Something big is going on with the next episode of the Pokemon anime in Japan. It's been announced that the Sept. 1st, 2019 episode of the anime is going to feature "important global exclusive" news, but no specifics were given. Whether this pertains to the anime, Pokemon Sword & Shield, or something else altogether remains to be seen.

Pokemon Masters is releasing next week, and Pokemon Co. has put out some special phone wallpapers and SNS icons to celebrate The phone wallpapers and stickers feature various Sync Pairs from all across the Pokemon franchise, and you get them by answering a series of quiz questions via this official campaign site.

Following that, you can answer another set of questions testing your knowledge of Pokemon. Completing this will get you a round of SNS icons and social media banners of different Sync Pairs. This campaign lasts until Aug. 26th, 2019.

Pokemon Center Singapore has two new campaigns on the way. Check out details on both below.

“Let’s Play! Stamp Rally”

- runs from August 24th to September 30th, 2019
- customers who complete all the missions and connect any 5 missions in the stamp rally will receive a free keychain

Tourist tax refunds

- available for tourists who purchase at least SGD100 worth of products in one single transaction
- to be eligible for a tax refund, guests must meet the following criteria:

*Guest is not a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident;
*Guest is aged 16 and above at the time of purchase;
*Guest is in Singapore on social visit pass;
*Guest is not a crew member of the aircraft on which they are leaving Singapore by;
*Guest is leaving Singapore from Changi Airport or Seletar Airport. Guest will not be eligible for a GST refund if they are leaving by the Causeway of Sea;
*Guest has made a minimum purchase of S$100 at Pokémon Center Singapore within two months of tax refund application (the S$100 requirement must be met with a maximum of 3 same-day receipts before additional receipts can be considered).

The Pokemon Company has released three Limited Hanbok Edition Pikachu Pair plush dolls exclusively in South Korea, and they've been major hits each time. Now it looks like a fourth set is on the way, as the video above was posted by Pokemon Co. on Facebook to tease something in the works. A full announcement should be coming any day now.

Become a Pokémon Trainer, embark on a new journey in the new Galar region, and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area, a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. And participate in Max Raid Battles* in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pokémon known as Dynamax Pokémon. The Pokémon™ Sword and Pokémon™ Shield games will launch in the US November 15th, 2019 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch™ system.

Time to make a big splash! Even if you don’t live near the water, you can look forward to Water-type Pokémon coming to you soon in Eggs, raids, Field Research, and the wild.
That’s right—the long-awaited Water Festival is back!

Date + Time

Friday, August 23, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT until Friday, August 30, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

Water-type Pokémon like Magikarp, Wooper, Wailmer, and more will appear more frequently in the wild.
The following Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in the wild around water: Wartortle, Poliwhirl, Seaking, Lapras, Qwilfish, Mantine, Lotad, Feebas, Piplup, Buizel, and Finneon.
Water-type Pokémon will hatch more often from Eggs.
Kingler and Crawdaunt will be able to learn Crabhammer, a Water-type Charged Attack that is newly available in Pokémon GO.
If you manage to surf the waves of luck, you might encounter Shiny Carvanha or Shiny Barboach!

Raids

Water-type Pokémon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, Lapras, and more will appear in raids.
On Wednesday, August 28, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, you’ll be able to encounter Uxie, Mesprit, or Azelf in five-star raids in their respective regions!

Bonuses

2× Hatch Candy
If you have a Water-type Pokémon as your Buddy, the distance to earn Buddy Candy will be halved.
There’s no need to swim or use a fishing rod to encounter these Pokémon, Trainer. All you have to do is get up and GO!

Looking for a way to relax while showing your love for Pokemon? Perhaps a set of Mewtwo-themed pajamas will do the trick! These officially licensed pajamas are available now in Japan for 5,940 yen, and as you can see, they include both a hood and a Mewtwo tail!

Pokken Tournament DX Group Match action is going on today. From now until Aug. 25th, 2019, players can take part in the "Shadow Drop" Group Match. This cup is a Team Battle competition, once again on a Fixed Battle Arena. Participating in this brings a special title reward based on Gengar, and if you place highly, you'll get other titles based on your placement. If you already received the title from the last time it ran, you will not receive it again

Following that, from September 6th through 8th, you can participate in the "Fairy Tempest" Group Match. This cup is a Basic Battle competition, once again on a Fixed Battle Arena. Participating in this brings a special title reward based on Gardevoir, and if you place highly you'll get other titles based on your placement. If you already received the title from the last time it ran, you will not receive it again

These two popular Psychic-type Pokémon form a TAG TEAM in the Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon—Unified Minds expansion, and now you can also see them on Pokémon TV.

Espeon and Deoxys may both be Psychic-type Pokémon, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The petite, adorable Espeon is one of the many possible Evolutions of the beloved Eevee, while the intimidating Deoxys is a Mythical Pokémon originating from the mutated DNA of a space virus! Despite their differences, the two Pokémon work together as a TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX in the latest Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Sun & Moon—Unified Minds. Their powers combined make them a force to be reckoned with!

For the next two weeks, you can tune in to Pokémon TV to see these two Pokémon in action in classic episodes of Pokémon the Series! Remember that you can watch Pokémon TV here on Pokemon.co.uk or using the Pokémon TV mobile app.

August 23, 2019—Beginning today, fans of the Pokémon Trading Card Game will be able to grab a special expansion, Hidden Fates, which introduces the first-ever TAG TEAM trio card featuring Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno-GX, as well as cards depicting Pokémon in their Shiny forms like Mewtwo-GX and Charizard-GX.

The Pokémon Company International has released the Hidden Fates Pin Collection—the first product in the Hidden Fates line—which offers one foil promo card featuring the Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo or the Mythical Pokémon Mew, a pin featuring that Pokémon, and three Hidden Fates booster packs. Fans can also pick up the following Hidden Fates products soon:

Hidden Fates Tin (available September 6)—Features three special tins that spotlight Charizard-GX, Gyarados-GX, or Raichu-GX, with each tin including a foil Pokémon-GX card and four Hidden Fates booster packs

Hidden Fates Elite Trainer Box (available September 20)—Includes one full-art foil promo card featuring Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno-GX, 10 Hidden Fates booster packs, and various Pokémon TCG accessories

Additionally, the Hidden Fates Poké Ball Collection will be available on October 4 and the Hidden Fates Ultra-Premium Collection will release on November 15.

Upon launching, cards from the Hidden Fates expansion will be available in the Pokémon TCG Card Dex, an app that lets Trainers easily browse and discover cards from the Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon Series.

For additional information about the Pokémon TCG, visit pokemon.com/tcg.