Pokémon Anniversary Mid-Year – Part 2

 

Part 2 – What’s Ahead

June marks the halfway point of 2016, and of Pokemon’s year-long 20th Anniversary celebration. At Zephyr we’re using this as an opportunity to take a loot at what we know, and what we think, we can expect in the coming six months.  For a look back at the past six months check out Part 1 here.

Coming Attractions

We’ve already seen the release of 5 of the 11 Mythical Collections, and two of the 4 Red & Blue Collection with Venusaur and Pikachu still to come.

Pokemon also turned some heads with the announcement of the Generations Elite Trainer Box.  It’s the same as any other Elite Trainer Box, except with 10 Generations booster packs.  For anyone who feels that the 2 or 4 packs offered in the releases so far just doesn’t cut it, this is pretty huge.

The Generations Elite Trainer Box releases July 1st, but only in the US.  For those of us up North we’ll have to wait until September for the box.

 Speculation

If you check out Pokemon’s 20th Anniversary TCG page, you’ll see a tantalizingly incomplete grid of product releases.  This along with the Generations Trainer Box announcement so late in the year certainly tempts us to speculate about what Pokemon could be keeping under wraps.

It could be anything really, or nothing.  We could see more exclusive Pokemon accessories, new ways of packaging the Generations booster packs, or even new boxes featuring other Pokemon.

For now, we’ll just have to keep our ears peeled and play the waiting game.

Video Games

We’re primarily concerned with the TCG here at Zephyr, but what look forward at the year would be complete without a mention of Sun & Moon.

One particular debate that sprang up in the office here concerned the new Rotom Pokedex.  Given to your character in Sun & Moon, it’s a Pokedex inhabited by a Rotom, meaning the iconic tool is now, itself, a Pokemon.  The thing is though, if this were a card, would it be a Pokemon card, or a Trainer card?  It may never appear as one, but it’s fun to think about.

Thanks to E3, we also now know that Pokemon GO with release next month on both Android and iOS devices.  The game itself will be free, but enthusiats will want to pick up the wearable, Pokemon Go Plus, for $35 USD. Read more about it at Polygon.

All in all it has been and will be an exciting year.  It’s great to see that Pokemon as a company continues to be excited about its product, and continues to innovate and produce such excellent content.  Thanks to Pokemon, and to you, the Zephyr Epic customer and reader for making 2016 an awesome year!