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Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Celebrates Pokémon's 20th Anniversary
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is joining in on the celebration. The official Pokémon YouTube channel began streaming a video on Tuesday that highlights the reappearance of the parade's Pikachu balloon.
The video encourages Pokéfans to use the hashtag "#Pokemon20" on YouTube to share their individual Pokémon stories. People who put the hashtag in YouTube video titles will have a chance to be featured on the 20th anniversary site.
The returning Pikachu balloon holding a Pikachu snowman debuted in 2014. The original 53.5-foot-tall (16.3-meter-tall) Pikachu balloon marked its 10th anniversary in the parade in 2010.
The Pokémon Company International's anniversary promotions include trading cards, merchandise, monthly legendary Pokémon distribution at retail locations, digital releases of 12 Pokémon films, and DVD and Blu-ray releases for the first three films. The franchise also celebrated with a Super Bowl ad, special 3DS and 2DS bundles, and Nendoroid figures.
The Pokémon Go smartphone app, which launched in parts of the world on July 6, is holding an in-game Thanksgiving event that offers players double XP and Stardust, plus the surprise addition of Ditto. The Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Nintendo 3DS games launched in Japan and North America on November 18, followed by Europe on November 23.
