Pokémon’s ’25 Years of Memories’ Is a Rare Celebration of the Entire Franchise
Pokémon kicked off its 25th anniversary celebrations with a video that’s packed with references from throughout the beloved franchise.
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Pokémon is commencing its 25th anniversary celebrations with a new video that takes a look back at the iconic franchise’s history. Such videos that play off of nostalgia are pretty common for the series, especially around milestones like this one. Pokémon Sun and Moon were even announced during a Pokémon Direct released on Pokémon Day 2016 (the franchise’s 20th anniversary) following a series retrospective from Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara.
However, while other videos of the sort typically focus on the main series games or a specific aspect of Pokémon, “25 Years of Memories” stands out for how it celebrates the franchise as a whole.
The video itself begins with a Game Boy playing one of the original Generation I games pushing a Poké Ball onto a track. From there, we see a chain reaction in which various Poké Balls and figures set off different moving pieces. However, as engaging as the movement itself is, what surrounds the action is even more of a treat for longtime Pokémon fans. The video is packed with references from throughout the franchise, some of which are more obvious that others.
For example, while the Snorlax lying on the bridge early on is a clear reference to a well-known roadblock from the Kanto games — something that has become a meme in its own right — the drawbridge that lowers just in time for a Poké Ball to roll across it is actually a specific location from the games: Unova’s Driftveil Drawbridge. This is reinforced by the Unova starter plushies surrounding the bridge, as well as the Ditto versions of Litwick, Trubbish and Vanillite (all Gen V Pokémon) seen as the Poké Ball rolls to its next location.
A reference to the most recent main series games occurs towards the end, when we see a Corviknight taxi land on the field of a stadium where a Venusaur and a Pikachu are facing off in what appears to be a Galarian gym battle. Given the plushies’ sizes in comparison to the crowd and the figurines of the Galar starters in the background, this is perhaps an intentional reference to Dynamaxing, one of Sword and Shield’s major mechanics.
Of course, what’s even more interesting is that the video makes clear references to the anime, trading card game and even some side games. Several cards are seen throughout, and at one point, a Poké Ball rolls on a track through a city-like environment featuring several screens. One is playing a clip of Shiny Rayquaza from the Gen VI-era movie Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, while the other two show scenes from early episodes of the anime.
There’s also a moment where a Poké Ball spins a PokéStop from the mobile AR hit Pokémon GO which took the world by storm nearly five years ago. Detective Pikachu is also featured through an amiibo seen as the doors to the stadium close, serving as a reference to both the Nintendo 3DS game and the Ryan Reynolds film it inspired.
Pokémon typically keeps separate the various aspects of the franchise. While there have been, for instance, occasional references to the anime in the games, these are rare and typically meant as subtle Easter eggs rather than actual crossovers. That’s what makes “25 Years of Memories” all the more exciting; it acknowledges the various ways fans have engaged with Pokémon over the years.
While it is missing some things from Pokémon’s massive history — there’s no clear reference to the popular manga, and outside of GO and Detective Pikachu, there are plenty of spin-offs like Pokémon Snap and the Mystery Dungeon games that aren’t featured — “25 Years of Memories” captures the franchise’s general magic in a way that’s welcoming to all fans. It invites everyone to take part in celebrating this beloved franchise, whether their first Pokémon experience was with the Gen I games, the anime, the TCG or even Pokémon GO.
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