Nintendo has announced the date of their first Nintendo Direct of 2020. West coasters better set those alarm clocks: the Pokémon Direct will stream live this Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 am Pacific/9:30 am Eastern. You’ll be able to watch live via the official Nintendo Twitch and YouTube channels.

Nintendo hasn’t confirmed anything other than the date, the length (2o minutes) and that it’s focused entirely on the Pokémon series.

The Pokémon Direct will be the first bit of Pokémon news and information since last November’s release of Pokémon Sword and Shield on Nintendo Switch. Speculation is running wild throughout the fanbase on whether we’ll see the announcement of a new game, updates to Sword and Shield, or more information on mobile spin-offs like Pokémon Home.

New information on the upcoming mobile games/apps seems the most likely at a bare minimum. Mobile apps Pokémon Home and Pokémon Sleep were announced last summer. Home will be the upgrade to Pokémon Bank, a digital storage solution that works across multiple generations and games where trainers can store, share, and upload their Pokémon into different games.

Pokémon Sleep sounds like an April Fool’s joke, but Nintendo is hoping it’ll do for sleeping what Pokémon GO does for walking. Never stop training your Pokémon, even while you sleep!

There’s also a good chance we’ll see the announcement of yet another remake. Gamefreak and Nintendo have been gradually remaking and updating all the past Pokémon generations, as recently as Gen 1 with 2018’s Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee.

The Pokémon Direct will stream live on January 9.


This article was written by

Eric has been writing for over nine years with bylines at Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer, Tabletop Gaming magazine, and more covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on his YouTube channel. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.