Pokémon: Tenth Anniversary

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Pokémon: Tenth Anniversary is a special celebration commemorating the tenth anniversary of the debut of the Pokémon Red and Blue video games back on February 27, 1996. The occasion marks the ten year anniversary of the Pokémon franchise.

The Tenth Anniversary Logo, celebrating the game's release in Japan on February 27, 1996.
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The Tenth Anniversary Logo, celebrating the game's release in Japan on February 27, 1996.

Contents

[edit] Journey Across America

The Journey Across America was a weekly 24-city tour from February 25 to July 22 where Pokémon fans from across the country can participate in various activities, including a Video Game Tournament in two categories, 12 years old and under and 13 years old and older. Among them included:

[edit] Locations

Date Location (Metro Area) Venue
February 25 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Aventura Mall
March 4 Tampa Bay Westfield Citrus Park Town
March 11 Atlanta Southlake Mall
March 15 Houston The Galleria (Wed)
March 18 Dallas-Fort Worth The Parks at Arlington
March 25 Albuquerque Coronado Center
April 1 Los Angeles-Anaheim Westfield West Covina
April 8 San Francisco-Oakland Westfield Valley Fair
April 15 Portland, OR Clackamas Town Center
April 22 Seattle-Tacoma Westfield Southcenter
April 29 Salt Lake City Fashion Place
May 6 Denver Southwest Plaza
May 13 Kansas City Independence Mall
May 21 Minneapolis-St. Paul Mall of America (Sun)
May 27 Chicago Westfield North Bridge
June 3 Detroit Great Lakes Crossing
June 10 Pittsburgh Century III Mall
June 17 Cincinnati Cincinnati Mills
June 24 Memphis Wolfchase Galleria
July 1 Raliegh-Durham-Chapel Hill Crabtree Valley Mall
July 8 Washington, DC Westfield Montgomery
July 12 Philadelphia King of Prussia Mall (Wed)
July 15 Boston South Shore Plaza
July 22 Metro New York Roosevelt Field Mall

(Wed) — Held on a Wednesday. (Sun) — Held on a Sunday.

The winners of the 2006 Pokémon Video Game Tournament, Samin Syed (left) and Minh Le Ba.
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The winners of the 2006 Pokémon Video Game Tournament, Samin Syed (left) and Minh Le Ba.

Two additional tournaments were held (without the JAA events) at Space Center Houston and the Nintendo World at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The winners of those events, along with eight "second chance" qualifiers in the two categories, competed in the finals were that held as part of the US Tenth Anniversary Celebration event on Tuesday, August 8 at Bryant Park in New York City, with the winners (Samin Syed, 13, from Roslyn, New York, who entered as a 12-year-old in the 12-and-under category, and Minh Ba Le, 22, from Herndon, Virginia) receiving a trip to Tokyo for the World Finals to be held later in 2006. There are plans for a 2007 VGT in the works as well.

[edit] The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon

A made-for-television movie was released commemrating the tenth anniversary of the Pokémon franchise entitled The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon. It aired on Kids WB! on April 29, 2006. The revamped new voice cast version will be included with the DVD "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" when it was released on September 19. The program (with the revamped voice cast) aired on Cartoon Network October 28.

[edit] Party of the Decade

The United States celebration of Pokémon's Tenth Anniversary, titled "The Party of the Decade", was held on Tuesday, August 8 at New York City's Bryant Park. This was a larger version of the Journey Across America, which included the finals of the Pokémon Video Game Tournament, costumed character appearances including the American debut of Lucario, previews of the new Ranger and Mystery Dungeon games, and other events. Hulk Hogan, the World Wrestling Entertainment icon, hosted the activities. It also marked the farewell appearance of the original Pikachu Balloon from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which flew above Bryant Park. A new Pikachu balloon, which features the mascot of the franchise chasing a Poké Ball and cheeks that light up, premiered at the 80th annual event November 23.

[edit] External links