The Pokemon Company has collaborated with quite a few artists over the past few years, culminating in Pokemon 25 for the brand’s 25th anniversary. That album featured the likes of Katie Parry, Post Malone, Lil Yachty, Jax Jones, J Balvin, and more. It didn’t feature UK singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, however, and that’s a strange oversight given how big of a Pokemon fan he is. Perhaps to rectify this issue, Ed is teaming up with Pokemon on his next single, "Celestial," which is out on September 29. You can pre-book the song on Spotify, Apple Music, or Deezer.We have no idea what the song will be about, but the cover image features a stylistic and frumpy-looking Pikachu, and that’s enough for me.
This isn’t Ed Sheeran’s first collaboration with the Pokemon brand. The four-time Grammy Award winner first teamed up with Pokemon Go back in November of last year with a live in-app performance. It didn’t quite have the same pomp or circumstance as Fortnite’s various in-game concerts, but it was still an interesting way to experience several Sheeran singles, including Perfect, Shivers, Thinking Out Loud, First Times, Bad Habits, and Overpass Graffiti, which was actually played as the in-game music as well. The event also saw every Water-type starter appear more frequently in the wild, apparently because Sheeran starts every Pokemon game with a Water-type. There were some Sheeran cosmetics available too.
This looks to be just a fun song featuring Pikachu, but we'll be sure to keep you appraised if Pokemon announces any in-game collabs.
In the meantime, Nuzlocke players will be happy to note that The Pokemon Company doesn't care if you think your Pokemon dies after it "faints." Two ex-Nintendo of America employees had said that The Pokemon Company considered Nuzlocke rules to be just as bad as ROM hacks, even suggesting that folks had been fired for playing a Nuzlocke run, but a statement from the Pokemon folks said that's not the case.
"We do not have any issues with fans/creators playing the games with Nuzlocke rules," wrote the company, which is sure to come as a relief to those seeking the greater challenge Nuzlocke rules provide.