The Pokemon Franchise Celebrates Its 21st Birthday Today

Today, February 27th, is Pokemon Day. The original games came out in Japan on February 27th, 1996, meaning the franchise has just turned 21 years old. For this year’s celebration, fans can expect a number of events to mark the latest anniversary of one of the most popular franchises to date.

One of the biggest events is happening in Pokemon Go. From now until March 6th, you can catch a special festive Pikachu wearing a festive party hat.

“These special Pikachu will keep their party hats forever, but they can only be found during this limited-time celebration, so make sure to keep an eye out for them as you explore,” developer Niantic said in a blog post.

Other Pokemon Day celebrations for this year include the launch of a new Gallery Figures collection featuring toys for Eevee, Mew, Magikarp, and Pikachu.

Also, Pokemon: The First Movie, Pokemon 4Ever, and Pokemon–Zoroark: Master of Illusions are available to watch as part of a marathon on Pokemon TV. You can stream the movies and shows at Pokemon.com or through the Pokemon TV mobile app.

A special new 3DS XL has been released, called the “Pikachu Yellow Edition” for the price of $200. GameStop is also giving out Bottle Caps for Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon right now.

Rounding out the celebrations, The Pokemon Trading Card Game Online and the Pokemon Shuffle app are also giving out new bonuses. The Pokemon Company will be holding an “all-day celebration on Twitch today, featuring footage from Pokemon World Championships and more.

You can check out this blog post to learn more about how The Pokemon Company is celebrating Pokemon Day.