weeks ahead.
- — Let's Go, Pikachu! & Let's Go, Eevee! announced. The May 30, 2018 Tokyo reveal of the first mainline-style Pokémon RPGs on Switch, built to bridge Pokémon GO players to console play.
- — Pikachu headmark on the Minatomirai Line. A Yokohama Minatomirai Line train carrying a special Pikachu headmark during the 2018 Pikachu Outbreak, when the whole city's transit dressed up for the invasion.
- — Eevee parade at Pikachu Outbreak 2018. Eevee got its own parade for the first time at the 2018 Outbreak festival, which drew well over a million visitors across the week.
- — Pikachu station name board. The JR Sakuragichō station name board redrawn with dancing Pikachu for the 2018 Pikachu Outbreak, the year the event added a nighttime "Science of Pikachu" light show.
- — Inside the world's first permanent Pokémon Café. CNA visits the permanent Pokémon Café that opened in Tokyo's Nihonbashi in March 2018, serving character dishes alongside the flagship Pokémon Center.
- — Worlds 2018 — VGC Masters Finals. Ecuador's Paul Ruiz won the 2018 VGC Masters title in Nashville, the first world champion from South America.
- — Worlds 2018 — TCG Masters Finals. The Trading Card Game Masters final from the 2018 World Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.
- — Worlds 2018 — Pokkén Tournament DX grand finals. The Pokkén Tournament DX grand final from Nashville, which became one of the most-watched Pokémon Worlds uploads ever.
- — Highway sign vs. Pokémon GO. A variable message sign on Ontario's Highway 401 near Windsor warning against playing Pokémon GO while driving in 2018 — two years in, road authorities were still fighting the habit.
- — Detective Pikachu — official trailer 1. The November 12, 2018 first trailer for the first live-action Pokémon film, whose photoreal 'furry Pikachu' voiced by Ryan Reynolds broke the internet overnight.
- — Let's Go — overview trailer. Nintendo's overview of Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, which launched November 16, 2018 with Poké Ball Plus support and GO connectivity, selling 3 million in week one.
- — Safari Zone opens in Porto Alegre. Thousands of players stream into Farroupilha Park as the Pokémon GO Safari Zone opens in Porto Alegre on 25 January 2019 — the event's first-ever stop in Latin America.
- — Day two of Safari Zone Porto Alegre. The second day of the Porto Alegre Safari Zone, 26 January 2019. The city government co-hosted the event, which drew tens of thousands of players from across Brazil.
- — Final day in Farroupilha Park. Players filling Farroupilha Park on the closing day of the Pokémon GO Safari Zone in Porto Alegre, 27 January 2019, which the city credited with a multi-million-real tourism boost.
- — Detective Pikachu — official trailer 2. The second trailer for Detective Pikachu, released ahead of the film's $433 million worldwide run — then the highest-grossing video-game movie ever.
- — Pokémon Direct — Sword & Shield revealed. The February 27, 2019 Pokémon Direct that unveiled Sword and Shield and the Britain-inspired Galar region, the series' first built-for-console generation.
- — Ryan Reynolds — Casting Detective Pikachu. Reynolds' mockumentary short about 'method acting' his way into playing Pikachu, posted on his own channel during the film's press tour.
- — Ryan Reynolds talks Pikachu on GMA. Reynolds deadpans about method acting as Pikachu on Good Morning America during the film's launch week.
- — Detective Pikachu cast on the Tokyo red carpet. Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith and Kathryn Newton at the Japanese premiere in Tokyo, where the film opened alongside its Hollywood run.
- — Detective Pikachu premiere — AMC red carpet. AMC Theatres' cameras on the New York premiere carpet as Pokémon returned to cinemas twenty years after The First Movie.
- — AFP: stars gather at the Detective Pikachu US premiere. AFP newsreel from the May 2, 2019 US premiere in New York's Times Square, complete with a yellow carpet and costumed Pikachu.
- — Detective Pikachu bus, Hong Kong. A Hong Kong Citybus wrapped in Detective Pikachu movie advertising in Central, May 2019, as the first live-action Pokémon film opened worldwide.
- — Detective Pikachu on a Dublin bus. A Dublin Bus carrying Detective Pikachu artwork in May 2019. The Ryan Reynolds-voiced film grossed over $430 million and broke the "video game movie curse".
- — Sword & Shield at E3 2019 — the Treehouse demo. The E3 2019 Treehouse stream where producer Junichi Masuda confirmed the games would not carry the full National Pokédex — igniting the fan revolt known as 'Dexit'.
- — Pokémon Center Singapore at Jewel Changi. The entrance of Pokémon Center Singapore at Jewel Changi Airport. Opened in April 2019, it was the first permanent Pokémon Center outside Japan.
- — PokéStop at GO Fest Dortmund. A physical PokéStop at Pokémon GO Fest 2019 in Dortmund's Westfalenpark — Europe's first full GO Fest, which drew 85,000 players over four days in July.
- — Detective Pikachu at Japan Expo. A Detective Pikachu cosplayer at Japan Expo 2019 in Paris, months after the live-action film became the highest-grossing video game movie to date.
- — GO Fest Dortmund in the Westfalenpark. Players roaming Dortmund's Westfalenpark during Pokémon GO Fest 2019, the redemption arc of the format after Chicago 2017 — this one worked.
- — Pikachu Outbreak 2019 — electrical parade. The 2019 edition of Yokohama's Pikachu Outbreak, the last of the giant annual parades before the pandemic pause.
- — Worlds 2019 — TCG Masters Finals. The TCG Masters final from Washington, D.C., the last in-person Pokémon World Championships before a two-year pandemic gap.
- — Worlds 2019 — VGC Masters Finals. Japan's Naoto Mizobuchi won the VGC Masters title at the 2019 World Championships in Washington, D.C.
- — Midnight launch at Nintendo NY. Fan-shot footage of the Sword & Shield midnight launch event at the Nintendo NY store, made over in full Galar decoration.
- — Sword & Shield — overview trailer. Nintendo's pre-launch overview of Sword and Shield, showcasing the Wild Area and stadium-sized Dynamax battles.
- — Sword & Shield — launch trailer. Launch trailer for November 15, 2019; despite the Dexit backlash, Sword and Shield sold six million copies in their first weekend.
- — The Great Buddha bans Pokémon. A notice at the entrance to Kōtoku-in temple in Kamakura, home of the Great Buddha, prohibiting Pokémon GO in 2019 — a quiet reminder of how long the crowds lingered at heritage sites.
- — Pokémon GO — Buddy Adventures trailer. Official trailer for Buddy Adventures, the late-2019 feature that let trainers walk with their buddy Pokémon in AR.
- — Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution — Netflix trailer. Trailer for the full-CG remake of the 1998 first movie, released worldwide on Netflix on Pokémon Day, February 27, 2020.
- — Cosplay meetup, leap day 2020. A group Pokémon cosplay meetup on 29 February 2020 — one of the last big in-person fan gatherings before the pandemic pushed the community online.
- — The first Pokémon Presents — 6.17.20. The very first Pokémon Presents broadcast, June 17, 2020 — announcing New Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Smile and Café Mix and establishing the franchise's new showcase format.
- — The Isle of Armor — release trailer. Release trailer for The Isle of Armor, Sword & Shield's first expansion — the series' first paid DLC — which dropped June 17, 2020.
- — Pokémon GO Fest 2020 goes virtual. Official announcement that pandemic-era GO Fest 2020 would go fully virtual, opening the ticketed weekend to players worldwide for the first time.
- — GO Fest 2020: Team GO Rocket face-off. Niantic's official Team GO Rocket takeover video from GO Fest 2020's second day, the centerpiece of the first all-virtual GO Fest weekend.
- — The Crown Tundra — trailer. Trailer for The Crown Tundra, the second Sword & Shield expansion, released October 22, 2020 with its Dynamax Adventures legendary hunt.
- — P25 revealed at the 2020 Macy's Parade. Footage of the Pokémon 25th-anniversary reveal at the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, where flying Pikachu and Eevee balloons kicked off the P25 campaign.
- — Uri Geller drops his Kadabra ban — ILTV news. ILTV Israel News segment on Uri Geller ending his two-decade grudge against Nintendo and giving permission for Kadabra to return to Pokémon cards, November 2020.
- — Pokémon the Movie: Coco — Japanese trailer 1. Official Japanese trailer 1 for 'Pokémon the Movie: Coco', delayed by the pandemic to a December 25, 2020 Japanese release.
- — New Pokémon Snap — release date trailer. The reveal of New Pokémon Snap's April 30, 2021 date — the first sequel to the N64 photo safari in 22 years.
- — Logan Paul: I spent $2,000,000 on Pokémon cards. Paul reveals a seven-figure vintage haul in January 2021, weeks before his Pokémon Day box break streamed to millions.
- — Local news: COVID-19 linked to trading-card boom. San Diego news coverage tying the pandemic's collectibles surge to nostalgia buying and stimulus-era speculation.
- — WION: Pokémon card frenzy reaches six-figure bidding. International news coverage of record-setting Pokémon card auctions during the pandemic collecting mania.
- — Behind the News: 25 years of Pokémon and the card boom. Australian current-affairs program for schools explains the 25th anniversary and why playground card trading was suddenly back.
- — Pokémon Presents — the 25th anniversary show. The February 26, 2021 Presents that announced Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus for the franchise's 25th year.
- — Pokémon Legends: Arceus — final pre-launch trailer. The last trailer before Legends: Arceus launched January 28, 2022; the open-zone experiment sold 6.5 million copies in its first week.
- — Post Malone — Only Wanna Be With You (Pokémon 25 Version). Post Malone's Hootie & the Blowfish cover recorded for the 25th anniversary, debuted at the virtual concert.
- — 25 Years of Memories. Official anniversary film released on Pokémon Day 2021, marking 25 years since Red and Green.
- — Post Malone — Pokémon 25 virtual concert. Post Malone headlined a virtual concert as a stylised avatar for Pokémon Day 2021, kicking off the P25 music program.
- — TMZ: card boom forces PSA to suspend grading. Grading giant PSA suspended most submission tiers in spring 2021 to dig out of a backlog that had swollen past ten million cards.
- — New Pokémon Snap — overview trailer. Nintendo's overview of the Lental region photo expedition that sold over 2 million copies in its launch window.
- — Pokémon Center Hiroshima. The Pokémon Center Hiroshima store in May 2021. By the franchise's 25th anniversary, official Centers operated in more than a dozen Japanese cities.
- — Target suspends in-store Pokémon card sales. Business news report on retailers pulling trading cards from shelves for customer and staff safety in May 2021.
- — Katy Perry — Electric. Katy Perry's P25 single 'Electric', released May 14, 2021 with a music video co-starring Pikachu on the Hawaiian coast.
- — Target stops selling Pokémon cards after fights. Target suspended in-store trading-card sales in May 2021 after fights and a parking-lot gun incident over restock day drops.
- — KHON2: Target suspends card sales over safety. Hawaii local news on the nationwide Target suspension of Pokémon and sports card sales at the height of the frenzy.
- — Katy Perry — Electric, behind the scenes. Behind-the-scenes footage from the 'Electric' shoot, showing how the video's Pikachu scenes were staged.
- — Pokémon UNITE — launch date announcement. The official July 21 launch-date announcement for Pokémon UNITE, the franchise's first 5-on-5 team battler.
- — Pokémon UNITE launches on Switch. Pokémon's free-to-play MOBA, co-developed with Tencent's TiMi Studio, went live on Switch on July 21, 2021 and passed 9 million downloads in weeks.
- — Leonhart opens Evolving Skies at launch. Leonhart's launch-window Evolving Skies booster-box opening, as the set's Eeveelution alt arts instantly became the most-hunted cards of the boom era.
- — Legends: Arceus — Pokémon Presents trailer. The August 2021 Presents trailer that showed Hisui's open segments, noble Pokémon battles and the game's survey-corps framing.
- — Moonbreon pulled — Evolving Skies launch weekend. A launch-weekend Evolving Skies opening hitting the Umbreon VMAX alternate art — 'moonbreon', the chase card whose mania came to define the modern TCG boom.
- — Secrets of the Jungle — official English trailer. Official English trailer for Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle ahead of its global Netflix release in October 2021.
- — Pokémon 25: The Album — trailer. Capitol Records' trailer for the P25 compilation featuring Katy Perry, Post Malone and J Balvin.
- — Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl launch. The Sinnoh remakes launched November 19, 2021 and shipped six million copies in their first week despite a famously dupe-friendly cloning glitch.
