Key Highlights:
- Pokémon Go 10th anniversary celebrations recreated the game’s original 2016 Mewtwo Times Square trailer.
- Thousands of players joined a Unity Raid as Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y made their debut.
- The event included an exclusive Mewtwo reward for attendees, while a wider global release follows this weekend.
The Pokémon Company marked the Pokémon Go 10th anniversary by recreating one of the game’s most memorable moments, transforming New York City’s Times Square into a real-life version of the original 2016 announcement trailer.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the famous Manhattan landmark was covered with Pokémon Go displays before replaying the closing sequence from the original reveal trailer. In that trailer, hundreds of players gathered in Times Square to battle Mewtwo, a scene that became one of the defining images ahead of the game’s launch.
Following the presentation, attendees took part in a large-scale in-game Unity Raid against Mewtwo. The mode allows thousands of players to challenge the same Pokémon simultaneously, recreating the community-driven experience shown in the original promotional video.
Players who attended the event also received a special version of Mewtwo that was exclusive to the Times Square celebration.
The anniversary event also introduced Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y to Pokémon Go for the first time. Both Pokémon appear in the newly added Super Mega Raids, which are designed for experienced groups and require at least eight trainers to participate.
Unlike standard raid encounters, these battles introduce protective shields that can only be broken by trainers using Mega Evolved Pokémon, adding an extra layer of strategy before players can deal meaningful damage.
Pokémon Go first launched in 2016 after growing out of an idea inspired by Google’s well-known April Fools’ Pokémon Maps project. The mobile title quickly became a global phenomenon, encouraging millions of players to explore real-world locations while catching Pokémon through augmented reality.
The developers Niantic recently changed their name to Scopely Explore after the companies $3.5 billion acquisition.
While the Times Square recreation was widely praised for celebrating one of Pokémon Go’s most iconic marketing moments, the event also generated discussion within the community.
Only invited guests, including members of the press, content creators and influencers, were able to attend the celebration and obtain the exclusive perfect-stat Mewtwo distributed during the event. Players watching online instead received smaller in-game rewards after viewing the livestream, prompting some fans to express disappointment on social media over the difference in rewards.
Players worldwide will soon have their own opportunity to battle Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y as both Pokémon become available during the global Pokémon Go Fest 2026 event beginning on 11 July 2026.