Popular Japanese game developer Nintendo recently revealed more than a few of the latest additions to the "Pokémon" franchise on the day of the franchise's 26th birthday.
Here's the basic rundown of everything Nintendo announced so far to keep yourself up to date on everything in the event so far:
Generation 9 Begins Later This Year
Nintendo Everything reports that Nintendo's "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet" would be exclusively coming to the Nintendo Switch in late 2022 with the upcoming 9th Generation Pokémon.
Tsunekazu Ishihara, President and CEO of The Pokémon Company, said that the two games would be an open-world game that provides "an adventure unlike any other" to players.
"I cannot wait to share this experience with all of you," Tsunekazu said.
The games would also feature various borderless towns that seamlessly blend into the wilderness, which will be an "evolutionary step" for the franchise and a new set of starter Pokémon, according to IGN.
Players can choose between Grass Cat Sprigatitio, Fire Croc Fuecoco, and Water Duckling Quaxly.
The official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet site stated that players would see, battle, and catch Pokémon in the skies, seas, forests and even in towns' streets.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus Free Content
"Pokémon Legends: Arceus" is also getting its first free update in the form of Daybreak, which is already available as of the publication of this article.
Nintendo Everything reports that the update will let players investigate "mysterious mass outbreaks" of Pokémon that are appearing all over the Hisui Region, along with battling legendary Pokémon and wardens.
Arceus players will also be receiving 30 Ultra Balls, Gigaton Balls, and Jet Balls by entering the password ARCEUSADVENTURE in the in-game Mystery Gifts menu before 7:59 am PST on March 31, 2022, in celebration of Pokémon Day, per the Pokémon Legends: Arceus website.
Additionally, an online animated series set in Arceus' Hisui region with an original storyline has begun production. This new animated series is expected for release sometime in late 2022.
Alola Region Pokémon Comes to Pokémon GO
This year's Pokémon Day also came with the news that Nintendo's Pokémon AR-game, Pokémon GO, would be featuring all 301 Pokémon from the Alola Region, the setting for "Pokémon Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon", per the official Pokémon GO website.
This announcement means "Pokémon GO" players will get the chance of finding Alola Pokémon such as Alolan Muk, Mimikyu, Salazzle and Toxapex through and game and catching them for themselves.
These new Pokémon would be released in the game on March 1. However, players should expect that these new Pokémon would be coming in batches, per Polygon's report, although Alolan Exeggutor is already available and can be captured in-game.
Hoopa and Freebies Added to Pokémon UNITE
Finally, Hoopa has been added to Nintendo's strategic Pokémon-team battle game, "Pokémon UNITE". The game classifies new addition to the roster as a complex Ranged Support that can help ally Pokémon heal and move efficiently around the battlefield if played effectively, per the Official Pokémon website.
Hoopa comes with two basic forms that could aid the player during a battle along with opportunities to change into its Unbound form that unleashes beams of light with every basic attack.
Duraludon is also confirmed to join the game's roster at a later date, while players who log in between now and March 14 will receive a Pokémon Day hat and t-shirt in-game for their character to use, according to the previously mentioned IGN article.
