Pokémon heads to San Diego

Plus, Pokémon Sleep is building hype

Author

Cooltrainer Ace
July 13, 2023 • Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes

Hey there and welcome to all the new Cooltrainers joining us for the first time. Hopefully you’ll come back for round two, unlike that wild Graveller my team curb-stomped the other day down of Floor 2. I’m your host, Cooltrainer Ace, and here’s the freshest Pokémon news this side of the Indigo Plateau.

Here’s this week’s rundown (estimated read time, 3 minutes):

  • Pokémon is paneling at San Diego Comic-Con

  • Don’t sleep on Pokémon Sleep

  • More random encounters than you can throw a PokéDoll at

San Diego, here we come!

Pokémon & Comic Con, together at last

Hold on to your Pokéballs, trainers: for the first time in forever I'll be dancing through the night Pokémon is officially paneling at Comic-Con.

According to the official release, the panel “Pokémon: Bringing Iconic Animation to Global Audiences” is scheduled for July 20 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Here’s the description:

The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) takes a behind-the-scenes look at how the beloved Pokémon animated series is localized from its original Japanese version to one of the most popular series enjoyed by international audiences. In a panel moderated by streamer and comic book writer Meghan Camarena (also known as Strawburry17), TPCi's Taito Okiura (vice president of marketing and business development), Andy Gose (senior director of media production), and Hilary Thomas (senior producer) will discuss optimizing the series for global viewers, provide fans with a sneak peek at the special collection of episodes that will conclude Ash and his Pikachu's 25-season storied journey in Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, and share new behind-the-scenes insights regarding the highly anticipated Pokémon Horizons: The Series coming soon to fans around the world.

Why is this a big deal? It’s always been a little weird that Pokémon hasn’t had a greater official presence at some of the major cons in the states. This could be a one-off, but I’ll bet you my last Escape Rope that TPCi is using this event to test the waters for more events and appearances in the U.S. aside from TCG & VGC tournaments.

As the highest grossing media franchise in the world, it makes sense for them to expand their physical presence in the Western Hemisphere. Maybe we’ll even get a Pokémon Center store again?

Pokémon Sleep is…hype?

I’ll be the first to admit that I may have been dunking on Pokémon Sleep just a teensy bit in last week’s email. But that’s probably because it’s hard to get a good night’s rest when you live in a cave that’s full of Golbat constantly screeching and Machoke holding impromptu strength contests. It’s enough to make any Cooltrainer a tad salty.

The Pokémon Company invited a number of influencers (pretty sure my invitation got lost in the mail) to spend the night with Pokémon Sleep and try out the upcoming app’s features. And there was A LOT more to it including:

  • Shiny, yes you read that right, shiny Pokémon.

  • Helper Pokémon can level up and have natures.

  • A premium pass (because of course there is).

Pokémon Sleep is in open beta and scheduled for release in late July.

Random encounters around the internet

Obscure Pokémon Fact of the Day (from u/Mx_Toniy_4869)

Until next time,
Cooltrainer “not scared of Dream Eater at all” Ace