Pokémon looks back on its third and fourth generations in a new set of illustrations.
The new artwork was revealed by the official Japanese Pokémon Twitter account. The first image depicts May, the female player avatar in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, getting assistance from the Hoenn region's champion, Steven. The second illustration shows Diamond and Pearl's protagonist, Dawn, alongside her beloved Piplup, as the pair run from a group of ghost Pokémon in the Sinnoh region's Lost Tower.
「Pokémon Day」を記念して描き下ろされた特別なイラストを毎日公開中！
— ポケモン公式ツイッター (@Pokemon_cojp) February 22, 2022
本日2月22日（火）は、『ポケモン ルビー・サファイア』のワンシーンが描かれているよ。
記念イラストは、引き続き、2月27日（日）まで順次公開されるから、お楽しみに！https://t.co/8E8yrIhBzg #PokemonDay pic.twitter.com/m8hfCa7JE5
「Pokémon Day」を記念して描き下ろされた特別なイラストを毎日公開中！
— ポケモン公式ツイッター (@Pokemon_cojp) February 23, 2022
本日2月23日（水・祝）は、『ポケモン ダイヤモンド・パール』のワンシーンが描かれているよ。
記念イラストは、引き続き、2月27日（日）まで順次公開されるから、お楽しみに！https://t.co/8E8yrIhBzg #PokemonDay pic.twitter.com/TRegDVZsSg
The illustrations were released to build up hype for Feb. 27, which has been designated as the official "Pokémon Day" by The Pokémon Company. A slew of new announcements related to Nintendo's perpetually popular monster-catching franchise are expected to be revealed on that date. Several new in-game events have already been revealed, including a new Raid battle in Pokémon Sword and Shield that will see players facing down Gigantamax versions of the original Gen. 1 starter's final evolutions, while the free-to-play MOBA Pokémon Unite will host a special event that will allow players to unlock a new gardening-themed skin for Slowbro. Pokémon Go is also looking back at the series' past with a currently-running event that focuses on the Johto region, the setting for the series' second generation.
The nostalgic new art just missed the franchise's 25th anniversary celebration, which spanned the entire year of 2021. Nintendo marked a quarter-century of catching them all by releasing multiple new games during the year, including New Pokémon Snap, a sequel to the beloved Nintendo 64 photography game, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, a 3D remake of series' Nintendo DS debut. The year also saw the debut of a new anime miniseries, Pokémon Evolutions, which similarly focused on past generations of the video games. Dawn also returned to the mainline Pokémon animated series, which now carries the title Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series. This season of the long-running anime sees Ash and Goh revisiting past regions and old friends from previous seasons of the show.
The Pokémon franchise is currently riding high off the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which premiered on the Nintendo Switch on Jan. 28. Like Sword and Shield before it, the new game received some criticism for its lackluster visuals, but was praised for its new open-world structure and updated gameplay mechanics. The game garnered a much more positive reception than the series' previous Switch releases and managed to sell over 6.5 million copies within its first week of release.
Source: Twitter (1, 2)
