This 12 months marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Pokémon sequence, and a brand new star-studded Tremendous Bowl advert that includes a duet with Jigglypuff and Woman Gaga has kicked off the celebrations. The industrial featured different celebrities, like comic Trevor Noah, Blackpink singer Jisoo, By no means Have I Ever actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and extra discussing their favourite Pokémon.
Pokémon Day — the franchise’s official birthday — is simply across the nook on Feb. 27, and followers have been speculating on what kind of bulletins it’ll deliver. 2026 is already shaping as much as be an thrilling 12 months for the fandom, with Pokémon Lego units in retailer later this month, and life-sim Pokémon Pokopia arriving in March. Different bulletins, like a launch date for Pokémon Champions, are nearly actually on the horizon, however with such a milestone birthday, it is probably the corporate has some particular surprises up its sleeve.
The industrial serves because the launch of a brand new yearlong “What’s Your Favourite?” marketing campaign. After a beautiful duet between Woman Gaga and Jigglypuff (the singer’s favourite), the industrial’s stars all shared their very own favourite Pokémon, which had been as follows:
- Trevor Noah – Psyduck
- Jisoo – Eevee
- Lamine Yamal – Zygarde
- Charles Leclerc – Arcanine
- Younger Miko – Gengar
- Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – Luxray
It is mentioned that each Pokémon is somebody’s favourite, and that is simply what the occasion is all about. “It’s a query that sparks passionate dialogue and reminds followers that irrespective of who they’re, there’s a Pokémon for them,” mentioned Kenji Okubo, president of The Pokémon Firm Worldwide, in a press launch. Okubo said that 2026 could be “a 12 months packed filled with fan-focused celebrations,” starting with a brand new Pokémon Go characteristic. As of Feb. 8, Pokémon Go gamers can add their favourite Pokémon into images, and are inspired to share them on-line with the hashtag #Pokemon30.
Day Out and Night time Out occasions are additionally within the works, the place, in line with The Pokémon Firm, “Trainers will be capable of get pleasure from numerous fan-focused experiences that encourage the bigger neighborhood to return collectively in actual life.” Day Out occasions will concentrate on family-friendly actions, whereas Night time Out occasions are geared towards older followers. At present, there is not any different details about the timing or location of those occasions.
Woman Gaga’s involvement within the current marketing campaign does increase questions on her involvement in a extra prolonged Pokémon promotion all year long — it would not be the primary time the corporate has paired up with a pop star to have fun. For the franchise’s twenty fifth anniversary, Katy Perry partnered with The Pokémon Firm to launch a brand new single and music video with Pikachu. This was half of a bigger challenge, Pokémon 25: The Album, which additionally had contributions from artists like Put up Malone and Vince Staples. No matter whether or not there’s extra Woman Gaga (feat. Jigglypuff) sooner or later, 2026 is ramping as much as be a really memorable 12 months for followers.
