Pokémon announcement: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Sleep and Pokémon Concierge

Image source, The Pokémon Company International

Image caption, Part of the latest announcement was an Expansion called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero

Pokémon has announced two new expansions for current games and the release date for a new app called Pokémon Sleep.

The Pokémon Company has been celebrating 27 years since the games were first developed.

As part of a livestream on YouTube the company said there'll be updates for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet called The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk.

Together they're called The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero, and will start to come out late this year.

The gaming company has also announced a new app it's hinted at for many years called Pokémon Sleep, which uses how much you sleep to unlock Pokémon in the game.

Image source, The Pokémon Company

Image caption, Three new Pokémon will be introduced in the new expansions

What are the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet expansions?

The new Pokémon expansions for Scarlet and Violet are called The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero and they come in two parts.

The first is The Teal Mask which comes out in Autumn 2023, the second is The Indigo Disk which will come out later.

The game will introduce three new Pokémon: Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti.

The two expansions will also feature lots of Pokémon players seen in previous games, but weren't in Pokémon Scarlet or Violet.

They'll be set in a new place called Kitakami, where players will unravel mysteries behind folktales set around a big mountain.​

Is Pokémon Sleep cancelled?

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Creators of the new Pokémon app say its aim is to get people sleeping more

Nope! Ever since it was teased in 2019 Pokémon fans have been kept waiting on the release of the app Pokémon sleep.

But in today's announcement the app has been confirmed to be released this summer.

The Pokémon Company say the game is designed to encourage you to go to sleep and to make sure you leave your phone alone while sleeping.

When you go to sleep it tracks how long you've been asleep and unlocks Pokémon with different sleep patterns.

Image source, The Pokemon Company/Netflix

Image caption, Pokémon TV series Pokémon Concierge is on the way

What else was announced on Pokémon day?

Other announcements included:

  • A new Netflix cartoon called Pokémon Concierge.
  • A new trading card game board, Pokémon classic
  • New gadget called a Pokémon Go Plus+
  • New online game events for Pokémon Scarlet and Indigo

But there's been some disappointment from fans hoping that versions of the classic games Pokémon Red and Blue would be heading to Nintendo Switch.

Some had predicted they would be on their way after soundtracks from classic games were uploaded on the Pokémon website but, for now, the updated games won't be on the games console.