Pokémon celebrates 20th Anniversary with new games, movies and more!

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Alex Mai , Staff Writer

2016 marks the 20th year of the Pokémon franchise. Nintendo has planned a number of events and releases to celebrate Pokémon’s 20th anniversary. The many releases include special editions of games, release of the digitally remastered Pokémon movies, trading card game expansions, and many special items dedicated to the 20th anniversary.

Special Pokémon edition of the New 3DS will be released on February 27 for $199. It includes digital versions of the original Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Blue, swappable cover plates of the original design of Charizard and Blastoise, and a special downloadable Pokémon theme for the home screen. For fans who only want the original Pokémon Red, Blue, or Yellow, Nintendo plans to release it on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for $10 each. The other game related content is the rerelease of special event legendary Pokémon to owners of Pokémon X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, or Omega Ruby. These legendary Pokémon include Mew, Darkrai, Arceus, and many others.

Fans of the movies will also receive a collection of content. Nintendo is planning to release the movies to Amazon, iTunes, or Google Play for purchase or rent on January 19. The 12 films will also be streamed throughout the year on streaming devices such as Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, and Pokemon.tv. The first three movies Pokémon: The First Movie, Pokémon the Movie 2000, and Pokémon 3: The Movie will be digitally remastered for retail release for DVD and Blu-ray. The movies span Ash and Pikachu’s adventures from the original movie featuring the created Pokémon, Mewtwo, to the recent movie featuring the legendary Pokémon, Hoopa.

The trading card game, Pokémon TCG, will also be getting special content. Throughout the year Nintendo is releasing special expansion of trading cards. These expansions are titled Pokémon TCG: Generations and they are coming in late February. These cards include special versions of the final evolution of the original three starters and also their mega evolution versions.

Special merchandise for the 20th anniversary will also be release at PokemonCenter.com and in some retail stores. The merchandise includes clothing, accessories, figures, plush and many other items for Pokémon fans. Even with all this content, Nintendo still has plans for Pokémon GO and Pokkén Tournament for this year for Pokémon fans.