5 major Pokemon Presents August 2023 highlights

The highly anticipated Pokemon Presents video conference has finally come out. With this release of content to come to the world's most popular franchise, many players have gathered far and wide to see what we have in store for the future. However, with the video being a whopping 34 minutes long, some players may just want to know if there was anything worth getting excited about.

Though the conference had a little something for everyone, the simple fact is that most of the playerbase will be more excited about some things than others. With all the new reveals during the video, it can be helpful for fans to just cut to the chase and know what some of the highlights were from the recent video.

Note: This list is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions

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5 Best Moments from August 2023's Pokemon Presents conference

1) Path to the Peak

A screenshot from Pokemon: Path to the Peak (Image via The Pokemon Company)

One of the most unique announcements made during the video was the news of a brand new animated series detailing a young girl's journey to become one of the best battlers at her school. However, unlike the standard anime, which surrounds the world of the namesake creature, Path to the Peak follows the card game instead.

With the franchise dipping its toe into the world of exploring the card game through some shoot-off manga specials, this marks the first occasion where the card game is the entire subject of an animated series. Pokemon: Path to the Peak looks very interesting, and those wanting to check it out can do so when the first episode drops on YouTube on August 11th.

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2) Detective Pikachu Returns

A screenshot from the recent Detective Pikachu trailer (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Following the success of the 3DS title and beloved tie-in movie, we finally have more information regarding the sequel to the Detective Pikachu series. This series is well-known for giving fans a more real-world and relatable approach to the world of pocket monsters. With so many interesting characters and interactions between them and the main duo, fans quickly grew to love the sleuth team of Tim and Pikachu.

From what has been seen, this iteration of the game will allow players to recruit and control other Pokemon to help solve cases. Two that were showcased were Growlithe, who can track down clues with her sense of smell, and Galarian Darmanitan, who can destroy obstacles in the detective team's path. It was announced that Detective Pikachu Returns will release on October 6th.

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3) Nintendo Online Catalog update

A screenshot from the recent release (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The popular TCG adaptation for the Game Boy, as well as the sequel to the Stadium game, have been released onto the Nintendo Switch Catalog of virtual console games for their respective platforms. Indulge in the interesting gameplay of the card game in a way that has never been reproduced since in an interesting journey to collect all the Legendary Cards.

While the option to transfer creatures from games to the Stadium virtual console titles is still absent, you can still enjoy a battling gauntlet against the many gym leaders and Elite Four members from the Kanto and Johto games with a team of rental monsters. Of course, the beloved minigames the side series is known for are still present as well.

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4) Mew & Mewtwo Raids

A screenshot from the recent release (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Scarlet and Violet titles have just received news of the biggest raids to come to the main series yet. Those who pick up their copies of Scarlet and Violet right now can obtain a Mew entirely for free by entering the gift code "GETY0URMEW" in the game's Mystery Gift menu. This code will only work until Monday, September 18th, before being gone forever.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo will be available through post-game raids starting September 1, 2023. It will host the Mightiest Mark. Though the details on what makes these exact raids so special, there will allegedly be "something special" happening if you challenge this raid using the Mew they receive from entering the code mentioned prior.

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5) Teal Mask Release Date

A screenshot from the recent trailer (Image via The Pokemon Company)

To round out the conference, Game Freak released more information regarding the first half of the Expansion Pass for the Scarlet and Violet titles. This first wave of content, The Teal Mask, will host a new explorable area, new creatures to find and collect, and a new story with new characters and clothes for the player's avatar.

Along with new evolutions for past creatures like Applin and Duraludon, a bevy of new Legendaries and Paradox creatures were announced and revealed as well. The Teal Mask half of the expansion pass will be ready to be played by those who purchase the pass starting on Wednesday, September 13, 2023.