The best Pokémon Day deals on games, trading cards, and more

Oh, would you look at that. It’s Pokémon Day, an annual celebration commemorating the game’s launch on this very day in 1996. Fun fact: Pokémon was first a video game, but it was quickly adapted as a trading card game and anime, both of which are arguably equally as responsible as the Game Boy titles for its success in becoming a global craze.

Today, we’re celebrating all facets of our fandom by tuning in to the latest announcements from Pokémon Presents and highlighting a few of the best Pokémon Day deals. Right now, for example, Walmart is discounting Pokémon Legends: Arceus for the Nintendo Switch to $39.99 ($20 off), which nearly matches the title’s lowest price to date.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a prequel to Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond (which we’ll get to in just a moment). It’s an original open-world adventure akin to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that takes place in the same region of Sinnoh. Unlike most Pokémon games we’ve enjoyed this generation, however, Arceus ditches the turn-based battling system for a new take that balances it with real-time action-based combat. Your pokémon can attack with different styles that give them speed and power advantages in battle, and if you strategize correctly, you can sneak in extra attacks before your opponent can respond.

Arceus represents a refreshing change of pace for those who felt the classic formula was getting a little stale, but we also promised you some good deals on Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond, didn’t we? A physical copy of Pokémon Shining Pearl for the Switch is going for $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Walmart right now, and you can get Pokémon Brilliant Diamond for the same price at Walmart in both physical and digital formats.

Nintendo faithfully recreated the two older DS titles with upgraded 3D graphics and quality-of-life improvements that make it easier to build your team, along with a charming character design reminiscent of classic 2D sprites. The Switch games take place in the Sinnoh region, which features Turtwig (Grass-type), Chimchar (Fire-type), and Piplup (Water-type) as starters. Chronologically, it makes sense to play them after Arceus, but I wish I’d played them first.

It can be hard to revisit the older (but greatly refined) combat system and linear world after dreaming about some of the elements Nintendo will potentially borrow from Arceus for future mainline games. By no stretch does that make the games bad, however, especially if you’re a nostalgic player who’s into the competitive scene that still favors the classic battling system. Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond are worth a run-through whether you’ve played the original games or skipped them entirely.

If the mainline Pokémon games don’t sound appealing, Walmart is also taking $20 off New Pokémon Snap for the Switch, dropping it to just $40. The 2021 release builds on the success of the original N64 title, which has you taking on the role of a photographer set in the world of Pokémon. The peaceful gameplay doesn’t feature any battling — instead, you explore lush jungles, rainforests, and other natural habitats to capture snapshots of pokémon doing their thing.