Morpeko Announced, Dynamax And Gigantamax Teased For 'Pokémon Go'
Find out everything announced at the Pokémon World Championships closing ceremonies here!
Ohhhhhhh boy. Pokémon fans were hyped for the closing ceremonies of this year’s Pokémon World Championships, held this year in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Congratulations to Video Game Junior Division World Champion Kevin Han, Video Game Senior Division World Champion Ray Yamanaka, and Video Game Masters Division World Champion Luca Ceribelli. Viewers were preparing themselves for their first morsel of details for the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which releases next year, with morsel size expectation varying wildly. What we ended up getting was absolutely zero from Z-A. But that’s okay. Patience is key. Culminating in the announcement of the next two years of World Championships locations, a double shot of California with Anaheim in 2025 and San Francisco, there was still news to be found everywhere you look.
Let’s start with Pokémon Go and the announcement of Morpeko’s imminent arrival. The trailer is rather straightforward as it travels, encountering Pokémon, intercut with footage of it battling in game, transforming into Hangry Mode and using Aura Wheel. The notice on the site reads “Coming soon: Morpeko will charge into Pokémon GO, changing the way you battle! Certain Pokémon—like Morpeko—will be able to change form in battle by using a Charged Attack, unleashing new possibilities for you and your battle team.” It urges staying tuned for more information.
Go has also teased the arrivals of the Galarian battle features Dynamax and Gigantamax, and the legendary Pokémon Eternatus, which like Morpeko come from the eighth generation games Sword and Shield with “Incoming report of a Trainer encountering what seems to be a...Pokémon? What could this be? We’ve all learned a gigantic amount from exploring the world and encountering all sorts of Pokémon together over the last eight years, and yet there always seem to be new mysteries to uncover, looming just over the horizon. A new Season means big changes, big battles, and…big Pokémon? We wonder what awaits on your next Pokémon GO adventure…”
For the Trading Card Game, two of the oldest mechanics in it, ones even this long-lapsed collector remembers, are returning in 2025: Trainer’s Pokémon. Frankly I’m so out of it I didn’t realize that it stopped or know when, but back in the day, it started at Kanto’s Gym Leaders. here’s the blurb: "A nostalgic gameplay mechanic is returning to the Pokémon TCG—Trainer’s Pokémon cards highlight the bond between a Trainer and their Pokémon, and you can look forward to seeing what their arrival brings to the game in 2025." The first new Trainer’s Pokémon cards revealed here were Lillie's Clefairy ex, Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex, N's Zoroark ex & N's Reshiram. It’s honestly pretty cool to see that the growth of the notable trainer roster over the years will now help the TCG’s Trainer Pokémon cards diversify. There were also hints of a Team Rocket card resurgence in the TCG, but it was to the extent of the Mega Evolution symbol in the Legends: Z-A trailer. No release dates have been given yet.
What has been given a release date is Pokémon TCG Pocket, the mobile app coming October 30, 2024. The game is available to pre-register on the Google Play Store and iOS. A new trailer released showcases more mechanics, such as special playmats, display modes such as a binder, and a full display. The Genetix Apex set will have more than 226 cards. As for the winners of the TCG Championships, they are Sakuya Ota of the Junior Division, Evan Pavelski of the Senior Division and Fernando Cifuentes of the Masters Division.
Finally, Armarouge, Darkrai and Psyduck are coming to Pokémon Unite as playable characters individually over the next three months. Armarouge, comes first on September 12, Darkrai will be seasonally appropriate in October and Psyduck will be a holiday headache in November.
As for why these closing ceremonies did not have any mainline news, Serebii webmaster Joe Merrick is familiar enough with procedure to put forward that Worlds is typically the place for competitive-based announcements, things that would throw wrenches and make stand out from what audiences have just witnessed. Legends games aren’t part of the competitive metagame, so it would have no bearing on such events.
Sources: Pokémon Go (1, 2), PokéGuardian, Joe Merrick, Serebii