Pokémon: Tenth Anniversary
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Pokémon: Tenth Anniversary was 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.
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[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 participated 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:
- Celebi and Top Twenty Download.
- Video Game Play Area, featuring Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon Trozei. Also featured a Nintendo DS download of a demo of Pokémon Trozei.
- Pictures with Pokémon costumed characters Pikachu and Munchlax.
- Pokémon TCG One on One.
- Pokémon TV Lounge.
- Color Me Pokémon.
- Pokémon Center Mini-store. (Usually came three to five days in advance of the event).
The program was organized, in conjunction with Pokemon USA, by AMP Agency in Cranbury, NJ. The internal account team included Danielle (Adams) Zukowski and Rick Phillips. The in mall team was: Colin Candy, Jodi Hansen, Todd Neimier, Chad Young and Trevor.
The tournament was divided by the cities that the tour stopped in. Two winners from each city, a person from the 12 and under range and 13 and up range would go on to compete at a national level in New York City at Bryant Park. The grand prize winner of the tournament received a trip for four to Tokyo, Japan among other prizes. Other events held at the tour included free Polaroids taken with Pikachu and Munchlax, tables set up for friendly TCG battles, a demonstration on the basics of Pokémon in general, playable consoles featuring XD:Gale of Darkness, and stations where you could receive one of several "one-time-only" Pokémon (like the starters, Eevee, and fossil Pokémon) and Celebi. You could also Download Pokemon Trozei demo onto your Nintendo DS. Journey Across America visited a total of 24 cities.
This is event was similar to the Pokémon League Summer Training Tour held in the summer of 1999, among other such Pokémon tours.
[edit] Locations
| Date | Location | Venue | |
| February | 25 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | Aventura Mall |
| March | 4 | Tampa Bay | Westfield Citrus Park Town |
| 11 | Atlanta | Southlake Mall | |
| 15 | Houston | The Galleria (Wed) | |
| 18 | Dallas-Fort Worth | The Parks at Arlington | |
| 25 | Albuquerque | Coronado Center | |
| April | 1 | Los Angeles-Anaheim | Westfield West Covina |
| 8 | San Francisco-Oakland | Westfield Valley Fair | |
| 15 | Portland, OR | Clackamas Town Center | |
| 22 | Seattle-Tacoma | Westfield Southcenter | |
| 29 | Salt Lake City | Fashion Place | |
| May | 6 | Denver | Southwest Plaza |
| 13 | Kansas City | Independence Center | |
| 21 | Minneapolis-St. Paul | Mall of America (Sun) | |
| 27 | Chicago | Westfield North Bridge | |
| June | 3 | Detroit | Great Lakes Crossing |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | Century III Mall | |
| 17 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati Mills | |
| 24 | Memphis | Wolfchase Galleria | |
| July | 1 | Raliegh-Durham-Chapel Hill | Crabtree Valley Mall |
| 8 | Washington, DC | Westfield Montgomery | |
| 12 | Philadelphia | King of Prussia Mall (Wed) | |
| 15 | Boston | South Shore Plaza | |
| 22 | Metro New York | Roosevelt Field Mall | |
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 Le, 22, from Herndon, Virginia) receiving a trip to Tokyo in 2007.
[edit] The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon
A made-for-television movie was released commemorating 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 was 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.
