Happy Pokémon Day everybody! To help celebrate Pokémon's 20th anniversary, Nintendo released a minute long advertisement during the Super Bowl earlier this month. Unfortunately, the commercial didn't reveal much about upcoming products, but it does leave viewers with something to think about regarding how the Pokémon franchise might evolve over the next 20 years.
The commercial begins with a young boy approaching a crowd who is apparently watching a Pokémon battle. We see the glimpse of a wing and a flamethrower attack through the surrounding audience. The boy, clearly inspired, whispers out loud, "I can do that," and begins training. Footage of the boy running along a mountain is seen on television by a girl who afterwards says to herself, "I can do that." She then goes on to win a series of chess games. An internet video of the girl is seen by a football player. He later gives an inspirational speech to his team, ending with a battle cry of, "We can do this!" A news reel of the football player is seen by a young Japanese man who also says, "I can do that." He then enters an arena that is shown to be a Pokémon battle field. After seeing his opponent's Charizard, Gyarados, Magneton, and Mega Lucario, he throws out a Poké Ball of his own. Before we can see what Pokémon he chooses, the image cuts to a father and son watching the match from home with their Pikachu. The father whispers to his son, "You can do that," and the final shot lingers on the son's wide eyes before transitioning to the Pokémon 20th anniversary logo.
It is the end of the commercial that raises the most interesting possibilities. I think the idea of live action Pokémon is fantastic. It would be a great direction for the franchise that would really shake things up. Does Pokémon have the courage to do something like that? Probably not, but they have taken small steps outside of their comfort zone before.
I'll close by giving my thoughts about the final scene of the commercial, that being the father and son watching the Pokémon battle on TV. I know I am not the only one who thinks that the father is meant to be Ash Ketchum. For one thing, the man has dark hair, like Ash. He is also wearing a blue shirt. Blue has been a traditional color of Ash's outfits every season. The boy sitting next to him looks almost exactly how I would imagine a real Ash Ketchum to look, especially with his dark, messy hair. The Pikachu next to them is pretty much the final confirmation of this theory. I know that the Pokémon anime is really pushing Ash and Serena's relationship. This commercial would appear to be a look into the future of their family, with Ash getting their son ready to be a Pokémon trainer someday.
That being said, this is my challenge for Pokémon moving forward: After Generation Six concludes with Ash winning the Kalos league, he will start a serious relationship with Serena. Several years later, they will have one or more children who are interested in becoming Pokémon trainers. I would like Pokémon to make a movie or TV series following those children on their journey, while their parents provide wisdom and encouragement to help them along.
The Pokémon franchise is now twenty years old. An entire generation grew up with Pokémon, and is now of the age where they would be looking to have children of their own. What better way to keep Pokémon in the family than to have a series that shows an older generation help a new one feel the rush that Pokémon brought to them many years ago.
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