Pokémon is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and fans of the cards, animated series, and video games are awaiting the release of several new products. The first is Pokémon Z, the long-awaited follow-up to Pokémon X and Y, but this game has not been announced by Pokémon as yet. What has been announced is Pokémon GO, an iOS and Android mobile game that is coming soon. At least, the 3DS version of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow is coming, and in two weeks, there is going to be a Super Bowl ad that could reveal more about the future of Pokémon.
Like most Super Bowl ads, the commercial for Pokémon has already appeared online. According to Engadget, it was designed by a Los Angeles agency known as Omelet, and it is inspiring. In fact, inspiration is the theme for this ad as young people see people doing various things and are inspired to do them as well. It is all done with a drumline beat that feels very reminiscent of a football halftime show, which is probably the point. It all leads up to a young man stepping into a stadium, to face Pokémon Gyarados, Magneton, Charizard, and Mega Lucario. This commercial is over one minute long, and a shorter version will air during the Super Bowl on February 7th.
You can see the commercial below, and as Gotta Be Mobile has pointed out, there is no reference to Pokémon Z or Pokémon GO on this commercial. We previously reported that the new Pokémon commercial could be for the new location-based mobile game, as it would be an excellent launching point.
It is possible that the Super Bowl ad could be one in several ads that will eventually lead to the final and anticipated unveiling of the Pokémon GO release date. Within the context of this possible first ad are players who are going places, and the ad's ending text of "Train On" could refer to how players of Pokémon GO will be training their Pokémon that they will find in real-world locations. At the end, where the young man literally "sees" the Pokémon creatures could be representing the technology that Niantic is going to use to making these Pokémon come to life for the mobile user.
As for an actual release date for Pokémon GO, that is still shrouded in mystery. There are reports like one from Movie Pilot saying that there might be a possible Beta out there, which would make a lot of sense for a game of this scope. However, there is little to back that up. Pokémon Z and its release date has even less information about it.
However, it is known that Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow is arriving on the 3DS on February 27, 2016, but it would be an odd move for Pokémon to spend millions on a Super Bowl ad to highlight that.
