Pokémon Masters (Nintendo/The Pokémon Company)
The Pokémon Company held its annual press conference on Tuesday, using the opportunity to announce new software and memorabilia. Here are all of the details for those who missed it.
Welcome home, Trainers.
Introducing Pokémon HOME, a cloud service that will work with Nintendo Switch and iOS and Android devices, allowing you to bring over the Pokémon that you’ve shared adventures with throughout your journey. #PokemonHOME pic.twitter.com/fAlodMrRzh
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) May 29, 2019
Those familiar with the core RPGs on the 3DS may be familiar with Pokémon Bank, a storage application that lets players deposit and withdraw their partners across their games. Since Bank‘s launch, Pokémon GO hit the smartphone space and the first two Switch entries, Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee!, released last year. In 2020, series aficionados will be able to migrate their teammates across all of these ecosystems with ease through Pokémon HOME, a new cloud-based smartphone app that will allow players to “manage their collection of Pokémon across many of their games,” including the forthcoming Sword and Shield. The Pokémon Company also teased that a “potential future addition” could let multiple users in an area trade together.
We’re pleased to announce the development of Pokémon Sleep, a new app from @Pokemon_cojp that tracks a user’s time sleeping and brings a gameplay experience unlike any other!
Several Snorlax were consulted on this, in case you were wondering. #PokemonSleep is coming in 2020. pic.twitter.com/nJ7mJY09Dl
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) May 29, 2019
Pokémon Sleep, a smartphone app, was another new announcement, which will hit smartphones sometimes in 2020. It’s being helmed by The Pokémon Company, and Sleep will utilize the new Pokémon GO Plus + accessory to monitor your sleeping habits and reward those with positive ones. The awkwardly named device can be used with its namesake Pokémon GO app too, and GO is now featuring a Snorlax-themed event honoring Sleep‘s reveal.
Announcement 4⃣
Dreaming of becoming a Pokémon master? This is your time!
Get ready for Pokémon Masters, a new game that allows you to battle alongside your favorite Pokémon Trainers from the main series RPGs. #PokemonMasters pic.twitter.com/RNFxswsDFp
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) May 29, 2019
Pokémon Masters is the third and final smartphone game revealed during the conference. Game Freak artist Ken Sugimori “wanted to create a game featuring all past and present Pokémon Trainers from the video games” and drew the above key art. Longtime fans of the franchise should be able to identify all of the returning faces present on the poster, which highlights Gym Leader Brock, Champions Steven, Diantha, Cynthia and Lance, and legendary Trainers Rosa and Red. (Curiously, Red’s sporting a new design that composites elements of his prior incarnations.) The trailer also features two more familiar faces: Misty and Blue. DeNA is developing Masters, which will feature more traditional battling than prior smartphone apps and will launch this year.
Some speculated a new entry in the Detective Pikachu spin-off series would be announced here, and it was. It appears to be a sequel to the 3DS original and will follow up on its cliffhanger ending. The Pokémon Company implores those who enjoyed Pokémon: Detective Pikachu in theaters should keep an eye on this title. Finally, Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara closed the presentation by discussing Japan’s Pokémon Shirts service, “which creates made-to-order original clothing designs featuring the first 151 Pokémon.” Plans are underway to bring this service to more territories, including the United States and Europe.
The entire 36-minute press conference can be seen below:
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